Chapter 17: Body Tempering III

Xinyu Town.

Under the dim, yellow sky, a fine rain drizzled down.

The yellow mud on the road was trodden into a disgusting sludge. Ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages passed by occasionally, splashing mud.

The pedestrians on the road mostly wore bamboo hats and raincoats, their steps hurried.

Squeak.

Lin Hui pushed open his courtyard gate, seeing the inside empty and quiet.

A newly planted apricot tree in the courtyard slightly trembled its branches and leaves in the light rain.

“Father? Mother?” he called out, but still no one answered.

‘Did they go to work?’ he guessed. He entered the courtyard, turning to close the door.

Suddenly, with another squeak, the courtyard gate of the neighbor’s small courtyard not far away also swung open.

Two sturdy, short men spat on the ground while weighing a gray money pouch in their hands, cursing under their breath.

“Damn it! What kind of crap is this!? They force the old man to search, and there’s no money. Isn’t this money, then? These garbage old dogs only know how to fool people with their mouths.”

“Brother Huang, we should… hey, someone’s next door! Brother Huang, quick!” The other man was about to speak when he suddenly saw Lin Hui standing at the gate of the Lin family’s courtyard. His eyes immediately lit up.

“Didn’t they already collect from that side?” Brother Huang glanced over, a bit hesitant.

“Did they? Didn’t we just arrive in this area? Who collected it? But it’s even better if they did! If they collected it, and we collect it again, wouldn’t everything we get be ours?” The other man sneered. “I heard this family used to run a business and manage an oil workshop—they have money!”

Collecting money repeatedly was not a first for the two. Brother Huang immediately made up his mind, turned, and walked toward Lin Hui.

“Friend, it’s time to pay your protection fee. We are from the Muhua Gang and are responsible for the daily operation and security of this area,” Brother Huang approached with a smile, speaking gently.

“The Muhua Gang? I thought it was the Fuan Gang?” Lin Hui slightly raised an eyebrow. He didn’t doubt the protection fee, as it had to be paid everywhere, but he was curious about the change from the original Fuan Gang to the Muhua Gang.

“That, my friend, is something you don’t know. The Fuan Gang has been beaten so badly by us that they dare not leave their gates. This area will be under the Muhua Gang‘s jurisdiction from now on,” Brother Huang’s eyes darted as he laughed.

“How much?” Lin Hui didn’t doubt him. He happened to have some wages on him, and figured he would just pay for his parents and be done with it, so he asked.

“Not much. Since your family is opening a small shop, the total for the household and the shop is five thousand qian,” Brother Huang extended a hand, smiling.

“How much?” Lin Hui‘s hand, which was reaching for his money, paused. He looked up at the man.

“Five thousand,” Brother Huang repeated, his face wearing a hint of a threatening smile.

“Gentlemen…” Lin Hui‘s tone remained courteous. “Isn’t five thousand a bit…”

“A Hui!” Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted from the road not far away.

His mother, Yao Shan, and father, Lin Shunhe, were returning home together under an oil-paper umbrella.

Seeing Lin Hui blocked by Brother Huang and the two Muhua Gang members, their steps involuntarily quickened.

“A Hui, are you alright? Do you Muhua Gang people still follow the rules? Didn’t you just collect money a few days ago!?” Yao Shan quickly approached, grabbing Lin Hui‘s arm and turning to angrily scold the two men.

“They are them, we are us. The people who came before were not from our Muhua Gang at all. You must have been cheated!” Brother Huang laughed.

“There are rules for households and rules for gangs. Does your Muhua Gang just let people repeatedly collect money, completely ruining your reputation?” Lin Shunhe frowned as he walked closer.

“Heh. You say you paid, but where is the proof? What evidence do you have that you paid before?” Brother Huang’s tone grew impatient, his voice louder.

“The wooden flower given to us is still right here!” Yao Shan trembled with anger.

“Anyone can carve a wooden flower. It’s not a special item, is it? Who can’t make one?” the other man laughed.

Lin Shunhe was about to refute them, but Lin Hui, who was standing next to him, finally couldn’t hold back. He reached out to stop his parents and immediately spoke.

“Do any of you Muhua Gang members have ties to the Clear Wind Taoist Temple?” Lin Hui suddenly changed the subject, attempting to verify their background first.

“Clear Wind Taoist Temple? What place is that?” Brother Huang was stunned, asking blankly.

“Brother Huang, Contributor Yu seems to be from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple…” The accompanying man reacted much faster and whispered a reminder.

“Contributor Yu!?” Brother Huang’s expression changed. He immediately scrutinized Lin Hui closely. Soon, despite the leather raincoat covering it, he spotted the specially made formal disciple waist tablet of the Clear Wind Taoist Temple.

“You can take a closer look,” Lin Hui took off the waist tablet and tossed it toward the man.

Brother Huang quickly caught it, carefully verified it, and confirmed it wasn’t a fake. He had indeed seen a similar tablet on Contributor Yu.

His face changed, and he returned the waist tablet with both hands.

“Since you are from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple, then this month’s fee is not necessary. As for the previous payments, I’ll check with the gang later; a good portion should be refunded.”

“Is that all?”

Lin Hui put away the waist tablet, his expression calm.

“Well, this time, we were out of line. We will definitely give the brother an explanation for this matter! We will withdraw now.” Brother Huang gritted his teeth, clasped his hands in salute toward Lin Hui, turned, and quickly left with his follower.

Only after the two figures completely disappeared at the end of the road did Lin Hui turn to look at his parents.

His mother’s face was shocked, unable to process what had just happened for a moment.

“They just left? And they said they would refund the money they collected before?”

She found it hard to believe that a tyrannical force like the Muhua Gang had suddenly become so accommodating.

“It should be true,” Lin Hui nodded. “To be honest, many of these gangs are connected to various martial arts halls like ours. They are not afraid of me, but of the place I represent and the Clear Wind Taoist Temple people within their gang.”

Yao Shan was still somewhat incredulous.

She felt the problem was solved too easily. Yet, everything that happened was so real that she had no choice but to believe it.

“Did you complete Body Tempering? Did you break through to formal disciple status?” His father, Lin Shunhe, suddenly asked from the side.

“Yes, I just broke through,” Lin Hui nodded frankly, meeting Lin Shunhe‘s gaze.

Instantly, he saw a look of immense relief wash over his father’s face.

“That’s good. That’s good…”

But Lin Shunhe clearly knew that the role and influence of a formal disciple were limited. If the Muhua Gang didn’t have someone from the Clear Wind Taoist Temple in their ranks, they wouldn’t have retreated so easily. After all, there were so many martial arts halls and so many disciples; if everyone was given face and exempted from fees without being an elite ranked disciple, the gangs would cease to exist.

“Those two might not have been telling the truth. It’s highly likely they realized you are a formal disciple undergoing Body Tempering and are not an ordinary person they could easily beat, so they used this as an excuse to back down and run,” he sighed. “Don’t genuinely believe that your status is very strong. You cannot rely on it.”

“Yes, Father, I know,” Lin Hui nodded.

“It’s good that you know… Alas… However, you have indeed reached a level where you can help the family share the burden… A Clear Wind Taoist Temple formal disciple can be considered a good hand in wealthy families and already qualifies for some exemptions…”

The heavy burden he had been carrying alone was instantly lightened by at least thirty percent, simply because of the reduced protection fee from the Muhua Gang.

“Come, Shan Shan, warm up some wine and dishes. We father and son will sit down and have a drink,” Lin Shunhe, filled with relief, turned and instructed.

“Okay, I’ll go right away,” Yao Shan quickly turned and went inside.

After the family returned, they closed the courtyard gate. Not far away, the door of the neighbor’s courtyard quietly opened.

A pair of eyes peeked toward their side several times, filled with envy and resignation.

After a long while, the eyes disappeared again, and the courtyard door closed.

Clink.

In the courtyard, Lin Shunhe and Lin Hui sat facing each other across a stone table, using bought pig’s ears as a side for their wine.

“This is Old Liu’s tavern’s old yellow wine, steeped with medicinal herbs. It can nourish blood, replenish vital energy, and refresh the mind. It’s fine for you to have two cups,” Lin Shunhe raised his cup and lightly touched it against his son’s.

The two grayish-white wine cups made a crisp, pleasant sound in the air.

“Actually, I don’t like drinking,” Lin Hui said helplessly. “Can I drink less?”

“You don’t like it? That’s good, haha,” Lin Shunhe drained the small cup and laughed. “Alas, only people burdened with sorrow seek wine to temporarily relax themselves. It seems you don’t have much sorrow.”

“Indeed,” Lin Hui nodded. He gently sipped the pale yellow, amber-like wine. It tasted sweet with a distinctive medicinal flavor, actually quite fragrant.

“Honestly, something like the Muhua Gang incident, I could have found old friends to help me solve it, but connections… once, twice, three, four times, people can’t keep helping you forever. If you use them too often without giving back, even the best relationships will break,” Lin Shunhe sighed.

“So, connections must be used at critical moments,” Lin Hui nodded.

“That’s right, but don’t forget one thing. Connections also gradually fade over time. If you don’t use them for a certain period, others may no longer recognize you later. So… judging and maintaining this balance is very complicated,” Lin Shunhe sighed.

“But what exactly are connections?” Lin Hui asked calmly. He had never been interested in these matters before, and now he took the opportunity to ask.

“Connections, they are reciprocity,” Lin Shunhe smiled. “Only when others feel indebted to you will there be a time for future repayment. But this repayment cannot be perfectly precise one-to-one. Everyone does business with the principle of ‘it passes.’ When you repay a favor, you shouldn’t calculate it so precisely, but rather exceed it by a little. This way, others will come back to repay you again. This back-and-forth establishes trust.”

“But the premise for all of this is the back-and-forth?” Lin Hui was thoughtful. He recalled some situations he had seen in his previous life, and it was indeed so.

“Yes. You must have the ability to go to others for them to come to you. If you don’t have this ability, then it depends on whether the other party values loyalty, because that kind of giving is unlikely to be repaid,” Lin Shunhe continued. “Before, I didn’t use my connections because I cherished them, but now that you can partially support the family, life in the future will be much easier. I won’t have to constantly worry about what to do when the favors run out.”

“I see,” Lin Hui nodded in realization.

“Come, let’s have another cup!”

Clink.

The wine cups touched lightly. The father and son drank cup after cup, finishing the small pot of wine in a short time.

Lin Shunhe‘s face was flushed. In the end, he was happily humming a tune and was helped into the inner room to rest by Yao Shan.

(End of Chapter)