Han Lao Wu Joins the School

The next day, the Lottery business grew even more prosperous.

The news spread through South City like wildfire.

Spectators, fortune-seekers, and those hoping to try their luck packed Sheep Pen Street so tightly not even water could pass through.

South City was where the poor clustered together. They did the dirty, grueling work, their bones aching from exhaustion by day's end, day after day. Life had no flavor, as bland as a bowl of hot-pot rinse water.

This Lottery stall was unlike those gambling dens in North City.

Here, one copper coin bought a bit of fun. It satisfied the gambling itch without fear of getting sucked in.

It was only a few copper coins either way, no different from buying a bowl of tea. Even if they lost, it did not hurt much.

But look at those gambling houses—every last one of them had hearts black enough to drip ink!

The moment you stepped through their doors, you were caught in their snare.

They had countless tricks to get you addicted. Unless they scraped you clean and forced you to sell your sons and daughters, they would not consider it finished.

When Lu Chen closed his stall and counted the accounts that night, he had unexpectedly earned more than four taels of silver.

Blind Man counted coins until his hand cramped.

The copper coins on the kang table were piled into a small mountain.

Lu Chen stared at that pile of coins, his heart itching like cats were clawing at it. He wanted nothing more than to do a ten-pull immediately.

He gulped down a mouthful of strong tea and forcibly suppressed the urge.

The martial arts card pool offered better returns than the basic card pool. It would be more worthwhile to draw after unlocking it.

But good times did not last.

Early on the third morning.

Lu Chen had barely set up his stall when he saw another operation being laid out at a street corner not far away.

A glaring sheet of red cloth unfurled with a rustle. Eighty large characters were scrawled crookedly across it, and even the cry imitated Baldy's tone:

"One coin for a chance at thirty! Draw now, get paid now!"

At their head stood a tall, skinny man with triangular eyes. A dogskin winter cap sat on his head, and he wore a sapphire-blue padded robe that hung to his feet. A short club was tucked behind his waist.

This man was Han Lao Wu of Dog Urine Alley.

He was a notorious scourge of South City, specializing in the wicked business of loan sharking. His interest-on-interest debts were debts owed to the King of Hell, and no one knew how many families he had driven to ruin.

When he encountered someone unable to repay a debt,

he would seize their wives and daughters, then sell them into the shameful hidden brothels.

In the past, Han Lao Wu had not dared provoke Lu Chen.

The old bastard had some capital, but he pinched every penny. His underlings could not get any profit from following him. They could throw their weight around when bullying poor commoners, but when it came to risking their lives, few were willing to fight to the death for him.

Naturally, they were no match for Lu Chen's group of brothers.

If the two sides truly came to blows, Han Lao Wu's men would surely scatter at the first shout. He was no match at all.

But after stuffing his daughter, who had just turned thirteen, into the yamen as Master Feng's concubine and climbing that connection, Han Lao Wu's back immediately straightened.

He had not been satisfied with seizing Lu Chen's territory before.

Now, seeing how lucrative the Lottery business was, he immediately brought a group of thugs over to snatch a share of the meat.

The two groups faced each other across half the street.

The veins at Shuan Hu's temples bulged with fury. "Fuck his mother! He steals our turf and cuts off our livelihood, and now he wants a piece of this new business too? Does he really think we're made of mud?"

As he spoke, Shuan Hu drew his blade and prepared to charge forward.

Blind Man's withered hand hurriedly pressed down on Shuan Hu's shoulder as he said to Lu Chen:

"Big Brother, the streets are packed with people right now. Better to take a step back first and let me find out which mistress's house he is staying at tonight. On a moonless night with high winds, there are plenty of ways to teach him the rules."

Lu Chen swept his gaze over Han Lao Wu's arrogant display and gave a cold laugh.

"Why the rush? Let that old dog copy us first."

"But our business..."

"The Lottery business is no secret skill. In a few days, red-cloth stalls will fill the whole county. There's no point fighting to the death over this right now and getting brothers hurt."

Blind Man understood at once.

"Big Brother is right. Our reputation is far cleaner than Han Lao Wu's. Business will definitely be better on our side."

Sure enough, although gongs and drums thundered before Han Lao Wu's stall,

the poor brothers passing by detoured around it as though avoiding the plague.

Who did not know that Han Lao Wu was one of South City's tyrants?

Who would dare get involved with such a bone-eating monster?

The occasional few who came forward to place bets were all hoodlums with their hats crooked and their eyes slanting sideways.

Just as the old saying went: turtle sees mung bean—eye to eye.

They truly were a nest of snakes and rats!

Lu Chen's side, however, presented an entirely different sight. Old Sun, who sold wontons, shouted at the top of his lungs in support: "If you're playing the Lottery, you've got to pick Lord Lu's stall! The rules are clear, and he pays out without hesitation!"

Several laborers and peddlers who had won before also willingly became living signboards.

One shouted that he had gotten thirty copper coins for free yesterday.

Another praised Lu Chen for doing things fairly and not cheating the poor.

People surged in a dark, teeming mass before Lu Chen's stall.

They shoved and jostled one another as they tossed copper coins into the wooden box.

The crisp clinking and clanking never stopped.

Han Lao Wu watched the packed crowd before Lu Chen's stall from afar, grinding his teeth in hatred.

His fists clenched until they creaked. Several times, he wanted to rush over and overturn that lousy stall.

But when he raised his eyes, he saw the gleaming blades at the waists of Shuan Hu and the others.

The fury that had risen to his forehead deflated with a puff.

He had been scraping by on these streets for half his life.

Han Lao Wu understood better than anyone: when blades were truly swinging and blood was being spilled, who would care what backing you had?

No matter how imposing Master Feng's name was, it could not stop desperate men, red-eyed with rage, from driving knives into your heart.

Every one of Lu Chen's men lived by licking blood from the edge of a blade.

If things truly got ugly, who knew whether some simpleton would lose his head and give him white in, red out.

Then Han Lao Wu's old life would be thoroughly accounted for.

Official power could hold down a scene, but it could not hold down those who feared no death.

After surviving in this world for so many years, Han Lao Wu had long trained a pair of venomous eyes.

He knew perfectly well whom he could squeeze and whom he had to yield to.

He had seized Lu Chen's territory, and the grudge had already been formed.

Lu Chen had surely been keeping this debt in his heart all along.

If he overturned Lu Chen's stall now, it would no longer be an ordinary clash.

It would become a blood feud that would not end until one side died.

Overturning a stall was the same as slapping someone across the face in public. In this jianghu world where face mattered, it meant blocking off even the last sliver of room for reconciliation.

So this could not be handled by force.

It had to be taken by wits!

Han Lao Wu narrowed his eyes. After noon had passed, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted:

"Today's prize is doubled! Whoever guesses right gets one hundred copper coins!"

This move was indeed vicious. The prize of one hundred copper coins was like a magnet, immediately drawing away many greedy people. Even several regular customers at Lu Chen's stall began craning their necks to look.

Shuan Hu anxiously rubbed his hands together. "Big Brother, should we raise our stakes too?"

But Lu Chen leisurely counted the copper coins.

"Let him make a fuss. With a prize of one hundred coins, he loses money every time someone wins. We'll hold steady and let the stream flow long."

That afternoon, quite a few people crowded around Han Lao Wu's stall. It was rather lively.

As for whether he had earned or lost money, only Han Lao Wu himself knew.

That evening.

After dividing the copper coins.

Lu Chen stopped Blind Man, who was about to rise.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to register at Plum Blossom Martial Hall. Put more care into the stall's affairs."

"Understood. Rest assured, Big Brother."

Lu Chen added, "Han Lao Wu is vicious and underhanded. Be especially careful of him setting obstacles in your path, and be even more wary of him playing dirty."

Blind Man said, "I know. I'll have Shuan Hu and a few brothers keep a close watch around the stall."

Lu Chen nodded.

"With the stall in your hands, I can rest easy. Once I've put down roots at the martial hall, we'll slowly settle the full account with Han Lao Wu."

The next day.

Lu Chen stood before Plum Blossom Martial Hall once more.

He raised a hand and knocked on the wooden door. With a creak, it opened a crack. It was still that pockmarked young man.

"Have you prepared the money?"

"All of it." Lu Chen opened his bundle, revealing ten strings of copper coins.

The young man took out a small scale, lifted one string of coins, and hung it from the balance.

For transactions involving large sums in the marketplace, copper coins had to be weighed. They were judged only by weight, never counted by hand.

First, counting a thousand coins one by one was truly troublesome. Second, they had to guard against fraud.

Some crafty people would grind down the edges of copper coins to steal the metal, or simply cast lightweight coins and small coins themselves.

If they only counted the number, a thousand coins might be complete, yet they would lose a great deal of copper.

The young man weighed the strings one by one. Only after confirming that they were full weight did he step aside.

"Enter."

Lu Chen crossed the threshold and found himself looking at a neat siheyuan courtyard.

Blue bricks paved the ground, the rooms stood in orderly rows, and several old plum trees stretched their branches across the courtyard. The entire place was strangely quiet.

Lu Chen followed the young man through the courtyard. When they pushed open the door to the main room, a wave of warmth met them head-on.

The room was more spacious than it looked from outside. In the center, silver charcoal burned brightly in a brass brazier, filling the room with warmth. By the window stood a carved pearwood couch covered with thick velvet cushions, where a middle-aged man reclined beneath a sapphire-blue satin blanket.

His face was pale and smooth. With his eyes closed, he hummed an out-of-tune opera tune, his fingers lightly tapping time against the edge of the couch.

On a small rosewood table beside the couch sat several dishes of delicate snacks: amber walnuts, braised beef, flaky almond cakes, preserved plums, osmanthus cakes, fried peanuts—meat, vegetables, sweet, and savory, everything was there.

The young man bowed and reported, "Master, a newcomer has arrived."

The master of Plum Blossom Hall did not even open his eyes. "Did he bring enough for the entrance fee?"

"Enough."

Only then did the master of Plum Blossom Hall lazily lift his eyelids. When he caught sight of Lu Chen's patched old cotton jacket, a trace of disdain appeared in his eyes.

"Where are you from?"

"South City."

"What business does your family do?"

"We scrape out a meal on the streets."

"Tch."

The master of Plum Blossom Hall curled his lip. "Remember to pay your tuition on the first of every month. As long as the money is there, you can stay at the martial hall for as long as you like."

With that, he closed his eyes again and waved a hand, dismissing them both.

Lu Chen quietly withdrew into the courtyard. The pockmarked young man said in a low voice:

"My name is Liu Qi. I'm a servant at the martial hall. The master's surname is Deng, given name Yan. Just call him Master Deng. It's still early, so wait here for now. Training will begin once the senior and junior brothers have all arrived."

After saying that, Liu Qi carried off the ten strings of coins.

Morning light filtered through the plum branches, casting mottled shadows across the blue-brick ground. Lu Chen found a stone step and sat down. Suddenly, a line of golden words appeared before his eyes:

[Mission completed]

[Card pool unlocked: Proud Snow Cold Plum]

Lu Chen hurriedly opened the card-drawing page to inspect it.

Chronicles of Jianghu Heroes

[Basic Card Pool: Entering the Jianghu]

[Single draw: 150 copper coins; ten draws: 1350 copper coins]

[Martial Arts Card Pool: Proud Snow Cold Plum]

[Single draw: 150 copper coins; ten draws: 1350 copper coins]