Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

"What?" Gu Shuxian asked, raising an eyebrow.

Qian Le was different from him; he couldn't sit still.

I can stay in room number nine without moving, since my lifespan won't increase while I'm in this room, which is actually beneficial.

Although Gu Shuxian didn't care too much about this, he was too young and wanted to grow up, so he didn't usually make a point of staying indoors.

I've been staying indoors all this time because I'm too bored.

Qian Le was not doing well; he was preoccupied with his grand plan to make money, and the negative growth in his assets these past few days had been a real worry for him.

Could it be that Qian Le has found some new way out?

"What do you think?"

Qian Le plopped down on the opposite bunk, a broad smile on his face:

"I took a detour to the training ground today and saw Zhao Kui practicing there with my own eyes!"

"He gave up!"

"They've given up on blocking us! Haha!"

Gu Shuxian asked suspiciously, "Really? I don't believe it, he would be so kind."

"Hehe, he has to be kind, even if he doesn't want to. If he hadn't ambushed us in the woods first, we would have gone into the woods first. Suishan is so big, he wouldn't have been able to find us even if he wanted to!"

Qian Le didn't take it seriously. "As for his new lackeys, are we afraid of them?"

Gu Shuxian fell into thought.

Qian Le pressed his advantage, saying, "I told you long ago, he wouldn't waste so much time on Wang Biao! Blocking us for days would probably make him lose face!"

"Let's go up the mountain and call Deng Shifan along too. I've been so bored these past few days!"

Gu Shuxian listened quietly, her face expressionless.

To be honest, he didn't care whether Zhao Kui blocked them or not. If Zhao Kui wanted to fight, he could give him a good beating. He was just being cautious for fear of exposing himself.

Zhao Kui is acting strangely now, but even if he tries something funny, I can handle it calmly.

"Okay, let's go up the mountain then." Gu Shuxian nodded in agreement.

"Hehe, let's go up the mountain!" Qian Le rubbed his hands together with a smile.

……

The next two days were calm and peaceful.

Zhao Kui really didn't come to cause any more trouble, and he didn't even bother to look at them. Only his few newly recruited followers would snort coldly when they saw them in order to show their loyalty.

Gu Shuxian was a little puzzled. Had Zhao Kui become a Buddha? Had he really let go?

Did I misunderstand him?

In any case, the three of them finally gathered enough mountain produce to go down the mountain and sell it.

Early on the third day, the three of them took the mountain goods down the mountain.

This time, they bought Gu Shuxian two more books on herbal medicine, but Deng Shifan paid for them.

Gu Shuxian was very moved and wanted to help his brothers get rich, but Suishan was not cooperating and had not found any valuable medicinal herbs in the past few days.

They set up their stall in the East Market and started hawking their wares.

Gu Shuxian took his share of the profits and said he was going to check out what kind of books were available before leaving the stall.

……

Book stalls in the East Market.

Gu Shuxian patted the 1.47 taels of silver in his pocket.

One or two of them were taken from the two people in the alley earlier.

The forty-seven coins were today's dividend from mountain produce; according to Qian Le, today's income wasn't great.

The business of selling mountain products can be quite profitable, but Qian Le has to bribe officials at all levels, so he doesn't keep much for himself.

Gu Shuxian casually glanced around.

Several book stalls leaned against the wall, and the stall owners chatted in twos and threes. When someone came, they greeted them warmly.

The books here are very cheap, but the quality is hard to guarantee.

Gu Shuxian didn't rush to ask, but instead slowly flipped through the pages, chatting with the stall owner as he looked.

Do you have the Suishan Sword Sect's rules of conduct here?

I asked two stall owners, and they both said they didn't have any.

When asked the third question, the stall owner, a thin middle-aged man, smiled upon hearing it:

"The Suishan Sword Sect's rules for disciples? Yes, of course! Young man, you also want to join the Suishan Sword Sect?"

The stall owner pulled out a copy of the Disciple's Code of Conduct, which looked similar to the one Gu Shuxian had borrowed before.

Gu Shuxian blinked.

The stall owner, taking it as confirmation, brightened up and began to talk incessantly:

"Hey! This book is no ordinary book. If you read through this Disciple's Code of Conduct, I guarantee you'll get into the Suishan Sword Sect! If you can recite it backwards, you can even enter the inner sect! Do you know why? This code was written by the Sword Master, and it contains his expectations for his disciples..."

Gu Shuxian remained silent, flipped through the book, and then quietly watched him perform.

"...Ha, the Sword Master punished that rebellious disciple and was overcome with grief, so he decided to write a set of rules for disciples. But how could his hard work be limited to just his own disciples? Thus, this set of rules for disciples of the entire sect came into being!"

The stall owner recounted a long and detailed account of the Sword Master's secrets, which even Yang Qingfeng himself might not know. He spoke until his throat was dry, and then added at the end:

"I see you have extraordinary potential, young man. I'll sell you this disciple's code of conduct cheaply, for three taels of silver!"

"One hundred coins," Gu Shuxian said.

"Hey kid, I've told you so many secrets, and you still don't understand the value of this book?" the stall owner said impatiently.

Gu Shuxian was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly realized and said:

"What secret? Sorry, I wasn't listening carefully earlier. Could you please tell me again?"

"You child, you need to listen carefully to what adults are saying!"

The stall owner glared at him, then recited his long-winded explanation in a flamboyant manner.

Finally, my throat became so dry that I couldn't stand it anymore, so I grabbed the water bag and took a big gulp.

"One hundred coins," Gu Shuxian said.

"Pfft! Cough cough cough..." The stall owner looked incredulous.

"There were rumors about this disciple's code of conduct a few years ago... Unfortunately, from beginning to end, this code of conduct has had nothing to do with whether or not one can enter the Suishan Sword Sect."

Gu Shuxian said slowly and deliberately.

So he's an expert... The stall owner looked embarrassed, but quickly composed himself, saying without batting an eye:

"Well, that's true. But this book still has collectible value. Its market price is eight hundred coins. Even if you don't buy it, I can sell it to someone else."

After the stall owner finished speaking, he remained calm and composed.

"One hundred coins, I don't want a single penny more."

After saying that, Gu Shuxian got up and left.

His reasoning was that the first two vendors didn't have this book.

If this book can still fool people now, these unscrupulous merchants would definitely stock up on a few copies.

"Alright, alright, one hundred coins it is!"

Sure enough, the middle-aged stall owner called out to him.

Amidst the other party's feigned pained expression, Gu Shuxian completed the exchange for one hundred coins, though he began to wonder if he had overpaid.

After carefully putting away the disciple's code of conduct, Gu Shuxian didn't rush to leave.

He casually glanced at the other books on the stall and asked offhand:

Do you have any tales of heroes who shot halberds here?

Gu Shuxian asked this question not because she wanted to buy the book.

He just wanted to find out if his killing and leaving a note had caused any trouble in the city.

Upon hearing this, the stall owner gave him a meaningful look.

"Oh, so you're here to curry favor with the Liu family, huh?"

Gu Shuxian was taken aback: "What Liu family?"

"Alright, stop pretending!"

The stall owner was furious when he thought about how the boy had pretended to be ignorant to tease him, feeling that the boy was just putting on an act again.

"The news has spread these past few days that the only son of the wealthy Liu family is going to hold a book club. How many people have come here to buy 'The Legend of the Swordsman' these past two days? Aren't they all trying to curry favor with the future head of the Liu family?"

"Hmph, even those illiterate hooligans rarely pay someone to read this book to them."

"That's true. Making a living in this world isn't easy. If we can curry favor with the Liu family, we might not have to worry about the rest of our lives!"