Causing Trouble

Just then, Zhang Shun appeared at Lin Qing's side, though he did not know when he had arrived.

He was now an inner sect disciple, and his temperament had become much more composed.

Yet, the gaze he cast toward Feng Jianyun held a hint of wariness.

He lowered his voice and said to Lin Qing, "Junior Brother Lin, that is our Second Senior Brother, Feng Jianyun. He went to the prefectural city a while ago to take the martial examinations and now holds the title of Martial Scholar."

"Keep your eyes sharp in the martial arts hall from now on and try your best not to offend him."

"He is petty, ruthless, and has strong backing. If he sets his sights on you, you will have endless trouble."

Lin Qing felt a shiver in his heart upon hearing such disparaging remarks.

He realized that Zhang Shun had likely suffered at the hands of Feng Jianyun.

Now, Zhang Shun seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally drawing him in, trying to label him as one of his own.

Lin Qing nodded solemnly, "Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother Zhang. I will keep it in mind."

Afterward, Lin Qing continued his fist practice and sparred with the other disciples.

During this time, Lin Qing could clearly feel that as his fist techniques improved, the attitude of the other disciples toward him had become much warmer.

Some senior brothers even sought him out to ask for pointers on combat techniques.

"Junior Brother Lin Qing, your punches are excellent. Could you give me some guidance?"

"Me too, Brother Lin Qing, could you teach me when you have some free time?"

"Lin Qing, do you have time to go out for a meal together?"

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

The setting sun was like fire, casting a crimson glow over the buildings.

Lin Qing was just preparing to end his training for the day.

When he saw a familiar figure running into the martial arts hall, panting heavily—it was Fan Kui, the son of Old Fan.

"Brother Qing, it's bad, hurry back."

"Xiaoya, something happened at Xiaoya's house!"

Fan Kui was gasping for air, his face full of anxiety.

Lin Qing's eyes narrowed.

Something happened at He Xiaoya's house?

That girl had always been kind to him.

Now that she was in trouble, he certainly could not sit idly by.

"Let's go!"

Without another word, he grabbed Fan Kui and rushed out, not even having time to change out of his martial arts robe.

The two ran wildly all the way back to Yongning Street.

Before they even neared the He Family Blacksmith Shop, they could hear crying and noisy shouting.

A crowd of neighbors had gathered in front of the simple courtyard gate of the He family.

Inside the courtyard, He Xiaoya and her mother were being shoved by four or five men in coarse linen clothes, nearly losing their footing.

Old Man He's wife sat slumped on the ground, wailing loudly.

He Xiaoya was stubbornly shielding her mother, her face streaked with tears and deathly pale, her clothes torn and disheveled.

The men were spitting as they shouted:

"Pay up! Old Man He took our deposits, promising to forge over a dozen wood-chopping knives. Where is he now? Where are the knives?"

"Exactly, we're waiting for those knives to go up the mountain to cut wood. We paid the money, but we haven't seen the knives, and the man has been arrested by the authorities."

"If you don't cough up the money today, we'll smash this dump of a house!"

"No money? If you don't have money, then use this girl to pay off the debt!"

"Sigh, Old Man He is truly miserable."

"Those gang members are really not human, making things impossible for Old Man He."

From the cursing of these men and the discussions of the neighbors, Lin Qing quickly pieced together the truth of the matter.

Blacksmith He had secretly taken on an illicit job for Lord Leopard of the White Horse Gang.

He had secretly forged ten prohibited iron blades.

For some reason, the news leaked, and the authorities seized them.

He had already been thrown into prison.

As for these men, they were customers who had previously ordered ordinary ironware from Blacksmith He and paid their deposits.

Now that Blacksmith He had met with misfortune, their deposits and goods had naturally gone down the drain, so they had come to the house to cause a scene and demand repayment.

Lin Qing pushed through the crowd and strode into the courtyard.

His tall figure instantly drew everyone's gaze.

The few men causing the trouble felt a faint sense of oppression radiating from him, causing their arrogance to wane and their shouting to die down.

"What is going on here?"

Lin Qing swept his cold gaze over the men, his voice calm.

When He Xiaoya saw Lin Qing, it was as if she had seen a savior.

Her tears flowed even more fiercely, and she choked up, unable to speak.

A thick-browed man who appeared to be the leader gathered his courage and said, "Young Master Lin, you judge this for us."

"Old Man He took our deposits, promising to forge ironware, but now he's locked up and the blades are nowhere to be found."

"Our money can't just vanish into thin air, can it?"

Lin Qing looked at He Xiaoya and said gently, "Xiaoya, is what they say true? How much of a deposit did Uncle He take from them?"

He Xiaoya sobbed, pulled a crumpled little ledger from her bosom, flipped through it, and choked out, "Brother Lin Qing, it's true. These woodcutters came to order a batch of wood-chopping knives, about a dozen of them, totaling two thousand one hundred and sixty wen."

"The deposit was seven hundred wen."

What?

It was only a matter of two taels of silver?

Hearing this, Lin Qing felt almost amused.

Nowadays, he could earn several taels of silver just by casually preparing a batch of secret Blood Nourishing Powder.

Although business at Benevolent World Hall had been bleak lately, relying on his dealings with Hong Yuan, he still brought in a fair amount of silver each month.

This amount of money was truly insignificant in his eyes.

However, he understood the principle that one should not flaunt their wealth.

He understood even better that a small favor can breed gratitude, but a large one can breed resentment.

If he were to pay off this debt directly for the He family, it might seem simple, but it could invite more unnecessary trouble.

It would make the He family look like a fat sheep that anyone could fleece, and it would expose his own financial strength.

He pondered for a moment, then swept his gaze toward the men again, his tone softening but carrying an underlying firmness: "Gentlemen, Uncle He has met with disaster, and his family is left with only a widow and an orphan; it is truly difficult for them."

"This deposit might not mean much to you all, but for the He family right now, it is like adding frost to snow."

He paused, then continued: "How about this? I, Lin Qing, will cover this debt for Uncle He. But I will not give the money directly to you."

The men were stunned, not understanding his meaning.

Lin Qing explained: "In the future, if anyone in your households falls ill or gets injured and needs medicine, you can come to my Benevolent World Hall. I will keep a ledger and allow you to purchase on credit up to the amount of your respective deposits until the balance is cleared."

"In this way, it resolves your losses while also helping the He family, leaving a path for the mother and daughter to survive."

"What do you gentlemen think?"

His method not only resolved the immediate debt dispute, but also avoided the potential repercussions of handing over cash.

Furthermore, it turned potential creditors into future customers for Benevolent World Hall—a move that achieved multiple goals at once.

The men looked at each other and whispered among themselves for a moment.

They had come to cause trouble only to recover their losses; now that Lin Qing was willing to take responsibility, although they couldn't get cash immediately, they could exchange it for an equivalent value in medicinal herbs.

In this day and age, medicinal herbs were hard currency, so they weren't losing out.

After all, when going up the mountain to cut wood, bumps, bruises, and even encounters with wild beasts were unavoidable.

Moreover, Lin Qing was a disciple of a martial arts school, and with his status, they dared not push him too far.

"Fine, we'll do as Young Master Lin says," the thick-browed leader finally nodded in agreement.

The others followed suit.

The disturbance was thus settled.

As the troublemakers dispersed, the onlookers from the neighborhood gradually drifted away as well.