Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

Hong Lang helped her up, took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket, counted out ten notes, a total of one thousand taels, and placed them on the table: "This is for the first year. You can eat and drink as you please in this city, and take care of things as you need to. Don't be stingy. Information is more valuable than silver."

Jinniang looked at the stack of silver notes on the table, her eyes stinging with tears.

A thousand taels of silver—she might not earn that much even if she led people around for a lifetime.

The biggest piece of silver she had ever seen in her life was a ten-tael silver ingot she received last winter when she helped a merchant find his way. She held it in her hands and examined it all night long.

She took a deep breath, raised her head, and the panic and shyness in her eyes were gone.

"Young master, Jinniang agrees."

Hong Lang took a sip of tea and continued, "Where do you live in the city?"

Jinniang paused slightly, her voice softening: "At the end of Liuxiang Lane in the east of the city, there is a half-collapsed courtyard with half of the back wall collapsed, blocked by reeds. That is my residence."

"Half of it collapsed?"

Jinniang smiled bitterly: "That year, there was a heavy rain, and the back wall collapsed. I didn't have the money to repair it, so I made a fence out of reeds to keep it in place. It was still habitable, but it let in the wind in winter and the rain in summer..."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer, feeling ashamed to have revealed such sordid things.

Hong Lang didn't respond or show any disdain. He turned around, took out two more banknotes from the stack on the table, and handed them over: "Go rent a nice courtyard. Don't be too flashy, but don't be too secluded either. You're doing intelligence gathering, so your place needs to be convenient to come and go, and it needs to look respectable."

Jinniang looked at the two silver notes, two hundred taels, which was more than enough for her to rent a nice courtyard in Yingtian City for a year.

She reached out and took it: "Thank you, young master."

Hong Lang waved his hand: "Go on, get a good rest tonight, we'll begin tomorrow."

Jinniang bowed, withdrew, and gently closed the door behind her.

From the hallway outside, the sound of a piano drifted from one of the guest rooms, accompanied by a faint, melodious song, floating gently into her ears.

"Deep in the willow-lined alley, a solitary lamp flickers, a half-cut reed fence blocks the chill of dawn."

Her silk robes are worn and she trembles in the spring breeze; she enters and exits the vermilion gate, and everyone laughs at her.

For thirty years, I've been dressed in simple clothes, and my youthful face has aged in the mirror.

Who would have thought that the evening clouds would part, and the purple-robed guest would shine the light before the lamp?

The lyrics and melody were poignant, expressing her innermost feelings.

Jinniang leaned against the door, her heart pounding so hard she couldn't calm down for a long time.

After standing there for a long time, she looked down at the thick stack of silver notes in her hand and suddenly smiled.

But as she laughed, her eyes welled up and tears fell uncontrollably.

She wiped her face haphazardly with the back of her hand and muttered to herself, "Jinniang, Jinniang, you're really... becoming more and more useless."

……

The next morning, Hong Lang left Yingtian City, and Jinniang accompanied him for five miles outside the city.

Jinniang untied a gourd tied with a red string and handed it over with both hands: "Young master, this is my own brewed osmanthus wine. It's not strong. Take it with you to help you relax on the road."

Hong Lang took the money, then pulled out a silver ingot, about five taels, from his pocket and handed it over: "Hire a sedan chair to go back; there's no need to walk."

Jinniang waved her hands repeatedly, the silver coin making her palms itch: "No need, no need, I can walk, this little distance is nothing..."

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but when she met Hong Lang's calm, unwavering eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse. She could only stammer, "...Thank you, young master."

Honglang pulled on the reins, and Hongzao strode forward, continuing along the official road.

Jinniang stood there, watching the chestnut horse gradually walk away.

Jinniang only turned and walked back after the figure had completely disappeared into the morning mist.

By the time we returned to the city, the sun was already high in the sky.

Jinniang did not return to the dilapidated courtyard in Liuxiang where half of the wall had collapsed, but went directly to the south of the city.

Hong Lang gave her 1,200 taels of silver yesterday. After deducting the expenses for the first year, she still had some left over. She knew what she had to do and what needed to be done, and she couldn't let down the young master's trust.

There is an alley in the south of the city called Sweet Water Well.

Although the name sounds common, the people living here are all respectable families in Yingtian City.

It wasn't a wealthy and powerful family, but it was certainly not a slum like Liuxiang where even the walls had collapsed.

Jinniang stood at the alley entrance for a while, looking at the courtyards with their blue bricks and gray tiles, feeling somewhat dazed.

She had lived in Yingtian City for almost twenty years, and had only ever led people around in places like Tianshui Well. She never imagined that one day she would live here herself.

Deep in the alley, there was a two-courtyard house with a red "For Rent" sign pasted on the door.

Jinniang stepped forward and knocked on the copper ring.

The woman who opened the door was in her fifties, fair-skinned and plump, dressed in silk.

She looked Jinniang up and down, her brows furrowing slightly.

"You... rent a house?" The woman's tone was clearly suspicious.

Jinniang didn't panic. She had been working her way up in the city for twenty years and was least afraid of being looked down upon.

She pulled out two silver notes from her sleeve and said unhurriedly, "One hundred and twenty taels for one year, pay first."

The woman's eyes lit up, and the doubt on her face was instantly replaced by a smile.

"Oh, please come in! Please come in! This house is the best in Sweetwater Well, with two courtyards and a small garden in the back. You'll see once you move in!"

Jinniang followed her inside. Underfoot was a bluestone path. The main hall was spacious and bright, with tables and chairs made of fine mahogany.

The bedroom is in the second courtyard, with a large carved bed and new bedding.

Pushing open the back window reveals a very exquisite little garden.

In a pool of flowing water, several koi carp swam gracefully, and although the old osmanthus tree by the pool had already passed its flowering season, one could still smell a lingering fragrance.

Jinniang stood by the window and watched for a long time.

"How is it?" the woman asked with a smile. "This is the best house in Sweetwater Well."

Jinniang nodded: "This is the one."

She paid 120 taels of silver on the spot, the woman wrote the lease, pressed her fingerprint, handed the key to her, and left with profuse thanks.

Jinniang stood alone in the courtyard, clutching the bunch of keys. The sunlight shone on her face, warm and comforting, yet she felt a sense of unreality.

She had been wandering in this city for almost twenty years, living in a woodshed, a stable, and a dilapidated courtyard with half of its walls collapsed.

She had never lived in a place like this before.

The house features blue bricks and gray tiles, a carved bed, and a pond of koi in the back garden.

Jinniang took a deep breath. The air was filled with the faint fragrance of osmanthus, and the nauseating musty and fishy smell of Liuxiang was gone.

She walked slowly to the armchair, sat down, and looked around.

Everything is new, everything is good.

The house was just too big, so big that it felt empty, so empty that it stirred a strange, indescribable panic in her heart, which was used to being tossed about in the wind and rain.