Oppression

Before long, Li Yuan had a market hand quickly weigh everything.

"A forty-jin roe deer: five hundred and twenty wen.

Three pheasants and two rabbits: four hundred and twenty wen altogether.

That makes nine hundred and forty wen."

With the wisdom of his past life awakened, Li Yuan had no trouble with the calculations.

Lin Youyu nodded without saying much, then waved to the men behind him, signaling them to exchange money for goods.

After taking the money, Li Yuan also paid the market's cut, the workers' fees, and the government's share.

He ended up with five hundred and sixty-four wen in hand.

After subtracting the stall fee and the fee to enter the city, he had made a net profit of over five hundred wen this time.

Nearly half his profits had been taken away. If you were a scion of a powerful family, you could refuse to pay, and the government might not make much of it.

But you were only a hunter who made his living in the mountains, one of the bottom rung. Refuse to pay, and you'd be beaten to death with clubs.

You had to pay to earn money, and earn money to survive. That was how people at the bottom got by.

Li Yuan hefted the several heavy strings of coins, then tucked them into his robe. He planned to head to the blacksmith's shop on West Street.

But just as he was about to take a step, he spotted a burly figure standing at the market entrance.

"Well, if it isn't Li Yuan! Looks like you've had a good haul!"

The newcomer was named Yan Xiang. He had a crew cut and yellowed teeth, and had joined a gang with a decent reputation. He was a notorious bully in the area.

Yan Xiang's older brother, Yan Ming, was a formal disciple of a Martial Arts Hall and quite powerful.

Relying on his brother's status, and with Yan Xiang's sharp eye for people, he bullied only those at the bottom. He'd gathered a pack of hooligans around him.

Though it was the dead of winter, he wore only a gray short jacket and trousers, yet didn't seem cold.

"Damn it!" Li Yuan cursed inwardly, then put on a smile and said, "Brother Yan, how have you been lately?"

As he spoke, Li Yuan pulled a hundred wen from his robe and handed it to Yan Xiang.

Yan Xiang had clearly come for him. If Li Yuan didn't know how to play along, he'd likely get a brutal beating.

Li Yuan couldn't beat him yet, and the man had an older brother, too. The day Li Yuan could kill him with a single palm strike would be the day he died.

What he'd taken from Li Yuan would have to be coughed back up sooner or later.

"Hahaha, not bad, not bad. Thanks to my own hard work, I finally became an apprentice at the Flying Eagle Martial Hall."

"Looks like you earned quite a bit today, little brother. And this is all you're giving me? Your big brother hasn't had it easy lately, either."

Yan Xiang's eyes narrowed. He was clearly dissatisfied, and the consequences would be severe if he wasn't appeased.

Without changing expression, Li Yuan pulled out another string of coins.

Yan Xiang had studied martial arts, had a pack of underlings, and had someone powerful backing him.

If Li Yuan didn't pay, he might leave the market with a broken leg.

With his current strength, he couldn't fight back—not yet.

Yan Xiang calmly took the coins. Laughing, he ran a hand over his head, showing off his yellowed teeth.

He slung an arm familiarly around Li Yuan's shoulders and said in a low voice, "Your big brother came to tell you some bad news."

"What is it? I'm all alone in the world. What bad news could there be for me?" Li Yuan asked.

"By rights, you shouldn't have any bad news." Yan Xiang smiled.

Then he pulled him into a corner nearby.

"Have you heard about the fighting on the frontier lately?"

"No." Li Yuan shook his head.

Wuxi County was extremely far from the imperial capital, a hundred and eight thousand li away, you could say.

But it wasn't all that far from the frontier. Not exactly close, either.

"Alas, I heard the fighting on the frontier ended in a crushing defeat!

A pile of people died! They're preparing to recruit soldiers everywhere now!

I heard it from my brother."

He paused, then continued, "You've heard about the recent taxes, right?

I hear the government plans to forcibly recruit soldiers. In any household with two or more able-bodied men, one man aged sixteen or older will be taken first, regardless of household registration.

After that, they'll take from households with just one man.

In return, they'll slightly reduce the taxes. If you don't want to go, that's possible too. You either need to be a martial artist who's reached the Three Stages of Skin Refining, which qualifies you for exemption, or pay fifty taels of silver! They call it 'buying your life money'!"

In this world, martial strength ultimately reigned supreme!

The poor studied literature, the rich practiced martial arts. Anyone who became a formal disciple of a Martial Arts Hall certainly wasn't short of money.

Even in the army, their status would be different.

Hearing this, Li Yuan was puzzled. Even so, why would Yan Xiang go out of his way to tell him?

"So there's a good chance they'll take someone like me, from a one-man household?" Li Yuan asked, voicing his confusion at the right moment.

"If you die, they won't even have to pay out the silver. What do you think?"

Li Yuan nodded, the sense of danger in his heart growing heavier by the moment.

He didn't want to become cannon fodder. With his current strength, he could die without even knowing how.

"They might start recruiting soldiers in Wuxi County before long.

"I doubt you can come up with fifty taels of silver anytime soon, can you?"

Yan Xiang grinned. "I know a good place for you, though I don't know if you'd be willing."

"That young master from the Song Family has a particular fondness for boys. In a month, you could..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Li Yuan raised a hand to cut him off. "I already know about that. I'll think it over and let you know later."

So that was why Yan Xiang had spent so long laying the groundwork: he wanted Li Yuan to sell his backside.

He'd rather die than do that.

"Fine! You'll find out soon enough whether I was telling the truth." Yan Xiang could see Li Yuan was skeptical.

He didn't take offense. Earning dozens of taels of silver in a short time was basically impossible.

Unless Li Yuan had heaven-defying luck and kept hunting down big game.

Yan Xiang patted his shoulder and left the market.

Li Yuan's face turned expressionless as he clenched his fist.

It seemed he had to become a disciple of the Martial Arts Hall as soon as possible. Otherwise, he'd pay to buy his life and then pay to learn martial arts—what a crushing loss.

Whether Yan Xiang was telling the truth or not, he couldn't afford to waste time.

After leaving the market, Li Yuan headed straight to West Street. He needed to buy some better arrows; otherwise, even if he ran into a decent animal, he wouldn't be able to hurt it.

Before he even got close, he heard the rhythmic clang of hammer striking metal from inside. A wave of heat mixed with the smell of coal swept over him.

Some newly forged farm tools and knives hung outside the shop. Inside, a bare-chested man with bulging muscles swung a hammer, pounding a red-hot iron bar.

Li Yuan stood at the entrance and waited until the man had finished a round of hammering and returned the bar to the furnace to heat it again. Only then did he step forward and ask:

"Master, how much are Willow Leaf Arrows?"

The blacksmith looked up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and sized Li Yuan up.

Then he asked in a deep, rumbling voice, "What kind do you want? Ordinary iron Willow Leaf Arrows are fifty wen apiece. The heavier, iron-reinforced ones, made specifically for piercing armor, are eighty wen."

"I'll take five ordinary Willow Leaf Arrows." He paused, then added, "Can I get them now?"

The blacksmith glanced at him and pointed to a corner piled with odds and ends. "They're over there."

Five iron arrows ought to be enough for now. He could come back for more after he brought down some big game.

Li Yuan inspected them carefully and confirmed they were in good condition.

He paid two hundred and fifty wen, then carefully wrapped up the five heavy iron arrows, their edges glinting coldly.