The Zhu Family Regrets

The Zhu Family.

"Master, Old Li really did go to the Heaven and Earth Alliance—and he even became some kind of... hall master!"

The Zhu family steward said.

"Is that true?"

"Absolutely true. I heard it with my own ears from people in the Heaven and Earth Alliance."

Zhu Ping, Master Zhu of the Zhu Family, narrowed his eyes.

"Well played, Old Li. You kept me in the dark good and proper."

From the time Li Rui had redeemed himself until now, not even two full months had passed. A groom from the Zhu Family had transformed in the blink of an eye into an honored guest of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

He knew the Heaven and Earth Alliance was not so easy to enter, much less become a hall master. At the very least, one had to be an Entering Rank Martial Artist.

His son, Zhu Yue, had once told him that Li Rui had practiced martial arts, but he had never imagined Li Rui could actually enter the ranks.

An ordinary Martial Artist and an Entering Rank martial artist were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Second Master Zhu, Zhu Lie, snorted from the side. "He's just a hall master. What the hell is he worth?"

Zhu Ping shot his second brother a glare.

He could more or less guess why Li Rui had been so determined to leave the Zhu Family. This matter surely had something to do with Zhu Lie.

"You, you short-sighted fool."

Zhu Ping cursed Zhu Lie, furious that iron had failed to become steel.

Every hall master in the Heaven and Earth Alliance was at least an Entering Rank Martial Artist. If Li Rui had remained with the Zhu Family, would they not have gained a martial artist to guard their estate for nothing?

The Zhu Family spent several hundred taels of silver each year to retain those martial artists.

Besides, a martial artist raised by one's own family was naturally easier to control than one hired from outside.

Only after berating Zhu Lie did he turn to instruct the middle-aged steward.

"I recall Old Li has an apprentice too. His name is... his name is..."

"Wang Zhao."

"Right, Wang Zhao. Raise his allowance by thirty percent. Give him a day off and have him pay a visit to the Heaven and Earth Alliance."

"Yes."

The middle-aged steward was somewhat surprised, unable to understand why Zhu Ping thought so highly of Li Rui.

Zhu Lie was equally puzzled. "Big Brother, he's only an Entering Rank martial artist. Since when has our Zhu Family needed to fear him?"

Zhu Ping glared at Zhu Lie. "What the hell do you know? The skies over Clear River are about to change!"

Inside Heaven One Hall.

"You're Liu Tong?"

Having finished practicing with his blade, Li Rui had just entered the building when he spotted an unfamiliar young disciple of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

Liu Tong looked at Li Rui. "Hall Master Li, my brother-in-law invited me for drinks yesterday, and it would have been hard to refuse. If my brother-in-law asks me again another day, I'll definitely invite Hall Master Li along."

Li Rui smiled and waved a hand. "I'm old. I won't be going."

There were two well-connected men in Heaven One Hall.

Yet their temperaments were utterly different.

Zhou Shulin was cautious and timid, meek in everything he did, afraid something might go wrong. Liu Tong, meanwhile, had the look of a frivolous young master hollowed out by wine and women.

Looking into it more closely, it was probably because Zhou Shulin's ties with Vice Helmsman Zhou were only ordinary. He must have gone to every length to obtain this position. Liu Tong was different: his sister was favored, and he himself knew how to ingratiate himself, so naturally he was far bolder.

Neither was better nor worse. Their circumstances were simply different.

As for Liu Tong and his connections, Li Rui naturally chose to let things take their own course, so long as he did not cause trouble.

His Heaven One Hall

was a place that sought no merit, only to avoid fault.

And from the looks of it, Liu Tong probably would not remain in Heaven One Hall for long.

By noon, Liu Tong had slipped away under the banner of his vice helmsman brother-in-law. Only Li Rui, Zhou Shulin, and Liang He remained in Heaven One Hall.

Their duties were clearly divided.

Zhou Shulin handled the daytime daily affairs.

Liang He was responsible for the night watch.

At last, Li Rui was living the retired life of drinking tea and reading books.

Though Heaven One Pavilion did not have many useful Cultivation Methods, it had collected quite a few Daoist scriptures.

The White Ape Mantle Blade was mixed with a great many Daoist allusions, and even now, Li Rui only half understood some of them.

Books were expensive in ancient times. Any random volume cost a hundred copper coins, while more expensive ones could even cost several taels of silver.

So the saying "poor scholars, rich warriors" was not entirely accurate.

Martial training cost money, but studying was no less expensive.

Now that there were books to read for free, Li Rui naturally would not let the opportunity pass.

"Qi transforms into the Three Pure Ones; the body bears the Dao. Its source lies in the innate Dao lineage, its stream in the law lineage of Lord Lao. The Dao has three realms—upper, middle, and lower. The upper is the Mud Pill, the middle is Sincere Red, and the lower is the Sea of Qi."

Li Rui leafed through the book.

When he raised his head again, he realized, without noticing it, that dusk had already fallen.

"Wonderful!"

Li Rui closed the Daoist scripture in his hands. Parts of the blade techniques that had previously left him muddled suddenly became crystal clear.

He also discovered, to his surprise, that whenever he read, the White Ape Mantle Blade Breathing Method circulated much faster.

He did not know whether books held beauties like jade, but they really could make one stronger!

Zhou Shulin packed a meal in a food box and brought it to his home.

Li Rui suddenly felt that Zhou Shulin was a lad worth cultivating after all.

Unfortunately, his position carried almost no real authority, so there was little he could do to help Zhou Shulin.

After eating, Li Rui began practicing his blade again.

After performing the White Ape Mantle Blade once, he stopped and frowned at his arm. The medicinal effect of the Small Yuan Pill had finally been exhausted.

"I'll go take a look at the Medicine Hall tomorrow."

Each branch of the Heaven and Earth Alliance generally had seven halls: the Civil and Martial Hall, Loyalty Hall, Introduction Hall, Discipline Hall, Medicine Hall, Law Transmission Hall, and Heaven One Hall. Of course, beyond these seven halls, the Heaven and Earth Alliance also owned many businesses in Clear River, such as restaurants, brothels, gambling houses, and so on.

These places were collectively known as venues.

Each venue had a steward, whose status was equivalent to that of a Hall Master.

Most of those from the Dark Eight Gates who had joined the Heaven and Earth Alliance had become stewards in charge of venues.

Hall Masters were generally people the Branch Master and Deputy Branch Master had brought from headquarters. Only Heaven One Hall had so little profit to squeeze from it that Li Rui had managed to pick up the leftover.

Joining the Heaven and Earth Alliance not only provided a sizable salary, but also came with another benefit: abundant resources.

For instance, disciples of the Heaven and Earth Alliance could buy pills from their own Medicine Hall for at least twenty percent less than at the Pill King Workshop. Hall Masters like Li Rui could get them thirty percent cheaper.

Over time, that could save a considerable sum.

Li Rui currently had a full one hundred and thirty taels of silver on him, enough to last for some time. The Heaven and Earth Alliance also paid its salary monthly; if he economized, it would be enough to keep him going for several months.

Early the next morning, Li Rui showed his face at Heaven One Hall and gave Zhou Shulin and Liang He a few instructions.

Then he headed straight for the Medicine Hall.

Along the way, Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples saw the token at his waist engraved with the number "28," and they began whispering among themselves.

"That old man is Heaven One Hall's new Hall Master. I heard from people in the Civil and Martial Hall that he's already seventy."

"Good heavens, seventy? He's even older than my grandpa."

"No wonder he's already entered the ranks but can only be Heaven One Hall's Hall Master. He's not even as good as a Deputy Hall Master."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Those Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples had lowered their voices as much as they could, but after practicing the Breathing Method, Li Rui's hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people. Every single word entered his ears.

"Getting old has this one drawback."

Li Rui smiled and shook his head.

They said that at sixty, one's ears became attuned to all things. He was already seventy; he had long since stopped caring about such remarks.

What "never despise a poor youth"—

he only needed to walk his own path.