Zhou Family.
Zhou Shu lowered her head. At this point, she didn't know what to say anymore.
She admitted she regretted it.
If Lin Yan had only reached the second stage of Skin Polishing, she would still have cared about how she looked in front of her close friends.
But Lin Yan had reached the third stage. Going back on her word was nothing to be ashamed of.
And her close friends wouldn't laugh at her either. They would only envy her, perhaps even be jealous.
The rest of the Zhou Family were equally silent. Beyond regret, they were even more worried.
The county seat was small. Now that Lin Yan had reached the third stage of Skin Polishing, he would come to the attention of the various families. The matter of Master Yang asking someone to find Lin Yan a match would no longer stay hidden; sooner or later, the whole city would hear about it.
When that happened, the Zhou Family would face not only ridicule, but also the possibility that their family business would suffer.
Who could guarantee Lin Yan didn't resent the Zhou Family for looking down on him back then?
The many families that did business with the Zhou Family would have to take that into consideration.
It wouldn't matter much in the short term, but as Lin Yan's strength continued to improve, the impact would grow.
Still, the one thing that comforted the Zhou Family was that they hadn't been the only ones to reject Lin Yan.
Four families being laughed at was better than just one.
Smack!
The jade hairpin in Li Yu's hand snapped in two. After Lin Yan hadn't attended her Flower Appreciation Banquet, she'd lost interest in him and hadn't thought she'd done anything wrong.
A martial artist from an ordinary family who couldn't even show basic restraint, with such a fragile sense of pride, would never accomplish much in the martial path.
But how had he managed to reach the third stage of Skin Polishing?
Li Yu could imagine that now Lin Yan had reached the third stage, the image she'd cultivated as an open and straightforward person in front of others would surely crumble.
That image had made her very popular among the county seat's young martial artists. It was also why her family had let her choose her own husband. Now that the image was gone, her family would probably interfere in her marriage.
The next day.
Lin Yan stepped out of his home and could clearly feel that the way his neighbors looked at him had changed. Their eyes were full of awe.
Most people who could afford a home in the eastern part of the city came from reasonably well-off families. Even if they didn't have a Skin Polishing martial artist in their own household, they usually had relatives who were martial artists, so news traveled quickly.
Besides, guests had been streaming in and out of the Lin Family's home all day the previous day. It didn't take much asking to find out what had happened.
The third stage of Skin Polishing—now that was a real big shot.
Lin Yan's manner remained unchanged. As usual, when he ran into anyone, he greeted them with a smile and a nod. Once he left the alley, he headed for his destination.
For martial artists in the county seat, reaching the third stage of Skin Polishing was a cause for great celebration, worthy of a banquet. But Lin Yan hadn't considered holding one.
A banquet cost money.
Wouldn't that money be better spent on Bone-Tempering Pills?
He didn't have much connection to the various families and merchants in the city who had sent gifts the day before. Why hold a banquet just to save face?
As for his senior brothers at the martial arts school, Lin Yan hadn't accepted gifts from them. Junior Brother Zhao hadn't accepted any back then either, so he couldn't very well accept them himself. The only gift he had accepted was the two hundred taels in silver notes his master had sent with a steward the previous day. Today, he was going to the martial arts school to thank his master in person.
There was no need to guess: his master had surely arranged for people to spread the news of his reaching the third stage of Skin Polishing.
He now had close to three thousand taels in cash: the one thousand four hundred taels in congratulatory gifts, the two hundred taels contributed by the Wang Family and made up by the Lin Family, and another two hundred taels from his uncle-in-law.
It seemed like an enormous sum, enough to buy a three-courtyard residence in the county seat, purchase dozens of mu of good farmland, and hire more than ten servants, letting him live in comfort like a landlord.
But in the martial path, it would only cover a few months of expenses.
Junior Brother Zhao took one Tiger Bone Tempering Pill every day. Lin Yan certainly couldn't afford that, so he'd chosen to take one Leopard Bone Tempering Pill a day.
Add in the fine meat and secret medicines he applied to his body, and all of it cost money.
Only after leaving the martial arts school did Lin Yan understand why the various families in the county seat had sent him congratulatory gifts. It was a tradition that had lasted for hundreds of years in Guangping County.
The tradition had begun after a genius martial artist had emerged from Guangping County, reaching the third stage of Skin Polishing at a young age.
That genius senior had also come from a poor family. After reaching the third stage, he'd run out of money to cultivate and left Guangping County. No one had expected that, more than ten years later, he would become famous throughout Shandong Circuit.
When the martial artists of Guangping County later looked into what had happened, they were sick with regret.
After leaving Guangping County, that genius senior had gone to Jinchuan County. An old martial arts master there had seen his potential and called on the local families to lend him a hand. In the end, they'd gathered several thousand taels of silver. The genius senior hadn't let them down. He'd reached the Blood Exchange Realm in just two years and later became one of the top experts in Shandong Circuit.
To repay the Jinchuan County families for their kindness, the genius senior had exempted the county from taxes for thirty years. He also personally guided every promising young martial artist from Jinchuan County.
Besides those clear, tangible benefits, there had been plenty of less obvious ones.
For decades, merchant caravans from Jinchuan County had traveled freely throughout Shandong Circuit. No bandits or river pirates dared target them. Jinchuan County also got a share of martial arts resource trade that had previously been open only to forces from the Prefecture City.
When word reached Guangping County, the great martial arts families there had fallen silent as one.
That very year, the various families had made an agreement: whenever a martial artist under twenty reached the third stage of Skin Polishing, each family would give them a congratulatory gift.
At first, the amount had been set at one hundred taels per family, and every family had contributed willingly.
Unfortunately, those martial artists under twenty who reached the third stage had all ended up stuck at the fourth stage. Over time, the families had lost their enthusiasm, but the tradition had remained.
The amount had simply dropped from one hundred taels to fifty, and then to the twenty or thirty they gave now.
After hearing his master's explanation, Lin Yan could only exclaim, Well, would you look at that! Wasn't this just another version of the seventy-six eggs?
Lin Yan didn't humiliate himself by asking how many congratulatory gifts Junior Brother Zhao had received. It was sure to be much more than he had.
With Junior Brother Zhao's achievements as a shining example, the families had more confidence in him and had given him larger gifts. That left less for Lin Yan.
Three days later.
Lin Yan said goodbye to his aunt, took his silver notes and Bone-Tempering Pills, and rode out of the city.
After reaching the third stage of Skin Polishing, he had volunteered to the Lin Family to go to Sanshan County and oversee the Tang Family's territory there. The Tang Family had agreed.
The reason he'd chosen Sanshan County was simple: its mountain range stretched far and wide, giving the Earth Vein True Interpretation room to prove its worth.
Besides, the Patrol Bureau and the Four Seas Gang were now locked in fierce conflict. The major forces in the city had each chosen a side, and as a martial artist at the third stage of Skin Polishing, he was sure to attract the attention of both. Going to Sanshan County would also let him avoid the turmoil for the time being.
Before leaving the city, though, he needed to stop by the Lin Mansion.
When Lin Yan arrived at the Lin Family Iron Shop, a steward escorted him into the front hall. Qin Yin was already waiting there.
"Master Lin, this is the weapon you asked for."
A scabbard lay in front of Qin Yin, with the hilt of a saber protruding from it. Lin Yan gripped the hilt and drew the long saber. At the same time, he grabbed the mouth of the scabbard with his right hand, and a long sword sprang out from within.
"Such exquisite craftsmanship."
Feeling how smoothly the sword slid out, and how cleverly it had been concealed inside the scabbard, Lin Yan was very pleased.
He'd made the request to Qin Yin the day before: he wanted a scabbard with a hidden mechanism inside, one capable of holding both a saber and a sword.
There was only one reason for doing this: to hide his true strength.
Anyone who didn't know him would see the scabbard on his back and assume he was a saber wielder. When he drew his sword, he'd catch them by surprise.
Besides, he'd specifically asked the Lin Family to make the saber a little brittle. That way, it would be easy to break in a fight. Once his opponent saw the saber snap, they would surely feel pleased with themselves or let their guard down. Then, when Lin Yan drew his sword, he could catch them off guard.
Drawing a sword from a scabbard was perfectly reasonable.
"This is the best smith in our Lin Family. He made it according to your specifications, Master Lin."
Qin Yin watched Lin Yan inspect the saber and sword in his hands, the corners of her eyes lifting in a faint smile. She remembered passing along his request to the smiths at the mansion three days earlier. The craftsman had grumbled, saying he'd never heard of anyone wanting a scabbard like that.
She didn't know why Master Lin wanted such an odd scabbard, but since he'd requested it, she would do everything she could to make it happen.
The craftsman had grumbled, but he had still forged it within three days.
"Madam Lin, how much do the saber, sword, and scabbard cost?"
Lin Yan sheathed the weapons and asked. Qin Yin smiled brightly. "Given your relationship with the Lin Family, Master Lin, it would be rude to talk about money."
"Then I'll thank you."
Since she wasn't charging him, Lin Yan didn't pretend to be polite. Ever since he'd reached the third stage of Skin Polishing, the Lin Mansion had been making their relationship known. If the Lin Family ran into trouble in the future, it would be his responsibility to take care of it.