After discussing teaching his men martial arts, Su Xin made a round of the place. Seeing that nothing needed his attention, he prepared to head back.
Someone was keeping watch at the hall, and his little courtyard was close to Happy Forest. If anything happened, someone would come report it at once.
Besides, with Su Xin's reputation now, he doubted many people would dare cause trouble.
Even Third Master Hu and Dong Chengwu, the Punishment Hall's chief, who both disliked him, wouldn't come looking for trouble at a time like this.
It was nearly noon. On his way back, Su Xin stopped to buy a pound of soy-braised beef and a lotus-leaf-wrapped chicken to take home.
Two gang members were still standing guard at the entrance to the courtyard.
After Su Xin's strength had improved so much, he'd actually wanted to send them away. But then he remembered Xin'er was at home, so he let them stay.
He'd made plenty of enemies by now. Trouble shouldn't visit a family, but if he ran into some madman with no scruples, it was better to be prepared.
Seeing Su Xin return, the two gang members immediately called out respectfully, "Boss."
Su Xin tossed them an ounce of silver. "Thanks for your hard work. Go get some food and a drink—it's the middle of the day. Take a break."
The two men caught the silver, thrilled. "Thank you, Boss!"
They weren't excited simply because Su Xin had given them an ounce of silver. His gesture made them feel something else: respect.
When Su Xin pushed the door open, Xin'er was brandishing the little wooden sword he'd carved for her, moving with vigor and looking quite the part.
Seeing this, Su Xin suddenly remembered that he ought to have Xin'er start practicing internal skills, too.
Though Xin'er was young, she had a real talent for understanding martial arts. Su Xin had only shown her the intricate Great Sumeru Sword Style a few times, and she'd already learned to perform it quite convincingly.
She was even more talented than Su Xin. He was sure she'd pick up internal skills quickly, too.
Su Xin had no intention of raising Xin'er to be some wandering heroine. He would protect her for the rest of her life. If she still suffered any harm, then he might as well go kill himself—what kind of older brother would he be?
But even if she never fought on the battlefield, she still needed to practice internal skills. Just as he'd told Huang Bingcheng, at least it would keep her healthy.
Besides, Xin'er's temperament was well suited to practicing internal skills. She could endure solitude and preferred quiet to activity.
Though she was still young, she wasn't like other children her age, always running around. Give her something to play with, and she'd sit quietly with it for the whole day.
"Brother, why are you back so early today?" The moment Xin'er saw Su Xin, she dropped the wooden sword and ran over, taking the soy-braised beef and lotus-leaf chicken from his hands.
"Of course I was missing my Xin'er." Su Xin rubbed her little head. "Go wash your hands and get ready to eat. Slice the beef, and don't sneak a bite."
Xin'er grinned and ran off to the kitchen to slice the beef, already forgetting Su Xin's reminder to wash her hands first.
After the meal, Su Xin took out some paper and copied the Quanzhen Sect Basic Internal Skill for Xin'er.
He'd given the original he'd obtained from the system to Li Huai, and hadn't asked him to copy it. When the time came to teach the others internal skills, he could simply read it aloud.
Most of his men were locals from Joyful District, all children who'd grown up in the slums. How many of them could even read? Copying it out would be pointless.
"Xin'er, come here. I'm going to teach you something new today. Make sure you study properly. This isn't something you can slack off on."
Su Xin put the manual in her hands. "First, memorize the whole thing."
"Oh."
Xin'er scrunched up her little face and struggled through the words. "The... Great... begins... and opens... the nine..."
She stumbled over every sentence, getting two out of every three words wrong.
"Xin'er, you don't know these characters?" Su Xin asked in surprise.
Xin'er pouted, looking utterly aggrieved. "Mother only taught me to read for a year before she passed away. I've forgotten almost everything."
The memories of his two lives had blended together, burying some things deep in Su Xin's mind. Xin'er's words brought it all back: she really hadn't had much schooling.
In his memories, his mother had started teaching him to read and write when he was little. So even though Su Xin had grown up in the slums, he could write fairly well and had read a little poetry and scripture.
Their mother had naturally taught Xin'er when she was little, too. But Xin'er had only been four or five, and their mother had passed away before she'd taught her for even a year. Since Xin'er had been so young, she'd probably forgotten what little she'd learned.
"All right, I'll read it to you. Listen carefully: 'When first cultivating the Great Way, open the nine apertures; the nine apertures lie within the tailbone point. Begin by sending the force up from the Yongquan point on the soles of your feet; once it passes the Yongquan point, let it gradually reach your knees...'"
By the time Su Xin finished reading the short formula, the little girl was already nodding off. Clearly, she found this sort of thing far less interesting than swordplay.
Su Xin tapped her little head. "Don't slack off. I'll hire a tutor for you tomorrow so you can learn to read. Then you can memorize the formula yourself."
"No! Xin'er doesn't want to study or learn to read!"
At once, Xin'er scrunched up her little face in protest. Her big eyes shimmered with tears, and she looked utterly wronged.
Studying every day was so boring. Practicing swordplay was much more fun.
"No. Acting pitiful won't help. I'm not trying to turn you into some refined young lady, but you at least need to know how to read and understand reason." Su Xin waved a hand. There was no room for argument.
After protesting for ages to no avail, Xin'er could only accept it with a long face, unwilling to her very core.
Early the next morning, Su Xin had Huang Bingcheng summon all his men to the hall. Not a single one was left out.
After more than a month of growth, his crew had reached 190 men—nearly three times the number he'd had when he first took over Happy Forest.
Thanks to Su Xin's reputation in the Flying Eagle Gang, not only did locals from Joyful District want to join him, but some members of the gang wanted to transfer to his crew as well. Of course, the monthly pay of ten taels of silver was the main attraction.
Huang Bingcheng had a good eye for people. These 190 men were the ones left after he weeded out the shirkers and old hands who only wanted to collect their pay. Most of them could basically be trusted.
Happy Forest wasn't large. On an ordinary day, only a third of these nearly 200 gang members patrolled its various corners. The rest either rested or practiced their punches and kicks at the training ground in the rear courtyard.
When everyone was called together like this, the gang members knew something important must be happening.
Su Xin came out of the rear courtyard with Li Huai and Huang Bingcheng. Seeing their boss arrive, the men straightened their backs and lifted their chins. Some of the younger ones looked at him with open admiration.
Most of these young men had come out of the slums of Joyful District. They'd joined the Flying Eagle Gang for one reason: to put food in their mouths.
But after seeing what Su Xin had done, their desire to scrape by had turned into admiration.
He was just another poor boy from Joyful District, yet in a little over a month, he'd gone from the lowest-ranking gang member to a boss holding down an entire district.
A legendary tale like that was the greatest inspiration to these young men.
Standing before the crowd, Su Xin spoke clearly. "Before I get down to business, I want to ask you all something. Why did you join the Flying Eagle Gang?
"Do you understand that the jianghu is as deep as the sea? Even if the Flying Eagle Gang is only a small gang in Changning Prefecture, it's still part of the jianghu. Life and death aren't in your own hands!
"One moment, you might be raising a cup with your brothers. The next, your corpse could be lying in the street, another stepping-stone for someone else in a gang war!"
When Su Xin finished speaking, the crowd grew restless. They didn't know what their boss meant by saying all this.
The young men who'd just joined the Flying Eagle Gang might not understand, but several old members could only sigh.
Every year, several hundred people were buried in the mass graves outside the city.
There weren't many ordinary folk among them. Most were people from gangs like theirs, the lowest class of "men of the jianghu."
"Have you thought it through? You, tell me." Su Xin pointed to one of the men.
Su Xin recognized him. He was the brother of Chen San, who'd been beaten to death by the Green Bamboo Gang. His name was Li Qing.
He and Chen San, the one who'd been killed, had both just joined the Flying Eagle Gang. But Li Qing had made a strong impression on Su Xin. He was a hot-blooded, loyal man, but not reckless, and he had a good head on his shoulders.
When Su Xin singled him out, Li Qing froze for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "Boss, my answer's crude, so please don't take offense. I joined the gang for money.
"My father and mother died young. They wore themselves out raising me, and neither of them lived to see me take a wife.
"I, Li Qing, was no good either. I hauled heavy loads for people in East City every day and only earned ten copper coins. Then the brokers at the labor agency took two of them.
"At that rate, I couldn't even dream of taking a wife. I was lucky if I could keep myself from starving.
"So I couldn't accept it. I wanted to take a chance while I was still young and had some strength in my arms!
"If I'm still alive in a few years, I'll save up some money and take a wife. At least I'll leave a son for the Li family. Otherwise, even if I die, I won't have the face to meet my parents down below!"
After Li Qing finished, the gang members fell silent. They felt a heaviness in their hearts, especially those who'd also come from Joyful District. Li Qing had put their feelings into words.
In the past, when Changning Prefecture had been the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital, it had been quite prosperous. But ever since the capital moved, the prefecture had gone from bad to worse.
Changning Prefecture lay in Xiangnan, near the Southern Barbarians. Its land wasn't exactly barren, but much of it consisted of highlands and forest, making it unsuitable for growing crops.
As the capital, the city had once had a thriving trade. But after the capital moved, even the traveling merchants grew scarce. Changning Prefecture's only advantage was its proximity to the Southern Barbarians, which allowed people to buy local specialties from the tribes and sell them elsewhere.
As a result, the merchants of Changning Prefecture could still scrape by, but the common people suffered. They had no farmland, and chances to find work were few and far between.
For someone like Li Qing, hauling heavy loads and moving goods at the city gate for barely enough to buy a meal was considered a decent job—at least it was better than having no work and going hungry.
Su Xin had joined the Flying Eagle Gang for money, too. He'd been young, and though he had some strength, no one wanted to hire a child.
Besides, even if someone had hired him, the wages wouldn't have been enough to support both him and Xin'er. So in the end, Su Xin had chosen the Flying Eagle Gang.
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