East of the city, Tang Mansion.
Before Lin Yan even drew near, he could sense a grandeur utterly unlike that of an ordinary wealthy household.
The entrance was not ostentatious, but its materials were exceptionally solid. Two heavy vermilion doors stood there, their studs as large as bowl rims and polished to a gleam.
Understated luxury!
Two guards stood outside. Rather than burly men with broad shoulders and thick waists, they were lean, vigorous young men with composed gazes, slightly raised temples, and long, steady breaths. Although neither had reached the first Skin Polishing stage, both practiced martial arts.
"May I ask what brings you here?"
Dressed in the uniform of a Yang Family Martial Arts Hall disciple, Lin Yan naturally drew the two guards' attention.
"I am Lin Yan, a disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall. I have come to take a post with the Tang Family."
Lin Yan took out a slightly yellowed slip of paper that Xu Hai had given him yesterday. It bore only one sentence: Permission granted to take a post at Tang Mansion.
There was no signature or seal.
The guards exchanged looks as they examined the handwriting. Had an ordinary person brought them such a slip, they would have driven him away long ago.
But a Yang Family Martial Arts Hall disciple at the first Skin Polishing stage was unlikely to forge one.
"Please wait a moment."
One guard remained at the gate while the other led Lin Yan to sit in a side room, then went into the mansion to report his arrival.
A cup of tea's time later, the guard returned to the side room behind a middle-aged man.
The man was around forty, dressed in a dark blue robe of fine cotton. His build was slender, but his steps were steady and even, each stride seemingly measured with a ruler, silent yet carrying a peculiar rhythm.
His face was unremarkable, and his gaze was restrained rather than piercing. Yet the moment those eyes settled on him, Lin Yan felt the danger of being watched by a wild beast.
"Lin Yan, disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, how did you come by this slip?"
"Uncle Xu gave it to me."
Lin Yan concealed nothing and recounted what had happened to Xu Ping. The middle-aged man's expression did not change.
That made Lin Yan understand that Uncle Xu had been right. In the Tang Family's eyes, the debt they owed Xu Hai from years ago had already been bought out.
He had thought that if the Tang Family still remembered that debt and was willing to avenge Xu Ping, he could find a roundabout way to reveal that the Wang Family had been behind the attack.
Now he could abandon that idea.
"With your current strength, there are two suitable posts here. One is guarding the medicinal fields, with a monthly allowance of twenty taels. The other is joining the escort team, also for twenty taels a month, with an additional ten taels for every escort assignment. Whichever post you choose, you may purchase our Tang Family's medicinal herbs at seventy percent of the market price."
"I choose to guard the medicinal fields."
Lin Yan made his choice without much hesitation.
Although escort assignments came with extra pay, they would inevitably delay his training. Besides, if even the Tang Family needed an escort team, those assignments clearly involved danger.
Between the two, guarding the medicinal fields suited him better.
"Follow me."
The middle-aged man led Lin Yan into the mansion and registered his details at the accounts office. Only then did Lin Yan learn that this man was Tang Mansion's head steward.
"You may go to Qingtian Town tomorrow. Someone will explain the details when you arrive."
"I will head there tomorrow."
Lin Yan left Tang Mansion with a token, but instead of going home, he headed to the martial arts hall.
The hall had a rule: disciples taking outside posts had to register them there. Keeping track of their employment allowed the hall to recommend suitable disciples when wealthy households came looking for martial artists.
At the steps outside the General Affairs Room, Lin Yan happened to encounter several senior brothers.
"Junior Brother Lin!"
As warm as ever, Li An waved at him. "Junior Brother Lin, the Li Family in the city happened to approach the hall today, hoping to hire two household guards. Would you like to try?"
"Senior Brother Li, I have already found a post."
Lin Yan shook his head. He doubted the Li Family's terms would be better than the Tang Family's.
"You found one so quickly?" Li An looked surprised, then lowered his voice. "Junior Brother Lin, if you haven't signed a contract yet and the pay isn't high, you can turn it down. The Li Family is offering fifteen taels a month."
"I have already signed a contract."
Li An looked regretful. In his view, a post Junior Brother Lin had found in such a hurry surely could not offer terms as good as the Li Family's.
"Some people have never seen the world. Someone tosses them a little money, and off they go to take a post. Once word gets out, they'll disgrace our Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, letting people from other halls laugh at our disciples for risking their lives over a few scraps of silver."
Ge Hui's words dripped with sarcasm. He shared Li An's assumption: Lin Yan must have been running short of money, perhaps unable even to cover the cost of maintaining his blood and qi, which was why he had rushed so eagerly to find a post.
"Junior Brother Ge, isn't that going a little too far?"
Li An did not know the precise conflict between Ge Hui and Lin Yan, but when Junior Brother Lin had first entered the rear courtyard, Junior Brother Ge's words had already carried a hostile edge.
"Senior Brother Li, I'm telling the truth. Our hall's disciples have always demanded higher pay than martial artists from unorthodox backgrounds. If Lin Yan breaks that rule, what will outsiders think of our Yang Family Martial Arts Hall?"
Watching Ge Hui prance about like a clown, Lin Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. The day he reached the second Skin Polishing stage would be the day Ge Hui died.
"There's no need to say anything more, Senior Brother Li."
Lin Yan stopped Li An from speaking again and walked straight to the General Affairs Room's counter.
The senior brother in charge glanced up at him, pushed over a half-worn ledger, and handed him a fine-tipped brush.
Lin Yan took the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote his name under "Name," then filled in the "Place of employment" column. After the final stroke, he set down the brush and gently pushed the ledger back.
The senior brother took the ledger and looked down. His casual expression stiffened slightly, and his gaze lingered on that line for two breaths before he raised his eyes to study Lin Yan anew.
"Junior Brother Lin's post has been recorded." His tone was somewhat warmer than before.
Standing by the door, Ge Hui kept talking. "What, you don't dare say where? Afraid of embarrassing yourself?"
This time, the senior brother in charge frowned, his expression turning cold. "Have you reached the third Skin Polishing stage already, Junior Brother Ge?"
"Senior Brother Qin, what... what do you mean?"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you had reached the third Skin Polishing stage and become the hall's eldest senior brother, sticking your nose into everything."
Qin Cheng spared Ge Hui no dignity. In strength, he had already reached the second Skin Polishing stage; in family background, he surpassed Ge Hui by a wide margin.
Several other disciples by the door sensed that something was amiss and silently moved a little farther from Ge Hui.
Senior Brother Qin had a mild disposition. Being in charge of the General Affairs Room effectively meant managing all the hall's affairs, and he enjoyed their master's deep trust.
Ge Hui explained with an awkward smile, "Senior Brother Qin, I was only worried that Lin Yan might take a post with some shabby outfit and disgrace our hall."
"If taking a post with the Tang Family counts as disgracing the hall, I would welcome a few more such disgraces."
Qin Cheng's voice was not loud, but it was like a needle, precisely puncturing Ge Hui's incessant chatter.
"What Tang Family?" Ge Hui faltered and blurted out the question.
Qin Cheng, however, did not answer him.
Ge Hui's expression froze.
Silence hung over the scene for a moment.
No one present was a fool. In all of Guangping County, there was only one Tang Family that could make Senior Brother Qin speak like this.
The Tang Family in the east of the city!
The disciples who had been enjoying the spectacle now looked at Lin Yan differently, with surprise, scrutiny, and the seriousness of a fresh appraisal.
From Ge Hui, they knew Lin Yan came from the bottom rung of society. But how could someone of such origins take a post with the Tang Family?
This Junior Brother Lin was not as simple as he appeared.
Li An was stunned for a moment too, then laughed and gave Lin Yan a rather heavy clap on the shoulder. "Junior Brother Lin, you pulled off something this impressive without saying a word!"
He said no more, only turned to glance at Ge Hui.
That glance said nothing.
But sometimes, saying nothing was harder to endure than any words.
As for Lin Yan, he did not spare Ge Hui so much as another glance.
After returning home from the martial arts hall, Lin Yan shared the good news with his aunt.
"Yan'er, if you ever have the chance, you must repay the Xu Family's kindness."
Happy for Lin Yan, Liu still reminded him, "When your parents were alive, they always taught your uncle that members of the Lin Family must act with a conscience and remember the kindness others showed them."
"Aunt, I will keep the Xu Family's kindness in my heart."
"Good." Liu said no more about it. "Qingtian Town is quite far from the city. I'll pack you a few changes of clothes."
"Aunt, why don't we move to the south of the city?"
Lin Yan looked at his aunt. The gang warfare in the west had spilled over into the north, and once he went to Qingtian Town, he would probably only be able to return once or twice a month. If anything happened at home, his whip would be too short to reach.
The south and east were home to many wealthy and powerful households, and public safety was much better there.
He could not afford a fine residence with the money he had, but a single-courtyard house in a less central location should be possible.
"Move to the south?"
Liu had not expected her nephew to suggest moving. Knowing he feared she might encounter danger here, she smiled reassuringly. "Yan'er, you needn't worry about Mo'er and me. I only do a little mending for those wealthy households. I won't get into any trouble. You need money right now, and you should spend it on your martial arts training."
Seeing how firmly his aunt opposed it, Lin Yan did not press the matter. He truly did not have much money on him, so he would reconsider moving after reaching the second Skin Polishing stage.
Making use of his free time that day, Lin Yan visited the Xu Family again to tell them how things had gone at Tang Mansion. Before leaving, he quietly left another five taels of silver on the table.
After leaving the Xu Family's home, Lin Yan went to the Might-Vast Escort Agency, but Zhang Wei was not there. He had gone out with a team of escorts on an assignment.
When escorts guarded a shipment, someone still had to push the freight carts. That work could hardly be left to Skin Polishing martial artists.
Unable to find Zhang Wei, Lin Yan had intended to look for Monkey next, only to discover that he was not at the medicine shop either. He had gone with his uncle to buy medicinal herbs.
His childhood friends had, in the end, begun following their own paths in life. No longer could a single shout bring them all together.