Appointed Position

"This is the Brocade Pavilion, specializing in silks and satins, and over there is the Life-Saving Hall, which carries a full range of medicinal herbs."

"The place ahead is the Weapon Workshop, capable of forging fine blades..." Zhao Qin introduced as he walked, guiding Li Yuan.

Along the street were various snack vendors, their hawking calls sounding far more refined than those in the outer city.

Most of what they sold were delicate pastries, sugar figurines, or fragrant braised dishes, a stark contrast to the oily flatbreads and coarse noodles of the outer city.

Watching this, Li Yuan could not help but feel a stir in his heart.

Though the inner and outer cities were separated by only a single wall, they were worlds apart.

Finally, they arrived at the best restaurant in the inner city, the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Two men stood at the entrance, their temples slightly bulging—clearly, they were skilled martial artists.

Zhao Qin was evidently a regular, familiarly requesting a quiet seat by a window on the second floor to order their meal.

The dishes arrived in short order.

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 these exquisite dishes, Li Yuan felt as if he had returned to the dining habits of his past life.

This meal must cost quite a bit of silver, Li Yuan thought to himself.

"Eat, eat, Junior Brother."

Li Yuan noticed the dish resembling stir-fried meat; its color was a rich, reddish-brown, the aroma was intense, and a faint luster seemed to flow between the textures of the meat.

Curious, he picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, finding the meat tender and flavorful. A warm current of energy dispersed into his limbs and bones, leaving his whole body feeling cozy, and his blood and qi seemed to stir with newfound vitality.

"This isn't pork?" There wasn't a hint of gamey odor.

In this era, most people ate wild boar, which was incredibly pungent.

But simply having meat to eat was already a blessing, and after eating enough of it, one naturally grew accustomed to the taste.

"This is Red Rhino Meat, from an exotic beast called the Red-Blooded Rhino found in the deep mountains outside the city. These beasts possess vigorous blood and qi, and their meat contains vital essence, which is of great benefit to us martial artists for refining our blood and strengthening our bones and sinews."

Hearing this, Li Yuan took a few more bites. It felt even more potent than the Silver-Backed Bear Meat he had been buying.

He felt his Consumption skill activate, his body digesting the food at high speed like a machine, though the efficiency was several times slower than that of the Silver-Backed Bear Meat.

[Skill: Consumption (Minor Achievement)]
[Progress: 160/1000 points]

"Truly a fine item. Where can one buy this meat?" Li Yuan asked.

Now that he had broken through to the Stone Skin Realm, the Silver-Backed Bear Meat he had been eating no longer seemed to keep pace with his accumulation of blood and qi.

If he could eat this Red Rhino Meat every day, his rate of accumulation would increase significantly.

"This meat... is exclusively supplied to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, and it is only available for purchase if one spends a certain amount of silver that month. It cannot be bought on the open market," Zhao Qin shook his head. "It is essentially priceless and unavailable; even if it does appear, it is snapped up immediately."

So, this meant he could only eat this meat once?

The improvement of his Consumption skill made Li Yuan even more sensitive to his food.

Soon, the two began to chat as they ate.

Both were martial artists, so they only drank a single cup of wine as a gesture of courtesy.

Once they had finished, the smile on Zhao Qin's face gradually faded, replaced by a look of worry.

He set down his chopsticks, sighed, and said, "Junior Brother, to be honest, the reason I invited you here today, aside from our fraternal bond, is that I have a favor to ask."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat. He set down his chopsticks as well and said solemnly, "Please speak, Third Senior Brother. If I can be of help, this junior brother will not refuse."

"You know that my family operates several shops in the outer city; we are, at best, a small family.

Our family's assets inevitably require people with martial arts skills to guard them. Originally, my family hired two experts for these positions, and one of them was Huang Ren."

Zhao Qin continued, "Now that Junior Brother Huang is severely injured, I fear his legs...

Sigh, that position has become vacant, and my family cannot find a reliable candidate to fill the gap for the time being.

You are already in the Stone Skin Realm, which makes you quite an expert in the outer city, and I know your character is steady and reliable.

Therefore, I would like to invite you, Junior Brother, to take up a position with my family."

He paused, then laid out the terms: "You would not need to report for duty every day. You can continue your training at the Martial Arts Hall as usual, only stepping in when necessary—such as escorting important cargo or suppressing trouble if someone comes to provoke us.

As for the compensation, it would be forty taels of silver per month, twenty catties of fine rice, and in addition... an extra ten catties of Black-Striped Tiger meat per month."

Ten catties of Black-Striped Tiger meat per month was worth a hundred taels of silver.

Added to the forty taels of silver and twenty catties of fine rice, this compensation was absolutely generous for a martial artist in the Stone Skin Realm.

Especially the Black-Striped Tiger meat, which would be of great help to Li Yuan's current cultivation.

Zhao Qin was a kind man who had treated him well, and this would not interfere with his training while providing him with precious resources.

Reason and sentiment alike suggested there was no reason to refuse.

He thought for a moment, looked up at the expectant Zhao Qin, and nodded: "I am honored by your trust, Third Senior Brother. I accept this offer."

Zhao Qin heard this, and a look of relief immediately appeared on his face. He raised his wine cup and said, "Good! That's great! Come, Senior Brother toasts you!"

The two clinked glasses and downed the wine in one gulp.

Li Yuan suddenly remembered the matter regarding their Eldest Senior Brother and asked in a lowered voice, "What is your take on the Eldest Senior Brother's situation?"

Zhao Qin pondered for a moment after hearing this and said, "Junior Brother, you must understand that in this world, there are too many people trying to climb the social ladder by clinging to influential families.

There are always some who, in order to gain the favor of a noble family, will take the initiative to perform acts of betrayal as a token of loyalty.

Of course, unless absolutely necessary, they won't truly burn all their bridges. After all, Master is still around, and if he is pushed into a corner, the price to pay would be quite steep."

Li Yuan understood instantly.

He stopped asking further questions, and the two tacitly changed the subject, beginning to discuss their insights into martial arts cultivation.

Just then, the curtain of a private room nearby was lifted, and a group of people walked out. The person in the lead was dressed in fine silk and brocade, his expression carrying a hint of arrogance.

He was followed by several young men and women dressed in equally flashy attire, one of whom was Lin Mingsheng.

Lin Mingsheng spotted Zhao Qin and Li Yuan by the window at a glance. He paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face as he walked over.

"Senior Brother Zhao, Junior Brother Li, what a coincidence! You are here to eat as well?" Lin Mingsheng greeted them with a smile.

A young man in a blue silk shirt beside him looked at Zhao Qin and Li Yuan with curiosity.

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

Lin Mingsheng made the introductions, but only mentioned that Li Yuan was currently at the Ox Skin Realm.

"Oh? Stone Skin Realm?" The blue-shirted youth and the others lingered their gazes on Zhao Qin for a moment longer upon hearing this.

The recent uproar between the Five Animals Academy's Eldest Senior Brother and the young master of the Zhao Family had been making waves, but that was of no consequence to them.

The Stone Skin Realm, while not the pinnacle within the Inner City noble families, was sufficient for someone to serve as a middle-level manager or steward.

As for Li Yuan, he was directly ignored by them.

The blue-shirted youth smiled and cupped his hands toward Zhao Qin, saying, "So it is Brother Zhao, my apologies for the lack of courtesy.

This Humble One is Lin Yu, and my father serves in the Patrol Division.

Since Brother Zhao is Mingsheng's senior brother, you are not an outsider. May I ask where you are currently employed?"

Lin Yu's move was essentially poaching someone right in front of Lin Mingsheng.

Lin Mingsheng realized what was happening and his face flushed red, but he dared not speak; Lin Yu's family status was far higher than his own.

Within noble families, the competition was equally fierce; to put it bluntly, it was all about poaching talent from one another to see who could offer the better price.

Zhao Qin returned the gesture: "Young Master Lin is too kind. Zhao is currently focusing on cultivation at the Martial Arts Hall and occasionally helping with some trivial family matters."

The implication was that he still had family obligations to attend to.

Lin Yu didn't mind; he had just been testing the waters, after all—what if he had succeeded?