Rewards

"But my vitality is still a hidden danger. If this keeps up, and I have to face Wang Que in the sparring assessment..." Li Mu worried inwardly.

Wang Que's vitality was as high as 6.6, far above his.

Even with the advantage in swordsmanship proficiency, if they truly fought and he was dragged into a prolonged battle, he would likely win only narrowly, perhaps even at a terrible cost.

That would mean getting injured.

Li Mu did not want to be injured. An injury would affect his cultivation progress.

He had to find a way to raise his vitality as soon as possible.

But where could he get silver?

Suddenly, five bell chimes rang out, interrupting his thoughts.

Knowing that the steward had come to issue orders again, Li Mu immediately followed the crowd downstairs.

Leng Shuangyu was still dressed in fitted black attire, making her voluptuous curves all the more prominent. Quite a few empty sword cases sat by her feet.

She parted her thin lips and said coldly, "The manor is transferring a batch of stored swords today. Whichever sword rack I call, the person in charge will inventory them, pack them into cases, and carry them down."

"Third floor, sword rack fifty-seven, twenty swords."

"Sixth floor, sword rack forty-five, twenty swords."

"Seventh floor, sword rack ninety-six, twenty swords."

"...Zhao Tuo, distribute the lists and arrange the transport. Be quick."

"Yes!"

A burly servant with a face full of beard stepped forward from beside her, holding a stack of lists.

"Seventh floor, sword rack ninety-six. That's under my charge."

Li Mu stepped forward on his own initiative.

This Zhao Tuo looked like he might be brothers with Instructor Zhao Meng...

"Li Mu, right? You, you, and you—go up and carry them down with him."

Zhao Tuo glanced at Li Mu, checked the register in his hand, gave Li Mu a sheet of paper, then casually pointed out three others to join the transport.

The four of them carried the empty cases up to the seventh-floor sword rack, quickly checked the list and packed the swords. Before long, they had filled the cases and delivered them downstairs.

Li Mu usually kept a low profile while practicing swordsmanship and rarely socialized. He had no quarrels with those three.

Moreover, the steward had given the order, and any mistake would see them punished together. Naturally, there were no complications.

But the others were not so fortunate.

As one group was carrying their swords down, someone tripped and sent everything crashing to the ground.

"Liang, you did that on purpose!"

"You idiot! You've gotten us killed!"

Several men glared furiously at one another before directly grappling into a fight, throwing the scene into utter chaos.

The servants nearby immediately stepped in, subdued them, and forced them to kneel before Leng Shuangyu.

"You bunch of pigs. You can't even handle such a simple task. I reward you with ten lashes, then expel you from the manor. You will never be employed again. Get out!"

Leng Shuangyu cracked her whip viciously, lashing them until their skin split and flesh tore. Then she had them all dragged away.

They wept bitterly and kowtowed again and again, but Leng Shuangyu did not spare them a glance as they were hauled off.

"These swords can no longer be used. Maintain them again and bring down another batch," Leng Shuangyu ordered.

Very quickly, another case full of swords was carried down.

Leng Shuangyu opened the cases and inspected the swords one by one. Her inspection was extremely meticulous, and everyone present grew tense.

If she found any errors...

Suddenly, Leng Shuangyu's expression changed. She raised a heavy sword and said, "There is still rust on this one. Sixth floor, sword rack forty-five—who was responsible? Step forward!"

A young girl shakily stepped out and dropped to her knees with a thud.

Expressionless, Leng Shuangyu gave her ten lashes, whipping the girl's back until it was covered in blood. The girl fainted on the spot.

"Drag her away. If she isn't dead, throw her into the laundry room."

Everyone watched in terror, not daring to say a word.

Li Mu carefully thought back. He should not have made any mistakes.

With Clear Sword Eyes, he was far more sensitive to swords now. He could even see a trace of dust on their surfaces, much less rust.

After checking everything, Leng Shuangyu found no more problems and finally gave a slight nod. "The rest of you have done your work diligently. Zhao Tuo, reward each of them with one tael of silver."

"My Hidden Sword Manor is fair in rewards and punishments. Those who do well are rewarded, and those who do poorly are punished! As long as you work properly, even if you are slaves, the manor will not mistreat you."

"You heard her. Remember Steward Leng's kindness, and the manor's kindness. Work seriously. Don't be stupid, don't be lazy, and don't act recklessly!"

Zhao Tuo roared loudly, casually tossing ingots of silver at Li Mu and the others' feet without even looking at them.

When the others saw that there really was silver, their eyes filled with envy.

"Thank you for the reward, Steward! Thank you for the masters' grace!"

Li Mu picked up the silver, put on a grateful expression, lowered his head, and joined the others in thanking them. Yet inwardly, he could not help thinking, No wonder they say it is better to be a beggar than another man's slave. Even a lowly servant does not treat slaves as people.

He had silver now. He should have been happy.

This one tael of silver could solve his urgent problem and greatly improve his vitality.

Yet the desire to cast off his slave status only grew stronger in his heart.

The moment work ended, Li Mu did not even eat. He headed straight for the pharmacy.

One tael of silver was too much. It would not be safe hidden anywhere.

If he exchanged it for dried meat, it could last two months, but it might be stolen or eaten by rats.

It was better to exchange it for medicine.

Medicine might carry certain hidden risks, but Li Mu could not afford to worry about that now.

The pharmacy was in the central courtyard. Sword-wiping slaves often passed through this area on their way to Spirit Ravine Peak to fetch water, so Li Mu knew the route well.

After walking along a stretch of bluestone path and passing through a small garden ahead, he would reach the pharmacy.

Suddenly, Li Mu stopped.

A tall figure had appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

When he turned around, he saw another figure behind him.

The two youths looked somewhat familiar. Both were sword-wiping slaves from Myriad Swords Tower, but he did not remember their names, so Clear Sword Eyes could not display them. It only showed their other information.

Their vitality was both 5.0, their spirit could be ignored, their swordsmanship talent was only 10, and their Dripping Water Swordsmanship had yet to begin...

After swiftly judging their strength, Li Mu slipped a hand into his clothes and gripped the broken wooden sword he had long hidden on his person.

"Do you two need something?"

"Nothing much. We just want to borrow a little silver to buy some food."

The two smiled maliciously.

The two of them were brothers from the same village. Before entering the manor as slaves, they had loafed around the village, bullying others and living off swindling food and drink. Later, their village was destroyed, and they fled famine to Hidden Sword Manor.

After seeing so many people receive silver today, they had long been tempted.

After looking around and being tipped off by someone, they chose Li Mu, the skinniest one.

In their impression, Li Mu rarely spoke and had no friends. He was almost always alone.

His swordsmanship progress was about the same as theirs anyway. He had not yet begun, and no one was allowed to carry sharp weapons.

He was the perfect target for extortion...

The two immediately set their sights on Li Mu, followed him, determined his destination from his route, and laid in wait ahead of time.

They had done this sort of thing plenty of times. Li Mu had no way of sensing activity a hundred paces away, so naturally, he had not noticed them.

"We're only borrowing some silver to buy meat. Hand it over, and we won't do anything to you."

"That's right. We know each other, and we don't want to hurt you. Hand it over."

The two slowly closed in, deliberately blocking Li Mu's retreat.

"Fine, I'll give it to you..." Li Mu showed a trace of fear and fumbled inside his clothes as if preparing to take out the silver.

"That's more like it."

Both of them smiled, though neither relaxed his guard. After all, they had not gotten the silver yet.

They quietly prepared to seize Li Mu at any moment.

No matter what, with their strength, they did not believe the frail youth before them could resist.

Li Mu lowered his gaze slightly.

What do I do? What do I do now? Run? How can I run when the road is blocked?

Give them the money? If I do, will they let me go?

They might let me go today, but what about next time? The time after that?

There are only two of them today. How many will there be next time?

Once there is one, there will be two. Once there are two, there will be three... A rope always snaps at its weakest point, and misfortune only seeks out the unfortunate.

Only the strong can live, have status, and possess dignity. The weak can only kneel, take the whip, become slaves, and be robbed!

This is my money for medicine. I need this money to nourish my body and strengthen my vitality...

Once my vitality is strong, I can pass the assessment steadily, shed my slave status, practice the sword, and change my fate...

If you want to steal my money for medicine, you want my life...

Whoever wants my life, I'll take his life!!!

His thoughts raced through his mind in an instant.

In a split second, fear turned into surging fury.

"I'll give you your mother's head!!"

Bang!!

The broken wooden sword suddenly thrust out, and the Rain-Sting Sword Force shot forth, blasting out a terrifying surge of air.

The tall youth facing Li Mu screamed. His balance vanished, and he fell to the ground, clutching his face and howling in pain.

Blood streamed down his face.

His eye had been blasted open!!

"Y-you... you've begun..." The youth behind Li Mu froze for a moment, then instantly recognized it. That was clearly the Rain Thorn Sword Force.

He had not expected Li Mu to use a mere broken piece of wood to unleash a sword force that directly injured his companion through sheer shock!

The power of sword force was not something he could resist with bare hands!

Terror instantly surged through him. Even his legs began to tremble, and he turned to run without hesitation.

They had thought Li Mu was an easy target, and fearing he might immediately spend the silver, they had hurried after him without preparing anything.

Who could have expected this kid to be hiding a broken piece of wood—and that his swordsmanship had already begun!

If he could choose again, he would never have picked a fight with Li Mu!

"You still want to run?"

Li Mu twisted around, lunged forward in a sprint, and fiercely thrust out again.

Bang!

The fleeing youth dropped to the ground with a cry. The gray cloth on his back was blasted open by the sword force, revealing a bloody wound.

"Spare... spare me..." The youth spat out a mouthful of blood and spoke indistinctly.

"This is my money for medicine. I rely on this money to nourish my body and strengthen my vitality. If you want to steal my money for medicine, you want my life..."

"Whoever wants my life, I'll take his life!!!"

Li Mu picked up a stone from the ground and savagely smashed it into the man's joints.

After a scream, the man fainted.

Li Mu searched him and found ten copper coins, then walked toward the tall youth ahead, who was still screaming and begging for mercy.

"Don't kill me! I was wrong, I was really wrong! I-I have money on me too, I'll give it all to you... Aah!!!"

The world fell silent.

Li Mu found another fifteen copper coins.

So poor. Was he their first target?

Li Mu coldly glanced at the two people lying on the ground as his boiling blood gradually calmed.

"The manor does not allow killing, but crippling you will not be investigated. No one will listen to your explanations, either. And you will soon be thrown out.

"Because the manor does not keep idlers, lazy people, or trash..."

He tucked the broken wood and copper coins into his clothes, wiped his hands, and strode quickly toward the pharmacy.