Promise!

Chapter 24, Hidden Dragon (Two in One)

Chang Hetong entered Zhuang Jin into the name list, registered him, and then handed him a waist badge and a gray robe: "From now on, Zhuang Jin, you are a servant of the Shen family."

"Servants rank from low to high, one, two, three, and above that are black-robed servants. Our servants' promotion standards aren't as complicated as maids', with seniority, various assessments, or promotions from nobles. For us, we only look at your own cultivation level. If you're at the first level, you're a one-line servant; if you're at the second level, you're a two-line servant; and if you're at the third level, you're a three-line servant. It's simple and straightforward."

"Of course, if you can break through the fourth classic, you will become a servant in a black robe. From then on, you will be different. You will have some face in the Shen family, and you will be a big shot outside. Even your uncle who works in the government office will be afraid of you."

"The Four Classics?" Zhuang Jin noted it down.

"We've strayed off topic. Let's get back to the servants. Our wages are divided into two parts. One part is the basic monthly allowance. A one-mark servant gets one tael of silver, a two-mark servant gets three taels, and a three-mark servant gets five taels. The other part is the salary for performing tasks. However, next month you will be learning the Black Evil Palm martial art, so your tasks won't be assigned until the month after next." Chang Hetong said as he handed over the monthly allowance and asked Zhuang Jin to sign it.

Zhuang Jin looked at the waist badge, the servant's gray robe, and the monthly allowance, still a little hesitant to take them. He confirmed, "This... doesn't need to wait for a background check and verification?"

Chang Hetong laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Our Shen family is not so petty that we are not afraid of anyone playing tricks. Even if there are any problems, we can cover them up. Then the one who will be in trouble will be the one who tries to be clever!"

Zhuang Jin heard a sense of arrogance and confidence in these words, and without hesitation, he took the waist badge, the servant's gray robe, and the monthly allowance. However, after weighing the silver, he felt something was wrong. Wasn't it said that the basic monthly allowance for a servant of one rank was one tael of silver? How come it was two taels?
Chang Hetong looked at Zhuang Jin's expression, then remembered something and slapped his head. "Oh, your basic monthly allowance is one tael, and the other one tael is a reward for what happened last night. Of course, this is just a small reward from the Shen family. My nephew Kai's family has another reward. He saw the doctor last night, and his father came over to ask about it. When he heard that you saved his nephew, he said he would come to visit today and treat you to tea and dinner. I think you will be here soon."

"I see." Zhuang Jin accepted the money with peace of mind after hearing this. Holding the two taels of silver in his hand, he sighed inwardly: "In the past, as a beggar, even if I studied and figured out a set of begging skills, I still had to save money for several months to save one tael of silver. But now, my basic monthly allowance is one tael of silver."

He became more aware of the change in his identity. He became a servant and was indeed different from before!

Chang Hetong watched Zhuang Jin staring at the two taels of silver, lost in thought, and said with a smile, "These two taels of silver are indeed a lot for an ordinary family. Even if they eat meat every day, it's enough to last them for three to five months. But for us martial artists, especially those of you who have just entered the Qi Condensation Realm and are in the stage of vigorous improvement, it's nothing. A box of Black Yuan Powder costs five qian of silver, which is only enough for a martial artist to practice for three days. The medicine bag for practicing the Black Evil Palm is also one qian of silver, which also lasts for three days."

"After hearing this, do you suddenly feel that two taels of silver is nothing and it's simply not enough to spend? Haha, the saying 'poor in literature but rich in martial arts' is no joke."

"Is it so expensive? But after all, it's martial arts training, so the price is reasonable." Zhuang Jin was shocked when he heard it. He had a premonition that because of martial arts training, this state of lack of money and poverty would continue for quite a long time in the future.

"As I said before, you will learn the Black Evil Palm martial art next month, and I will officially assign you tasks the month after next... After you get your servant badges today, you can go to the Transmission Department to obtain the Black Evil Kung Fu Sutras 1 to 3, and the Black Evil Palm martial art... To buy Black Yuan Powder and medicine packs for practicing the Black Evil Palm, you have to go to the Alchemy Department, which is next to the General Affairs Department..." Chang Hetong gave the routine instructions again.

Zhuang Jin heard what Ping Yongfeng said, but he still lowered his head and listened attentively.

After Chang Hetong finished speaking, he saw that Zhuang Jin didn't seem surprised like the other newly registered warriors, so he asked, "Do you know all this?"

"I heard Master Ping talk about it on the way here. However, Uncle Chang is in the General Affairs Department, so he can talk about the same thing from different perspectives. I just feel like I have gained a lot." Zhuang Jin answered sincerely.

'Look at what you said, it's really beautiful! Hey, this kid!'

Chang Hetong sighed inwardly, pulled out three taels of silver, and spoke again, "Finally, there's a personal matter. Wushi Guojun from the Internal Affairs Office of the Law Enforcement Department asked me to mediate this morning and apologize for the incident he brought with him that day, a man named Hou Yong. He also said that Hou Yong handed over three taels of silver as an apology and left a message saying that Tan San and Xiao Erduo, who had a grudge against you, had died in an accident."

"Master Guo is incredibly well-informed and his movements are incredibly quick!"

Zhuang Jin looked at the three taels of silver and secretly calculated: "Hou Yong once collected four months' beggar's wages from me, totaling two hundred and forty coins. Three taels of silver means I've returned ten times that. And as for Tan San and Xiao Erduo? If Hou Yong hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about them. These two are gone unexpectedly? That's really an 'accident'! This apology is so sincere, it shows that the situation has turned around and Hou Yong is afraid of me now."

As for why Hou Yong and Guo Jun did not show up despite their sincere apology?
This is probably not a sign of lack of sincerity or negligence on the part of the two people, but rather a sign of their meticulous thinking.

——On that day, Zhuang Jin tried his best to deny that he had ever been a beggar, and it was obvious that he did not want to be involved with that past. Hou Yong and Guo Jun probably realized this, so they did not show up, and even apologized in the name of causing trouble that day. Of course, this move might also be due to the consideration of not wanting to confront him directly to avoid exacerbating the conflict.

"I never thought that the Hou Yong I thought was only good at fighting would actually be so savvy and worldly-wise." Zhuang Jin sighed, but then realized: it wasn't that Hou Yong didn't understand the ways of the world before, but rather that he wasn't worth using his skills on.

"The gift is nice, and the apology is sincere, but should I just let it go?"

Zhuang Jin thought about how he used to be a beggar and how Hou Yong sucked his blood every month, especially the most difficult time at the beginning, when he could not even eat enough but still had to pay the monthly allowance; he thought about the day when Hou Yong came and forced him into the most critical situation. If he had not responded calmly, if that 'Miss Yun' had not stepped forward, his martial arts path might have been cut off after the incident. If that had happened, all his painstaking efforts for a long time would have been wasted... He could not swallow this humiliation!

As a martial artist, if your qi is not flowing smoothly, your mind will not be at peace. If your mind is not at peace, how can you make progress?

"I'm just passing on a message. You don't need to consider me when making a decision." Manager Chang made his attitude clear. He said he was not involved and was just a middleman who passed on the message. He didn't even say his own suggestions for fear of affecting Zhuang Jin. It was also a test to see Zhuang Jin's character.

In reality, this wasn't just a test for Zhuang Jin; to some extent, it was also a temptation. Hou Yong and Guo Jun had asked him to negotiate peace with Chang Hetong. If he were truly like some of the greedy, unscrupulous individuals in the Shen family's outer courtyard, he could have simply taken the two taels of silver, or even taken it all, using his status to coerce Zhuang Jin into submission and broker a reconciliation, thus shifting the conflict... But he wasn't such a short-sighted person, blinded by greed.

Zhuang Jin thought to himself, 'Now, I have two choices: disagree with the settlement or agree to the settlement, which leads to three possibilities.

First, he refused to agree to reconciliation and insisted on pursuing the matter. Guo Jun refused to compromise and openly broke up with me. As a veteran second-class servant in the outer courtyard of the Shen family, this was still a big problem for me now.

Second, I refuse to reconcile and insist on pursuing the matter, forcing Guo Jun to compromise and give up Hou Yong. This is the ideal scenario, allowing for immediate revenge, but it also carries risks. Guo Jun will undoubtedly feel uncomfortable and perhaps won't do anything further. However, if I become weaker one day and he gets the chance, he might step on me and take advantage of my misfortune.

The third is to agree to a settlement and temporarily appease Hou Yong and Guo Jun.

Zhuang Jin pondered. If he refused to reconcile, the initiative would be handed over to Guo Jun. However, no matter which of these two possibilities, the consequences were something he was unwilling to bear right now. With this thought, he immediately made a decision. He accepted the silver and said, "Thank you, Uncle Chang. Please tell Master Guo Wu that I agree to reconcile."

As everyone knows, accepting the money and agreeing to a settlement does not mean that the past will not be brought up later, nor does it mean that Hou Yong will not be killed in the future.

However, judging by the quick reactions of Hou Yong and Guo Jun, it is known that Hou Yong is currently at his most alert and it is not a good time to take action.

'Not to mention that if I go after him when he's most alert, I'll probably run into Guo Jun and won't be able to kill Hou Yong. Even if Hou Yong and Guo Jun are not together, if I kill Hou Yong, it will cause Guo Jun to mourn his death, or it will start a chain of suspicion that I will attack him in the future. This is almost the same as the first possibility, refusing to agree to reconciliation and openly breaking up. Guo Jun is a veteran servant after all, and he must have some connections and relationships in the Outer Court. This is a big problem for me who has just broken through.'

"It's better to accept the money, settle the matter openly, appease them for now, and then take action later."

Zhuang Jin secretly calculated, "If my Golden Finger truly has no bottlenecks, and I only need to complete the accumulation of each realm without worrying about bottlenecks, I can study martial arts next month. By the end of next month, I might have broken through to the second level like Guo Jun, or even mastered a martial art. In another two months, I might even have reached the third level. By then, even if I kill Hou Yong and expose myself to Guo Jun, the backlash from a second-level martial artist will be nothing but a breeze to me."

At this thought, he suddenly realized: "It's not a shame to be temporarily tolerant due to lack of strength. A true man is one who can bend and stretch. Revenge is not about mindless recklessness or reckless death. It's about maintaining your integrity, not giving up because of temporary difficulties, not being intoxicated by the enemy's surrender, and not being intimidated by the enemy's strength and despair."

Well, as for deceiving Hou Yong and Guo Jun, breaking one's word? Nonsense. How can deceiving the enemy be considered deceiving? Just like stealing a book isn't considered stealing, it's just the hardships of growing up.

If Hou Yong knew Zhuang Jin's thoughts, he'd probably lash out at him, berating him for his shamelessness. He'd taken his apology and compensation money, deceiving an honest man into reconciliation, while secretly plotting to use it to purchase resources, unlock his potential, and transform his strength, ultimately using that strength to kill him and suppress the backlash. How shameless was this? To him, it was tantamount to aiding and appeasing the enemy, laying the ropes that would ensnare him. His expression would surely be quite dramatic.

"Okay, I'll tell Master Guo." Chang Hetong nodded in appreciation when he heard Zhuang Jin's words. He could see that Zhuang Jin might not have let it go, but when he had just broken through to become a formal warrior and was full of energy, he was able to discern the situation clearly and be patient and restrained. This clarity was very rare.

He is fifty-nine years old this year, almost sixty years old. He has seen many geniuses in his life, but many of them did not grow up because they were too arrogant and did not understand the principle that being too strong will lead to failure.

Among them, there was one person who left a particularly deep impression on Chang Hetong. That person became a formal warrior in just twelve days, which showed his aptitude. However, he had a grudge with someone when he was young, and he was aggressive and unyielding. Naturally, the other person was afraid that he would take revenge when he grew up, so they designed a conflict to sever that person's Shaoyin Meridian of the Hand - even if this meridian is severed, it is difficult to restore it to its original state even if it is reconnected. Once you practice to this meridian, it is very easy to get stuck in a bottleneck and make no further progress.

later?

There was no later development. A genius who died young was worthless and no one stood up for him. This man was trapped in the second realm and died of depression in his thirties.

Back to the topic, Chang Hetong, out of admiration, told Zhuang Jin more about the situation of the Shen family's outer courtyard. This tip revealed that Zhuang Jin was extremely intelligent, and he understood many key points that he was not convenient to explain too clearly. This couldn't help but stimulate his desire to teach others, and he said more.

It was not until there was a knock on the door and Bi Kai and Bi's father came as agreed last night that he realized that he had been chatting with Zhuang Jin for half an hour without realizing it.

Chang He agreed, but he still hadn't finished talking. Only then did he finally understand why the hard-to-get-close Ping Yongfeng admired Zhuang Jin so much: "This kid is only sixteen years old, but he has a mature mind that doesn't look like his age. He's not clever, but he truly knows his limits and how to advance and retreat. The young are really formidable!"

Today, Bi Kai seemed to be fine. Bi's father and Bi Kai came here mainly to invite Zhuang Jin to dinner to express their gratitude. Naturally, they would not miss out on inviting Chang Hetong, but Chang Hetong declined the invitation because he had work to do and could not leave without permission.

Chang Hetong looked at the backs of Zhuang Jin as he walked out with the Bi family father and son, and four words suddenly emerged in his mind: A hidden dragon in the abyss.

"Zhuang Jin!" He secretly noted the name, deciding that if he had the chance in the future, he would deepen this good karma: "Who knows, this good karma may yield huge rewards in the future, becoming a chance for my children and grandchildren to change their fate."

……

(End of this chapter)