"Congratulations to Master Lin on your promotion! May your blessings be as vast as the Eastern Sea!"
"May Master Lin live as long as the Southern Mountain!"
"May your halls be filled with children and grandchildren!"
The well-wishes grew more and more outrageous. The main problem was that there were simply too many people, and they couldn't get around to congratulating everyone.
After just one night to think it over, the shopkeepers on Four Directions Street had swiftly changed their tune.
They had been lining up in the alley outside Broken Firewood Courtyard since early morning.
They couldn't openly call it paying Peace Money; they had to call it a congratulatory gift.
That way, it wouldn't look as if Master Lin were bullying anyone and forcibly extorting them.
By comparison, those ordinary folk seemed a little less savvy.
They huddled in twos and threes, timidly edging closer. Their smiles were strained, unable to conceal the bitterness in their eyes.
In their hands, they held scraps of silver and copper coins, damp with sweat.
They stammered, "A token of filial respect... a token of filial respect for Master Lin."
After paying the silver to a Wolf Lord and Liu Zhen, then getting fleeced by Tian Jingyuan, barely half a month had passed before another Master Lin showed up.
"..."
Yun Niang leaned behind the door inside the house, watching the courtyard through the window.
She didn't dare show her face, so Dong Cheng was the only one handling the money.
Since arriving on Four Directions Street, this Young Wolf had never enjoyed such a glorious moment. He was practically grinning his face apart.
It wasn't until the young man came up behind him that Dong Cheng noticed. He hurriedly put on a fawning smile. "Master Lin, you're awake!"
"Pack this stuff up. Give those tokens of filial respect back."
Lin Shu yawned sleepily. "We'll talk about it next month."
"Heh, I understand!"
Dong Cheng had set all the scraps of silver and copper coins on a nearby table, keeping each batch separate instead of mixing them together.
He hadn't forgotten what Master Lin had said.
Master Lin had never cared for these paltry coins stained with sweat and mud. Taking them would only dirty his hands. If he was going to work, he'd go after a fat pig like Liu Zhen!
One big haul would be enough to keep these poor wretches earning for dozens of lifetimes.
"You heard him. Hurry up and get lost!" Dong Cheng snapped.
Though the Young Wolf's attitude was somewhat harsh, to the poor men gathered outside the courtyard, those words were like heavenly music.
They cautiously studied the Fierce Wolf's expression.
Once they were sure he wasn't joking, their hardship-worn faces finally lit up with astonished delight.
"Thank you for your mercy, Master Lin!"
The Fierce Wolf on Four Directions Street had changed hands many times, but this was the first time anything like this had happened.
As the crowd in the courtyard ebbed away like a receding tide,
Dong Cheng grabbed the gold ornaments and jade pieces and stuffed them into a bundle. "I'll go exchange these for silver. By the way... Master Lin, about the White Tiger Hall..."
Now that he had finally found a comfortable life, he naturally hoped he could keep it that way for a while.
"Go on ahead."
Lin Shu rubbed his stomach.
No wonder that fried-dough-stick vendor had run off so quickly after recognizing his face.
The food he'd been selling hadn't looked very sanitary.
As for the White Tiger Hall Dong Cheng had brought up...
He had only just secured his turf and managed to sleep peacefully. Now he'd woken up to another problem.
By his reckoning, he'd probably offended them three times already?
At most, those people were Qi Refining cultivators. If he worked hard and earned more Virtue Coins and Evil Coins, he ought to be able to catch up with them.
There was no point overthinking it. He'd take things one step at a time.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Master Lin~"
With the courtyard empty of outsiders, Yun Niang finally came out of the house. A rare, radiant smile graced her face, and even her steps seemed lighter.
It was as though the worry she had carried in her heart had finally lifted.
"You've only just woken up. I'll make you something to eat."
"..."
Lin Shu watched her graceful figure, his gaze flickering.
Yu Sheng had mentioned that the Little Widow had absorbed a few strands of Azure Qi.
No wonder she was so happy.
Lin Shu didn't think much of it. After all, by rights, she had come into contact with Immortal Scions far earlier than he had, and she had supported this household through the hard work of washing clothes.
It was only right for her to receive an opportunity.
If Yu Sheng had been the one to choose, that Little Chick would probably have given all the Azure Qi to Yun Niang without sparing a single strand for him, Lin.
Lin Shu was just curious whether she had also comprehended the Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art, or some other Immortal Method.
The two of them could be considered fellow disciples.
They could easily exchange experiences when they had time that evening.
"Hm?"
Yun Niang had just gone to close the courtyard gate when she saw several figures emerge from a corner.
They were all boys of thirteen or fourteen, sturdy-looking, but in a wretched state.
Their clothes were tattered, and their faces were covered in blood and swollen bruises.
They didn't say a word. With their eyes lowered, they approached the courtyard gate, dropped to their knees in unison, and knocked their heads against the ground several times.
Then they darted out of the alley as though fleeing.
"How wonderful."
The smile on Yun Niang's face grew sweeter.
There were too many unfortunate people in Blackwater City to save them all.
But for these boys to have met their benefactor was the greatest good fortune they could have had, just as it had been for her.
She reached out to close the gate again, but at the edge of her vision, a stunningly beautiful woman appeared.
The woman seemed a little older than she was, tall and a head taller than most girls.
Though she wore a uniform like those of the constables, it did nothing to hide her beauty.
Instead, alongside her gentle maturity, she carried a faint air of heroic grace.
Two entirely different temperaments seemed to blend perfectly in one person.
A trace of envy showed in Yun Niang's eyes.
"Go back inside."
Just then, a hand behind her casually tugged her back. The young man's slightly slender figure completely blocked her from view.
There was no room for negotiation in his calm voice.
"All right." Yun Niang nodded obediently and hurried back inside.
The two of them must have had important business to discuss and needed a quiet place.
Besides, her identity was not something she could easily show in public. She couldn't cause trouble for her benefactor.
"Would you mind if I came in for a chat?"
The unfamiliar woman smiled. First, she looked up at the top of Broken Firewood Courtyard, then turned her gaze to the young man.
She stopped politely at the threshold. "You've probably guessed who I am."
"Not especially, and I can't say I've guessed." Lin Shu folded his arms and leaned lazily against the door.
He hadn't survived this long by charging in blindly.
Even when facing a true great cultivator—or just the two ordinary constables who had come to his door with Yan Jin and Bai Feng—Lin Shu knew when to keep his mouth shut.
There was something off about this woman.
Her glance at the top of the courtyard had reminded Lin Shu of what Yu Sheng had just said.
Below the Foundation Establishment Realm, it was difficult to notice the formation in the courtyard so quickly.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not conceited, and I don't think everyone in the city should know who I am."
A hint of emotion entered the unfamiliar woman's smile. She gently shook her head. "But from the moment I appeared, you looked at me three times in the space of a single breath."
"First, you looked at my chest—or, to be precise, at the Wave-Riding Purple Flood Dragon on my lapel."
"After confirming who I was, you looked at my face. You were wondering if I was Chang Yi's mother, but you realized the ages didn't quite match. After all, I'm only twenty-seven and don't look old enough, so you figured I must be one of his relatives."
"Then you looked at my chest again, and only after that did you look at my legs. That means you care more about a woman's bust than her legs—and you were quite pleased with what you saw."
"The fact that you had time to notice all that means you're certain I won't hurt you."
The woman finished speaking, then grew a little more serious. "Gu Nanzhi, Blackwater City County Lieutenant, Chang Yi's maternal aunt."
"I'm telling you all this because I'm impressed by Greedy Wolf's meticulous mind. But I really did come here without hostile intentions. Can we have an honest conversation now?"
"..."
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow. After a brief silence, he turned and said flatly, "Actually, I wasn't that pleased."
He really hated people with such keen powers of observation.
"Liar."
Gu Nanzhi folded her arms as well, lifting her chin with confidence.
"Don't be afraid of her. She reeks of immortal aura, but she's just a World-Walking Disciple. Even if she discovers me, she wouldn't dare do anything. She'd have to put me on a pedestal!"
An indignant, childish voice rang out in Lin Shu's mind.
Clearly, Lin Shu wasn't the only one displeased by Gu Nanzhi's deliberate display of superiority.
A fair-skinned doll, no longer than a forearm, stood on the bed, puffing up in anger.
She had just tried to fold her arms to look more imposing. But after glancing at her own emerald-green bellyband and remembering how she'd looked as a young girl, she could only lower her arms in disappointment and clench her two tiny fists.
"What's so great about having big breasts!"
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