Chapter 50: Giving Money in Secret

“Sigh, not only is Licheng in chaos, but the south is even worse. These days, my escort business has improved compared to before, but it’s also far more dangerous.”

“If I didn’t have so many family members to support, I’d truly consider hanging up my boots!” Zhuo Xingji, hearing their conversation, nodded in deep agreement.

“My tavern gets tables overturned several times a day—this can’t go on, or the place will be torn down eventually!” Jiao Yongbao’s face twisted into a bitter grimace.

“Nowadays, gangs constantly fight over territory. My master fears our Quanjiao Martial School will get dragged into these conflicts, so we’ve stopped taking in new students entirely—and our income has plummeted!” Wei Chi Xiao sighed along with them.

Instantly, the atmosphere in the private room turned heavy and somber, stripped of its earlier flirtatious merriment.

“If it’s truly unbearable, just move!” Xia Daoming said with casual resolve.

“Moving isn’t that simple! Besides, the big war in the provincial capital is still raging—there’s no telling if it’ll spread across the entire southern region.”

“If you leave, you’d have to go north or to another province—but the north is a frozen wasteland, constantly raided by Tianhe people, even worse than here.”

“As for other provinces, the journey is long and arduous, full of unknown perils along the way, and once you arrive, you’re strangers in a foreign land—you’d have to start over, and it’d be brutally hard.” Liu Xiaoqiang sighed softly.

“Exactly. Since neither side wants us to join them, we might as well wait and watch—stay right where we are.” Wei Chi Xiao said.

Xia Daoming smiled without comment.

If upheaval strikes, under the tide of larger forces, they may soon find themselves with no choice but to pick a side!

Still, Xia Daoming was confident that by then, he’d likely have reached the Eighth Rank realm.

With his strength, he’d be fully qualified to lead the Quanjiao Martial School members away.

So he had no objection to Wei Chi Xiao’s suggestion to wait and watch.

“By the way, Daoming, interested in escorting a few shipments with me? If you agree, you don’t need to prepare anything—I’ll handle everything. You just come along, and I’ll give you seventy percent of the escort profits!” Zhuo Xingji suddenly said.

“Seventy percent!” Wei Chi Xiao and the others gasped in shock—even Xia Daoming was stunned.

“That’s right, seventy percent!” Zhuo Xingji nodded. “Master himself said your true strength rivals that of a Sixth Rank Grand Martial Artist. With you helping escort, the shipments will be far safer.”

“And with the current chaos, you’re the hope for Quanjiao Martial School’s revival—you must raise your cultivation as quickly as possible, and that requires a lot of silver.”

Only then did they understand: Zhuo Xingji was offering such a generous cut not just for the escort bureau, but for Quanjiao Martial School too.

“Thank you, Brother, for your kindness. I’m not short on silver right now. But if you ever have a particularly dangerous escort that needs my help, as long as it’s not too far, I’ll lend a hand.” Xia Daoming bowed respectfully.

He still had sixty to seventy thousand taels of silver tied up from his failed trip to the provincial capital—how could he be short on cash?

Not only wasn’t he short—he also held several high-year-old Ice-Purple Shouwu roots; just two or three of them could match the combined wealth of all the senior brothers and sisters present.

“Brothers don’t thank each other. Since you’re not short on silver, forget it!” Zhuo Xingji waved his hand with a laugh.

Perhaps because the conversation had turned to Licheng’s current situation, tonight’s entertainment at the brothel remained pure—no one had any desire for courtesans or pleasure.

Soon, the music ended and the guests dispersed.

Before leaving, Liu Xiaoqiang specifically pulled Xia Daoming aside and slipped a brocade pouch into his arms.

“What are you doing, Sister?” Xia Daoming looked bewildered.

“Wei Chi and the others are all roughnecks, thick-headed—they don’t think you’re officially listed as a trainer under Master, so how much income could you possibly have?”

You telling them you have money? That’s just fooling them—you can’t fool me! Over the years, running this brothel has let me save up some silver.”

“Take it. Spend it on elixirs to boost your cultivation. You’re the hope for the school’s revival—I’ll need your protection for this brothel in the future.” Liu Xiaoqiang said.

Xia Daoming stared, dumbfounded.

What was this?

Was I born with some innate talent for living off women’s money?

Coming here to listen to music for free was one thing—damn it, even that was bad enough—but now they’re handing me cash?

Is this paying me to be their kept man?

“Sister, you worked hard for this money—I couldn’t possibly…” Xia Daoming reached into his robe to pull the pouch out.

“What? Do you think my money’s dirty? Do you look down on me?” Liu Xiaoqiang grabbed his hand, stopping him.

“Sister, what are you saying? Your money wasn’t stolen or robbed—it’s hard-earned sweat and blood! How could it be dirty?!” Xia Daoming declared with righteous indignation.

“Then why won’t you take it? To raise your cultivation fast, you need to spend money!” Liu Xiaoqiang said.

“I really have money!” Xia Daoming said.

"Don't lie. You came from a small northern town, spent a fortune on finding a master, and even if you had savings, you've burned through them all in a year—where's your money?" Liu Xiaoqiang snapped.

“Stolen!” Xia Daoming blurted out.

Liu Xiaoqiang blinked, then clenched her teeth. “Will you take it or not? If you don’t, don’t come back to hear my music again!”

“This…” Xia Daoming stared again.

Others came here and paid to hear music.

But me? If I don’t take money, I can’t hear it.

“Fine, I’ll take the silver for now. But don’t give up your cultivation either—buy elixirs when you need them. You’re still young, your path is long. Jiao Brother managed to regain his hidden force—you can too.” In the end, Xia Daoming accepted the silver.

If he refused now, it would truly seem he looked down on brothel workers.

“You don’t need to tell me. Who wouldn’t want to keep cultivating? It’s the only way to avoid being bullied! But I can’t compare myself to Jiao Brother,” Liu Xiaoqiang sighed softly.

“They say you learn till you die—effort determines success. Sister, you can do it!” Xia Daoming said.

“Alright, I know! Go home now, or Lian’er will worry.” Liu Xiaoqiang smiled and poked his forehead.

“Hehe! Then I’m off.” Xia Daoming said.

With that, Xia Daoming turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Liu Xiaoqiang’s eyes held a trace of loneliness.

“Master, you’re back! I’ll go prepare your bath right away,” Liu Qiaolian said, curtsying as Xia Daoming entered home.

“No rush—I’m going out again.” Xia Daoming walked straight to the back courtyard’s inner chamber.

Beneath the bed lay a hidden underground chamber.

This was where he stored his treasures.

Only he and Liu Qiaolian knew of it.

He took out the brocade pouch, emptied the silver notes, and counted them—there were six thousand taels. He froze in surprise.

“Sigh… eating off women’s money makes me uneasy.”

After a long while, Xia Daoming sighed and placed the silver notes and pouch into his money chest.

Then he took out two small jade vials from another chest.

One was empty; the other held Nourishing Life Jade Liquid.

This vial of Nourishing Life Jade Liquid he’d obtained from Lin Lu, the chief steward of the Shi family—less than half the amount in Xu Zhiji’s possession.

Still, it was worth over thirty thousand taels, and even then, it was unobtainable on the market—he had no idea how Lin Lu, a mere steward, had acquired it.

Xia Daoming poured half into the empty vial, then carefully returned the remaining half to the chest.

Half a vial was worth nearly twenty thousand taels—not a huge sum for Xia Daoming now.

But since Nourishing Life Jade Liquid was currently unobtainable in Licheng, he felt it wise to keep a small reserve for emergencies.

Holding the small portion of Nourishing Life Jade Liquid, Xia Daoming quickly returned to Yaohua Pavilion.

PS: This novel’s main elements are xianxia, but it will incorporate light, everyday-life, and casual power-fantasy elements—hoping to offer readers a fresh reading experience.