Pine Crane Restaurant was arguably the most expensive restaurant in Jiaqing County.
A single meal there could cost one or two taels of silver, more than an ordinary person spent on food in an entire month.
Liu Lie had helped Lin Yi a great deal lately.
Lin Yi wanted to treat him to a meal, so he chose this place.
Lin Yi and Liu Lie sat by the window in a private room.
After three rounds of drinks,
Lin Yi said, "Senior Brother, there are a few things I'd like to ask you about."
Liu Lie laughed heartily. "No need to be so formal. Between us, just ask whatever you like."
Lin Yi asked, "After becoming a Martial Artist, what are some ways to make money?"
This was the problem weighing most heavily on Lin Yi's mind right now.
Was Lin Yi short on money?
He was! Without a doubt, he was.
After advancing to Martial Artist, all sorts of expenses would increase by dozens of times, if not more.
Lin Yi had around five hundred taels to his name, but even that wouldn't last if he simply lived off it.
Relying solely on [Know Heavenly Fate] to find small opportunities and make money was too unreliable.
So the best solution was still to find work that could provide a steady income.
"Ah, I thought it was something serious..." Liu Lie smiled. "That's easy enough."
"After becoming a Martial Artist, there are two common paths."
"One is to pursue an official career: the Peace Guard, the Evil-Slaying Bureau, the military, or taking the Martial Arts Examination."
Lin Yi understood.
"The Martial Arts Examination is a good path, but it's incredibly difficult. Take our Jiaqing County, for example. Only about thirty people pass each year, so you'd have to rank among the top thirty Martial Artists under forty in the entire county."
"I took the exam last year. At the time, my strength was about that of a congenital Bright Force Martial Artist, but I still ranked somewhere in the forties across the county. I heard that even the lowest-ranked person to pass last year had congenital Bright Force strength."
"But once you pass, you're essentially a reserve for the Peace Guard, the Evil-Slaying Bureau, or the military. You don't have to do anything, and the government still pays you ten taels of silver a month."
"If a Martial Artist has the ability to pass, most of them will take an honorary position. Our senior brother's family has served in the Peace Guard for generations. His father is even the head of the Peace Guard in Jiaqing County."
Yuan's eldest disciple, Su Ji.
Lin Yi had heard of him.
Liu Lie continued, "But, Junior Brother, there's no need to worry too much. Aside from pursuing an official career, you can also serve as a guest retainer in the homes of local gentry and powerful families. They tend to pay quite generously."
"Now that you're an inner-courtyard disciple at the martial arts school, I expect they'll come looking for you before long. My family runs an Escort Agency, so as I make the rounds among the local gentry, I'll put in a good word for you." Liu Lie smiled.
"In that case, thank you, Senior Brother." Lin Yi raised his cup to Liu Lie.
That afternoon, Lin Yi returned to the martial arts school.
He headed to the school's Martial Arts Library.
Ordinary Martial Artists could train in only four martial techniques: fist techniques, saber techniques, movement techniques, and concealed weapons. To learn anything else, they had to pay Master Yuan.
The four techniques were called the Long Ape Fist, Long Rainbow Saber Technique, Long Rainbow Movement Technique, and Thread Control Art.
Lin Yi didn't plan to learn all of them.
He already knew a fist technique, a movement technique, and a saber technique.
The only one he hadn't really studied was concealed weapons, and he had no firsthand experience with it.
Lin Yi planned to focus on learning the Thread Control Art.
First, he didn't have the energy for everything.
Second, his Reckless Blade and Vast Step were good enough.
Third, Lin Yi was a practical man. Concealed weapons might be underhanded, but they often caught people off guard and were extremely useful.
By the time he had finished all this, evening had arrived.
After getting dressed, Lin Yi set off for the West Market in the inner city.
The opportunity shown in the [Know Heavenly Fate] divination for the past few days lay in the West Market.
Jiaqing County's largest marketplace was divided into eastern and western markets.
The East Market was mainly active in the morning, selling precious medicines, meat, and, occasionally, pills commonly used by Martial Artists.
The West Market mainly opened at dusk, selling things like tools and horses.
It was late afternoon now.
The West Market was bustling, with crowds streaming through the streets.
"There seem to be a lot of people today..."
Lin Yi listened closely as he moved through the crowd, True Qi gathering in his ears and sharpening his senses as he picked up the surrounding chatter.
"Have you heard? Master Wu is selling a Treasure Artifact at the West Market today..."
"Master Wu has another new masterpiece?!"
"Everyone, have you heard any clues? Why don't we share them?"
"Ah, what clues could there be? To this day, no one knows what Master Wu looks like. Every time he announces a weapon for sale, the news comes from the End of the World Pavilion. And every time, the weapon goes to whoever fate chooses."
"Every stallholder on this street could be Master Wu."
"So now we just have to see who has the right eye to buy Master Wu's treasure. You should know that the End of the World Pavilion was willing to pay over a thousand taels of silver to acquire one of the weapons Master Wu made on a whim, just to study how it was made."
"..."
Lin Yi looked at today's divination.
Today's Fortune [Moderately Auspicious] [Moderately Auspicious]: In Jiaqing's West Market, at the far end of the market, a Nuo Mask stall in the corner has a Treasure Artifact for sale at a low price. A chance to snap up a bargain...
It seemed his opportunity was that so-called Master Wu.
Lin Yi couldn't help feeling that he and this so-called Master Wu were fated to meet.
The Sleeve Crossbow he had acquired earlier had also been made by him.
After getting his hands on the set of Sleeve Crossbows, Lin Yi had made a point of looking into Master Wu around the county.
According to the rumors, Master Wu was a formidable Artifact Refining Grandmaster whose ancestors had been a family of artisans who crafted artifacts for the Great Yan imperial family.
The treasures he crafted greatly amplified a Martial Artist's abilities.
But Master Wu made very few treasures, and every time he sold one, it went only to someone fate had chosen.
What was more, Master Wu looked different every time he sold an artifact.
Some said he was an old man, others said he was a young man, and some even claimed he was a child...
Even now, no one outside had an accurate description of Master Wu's appearance.
Lin Yi moved through the crowd, following the divination's directions, and soon reached a Nuo Mask stall in a corner at the far end of the West Market.
The stallholder was a hunched old man with a weathered face covered in wrinkles. A gray-white cloth cap sat on his head, and exquisitely crafted Nuo Masks hung all around him.
Most of the Nuo Masks depicted righteous gods, Fierce Gods, Clowns, Monsters, and animals. Clustered around the stallholder, they gave off an eerie air.
Lin Yi stepped up to the stall and looked at the many masks surrounding the old man. He couldn't help giving a soft laugh.
People often said that a thousand people could see a thousand different versions of Master Wu.
Wasn't this dazzling array of masks the clearest hint of all? Countless Nuo Masks were gathered here, concealing his true face—Master Wu was right here.
Master Wu, who had been dozing, noticed Lin Yi's soft laugh. His bowed head lifted slightly, the corner of his mouth curling up. "Looks like a perceptive one has come along..."
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