Chapter 26: Preparations Before Promotion

Not every inner-court apprentice gets a room of his own. After asking around, Li Yuan thought it over and decided to head to the middle court to room with Fatty Sun.

At least he could mooch meals.

"Divine Weapon Valley, the sky of Dragon Hibernation Prefecture."

Hammer never leaving his side, Li Yuan hefted the Grand Master Hammer back to the front court, still digesting the information Old Zhang had given him along the way. His heart was shaken, and a few things suddenly clicked.

"Qin Xiong must have known this news long ago. That's why Niu Gui came to the middle court — not just for the inner court… If it really gets pushed back a year, I'll probably miss it."

Li Yuan felt a chill in his heart, and a flicker of relief.

If he had truly hidden his abilities and stepped aside for a year, never catching Tang Tong's eye, never apprenticing under Zhang Ben, then by the time he learned Divine Weapon Valley was taking disciples, everything would have been far too late.

"Connections, intelligence, the importance of showing your talent."

The sky was already pitch black. On the martial ground before the middle court, only a handful of apprentices remained, still standing in horse stance and swinging hammers. Li Yuan reflected on himself, searching through it, settling on how he would act from now on.

The differences between his past and present lives went beyond language, writing, and environment — customs, habits, how one dealt with people were all different. He would have to adjust, to change.

……

When he returned to the small courtyard, Fatty Sun, who hadn't drunk much earlier, had already set up a table — four dishes and a soup, chicken and duck both present, meat and wine, far more lavish than the morning.

"Many thanks for the chef's hospitality."

As usual, Li Yuan filled Fatty Sun's cup first, smiling as he offered a toast.

"Stop calling me Chef. My name is Sun Hao. If you're willing, just call me Brother Sun."

Fatty Sun replied with a broad grin.

Li Yuan, of course, went along readily. He still felt grateful toward Fatty Sun — the breathing method, the silver for buying medicines over the past few months had all come through him.

Without Fatty Sun, his martial training would have been slowed down considerably.

"Come, eat!"

"Another toast."

The two of them clinked cups and traded toasts, far more at ease with each other than before.

Both had healthy appetites — even though they'd eaten at the banquet not long ago, they could still pack more in.

"About Divine Weapon Valley — you've heard, right?"

Fatty Sun let out a wine burp.

Li Yuan nodded. "Divine Weapon Valley opens its mountain gate next year, but I reckon getting in won't be easy."

"It won't be easy, but this chance is too rare to pass up."

Fatty Sun was a little tipsy, and a little envious:

"In previous years, Divine Weapon Valley only took children under twelve. Not only did they need superior root-bone constitution, they also had to pay three hundred taels of fine silver…"

"That really is harsh enough."

Li Yuan clicked his tongue.

Superior root-bone constitution might not be one in ten thousand, but it had to be one in a thousand. Gao Liu County, towns and villages included, had over two hundred thousand registered households, and each year there might not be a few with superior root-bone.

Let alone three hundred taels of fine silver.

In all of Gao Liu County, there wouldn't be many families who could lay out that much ready silver at once.

"Harsh? You still don't understand what Divine Weapon Valley weighs."

Fatty Sun spoke with reverence:

"All these years, the wealthy households of the inner city have considered it an honor to send their children to Dragon Hibernation Prefecture. If they had this chance, they'd go bankrupt without a second thought!"

More exaggerated than passing the civil service exam…

Li Yuan understood, yet found it oddly unsettling.

In his past life's few thousand years, it wasn't often that local powers outshone the imperial court in prestige and were so well-favored. This Divine Weapon Valley was practically a nation within a nation.

"You know Qiu Long, right?"

Fatty Sun asked.

"The commander of the Gao Liu County army?"

Li Yuan had some recollection.

After that year of nine killings, that commander had returned to the city with three hundred guards patrolling the streets — the spectacle had left a deep impression on him.

"He's a disciple of Divine Weapon Valley. He came down the mountain back to Gao Liu City some years ago. Now, his family is the foremost great household in the inner city — every trade and industry has to send him heavy gifts every year…"

Saying this, Fatty Sun lowered his voice:

"I heard that even the bandits and mounted outlaws outside the county have to offer him a hefty sum of silver every year. Even the so-called 'Venomous Snake Gang' with over a thousand members is no exception,

afraid he'll wipe them out. What's more, I heard Clerk Lin say before that the city's tax silver has to be split with him by several tenths…"

"This…"

Li Yuan was somewhat dumbfounded.

For a moment he didn't know what to say, but he now had a deeper sense of Divine Weapon Valley's deterrent power.

Bandits paying 'protection fees' was one thing — fostering bandits to make oneself valuable was commonplace in his past life too. But damn — collecting taxes too?

Is this still a sect?

Practically a regional lord, a nation within a nation.

"If you could apprentice into Divine Weapon Valley, that would be a true fish leaping through the dragon gate — soaring straight to the heavens!"

Fatty Sun's face flushed red, his chest thumping with a 'slap slap':

"If there's anything you need my help with, just say the word. Sun here won't hesitate!"

He spoke with heroic spirit, and Li Yuan took him at his word, raising his cup in toast:

"Then the matter of the gold, I'll leave it to—"

"Burp~"

Fatty Sun's drunkenness drained away in an instant, his big head shaking like a rattle-drum:

"What? You, you want gold? That won't do, won't do, absolutely won't do…"

……

……

Won't do, not that he didn't have any.

Fatty Sun had brought a pleasant surprise: he traded an IOU for one tael of gold, and walked out the door under the latter's pained gaze.

"One tael of gold in hand, still short on silver and pig iron. Pig iron is easy — I have the master's connections, no need to be too brazen about it, a thousand jin or so, not hard to get. But this silver…"

Li Yuan turned the Great Craftsman's Hammer over in his hands, thinking.

He had a hundred-tael banknote from Qian Bao, but it had to be exchanged for silver, and to exchange silver, there was only one place in Gao Liu County's inner city — the 'Yuanda Money House.'

"If I were a government office Runner, Qin Xiong, I'd definitely be watching, seeing who comes to withdraw cash…"

Li Yuan passed through the streets and alleys, arriving at the inner city.

Inner and outer city, separated by a single wall, the layout was more or less the same; from the outside, it was just that the streets were tidier, the pedestrians' clothes a bit cleaner.

But going from outer city to inner city actually cost a one-copper entry fee.

"Truly barefaced…"

Pinching his nose and paying up, Li Yuan found a secluded spot, stuffed the gold into his Liuhe Boots, and tossed it back onto the grey Dingxin Dingxin Shitai.

For valuables, apart from the Liuhe Boots, he felt uneasy no matter where he put them.

Even coming to the inner city, he carried the Great Craftsman's Hammer, truly 'unable to put it down.'

"The inner city is really lively, only just past New Year and every stall is already set up…"

Yuanda Money House was right in the middle of Xingyuan Street, its signboard very eye-catching, but Li Yuan didn't approach, only watched from afar. The inner city was prosperous, and there were many people.

He swept his gaze around several times, unsure whether there were government offices or Qin Xiong's men staking out inside.

"Although there may not be anyone watching, unnecessary risks — better not taken if avoidable…"

After wandering around for quite a while, Li Yuan shook his head, turned and left Xingyuan Street.

……

……

"Brother Qiu, after all these days, surely you must have some clue related to that thief?"

Opposite Yuanda Money House, in a third-floor private room of a teahouse, Qin Xiong asked with a dark expression.

"That great bandit Nian Jiu is still not caught, the government office's manpower is really stretched thin, can't attend to it for now, please bear with me, Qin Xiong."

Qiu Da glanced at the Yuanda Money House opposite:

"I sent two brothers to stake out here for nearly ten days, County Magistrate Lu is already quite displeased, several times ordered them recalled to go search for that great bandit Nian Jiu…"

Qin Xiong's face darkened, wanting to flare up but helpless, he could only viciously pound the table:

"If Liang Liang Ashui can't be touched, what about Li Yuan? He also has loan dealings with Qian Bao, his Wu Gong is sufficient, he's also a suspect!"

The day of the inner courtyard examination, after seeing Li Yuan display astonishing hammer techniques, he had grown suspicious. Before Qian Bao's incident, Qian Bao had indeed, following his instructions, gone to intimidate Li Lin.

"Zhang Ben may not have become an inner-strength practitioner, but all these years of smithing have built up quite a network of connections. You don't want to provoke him, so I would?"

Qiu Da set down his tea cup, his expression also turning cold:

"Don't forget, my uncle's Conglong Broken Saber was repaired by Zhang Ben!"

At a single disagreeing word, both of them snorted coldly, about to disperse.

Just then, a government office Runner came running up the stairs, first glancing at Qin Xiong, and only speaking after Qiu Da nodded:

"Some brothers say that two days ago, someone at 'Jinyi Pawnshop' made a dead-pledge of a hundred-tael banknote for ninety-three taels!"

"?!"

(End of this chapter)