A Debt of Gratitude

Evening.

After leaving the Martial Hall, Chen Cheng deliberately took a detour to Buckwheat Alley.

There was a small market that had sprung up on its own here, stretching along a stinking ditch. Most of the goods sold were wild products from the mountains and forests. Though their quality was abysmal, the prices were low enough that they had no trouble finding buyers.

Chen Cheng stopped before an old hunter's stall.

On the stall lay some wilted wild vegetables, along with a broken wooden basin packed with dozens of finger-length little fish still flopping about in muddy water. One glance told him they had just been scooped from some mountain stream or wild creek.

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Though these fish were small, they were rare, cheap sources of meat.

"Sir, how much for these fish?" Chen Cheng crouched down and poked at them with a finger, looking like he knew his stuff.

"Fifteen coppers a jin," the old hunter answered gruffly.

"Ten." Chen Cheng countered, "They're all tiny fry. Doesn't look like there's much meat on them."

After some haggling, they finally settled on twelve coppers a jin.

Chen Cheng bought two jin. The old hunter roughly wrapped them in a large taro leaf and ladled a little water over them.

Chen Cheng counted out twenty-four copper coins and handed them over, asking casually.

"Sir, let me ask you something. Who do I pay the market fee to around here?"

"What, you thinking of coming here to set up some business too?"

When Chen Cheng nodded, the old hunter did not think much of it and pointed toward the far end of the market.

"See that crooked-necked tree? In the mud-brick courtyard beneath it lives the living ancestor of this whole area—Master Lai of the Black Wolf Gang!"

"But I'd advise you not to go near him lately... Somehow, he offended some martial master and got one leg snapped clean in two... He's got a bellyful of evil fire with nowhere to vent it, and he wants to take a bite out of anyone he sees..."

"Thank you for the warning, sir."

Chen Cheng nodded, showing just the right amount of lingering fear and gratitude. He cupped his hands to the old hunter, then turned and merged into the bustling crowd.

When Chen Cheng returned home, Madam Li's weary face bore a rare smile.

"Mother, what's gotten you so happy?"

Chen Cheng placed the little fish he was carrying into a broken wooden basin.

"Your mother got a big job today. Don't know what family had so much black cloth to wash—there was so much, I couldn't even count it all..."

"Your mother didn't stop from morning to night and earned a full twenty coppers. They even said to keep coming tomorrow!"

Madam Li rubbed her red, swollen, stiff fingers. There was a careful hope in her smile.

"If I can keep this job for three days, our Peace Tax for this month will be taken care of."

"Mother, don't work yourself so hard... I'll find a way to deal with the money."

Chen Cheng took out his coin pouch from his robe.

"The Proprietor of the trading firm settled this month's wages for me. I bought some little fish, and there are still over a hundred coppers left."

At that, Madam Li's face immediately filled with delight. She was deeply grateful to the trading firm proprietor she had never met, praising him without end.

"Everyone who can still breathe, get the hell out here!"

A savage roar suddenly exploded from the end of the alley, like a dull knife scraping across iron skin.

Madam Li's face went pale. She hurriedly told Chen Cheng to hide the money pouch securely, then quickly pushed open the door and went out.

The commotion had startled the neighbors from their homes as well. One by one, they huddled in their doorways, their fearful gazes directed toward the source of the voice.

They saw Scar Bear leading four or five Black Wolf Gang lackeys swaggering down the muddy alley.

"Listen up, all of you! This month's Peace Tax is going up by twenty coppers per person! Within five days, every last coin better be paid in full!"

The flesh on his face quivered as his gaze swept over the paupers crammed along both sides of the alley like frightened quails.

"Don't whine about hardship or cry poor to me. The laundry work at Red Moon Nunnery is enough to keep your hands full!"

"This is a blessing our gang leader personally won back for you! With such a huge favor from the gang leader, shouldn't you repay him a little?"

He raised a hand to scratch the thick mat of chest hair beneath his open short jacket, and his tone suddenly turned cold.

"Whichever black-hearted bastard dares repay kindness with enmity, I'll strangle him to death myself and send him to Red Moon Nunnery!"

A deathly silence fell over the entire alley.

Not one person dared resist. They did not even dare breathe too loudly. Their gaunt faces were so pale that they carried not a trace of life.

Scar Bear strolled along at an unhurried pace, his boots making wet, muffled squelches in the mud.

As he passed Madam Li, he casually cast a glance into her house.

Chen Cheng had his head lowered as he put the little fish into a pot to stew.

There was such a huge commotion outside, yet this brat was still pretending to be deaf and mute? He had muddled through the trading firm for three years and was still worthless mud that could not be plastered onto a wall!

"Hah... Ptooey!"

Scar Bear turned his head and spat a gob of thick phlegm at Chen Cheng's doorway.

The next second, however, his expression changed instantly. A nearly fawning, greasy smile piled onto his face as he faced the neighboring doorway, his waist unconsciously bending a little lower.

"Little Sister Hu Niu, how have you been lately?"

"Fine."

At the neighboring door, the girl in a blue-and-white floral ruqun gave a slight nod, gently biting her lip.

"Lord Scar, my brother hasn't been home these past few days. We can't gather that much money for the moment..."

"Ah, look at this mess..."

Scar Bear hurriedly waved a hand and interrupted her.

"Your family's Peace Tax is waived in full from this month onward! That's on me for not coming sooner to let you know..."

"Waived?"

Hu Niu's eyes widened, her pupils shining brightly.

"Of course it is."

Scar Bear nodded again and again.

"Brother Xiao Long has now become a martial master who has cultivated One-Incense Blood Qi. Though he holds a high position in the Clear River Gang, there have long been rules on the street: the family of a martial master is fully exempt from the Peace Tax."

"This counts as a bit of goodwill between us. Best if nothing ever happens, but if there's some small bump or scrape someday, remembering this favor will give us a little more room to maneuver when we speak and act."

"In this jianghu, favors are often more useful than knives. If we can avoid fighting and killing, isn't that good for everyone?"

"Yes, Lord Scar is right!"

Hearing that, Hu Niu's taut body finally relaxed, and her back unconsciously straightened a little.

Scar Bear exchanged a few more warm words before finally turning to leave.

The carefully constructed smile on his face receded like an ebbing tide when he turned toward the next household, instantly restoring his usual savagery and arrogance.

As Hu Niu turned to go home, she caught sight of Madam Li nearby and called, "Auntie," before entering.

Madam Li smiled, then retreated into her own home and dropped the rather flimsy wooden bolt into place behind her.

"Xiao Cheng, thank goodness... thank goodness you brought back your wages."

Madam Li leaned against the door, her voice faint.

"Otherwise, even if your mother worked herself to death, I couldn't withstand them sucking our blood like this..."

"Mother, that work at Red Moon Nunnery... how about you stop taking it?"

Chen Cheng could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

But his knowledge and experience in this life were extremely lacking, and he knew even less about Red Moon Nunnery.

What exactly felt wrong, he could not say for the moment.

"It's fine. I'm not the only one taking this job. Aunt Zhang and the others are shrewd."

Madam Li seemed to have thought it through long ago.

"If they keep doing it, I'll do it. If they turn it down, I definitely won't go either. Don't worry."

"...All right."

Seeing that Madam Li had already made up her mind, Chen Cheng did not try to persuade her further.

The fish soup had simmered to a milky white, and the bran-and-wild-vegetable porridge was much thicker than yesterday's.

As the hot food entered their stomachs, the oppressive feeling in the dark shack was finally scattered somewhat by the warmth of the meal.

Madam Li drank more porridge and fish soup, but no matter what, she insisted on leaving all the fish meat for Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng did not fuss over it and silently accepted his mother's decision.

He understood clearly that now was not the time for courtesy.

His body urgently needed nourishment. Their limited resources had to be concentrated and converted into strength as quickly as possible.

Once he cultivated One-Incense Blood Qi—

Why worry that he could not let his mother eat her fill every meal, with meat in her bowl?

"Xiao Cheng, what do you think... of that girl Hu Niu?"

Madam Li's sudden question caught Chen Cheng off guard.

"You're getting to that age too. Not long ago, your Third Uncle was even planning to ask someone to find you a wife."

Seeing Chen Cheng remain silent, Madam Li continued.

"These past couple of days, Hu Niu has kept hovering around me, seemingly on purpose but also not quite. Whenever she sees me, she smiles, her brows and eyes curving, but she never says anything serious..."

"Your mother was thinking, could it be that she... wants to ask about you?"

"...Mother, with our family's situation, what is there to ask about?"

Chen Cheng could not help but give a bitter smile.

One of the three great delusions from his previous life: She likes me! With Madam Li, it had become: She likes my son...

Never mind what Hu Niu herself thought.

Just the difference in their families' standing meant her parents could never agree.

To put it bluntly, in Bitter Locust Village, there were only families who sold their daughters. He had never heard of any family properly marrying off a daughter.

Not to mention that Hu Niu had been well cared for by her brother this past year or so. Her skin had grown increasingly fair, and her figure was beginning to take shape.

Could a flower bud ready to bloom be wasted on an ant crawling through the mud?

"Yes..."

Madam Li opened her mouth, but said nothing more.

After eating his fill, Chen Cheng continued practicing the Health-Preserving Taiji Fist indoors until late at night.

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

During that time, Chen Cheng and Madam Li scraped together one hundred coppers and paid their Peace Tax in full.

Afterward, they still had several dozen coppers left, and Madam Li continued picking up odd jobs here and there.

Every day, Chen Cheng could buy some cheap meat to eat, usually little fish and shrimp. One day, he bought a small basket of milky-white bee pupae that were still faintly wriggling.

Madam Li frowned deeply at the sight of them, saying they were things other people bought to feed chickens and ducks.

But Chen Cheng knew they were rare, high-protein food.

Roast them in a pot, and their skins turned crisp. One bite made them burst with juice, carrying a strange sweet fragrance.

Unfortunately, such delicacies were not common. He could only find them if luck was on his side.

[Crouching Dragon Fist]: Beginner (41/300), Traits (None)

[Health-Preserving Taiji Fist]: Beginner (77/300), Traits (None), Limit Break (No)

Perfectly practicing the Crouching Dragon Fist had obvious effects, but it also squeezed and depleted his stamina, muscles, tendons, and bones to an astonishing degree. Chen Cheng had no choice but to strictly control the number of times he practiced each day.

If he could supplement it with sufficient meat, or even medicinal tonics, this problem would be easily solved.

Unfortunately, Chen Cheng had already spent all his money. Madam Li's income had also become unstable again these past few days. They could barely guarantee food on the table, so how could they speak of supplementation?

In comparison, the Health-Preserving Taiji Fist consumed very little stamina while nourishing and restoring his muscles, tendons, and bones. He could practice it more often, so its progress naturally surged far ahead.

"Still wrestling with that stone lock?"

In the Martial Hall courtyard, Shi Lei strolled over to Chen Cheng with his arms swinging, leaning against a nearby wooden post without a trace of proper bearing.

Chen Cheng was slowly lifting a fifty-jin stone lock, then holding it steady in midair just before it fell, repeating the motion without disrupting his breathing.

The weight looked ordinary enough to others, but only Chen Cheng knew what kind of solid strength his nearly self-abusive training had forged within his body, which had once been burned dry to the last ember.

"See that girl? King Yama Fang just recruited her today."

Shi Lei jerked his chin toward the other side of the training ground.

"She stood in horse stance all morning and didn't get beaten or scolded. Didn't even hear one harsh word. Looking at this... brat, I'm afraid you're about to lose favor."