Principal and Interest

"Two... two taels of interest?!"

Butcher Hu's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the forced smile froze on his face. "L-Little Feng, how could a reward ever accrue interest?! Besides, two taels of silver is far too much!"

Aunt Hu at the side also grew anxious, her hands on her hips as she chimed in, "That's right! We scraped together all twenty taels for you, so why are you starting to extort the neighbors? If this gets out, people will point fingers at your spine."

"Extortion? If I were extorting you, I wouldn't be asking for just these two taels!"

Li Feng's gaze was like a torch, piercing straight into the two of them. "Clearing your debts is only right and proper! My sister-in-law led people to smooth over your troubles, yet you dragged your feet for months without returning this money. Is it really that much to collect two taels of interest? Across the entire Blackrock City, who would dare utter a single word against me, Li Feng? As for extortion, where does that even come from?"

Li Feng was, after all, a martial artist who had crossed the threshold. Stirred up with emotion now, he unconsciously radiated a trace of his Qi-Blood as he spoke, pressing down upon the pair with a sharp, overwhelming momentum.

Butcher Hu and Aunt Hu were both ordinary folk. Crushed beneath this fierce momentum, they felt as though they had plunged into an ice cellar, unable to utter a single word.

"S-Small Feng, my foolish wife was just running her mouth, don't take it to heart." Butcher Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead, giving an awkward laugh to smooth things over. "Wait just a moment, Uncle will go get you another two."

With that, he scuttled back into the inner room like a beaten dog, taking quite a while before emerging with a handful of chipped silver, handing it over to Li Feng with trembling hands.

Receiving the silver, Li Feng carefully counted it to confirm the amount was correct before speaking calmly, "The amount is correct. We're even now."

"Little Feng, it was entirely your Uncle and Aunt Hu's fault this time, don't take it to heart..." Butcher Hu laughed dryly, still wanting to say a couple more things to ease the atmosphere.

Yet Li Feng couldn't be bothered to entertain the two of them any further. Tucking the silver into his robe, he turned on his heel and strode out the courtyard gate, vanishing into the night.

Watching Li Feng depart without a backward glance, Butcher Hu let out a long sigh. "Who would've thought? This Li Feng used to seem so timid and submissive, yet after just a few months at the City Guard Office, he's turned out this formidable!"

His impression of Li Feng remained that of the honest, unassuming half-grown boy from before, someone who could be brushed aside with a few casual words.

Who could have expected this half-grown boy to be so sharp, handling matters with such brisk and decisive efficiency, completely immune to his attempts to pull rank as an elder?

This time, not only had he offended a City Guard Office bailiff, but he had also shelled out an extra two taels of silver for nothing.

Truly, he had lost his army and suffered a defeat!

It was a pity there was no cure for regret.

"Old Hu, that Li boy is simply too arrogant! He's nothing more than a City Guard Office bailiff, what's so great about that? Tomorrow I'll damn well go talk it over with the neighbors, let everyone have a look at his ugly face!"

"Shut your trap, you stupid woman! Long hair and short insight, a brainless creature!"

It would have been fine had Aunt Hu not spoken, but the moment she opened her mouth, Butcher Hu's bellyful of resentment found an outlet. "What on earth did you provoke him for? If we had just spoken properly, at most we'd only be returning the twenty taels of reward. Out of consideration for neighborhood ties, he certainly wouldn't have demanded these two taels of interest!"

Aunt Hu was no pushover either, snapping right back, "I provoked him?! Now you know how to blame me? What was it that you, old codger, were saying earlier? That the Black Tiger Gang was already finished, that his sister-in-law could no longer be a chief constable, and that we should welch on this silver if we could! Now look-trouble's happened, and you're dumping it all on your old lady!"

"Crap! Then was then, now is now! If you hadn't been making a fuss over nothing here, would things have ended up like this?"

"Get lost, you old bastard!"

Spitting flying everywhere inside the house, the couple rowed furiously, the sound of smashing basins and clattering bowls audible even to the dogs outside the yard.

Their son watched his parents carry on like this, his face burning with shame as he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Dad, Mom, that's enough, both of you say less." The Hu family son hardened his scalp and offered a quiet word of persuasion.

"Scram, shut your mouth! Isn't this all to save a bit of family wealth for you!"

Finishing his tirade, Butcher Hu caught his breath, the more he looked at this son of his, the angrier he grew.

They were both half-grown lads, yet look at Li Feng. Without a sound, he had stepped into the Martial Dao, his Qi-Blood surging. Wearing the uniform of a bailiff, he could command total awe just by standing there.

And then look at this piece of work he'd spawned-cowering and timid, knowing only how to shrink away in the back, not even daring to let out a fart at a crucial moment.

"Damn it!"

Butcher Hu slammed his hand down on the table, pointing straight at his son's nose and roaring:

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow I'm taking the money and sending you to the martial arts hall in the Southside to study martial arts! Once you make a name for yourself and score a bailiff position at the City Guard Office too, will we still have to look at other people's faces then!"

The moment the Hu family son heard this, his face turned pale with fright. He hurriedly shrank his neck and waved his hands frantically.

"Dad, spare me the torment! Is that martial arts hall a place meant for humans? Getting beaten and scolded every single day! Besides, the path of martial arts relies on innate talent and bone structure. My bones have been soft since I was a child, where would I have the destiny to practice martial arts? Going there would just be throwing money away..."

He claimed lack of talent with his lips, but in truth he was simply making excuses. After all, having been pampered since childhood, he simply couldn't endure the misery of practicing through the scorching heat of midsummer and the freezing depths of midwinter, nor would he even be able to be intimate with his wife. Just thinking about that ordeal made him feel wretched.

"Bollocks!"

Looking at his son's spineless, hopeless appearance, Butcher Hu grew so furious that his rolls of fat trembled. He snatched up the rice bowl from the table and hurled it violently onto the ground.

"Back in the day, your old man wielded a blade to slaughter pigs. A hundred-jin hog would lose its life the moment the knife came down-how did I end up giving birth to a good-for-nothing like you? When trouble strikes you don't even dare let out a peep, and the moment you're asked to suffer a bit of hardship you cry to your mother like a baby. What an absolute waste of space! God knows whose disposition this spineless nature of yours takes after!"

After leaving the Hu residence, Li Feng did not head straight home. Instead, he bought five catties of fine spiced beef and headed straight for the Spring Renewal Hall.

He needed urgent treatment for his right hand; that palm strike earlier had been terribly painful, which was why he had turned to leave the moment he slammed the table. He hadn't expected Butcher Hu to be frightened into returning the money on the spot, forcing him to helplessly linger a while longer. Now, his hand ached like fury.

He pushed open the door to the Quiet Room.

Lin Yanqiu was sitting on the sickbed, leaning against a soft pillow with her eyes closed in rest. Hearing the movement of the door opening, she slowly opened her eyes and turned her head.

"Little Feng, you're here."

Lin Yanqiu's expression was as usual, her tone serene. "Did you get the silver back from Butcher Hu's place?"

Her gaze was clear and unclouded, as though last night's events had never occurred at all.

Watching her tranquil demeanor, Li Feng experienced a momentary daze, as if last night's heart-poundingly intimate cleansing and those soft, bashful murmurs were nothing more than an absurd and alluring dream that had never truly happened.

Li Feng stood at the door, slightly stunned, an indefinable, strange ripple welling up from the depths of his heart.

Yet he quickly collected himself, taking a deep breath to cast the chaotic, alluring thoughts from his mind.

Perhaps his sister-in-law had never once regarded him as a man from start to finish; it was all just a product of his own overthinking.

Suppressing his emotions, Li Feng walked briskly to the bedside, his expression returning to normal as he smiled and said, "Don't worry, the silver's been recovered. That Butcher Hu saw the Black Tiger Gang collapse and originally wanted to welch on the debt, but I didn't stand on ceremony with him-I got the principal and interest back, plus an extra two taels."

Lin Yanqiu was slightly startled, a flash of approval crossing her eyes. "Getting it back is what matters. Those two in the Hu family are thoroughly mercenary, I knew they'd definitely make things difficult for you. You didn't resort to violence, did you?"

"No, I just slapped the table once, and they obediently handed over the money."

As Li Feng spoke, he unwrapped the oilpaper package, and the aroma of the spiced beef immediately permeated the room.

"Sister-in-law, I bought some fine spiced beef for you to nourish your body so you can recover faster."

Looking at the fragrant spiced beef on the table, a wave of warmth surged through Lin Yanqiu's heart, though she still furrowed her brows.

"With your entry into the martial arts now, your daily consumption of Qi-Blood is enormous, and you're precisely at the stage where you need meat to nourish yourself. Besides, the doctor said my injuries cannot tolerate such greasy foods. You should take this beef back and eat it yourself."

"Sister-in-law, please don't stand on ceremony with me. I currently have dozens of taels of silver on me, so eating meat every single meal is no problem at all. Besides, I bought five catties-how could a single person finish all that? If you don't eat it, this beef won't keep until tomorrow, wouldn't that be a waste?"

Li Feng's tone was resolute.

Seeing how firm Li Feng was, Lin Yanqiu stopped hesitating, her gaze growing much softer.

She offered a few words of admonition regarding the rules of serving as a bailiff at the City Guard Office, and the two chatted idly for a while longer.

Once Lin Yanqiu rested, Li Feng light-footedly departed from the Spring Renewal Hall, melting into the outer night.

Returning home, Li Feng stood in the center of the courtyard and resumed practicing the Water-Cutting Saber Art.

He had bought five catties of beef in total; his sister-in-law ate two catties, and he consumed three. Now, his entire body burned with heat, his Qi-Blood surging upward.

Repaying a debt meant nothing less than unwearied, day-after-day persistence!

Beneath the moonlight, the saber gleamed with a biting chill as fierce gales howled.

"Exhilarating! Truly exhilarating!"

An hour later.

Li Feng sheathed his saber, slowly exhaling a foul breath. Sweat trickled down his cheeks, yet he felt entirely comfortable and refreshed.

With a thought, the Heavenly Dao Advance Panel materialized before his eyes:

[Heavenly Dao Advance Panel] [Advanced Project 1: Archery Mastery (Fully replenished 100%)] [Advanced Project 2: Water-Cutting Saber Art Perfection (Debt replenishment progress: 26%)] [Current Available Advance Projects: 0] [Current Realm: Qi-Blood First Stage]

Looking at the 26% debt repayment progress on the panel, Li Feng nodded in satisfaction.

Having practiced with all his might three times today, his debt repayment progress had risen by 6%. Following this momentum, as long as his daily meat supply kept up, he would completely pay off this debt in half a month at most.

When that time came, he could consider studying an internal training method to reach the Qi-Blood Second Level and become an official bailiff.