A Small Test, Fusion

The Small Trial is a monthly assessment held by the martial arts hall.

On this day, the mistress of the hall personally presides over the proceedings.

The disciples spar in pairs, trading real blows; whoever manages to take first place receives a generous reward prepared by the hall.

Lu Chen asked curiously, "I wonder what kind of prize the winner of this Small Trial actually gets. Do you know, Brother Jin?"

"Of course I know. The prize is a Plum Blossom Pill, one of the hall's secret medicines."

"What are its effects?"

Jin Ming rubbed his chin. "I don't know the specifics, but I've heard the medicinal potency is far more domineering than the decoctions we drink every day. Most of those in the hall who have broken through to the External Strength realm over the years are the ones who consistently took first place in the monthly Small Trials."

"I see."

Lu Chen's eyes brightened slightly.

Jin Ming saw what he was thinking and shook his head with a smile. "I advise you not to set your heart on that Plum Blossom Pill. There are hidden talents in this hall; it won't be easy to win."

"I know what I'm doing," Lu Chen nodded.

Afternoon.

Jin Ming came to invite Lu Chen for a drink again.

Lu Chen made an excuse about having matters to attend to and politely declined.

He wasn't exactly lying; today was the end of the month, the day to collect protection money.

In this world, commoners must pay grain and taxes to the imperial court, but they also cannot avoid paying protection money to the local gangs.

For the protection money on Sheep Pen Street, Lu Chen did not set a fixed, rigid amount; he determined the fee based on the business:

Those who made a living through manual labor paid one hundred and fifty coppers a month.

Street vendors selling food paid two hundred and forty coppers.

Those with a storefront paid three hundred coppers.

Once this money was paid, Lu Chen ensured their shop remained peaceful, and no one dared to cause trouble.

Of course, this only fended off those ruffians and scoundrels.

If someone truly offended a figure with a powerful background, Lu Chen wouldn't be able to shield them.

The merchants on the street were actually willing to pay this money. Otherwise, if they encountered someone eating for free who walked away after dropping their bowl, or a thief who snatched goods and vanished into a crowd, who could they go to for justice?

Beat them up? They would just come back every day to disrupt your business.

Go to the magistrate? No one in the county office cares about such trivial matters.

Compared to Han Lao Wu, Lu Chen was already very kind.

If that man were to come, the protection money for every household would at least triple, and on holidays or the first and fifteenth of the month, they would have to add another twenty percent as a tribute—that was what you called scraping the bone to suck the marrow.

Even with Lu Chen being so righteous, every month when it came time to collect, there were always people on the street who couldn't pay the full amount.

They would either wring their hands and apologize with a smile, saying business was slow this month and they were short on cash, promising to make it up next time, or they would empty their pockets to reveal only a few coppers, saying sheepishly, "This is all I have... please take this for now."

Lu Chen usually didn't press the issue; he would give a slight nod, wave his hand, and let them off the hook.

It was the same this time. Lu Chen went from house to house to collect, but most only gave half, or pushed it off to the next month, either buying on credit or falling into arrears.

Blind Man said coldly, "These people are just taking advantage of your kind heart, Big Brother. When Han Lao Wu was here, who among them dared to delay even half a copper? They didn't even need Han Lao Wu to come knocking; they would all bow and scrape to deliver it to his residence themselves."

Lu Chen smiled and comforted him:

"It's enough. Now that we have the lottery stall, our income is far greater than that bit of protection money."

Blind Man was still somewhat indignant:

"Big Brother, leave the collection to me next time. I guarantee they won't dare to be short even a single copper."

Before Blind Man met Lu Chen, he had colluded with Baldy and Miao Lao San, specializing in the business of debt collection.

His methods were so vicious that he was famous throughout South City.

"No need," Lu Chen said sternly. "Our business is ultimately rooted in this street. If we make things too tense over collecting money and the neighbors hold a grudge, our stall's business will plummet. That would be losing the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed."

Hearing this, Blind Man fell silent and said no more.

Night fell, the north wind howled, and the cold bit to the bone.

The cold wind blew in gusts, rattling the paper windows with a loud flapping sound.

Lu Chen heated the kang, wrapped himself in a thick cotton quilt, and sat down at the kang table. Scattered on the table were some coins, and beside them sat a pot of white liquor and a plate of sliced braised pork liver. He sipped the wine and chewed the pork liver, slowly and methodically sorting the coins one by one.

After paying the tuition, four taels and six mace remained.

A ten-pull cost 1,350 coppers, so three times would be 4,050 coppers.

Just right, there would still be a little left over.

Lu Chen summoned the card pool and began to draw.

Naturally, he was still pulling from the martial arts card pool.

His luck was poor this time; in three ten-pulls, he didn't draw a single purple card.

It was a rather rare green card.

Trait Fusion: Allows two traits to be fused into one.

Note: Only traits drawn from the Proud Snow Cold Plum card pool can be fused.

Lu Chen thought to himself, So that's how it is; I can only fuse traits drawn from this specific pool.

With a thought, he opened his character page and scrolled down.

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

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

Since he was going to fuse them, he should prioritize the high-level cards.

As it happened, he had two purple cards on hand.

Cold Plum Bone-Piercing Force: Attacks carry a special effect; those struck feel as if ice needles are piercing their veins, the chill penetrating to the bone.

Plum Branch Trembling Shadow: Attack speed increased by 20%.

If these two could be combined, the resulting power would surely be extraordinary.

Without hesitation, he used the "Trait Fusion Card" immediately.

New Purple Card: Cold Plum Trembling Shadow Force

Effect: Attacks carry an ice needle effect, and attack speed is increased by 20%.

Lu Chen glanced at the effects of the new card, feeling slightly disappointed.

So, this trait fusion was nothing more than simply stacking the effects of two cards together.

He had expected some sort of new transformation to occur.

But on second thought, it wasn't bad; at the very least, it saved a trait card slot.

Furthermore, his attributes and martial arts progress had increased significantly.

Strength +4, Vitality +7, Fist Technique +2, Hearing +4, Agility +7, Fist Technique +4, Leg Technique +6, Arm Strength +5.

Plum Blossom Fist Rudimentary 66.9% + 15%

Treading Snow Seeking Plum Rudimentary 14% + 4%

His overall strength had improved by a small margin.

Lu Chen felt much more confident about tomorrow's minor trial.

He gathered the remaining copper coins on the table into his purse one by one, then slowly finished the plate of braised pork liver and drank the last drop of wine in the pot.

White liquor was the favorite drink of the poor in South City.

It was potent and cheap.

In his past life, Lu Chen never touched white liquor, finding it too spicy and harsh on the throat; at most, he would occasionally drink some beer.

But ever since arriving in this world, he had gradually grown accustomed to the taste.

High-ranking officials drank soft and mellow yellow wine, while the poor craved this throat-burning intensity.

No matter how difficult the white liquor was to swallow, it was never as difficult as life itself.

It went to the head quickly and hit hard; after breaking one's bones with labor during the day, if one couldn't use this fierce kick to numb oneself at night, the long, scorching bitterness would be truly unbearable.

The next day.

At the martial arts hall.

The disciples were already lined up in the courtyard. In the center sat two elm wood chairs, with Master Deng and his wife seated on the left and right.

"Are all the people here?" Master Deng asked with a drawl. His eyelids were puffy and drooping, looking as if he had been out carousing again last night, his dark circles as thick as if they had been smeared with charcoal.

Liu Qi whispered from the side, "Reporting to Master, everyone is here."

Master Deng waved his hand and yawned, "If everyone is here, then begin. For this month's minor trial, the old rules apply: the top performer will be rewarded with one Plum Blossom Pill."

The mistress sat quietly to the side. Her attire looked simple at first glance, but a closer look revealed exquisite details. Sitting there, she resembled a plum branch after a snowfall—chilly and cold, yet possessing a unique charm.

Liu Qi brought over a paper-pasted lottery box containing slips of paper with numbers written on them. The disciples stepped forward one by one to draw, each clutching a slip, and paired off according to their numbers.

"The first pair—"

The two disciples who drew the character "One" responded and stepped forward.