SFS Chapter 24 The Wind Rises
Chapter 24 The Wind Rises
Thus, Yang Silang practiced his swordsmanship several more times.
As he watched the crescent moon emerge from the dark clouds and hang in the black night sky, estimating the time to be around 1 AM, he sheathed his sword and used his special ability to return to the hut.
Because he can only choose one supernatural power per day, he has basically not chosen the Rejuvenation Supernatural Power recently.
I'm training less than usual, so I still need to make sure I get enough sleep.
Lying in bed, Yang Silang looked at the dilapidated house and suddenly felt awkward.
"If only I had a courtyard, I wouldn't have to switch between supernatural abilities to practice my sword."
"My identity as a porter still has some limitations. Even though I have money, I don't dare to spend it. I have to go to several shops to buy some nice things."
"Once we're stronger, maybe we should really try other approaches?"
-
"Wu Tou'er is dead!"
Master Zhu dipped a steamed bun in the soup, took a big bite, and said leisurely.
Inside the offal soup restaurant, the porters, who had been eating with their heads down, all looked up, dumbfounded.
"How is this possible?" Jiao Ada asked anxiously, looking at Da Niu, Er Hu, Yang Silang, Xiao Jiling and others sitting at the table, hoping it was fake news.
Xiao Jiling shook his head, his face grave.
"The news is true."
At this time, more than two months had passed since the last time they became hardened soldiers. It was already the dead of winter, with snow falling like flowers outside and even the river frozen over.
Since the river was impassable, the work at the docks was unpredictable, and people could find odd jobs on the side.
But if summoned by the guild, one must return to the dock and await orders.
Today is a rare day when all the porters are at work. The Gongzhou Prefecture Treasury has allocated a batch of weapons and equipment, including armor, bows and crossbows, shields, swords, and other equipment, to be distributed to the counties and prefectures below.
The unrest that began a few months ago has escalated, with a large part of Jiangdong Province experiencing civil unrest. Mountain bandits and brigands have come down from the mountains, taking refugees with them, attacking county towns, and cutting off roads.
Although no county seat has been captured yet, public sentiment in the province is indeed unsettled.
Therefore, the Gongzhou Prefecture needs to allocate military equipment to the lower levels to strengthen military preparedness.
Sanshui will be responsible for transporting these items from the treasury to the crossroads. Within Gongzhou Prefecture, soldiers and escort agencies will take turns delivering them.
After a long day of work, the able-bodied men would come to this outhouse for a hot meal—the other able-bodied men and those with weaker legs wouldn't dare to come here to eat, as a meal would cost five coins.
A few months ago, a bowl of rice cost only three coins; now the price has gone up, which means life is tougher.
Master Zhu silently drank his soup, clearly unwilling to say more.
Everyone turned their attention to Xiao Jiling. This guy was lucky; he passed the test before the river froze over and became a hard-footed soldier, which is why he was sitting here today.
Wu Tou'er had taught everyone, after all. He was straightforward and honest. Although he scolded and beat people, he did things clearly and didn't hide anything or try to defend himself when teaching.
Although they had only known each other for half a month, he was truly like a coach to the porters.
How come he's suddenly gone?
Xiao Jiling sighed and briefly explained the information he had gathered.
The Sanshui Society and the Tiegang Society fought fiercely over territory last time, and in the end, they demanded a sum of money from the detained person before releasing them.
The root of the problem lies in the feud between the gangs behind the two brokerage firms.
After months of brewing conflict, the Black Tiger Gang and the Poisonous Snake Gang clashed in a major battle the day before yesterday. Each side deployed dozens of skilled fighters, most of whom possessed rudimentary martial arts abilities.
After a chaotic battle, both sides suffered heavy losses and went back to lick their wounds.
Wu Tou'er lost his footing and broke his stance while fighting the person opposite him. He was kicked to the ground and died under a hail of knives. It is said that the person opposite him was a real copper-skinned martial artist.
Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing this.
It's truly absurd that a martial arts master renowned for his stance training died due to an unstable lower body...
But considering that it was the Copper-Skinned Warrior who made the move, it seems to make sense.
No matter how well he practices martial arts stance, he's not a true martial artist. The two gang leaders are the pillars of their gangs; they are the true masters of the Bronze Skin Martial Arts Realm.
After exchanging a few glances, the atmosphere became somber.
Master Zhu sighed – “If you don’t become a warrior, it’s all for naught.”
Even if we porters, like myself, reach the end of our careers, we are still not as valuable as a single finger of a warrior.
But these days, being a porter is probably not an easy job either.
Our livelihood depends on freight transport, but things are not peaceful right now. I heard that transportation is not smooth in various places. This time, to escort the equipment, we need to mobilize both officers and soldiers and the escort company.
From now on, our lives will probably be tough.
Who knows how long this turmoil will last?
He looked around and saw several familiar faces, fellow villagers who were reliable, and Xiao and Jiao had a good relationship. He lowered his voice and said.
"To say something I shouldn't, this old man is prepared to keep doing this until I can't anymore."
"But you're still young."
Master Zhu didn't say the second half of his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant—if there were other options, they should consider them; the future of this porter's job was uncertain.
Porters earn seven-tenths of their income from the river and three-tenths from the city.
With unrest in various places and trade disrupted, even if the river doesn't freeze, it's unlikely that so many goods could be transported, and there wouldn't be enough consumers.
The reason the Iron Gang came to seize territory last time was that they were no longer making enough money relying on the existing docks.
Everyone fell silent, and Yang Silang took over the conversation.
"Master Zhu, by the way, is your son, the 'Qilinzi,' almost ready to become a martial artist?"
The biggest expense for Master Zhu's family was supporting his grandson's martial arts training. It is said that it would cost fifty or sixty taels of silver a year after he was sent to the martial arts school, making him a veritable money-devouring beast.
"Not bad, not bad..." Master Zhu's face lit up when he mentioned his beloved grandson.
"Fortunately, he lived up to expectations. He became a junior martial arts apprentice after two years of training, and then studied for another three and a half years to break through to the Copper Skin Martial Artist realm. His family was almost bankrupted. The headmaster said he has accumulated enough and he should be able to break through in a month or two..."
The porters all gathered around to congratulate him.
"Great news! The Zhu family is about to produce a talented person!"
"A copper-skinned martial artist, if he were to become an official, could pass the imperial examination and become a martial arts scholar, and be granted the title of a seventh-rank official; if he did not wish to become an official, he could become an instructor in a large martial arts school or a head of guards in a wealthy family."
"Master Zhu has worked hard all his life; he's finally going to enjoy his retirement!"
The atmosphere immediately became lively.
Everyone immediately shifted the topic to the martial artist.
Xiao Jiling first explained how difficult it is to learn martial arts, how much money you have to spend, and that you also need to be talented, have good aptitude, and be able to endure hardship.
He counted on his fingers.
"Nowadays, if you want to become a martial artist, you either have to go to a martial arts school and show up empty-handed. This is called 'golden and silver martial arts.' The advantage is that you can come and go freely without any restrictions. Anyway, the secret medicines that help with cultivation are in the hands of the martial arts school, so they don't have to worry about you leaking the secrets."
"Either join a gang or a security escort agency to try your luck. Usually, you have to sign a contract, which is easy to get in but hard to get out of. Like the Black Tiger Gang behind our Sanshui Society, it's a business of selling yourself into martial arts, fighting and killing. Of course, according to the rules, even if you are injured, crippled, or die, the employer has to support you, unless the employer goes bankrupt."
"Some went to the army to risk their lives. The government had a martial arts training hall, which was called military training. If you could train well and become a minor official, that would be good. But if you couldn't train well and were bound by military status, that would be pitiful."
"Of course, there are also those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, from aristocratic families with a well-established family martial arts tradition. This is called reincarnation martial arts, and these are extraordinary. They lack nothing in terms of techniques, medicine, and instructors."
Wang Dajun countered with a question.
"Xiao Jiling, tell me, what kind of martial arts can we porters learn?"
Everyone looked up and stared at Xiao Jiling.
Xiao Jiling gave a wry smile and dipped the steamed bun into the soup.
He saw the black dog outside the soup shop, its nose twitching as it sniffed the aroma of meat inside, its mouth watering and its tail spinning like a spinning wheel.
Then, on a sudden inspiration, he pointed to the door.
"We're just like these stray dogs outside the gate."
"Just smelling the aroma is enough to whet your appetite, but as for actually drinking the soup, I don't think you're getting any!"
"All I can do is dance to the aroma of soup!"
Everyone laughed and cursed Xiao, saying he was a smart dog who couldn't say anything nice.