Chapter 12: Greed

……

“Good!”

“Brilliant!”

Having heard the end, the three men couldn't help but cheer.

“Alright, I, Fu Jingyun, agree to this,” the man on the left said first.

“Count me, Jing Haifeng, in as well.”

“And me, Guan Yihan!”

The three vied to speak. Based on their years of experience in storytelling, this story was guaranteed to be a hit, and the tips from the audience would surely be substantial.

The story was eye-catching, the plot was thrilling and tightly woven, and it was absolutely gripping!

Although the story would eventually spread and others could tell it too, being the first batch of storytellers to recount it would bring them far more attention, attract more listeners, and earn them significantly higher tips.

While people still listened to old stories, their willingness to tip was weak.

Most of them already knew the outcome, so listening was just for fun—a way to pass the time.

New stories were different; with a plot that drew people in, the audience would tip just to hear what happened next.

“Then I welcome the three of you to join. You are also welcome to recommend other storytellers to me. For every successful recommendation, I will give you 30 wen,” Lin Zheyu said with a smile, taking the coins from the three men.

In this way, Lin Zheyu’s daily income increased by 240 wen. If he developed more subordinates, the income would be even more gratifying.

……

Songyi City, a corner of the city.

“Master Lin has started a new chapter again. It’s a story about a martial artist—it’s so brilliant!”

“A story about a vulgar martial artist? What could be brilliant about that?”

“Exactly, exactly. I still prefer stories about scholars, full of fox spirits and romantic encounters. Just thinking about it is exciting.”

A man with a somewhat lecherous appearance chimed in.

“What’s the point of those? War and blood, fist-to-flesh combat, roaring when seeing injustice, and drawing a blade when the heart is troubled—that is the life a real man should live.”

“……”

“Brother Zhou, what are they talking about? Why can’t I understand?” the skinny monkey sitting to the side asked, confused.

He had come from the Baishan district to the inner city looking for work.

“They’re talking about Master Lin from the Bidan Teahouse.”

“Master Lin is a storyteller who recently debuted in Songyi City. His stories are incredibly exciting; you can hear scattered discussions about them in every street and alley.”

“I also love listening to him, but unfortunately, I have to work to earn money, so I can’t go often,” Zhou Weicheng said with a smile. He was also a fan of Lin Zheyu’s storytelling.

“A storyteller? Master Lin?” The skinny monkey asked curiously, “Brother Zhou, what is this Master Lin’s full name?”

“I think it’s Lin Zheyu. He’s a young scholar.”

“Lin Zheyu!”

The skinny monkey’s eyes lit up.

……

The sky was dim, and night had fallen.

The sunset sank below the horizon, leaving only wisps of twilight.

Baishan District.

At their usual spot, several thugs were lounging—some sitting, some lying down—gathered together to brag and shoot the breeze.

“Brother Yu, guess who I discovered in the city today?” The skinny monkey arrived at their usual spot and said excitedly to Gao Yu.

*Bang—*

Gao Yu casually landed a punch on him.

“Screw you.”

“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t play riddles with me,” Gao Yu said unhappily.

“Yes, yes, yes.”

The skinny monkey rubbed his head, wincing in pain.

Gao Yu’s strength was immense; that one punch hurt like hell.

“Aren’t you in the city working as a porter? What, did you see an old flame at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion?” another companion teased.

“Are you going to give me the money for it?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Just thinking about that feeling—skin so tender you could squeeze water out of it, that silky touch—it’s truly mesmerizing.”

The skinny monkey squinted, reminiscing with intoxication.

The girls at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion were much more tender than the women in the village, and they had all sorts of tricks; it was a real pleasure.

*Bang!*

Gao Yu landed another punch, impatient. “Are you going to talk or not? Stop keeping people in suspense!”

“Hiss—”

“It hurts, it hurts… Brother, go easy on me. You’re going to beat my brains out.”

The skinny monkey complained, but seeing Gao Yu’s sidelong glance, he quickly said, “I saw Lin Zheyu in the city!”

“Lin Zheyu?”

“The guy who used to walk around us to avoid trouble a while back?”

“Haven’t seen him in ages. I thought he’d died in some unknown corner,” a man with a blade of grass in his mouth said with a laugh.

In this era, people dying was a common occurrence, especially for guys like Lin Zheyu who had fled from other cities with no one to rely on.

Walking down an empty street and getting bagged and sold into slavery was a common fate.

Fortunately, when Lin Zheyu first arrived in Songyi City, he was as thin as a bamboo pole and looked so malnourished that no one bothered with him.

“Right, that’s him.”

“Didn’t that kid say he was going to the city to be a storyteller? I asked around, and it’s true.”

“But we were fooled.”

“He’s incredibly popular in Songyi City. People go to listen to him every day in an endless stream. It’s said that the tips he receives alone exceed two hundred wen a day,” the skinny monkey said in amazement.

He hadn’t expected the profession of a storyteller to be so lucrative.

If someone else had made that money, he wouldn’t have felt much, as he didn’t know them. But the fact that the one making money was the down-and-out refugee scholar they had looked down upon made the skinny monkey burn with jealousy.

“He makes that much?!”

Gao Yu was shocked. And that was just the tips; his wages hadn’t even been counted yet.

How much did he earn after a whole day of back-breaking labor? That weak, cowardly wimp was actually making so much.

This was intolerable.

“Brother Yu, I secretly asked around. Lin Zheyu lives alone now. He rented a small courtyard in the inner city, and the location is quite secluded.”

“Should we go and pull a job on him?”

The skinny monkey said with a shifty look in his eyes.

How much could they earn from honest work?

For these thugs, work was just a side hustle; thievery and petty crime were their real jobs.

“The inner city is strictly patrolled. If we get caught…” another companion hesitated.

“What are you afraid of? At worst, we get locked up for a while. It’s not like we haven’t been in before,” the skinny monkey said dismissively.

He was a frequent visitor to the prison.

The people inside were all talented, spoke well, and possessed all sorts of rare skills. He had learned many of his own tricks from the people in there.

Going in once was like attending a training course.

“It’s decided then. We’ll go hit him tonight.”

“While we’re at it, we’ll intimidate him. Since he’s such a coward and all alone in Songyi City with no one to back him up, are we really going to be afraid of him?”

Gao Yu grinned.

……

Having developed three storytellers, Lin Zheyu returned home, feeling satisfied.

Once the team of storytellers grew, he would only need to sit back and collect money in the future.

【Heaven Rewards Diligence】

Name: Lin Zheyu

Source Power: 2

Skills

Bull Fist (Entry 46%)

“Several days have passed, and there hasn’t been the slightest progress.”

“After reaching the entry level, it will take a year or two to reach proficiency.”

“With normal cultivation, it takes over ten days to increase by one percent. It’s truly a bit slow.”

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his consciousness and said to himself.

Several days had passed; his depleted blood and energy had been replenished, and his spirit was at its peak. It was time to break through his limits once more.

Although he didn’t have the silver to buy supplements and couldn’t use Source Power to improve for the time being, accumulating more Source Power was never a bad thing.

Taking off his shirt, Lin Zheyu began to practice the Bull Fist in the courtyard.

His fists landed on the wooden post, emitting dull *thud, thud, thud* sounds.

With every punch thrown, the muscles on his body bulged, and each strike unleashed his maximum power.

Hidden beneath his lean frame was immense strength.

……

(End of chapter)