An Honorary Position

"This is the Brocade Pavilion. They specialize in silk and satin. Over there is Life-Saving Hall, where they have a full selection of medicinal herbs.

"That place up ahead is the Weapon Workshop. They can forge fine blades..." Zhao Qin introduced the sights to Li Yuan as they walked.

There were all kinds of snack vendors along the street, too, their cries sounding much more refined.

Most sold delicate pastries, sugar figurines, or fragrant braised meats, completely unlike the greasy flatbreads and coarse noodles of the Outer City.

As Li Yuan looked around, he couldn't help feeling moved.

The Inner and Outer Cities were separated by just a wall, yet they were worlds apart.

At last, they arrived at the finest restaurant in the Inner City: the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Two men stood at the entrance, their temples slightly raised. They were clearly skilled fighters.

Zhao Qin was evidently a regular. He asked for a private table by a second-floor window with the ease of someone who knew the place well, then ordered their meal.

Before long, the dishes arrived.

Eight-Treasure Gourd Duck, Steamed Silver Blade Fish, Clear-Stewed Lion's Head, Corn and Pork Rib Soup, and a dish that looked like stir-fried meat.

Even the rice was Eight-Treasure Rice.

Looking at the exquisite meal, Li Yuan felt as if he'd gone back to eating in his previous life.

This meal must have cost a pretty penny, Li Yuan thought.

"Eat, eat, eat, junior brother."

Li Yuan noticed that the dish resembling stir-fried meat was a deep reddish-brown, its aroma rich and enticing. Light seemed to shimmer between the meat's fibers.

Curious, he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. The meat was tender and richly seasoned, and a warm current spread through his limbs and bones. His whole body felt pleasantly warm, and even his blood and qi seemed to stir a little.

"This isn't pork?" It didn't have the slightest hint of gaminess.

In this era, most people ate Wild Boar meat, which was unbearably gamey.

Still, having meat to eat at all was already a blessing. After eating it for long enough, people naturally got used to the taste.

"This is Red Rhino Meat, from a strange beast called the Red-Blooded Rhino that lives deep in the mountains outside the city. The beast has abundant blood and qi, and its meat is rich in vital essence. It's a great help to us martial artists in tempering our blood and qi and strengthening our sinews and bones."

At that, Li Yuan picked up a few more pieces. They seemed to have an even stronger effect than the Silver-Backed Bear Meat he'd bought.

He felt his Consumption skill activate. His body worked like a machine, digesting the meat at high speed, though the process was several times slower than with Silver-Backed Bear Meat.

[Skill: Consumption (Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: 160/1000 points]

"This really is good stuff. Where can I buy this meat?" Li Yuan asked.

Now that he'd reached the Stone Skin Realm, he felt Silver-Backed Bear Meat could no longer keep pace with how quickly he needed to build up his blood and qi.

If he could eat Red Rhino Meat every day, he'd build up his blood and qi much faster.

"This meat... is supplied exclusively to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. You have to spend a certain amount of silver there that month to qualify for a limited purchase. You can't buy it on the open market." Zhao Qin shook his head. "It's practically priceless. Even when some does become available, it gets snapped up immediately."

So he could only eat this meat once?

Improving his Consumption skill had made Li Yuan more sensitive to food.

The two of them continued chatting as they ate.

They were both martial artists, so they only had a single cup of wine each, just to be polite.

When they'd nearly finished eating, the smile on Zhao Qin's face gradually faded, replaced by a trace of worry.

He set down his chopsticks and sighed. "Junior brother, to be frank, I invited you here today not only because of our brotherly ties, but also because I have a favor to ask."

Li Yuan's heart stirred. He set down his chopsticks too and replied seriously, "Third Senior Brother, please speak. If I can help, I won't refuse."

"You know that my family runs several shops in the Outer City. We're barely what you could call a small lineage.

"Our family businesses need people with martial skills to guard them. We originally hired two skilled fighters for honorary positions, and one of them was Junior Brother Huang Ren."

Zhao Qin continued, "Now that Junior Brother Huang is badly injured, his legs are probably...

"Sigh, his position has been left vacant, and my family hasn't been able to find someone reliable to fill it.

"You've reached the Stone Skin Realm, so you're already a skilled fighter in the Outer City. You're steady by nature, and I know you well.

"So I'd like to invite you to take an honorary position with my family."

He paused before explaining the terms. "You won't have to report for duty every day or sit at an office. You can keep training at the Martial Arts Hall as usual and only step in when needed, like escorting important goods or putting someone in their place if they come looking for trouble.

"As for compensation, you'll get forty taels of silver and twenty catties of fine rice each month. In addition... my family will provide you with ten catties of Black-Striped Tiger Meat every month."

Ten catties of Black-Striped Tiger Meat a month—that was worth a hundred taels of silver.

Add the forty taels in silver and twenty catties of fine rice, and it was a generous offer for a martial artist in the Stone Skin Realm.

The Black-Striped Tiger Meat in particular would greatly help Li Yuan with his current cultivation.

Zhao Qin was an honest man who treated him well. The position wouldn't interfere with his training, and it would give him access to valuable cultivation resources.

In both feeling and reason, it seemed he had no grounds to refuse.

He thought for a moment, then looked up at Zhao Qin, who was watching him expectantly, and nodded. "I'm honored that you think so highly of me, Third Senior Brother. I'll take the position."

At that, Zhao Qin's face broke into a relieved smile. He raised his wine cup. "Excellent! That's wonderful! Come, let me offer you a toast!"

They clinked cups and drained them.

Li Yuan suddenly remembered the matter with the First Senior Brother. Lowering his voice, he asked, "What do you think about what happened to the First Senior Brother?"

Zhao Qin mulled it over before replying, "Junior brother, you have to understand that in this world, plenty of people want to cling to powerful lineages and climb higher.

"Some people will even offer up a pledge of loyalty on their own, just to win a lineage's favor.

"Of course, unless it's necessary, they won't go so far as to leave no way back. Master is still around, after all. If they really push him too far, they'll pay a heavy price."

Li Yuan understood.

He asked no more. The two tacitly changed the subject and began discussing their insights into martial arts cultivation.

Just then, the curtain of a private room nearby was lifted, and a group of people came out. At their head was a man dressed in fine silks, his face carrying an air of arrogance.

Several young men and women, all dressed just as elegantly, followed him. One of them was Lin Mingsheng.

Lin Mingsheng spotted Zhao Qin and Li Yuan by the window at once. He paused in surprise, then smiled and walked over.

"Senior Brother Zhao, Junior Brother Li, what a coincidence. You're eating here too?" Lin Mingsheng greeted them with a smile.

A young man beside him, dressed in a blue silk robe, curiously looked Zhao Qin and Li Yuan up and down.

He asked, "Mingsheng, who are these two?"

Lin Mingsheng introduced them, but only mentioned that Li Yuan was currently at the Ox Skin level.

"Oh? The Stone Skin level?" The young man in blue and the others gave Zhao Qin a second look.

Lately, the affair between the Five Animals Academy's First Senior Brother and the Zhao Family's young master had caused quite a stir, but none of that mattered to them.

A martial artist at the Stone Skin level might not rank among the top fighters of an Inner City lineage, but he was more than qualified to serve as a steward among its middle ranks.

As for Li Yuan, they ignored him completely.

The young man in blue smiled and cupped his hands toward Zhao Qin. "So you're Brother Zhao. A pleasure.

"I'm Lin Yu. My father serves in the Patrol Division.

"Since you're Mingsheng's senior brother, you're practically one of us. May I ask where you're currently employed?"

Lin Yu was trying to recruit Zhao Qin right in front of Lin Mingsheng.

Lin Mingsheng finally understood what was happening. His face flushed red, but he didn't dare say anything. Lin Yu's family had far more standing than his.

Competition was just as fierce among the great lineages. In plain terms, they were all poaching people from one another, each trying to offer the better deal.

Zhao Qin returned the gesture. "You're too kind, Young Master Lin. For now, I'm mainly training at the Martial Arts Hall and occasionally helping out with family matters."

In other words, he still had family obligations.

Lin Yu didn't mind. He'd only been making a casual attempt. Who knew? It might have worked.