Shali knew the martial academy's rules fairly well too. "Do we need to spend some money?"
"Is that necessary?" The Knight sounded rather dismissive, then began taking off his clothes.
"That fellow is on good terms with a Knight named Luo Xi. Are we really going after him?"
He had only gotten involved because he lusted after the viscount's daughter's body and could pick up some spending money along the way.
He had no interest in getting jealous over Shali taking an interest in another man.
But if the viscount's daughter took things too seriously, he would still have an unpleasant time of it.
"Father has always taught us to guard against trouble before it happens," Shali replied coolly.
"If he was boasting, there would be no harm in letting him off. But the problem now is... he was telling the truth."
"You're making excuses again." The Knight had hardly anything left on. "What can someone from Jin do?"
He did not consider Wu Youren a threat in the slightest, not because the other man lacked potential, but because he bore the label of "Jin."
Shali grew a little displeased. "You don't think of me at all. Then don't touch me!"
"Fine, I'll ask around some more." At a time like this, the Knight would agree to anything. "I'll do it tomorrow."
He had originally planned to stop making trouble for that fellow, but now... he couldn't let his little brother suffer, could he?
Still, the results of his further inquiries surprised him a little.
He was only a student and could not find out much, nor did he want to pay too high a price for it-there really was no need.
But he noticed one detail: a few instructors had actually once taken an interest in Wu Youren and wanted him as a guide.
Not many still had that idea now, because the martial academy had already dispatched several groups and gathered a great deal of information about Suotu Town.
But there was no doubt that, since someone had entertained that thought, the young man from Jin could not have performed too poorly.
Still, so what if he wasn't bad? At worst, he could have Shali choose someone to make a wager against him.
There were plenty of people willing to curry favor with the viscount's daughter, after all.
He told her all the relevant information, along with his own analysis and suggestions.
Meanwhile, Wu Youren was contacting Cynthia to help him buy some jars and pots.
Pickling vegetables required the proper supplies, and since he did not want to visit the market, he could only entrust it to her.
Cynthia was quite willing to help. Before long, she arrived pushing a cart piled high with supplies.
When she delivered everything, she even said cheerfully, "This is quite a good idea of yours!"
"I heard these vegetables can fetch a good price in winter!"
Wu Youren was utterly speechless at that. So you think my life at the martial academy is going to be farming for a living?
Still, perhaps I could consider... greenhouse cultivation?
The two unloaded the goods and began preparing the vegetables for pickling.
In Great Liang society, such tasks were done by ordinary people, yet Cynthia was enthusiastically helping him.
Just as the work was nearing its end, someone else arrived.
It was the same male martial artist from the day before yesterday, accompanied by five people, every one of them a Knight Apprentice.
He walked up to the young man from Jin, ignoring Cynthia completely. "Just letting you know, we can cancel the wager."
Wu Youren glanced at him and continued finishing up his work without saying a word.
"Huh?" The male martial artist grew annoyed at the sight. "I'm talking to you."
Cynthia could not hold back. "You were the ones who came here demanding this wager in the first place. What do you mean by saying this now?"
The male martial artist still ignored her. "However, you'll have to hand over five silver dollars in protection money every month from now on. Understand?"
"Is something wrong with you?" Cynthia truly could not stand it anymore. "I told you, I'm with the Mirage Sea Alliance!"
"He isn't," the male martial artist answered bluntly. "We've already confirmed it with the Mirage Sea Alliance. He's not covered by their protection."
Then he looked her up and down. "Besides, you have no right to make decisions for the Mirage Sea Alliance!"
Cynthia was immediately at a loss for words.
The Mirage Sea Alliance was a faction formed primarily around regional ties. There were exceptions, of course, but not many.
Her family was reasonably well-off, and she had some standing in the Mirage Sea Alliance, but she had merely risen above its lowest ranks.
Even with a suitor or two around her, she could not possibly make decisions for the Mirage Sea Alliance.
Occasionally sheltering a friend was no problem, but clearly, Shali's people had spoken with the alliance's higher-ups.
The Mirage Sea Alliance was not weak. No one at the martial academy was keen to provoke a faction formed primarily around regional ties like theirs.
But if they sheltered someone from outside their region, others might not honor it.
Still, she would not let the matter drop. "Five silver dollars... whose protection fees are that high?"
At the martial academy, those who wanted to huddle together for warmth had to pay certain dues. Those who wanted protection without joining the faction had to pay protection money.
Protection money was naturally higher than membership dues; that went without saying.
But five silver dollars was almost twenty percent of a Jin Garden guard's monthly income!
The male martial artist continued to ignore her and instead looked at the young man from Jin. "Did you understand?"
"Not really." Wu Youren sighed inwardly. He could not keep hiding and leave Cynthia standing at the forefront.
He asked in a low voice, "You proposed a wager, and I accepted. Are you... just doing whatever pops into your heads?"
"That's right." The male martial artist actually nodded without hesitation. "This is Great Liang's territory. You don't get to object!"
"You truly disgust me!" Cynthia erupted. "Going back on your word like this, and you still have the nerve to represent Great Liang?"
Do you think I want to? The male martial artist could not help grumbling inwardly.
Miss Shali did not want to let the young man from Jin off, but the Knight did not want to choose someone for the wager himself and had told her to choose!
The viscount's daughter was merely willful, not stupid.
If two or three Knight Apprentices died on her father's fief, it really would not matter.
But the martial academy was different, especially a mid-tier martial academy. Some students had backgrounds even greater than a viscount's!
Even those with lesser backgrounds might have any number of relatives and friends at home.
Things like this happened far too often at martial academies.
In particular, all sorts of news from the martial academy spread far and wide. It was not like back home, where anything that happened could be suppressed.
So after asking a few people, Shali changed her mind, deciding there was no need to make this wager with him.
But simply letting him off would leave her thoughts blocked, so she sent people to collect protection money.
She had no interest in explaining this change to him, and had not even come herself.
As a member of the viscount's daughter's guard, the male martial artist understood all of this perfectly well.
But there was nothing to be done. That was how things stood, and even he did not want to compete against the other man one-on-one at killing the Weird Race!
Killing the Weird Race could make someone rich overnight, but for Knight Apprentices to entertain such thoughts was far too great an overestimation of their abilities.
Besides, most martial artists studying at the martial academy still relied on their families' support. Why take such an enormous risk?
The real point was that even without competing against him at killing the Weird Race, they could still bully him within the martial academy!
The choice was therefore perfectly clear.
He smiled unconcernedly. "Miss Shali suddenly decided against competing. She doesn't want foreigners thinking Great Liang bullies Jin."
"Isn't this gentleman also very concerned about friendship between Great Liang and Jin? We all keep the bigger picture in mind!"
"Then this protection fee is far too high," Cynthia said bluntly. "Besides, a faction is already protecting him!"
They had already confirmed that the man beside her did not belong to the Mirage Sea Alliance, but he really did have someone backing him.
Cynthia did not know why Wu Youren would not fly that banner, but she had no reservations about bringing it up.
"Isn't it just the Life and Death Knot?" The male martial artist smiled faintly.
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