Paying Protection Money

Deep in the mine.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The heavy iron pick struck the rock wall, sparks bursting as large chunks of stone peeled away at the sound.

"Body Tempering first layer, blood and qi surging, and both arms have a full three hundred pounds of tremendous strength. This mining efficiency really is far beyond before!" Lu Lin's spirits soared, the muscles in his arms bulging. Each swing of the iron pick faintly carried the sound of tearing through the air, and the pick's tip sank deep into the Black Iron Vein, who knew how many times easier than before his breakthrough.

Before long, a weighty chunk of black iron ore fell into Lu Lin's hand. He weighed it and found it was over a pound.

He tossed it into the bamboo basket on his back, wiped away his sweat, and continued swinging the pick.

The sun's shadow slanted west, and the light inside the mine grew dimmer and dimmer. Lu Lin shouldered the already rather heavy bamboo basket and walked out along the winding tunnel.

Hm?

After walking only a short distance, Lu Lin's steps paused slightly.

Ahead, there was actually someone carrying a bamboo basket, staggering against the flow of people as he headed deeper into the mine.

At this hour, everyone had already stopped work and returned to their nests. Who would be going deeper into the mine now?

When the figure drew closer, with the help of the faint light from the mining lamps hanging on the cave wall, Lu Lin finally saw clearly that it was Lu Shi.

This companion from the same village, kidnapped here together and sharing the same communal bunkhouse, now had a face mottled blue and purple, dried blood still at the corner of his mouth. He limped as he walked, clearly having suffered no light injury.

"Lu Shi? What happened? Who did this?" Lu Lin asked in a low voice.

"Lu Lin..." Seeing someone he knew, Lu Shi's eyes instantly reddened. The grievance and rage he had been forcing down erupted, and he gritted his teeth. "Who else could it be? Those bastards from the Blood Wolf Gang! They said this mining area is under their control, and everyone has to hand over one pound of black iron ore every day as 'filial respect,' otherwise we're not allowed to mine here! I refused to give it... so they beat me up... The ore I mined today... all of it was robbed!"

His voice carried a sob. "I was already short of this month's quota by quite a bit, and now today's harvest is gone too... If I don't mine a bit more to make up for it... I'm dead for sure! I can only... only risk it at night..."

"The Blood Wolf Gang..." Lu Lin's gaze flickered, and related memories surged into his mind.

In the Blood Baleful Demon Sect's black iron mining area, there were several thousand menial martial artists, so naturally many gang forces had grown from it.

The Blood Wolf Gang was one of them. They entrenched themselves in the Rich Ore Zone, monopolized resources, and even stretched their demonic claws toward the poor ore areas, extorting under the name of "protection."

They did not need to run themselves ragged over their quotas, enjoying the fruits of others' labor instead. Naturally, they had more time to practice martial arts, and their strength was also greater.

"Lu Shi, the yin energy in the mine at night is extremely heavy. With your body... you won't be able to withstand it!" Lu Lin warned with a frown.

Once night fell in this mining area, the cold pierced to the bone, and yin energy invaded the body. A martial artist's blood and qi found it difficult to resist. At best, one's vital energy would be badly damaged and one's foundation impaired; at worst, one would suffer a serious illness, or even lose one's life.

Therefore, after nightfall, no one dared linger here at all.

"I know... but if I can't complete the quota... I'll be dead immediately! Death either way, so I might as well risk it!" Lu Shi's face was full of sorrow, his eyes brimming with the despair and helplessness of someone driven to the end of the road.

Lu Lin sighed inwardly.

They were fellow fallen wanderers at the ends of the earth; in this demon den, who was not an ant struggling to survive? Silently, he took off his bamboo basket, pulled out two weighty pieces of black iron ore, and stuffed them into Lu Shi's hands. "Take them. I mined a bit extra today. Use these two pounds to tide yourself over first."

"Th-thank you!" Lu Shi held the ore, his voice trembling slightly with emotion.

"Take care of yourself. Go back early." Lu Lin patted his shoulder, shouldered the bamboo basket again, and strode swiftly toward the outside.

What he could do was only this much.

"Lu Lin!" Lu Shi's lowered voice came from behind him, urgent. "You just broke through to the first layer of Body Tempering, so the Blood Wolf Gang will definitely have their eyes on you too. They don't just want black iron ore, they want Blood Qi Pills as well. Once you get one... swallow it immediately! Don't keep it and let them rob it from you!"

Lu Lin's steps paused. Without turning back, he said, "Thanks," and his figure quickly vanished into the dim tunnel.

On the way back, Lu Lin was especially vigilant. He deliberately chose quiet side paths, avoiding possible ambush points. The journey was alarming but safe, yet when he neared the entrance of the communal bunkhouse, he still glimpsed three figures loitering in the shadows.

"Li Zitong!" Lu Lin's eyes narrowed.

It was precisely this guy who had led people to injure Lu Shi. He immediately changed direction, circled around to the side door, and slipped silently back into the communal bunkhouse.

After washing off the mine dust covering his body and changing into clean clothes, Lu Lin walked toward the "dining hall" exclusive to Body Tempering martial artists.

As soon as he entered, a rich meaty aroma rushed over him, stirring the glutton in his belly and making him unable to help swallowing.

After stepping into the Body Tempering Realm, the treatment was indeed different. Aside from the Blood Qi Pill, this meal of meat to replenish blood and qi was a real, tangible benefit.

A large steaming plate of stewed beef, fragrant with sauce, was soon brought to the table. Lu Lin feasted heartily, eating until his mouth shone with oil. This full meal was the most satisfying moment since he had crossed over.

The next day, after completing his routine morning cultivation, Lu Lin carried his bamboo basket toward the mining area.

Just as he rounded a jagged heap of rubble, three figures flashed out like ghosts, blocking his path completely.

Lu Lin's pupils abruptly contracted.

Li Zitong and the other two! As expected, he had still been targeted. There was no avoiding it.

"You're Lu Lin, right?" Li Zitong, who stood at the front, crossed his arms and sized Lu Lin up at leisure, smiling without warmth. "Let me introduce myself. Li Zitong, from the Blood Wolf Gang. You understand the rules here?"

"What rules?" Lu Lin pretended not to know.

"This stretch of mine is under the protection of our Blood Wolf Gang!" Li Zitong's tone was perfectly matter-of-fact. "You lot can mine here safe and sound, without being robbed or beaten, all because we brothers are working behind the scenes to maintain order! So, hand over a bit of 'protection money' as a gesture. Not much, one pound of black iron ore a day." He raised a finger and wagged it.

"One pound a day?" Lu Lin sneered inwardly. Completing the sect's daily quota of six pounds was already extremely difficult, yet these parasites actually wanted to siphon off one-sixth out of thin air!

"And..." Li Zitong changed tack, the greed in his eyes growing even stronger. "I heard you just broke through to the first layer of Body Tempering and received a Blood Qi Pill? Hand it over. This 'protection money'... includes that too."

"Blood Qi Pill?" Lu Lin spread his hands, his face calm and open. "I ate it last night."

"Ate it?" Li Zitong's eyes abruptly turned cold, his venomous snake-like gaze sweeping back and forth over Lu Lin as if he wanted to see through him.

Lu Lin's expression did not change, and his heartbeat stayed steady.

He truly had not eaten that Blood Qi Pill. He had planned to use it together with an Inferior Spirit Stone, but he had long since put it into the Martial Dao Melting Furnace's meager one-foot inner space. Forget searching him—even if they stripped him naked, they could dream on if they thought they would find it!

"Hmph, it doesn't matter if you ate it." Li Zitong smiled grimly, as if he had expected this all along. "Once you enter the Body Tempering Realm, you get one Blood Qi Pill every ten days. I'm not greedy. Each month, you only need to hand over one! Add to that one jin of Black Iron Ore every day, and I'll guarantee you smooth sailing in this stretch of mine. Otherwise..." He stepped closer, his lowered voice carrying a chill. "The Demon Sect may forbid private fighting, but deep in these mines... a few blind-eyed handymen getting buried in a cave-in is a common thing..."

A naked threat!

Their visit today had never been for a Blood Qi Pill that might already have been consumed. What they wanted was a long, steady stream of "income."

They also knew how to measure their limits. If they forcefully demanded all three Blood Qi Pills each month and cut off another person's hope of cultivation, they would only drive him to desperate measures, to smash jade and stone together. Taking only one each month and leaving two gave a person a faint, hazy hope, like boiling a frog in warm water, leaving him a sliver of fantasy amid despair so he would not dare fight with his life.

What a fine venomous scheme, cutting flesh with a dull knife!

"Boy, don't fail to appreciate kindness..." Seeing Lu Lin remain silent, the two lackeys beside him, both at the second level of Body Tempering, had increasingly unfriendly looks in their eyes as they flexed their fists.

"You gentlemen misunderstand," Lu Lin suddenly said, his tone carrying a touch of "sincerity." "I was thinking... could we change the terms?"

"Change the terms?"

"This Black Iron Ore... is truly difficult to dig." Lu Lin showed a "troubled" expression. "I want to convert the monthly thirty jin of Black Iron Ore 'protection fee' into one Blood Qi Pill instead. That way, I'll hand over two Blood Qi Pills to you each month, all at once at the end of the month. How about it?"

"Black Iron Ore for Blood Qi Pills?" Li Zitong's eyes suddenly lit up, and he agreed almost without thinking. "Of course! You'd better keep your word!" The value of Blood Qi Pills was far beyond what Black Iron Ore could compare to! This deal was practically a bloody profit!

"I absolutely won't go back on it." Lu Lin nodded seriously.

"Good! Then it's settled! Thirty days from now, we'll come to you for the goods. If you dare play tricks..." Li Zitong grinned savagely and made a throat-slitting gesture. "You know the consequences!"

He did not grow suspicious.

In his view, it was perfectly normal for Lu Lin to propose such terms. If he failed to complete the sect's Black Iron Ore task, death would come immediately, while his cultivation only needed to reach the third level of Body Tempering within a year and a half. Even if he had fewer Blood Qi Pills and progressed more slowly, at least he could live a while longer.

Human nature sought profit and avoided harm, and would always choose the method of death that seemed able to drag things out a little longer.

"Also, don't even think about looking for the steward. This matter, the steward won't manage."

Li Zitong said coldly.

Lu Lin fell silent.

He knew very well that the other party was not lying.

If the steward would manage it, then more than a dozen gangs would not exist in the Black Iron Ore district.

There were most likely interests entangled in this.

The steward had probably received benefits from these gangs.

For example, the Blood Qi Pills distributed to each person were a rule of the Blood Baleful Demon Sect, and no steward dared violate the Demon Sect's rules.

But if they made a circuit around it, and the Blood Qi Pills passed through the hands of the gangs before landing in the steward's hands, then that would not violate the Demon Sect's rules.

Watching Li Zitong and the other two leave in high spirits, a cold glint flashed deep in Lu Lin's eyes. "Li Zitong's cultivation is at the third level of Body Tempering... the other two are at the second level of Body Tempering... one month..."

One month later, how could he possibly truly offer up two Blood Qi Pills? This was nothing more than a stalling tactic.

He had to seize every second and raise his strength! Within one month, he had to break through to the third level of Body Tempering!

Lu Lin strode deep into the mine.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the pickaxe striking rock echoed through the gloom.

Unfortunately, his luck today seemed poor. Until dusk, aside from digging enough six jin of Black Iron Ore to complete that doubled task, he did not see that precious milky-white glow again.

"Right now, mining depends purely on dumb luck, and the efficiency is too low... I have to think of a way to improve my mining skills..." Lu Lin wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the hard mine wall, sinking into thought.