Advance to Attack, Retreat to Defend

[Heaven Rewards Diligence] Name: Lin Zheyu Origin Power: 6 Skills: Wild Bull Fist (Mastery 3%) Golden Goose Skill (Uninitiated 68%) After a morning of cultivation, he was only thirty-two percent away from getting the hang of the Golden Goose Skill. With a bit more effort tonight, he would be able to cross the threshold into the introductory stage. Having the experience of cultivating the Wild Bull Fist under his belt, Lin Zheyu was no longer a complete novice in martial arts, picking up the Golden Goose Skill exceptionally fast. However, this was only the beginning. The difficulty of cultivating the Golden Goose Skill was far greater than that of the Wild Bull Fist. Once it advanced to the second layer, his progress would slow down noticeably. He would need to spend a vast amount of time training the flexibility and nimbleness of his legs, honing them until they were as agile as his arms. *No rush with the Wild Bull Fist. I'll raise the level of the Golden Goose Skill first,* Lin Zheyu pondered to himself. As an art focused on legwork, the Golden Goose Skill allowed one to advance to attack and retreat to defend. If he ever encountered a formidable opponent, it would also give him a chance to escape with his life. More than ten days had passed since his last breakthrough. Lin Zheyu had now saved up twelve taels of silver. What restricted the speed of his growth was not the amount of Origin Power he possessed, but a shortage of silver. Without enough silver to purchase medicinal herbs, using Origin Power to make rapid progress meant he would have to expend an immense amount of time replenishing his qi and blood afterward to rebuild and strengthen his physique. *I need to figure out a way to broaden my sources of income,* Lin Zheyu thought to himself as he walked home. He needed to change his clothes before heading over to Bidan Teahouse for his storytelling session. *** When he arrived at Bidan Teahouse, the place was already packed to the brim. Lin Zheyu noticed quite a few unfamiliar faces, and among them, one group immediately caught his attention. "Manager Wu, who is that middle-aged man?" Lin Zheyu pointed toward the table in the very center, where the man was seated. He was a somewhat scholarly-looking, refined middle-aged man, flanked by several pretty women and surrounded by a number of burly toughs. Among them was Jia Yanyong, whom Lin Zheyu had encountered yesterday. Jia Yanyong's eyes were bloodshot, his large, tiger-like eyes narrowed into mere slits; his vision clearly had not fully recovered. "That is Xu Jingwu, Chief of the Feihong Gang," Manager Wu said. Lin Zheyu put on a look of knowing certainty. He had thrashed Jia Yanyong yesterday, and today they had come looking for him. Fortunately, Bidan Teahouse was Lin Zheyu's home turf, so he felt little fear. After all, Liang Song was here as well. Lin Zheyu glanced toward Liang Song by the window, where Master Liang sat staring blankly outside. "Is he very strong?" Lin Zheyu asked. "You didn't go and provoke him, did you, kid?" Manager Wu looked at Lin Zheyu with some anxiety. If it were just Jia Yanyong alone, Manager Wu would not be afraid in the slightest. Back then, he had only suggested that Lin Zheyu temporarily stay in Wu Family Village out of concern that a lone youth might be bullied. Provoking the chief of the Feihong Gang, however, was an entirely different matter. The Feihong Gang had numerous members, and their chief wielded considerable backing. If Lin Zheyu had truly provoked Xu Jingwu, it would spell serious trouble. "I shouldn't think I provoked him, right?" Lin Zheyu said. "Well, that's a relief." Manager Wu exhaled. "How on earth did you get mixed up with Chief Xu?" "Yesterday on my way home after storytelling, I ran into Jia Yanyong." "Jia Yanyong informed me that Chief Xu thought my stories were good and invited me to go to the Feihong Gang this morning to tell stories just for him." "Naturally, I was glad to hear that. After all, someone wanted to hire me to tell stories, which meant I could earn a tidy sum, right?" "Yet when I asked how much he was going to pay, Jia Yanyong actually said there wouldn't be any money. He claimed that getting to tell stories for Chief Xu was my honor, so why would there be pay?" "I thought to myself, wanting me to tell stories without paying a copper—how could that ever fly? So I turned him down." Lin Zheyu recounted the story with an innocent expression. Manager Wu was at a loss for words. Listening to Lin Zheyu's explanation, he parted his lips, suddenly unsure of what to say. "Sigh, I really don't know what to say to you." "What kind of figure is Chief Xu? Even without pay, there are plenty of storytellers who would jump at the chance to tell stories for him." "If you pleased Chief Xu and earned his favor, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing for the rest of your days." Manager Wu spoke with genuine regret. He glanced in Xu Jingwu's direction and cautioned in a lowered voice, "You must perform well today. If you tell your story well and earn Chief Xu's appreciation, your big break will have arrived." Manager Wu was truly a good man at heart. Though he worried about losing Lin Zheyu—his greatest draw for attracting customers—he still genuinely cared about Lin Zheyu's future. This was also why Lin Zheyu had insisted on staying at Bidan Teahouse back then. Manager Wu treated him with sincerity, and Lin Zheyu repaid him in kind. "Right, aside from this, do the two of you have any other bad blood?" "Oh, Jia Yanyong wanted to beat me up and drag me there by force, so I was forced to defend myself." "While defending myself, I threw a handful of chili powder into his eyes. I don't know if he went blind or not." Lin Zheyu spoke casually, glancing at Jia Yanyong, whose eyes still looked swollen and red. Manager Wu stood struck dumb. He genuinely did not know what to say anymore. Refusing to go was one thing, but actually beating the man up was practically a slap in the face. Out in the world, people often came to blows just to protect their pride and vent their anger. Manager Wu let out a long sigh. Young people were simply too reckless; when facing things like this, playing hardball would never work. He patted Lin Zheyu on the shoulder and urged him to focus on his storytelling with peace of mind. If matters got out of hand, he would have no choice but to ask the teahouse proprietor to step in and mediate; that ought to resolve it. Afterward, however, they would likely have to pay a considerable sum of silver in compensation. "Don't worry. Master Liang is here too, so it won't be a big deal," Lin Zheyu said with a smile. Manager Wu glanced at Liang Song and shook his head slightly in his heart. He knew Liang Song possessed considerable martial skill, but no matter how strong a man was, there were limits. In his understanding, Liang Song taking on ten men at once was already the absolute best he could do. Against the crowd of Feihong Gang members plus their formidable chief, what could Liang Song possibly accomplish by being here?