Dividing the Spoils, Three Purple Cards

Baldy smacked his lips. "That old bastard had actually squirreled away such a hefty fortune."

"Whoever lends money at usury isn't some bone-scraping, marrow-sucking bastard?" Shuan Hu spat.

"What's under the doghouse is only loose change. The real bulk is deposited at the bank and the temple. I reckon there's at least five or six hundred taels between them." Blind Man's tone carried a trace of reluctance.

Besides that, Han Lao Wu had accumulated quite a bit of property in South City: houses, shops, land deeds—worth a considerable sum of silver.

Now that he was dead, those properties were ownerless. In the end, they would most likely fall into Master Feng's hands. Han Lao Wu had no son, and his only daughter had long ago been taken by Master Feng as a concubine.

With Master Feng's pluck-every-feather-that-flies-over nature, there was no way he would loosen his jaws around this slab of fat meat.

Shuan Hu spat. "Damn shame. Changle Bank and Baoguang Temple got to pick up a huge bargain for nothing!"

"One hundred taels is already plenty." Lu Chen smiled. "Hurry up and fill in the hole. We'll head back and divide the money."

The brothers answered in unison, swiftly filling the pit and carrying the jars back to Sheep Pen Street beneath the cover of night.

Under the oil lamp, broken silver and copper coins covered the table.

Lu Chen weighed out thirty taels, wrapped them in blue cloth, and pushed the bundle before Blind Man. "Take this money to Li Dehai tomorrow."

"We're really giving it to him? That old bastard was obviously extorting us." Blind Man frowned.

"We have to." Lu Chen's tone was calm. "Green River Sect reportedly has over a dozen External Force experts, with Hidden Force elders holding the fort. Tearing off all pretense with them now would be courting death."

"How many people did Han Lao Wu drive to death with his usury? His enemies could fill the entire Dog Urine Alley."

"Now that he's dead, even if the authorities investigate, it'll be a muddled account. Plenty of victims would be delighted for him to die suddenly."

"But Li Dehai is different. I already had an old grudge with his son, Li Tianrui. If his father dies, Li Tianrui will take a knife to me first no matter what."

"This money is buying us temporary peace."

Blind Man said nothing more after hearing that and put away the cloth bundle.

The remaining seventy taels were divided according to the old rules. Lu Chen took twenty percent, Blind Man received fifteen percent, and the remaining sixty-five percent went to Shuan Hu and the others.

However, that sixty-five percent was not split evenly. Rewards had to be allotted according to merit: those who killed, those who kept watch, those who stood lookout—all had contributed differently, so naturally their shares differed as well. The ones who killed bore greater risks, so it was only right that they received more.

Everyone accepted this rule.

Lu Chen's twenty percent came to fourteen taels.

Blind Man received ten taels and five mace.

Shuan Hu had killed and kept watch, receiving eight taels. Baldy had taken out two ruffians and received seven taels. Miao Lao San had scouted the way and delivered word, receiving five taels...

By the end, even the brothers who had not done much received two taels of silver—enough to keep an entire family well-fed for half a year.

"Now that you have money, don't spend it recklessly. New Year's is coming soon, and rice prices will rise. Save it, have yourselves a fat New Year—and hide it well. Watch out for thieves setting their eyes on it."

Lu Chen reminded them.

The closer the year-end drew, the more rampant the thieves on the streets became. Everyone wanted to carry a bulging money pouch into a good New Year.

"Boss, you're underestimating us! If a thief dares sneak into my house, I'll make sure he can't even lay hands on a single copper coin!" Shuan Hu grinned.

After everyone left, Lu Chen blew out the oil lamp. With a thought, he summoned the card-drawing interface.

His luck had been exceptionally good that night. After throwing in fourteen taels of silver, he had actually drawn three purple cards.

The first card: Plum Branch Trembling Shadow (Trait Card · Purple)

Effect: Attack speed increased by 20%.

The second card: Attribute Card · Purple

Effect: Constitution +3.

The third card: Cold Plum Bone-Piercing Force (Trait Card · Purple)

Effect: Attacks carry a special effect. Wherever the force of the fist passes, bone-piercing cold follows; those struck feel as though their meridians have been pricked by ice needles.

Both Trait Cards were formidable tools in actual combat.

Especially the Cold Plum Bone-Piercing Force, which came with an attack effect.

Unfortunately, he had only one card slot. To expand it, he would have to try his luck in the basic card pool.

Currently equipped in the card slot was Cold Plum Force.

Its effect was: When cultivating External Force in a plum blossom environment, efficiency increased by 10%. While surrounded by the fragrance of plum blossoms, qi and blood recovered slightly faster.

Lu Chen considered it for a moment and decided to equip Cold Plum Bone-Piercing Force first. When he trained at the martial arts school later, he would switch back to Cold Plum Force.

For someone like him who lived by the streets, the greatest fear was being struck from the shadows.

He had always slept with one eye open, a blade tucked beneath his pillow, ready to fight at any moment.

Fourteen taels of silver had bought him ten ten-pulls, leaving him with five hundred copper coins.

Aside from the three purple cards, he had also drawn a new attribute: Hearing.

Most of the other white and green cards were attribute points, along with several Trait Cards:

Hard Skin (White)

Effect: Years of external martial arts tempering make the skin coarse and tough. Slightly reduces flesh wounds caused by ordinary punches, kicks, and clubs.

Grass Root Stomach (White)

Effect: The stomach and intestines have long grown accustomed to rough food. When consuming ordinary dried rations or coarse grains, stamina recovery is slightly increased.

Night Owl (Green)

Effect: Accustomed to nighttime activity. Vision is less affected in dim environments, allowing one to barely make things out.

Nimble Hands (Green)

Effect: Fingers are relatively nimble. Efficiency is slightly increased when performing delicate work such as weaving, mending, and lockpicking.

Character page updated.

Attributes: Strength 71, Qi and Blood 133, Qi Force 19, Critical Strike 31, Agility 54, Constitution 8, Luck 2, Fist Technique 30, Leg Technique 35, Eyesight 20, Arm Strength 44, Appearance 18, Hearing 13.

Martial Arts: Plum Blossom Fist—Incomplete (Rudimentary Proficiency 66.5%)

Treading Snow Seeking Plum (Rudimentary Proficiency 14%)

Traits (1/1): Cold Plum Bone-Piercing Force (Purple)

Inventory: Trait Card "Cold Resistance" (White), "Cold Plum Force" (Green), "Plum Branch Trembling Shadow" (Purple), "Durability" (White), "Hard Skin" (White), "Grass Root Stomach" (White), "Night Owl" (Green), "Nimble Hands" (Green).

Lu Chen felt an unprecedented sense of power fill his entire body.

At that moment, he was confident he could punch through an earthen wall and kick apart a wooden stake.

Those street-fighting ruffians probably could not even withstand a single move from him now.

His strength had long surpassed that of ordinary martial artists several times over.

Yet it still seemed as though an invisible membrane lay between him and something beyond.

Compared to true experts who had cultivated External Force, he was still lacking a little polish.

What he lacked was not strength, but that kind of "force" that could twist all one's power into a single strand and send it bursting through the body.

It was a profoundly mysterious feeling.

Lu Chen lay on the kang bed, curled beneath his blanket, his gaze sweeping over the character page.

Plum Blossom Fist—Incomplete (Rudimentary Proficiency 66.5%)

He was still short by 33.5%, he calculated silently.

Once he broke through the hundred-point threshold, he could enter the realm of Minor Achievement—the threshold for cultivating External Force.

To break through this barrier, he needed to throw more silver into the card pool.

Now, in the streets and alleys of South City, a lottery stall could be seen every ten steps.

This business required little capital and turned profits quickly. In the blink of an eye, it had become a rice bowl fiercely contested by large and small gangs throughout Wen'an County.

Lu Chen planned to wait and watch for now.

Once he cultivated External Force, he would expand his territory through sheer strength and seize every lottery business in South City firmly in his hands.

South City was home to the poor. Fish and dragons mingled there, but there were no truly formidable gangs. Though many forces occupied the area, not one possessed an expert who had cultivated External Force.

Once he became an External Force expert, dealing with that rabble would be as easy as turning over his hand.

As for why he did not pursue some other business?

It was because every profitable trade had long been controlled by the major gangs or guilds of North City.

If one wanted to open for business, one first had to find the guild head controlling that trade, offer enough silver in tribute, and settle the monthly protection payment before being allowed to open a shop.

Take Futong Casino in Puppy Alley, for example.

It had paid a hundred taels as an opening gift to the Small Knife Society of North City, then promised seventy percent of its monthly profits as protection money. Only then had it obtained a permit to operate.