Xinyu Town.
Beneath a dim, yellow sky, a light rain drizzled down.
The yellow mud on the road had been trampled into a disgusting, gooey mess. From time to time, ox-drawn carts and horse-drawn carriages would pass by, splashing specks of mud.
Most pedestrians on the road wore straw hats and raincoats, their steps hurried.
CREAK.
Lin Hui pushed open the gate to his family's courtyard and saw that it was empty and quiet.
In the courtyard, a newly planted apricot tree shivered in the light rain, its branches and leaves trembling.
"Dad? Mom?" he called out, but no one answered.
'Have they gone to work?' he wondered. He entered the courtyard and was about to turn and close the gate.
Suddenly, with another CREAK, the gate to a small, neighboring courtyard not far away swung open.
Two short, stocky men were weighing a gray money pouch in their hands while cursing and spitting on the ground.
"Fuck! What a piece of work! Had to search 'em myself. 'No money, no money' my ass. The fuck is this, then? These damn old geezers are all talk."
"Brother Huang, what should we do now... Hey, there's someone next door! Brother Huang, quick!" The other man was about to speak when he suddenly spotted Lin Hui standing at the gate of the Lin Family's courtyard, and his eyes lit up.
"Haven't they already paid up?" That Brother Huang glanced over, a little hesitant.
"Don't think so. Didn't we just get to this area? Who would've collected? But it's even better if they have! If we collect again, whatever we get is all ours, right?" The other man let out a sinister laugh. "I heard this family used to be in business, ran an oil mill. They're rich!"
It wasn't the first time the two had collected protection money twice. Brother Huang immediately made up his mind and started walking over.
"Friend, it's time to pay your family's protection fee. We're from the Mu Hua Bang, in charge of security for businesses in this area," Brother Huang said with a gentle smile as he approached.
"The Mu Hua Bang? I thought it was the Fu'an Bang," Lin Hui said, raising an eyebrow slightly. He didn't doubt the fee—everyone had to pay it—but he was a little surprised that the Fu'an Bang had been replaced by the Mu Hua Bang.
"That's where you're out of the loop. We've beaten the Fu'an Bang so badly they don't even dare show their faces. From now on, this whole area is under Mu Hua's jurisdiction," Brother Huang said with a laugh, his eyes darting around.
"How much?" Lin Hui didn't suspect anything. He happened to have some of his wages on him, so he figured he'd pay it for his parents and be done with it.
"Not much. Your family is opening a small shop, right? The residence plus the shop comes to a total of five thousand coins," Brother Huang said with a smile, holding up one hand.
"How much?" Lin Hui's hand, which was reaching for his money, froze. He looked up at the man.
"Five thousand," Brother Huang repeated, a threatening smile on his face.
"Sirs..." Lin Hui's tone was still polite. "Isn't five thousand a bit..."
"Ah Hui!" Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted over from the road not far away.
His mother, Yao Shan, and his father, Lin Shunhe, were hurrying back home together under an oil-paper umbrella.
Seeing Lin Hui cornered by the two Mu Hua Bang members, the pair couldn't help but quicken their pace.
"Ah Hui, are you all right? Don't you Mu Hua Bang people have any rules? Didn't you just collect money a few days ago!?" Yao Shan quickly approached, grabbed Lin Hui's arm, and turned to yell at Brother Huang and his companion.
"They are they, and we are we. The people who came before weren't from our Mu Hua Bang at all. You must have been scammed!" Brother Huang laughed.
"Every school has its Door Technique, and every gang has its code. Is the Mu Hua Bang really going to let its men collect fees over and over, completely ruining your own reputation?" Lin Shunhe said, frowning as he approached.
"Heh, you say you've paid, so where's the proof? What evidence do you have that you paid before?" Brother Huang's tone grew impatient, his voice rising.
"We still have the wooden flower you gave us!" Yao Shan trembled with anger.
"Anyone can carve a wooden flower. It's not anything special. Who can't make one?" the other man laughed.
Lin Shunhe was about to retort, but Lin Hui, who was standing beside them, had finally had enough. He reached out to stop his parents and spoke up.
"In your Mu Hua Bang, are there any members from Qingfeng Temple?" Lin Hui suddenly changed the subject. He was establishing their background first.
"Qingfeng Temple? What's that?" Brother Huang froze, asking blankly.
"Brother Huang, I think Yu Gongfeng is from Qingfeng Temple..." The man next to him was clearly much quicker on the uptake and immediately reminded him in a low voice.
"Yu Gongfeng!?" Brother Huang's expression changed. He immediately scrutinized Lin Hui. Soon, under the cover of Lin Hui's leather raincoat, he spotted the special waist token of a Qingfeng Temple Official Disciple.
"You can take a closer look." Lin Hui removed his waist token and tossed it to him.
Brother Huang hurriedly caught it and checked it carefully, confirming it wasn't a fake. He had indeed seen a similar token on Yu Gongfeng.
His expression changed again. He returned the waist token with both hands.
"Since you're from Qingfeng Temple, you can skip this month's fee. As for what was collected before, I'll check with the gang when I get back. We should be able to refund a good portion of it."
"That's it?"
Lin Hui put away his waist token, his expression calm.
"Well, we were in the wrong this time. We'll definitely give you a proper explanation for this matter, brother! We'll take our leave now." Brother Huang gritted his teeth, cupped his fists at Lin Hui, and quickly turned to leave with his subordinate.
Only after the two had completely disappeared down the road did Lin Hui turn back to his parents.
His mother's face was a mask of shock, unable to process what had just happened.
"They just... left? And they said they'd refund the money they took before?"
She couldn't quite believe it. The Mu Hua Bang, a gang known for being so arrogant and domineering, had suddenly become so reasonable?
"It's probably true," Lin Hui nodded. "To be honest, many of these gangs have connections to martial arts schools like ours, big and small. They aren't afraid of me; they're afraid of the place I represent. And the people from Qingfeng Temple within their own gang."
Hearing this, Yao Shan still found it hard to believe.
She felt like the problem had been resolved a little too easily. But everything that had just happened was so real. She had no choice but to believe it.
"You've achieved Body Tempering? You broke through to become an Official Disciple?" his father, Lin Shunhe, suddenly asked from the side.
"Yes, I just broke through," Lin Hui nodded calmly, meeting Lin Shunhe's gaze.
Instantly, he saw a look of immense relief wash over his father's face, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"That's good... that's good..."
But Lin Shunhe knew well that the influence of a single Official Disciple was limited. If the Mu Hua Bang didn't have its own members from Qingfeng Temple, they probably wouldn't have backed down so easily. After all, there were so many martial arts schools and so many disciples. He wasn't some elite, high-ranking disciple. If gangs gave face to everyone and didn't collect their fees, they wouldn't be able to survive.
"Those two just now weren't necessarily telling the truth. It's more likely they knew you were an Official Disciple who had reached Body Tempering, that you weren't an ordinary person. They probably couldn't beat you, so they just went with the flow to make a graceful exit and run off," he sighed. "Don't get the idea that your status is all-powerful. You can't rely on it."
"Yes, Dad, I know," Lin Hui nodded.
"It's good that you know... Sigh... But you have indeed reached a point where you can help share the family's burden... An Official Disciple of Qingfeng Temple is considered a skilled hand even among the great households. You've earned the right to some exemptions..."
The heavy burden he had been shouldering alone now felt at least thirty percent lighter, just from the reduction of the Mu Hua Bang's fee.
"Come, Shanshan, go warm up some wine and food. Your son and I are going to sit down for a drink," Lin Shunhe said, pleased, as he turned and went inside.
"Okay, I'll go right away," Yao Shan replied, quickly turning to go inside.
The family went back inside and closed the courtyard gate. But not far away, the gate of the neighboring courtyard creaked open quietly.
A pair of eyes peeked in their direction several times, filled with envy and helplessness.
After a long moment, the eyes vanished, and the gate closed.
CLINK.
In the courtyard, Lin Shunhe and Lin Hui sat opposite each other at a stone table, drinking wine and eating the pig ears they had bought.
"This is the old yellow wine from Old Liu's Tavern. It's been steeped with medicinal herbs. It replenishes blood, boosts qi, and refreshes the spirit. A couple of cups won't hurt you," Lin Shunhe said, raising his cup and gently tapping it against his son's.
The two whitish-gray wine cups made a soft, crisp, and pleasant sound in mid-air.
"I don't actually like to drink," Lin Hui said helplessly. "Can I have a little less?"
"Not liking it is a good thing, haha." Lin Shunhe drained his small cup in one gulp and laughed. "Alas, only those who are troubled seek wine for temporary relief. It seems you don't have many worries."
"That's true," Lin Hui nodded. He took a small sip of the pale yellow, amber-like wine. It was sweet with a unique herbal taste, and surprisingly fragrant.
"To be honest, with matters like the Mu Hua Bang, I could have asked an old friend to help resolve it. But favors... you can call them in once or twice, three or four times, but people can't help you forever. If you keep taking and never give back, even the best relationships will break," Lin Shunhe sighed.
"So, favors should be saved for critical moments," Lin Hui said with a nod.
"That's right, but don't forget one thing. Favors also fade over time. If you don't use them for a while, people might not acknowledge them later. So... striking the right balance is very tricky," Lin Shunhe lamented.
"But what exactly are favors?" Lin Hui asked calmly. He had never been interested in such things before, so he took the opportunity to ask.
"Favors are a give-and-take," Lin Shunhe smiled. "Only when others feel they owe you will there be a time for them to repay you in the future. But this repayment can't be perfectly one-for-one. Everyone aims to do a little more than expected. When you return a favor, you can't calculate it precisely; you should always give a little extra. That way, the other person will want to repay you again in the future. This back-and-forth is how you build trust."
"But the premise for all this is having a 'give' to go with the 'take'?" Lin Hui was thoughtful. He recalled and compared this to situations he had seen in his past life, and it was indeed true.
"Yes. You must have the ability to 'give' for others to 'take' from you and then come back. If you lack that ability, then it all depends on the other person's integrity, because any help they offer you is unlikely to be repaid," Lin Shunhe continued. "I held back on using my favors before because I cherished them. But now that you can help support the family, our future will be much easier. I no longer have to constantly worry about what will happen when the favors run out."
"I see," Lin Hui nodded in understanding.
"Come on, let's have another round!"
CLINK.
The cups clinked lightly. Father and son drank cup after cup, and before long, they had finished the small pot of wine.
Lin Shunhe's face was flushed. In the end, he was happily humming a little tune as Yao Shan helped him into the inner room to rest.