Sally was fairly familiar with the rules of the Martial Academy as well. "Do we need to spend some money?"
"Is that really necessary?" The knight looked somewhat dismissive, proceeding to strip off his clothes. "That fellow is on good terms with a knight named Rossi. Do we really need to go after him?"
He had only gotten involved in this matter out of lust for the viscount's daughter's body, hoping to pocket a bit of spending money on the side.
He had no interest in being jealous over Sally showing interest in other men.
Yet if the viscount's daughter became obstinate about it, things would still get uncomfortable for him.
"Father has always taught us to nip trouble in the bud," Sally answered casually. "If he were merely bragging, letting him off wouldn't matter. But the problem now is... he was telling the truth."
"You're making excuses again." The knight had practically nothing left on. "What can a man of Jin possibly do?"
He did not consider Wu Youren a threat in the slightest—not because the lad lacked potential, but because he was stamped with the label of Jin.
Sally grew displeased. "You don't care about me at all! If that's how it is, don't touch me!"
"Fine, fine, I'll go make some inquiries." At times like this, the knight would agree to anything. "I'll handle it tomorrow."
He had originally planned to stop harassing the fellow, but in the end... he couldn't let his little brother down, could he?
Yet the results of further inquiries came as a bit of a surprise.
As merely a student, he couldn't dig up much information, nor was he willing to pay too high a price for it—it truly wasn't worth it.
However, he noticed a certain detail: a few instructors had once shown interest in Wu Youren, hoping to hire him as a guide.
Not many people entertained that thought anymore, as the academy had already dispatched several teams and gathered plenty of information on Suotu Town.
Even so, there was no doubt that for someone to have entertained the idea in the first place, the Jin youth's performance could not have been too shabby.
Still, so what if he wasn't half bad? At worst, Sally could pick someone to wager against him.
In any case, there were plenty of people eager to curry favor with a viscount's daughter.
He passed along the relevant information, along with his own analysis and suggestions, to her.
Meanwhile, Wu Youren was in contact with Cynthia, asking her to help him purchase some earthen jars and pots.
Pickling vegetables required the appropriate containers, and since he didn't want to go to the market, he could only entrust the task to her.
Cynthia was more than happy to help. Before long, she wheeled over a handcart packed to the brim.
When she delivered the items, she remarked cheerfully, "This idea of yours is pretty good! I heard these vegetables can fetch a good price in the winter!"
Wu Youren was rendered utterly speechless. *So you think my life at the Martial Academy is just professional farming?*
Then again, maybe he could consider... greenhouse farming?
The two unloaded the cargo and began prepping the vegetables for pickling.
In Great Liang society, such chores were handled by commoners, yet Cynthia was helping out with great enthusiasm.
Just as their work was drawing to a close, more visitors arrived.
It was the same male martial artist from two days ago, accompanied by five others—every single one an apprentice knight.
He stepped up to the Jin youth, completely ignoring Cynthia. "Just notifying you: we can call off the wagered duel."
Wu Youren glanced at him, continued finishing up his work, and didn't say a single word.
"Huh?" Seeing this, the male martial artist grew annoyed. "I'm talking to you!"
Cynthia couldn't hold back. "This wagered duel was something you people brought to his doorstep to begin with! What's the meaning of bringing this up now?"
The male martial artist still ignored her. "However, from now on, you must hand over five silver dollars every month as protection money. Understand?"
"Are you out of your mind?" Cynthia truly couldn't tolerate it. "I already told you, I'm with the Mirage Sea League!"
"He isn't," the male martial artist replied bluntly. "We've already confirmed with the Mirage Sea League that he isn't under their protection." He looked her up and down. "Besides, you don't have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Mirage Sea League!"
Cynthia choked on her words at once.
The Mirage Sea League was a faction primarily organized around regional ties. There were exceptions, of course, but very few.
Her family background was decent, and she held some standing within the Mirage Sea League, but she had only just risen above the bottom ranks.
Even if she had an admirer or two by her side, she could never call the shots for the entire league.
Sheltering a friend from time to time was no problem, but Sally's people had clearly spoken with the upper echelons of the Mirage Sea League.
The Mirage Sea League had considerable strength, and nobody in the academy was eager to provoke a faction bound by regional ties. But when it came to sheltering someone outside their region, others wouldn't necessarily respect that.
Still, she wasn't about to drop the matter. "Five silver dollars... whose protection fee is that high?"
To huddle together for warmth in the academy, one had to pay certain regular dues; to receive protection without joining a faction, one had to pay protection money.
Protection money was naturally higher than regular dues—that went without saying.
Yet five silver dollars was nearly twenty percent of a Hostage Manor guard's monthly income!
The male martial artist continued to ignore her, looking toward the Jin youth instead. "Did you understand?"
"Not quite." Wu Youren gave a quiet sigh. He couldn't keep hiding and letting Cynthia stand in the line of fire for him.
He asked in a low voice, "We agreed on a wagered duel, and I accepted. Are you just... making things up as you go?"
"That's right," the male martial artist nodded unabashedly. "This is Great Liang soil. It's not your place to raise objections!"
"You truly disgust me!" Cynthia erupted. "To go back on your word like this—do you even have the face to represent Great Liang?"
*You think I want to do this?* the male martial artist grumbled inwardly.
Miss Sally didn't want to let the Jin youth off, but the knight had refused to pick an opponent himself, telling her to choose one instead!
The viscount's daughter was willful, not stupid.
If two or three apprentice knights died on her father's fief, it wouldn't matter at all.
But the Martial Academy was different—especially an intermediate martial academy, where some students possessed backgrounds even more prominent than a viscount's!
Even those with humbler origins might have influential relatives or friends. Such incidents happened far too often across the various martial academies.
Moreover, news traveled exceptionally fast inside the academy, unlike back home where any trouble could simply be suppressed.
So after asking a few people, Sally had changed her mind, deciding it wasn't worth wagering against him after all.
Yet letting him off so easily wouldn't sit well with her either, which was why she had sent people to collect protection money.
She had no interest in explaining these shifts to her opponent; she hadn't even bothered to show up herself.
As a member of the viscount's daughter's guard, the male martial artist was well aware of all this.
Still, it couldn't be helped—things were what they were. Even he had no desire to duel the fellow out in the wild hunting Guizu!
Hunting Guizu could make one rich overnight, but for apprentice knights to entertain such notions was simply overestimating themselves.
Besides, most martial artists who came to study at the academy relied on their families' support. Why take such enormous risks?
More to the point, even without competing against him in hunting Guizu, they could still bully him within the academy!
Faced with that, the choice was obvious.
He smiled nonchalantly. "Miss Sally simply had a change of heart. She doesn't want foreigners thinking Great Liang bullies Jin. Doesn't our friend here also care about Liang-Jin friendship? We're all looking at the bigger picture!"
"Then this protection fee is still too high," Cynthia declared flatly. "Besides, there's already a faction backing him!"
The other party had already confirmed that the boy beside her didn't belong to the Mirage Sea League, but he truly was covered by someone.
Cynthia didn't know why Wu Youren hadn't brought up their name, but she had no reservations about mentioning it.
"You mean the Life-and-Death Knot?" The male martial artist smiled faintly.
Chapter 42