Chapter 128: Liu Yishou

Time passed in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, another half month went by.

During this half month, Guangwu Hall gradually got on the right track; besides the full recruitment of Gatekeepers and disciples, the cooks for meals and washerwomen for laundry were all in place.

Lu Yuan continued to be a hands-off manager, living in peace and comfort; all day long, he either meditated or refined medicine, and the Dharma Power within his body increased by a wisp almost every day, his progress flying.

At the same time, his three Dharma Disciples—Chen Zhantang, Peng Yidao, and Lin Sheng—had already mastered the Guangwu Body-Forging Fist and begun teaching it to the other Gatekeepers.

It must be said that the quality of the first batch of Gatekeepers was quite good, and they were diligent and hardworking; it was common to see them get up before dawn to practice martial arts, competing to reach new heights.

Of course, regardless of age, most of these people had mediocre aptitude and bone structure, but there were a few scattered individuals with clever talent and outstanding bone structure; Lu Yuan had already noted them in his heart during his occasional inspections, deciding to focus on observing and cultivating them later.

Furthermore, unlike in the past when he only had to feed himself, now that so many Gatekeepers and disciples were being cultivated, one could say that money was flowing out like water.

Although these people had to pay ten Silver Yuan to enter the hall for a month, those with financial difficulties or excellent performance could have their fees reduced or waived entirely.

As the saying goes, a growing boy eats his father out of house and home; these disciples in their teens and twenties consumed a massive amount of food daily due to their martial arts training, and Lu Yuan also guaranteed them a hearty meat dish every day, in addition to occasional medicinal soups, supplements, and plasters for treating bruises and setting bones.

The monthly expenditure for each disciple was at least twenty Silver Yuan; after deducting the entrance fee, Lu Yuan still had to subsidize ten Silver Yuan per person each month.

Just maintaining the hall required about two thousand Silver Yuan a month; if it weren't for the fact that he was now a multi-millionaire after seizing the family fortune of Deng Xiaolin, he really wouldn't be able to afford such expenses.

This day.

At noon.

In the backyard of the hall, several disciples carried long wooden tables out from the kitchen, then brought out large basins of vegetables and meat and placed them on the tables.

In no time at all, the seven or eight long wooden tables were filled to the brim. Following the sound of bells, the sweating, shirtless disciples walked out from the back door of the hall, chatting and laughing, rushing toward the dining tables impatiently.

After sitting down, they did not immediately pick up their chopsticks, but honestly waited for the three Dharma Disciples—Peng Yidao, Chen Zhantang, and Lin Sheng—to arrive.

Although the hall was newly established, the status of the three was clearly different from the other disciples, and their food, clothing, and daily expenses were much better. Although Lu Yuan had not taken the three as his personal disciples, in the eyes of the other Gatekeepers, they held the status of True Disciples who had founded the sect.

Soon, Chen Zhantang, Peng Yidao, and the other three arrived. After a casual greeting, the seventy or eighty disciples picked up their rice bowls and began to wolf down their food, feasting heartily.

Many of these disciples came from relatively well-off families and at least didn't have to worry about food and clothing, but the daily martial arts training in the hall consumed a great deal of energy. Plus, Chen Zhantang had used his family connections to specifically hire a chef who was quite famous in Jinjin for the hall, and the ordinary meals he made were extremely delicious, causing everyone to eat with slurping sounds, like Gluttons.

Not to mention those from poor backgrounds like Zhou Li, who had never eaten such delicious food before and regarded every meal as a delicacy.

"Liu Yishou leaves a hand; Uncle Liu is worthy of being a former head chef of Xiangman Building. It's just a stewed pork knuckle, but it tastes like eating dragon meat!"

"Nonsense, have you ever eaten dragon meat, kid?"

"Hehe, it's just a figure of speech. If I hadn't been lucky enough to be admitted under the Hall Master, I really wouldn't have known that an ordinary stewed pork knuckle could be this delicious, and the portion is so generous too."

"That's true. Another bowl! Eat up and practice hard; in two months' time, I must make the Hall Master look at me with favor during the assessment!"

Amidst the slurping sounds and various praises, an old man with graying hair and over fifty years of age, accompanied by two apprentices, brought several large bowls of fragrant and colorful food to the table of Chen Zhantang and the other two.

The old man was naturally the famous Jinjin chef Liu Yishou. Chen Zhantang asked immediately:

"Master Liu, is the Hall Master's medicinal meal ready for today? I'll go deliver it to him."

As the Hall Master, Lu Yuan basically did not eat with the Gatekeepers, and what he ate every day was not ordinary food, but a medicinal meal stewed with yellow beef tendon and various medicinal herbs like ginseng and angelica.

Faced with the inquiry, Liu Yishou was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said:

"No need, no need. I'll deliver it to the Hall Master myself, and by the way, ask him if he needs to change the medicinal meal or the recipe."

Hearing this, Chen Zhantang did not insist further and nodded: "Alright then, sorry to trouble you to deliver it to the Gate Master as soon as possible."

Liu Yishou agreed timidly, then took his apprentices into the kitchen, picked up two clay pots, and left quickly.

Watching his departing back, Peng Yidao frowned slightly:

"Strange, why do I always feel that Master Liu has been absent-minded these past two days?"

"I felt it too."

Lin Sheng, who also had experience wandering the world, said suspiciously:

"I heard his two apprentices say in private that yesterday, when he was making the medicinal meal for the Gate Master, he even mistook sugar for salt, wasting a whole pot of medicinal herbs for nothing."

Peng Yidao immediately said: "Liu Yishou has been a chef for decades, how could he make such a low-level mistake? Being so restless... could it be that something happened at home?"

"Probably because of his son again?"

Chen Zhantang frowned and said:

"I remember his son is a gambler who loves to gamble. At over thirty years old, he's like mud that can't be plastered onto a wall, having squandered the huge family fortune Liu Yishou had saved up. If it weren't for this reason, he, who was supposed to be in retirement, wouldn't have been so easily persuaded to come out of retirement to be the head chef here."

"Junior Brother Chen, if that's the case, then we must give Liu Yishou a reminder."

Peng Yidao said solemnly:

"We are fine; it doesn't matter if there's more or less salt in what we eat, but the medicinal meal the Gate Master eats cannot be sloppy in the slightest. If he makes any more mistakes, it will also damage your reputation."

Liu Yishou was able to come to Guangwu Hall as the head chef mainly because of Chen Zhantang, so he said solemnly:

"Understood. I'll go talk to him in a little while."

While they were chatting here.

Liu Yishou, already preoccupied, had brought his two apprentices to the outside of the courtyard where Lu Yuan was, and then pulled the bell rope on the side.

After receiving a response, they entered the courtyard, placed the two pots of medicinal meals directly on the stone table in the courtyard pavilion, and after seeing Lu Yuan appear from the courtyard, they asked respectfully:

"Gate Master, would you like to enjoy it here, or should we bring it inside for you?"

Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Just here."

Liu Yishou and the other three hurriedly set the bowls and chopsticks. After Lu Yuan sat down, he did not retreat as usual, but clearly showed an expression of wanting to speak but hesitating.

This abnormal situation of Liu Yishou naturally could not escape Lu Yuan's eyes. He turned his gaze, as if he could see through people's hearts:

"What is it, Master Liu? Do you have something else?"

Liu Yishou's face changed several times, a look of struggle flashing in his eyes. Finally, he lowered his head and said tremblingly:

"It... it's nothing, just that something happened at home. I would like to ask you for a leave of absence this afternoon to deal with it. I wonder if that is possible?"

Lu Yuan didn't mind:

"I thought it was something major. Half a day off is naturally fine. What happened at your home? Does it require help from the people in the hall?"

Liu Yishou's expression tightened, and he hurriedly said, "No need, no need, I can handle it myself."

Lu Yuan nodded:

"Very well, you may go."

Liu Yishou immediately bowed and retreated with the apprentices, leaving them outside the courtyard to wait and clear the tableware, while he himself hurried back to the kitchen to untie his apron, change into casual clothes, and prepare to head out.

However, before he could leave, he was intercepted by Chen Zhantang.

"Master Liu, where are you going?"

Liu Yishou hurriedly replied, "It is like this, Young Master Chen, I just asked the Hall Master for a half-day leave, intending to go home for a trip."

Signaling for the other party to come to a quiet corner, Chen Zhantang frowned and said:

"For these past two days, we have felt that you seem restless; has something happened at home?"

Liu Yishou's gaze faltered, and he managed a strained smile:

"A small matter has come up; it is just that my son is good for nothing, having run up a large gambling debt outside, which led to the creditors coming to the door, so I was a bit distracted while cooking yesterday. I am truly sorry, truly sorry."

"Master Liu, I hope you will not make such a mistake again."

Chen Zhantang said with a warning in his eyes:

"Being able to cook for Hall Master Lu at Guangwu Hall is something that countless chefs in Jinjin City would give anything for. I recommended you to come here, so do not smash your own golden reputation and make me lose face!"

Although Liu Yishou was a famous chef in Jinjin, it would not be difficult to find a few more chefs of the same level in Jinjin, and hearing this, he immediately panicked and said:

"I understand, I understand, I guarantee I will never make this mistake again!"

Chen Zhantang nodded: "Good, you may go, and get the matter handled."

Liu Yishou nodded repeatedly, then walked out of the hall in a cold sweat, reached out to hail a rickshaw on the street, and stopped it.

After getting in and giving the address, his mind was in turmoil, his face alternating between struggle and hesitation.

Not until the rickshaw stopped near the Sha'e Concession did he snap out of it, grit his teeth, pay the fare, and get off, as if he had made some sort of decision.

After the rickshaw puller left, he scanned his surroundings vigilantly, then wandered around until he arrived in front of a small white Western-style building with a garden, and knocked lightly on the door.

A moment after the bell rang, two tall Sha'e People pushed the door open and ushered Liu Yishou inside.

Upon entering, a burly Sha'e man sat squarely on a sofa filled with exotic flair; it was the former consul of the Sha'e Consulate, Takov.

"How is it, Master Liu?"

Looking at the weary and panicked Liu Yishou, he wore a condescending smile on his face:

"Have you finally made up your mind?"

Liu Yishou gritted his teeth:

"I can agree to your terms, but I must first see my son and grandson to confirm they are safe and sound; otherwise, don't even think about making me do things for you!"

Takov smiled slightly: "Of course, wait here for a moment."

After whispering a few words in the Sha'e language to a Sha'e soldier nearby, the man hurried away.

Then, after no more than half an hour, the sound of a Steam Locomotive approached from afar, finally stopping in front of the Western-style house's garden.

Subsequently, several fierce Sha'e men jumped off the vehicle, escorted a man and a woman, as well as a six or seven-year-old child, and brought them into the house.

"Father, save me, save me!"

"Grandfather, Grandfather..."

After the door opened, the moment Liu Yishou turned his head, he saw his son Liu Xun bound tightly, bruised and swollen, covered in wounds, looking as if he had suffered quite a bit; his grandson was being held in the hand of a Sha'e soldier like a little chick, crying out.

The woman nearby was his daughter-in-law, He Xiu'e, who came from a scholarly family and was usually diligent and thrifty, which made him quite satisfied.

But at this moment, He Xiu'e's clothes were disheveled and even torn, and there were clear slap marks on her face, as if she had been humiliated, which made Liu Yishou's eyes turn red instantly:

"What have you beasts done to my daughter-in-law!?"

"Relax, relax."

Takov laughed heartily, unconcerned:

"This might be because your daughter-in-law is beautiful, and our lads couldn't help but be a bit handsy. However, with my orders, no one has dared to truly violate her. Of course, if you refuse to work for us or fail to do the job, I guarantee I will arrange for a hundred lads to have their way with her!"

"You, you..."

Liu Yishou was so angry that blood rushed to his head, and his eyebrows and beard were all trembling violently.

Beside him, his son Liu Xun, bound tightly and bruised, wept and pleaded:

"Father, no matter what they want to do, just agree to them! You only have me as a son and a grandson! If we are gone, who will carry on the family line for the Liu family?"

"Shut your mouth, you beast!"

Liu Yishou scolded sternly, then after taking several deep breaths, he looked at Takov and said with a trembling voice:

"Speak, what do you need me to do?"

"Very simple!"

Takov clapped his hands, and immediately a Sha'e soldier stepped forward carrying a small leather case and opened it, revealing a glass tube the length of an index finger containing a colorless and odorless liquid.

Takov chuckled and said:

"We only need you to add this to the meal you prepare for him, and then wait for the situation to develop. Once it is done, I will not only release your whole family, but also offer one hundred thousand Silver Yuan as a bonus, and personally send someone to take your family to the Magic Capital Concession to live in peace, without worrying about anyone's pursuit. How about it?"

Liu Yishou gritted his teeth and said: "Hall Master Lu is a Martial Star descended to earth, a figure like an immortal. Can this thing of yours really poison him to death? Will he discover it beforehand?"

"Hahaha, where would there be immortals in this world!"

Takov laughed out loud:

"Even if an immortal descended to earth, they could not withstand the power of the Blood Mass. This thing is colorless and odorless; as the chef, you can put it into the meal without anyone noticing. After he eats it, it will take effect completely within three minutes at most, leaving him dead or crippled.

So during this time, you can calmly leave through the back door of Guangwu Hall, and I will personally lead men to meet you, ensuring your safe evacuation so you won't be found and torn to pieces by the angry disciples of the hall. How about it?"

With his whole family and his own life in the hands of the other party, Liu Yishou had absolutely no room to refuse, and could only answer with a trembling voice:

"Fine."