Chapter 38 - 38 38 Reluctant Heart

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Reluctant Heart Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Reluctant Heart “Brother Yu, you look all dusty and tired,” he asked. “Where have you been?”

In the backyard, Wu Zhong and Yu Biao were drinking tea.

“This, well, I just went hunting.”

“Hunting?”

Wu Zhong looked at Yu Biao and said, “You must have had a plentiful harvest.”

“Ah, let’s not talk about it, a complete waste of effort,” Yu Biao replied, waving his hand dismissively. He didn’t want to continue the topic, especially since the two were actually rivals. Moreover, the election for the Village Chief was approaching soon, and both gangs were under strict orders to secure that position.

Thus, although they seemed harmonious, they were in fact probing each other.

Seeing that Yu Biao was reluctant to elaborate further, Wu Zhong didn’t press the matter. Just then, Yu Sanliu came in, holding a promissory note.

“Father.”

“For you, Uncle Zhong.”

Yu Biao gestured with his hand.

“Uncle Zhong.”

Yu Sanliu presented the note with both hands. Wu Zhong took it, glanced over it with a smile, and said, “Alright, I’ll pay this debt for him.”

As he spoke, he took out one tael of silver and placed it on the table. “Old Yu, is this enough, or shall I go and gamble a bit to raise more?”

Yu Biao replied, “Fine, I’m afraid you’ll win my gambling house. Just take the note.”

“Then I shall accept it without further ado.”

Wu Zhong smiled, stood up to leave, and Yu Sanliu called out from behind, “Uncle, your silver.”

“It’s repayment of your principal,” Wu Zhong said and strode away triumphantly.

Watching him leave, Yu Sanliu’s face darkened. He turned to his father and said, “Father, why do you fear him? Chen Jiusi owes us silver; it’s natural to repay debts. Even if it comes to blows, we’re not in the wrong.”

Yu Biao glanced at him and said, “The election for the Village Chief of Xiantao Town is imminent. I need to use this time to strengthen our power and can’t afford distractions. Keep your head down and don’t provoke their family, do you hear?”

“I hear, I heard,” Yu Sanliu replied, bowing his head.

Yu Biao then said, “Take the silver.”

After speaking, Yu Biao stormed off, vexed. He had spent the previous night stake out for the Red-eyed Golden Chicken but failed to catch it. How could his mood be any good?

It was really strange. I had seen the injured Golden Chicken fly into Wild Wolf Gully, so how did it disappear?

No, this matter needs to be investigated!

When Yu Biao left, Yu Sanliu remained. He looked at the one tael of silver on the table, squeezed it in his hand, and it turned into a flattened silver round.

“Go and call Ma Liu for me.”

“Yes, young master.”

Before long, Ma Liu was summoned.

Yu Sanliu sat on a stool and said to Ma Liu, “I gave Wu Zhong the promissory note.”

“Oh, young master, are you not pursuing Chen Jiusi anymore, and Su Yunjin, are you giving up on her?”

Ma Liu asked.

Yu Sanliu clenched his fists. Su Yunjin, he had to have her no matter what. She was his obsession.

He would never forget the day his father took him to propose marriage to Scholar Su.

That old man had the audacity to say: “Our scholarly family won’t marry a brute!”

He would never forget the look of contempt in Su Yunjin’s eyes as she regarded him—the disdain for the uneducated, much like a top student despising a street thug.

That look had deeply hurt him.

He was a proud man. He might not have been educated, but in Xiantao Town, everyone had to call him Mr. Yu.

He might not have been handsome, but if he wished, he could have any gambler’s wife or daughter in his bed, at his mercy.

He might have been a spendthrift, but he owned the gambling house, and people lined up daily to bring him money. Even though these people eventually came to ruin, he had grown rich!

He was outstanding in his way. You, a poor scholar, look down on me, but why?

“You will beg for mercy from beneath me one day! You will kneel and drink my piss!”

So when he heard that Chen Jiusi had entered the gambling house, his joy knew no bounds. He eagerly anticipated the day when Su Yunjin would kneel before him, to be humiliated and toyed with at his whim, crushing her pride and grinding her dignity into dust beneath his feet.

He wanted her to plead with him, and then, in utter despair, to repent her mistakes and die in agony.

He wanted her to regret—regret her previous contempt!

He desired revenge! He craved revenge!

And just as his success was within reach, Wu Zhong had ruined it. How could he be content or stop now?

At this moment, Yu Sanliu said to Ma Liu, “Take this one tael of silver. Relax tonight; in a couple of days, I’ll need you to do me a favor.”

Ma Liu caught the tossed silver with both hands immediately.

“Thank you, Mr. Yu.”

“Go on then.”

“Mr. Yu, you haven’t yet told me what to do. I can’t accept this money without knowing.”

Hearing this, Yu Sanliu glanced at him and said, “Want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Come closer.”

“Yes.”

Ma Liu approached, and Yu Sanliu whispered, “The IOU has been taken. We can’t act openly now. Find an opportunity to kidnap Su Yunjin for me...”

“Understood, Mr. Yu, hehehe, first have our way, then kill her. Su Yunjin loves foraging for wild herbs; she won’t be hard to catch. Rest assured, Mr. Yu.”

Ma Liu had a malicious grin on his face.

Yu Sanliu said, “Don’t act these next few days; Wu Zhong is watching. Let’s wait until this blows over.”

“Yes, Mr. Yu, understood.”

Ma Liu bowed and retreated.

Yu Sanliu, watching Ma Liu leave, wore a sinister smile. “Su Yunjin, you cannot escape the palm of my hand!”

...

After a busy day, Chen Jie was practicing martial arts and studying medicine at the Bai family’s home. The medicine classics were as thick as the Oxford English Dictionary, and Chen Jie had to memorize the herbs one by one.

Memorizing until his brain was boiling, Chen Jie found that whenever his mind went foggy, running through the Yang Chun Skill immediately cleared his thoughts, greatly enhancing his efficiency compared to others.

Doctor Bai was full of praise for his learning speed and thus did not interfere with his martial arts practice, allowing him to learn as long as it didn’t affect his medical studies.

Thus, Chen Jie was advancing rapidly in both medicine and martial arts.

In the evening, Wu Zhong returned and called Chen Jie over to return the IOU.

“Here you go, Jiu Si.”

Seeing the IOU, Chen Jie immediately thanked him, “Uncle Zhong, thank you so much. And about the silver...”

Hearing this, Wu Zhong said, “What silver? You selling me the Red-eyed Golden Chicken really helped me out...”

Doctor Bai then intervened, “Alright, no need to be so formal. We’re all family here; no need for such formalities. Let’s eat.”

For dinner, following old customs, they ate at the Bai family’s house, and Bai Shi even packed a few buns for them to take home.

When they were almost done eating, Doctor Bai directed, “Lan’er, fetch the chicken soup stewing on the medicine stove.”

“Okay.”

Soon Bai Shi brought over the chicken soup, and Doctor Bai said, “I used eleven herbs as additives to stew this pot of Phoenix Soup. It’s very nourishing. Zhong’er, this is your opportunity!”

As Doctor Bai spoke, Wu Zhong couldn’t wait any longer. Doctor Bai then removed the lid from the medicine pot, and a rush of aromatic herbs mixed with the delicious scent of the chicken soup wafted up.

Everyone instinctively swallowed their saliva.

Doctor Bai, taking four empty bowls, filled them with the soup, distributing them to himself, Bai Shi, Wu Hong, and Chen Jie.

“This pot of chicken soup, 80% of the medicinal properties are in the chicken, 20% in the soup. Zhong’er, you shouldn’t over-nourish right now; 80% is just right. We four will share this soup, and the chicken itself is all yours.”

“Alright, Dad.”

Wu Zhong said, and started eagerly eating the stewed Golden Chicken.

As Bai Langzhong addressed Chen Jie and the others, “Let’s drink the soup!”