If push came to shove, he could simply join Yixiang Teahouse. Wasn't that Jia Yanming's goal anyway?
By then, he could write a few more good stories and have Manager Wu hire storytellers to perform them. That way, he could collect royalties and generate an extra stream of income.
'Hey, that idea might actually work!'
The more Lin Zheyu mulled it over, the better it sounded.
***
When his two hours of storytelling came to an end, Lin Zheyu received thunderous applause from the whole room, as always.
Quite a few wealthy young masters had turned out today, and their tips were exceptionally lavish, leaving Lin Zheyu feeling completely satisfied.
"Why is the protagonist of these stories always a scholar? I'm getting sick of hearing it," Liang Song grumbled, shelling a peanut and tossing it into his mouth.
Ever since Lin Zheyu had started storytelling at Bidan Teahouse, all his tales had come from the *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* series.
The plots almost entirely revolved around scandalous, taboo romances between enchanting fox spirits and mortal scholars. While the stories were captivating, to a martial artist like Liang Song, they felt cloying and repetitive.
Why did such great stories have to be weighed down by tedious romance with scholars?
It truly grated on him!
"Once I finish this story, I'll switch to a martial arts tale of the jianghu for you," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.
"Yes, that's what I'm talking about!"
"Listening to you talk day in and day out about love stories between scholars and seductive fox spirits is growing stale," Liang Song said, his eyes lighting up.
'Yet you enjoy listening every single day!' Lin Zheyu scoffed inwardly, though he didn't dare utter the complaint out loud.
Up to this point, his master was still his top patron!
"Master, I wanted to ask you something. Do you know of the Feihong Gang?" Lin Zheyu inquired.
"The Feihong Gang?"
"One of Songyi City's three major gangs. I met their gang leader once; his strength is mediocre at best."
"Why? Did someone from the Feihong Gang set their sights on you?" Liang Song asked, glancing sideways at him.
"No, nothing like that."
"It's just that the manager of Yixiang Teahouse wanted to poach me to perform there, and I refused."
"I heard that manager is ruthless and often has his younger brother, Jia Yanyong, do his dirty work in secret. Jia Yanyong belongs to the Feihong Gang," Lin Zheyu explained.
"Don't worry. They wouldn't dare run amok inside the city. At most, they'd beat you up a bit—nothing fatal."
"And if anything really does happen to you by some mishap, I'll report it to the authorities on your behalf," Liang Song said with a squinting smile.
Lin Zheyu: "..."
If reporting it to the authorities were of any use, why would anyone bother practicing martial arts?
"Right, I'm not overly worried, just looking into it."
"If push comes to shove, I'll simply agree to Jia Yanming's offer. It's just that you'd have to trouble yourself to change locations to listen to my stories, Master," Lin Zheyu said, raising a cup of wine to toast him.
The two sat chatting for a while, and the conversation turned back to Wild Bull Fist.
Now that Lin Zheyu had reached the entry level of Wild Bull Fist, many new questions had cropped up regarding his training, and he took the chance to ask for guidance.
As they went back and forth, Liang Song's eyes gleamed brighter and brighter.
This disciple he had casually taken on possessed such astonishing comprehension.
He had only learned Wild Bull Fist yesterday, yet today his grasp of the technique had already reached such profound depth.
'This kid's comprehension is just like mine!'
Liang Song could not help marveling in admiration.
He looked Lin Zheyu up and down, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Judging by your complexion, your qi and blood are severely depleted. You've overexercised; you must balance labor and rest."
"Training harder doesn't automatically mean progressing faster."
"If you want your body to grow stronger rapidly, blindly grinding away is useless. You have to give your body enough time to recover."
"Otherwise, it's all too easy to accumulate hidden internal injuries."
"While you're young, you can still keep those hidden injuries suppressed. But as you get older, they will erupt."
"Many martial artists from impoverished backgrounds only know how to train recklessly. Their strength does increase, but they end up riddled with injuries and ailments."
"They do fine in their youth, but once they hit their thirties, they begin a downward slide, and by their forties, they lose their lives because their bodies can no longer hold back those hidden injuries," Liang Song warned.
"I'll be mindful of that," Lin Zheyu nodded.
He had borrowed five taels of silver from Manager Wu. With a few doses of medicinal decoction, his body would soon recover.
When that time came, his strength would take another major leap forward.
Although the transformation from Origin Power had depleted his qi and blood, it had also laid down a solid foundation for his physique.
As long as his nutrition kept up and he drank several more doses of medicinal soup, he would swiftly replenish what had been drained.
***
On the way back, Lin Zheyu spent all five taels of silver on herbs that replenished qi and nourished blood.
Passing by the market, he bought another two jin of pork before heading home thoroughly content.
'My body isn't in peak condition right now. If I train, I'll easily hit my physical limit. Can I obtain Origin Power that way?'
Lin Zheyu pondered.
Once the thought occurred to him, he decided to test it.
After eating his fill, he rested for a short while, then went into the yard and began huffing and puffing through his training.
Half an hour later...
"Damn, that hurts!"
"I knew it wouldn't work."
Lin Zheyu lay flat on the ground, not wanting to twitch a single muscle.
This time, after pushing his body to its limit, he had gritted his teeth and held on for several more minutes just as usual, yet no Origin Power point was awarded.
'It seems I can only obtain it if I push myself to the limit when my body is in peak condition.'
'Or perhaps resting for a few hours in between before resuming works too; that's how it happened last time.'
With repeated trials, Lin Zheyu was gradually gaining a deeper understanding of his golden finger.
He surmised that Origin Power was likely a miraculous energy born when one's essence, qi, and spirit fused together into a single strand and sublimated upon breaking through the body's limit.
When his body surpassed its limit, Lin Zheyu's essence, qi, and spirit would sublimate in an instant, reaching a wondrous state.
In that state, he could feel his essence, qi, and spirit condensing intensely, twisting into one to give birth to that singular energy.
Origin Power was probably tied to this extremely condensed energy of essence, qi, and spirit.
Just now, he had pushed to his physical limit while in a weakened state, yet had received no Origin Power.
Lin Zheyu guessed that this was because his body was too frail, leaving him unable to condense enough energy from his essence, qi, and spirit.
Chapter 10