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

Chapter 29 Benefits
In troubled times, there are many people who are troubled by money.

As the saying goes, a penny can make a hero fall, and many heroes are in financial trouble.

It's not an exaggeration.

Xie An clearly had the strength to easily crush warriors who had just entered the Bronze Skin Realm, but he still had to run around for help for a hundred taels of silver.

What I lack most is money...

It wasn't customary for Xie An to ask for a six-month advance on his salary before he even joined Baiyutang. Xie An was also prepared for Zhang Lin to reject him. He simply wanted to give it a try.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Lin was very excited after hearing this and agreed immediately, "As long as you are willing to join Baiyutang, everything else is a piece of cake. I will lend you one hundred and twenty taels of monthly salary for half a year. When the monthly salary is paid by the hall, it will not be too late for you to pay it back."

Zhang Lin became a warrior ten years ago and joined the Baiyu Hall for many years. His monthly salary was already very high, and with various gray incomes, he had saved a lot.

But Xie An was still surprised that he was willing to lend out 120 taels in one go.

"Thank you, Deacon Zhang."

"Hahaha, we're all family, why be polite? Just call me Lao Zhang." Zhang Lin was in high spirits and immediately ordered Zhou Xing, "Ah Xing, go to my room and get 120 taels of silver."

Zhou Xing nodded in agreement and trotted to the room. When he came out again, he had a cloth bag in his hand.

Zhang Lin took the bag and handed it to Xie An with both hands. "Brother, please accept it. I won't charge interest. You can return it later when you have more money."

Xie An didn't expect Zhang Lin to give the money so quickly without asking for an IOU or anything, and he didn't even ask for interest.

These days, it's quite normal to borrow money and get back nine out of ten.

Zhang Lin seems to owe others a favor.

But Xie An felt that what Zhang Lin did was more of an exchange of interests and an investment in himself.

"Thank you, Brother Zhang."

Xie An accepted the money bag without hesitation.

Zhang Lin smiled warmly and said, "We will be colleagues from now on, so it's only natural that we help each other. Yes, Master Wei has gone home to visit family these days, and it will be a while before he returns. I'll write Master Wei a letter shortly to explain your situation. Once you get a reply, you can complete the formalities and start your new position."

Xie An paid close attention to the core of the matter. "Procedure?"

Zhang Lin explained, "The Tiger and Wolf Sect will send someone down to test your strength. You only need to reach a level comparable to the Bronze Skin Realm. With your abilities, it's no problem for you to do that."

Xie An felt relieved, thinking it made sense, and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Zhang."

"There's no need to thank me between colleagues. I'll have a reply in two days, and I'll come back then. Don't worry, I'll smooth things over, so the so-called test will be just a formality."

"it is good."

Xie An agreed immediately, exchanged a few words with Zhang Lin, and then stood up to say goodbye.

"Brother, let me see you off."

Zhang Lin, along with Zhou Xing, personally escorted Xie An out of the black market gorge. Only after Xie An had walked quite far did Zhang Lin return home.

On the way back, Zhou Xing was still puzzled. "Boss, this old man agreed to join my Baiyutang. Boss, I'm happier than New Year's Day."

Zhang Lin said with a smile, "For years, I've been working with Zhang Biao to manage this black market. He's schemed against me at every turn. Not only has he cut off my career path, but he's also made me walk on thin ice day and night. Now that I've found someone I can get along with, I can finally live a peaceful life for a few days and have a future."

Zhou Xing was pleased for the boss, but he also asked, "But this old man is about to take up his new position, and he's still wearing a veil. The boss didn't even bother asking about his background?" Zhang Lin chuckled and said, "He's a cautious person by nature. Since he doesn't intend to reveal his identity today, why should I force him? If this creates any resentment, it would be more trouble than good. Besides, when recruiting talent in Baiyu Hall, we never ask about their background."

……

Xie An hurried to the town with a huge sum of money.

Today's trip to Blood Ridge went unexpectedly smoothly.

Xie An also probably guessed that Zhang Lin wanted to win him over, which was a good thing for Xie An now.

After returning to the small house in the backyard of the pawnshop, Xie An did not rush to take the money to find the master of the Li Mansion to redeem himself.

He planned to wait until he was firmly established as a steward of the Tiger and Wolf Sect, ensuring he had a way out, before paying the money to redeem himself. By then, with his position as a steward of the Tiger and Wolf Sect, if the master of the Li Mansion wanted to regret or make things difficult for him... Xie An only needed to say a word, and the Li Mansion would be gone.

With this in mind, Xie An returned to the utility room and began to work hard on his health-preserving exercises, preparing for the Tiger and Wolf Sect's test in two days.

The next stop will be to serve at Hulangmen.

This made Xie An feel somewhat uneasy.

After all, he had been living in Li's Pawnshop for the past thirty years. This was his first "job change", and Xie An took it very seriously, not wanting anything to go wrong.

Although Zhang Lin said that the test was nothing more than a formality, Xie An still felt that he had to have strong abilities, otherwise he would not be able to cope with any unexpected events.

Two days passed quickly. On the afternoon of the third day, Xie An, who had practiced health-preserving exercises for half a day, stopped to rest and called up the panel.

[Five Animal Exercises: Strengthens the Five Internal Organs (7/100)]

[Fetal Breathing: Yin and Yang Intercourse (1/100)]

[Remaining Years: 30]

"The improvement isn't huge, but I feel my strength has increased slightly."

Xie An found a 500-jin stone lock and easily lifted it above his head with one arm. He waved it for five or six breaths before he felt tired.

After putting down the stone lock, Xie An threw a punch.

The extremely fast punch compressed the air violently, making a loud "pop" sound.

"My one-arm lift should be around 650 kilograms. Plus, with my long-term practice of the Five Animal Exercises, my hands and feet are nimble, and my muscles and bones are strong. The power of my punch... should be incredibly powerful."

"Zhang Lin said that lifting 400 kilograms with one arm is the strength of a Bronze Skin Realm warrior. Although I have never practiced martial arts, my strength lift exceeds the standard by more than 50%. Even if I fight with my bare hands, I should be able to easily crush the average warrior who has just entered the Bronze Skin Realm."

During this period, Xie An consulted Chen He to learn more about the strength of the Bronze Skin Realm warriors.

Only a warrior who has reached the Bronze Skin Realm can lift 600 kilograms with one arm.

But Xie An is even higher than this standard.

"This test should be foolproof."

After making up his mind, Xie An said goodbye to his two disciples and hurried out to the Xueling black market.

(End of this chapter)