There was a kind of hysteria in his voice.
When you've got no hope, your life is the only thing you cling to. But when hope appears, even life gets knocked down a notch.
If anyone dares to snatch away the hope he's waited more than a decade for, he'll fight to the death.
"But Li Deyin is still with the Three Red Gang—" Wang Heihou muttered under his breath.
Zhao Hu let out a cold laugh. "So what if it's the Three Red Gang? Either way, it's just a cheap life! Li Deyin ain't no martial artist. The only reason he gets to act big over us is 'cause he's got their backing. Back me into a corner, and I'll go in with a clean blade and come out with a bloody one!"
"Then you won't be able to stay in Black Mountain Prefecture!" Lu Chang'sheng spoke up.
The Three Red Gang might be small, but to them, it was still a beast that could devour people whole. Killing Steward Li would be easy; dealing with the Three Red Gang's payback would be the real trouble.
"So what do you suggest?"
They all turned to look at Lu Chang'sheng, eyes shining with a trace of hope.
And sure enough, Lu Chang'sheng didn't let them down this time.
"If we want to solve this, it's not hard! There's the Shaving Knife Gang at South Gate, the East Gate Lion Club, and the 'Runner' Crew at North Gate—if we join forces with any of the other three, they can help us out of this mess!"
"But honestly, by that point, the price we pay might not be any less than what we're facing now!"
"This isn't urgent yet!"
Lu Chang'sheng sighed lightly.
"Our roots are just too shallow. The moment a real storm hits, it could flip us over. If we want a real, lasting fix, we need a new path!"
"Chang'sheng, just say it. We're all in this together. If you've got a way, we'll back you with everything we've got!" Zhao Hu declared.
"Mr. Zhao, remember you once said there are two kinds of people you can't mess with?"
"Of course! One's a scholar, the other's a martial artist!" Wang Heihou jumped in, making Zhao Hu roll his eyes so hard it looked painful.
But Wang Heihou was used to Zhao Hu by now—he knew those looks were harmless, so he just smiled all smug.
"Heh, you really are a punk!" But Zhao Hu's remark nearly made him jump out of his seat.
"I am not a punk!"
Zhao Hu ignored him and looked at Lu Chang'sheng.
"Making it as a martial artist is tough. Takes years and years of grinding! So you mean—"
"You got it! Going for the honor exams!" Lu Chang'sheng said plainly.
"If you ask me, forget about it. You know Ma Xuncai too—he's been going after that so-called 'fame and fortune' and been holed up at the Traveler's Inn for twenty years! Got here before me, and he still ain't even passed the Child Scholar exam, let alone anything real!"
A little scoff crept into Zhao Hu's eyes.
Lu Chang'sheng just smiled and didn't answer.
This one was on him anyway—none of the others could really help much.
But it didn't take long for Lu Chang'sheng to run into trouble.
Two days later, looking at this bunch of kids in front of him, he just felt helpless.
No way to get away!
He used to be able to sneak off at night to the Traveler's Inn and study reading and writing with Ma Xuncai.
But now, with the nightly curfew, there was no slipping out. That plan was dead in the water.
Even if he got Ma Xuncai to come over, it'd be no use—what with all the racket from the archery lessons going on, nobody could focus enough to study.
"I need someone to stand in for me, or at least help out with the work!"
Lu Chang'sheng thought to himself.
But this was definitely something he had to run by everyone first.
"So you want to bring in another archery instructor?"
That evening, at the dinner table, Lu Chang'sheng brought it up.
"I need to buckle down and really study reading and writing. I probably won't have a lot of energy left for teaching archery,"
Lu Chang'sheng explained.
"But don't worry, the pay for the new teacher will come out of my share. Your cuts stay the same!"
"Count me in! To be honest, I haven't really been pulling my weight either!" Li Nangua, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.
"Same here as Nangua!" Niu Dazhuang scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
"Me too!"
Wang Heihou raised his hand.
With the others all on board, Zhao Hu let out a sigh, "It's not that I don't support you, it's just… you know as well as I do, this is risky as hell!"
"No worries, I'll cover the money—"
"Hold it. Let me think about it first." Zhao Hu leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and thought.
After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at Lu Chang'sheng, "Tell me, how much confidence you got in this?"
"No idea!" Lu Chang'sheng answered seriously.
Right now, he'd only learned eighty to ninety percent of Great Yuan script. As for his chances of passing the exam? He honestly had no clue.
The only reason for trying this was his own pretty solid gift for reading.
"Son of a bitch! Kid, you do realize you're just taking advantage of me, right?" he cursed, then scowled, "Alright, I'll give you one shot, just one! If you blow it— then you—"
He was gonna say "We part ways," but after thinking for a second, realized that wasn't in his favor. So he changed his mind: "You pay me back the money I spent proposing marriage!"
"Proposing?" Lu Chang'sheng looked at him, baffled.
Zhao Hu took a deep breath, eyes red, "Me and Yun, we promised ourselves to each other. Later, I took money to ask her old man for her hand. Guess what? At first, the old guy was all nice and friendly. But when all the guests showed up, he handed me a wooden box and said he didn't want much for a bride price. Just fill up this little chest, that's all!"
As he spoke, he gave a bitter chuckle, looking about to cry.
One box. Made him lose all his dignity. He slipped out in silence, then buried himself in hard work for ten more years.
"If Yun hadn't treated me right, I would've told her old man to get lost long ago!"
He gritted his teeth, but you could tell he didn't know where to aim that anger.
Lu Chang'sheng and the others seemed to remember something, and all glanced over to the corner of the yard.
There sat a wooden box!
"I was curious when we first moved in—what's with that busted box over there? Never thought it was for holding the bride price!" Wang Heihou whistled in surprise.
In this village, marrying a wife for a hundred, maybe two hundred copper coins was a big deal. Usually, a hundred would do it.
And Zhao Hu?
He had to fill a friggin' box!
"Are all the girls in the prefecture worth that much? That box's gotta hold, what, a few dozen taels of copper at least?"
"You wanna fill it up, it's ninety-eight taels of copper!"
Zhao Hu's face was blank as he answered.
The box was made of redwood, over a foot in all directions.
It'd been sitting out in the yard for ages. The red paint was peeling. Maybe in another three to five years, it'd just fully rot away.
When that day came, it'd be the end for him and Yun, once and for all!
Lu Chang'sheng walked over, knocked on it lightly, "Just this?"
Huh?
Everyone looked at him, totally confused.
What's that supposed to mean?
You think that's nothing?
That's dozens of taels of silver, man!
Even if they pulled in that much every month, it'd take years to make!
Let alone before—Zhao Hu never made anywhere near that.
"How tacky!" Lu Chang'sheng scoffed. "Doesn't matter if I make it or not, I'm taking this job off your hands! And when the time comes—"
He lifted his head, curled his lip, and said coolly, "When the time comes, why keep this busted box? Get a bigger one, fill it up with coins, and let your old man-in-law haul it away himself!"
As soon as the words landed, the whole courtyard went dead silent.
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