Chương 8: Chapter 8: 32 Patterned Silver
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The frontier is fraught with danger, a well-known fact. Even if one were to squander all their wealth, no one would be willing to go to the frontier to fight with barbarians.
Chen Yuan chuckled lightly,
"What is your name?"
"My lowly name is... Liu Yishou." The man hurriedly responded.
"Whom do you associate with?"
In Ping'an County, there were many gang influences. Not just pickpockets, but even beggars were usually part of some organization, and if there was no one to cover for them, they simply couldn't survive.
"Old Sixth of South City..." Liu Yishou dared not conceal the truth.
He even hoped that the Lord would take into account his connection with Old Sixth and let him off the hook.
Theft was not a grave crime, but it couldn't avoid causing some suffering. If his name were struck off, being sent to the frontier would indeed be a stroke of bad luck smothered in blood.
"Old Sixth... the one who runs the gambling house?"
"Yes... yes, that's him. Old Sixth started as a thief and later set up a gambling house, but he never gave up this line of work."
"Almost everyone involved in this line of work in Ping'an County has some connection with him."
Chen Yuan's gaze shifted slightly, and the grip of his hand loosened a bit. "What relation does Old Sixth have with the people in the County Government?"
"This... This lowly one does not know."
"How much silver are you prepared to give for your life?"
"This lowly one... this lowly one has only a tael of silver on me... I'm willing to offer it all to the Lord." Liu Yishou hastily took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve, looking quite pained.
A tael of silver was worth one guan, equivalent to a thousand copper coins, and yet he had to spend a tael of silver for a mere hundred or so copper coins.
What a loss!
Chen Yuan accepted the broken silver. A mosquito was still meat, no matter how small; all the more so, a tael of silver was not a small amount. His monthly salary combined with some extra income did not surpass two taels.
In strict terms, this was also a form of gift.
"Alright, be off with you..." Chen Yuan waved his hand.
"Thank you, Lord, for your grace..." Liu Yishou hastily bowed and then quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd.
...
The sky gradually darkened, and as the hustle and bustle of the townspeople in the county city began to head home, Chen Yuan had just finished his hundredth sword swing.
At least two hundred times a day, every day, that was the goal Chen Yuan had set for himself since he discovered the Golden Finger.
He had maintained this routine for several days now, and his arms had gone from sore and weak to accustomed. Of course, this also included Chen Yuan's progress in Skin Refining.
Changing into a set of ordinary clothes and letting a few strands of hair fall loose, Chen Yuan, expressionless, stepped out of the courtyard.
From the moment he resolved to tread the path of the villain, Chen Yuan had prepared himself to kill. Reflecting on his close-proximity kill of Tie Shou last time, he not only felt no nausea but rather a sense of exhilaration!
Inside a small building somewhere.
With a solemn expression, Hall Master Wang handed a locked wooden box to Wang Er, cautioning:
"This trip is crucial; it dictates whether I can take the seat of the Hall Master. Be very careful." Hall Master Wang then paused before adding,
"Once I ascend to the position of Hall Master, I can get you a copy of a Body Refining Technique and will make sure to promote you well."
Wang Er was one of his trusted subordinates. The Gang Leader had been convening meetings every night and he had been unable to leave; otherwise, he would never delegate such an important task to anyone else.
"Hall Master, rest assured, I can find the Huang family's door. Besides, the Huang family's steward will send someone to respond. I will make sure this task is accomplished for the Hall Master," he said.
"And don't forget what you promised to say," the Hall Master reminded him.
"You can count on me," Wang Er declared, thumping his chest with an oath.
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In order to get Wang Er to devote himself to the task, Hall Master Wang whispered:
"If I can secure the position of Hall Master, I'd be able to meet Officer Huang face to face. At that time, putting pressure on that Chen kid wouldn't be out of the question."
Wang Er's face lit up with excitement. He had been coveting the owner of Zhou's Bun Shop for a long time.
Chen Yuan donned a black cloth over his face, hiding on the roof of a building not far from the Huang Family's back door, watching intently for anyone passing by below.
It was unlikely that bribery would happen through the front entrance since Hall Master Wang's intended recipient was the Huang Family's steward. Surely, the Huang Family shouldn't get wind of it.
A gleam of green light flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes as he surveyed the vicinity for anything unusual.
After waiting for a long time, a persistent light rain began to fall once again. This weather pattern had been going on for several days. The clouds partially obscured the moon, making the night even darker.
Just as Chen Yuan was growing impatient, a faint sound of footsteps reached his ears. He focused his gaze and saw a slim figure moving cautiously through the alley in the distance.
Moving silently down from the rooftop, Chen Yuan slowly crept closer...
Wang Er took a deep breath and hunched over, clutching his chest. Without careful observation, no one would have noticed the bulging pouch he was concealing.
"Shasha..."
Directly ahead of Wang Er appeared another figure, also walking with bowed head. As the two of them gradually neared each other, Wang Er sidestepped to avoid any trouble.
But then, the figure suddenly stopped walking, and a flash of white light revealed a pair of profound eyes.
"Pfft."
Before Wang Er could recognize those familiar eyes, a long blade thrust forward, cutting off his head without giving him a chance to scream.
At the end of his life, all Wang Er saw was a figure with its back to him, seemingly searching for something on his person.
"Is the betrayal discovered... Was it one of the other Deputy Hall Masters who acted? That wench..." The last thought that flashed through Wang Er's mind.
...
...
Lighting a candle.
Chen Yuan, expressionless, pulled out a wooden box he had found on Wang Er's body. After inspecting it briefly, he drew his knife and slashed it open, sending wood chips flying.
Inside were three small ingots of gold and a piece of fine green jade pendant.
"Thirty taels of Patterned Silver, this jade pendant is worth at least five taels of silver," observed Chen Yuan, his eyes sparking with shrewdness. The trip had not been in vain.
Thirty taels of silver was no small amount. For his services to the County Government, he was rewarded with only twenty taels of Patterned Silver, which gives a sense of the value of silver.
With the status of a Hall Master, it would take at least two years to save up such an amount. Now for the sake of his own future, he was willing to spend his wealth to entice the Huang Family's steward to say a few words.
However... better him than me. Chen Yuan felt no guilt about intercepting the silver, not to mention the past oppression his family had suffered at the hands of the Beihai Gang.
Just on the present occasion, it was likely that Hall Master Wang's silver had been extorted from the common people.
"With this silver, I can exchange for three Tiger Bone Pills. With that… stepping into the Blood Refining Level should be soon..." mused Chen Yuan internally.
This year he turned twenty-one and was considered as an older martial artist. If he didn't advance to a higher realm quickly, the dream of walking the path of the Martial Arts would be just that, a dream.
Not to mention everyone else, Chen Yuan knew that the most talented youth of the Huang Family, not even sixteen, had already reached the Blood Refining Level. This was just one family in a small county.
By extension, the strength of young prodigies in the Jianghu would definitely be beyond his imagination.
One step ahead ensures further steps ahead...
Since he was unwilling to remain unremarkable and had decided to venture on the path of Martial Arts, he had to strive towards this goal.
That night, Hall Master Wang waited very late...
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Thank you to the book friend who goes by "Vast Ocean Endless, Phoenix Nine Donghua" for the generous gift of a hundred point coins.
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