Staying Out of Trouble

Early one morning, Sun Ping arrived at his workstation, but his face looked awful, sallow and yellow.

He'd barely swung his hammer a few times before he started coughing.

Seeing this, Shen Chu hurriedly set down his work and asked, "Master Sun, what's wrong? You look so pale."

Sun Ping waved a hand weakly. "It's nothing, nothing. Maybe I caught a chill last night. I'm just feeling a little under the weather. You get on with your work. I'll be fine after a bit of rest."

Seeing how feebly he spoke, Shen Chu couldn't very well leave him alone. He accompanied him back to his quarters and poured him a cup of hot water.

Sun Ping took a sip, then finally caught his breath. "Shen Chu, if you have time, could you go to Renhe Hall at the end of the street and get me a few doses of medicine for a chill? It's an old ailment. A couple doses and I'll be fine."

Shen Chu nodded, told him to get some proper rest, and headed out.

Renhe Hall wasn't far from Li Residence. It was only two streets away.

Shen Chu had just stepped into the medicine shop when he ran into a familiar figure coming toward him.

Zhao Dezhu was standing at the counter with a packet of freshly prepared medicine in his hand, turning to leave.

The two caught sight of each other and both froze for a moment.

A flicker of unease crossed Zhao Dezhu's face, but he quickly forced a smile. "Well, Shen Chu! What a coincidence. Are you here to get medicine too?"

Shen Chu nodded, not thinking much of it, and answered honestly. "Master Sun isn't feeling well, so I'm here to get him a few doses of medicine for a chill. Steward Zhao, what about you...?"

"Oh, me? I've got a little something wrong, too. Just came to get some medicine to take care of it."

Zhao Dezhu gave a dry laugh, his words a little vague, as if he didn't want to say more.

"Well, you go ahead. I'll be heading back."

With that, he picked up his packet and hurried out of the shop.

He was walking more than twice as fast as usual.

Shen Chu watched him go, then glanced around the medicine shop.

He remembered hearing a while ago that a new shop had opened in the city, one that specialized in treating men's private ailments. Quite a few wealthy and powerful people secretly visited it.

And Renhe Hall happened to be the very shop in those rumors.

Shen Chu looked back at the shop assistant pounding medicine behind the counter, then recalled Zhao Dezhu's guilty expression. He could guess most of what was going on.

But he wasn't one to gossip. It was enough to know about something like that; there was no need to go blabbing it everywhere.

He put the matter out of his mind, described Sun Ping's symptoms, and had the assistant prepare a few doses of medicine for a chill. After paying, he returned to Li Residence.

Yet after taking the medicine for two days, Sun Ping showed no sign of getting better. He was still listless and could barely get out of bed.

Shen Chu visited him every day, but Sun Ping always waved him off, saying he was fine and would recover after a few days of rest.

When Shen Chu went to see him again that day, Sun Ping was propped up against the headboard. He suddenly said, "Shen Chu, don't push yourself too hard these next few days. Rest when you need to. Take a day off now and then, even if nothing's wrong. Don't spend all your time cooped up in the yard forging iron."

Shen Chu was pouring him some water. He didn't think much of it and replied casually, "Don't worry, Master Sun. I'm sturdy as an ox. You're the one who needs to get better—that's what matters."

He still wanted to do more forging and raise his Thousand Hammer Refinement progress. If he could level it up to Lv. 2 soon, perhaps his constitution would improve, which would help him with his martial training.

Sun Ping looked at him. His lips moved, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end all that came out was a sigh. "If you ever feel like taking a break, come keep an old man company and have a chat."

Shen Chu smiled and agreed, still not taking the words to heart.

A few more days passed before Shen Chu finally began to see what was going on.

Around noon, Shen Chu had just finished eating and was preparing to get back to forging when several figures approached him.

He looked up. They were the old hands who had once worked under Steward Li.

They all looked troubled, their eyes filled with worry and expectation.

One of the older men lowered his voice. "Shen Chu, we'd like to discuss something with you."

Shen Chu set down his hammer and wiped away the sweat. "Master Wang, go ahead."

Master Wang sighed and got straight to the point. "You've seen it yourself. Zhao Dezhu and his people are getting worse by the day. The rest of us old hands are being pushed aside so badly we can barely get a hot meal. We were thinking we could join forces and stand together. When the eldest young master comes back, at least we'd have someone who could speak up for us. You're young, and Master Sun has your back. If you're willing to take the lead, we'll have the confidence to stand up to them."

As soon as Shen Chu heard this, he immediately understood.

No wonder Sun Ping had pretended to be ill and stayed home, hinting again and again that Shen Chu should keep his distance too.

Master Sun had probably already been approached by these old hands. He knew they intended to band together against Zhao Dezhu, but didn't want to get caught up in a struggle like that. So he'd used his illness as an excuse to stay out of it, and had indirectly warned Shen Chu not to get involved either.

Shen Chu certainly wasn't about to jump into that pit. Though he spoke politely, he shook his head firmly. "Master Wang, I'm just a newcomer who's only recently joined the residence. What do I know about leading anyone? You all have seniority and experience. You should decide what to do yourselves. I only want to quietly improve my craft. I really can't take on anything else."

Master Wang and the others couldn't hide their disappointment at his blunt refusal, but they didn't dare press him. They turned and left, dejected.

But they'd barely taken a few steps when they ran into several of Zhao Dezhu's lackeys. Seeing Old Wang and the others, one of them taunted, "Well, look who it is! Where are you old-timers off to? Shouldn't you be working instead of wandering around? Trying to slack off again?"

Wang was already fuming, and the taunt set him off at once. "Who are you calling a slacker?! I've worked in this yard for decades. You were still running around with your trousers split when I started! Who do you think you are, lecturing me?!"

The man wasn't about to back down. He sneered, "You've worked for decades and you're still an ordinary bladesmith. And you're proud of that? If you're so capable, why don't you forge a low-grade weapon like Master Sun?"

The two sides traded insults, growing angrier by the moment.

Wang was so furious his voice grew louder and louder, until he finally roared, "Don't get too cocky! We've already reached an understanding with Master Sun and Shen Chu. We're just waiting for the eldest young master to come back. Then you'll see! We'll find out whether you lackeys can hold your ground, or whether us old-timers can!"

At those words, the men's expressions changed.

But with so many people watching, they didn't want to lose face. They snorted, tossed out a "Just you wait," and went to Zhao Dezhu's room to complain.

They embellished Wang's words as they repeated them, especially stressing that Master Sun and Shen Chu might get involved too.

After hearing them out, Zhao Dezhu's face darkened as if water might drip from it. He was silent for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table. "Enough! That's enough! Those old fossils can't make any waves. Get back to whatever you're supposed to be doing. Stop standing around here getting in my way!"