Jin Ming

Lu Chen returned and informed Blind Man and the others that the legal trouble had been settled.

The heavy stone weighing on the brothers' hearts finally fell, and they let out long sighs of relief.

By the afternoon, the lottery stall was set up again as usual.

Returning to Sheep Dung Alley, he found the room had already been trashed beyond recognition.

It was clear that the bailiffs, having failed to find anything of value, had taken their frustration out on his belongings.

The kang bed had been kicked in half, the bedding torn to shreds, the doors and windows smashed to pieces, and even the ceramic jar where he hid his money had been dug up and shattered in the courtyard.

Lu Chen spat on the ground and cursed the bailiffs under his breath.

He found the landlord, paid the agreed price for the damages, and immediately went to look for a new place to stay.

The rent in Sheep Dung Alley was dirt cheap; a few copper coins were enough to lease a room.

As for the case against Han Lao Wu, the county yamen had made a lot of noise but produced little rain; they had rounded up some people at random to extort them, and in the end, simply executed a few scapegoats to wrap things up.

The thirty taels of silver in debt and interest meant nothing to Lu Chen.

His lottery stall could earn that back in a month or two.

The real bargain was using this opportunity to climb into the good graces of the Master's wife.

Although the Master's wife was an expert in External Strength, she had spent years cooped up in the inner courtyard, her mind as shallow as a bowl of clear water—one could see right through it at a glance.

Lu Chen saw it clearly: Master Deng was out having his fun, leaving his wife to live like a widow.

With the long nights stretching on, her bed cold and her quilt chilly, her body was cold and her heart was empty; that loneliness and hunger drove her to distraction.

A few days later.

Lu Chen was brewing medicine in the kitchen when he was caught red-handed by the cook, Old Li, while hiding a gourd of the decoction.

In the martial arts school, this was a grave taboo.

The light punishment was expulsion from the sect; the heavy punishment was to follow the family law and have one's hand and foot tendons severed.

Old Li was an outsider; he narrowed his eyes and said nothing at the time, but later found an opportunity to pull Lu Chen into a corner. His face was piled with smiles, but his words were hidden blades:

"Kid, you know the rules. Tomorrow at this time, bring two hundred wen as hush money. Otherwise, to Master Deng you go..."

Lu Chen nodded and agreed, saying he would scrape the money together by the next day.

That night, Lu Chen summoned Shuan Hu, Er Gou, and Baldy.

The three of them lay in wait in the dark alley the cook had to pass through on his way home; with a swift strike of their blades, it was clean and efficient.

The body was dragged out of the city that same night and tossed into the wild woods to feed the wolves.

The cook, Old Li, had simply vanished, and Master Deng did not care in the slightest.

A cook was nothing more than a tool that could work; if it broke or was lost, one simply replaced it. As long as the stove fire didn't go out, who held the ladle didn't matter.

Besides, Old Li's wages hadn't been settled yet, which actually saved him a sum.

When Master Deng wanted to hire a new cook, Lu Chen took the opportunity to recommend Shuan Hu for the job.

Shuan Hu had previously apprenticed in the back kitchen of Hongbin Restaurant in East City. The head chef there was a widower in his fifties who had a penchant for men; if one wanted to learn how to stir-fry, one had to let him have his way.

Shuan Hu was a tough man who couldn't swallow that filth, so he simply quit and came to follow Lu Chen.

Although he hadn't officially completed his apprenticeship, he had seen enough to learn a few tricks, and handling the daily meals for the household was no problem—plus, his wages were lower than Old Li's.

Master Deng took one look, saw the skills were sufficient and the price was cheap, and gave his consent.

Since Shuan Hu was one of his own brothers and could be trusted, Lu Chen conveniently handed over the task of brewing and portioning the medicine to him as well.

He only gave one instruction: every time the medicine was brewed, secretly set aside one gourd.

After that, Lu Chen focused on practicing his fist techniques while running errands for the Master's wife.

On this day, heavy snow fell.

The martial arts school grew quiet; most of the disciples had asked for leave, hiding away at home to invite close friends, gather around the hearth for warmth, and chat about daily life—it was quite pleasant.

Only a few scattered disciples showed up.

Lu Chen was practicing his fist techniques in the courtyard as usual. As the snowflakes drifted down, he repeatedly polished the first three moves of the Plum Blossom Fist under the plum tree.

A disciple walked slowly toward him, wearing a half-new, half-old cotton robe with a grey squirrel lining and a silver squirrel ear-warmer on his head.

The disciple stopped two steps away, a smile playing on his lips as he asked:

"Is your excellency Lu Chen?"

Lu Chen raised his eyes to look; the face was familiar, but he couldn't recall the name.

These rich kids in the school had always looked down on him, a hoodlum from South City.

It was a rare thing for one of them to take the initiative to strike up a conversation today.

"Something you need?" Lu Chen asked.

The man piled a smile onto his face, cupped his hands, and said:

"This Humble One is Jin Ming, having long heard of Brother Lu's great name. It is fate that we meet today, so I wish to invite you for a drink. Would you be willing to grace me with your presence?"

"Speak your mind," Lu Chen said.

Jin Ming's smile widened. "Brother Lu is a man of few words, but I am truly sincere about wanting to make your acquaintance."

"Talking in circles is pointless," Lu Chen said with a flat expression. "State your business. Otherwise, this drink won't be worth having."

Jin Ming's smile did not falter. "Brother Lu is truly a straightforward man! Just for that temperament of yours, I am determined to be your friend, and this drink must be had!"

Jin Ming was relentless; wherever Lu Chen went, he followed, impossible to shake off.

Lu Chen grew dizzy from his pestering. Thinking it over, he decided that since it was just a meal, he might as well see what kind of medicine the man was hiding in his gourd, so he agreed.

By evening, Jin Ming pulled Lu Chen into a carriage and arrived at a restaurant in East City.

Upon entering, he requested a private room and ordered four cold dishes, four hot stir-fries, and a hot pot.

At the table, Jin Ming toasted him repeatedly. Lu Chen did not refuse, eating and drinking as he pleased, but Jin Ming only made small talk and never mentioned his true purpose. Once they were full, Jin Ming personally escorted Lu Chen back to his residence in Sheep Dung Alley.

The next day, the snow stopped.

Jin Ming came to find Lu Chen for drinks again.

Lu Chen felt a sense of wariness and politely declined, claiming he was feeling unwell.

At dusk, Lu Chen bought a cart of coal at the coal shop in Sheep Dung Alley. As he pushed it back to the alley entrance, he saw Jin Ming's carriage stuck crookedly in the mud, blocking his path.

Jin Ming hopped off the carriage carrying a food box and laughed heartily:

"Brother Lu, a braised pork knuckle fresh out of the pot from Tianhe Studio. It's still hot; I brought it especially for you."

"Mn, you've gone to the trouble," Lu Chen nodded, his attitude neither warm nor cold.

By then, Jin Ming's coachman had hired two idlers from the street corner to help. The three of them worked together, pushing and lifting, until they freed the carriage from the mud.

Jin Ming left the food box, cupped his hands toward Lu Chen, and boarded the carriage to leave.

That night, Lu Chen and his brothers sat around sharing the braised pork knuckle. The glistening meat tucked into sesame flatbreads filled their mouths with fragrance with every bite.

As Lu Chen chewed, he pondered: what exactly was Jin Ming plotting with such excessive attentiveness?

The following days.

Jin Ming frequently came to find Lu Chen to eat, practice boxing, and chat, acting with great enthusiasm.

To anyone watching, it seemed he was genuinely trying to befriend Lu Chen.

But Lu Chen was not foolish. He knew Jin Ming must have an ulterior motive, so while he did not expose him and continued to play along, he remained on high alert, coldly observing the man's every move to see what game he was playing.

One day, after the two finished sparring, they sat under the veranda to rest.

Jin Ming wiped away his sweat and suddenly said, "Tomorrow is the small trial at the hall. How is Brother Lu preparing?"

Lu Chen steadied his breathing and replied briefly, "Adequate. And you, Brother Jin?"

Jin Ming waved his hand with a smile, his expression carrying a hint of laziness:

"Me? Forget it. At this rate, I might touch the threshold of the External Strength realm in another seven or eight years."

Jin Ming was the third young master of Daxing Rice Shop in East City. He had two older brothers; the eldest had already taken over the family business, while the second was a disciple of the Flying Cloud Sect in the martial world, having stepped into the External Strength realm years ago and established himself as a capable fighter.

Compared to his two brothers, Jin Ming was considered quite the disappointment.

He only showed up at the martial arts hall to check in, his heart never truly in his martial arts training.