Middle age leaves you no choice but to steep goji berries in a thermos

At noon, after half a day on the road, Song Xuan and the others tied their horses beneath a roadside locust tree and dismounted to rest in its shade.

"Brother, that bundle Shen Lian gave you has quite a bit of silver in it, doesn't it?"

Song Qian had sharp eyes and had long since spotted what was inside. She had held her tongue the whole way before finally asking.

Song Xuan untied the bundle, revealing gleaming white silver before their eyes.

"Exactly fifty taels apiece. Everyone gets a share!"

Lu Xiaoliu swallowed and grinned. "Brother Xuan, isn't that a little unfair? You're the boss, so you should take the lion's share. We can split whatever's left."

Monkey and Big Ox hurriedly nodded in agreement. They hadn't contributed much on this trip, and Song Xuan alone had killed half of the Tian Household's nearly one hundred guards.

They had killed fewer men but would receive equal shares of the silver. If word got out, it would sound rather unprincipled.

"What's unfair about it? We're all brothers here. You came all this way with me; I can't let you lose out."

Lu Xiaoliu and the others exchanged glances, still too embarrassed to take it.

Song Xuan said, "What, we didn't land that million-tael windfall, so now a few dozen taels are beneath you?"

"That's not what we meant!"

Lu Xiaoliu said awkwardly, "Brother Xuan, to tell you the truth, we all helped ourselves to a few things at the Tian Household that day. Taking another share of silver from you really wouldn't be right."

"Well, damn!" Song Xuan was speechless. "Forget Xiaoliu-you should call yourself Old Six, you sneaky bastard! Come on, tell me what you took. It had better not be anything taboo."

Lu Xiaoliu pulled a jade pendant the size of a baby's palm from inside his robe. Song Xuan looked it over. A lifelike image of Guanyin was carved into it, and the jade seemed to be of quite good quality.

Blushing, Big Ox took out a gold hairpin. "I was thinking I could use this as a betrothal gift when I get married."

"Monkey, what about you?" Song Qian asked curiously.

Monkey hastily shook his head. "Brother Xuan, can I keep it to myself?"

Song Xuan said nothing. Song Qian shot Monkey a glare, her gaze turning fierce. "What do you think?"

With no other choice, Monkey pulled something from inside his robe. Everyone looked-well, well, wasn't that a woman's bellyband?

"Skinny Monkey, who would've guessed you had that kind of taste?" Lu Xiaoliu laughed uproariously.

Monkey was so embarrassed he wished the ground would swallow him. "I mainly noticed the gold trim and thought it ought to be worth something..."

"All right, put it away!"

Although Song Xuan was rather speechless, he didn't think it was a big deal. "Song Qian, what about you? Don't tell me you didn't take anything!"

Song Qian said frankly, "Of course I did. I took a few pieces of jewelry to bring home as gifts for Mother."

She spoke with complete confidence, and Song Xuan saw nothing wrong with it either.

They had risked their lives fighting the enemy. Surely they could take a few spoils?

If his strength hadn't been insufficient to protect a larger haul, he would have found a convoy and carted the silver straight home!

If they couldn't get any benefits at all, how was he supposed to lead the crew in the future? Which of his brothers would still be willing to risk their lives alongside him?

"Brother Xuan, what about you? Don't tell me you didn't take a thing!"

Lu Xiaoliu chuckled. They had all grown up together. Who didn't know what the others were like?

At eight years old, Song Xuan had already dared to collect protection money from the thugs on the Imperial Capital's streets. He had understood the importance of money from childhood. Would a streetwise old hand like Brother Xuan really leave silver sitting within reach?

Song Xuan spread his hands. "Fine, I'll lay my cards on the table. I took something too!"

Now that was more like it!

Xiaoliu and the others chuckled gleefully. What sort of man was Brother Xuan? He wasn't some bookish fool. How could he be so hidebound that he wouldn't skim a little cream?

"But I didn't take money or valuables!"

As he spoke, Song Xuan took a martial arts manual from inside his robe. "I found this in Tian Yuan's son's room. It's a Lightness Skill manual, probably copied out by Tian Boguang for that younger brother he acquired.

"From the looks of it, they weren't blood brothers, but they must have been fairly close."

Monkey chimed in, "They both liked being Flower Thieves. How could they not be close? Then again, if Tian Yuan's biological son knew martial arts, why didn't he follow his elder brother's example instead of insisting on preying on ordinary people's wives?"

Song Xuan said casually, "Because he couldn't play in the big leagues!"

The big leagues?

Monkey and the others mulled that over and found they could understand what he meant.

"Brother Xuan really does know more than us. Even the expressions he uses sound profound."

"Enough nonsense!"

Song Xuan waved the manual in his hand. "Our Black Robe Guard Office has plenty of manuals, but they have to be exchanged for merit points, so they're not easy to get.

"Don't say I keep all the good stuff to myself. Hurry up and find paper and brushes to copy down this Lightness Movement Technique.

"Learning more Lightness Skill and gaining another way to stay alive can't hurt. We're brothers-I don't want you dying one day and having someone invite me to your funeral feast!"

"Come on! Brother Xuan, why are you already thinking about the feast?"

Once Xiaoliu and the others had copied the manual, Song Xuan handed the original straight to Song Qian.

The manual wasn't particularly advanced. After obtaining it, he had practically learned everything in it with a single reading.

Perhaps because he cultivated the Pure Yang Limitless Child Skill, a celestial person level internal cultivation method, his comprehension had improved tremendously. A Lightness Skill that others might need considerable time to study had clicked into place for him after one read.

All things considered, this counted as one of his few cheats.

After receiving the Lightness Skill manual Song Xuan had shared with them, Lu Xiaoliu and the others flatly refused to take any silver. Song Xuan stopped standing on ceremony and pushed the bundle over beside Song Qian.

"Keep this silver. When we return to the Imperial Capital, buy Father some good wine, Mother a new outfit, and yourself some rouge, face powder, or whatever else you want.

"Keep the rest for your dowry!"

Despite receiving over two hundred taels of silver out of nowhere, Song Qian showed no joy. Instead, her little face turned pale with fright. "Brother, what do you mean? Giving me all this money out of the blue-don't tell me you're settling your affairs before you die?"

Song Xuan's cheek twitched twice. "It's only a little silver, and it's scared you this badly! Once I master my divine skill and start hauling silver home by the cartload, won't you ride a crane straight into the afterlife?"

"Oh, so that's it..." Song Qian's expression changed rapidly, and her cheerful grin returned. "Was I afraid of too much silver? I was afraid you'd suddenly be gone.

"It's a promise, then. When you start hauling silver in wagons, I'll be your driver!

"I want to experience the thrill of driving a whole wagon of silver around the streets too!"

"You little money grubber!"

Song Xuan teased her with a smile, then rose. "Everyone's had enough rest, right? Let's go. It's time to report back to Old Zhao."

At the mention of Old Zhao, Song Xuan slapped his forehead. "Ah, how did I forget Old Zhao? We caused quite a stir this time, and we'll still need him to look out for us when things happen in the future. We should bring him a gift."

Once he said that, everyone began discussing what gift they should buy to take back to Old Zhao.

In the end, Song Xuan fished a small bottle from inside his robe and peeled off the label reading "Low-Dose Ecstasy Powder."

"This is the one!"

"Middle age leaves you no choice but to steep goji berries in a thermos!"

"Old Zhao's getting on in years. A health supplement to spice things up is just what he needs."

"Remember, this is a miraculous virility medicine I obtained by visiting an old traditional physician in Mingzhou. Don't any of you let the truth slip!"