I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 10 Crisis
When I returned to the pawnshop, it was already daybreak.

The guys were busy wiping the doors, windows and counters, sweeping the floor and opening the door to welcome customers.

No one mentioned the incident of Zhang Bing being beaten to death again.

In this world, slaves have low lives.

It was not uncommon for disobedient servants to be beaten to death by their masters when they committed crimes, and even the government would not intervene.

Selling one's body indenture is not a joke.

This incident served as a wake-up call for Xie An.

He leaned against the counter and began to think... He had to start planning to get his indenture back.

Xie An was already very old, frail, and sickly. He had no other life skills except for his skill in appraising objects. Furthermore, with the chaos and turmoil outside, it would have been even more difficult for him to survive outside.

At that time, staying in the Li Mansion and developing safely was the best choice.

Now Xie An can lift 400 kilograms, and his speed and strength have reached a level that ordinary people can hardly match. Although he has not practiced fighting techniques, with his strength and speed, he has few rivals among martial artists.

Now it is easier to consider redeeming yourself.

Since he was strong enough, Li Ru would not dare to make things too difficult for himself in redeeming himself.

The question was, what would he do after leaving the pawnshop? What kind of livelihood would he find? These were all questions Xie An needed to consider carefully.

However, the most urgent matter at the moment is that there is an elder brother-in-law in the Li Mansion who is eyeing them covetously.

Although Zhang Bing was a bit of a villain, he did not have the courage to embezzle two hundred taels of silver, let alone the courage to poison himself.

Obviously there's someone behind him.

This person is my brother-in-law Lu Wei.

Xie An felt that Zhang Bing was probably helping his brother-in-law to embezzle money, and that the poisoning was probably ordered by his brother-in-law.

This eldest brother-in-law is a ruthless man. He has practiced martial arts, was born in a poor family, and is capable. That is why he was recruited as a son-in-law by the master of the Li family to help the Li family do some shameful things.

But in this world, the term "live-in son-in-law" isn't a good term. He's nothing more than a high-level lackey. If he's truly capable, he'd just marry her openly. Why would he marry into the family?
Fortunately, he did not go directly to Mr. Li to expose Zhang Bing's affairs, but instead asked Chen He for help and pretended it was an accident. This way, no one would suspect him, and they would only think that Zhang Bing had brought this upon himself.

"Strange, Old Xie, you must have taken some magic medicine. How come you look so energetic? Hey, you look a lot younger..."

Just when Xie An was stunned, Chen Yuan walked over carelessly, looked Xie An up and down, and was amazed.

Xie An and Chen Yuan have been partners for ten years, so there is nothing ambiguous about it. "Thanks to the health-preserving exercises you gave me, Old Chen."

Chen Yuan, who was over 40 years old and had reached his twilight years, bought half a book of Five Animal Exercises for health preservation, hoping to live a few more years.

Unfortunately, there has been no effect after practicing for several years.

Now seeing Xie An like this, I am so envious.

"Why can't I practice the Five Animal Exercises and see the same miraculous effects as you..."

Xie An took out half of the Five Animal Exercises and returned it to Chen Yuan. "Maybe it's because I have a good attitude."

Xie An had already memorized the contents of the letter. There was no reason not to return it.

Chen Yuan accepted the Five Animal Play and seemed to realize something. "Am I really too impatient?"

Xie An: "It's possible..."

The word "possible" gave Chen Yuan great encouragement, and he secretly made up his mind to practice harder.

"It's a good thing after all. I guess Mr. Li will come to visit you in the next two days and let you take over the shop again. I, as the shopkeeper, will feel safe only if you are here to manage the shop. Damn it, otherwise I will be cheated to death without knowing it."

After what happened with Zhang Bing, Chen Yuan felt a little scared.

"Haha, Old Xie, congratulations on your recovery."

A burst of hearty laughter entered the pawnshop, and it was Li Ru, the master of the Li Mansion, who walked in wearing an expensive robe.

Li Ru was only in his forties, a few years younger than Xie An, but he was strong and elegant, exuding the air of a scholar.

Following Li Ru in were an old doctor and his brother-in-law Lu Wei.

Li Ru asked Lu Wei to bring some health supplements, showing the kindness of the head of the family. "Old Xie has worked diligently for my pawnshop for thirty years. I have seen it all. I specially asked Doctor Li to take a look at you."

How could Xie An not see what Li Ru was thinking?

It should be that a few days ago Chunlan ran to report to Li Ru that Xie An was fully recovered. Li Ru didn't quite believe it, so he specially asked a doctor to check him out.

Li Ru winked at the old doctor, who then stepped forward to feel Xie An's pulse, check his eyeballs, massage the muscles of his hands and feet, etc. After a thorough examination, the old doctor couldn't help but feel surprised.

Weird!

He had been attending to Xie An's stroke before. At that time, Xie An was clearly on the verge of death. Even if the stroke was over, his five internal organs had already failed and he would not live for many days.

How come Old Xie is getting stronger and stronger now?
I have been practicing medicine for 30 years and have never seen a 50-year-old man experiencing reverse aging.

Lu Wei spoke first: "Doctor Li, how is Old Xie doing?"

Doctor Li withdrew his hand. "Master Xie's stroke left no sequelae. Instead, he is strong and healthy, with abundant Qi and blood. He should have no problem living for another ten years."

There was a clear flash of disappointment in Lu Wei's eyes.

Li Ru smiled as usual and said, "Old Xie is very lucky. You can continue to take care of the shop's work from now on."

Lu Wei, who was standing aside, actually turned around and glared at Xie An.

……

Xie An's life returned to peace.

Compared to recuperation, I do have to go to the pawnshop more often. But I don't have to spend all day and night in the pawnshop.

He Chunli was a skilled appraiser, a sincere and down-to-earth man. He Chunli could usually handle the trivial tasks, and Xie An would only be called upon to appraise valuable pawned items or rare antiques.

Xie An spent most of the rest of his time in the small hut in the backyard practicing health-preserving exercises.

His body became stronger and stronger, and his strength, speed, and endurance were steadily improving. As for Lu Wei...

"It's best not to have any bad thoughts. I, an old man, am not someone you can easily mess with nowadays."

Two days later in the evening, Xie An heard a quarrel coming from the pawnshop in the backyard, mixed with He Chunli's timid voice.

Xie An arrived at the pawnshop and found that there were no pawnbrokers and the owner was not there. Instead, Lu Wei brought a client and had an argument with He Chunli.

"what happened?"

He Chunli hesitated for a long time before finally explaining the matter clearly.

Lu Wei had brought a friend named Zhang Wei to pawn a jade pendant, which Zhang Wei claimed was an heirloom and worth at least 100 taels. He Chunli, however, was a conscientious person and insisted it was only worth 5 taels. This, coupled with his bluntness, sparked an argument.

Lu Wei felt that He Chunli had lost face for his friend and had made him lose face, so he slapped He Chunli twice and threatened to beat him to death...

"Old Xie, your apprentice is too ignorant. The pawnshop next door is asking a minimum of one hundred taels for my jade pendant. If I wasn't familiar with the son-in-law of the Li family, I wouldn't come to take care of your business." Zhang Wei weighed the jade pendant in his hand, feeling quite resentful.

Lu Wei also urged without hesitation: "Old Xie, hurry up and fill out the pawn ticket. I have to go drink with Brother Zhang."

"Let me see."

Xie An pulled He Chunli behind him to protect him, then picked up the jade pendant and looked at it.

A high-quality imitation that was deliberately made to look old. It's worth two taels at most, but that's because the jade pendant is made of good material and workmanship.

He Chunli set the price at five taels, partly because his craftsmanship was not up to par, and partly because he was intimidated by these two people.

Xie An handed the jade pendant back to Zhang Wei with both hands, "Master Zhang, please forgive my poor eyesight. Please go to another pawnshop."

Zhang Wei was clearly displeased, and Lu Wei was even more angry, speaking first. "Old Xie, what do you mean? You're eating my Li Mansion's food and deliberately trying to trip up my friend, right?"

Xie An was very sharp-eyed and naturally saw that Lu Wei and Zhang Wei were setting up a trap to cheat the pawnshop out of its money.

Before, Zhang Bing must have fallen into Lu Wei's trap and embezzled two hundred taels of silver.

Now it’s your own fault?

Although the pawnshop relied on the skills of the old clerk, it was common for him to make mistakes occasionally. The owner would not blame him for anything.

But this is a deficit of one hundred taels. Sooner or later, it will be revealed.

Then Xie An will have to take the blame.

How could Xie An agree?

"From my perspective, this jade pendant is only worth five taels. If you insist on pawning it for a hundred taels, then I have to ask Mr. Li to come and write a letter in person. Otherwise, I can't afford the consequences of losing money in the future."

Lu Wei was so angry that he jumped up and down.

I thought to myself that this old guy is ignorant of the times.

When Zhang Bing was in charge of the pawnshop, he gave the green light directly.

But he didn't expect Old Xie to be so stubborn and even bring up Master Li to put pressure on him. He really couldn't say much. After all, he was just a son-in-law.

"You ignorant old thing, just wait for me!"

Leaving behind him a resentful remark, Lu Wei dragged Zhang Wei away in a huff. Before leaving, he gave Xie An and his disciple a venomous look. He thought to himself, "I wonder how long you can still run wild."

He Chunli was so frightened by Lu Wei's eyes that his head shrank to the roots of his neck. "Master, we have offended the eldest brother-in-law... How can we expect good results from this?"

Xie An was also troubled. Working for a wealthy family, he was most afraid of offending the people in the host family.

But now that Xie An held power, he felt bolder. "If you obey him out of fear, you will offend Master Li. That would be courting death. Understand?"

Although this is the truth, it is not easy for He Chunli to do it.

"I understand, master."

Xie An breathed a sigh of relief and looked at He Chunli's face, which was swollen like a pig's head after being beaten. "Does it hurt?"

He Chunli covered his face and smiled shyly, "With Master's care, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Stay away from him from now on. If you see him looking for trouble, tell me, or go find Manager Chen."

"Disciple, I remember."

"By the way, how much do you think the jade pendant is worth?"

"Two taels. I said five taels because I was afraid my brother-in-law would get angry..."

"The master has taught you the craft for nothing."

After Xie An got a satisfactory answer, he turned back to the hut in the backyard, changed into black clothes, took out his life savings of twenty taels, and picked up a dagger, then hurried out to the black market.

Xie An wanted to buy the medicinal materials for Qi Tang Qingfeng's prescriptions. He also wanted to buy a complete copy of the Five Animal Exercises and a book on martial arts.

Twenty taels...not enough.

……

"Damn it! I never thought Old Xie would be so stubborn and block my path to wealth. Damn it! Zhang Bing is also a loser. I couldn't kill this old man even if I gave him arsenic."

After leaving Li's Pawnshop, Lu Wei was in a bad mood and drank alone with Zhang Wei in a restaurant.

Zhang Wei said, "Sir, I heard that the owner of the Sanhua Casino has changed, and he's pressing for payment. If you can't pay back your gambling debts in time, I'm afraid the owner will have to go to the Li Mansion to demand payment."

Yes, Lu Wei had developed a gambling addiction and was racking up a large gambling debt. Although he'd done some minor theft and robbery, the sheer size of his gambling debts forced him to turn to his own pawnshop...

If the boss of Sanhua Casino were to find Master Li, then his future as a son-in-law would be ruined.

Thinking of this, Lu Wei's eyes turned into a venomous one. "I don't believe Old Xie can stay in hiding forever. Otherwise, I will kill him sooner or later!"

Gambling addiction is more destructive than addiction to alcohol and sex. Once addicted, one is no longer a normal person and it is not surprising that he would do anything.

Zhang Wei suddenly looked towards the distant street, "Hey, isn't that Old Xie?"

(End of this chapter)