Chapter 24: Recruitment

...

Manager Wu felt a sense of unease as he watched Lin Zheyu ascend the storytelling platform.

Xu Jingwu sat below throughout the entire performance, listening silently with a constant smile on his face.

When the story reached its climax, he would even instinctively clap and cheer, looking nothing like someone who had come to cause trouble.

It was Jia Yanyong, however, who wore a face full of hostility, his eyes—red and swollen—narrowed into slits as he glared at Lin Zheyu.

...

*Clack!*

As time passed, the storyteller struck the gavel. "To find out what happens next, please listen to the next installment."

The sounds of reluctant farewells rose, just as they did every time.

Lin Zheyu cupped his hands in greeting and stepped down from the platform.

"Mr. Lin, our Sect Leader requests your presence."

Just as he stepped down, Lin Zheyu was intercepted by two burly men.

From a short distance away, Manager Wu signaled to Lin Zheyu with his eyes, urging him to maintain a good attitude so as not to provoke Sect Leader Xu.

*Endure a moment of grievance to ensure peace; take a step back to find a vast horizon.*

"Understood."

Lin Zheyu gave Manager Wu a slight nod and followed the two men.

"Haha, Mr. Lin has arrived. Please, sit."

Xu Jingwu laughed heartily, gesturing for Lin Zheyu to sit with great magnanimity.

"May I ask what important business the Sect Leader has for me?"

Lin Zheyu sat opposite Xu Jingwu with composure and asked with a smile.

"As expected of the man who could write *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, you truly are bold," Xu Jingwu said with a smile, noting Lin Zheyu's lack of fear.

"Does Sect Leader mean to imply that I should show fear?" Lin Zheyu countered. "Or is the Sect Leader planning to use force here?"

"And what if I truly intended to use force?"

Xu Jingwu's smile vanished, and he looked at Lin Zheyu expressionlessly.

"The Sect Leader must be joking. This is the inner city of Songyi, where fighting and brawling are strictly prohibited," Lin Zheyu said.

"Haha, quite right."

Xu Jingwu's smile returned. "The reason I invited Mr. Lin here is to ask you to come to my manor to tell stories."

"Yesterday, I sent Jia Yanyong to invite you. Not only did you refuse, but you nearly blinded him. That was quite unfriendly."

"Today, I have come personally. Can Mr. Lin show me some respect?"

Xu Jingwu withdrew his smile and looked at Lin Zheyu calmly.

"Will you pay?" Lin Zheyu asked, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Interesting."

"There are plenty of gentlemen who wish to tell stories for me, but you are the first to open your mouth and ask for money."

Xu Jingwu smiled as he looked at Lin Zheyu. "I can give you money, but... do you dare to take it?"

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

"It is only natural for a scholar to charge for storytelling; if the audience is pleased, they provide tips!" Lin Zheyu said solemnly.

"Haha, Mr. Lin is indeed a fascinating man."

"You fled from Jiunan City, didn't you? Having no connections or kin to help you here in Songyi, I wonder if you would be interested in working for me?" Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

Over the past few days, he had ordered his subordinates to gather information on Lin Zheyu, and after learning the details, he was quite impressed.

Lin Zheyu's background was clean. Although he was a scholar, he had a passion for the martial world, and the stories he wrote were steeped in the raw, gritty atmosphere of the wandering life.

He liked him very much.

Furthermore, from Jia Yanyong's account, he learned that Lin Zheyu was a man of integrity who repaid kindness. To repay a debt, he had repeatedly refused his brother's recruitment. In terms of character, he was excellent.

Such a person, having no support in Songyi and possessing a sense of gratitude, was the perfect candidate to recruit as a subordinate.

"Oh?"

This time, Lin Zheyu was genuinely surprised.

Based on his initial impression, he had felt that Xu Jingwu was not a good man.

But after interacting with him, the man left a very good impression, appearing almost refined and scholarly.

"What are the benefits of joining the Flying Rainbow Gang?"

Lin Zheyu grew interested and asked, "Will you pay me?"

He was currently worrying about how to expand his sources of income.

Lin Zheyu only knew a few stories; once one was told, it was gone.

It was also difficult to continue expanding his storytelling troupe.

If the troupe grew too large and more people bought the same story, the amount of silver each storyteller could earn would continue to drop. In the end, the total sum would be less than before.

Jia Yanyong: "???"

Hearing that the Sect Leader wanted to recruit Lin Zheyu, Jia Yanyong's mind was filled with question marks.

His eyes, which were swollen into slits, suddenly widened in confusion.

What on earth?

Wasn't the Sect Leader here to settle a score?

And what kind of person was this Lin Zheyu? Being able to work for the Sect Leader was already a massive opportunity.

He hadn't even joined the Flying Rainbow Gang yet, and he was already thinking about money? Was he obsessed with wealth?

"Haha, I, Xu Jingwu, never mistreat my subordinates."

"As long as your ability is outstanding and your strength is sufficient, you can gain rewards beyond your imagination under my command," Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

He found Lin Zheyu very interesting and even felt a sense of admiration for him.

"Then, how does one define 'sufficient strength' and 'outstanding ability'?" Lin Zheyu asked, looking at Xu Jingwu.

"With your scholarship and literary talent, you could be responsible for managing the gang's logistics. In your spare time, you can tell stories for me. If you tell them well, that is considered outstanding ability," Xu Jingwu said after taking a sip of tea.

"And how is 'sufficient strength' judged? Through a martial duel?" Lin Zheyu asked.

He was more interested in this.

He couldn't make much money just doing logistics through storytelling.

Most of his current income came from selling stories to other storytellers.

If he could join the Flying Rainbow Gang and use their prestige to implement a "copyright model" in Songyi—where anyone telling his stories had to pay—his income would be maximized!

"Does Mr. Lin mean he doesn't want to do logistics, but intends to rely on martial prowess to make a name for himself within the gang?"

Xu Jingwu found this extremely amusing.

In his impression, Lin Zheyu was a scholar with good literary talent, a knack for writing good stories, an interesting personality, and a sense of gratitude.

Although he had heard the man practiced martial arts, he had only been training for less than two months. What could he possibly achieve?

"Yes."

"Compared to those scholarly matters, I prefer a life of eating meat, drinking wine, wandering the martial world with a sword, and settling grievances with passion," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"Haha, Mr. Lin is truly a remarkable man. No wonder you could write such an interesting story as *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*."

Xu Jingwu burst into laughter.

The more he interacted with Lin Zheyu, the more interesting he found him.

He held no personal grudge against Lin Zheyu; it was merely a conflict between his subordinate, Jia Yanyong, and the man.

But it didn't matter; the boy's eyes weren't even blind yet.

In the world of gangs, getting a few scars was a common occurrence.

"I heard Mr. Lin has practiced martial arts for a time, so you must possess some degree of strength," Xu Jingwu said, using the phrase "some degree" as a subtle understatement.

"When Jia Yanyong invited you earlier, a conflict arose. Although his eyes are uncomfortable, his martial strength is still quite formidable."

"If you can defeat Jia Yanyong in a fair fight, you will have proven your strength."

"After this bout, the grudge between you two can be wiped clean. What do you say?" Xu Jingwu proposed.

After all, Jia Yanyong had been blindsided by Lin Zheyu. Xu Jingwu had to give his subordinate a chance to reclaim his honor.

The opportunity was being given; whether Jia Yanyong could actually reclaim it depended entirely on himself.

Hearing this, Jia Yanyong was eager to try.

*That bastard Lin Zheyu! If he hadn't used chili powder to sneak attack me, I would have pinned him to the ground and rubbed him into the dirt long ago!*

(End of Chapter)