Actually, Lianshan Xin knew there was no deep blood feud between his family and the Qu household, and that Chairman Qu would not necessarily truly retaliate against them.
But the greatest vulnerability of an ordinary family was that their ability to weather risk was simply too poor.
A small whim on the part of those in power was a catastrophe that could wipe out an ordinary family.
Great Yu was not the rule-of-law society of his previous life. This was a typical feudal dynasty—and one, moreover, where martial powerhouses could do as they pleased with no law to bind them.
In such an environment, Lianshan Xin had no sense of security at all.
What could give him a sense of security was the martial arts—the kind of strength that was truly one's own. But his talent for the martial arts was poor.
So he had to forge another path: power, too, could give a man a sense of security.
No matter how dazzling the jianghu, in the end the universe was just one giant Shandong. Emperors, generals, and ministers would forever stand at the top of the food chain.
Lianshan Xin's talent gave him no bonus in the martial arts. But when it came to the civil service and establishment exams, the bonus was enormous.
A man still had to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.
The reasons Lianshan Xin had given left He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng unable to argue back.
And what happened next further proved his foresight.
Barely half an hour after Kong Ningyuan left, Chairman Qu from next door came to the door bearing lavish gifts.
"Doctor Lianshan, earlier I was so frantically busy with my brother-in-law's affair that I neglected you, brother. Today I've come specially to offer my apologies, and I beg you not to turn me away."
Chairman Qu was potbellied; one look told you he'd enjoyed plenty of good living over the years.
At the sight of Lianshan Jingcheng, Chairman Qu—who had just lost his brother-in-law—instantly plastered his face with smiles, without a trace of grief.
Lianshan Jingcheng didn't put on any airs; he promptly took Chairman Qu's gifts and warmly invited him to take a seat.
This attitude put Chairman Qu a little more at ease.
But it did not make him relax completely.
He had always known that Lianshan Jingcheng was an easygoing, good-natured sort.
But Lianshan Xin was still young, and the young were the most hot-headed of all.
He wasn't worried that Lianshan Jingcheng would retaliate, but he was very worried about Lianshan Xin.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Chairman Qu quickly came to the point. "Just now I heard from my steward that Sixth Young Master Kong came to Huichun Hall? And that your son personally saw him out the door?"
He didn't actually know the details of what had happened.
But just as a single word from him could sever Huichun Hall's supply of medicinal ingredients, a single word from Kong Ningyuan could leave his merchant guild tottering in the storm.
So Lianshan Xin dared not gamble on Chairman Qu's character—and Chairman Qu, in turn, dared not gamble on Lianshan Xin's.
Hearing Chairman Qu ask this, Lianshan Jingcheng said with a smile, "That's right. Young Master Kong came to deliver the admission letter from Bailudong Academy to Little Xin."
"The admission letter?" Chairman Qu's expression shifted slightly. "Your son was admitted to Bailudong Academy? By direct admission?"
"Yes. Young Master Kong recommended him."
Lianshan Jingcheng was not a man who liked to flaunt things.
Showing off his son, though, was the exception.
It was an instinct no parent could suppress.
Chairman Qu regretted it.
He felt the apology gifts he'd brought were too few.
"A tiger father sires no cur. I always said your son was accomplished in both letters and the martial arts from a young age, and today he's finally soaring to the heavens." The flattery rolled off Chairman Qu's tongue.
Lianshan Jingcheng said modestly, "Chairman Qu, you flatter me. My Xin'er was never any good at letters or martial arts, even as a boy. He was simply lucky, to have made a friend of Young Master Kong."
"That's no mere luck. For Young Master Kong to recommend him, your son must possess some quality that made Young Master Kong see him in a new light."
Chairman Qu meant every word.
In Great Yu, a recommendation was a serious and weighty matter. If the one recommended performed too poorly, it reflected badly on the recommender's prestige as well.
The two were not absolutely bound together, but to say that the fall of one meant the fall of both was hardly an exaggeration.
So Kong Ningyuan had come in person to deliver Lianshan Xin's admission letter—and so Chairman Qu's heart was heavy. He had come to realize that Lianshan Xin's ties to Kong Ningyuan ran deeper than he'd guessed.
At this thought, Chairman Qu dropped all pretense. He rose at once and made a deep, formal bow. "Brother, earlier, over my brother-in-law's affair, I truly was at my wit's end, and so I spoke harshly to you. The fault in this is entirely mine. Tell me, brother, how I can make amends, and I will do whatever satisfies you. A near neighbor is worth more than a distant relative—by all means, let this not sour the friendship between our two households."
Lianshan Jingcheng was a little surprised that Chairman Qu could humble himself so far.
At the thought that he was, in fact, leaning on his son's influence, he felt a father's quiet gratification—but he still shook his head. "Chairman Qu, let me speak plainly. Of course I'd rather keep things peaceful and prosper together, but Xin knows about this matter. The reason Young Master Kong came to Huichun Hall in person is that Xin invited him."
Chairman Qu's heart sank again.
"Xin spoke up for me, so I can't go spending his goodwill on his behalf. Chairman Qu, on my end there's really no issue, and there's no deep grudge between us. As long as Xin doesn't pursue it either, then the matter between us is settled."
Chairman Qu could hear that Lianshan Jingcheng was telling the truth.
Chairman Qu was a middle-aged man with a wife and children, and such men rarely let their blood run hot; getting along and doing profitable business together was the choice of a man with a family to feed.
But the young were different. They were young still, with too little holding them back and too much impulse.
So he bowed deeply once more and said earnestly, "Please, brother, call your son out. I wish to apologize to him."
"No need to call him."
Lianshan Xin lifted the curtain and stepped in.
He and He Miaojun had been listening from the back the whole time.
Casting a glance at Chairman Qu, Lianshan Xin said snidely, "Chairman Qu, what a rare guest. You really are a hard man to get a meeting with."
Chairman Qu hit the floor with a thump, straight down onto his knees. "It's all my fault, every last bit of it. Please, Young Master Xin, punish me however you see fit."
The speed of that kneeling surrender could rival France's.
Lianshan Xin hadn't expected him to go this far.
He could only conclude that the man really was worthy of being a merchant guild chairman—there was a reason he'd built the family business to such heights.
He didn't tell Chairman Qu to get up. In the eighteen years since he had come to Great Yu, he had completely grown into a battle-hardened—and thoroughly pickled—soldier of feudalism.
Equality of all men was a thing of his previous life; when in Rome, one did as the Romans did.
"Chairman Qu, you bow lower than I expected. Now you've left me too embarrassed to make things hard for you."
Since ancient times, those who surrender are not slain.
But the ones who had it coming still got what was coming to them.
Men fear force but do not cherish kindness—that is simply human nature, and merchants most of all.
He carried out three jars of wine and set them on the table.
"My father begged you to show him a little mercy—drank himself sick at the wine table, and still couldn't get so much as a glimpse of you, Chairman Qu. My demand isn't high, Chairman Qu. Drink these three jars of wine, and the matter between our two families is settled. Of course, I've made inquiries: in your early years you drank your health to ruin for the sake of business, and these past few years you haven't touched a drop. If you're unwilling, I won't force you."
Chairman Qu gritted his teeth and, without a word, yanked out the stopper and poured the wine straight down his throat.
He'd taken only three gulps before he began to choke and cough.
"Keep going."
Lianshan Xin's voice was cold.
He was not the sort of protagonist from the web novels of his previous life, who would slaughter a man's entire clan over a single dirty look—but neither was he so bleeding-heart a saint as to feel sympathy for anyone who had wronged his family.
A man can afford to be ruthless; he can't afford to be a fool.
Hearing the coldness in Lianshan Xin's voice, Chairman Qu abandoned every last shred of hope for a lucky escape.
By the time he emptied the first jar, he was already vomiting.
By the time he emptied all three jars, Chairman Qu had begun to vomit blood.
Lianshan Xin's tone was utterly indifferent. "Dad, fetch Chairman Qu some sobering medicine. I've got a soft heart—I can't bear to see a man fall ill before my eyes. Charge him a little less for the consultation. He's a neighbor, after all; we're bound to keep crossing paths."
Lianshan Jingcheng went to fetch the sobering medicine.
Lianshan Xin looked at Chairman Qu, who had not betrayed the slightest displeasure, and spoke again. "Chairman Qu, let your son sit the Bailudong Academy examination once more this year. This year, he'll pass."
Chairman Qu's head snapped up, and he looked at Lianshan Xin with astonished delight.
"Thirty percent of Jiangzhou's officials come from Bailudong Academy. Thirty percent of Jiangzhou's martial artists come from Bailudong Academy as well. Every parent's heart is the same, Chairman Qu—you understand what I mean?"
"I understand. Rest easy, Young Master Xin. For as long as I chair my merchant guild, Huichun Hall's business is sure to thrive." Chairman Qu nodded again and again.
With both mercy and might applied, he now had the Qu household firmly in his grasp—and his parents' side was secure at last.
Lianshan Xin lifted his teacup and blew gently across it.
Power, indeed—no less than force, it could give him a tremendous sense of security.
It was just that it wasn't enough yet.
Bailudong Academy was a place to obtain still greater power.
And a place where he might gain more of the martial arts—even the way of the immortals.
Getting into a good university was about far more than studying and learning; it was about your fellow alumni, your teachers, and the circles you could never enter without first getting into that school.
The far reaches of the jianghu and the heights of the imperial court—both were beyond the reach of Lianshan Xin as he was now. But entering Bailudong Academy could connect him to the distant jianghu and the lofty court at the very same time.
Eighteen-year-old Lianshan Xin had decided to properly get to know this world. And he wanted this world to get to properly know him, too!
Chapter 3