A Part-Time Post

Zhao Feng clicked his tongue inwardly.

"Try this piece of meat too." Wei Yuan picked up another chunk of rosy-red meat from the side and placed it in Zhao Feng's bowl. After eating it, Zhao Feng found the meat rich and wonderfully chewy. Once it went down with the thick sauce, a warm current soon rose from his dantian. Its ability to replenish qi and blood far surpassed ordinary chicken, duck, pork, or goose—even beef was nowhere near as good.

"This is tiger meat. It needs a great deal of rich sauce to mask its gamey, rank smell," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"So it was tiger meat!" Zhao Feng was startled. No wonder it replenished qi and blood so powerfully. If he had been able to keep eating this kind of meat before, the progress on his panel would have been much faster, and he would not have broken through to Bright Force so late.

It seemed that, for martial artists, ordinary common meats were far from enough. Things like Treasure Fish and tiger meat were unheard of to him before, yet their ability to replenish qi and blood far exceeded that of regular meat.

In this era of this world, fierce beasts such as tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves were nowhere near as rare as they were on Earth. One could even say they had become a disaster. Incidents of them charging into villages, attacking travelers on official roads, and eating people happened often. There were even many cases of several tigers slaughtering an entire village. County records were filled with accounts of tiger disasters, wolf disasters, and bear calamities.

After all, there was no truth in this world.

When ordinary people traveled in the wilderness, aside from refugees and bandits, attacks by tigers and leopards were also a major threat. This was one reason martial masters held such high status. A Bright Force martial master wielding a sharp blade could fight tigers and leopards and defeat them, while a Dark Force martial master could kill one with a single punch.

He could not help picking up several more pieces of Treasure Fish and tiger meat. Only after wolfing them down did he remember himself and say somewhat embarrassedly, "Senior Brother Wei, you should eat too."

"Junior Brother Zhao, eat more. I have these things often enough in my daily life," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

Zhao Feng knew Wei Yuan came from a wealthy inner-city household, though he did not know the exact state of his family. Now it seemed that Wei Yuan's family fortune was far thicker than that of an ordinary rich household. No wonder his innate physique was not particularly outstanding, yet he was still a core disciple of the martial hall. This had been built with money.

"For us martial artists, when one's innate physique cannot be changed, food supplements and medicinal supplements become even more important. Things like Treasure Fish, precious medicines, and fierce-beast meat are indispensable—but all of them cost silver. As the saying goes, the further one goes in martial arts, the more money one spends," Wei Yuan said.

"In the prefectural city, you can eat the meat of exotic beasts that can only be hunted in distant lands. Their effect on replenishing qi and blood is far greater even than ordinary fierce beasts. A single jin costs dozens of taels of silver, and the key is that they are not always available. I have only eaten it once myself." Wei Yuan spoke with a trace of lingering relish.

Zhao Feng was secretly alarmed. Perhaps this world was not as simple as he had imagined—not merely something resembling ancient China on Earth.

After the two chatted for a while longer,

"Junior Brother Zhao, you have already broken through for several days. Have you found any part-time post yet?"

"A few shops and trading firms have approached me about becoming a full-time guard, and some wealthy households have asked me to serve as a household guard. The monthly pay is between five and eight taels. I am still considering it."

These part-time posts would have been a heaven-sent blessing to the old Zhao Feng. After all, he had spent ten taels over three months while eating meat every day. Five to eight taels a month was truly quite good. But now that he was a Bright Force martial artist, he had leaped from a carp into a dragon's gate in the eyes of ordinary people, and he found the pay somewhat beneath him. Especially after seeing Treasure Fish and fierce-beast meat, this little money truly seemed insufficient. More importantly, those jobs required him to remain on duty for long periods, which did not suit him very well.

"If that is the case, then it is indeed too little. Junior Brother Zhao, you have only just become a Bright Force martial artist. This is the crucial time to lay your foundation. Food and medicinal supplements are indispensable, and you must also ensure enough time for training," Wei Yuan said.

"How about this? My Wei Family owns several businesses in the county town—medicinal herbs, ironware, cloth, grain, and so on. I would ask Junior Brother to take a part-time post with my Wei Family. Your main duty would be helping escort goods to nearby counties or towns. They are all short trips, with departures and returns on the same day. We will only call on you when extra hands are needed. The rest of the time, you will be free, and it will not affect your cultivation. Your monthly pay will be ten taels of silver, plus one Treasure Fish and three jin of fierce-beast meat. What do you think?" Wei Yuan said.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Senior Brother! Zhao Feng will certainly not disappoint you." Hearing this, Zhao Feng immediately stood and clasped his fists toward Wei Yuan.

These terms were far better than ordinary positions as a household guard, shop guard, or warehouse watchman. The key was that they gave him far more freedom and did not require him to stay on duty.

"You are too polite, Junior Brother. There is no need for such courtesy between martial brothers," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

After observing him for so long, Wei Yuan felt that Zhao Feng was steady and down-to-earth, neither rash nor impatient. He handled matters reliably and was not the sort of ungrateful wretch who bit the hand that fed him. He was worth helping—it could be considered an investment.

It is just a pity his innate physique is lacking. Otherwise, I could simply support him like the Wang Family and Zhou Family support Chu Fan, without needing him to take on a part-time post.

The children of wealthy county households were scattered among the various martial halls to study martial arts. Whenever they saw poor but talented disciples with great potential in those martial halls, they would rush to support and draw them in. In the future, those disciples could become assets to their families and earn them merit within their respective clans.

For example, after Chu Fan was tested to possess a second-grade innate physique, he was not only taken under his master's watchful eye, but Third Senior Brother Wang Yu had also represented the family behind him in supporting Chu Fan first. After Chu Fan broke through to Bright Force, Fourth Senior Sister Zhou Xue had likewise represented the family behind her in giving him substantial support. In other words, at such a young age, Chu Fan already had the backing of two great families. He had not disappointed them either, having already touched the threshold of Dark Force.

Wei Yuan had once wanted to support Chu Fan as well. After all, second-grade innate physiques were extremely rare in the county town. Unfortunately, the Wang Family and Zhou Family had beaten him to it. Because of that, he had even been criticized by his family. His branch of the family had not been valued much to begin with, and this only caused him to receive even colder treatment. His support of Zhao Feng was not truly an investment—it was simply that he wanted to lend a hand to this junior brother who had left him with a good impression.

"Senior Brother, let me offer you a toast." Zhao Feng raised his cup, clinked it against Wei Yuan's, and drained it in one gulp. His senior brother had shown him respect, so he had to uphold proper courtesy in return.

But at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure. When he turned to look, he saw his cousin Zhao Sheng entering the restaurant with a group of people and taking seats not far behind them.

Zhao Feng had not expected to run into Zhao Sheng here. He had no desire to meet him, so he turned his face away.

"They are from the Zheng Clan Martial Hall." Wei Yuan glanced over, then paid them no further attention.

As Zhao Feng drank with Wei Yuan, he also kept an ear on the conversation behind him. After entering Bright Force, his senses had become far sharper than those of ordinary people.

Although the restaurant was noisy, he could still hear fragments of conversation from behind him.

"Junior Brother Zhao, failing to break through is no big deal. Have your family pay the tuition again..." The words were clearly directed at Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng had failed to break through? Counting the dates, Zhao Sheng had joined the Zheng Clan Martial Hall before him, so it was indeed about time for him to attempt the breakthrough.

Failure was not surprising. Their master had said that only thirty percent of disciples succeeded on their first attempt.

Judging by Zhao Sheng's manner, he had frequented restaurants more than once and seemed entirely at ease. Could Uncle's family fortune withstand that?

The thought merely flashed through Zhao Feng's mind before he cast it aside. The uncle's family, once beyond his reach only months ago, was no longer within his sights.

The matter of his part-time post had been settled. He now had a clear destination and a stable source of income, leaving him with no worries hanging over his head. A great stone in Zhao Feng's heart finally fell to the ground.

Over the past three months, he had spent nearly all the silver he had before. But he had gotten more than thirty taels from Leopard Lord, and after paying his tuition, he still had over twenty taels left. His purse was comfortably full again.

It just so happened that Great Yan's Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, and the entire country would have five days off. Master Huo Shan was taking his whole family to the prefectural city to visit friends, and his martial brothers had all gone home. Zhao Feng also planned to return home for a visit.