"Tell me! Who sent you?" Sun Chengjie crouched down and asked sternly.
The Black Dragon Gang man clutched his crotch, baring his teeth in pain. He snorted. "I'm afraid I can't tell you. Those are the rules of the underworld. Think about who you've offended lately."
He staggered to his feet and turned around, only to see his companion lying unconscious on the ground, his mouth full of bloody froth, looking utterly wretched. Where had he gone...?
He immediately gave Chen Yuan a long look. This kid really didn't hold back.
"Brother Chen, are we just going to let them leave?" Sun Chengjie watched the other man being carried away and felt deeply dissatisfied!
Although that crotch-striking palm and the punches and kicks had let him vent a lot of anger, he was still furious at having been ambushed out of nowhere.
If Chen Yuan hadn't been there, the thought alone would have filled him with lingering fear!
Chen Yuan said gravely, "Now that they've revealed who they are, it's not realistic to strike hard. We can only be more careful."
If they killed the two men here, they would inevitably be found out. The Black Dragon Gang wouldn't let it go.
They couldn't afford to provoke them yet.
Sun Chengjie said bitterly, "It was definitely those two bastards, Zhou Qian and Zhou Mo, who sent them. They actually dared to do this. I won't let them off."
He was already working out how to get revenge.
Chen Yuan nodded slightly. The two brothers were indeed suspicious.
Then there was Gao Mingchang.
Judging by his behavior, it wouldn't be surprising if he'd hired someone to deal with Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan's expression cooled slightly. He committed all of this to memory.
"Brother Chen, I owe you one today. Thank you..." Sun Chengjie cupped his hands in gratitude.
Chen Yuan waved a hand. "Don't mention it. They might have been after me, too."
After seeing Sun Chengjie off, he returned to his aunt's home in Hundred Herb Lane.
His aunt was preparing dinner in the kitchen. Hearing a noise, she poked her head out. When she saw Chen Yuan, she looked a little surprised, then smiled.
"A-Yuan, why are you home so early today?"
Chen Yuan smiled and walked into the kitchen, taking out the beef wrapped in oil paper.
"Auntie, warm up this beef too. Let Xiaoyu build up her strength."
Seeing how much beef there was, his aunt waved her hands repeatedly and chided him, "You need so much strength to practice martial arts, do you? Hurry and save it for yourself. We can manage at home. She won't go hungry."
Chen Yuan smiled. "Auntie, don't worry about me. I've already eaten this much beef once, and I drank two bowls of meat soup as well. I'm stuffed. Go ahead and cook it."
When he saw that she still wanted to say something, he added, "It's not that I'm wasting money. The Gu Family held its assessment today, and I did well. They've raised my monthly stipend to five taels of silver. This beef didn't cost me anything, so it'd be a waste not to eat it."
At that, his aunt's eyes widened in shock, and she stammered, "How much? F-five taels?"
She worked herself to the bone at the dyeing workshop for a whole year and still didn't earn that much.
Now A-Yuan was making that much in a single month.
Chen Yuan smiled and massaged her shoulders as he spoke. "That's right, five taels. Auntie, keep an eye on the pot. The food's about to burn."
"Oh, right..." His aunt came back to herself and hurriedly stirred the food with her spatula. She fell silent, her body trembling slightly. Setting the spatula down, she reached up and wiped the corner of her eye.
"Wonderful, just wonderful. Sister, can you see? A-Yuan has made something of himself..."
Chen Yuan hadn't thought it was anything special, but when he saw his aunt crying, his heart ached too. He comforted her, "Auntie, this is good news. Things will only get better..."
"It's all right. I'm just happy, that's all. So happy..." She had watched Chen Yuan grow up and knew how much hardship he'd endured. How could she not shed tears of excitement at such good news?
At the dinner table, Cheng Xiaoyu looked at Chen Yuan admiringly.
"Brother Yuan, you're amazing! I even heard about you from the young lady today. She said she saw your sparring match in the side hall at noon. Your moves were so clean and sharp!"
Chen Yuan smiled and placed a piece of beef in her bowl. "The young lady was just being nice."
He hadn't noticed that the young lady had been watching when he sparred with Gao Mingchang.
Cheng Xiaoyu gave a couple of cheeky laughs, her eyes full of mischief. "Brother, even if I'm silly, the Gu Family isn't. Five taels of silver a month! You must be talented. And the look in the young lady's eyes when she talked about you—tsk, tsk. It wasn't ordinary, either."
Chen Yuan shook his head with a laugh. He didn't believe that watching one sparring match could make someone take a liking to him. Besides, Yu Yan was far more outstanding than he was, even if he fell short in looks.
Most likely, the girl was just letting her imagination run wild.
Cheng Xiaoyu continued, chattering away. "The young lady is the master's youngest daughter. Her name is Gu Wantong. She's clever, gentle, and beautiful, and she's skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Best of all, she doesn't put on airs. She's always so kind to me! If she became my sister-in-law..."
Her blissful daydream was cut short when her mother pinched her ear. She immediately let out a loud wail.
"Mom, what are you doing? Ow!"
"You little brat, how can you go around gossiping about the young lady of the Gu Family? Eat your food properly." Her aunt scolded her crossly.
Chen Yuan smiled and said nothing. He turned to Cheng Yong and called out, "Uncle, have some more meat too. Selling flatbreads is hard work."
Cheng Yong nodded, his voice warm with pride. "A-Yuan, you've really made something of yourself. Make the most of this opportunity and practice martial arts properly. Don't go thinking about other nonsense. Once you've made a name for yourself, everything else will follow."
Pride aside, he was also worried that Chen Yuan might let a little success go to his head and be dazzled by the temptations around him.
Too many young people couldn't keep their heads.
Chen Yuan nodded. "Uncle, I'll remember that."
His aunt chided him, "Now you're giving him advice? A-Yuan is much more steady than you are."
Cheng Yong took a sip of rough wine and smiled without arguing.
Just as the family was enjoying a happy meal together, someone knocked urgently at the door. Then came a loud shout.
"Anyone home? Damn, what smells so good? Open up! Time to pay your residence fee and filial piety money!"
It was the Black Dragon Gang.
Cheng Yong's face darkened, and he was about to get up, but Chen Yuan had already gone out and opened the door. He smiled faintly.
"It's Master Qian. Please, come in."
The visitor was Qian Bao. The two lackeys behind him had changed.
Perhaps they'd been assigned to different duties, or... had become cannon fodder.
Qian Bao's eyes fell on the beef on the table. He looked Chen Yuan up and down, visibly surprised.
"Are you the eldest boy from the Chen Family? Hey, you've bulked up a lot in just a month!"
He vaguely remembered Chen Yuan leaving home with his luggage one evening, saying he'd had a falling-out with his family. He'd even invited him to join the gang.
He really had changed a lot.
Chen Yuan gave a nod and replied without fawning or acting defiant. "Master Qian, I've been fortunate to receive the Gu Family's support. I'm currently practicing martial arts at Huo Academy."
With a single sentence, he made clear that two powerful backers stood behind him, both prominent families. The Black Dragon Gang was only a middling gang in the outer city of Qingyuan County, and couldn't afford to offend them.
Besides, the fact that Chen Yuan was practicing martial arts was reason enough for Qian Bao to show him some respect.
Sure enough, after hearing this, the arrogance on Qian Bao's face faded. He nodded.
"Not bad. You've got a bright future. I'm just wondering, how exactly is the Gu Family supporting you?"
He was still probing.
Chen Yuan smiled. "I'm fortunate to have earned the Gu Family's favor. At present, they give me five taels of silver a month."
Only then did Qian Bao look at him seriously, clearly surprised.
Five taels a month meant the Gu Family valued him quite highly. Chen Yuan must have considerable potential.
He cleared his throat twice. "Brother Chen, you've really made me look at you in a new light. But the residence fee and filial piety money still have to be paid."
Chen Yuan nodded. "I understand. It's the rule. But this filial piety money..."
A sorrowful expression appeared on Qian Bao's face at just the right moment. "The old madam... has passed away."
The old madam meant the gang leader's mother.
But Chen Yuan wondered: how did this old madam die once every two or three years? Was she cultivating an undead army?
He nearly lost his composure, but thankfully managed not to laugh.
He could only play along, sighing mournfully. "Master Qian, you see, I'm practicing martial arts now, and I still have to send money home..."
Qian Bao patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder and spoke earnestly.
"Brother Chen, I'm not cheating you. The residence fee for your family of four is sixty copper coins. Add the filial piety money of fifty copper coins per household, and that makes a total of one hundred and ten copper coins. I can't go any lower."
Then he lowered his voice. "For the filial piety money, I charge other people sixty copper coins."
What a racket—twenty percent skimmed off the top. Chen Yuan clicked his tongue twice, knowing there was no room for negotiation.
He stopped his aunt from stepping in, paid with a pained expression, and finally sent Qian Bao on his way.
Then he guided his aunt back to the dinner table and reassured her. "Auntie, I still have money to spare. Don't worry. I'm getting five taels of silver a month now. That's enough to feed me."
His aunt complained indignantly, "That Black Dragon Gang comes around every few days with some excuse to charge extra money. They're determined to squeeze every last drop out of us."
Cheng Yong sighed too. "I heard people talking at the morning market. The Black Dragon Gang has been clashing with the gangs nearby lately, so they immediately came up with this excuse to collect filial piety money. We're the ones who suffer."
Chen Yuan couldn't help thinking of the saying: When an empire rises, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer.
He could only sigh softly. "Auntie, Uncle, things should get better once I break through."
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