Taking a post

Zhao Feng inwardly marveled.

"Try this piece of meat too." Wei Yuan picked up a reddish piece from another dish and placed it before him. Zhao Feng ate it and found it rich and wonderfully firm. Before long, after the meat and its thick sauce reached his stomach, he felt another warm current rise from his Dantian. For replenishing blood and qi, it was far better than the chicken, duck, pork, and goose he normally ate. It was considerably better than beef too.

"This is tiger meat. It takes plenty of rich sauce to cover its rank smell," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"So this is tiger meat!" Zhao Feng was startled. No wonder it supplied so much blood and qi. If he had been eating meat like this all along, the progress on his panel would have risen faster, and his gate breakthrough into bright strength would not have come so late.

It seemed that for martial artists, ordinary meats alone would not suffice. He had never even heard of treasure fish or tiger meat as foods before, yet they replenished blood and qi far more effectively than ordinary meat.

In this world, in this era, fierce beasts such as tigers, leopards, bears, and wolves were nowhere near as rare as they were on Earth. They could even be called a scourge. They frequently charged into villages or attacked and ate travelers on the main roads. Even a handful of tigers slaughtering an entire village was far from unheard of. County records were filled with accounts of tiger plagues, wolf plagues, and bear calamities.

After all, this world had no "truth" delivered by gunfire.

For ordinary people traveling through the wilderness, attacks by tigers and leopards were a major threat alongside displaced refugees and mountain bandits. This was one reason martial masters held such high status. A bright strength martial master armed with a sharp blade could fight and defeat a tiger or leopard, while a hidden force martial master could kill one with a single punch.

He could not resist taking several more bites of treasure fish and tiger meat. Only after eating them with his head down did he remember himself and say, somewhat embarrassed, "Senior Brother Wei, you should eat too."

"Junior Brother Zhao, have some more. I eat these things quite often," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

Zhao Feng knew Wei Yuan came from a wealthy household in the Inner City, though he did not know the details. Judging by this, his family's resources were considerably greater than those of an ordinary wealthy household. No wonder he was a core disciple of the Martial Arts School despite having no particularly outstanding root bone. Money had paved that road.

"For martial artists like us, since our root bone cannot be changed, meat and medicinal supplements become all the more important. Things like treasure fish, treasure medicine, and meat from fierce beasts are indispensable, and they all cost silver. As the saying goes, the further you go in martial arts, the more money you spend," Wei Yuan said.

"In the Prefecture City, you can eat meat from exotic beasts that can only be hunted in distant lands. It replenishes blood and qi far better than ordinary fierce beasts, but it easily costs tens of taels of silver per catty, even over a hundred. More importantly, it isn't always available. I've only eaten it once myself," Wei Yuan said, savoring the memory.

Zhao Feng was inwardly shocked. Perhaps this world was not as simple as he had imagined-not merely a counterpart to ancient China on Earth.

The two chatted a while longer.

"Junior Brother Zhao, it's been a few days since your successful gate breakthrough. Have you found a post anywhere?"

"A few shops and trading firms have approached me about being a full-time guard, and some wealthy households have asked me to guard their estates. The monthly pay ranges from five to eight taels. I'm still considering it."

Such posts would have seemed like blessings from heaven to the old Zhao Feng. After all, ten taels had lasted him three months even with meat every day, so five to eight taels a month was truly good pay. But now he was a bright strength martial artist. By ordinary people's standards, he was a carp that had leaped through the Dragon Gate, and that pay no longer appealed to him much. Especially after seeing treasure fish and tiger meat, the money seemed rather meager. More importantly, those jobs required long hours on duty, which did not suit him.

"In that case, it really is too little. You've just become a bright strength martial artist, Junior Brother Zhao. This is the crucial time to lay your foundations. Dietary and medicinal supplements are essential, and you need to guarantee yourself enough time to train," Wei Yuan said.

"How about this? My Wei Family owns several businesses in the county town-medicinal herbs, ironware, cloth, grain, and the like. If you don't mind taking a post with us, your main responsibility would simply be lending a hand. Sometimes you'd help guard the warehouses and yards; sometimes you'd escort goods to a neighboring county or town. They're all short trips, there and back the same day. We'd only call you in when we needed extra hands. The rest of your time would be your own, so it wouldn't interfere with your training. You'd receive ten taels a month, plus one treasure fish and three catties of tiger or bear meat. What do you think?" Wei Yuan said.

"That would be wonderful! Thank you, Senior Brother. I certainly won't let you down!" Hearing this, Zhao Feng immediately stood and cupped his fist toward Wei Yuan.

These terms were far better than an ordinary estate guard, shop guard, or warehouse watchman could expect. Above all, he would have much more freedom and would not need to work fixed hours.

"You're too polite, Junior Brother. There's no need for such formality between fellow disciples," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

After observing him all this time, Wei Yuan felt Zhao Feng was dependable, neither impatient nor rash, steady in his work, and no ungrateful wolf. He was worth helping, and perhaps it could count as an investment too.

It's just a pity his root bone is poor. Otherwise, I could simply sponsor him the way the Wang Family and Zhou Family sponsor Chu Fan, without making him take a post and work, he thought.

The children of the county town's wealthy households studied at its various Martial Arts Schools. Whenever a talented disciple from a poor background showed great promise, they raced to sponsor and recruit them. Such disciples could later become an asset to their lineages, while earning their sponsors credit within their own families.

For example, after Chu Fan was found to possess a second-grade root bone, he not only received their master's attention but was also swiftly sponsored by Third Senior Brother Wang Yu on behalf of the lineage behind him. After Chu Fan broke through into bright strength, Fourth Senior Sister Zhou Xue also offered him substantial support on her lineage's behalf. Thus, despite his youth, Chu Fan already had two major lineages backing him. He had not disappointed their expectations either, having already touched the threshold of hidden force.

Wei Yuan had also considered sponsoring Chu Fan. After all, a second-grade root bone was quite rare in the county town. Unfortunately, the Wang Family and Zhou Family had beaten him to it, and his own lineage had criticized him for it. His branch had never been particularly valued to begin with, and afterward it received an even colder reception. His support for Zhao Feng was not really an investment; he simply wanted to help a junior brother of whom he had a good impression.

"Senior Brother, let me toast you." Zhao Feng raised his cup, clinked it against Wei Yuan's, and drained it in one gulp. His senior brother had shown him consideration, and he had to observe the courtesies in full.

Just then, however, he caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Turning to look, he saw his younger cousin Zhao Sheng coming upstairs in the restaurant with a group of people. They sat down not far behind them.

Zhao Feng had not expected to encounter Zhao Sheng here. Unwilling to meet him, he turned his face away.

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

As Zhao Feng drank with Wei Yuan, he listened to the conversation behind him. Since entering bright strength, his senses had become much sharper than an ordinary person's.

Despite the noise in the restaurant, he could still make out faint snatches of speech behind him.

"Junior Brother Zhao, failing your gate breakthrough is no big deal. Just have your family pay your tuition fee again..." Those words were clearly addressed to Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng failed his gate breakthrough? Counting the days, he had joined the Zheng Clan Martial Hall before Zhao Feng, so it was indeed time for him to attempt it.

Failure was no surprise. Their master had said that only thirty percent of disciples succeeded on their first attempt.

Judging by how comfortably Zhao Sheng carried himself, this was hardly his first time frequenting a restaurant. Could his eldest uncle's finances withstand it?

The thought merely flashed through Zhao Feng's mind before he cast it aside. A few months ago, his eldest uncle's household had been beyond his reach. Now, it no longer even lay within his sights.

The matter of his post was settled. With a definite place to work and a steady source of silver, he no longer had to worry about the future. A great stone lifted from Zhao Feng's heart.

Over these three months, he had spent nearly all his old savings. But he had gotten more than thirty taels from Leopard Lord, and after paying his tuition fee, he still had over twenty left. He had money to spare.

As it happened, the Empress Dowager of Great Yan's birthday was approaching, and the entire country would have five days off. His master, Huo Shan, would take his whole family to the Prefecture City to visit friends, and his fellow disciples had all gone home. Zhao Feng was also preparing to go home for a visit.