Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 25: Zhu Family Regrets

Zhu Residence.

“Master, that old man Li really did join the Heaven-Earth Alliance, and what’s more… he even became some kind of… Hall Master!”

The Zhu family’s steward reported.

“Really?”

“Absolutely true. I heard it personally from members of the Heaven-Earth Alliance.”

Master Zhu, Zhu Ping, narrowed his eyes.

“Well played, Old Li… You really kept this from me.”

It had been barely two months since Li Rui redeemed himself from servitude. A mere horseman of the Zhu family had suddenly turned into a distinguished guest of the Heaven-Earth Alliance.

Zhu Ping knew that getting into the Heaven-Earth Alliance was no easy feat, let alone becoming a Hall Master. At the very least, one had to be a Ranked Martial Artist.

His son, Zhu Yue, had once mentioned that Li Rui practiced martial arts, but he never imagined that Li Rui would actually enter the grades.

There was a vast gulf between ordinary martial artists and those who were Ranked.

Off to the side, Second Master Zhu, Zhu Lie, snorted coldly. “Just a Hall Master, what’s the big deal?”

Zhu Ping glared at his younger brother.

He could now roughly guess why Li Rui had insisted on leaving the Zhu family. This matter was definitely related to Zhu Lie.

“You short-sighted fool,”

Zhu Ping scolded him bitterly, like iron that could not be forged into steel.

A Hall Master in the Heaven-Earth Alliance must at least be a Ranked martial artist. If Li Rui had stayed with the Zhu family, wouldn’t they have gained a resident martial artist for free?

To maintain hired martial artists, the Zhu family had to spend hundreds of taels of silver every year.

And martial artists trained within the household were, of course, easier to control than those hired from outside.

After scolding Zhu Lie, he turned to the middle-aged steward and gave new orders.

“I remember Old Li had a disciple… named… named…”

“Wang Zhao.”

“Yes, Wang Zhao. Give him a thirty percent raise in his stipend and one day off. Tell him to go visit the Heaven-Earth Alliance.”

“Yes, sir.”

The middle-aged steward was a bit surprised. He didn’t understand why Zhu Ping suddenly regarded Li Rui with such importance.

Zhu Lie also didn’t get it. “Big brother, he’s just a Ranked martial artist. Since when has the Zhu family ever needed to fear someone like that?”

Zhu Ping glared at him. “You understand nothing. The sky over Qinghe is about to change.”

Inside Tianyi Hall.

“You’re Liu Tong?”

Li Rui, having finished his saber practice, had just walked into the building when he saw an unfamiliar young disciple of the Heaven-Earth Alliance.

Liu Tong looked at Li Rui and said, “Hall Master Li, my brother-in-law invited me for drinks yesterday, I couldn’t refuse. Next time he invites me again, I’ll be sure to bring you along.”

Li Rui smiled and waved his hand. “I’m too old for that now. I won’t go.”

There were two “connections” in Tianyi Hall.

But the two were very different in temperament.

Zhou Shulin was cautious and timid, doing things hesitantly, afraid to make mistakes. Liu Tong, on the other hand, had the air of a playboy hollowed out by wine and women.

Looking more closely, Zhou Shulin’s relationship with Deputy Branch Master Zhou was probably so-so. He must have pulled every string to get this post. But Liu Tong was different, his sister was favored, and he was slick with people, so he acted more boldly.

Neither approach was better or worse, it was just a matter of circumstance.

As for Liu Tong, given his background, Li Rui naturally chose to let him do as he pleased, as long as he didn’t stir up trouble.

After all, Tianyi Hall was a place where “no merits” was better than “making mistakes.”

And from the look of things, Liu Tong likely wouldn’t be here for long.

By midday, Liu Tong had already used the excuse of his deputy-branch-master brother-in-law to slip away again. Tianyi Hall was once again left with only three people: Li Rui, Zhou Shulin, and Liang He.

They had very clear divisions of labor.

Zhou Shulin handled the day-to-day affairs during the day.

Liang He was responsible for guarding at night.

Li Rui had finally entered his retirement life, drinking tea and reading books.

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Though Tianyi Pavilion didn’t have many useful techniques, it had a good collection of Daoist scriptures and texts.

In White Ape Phi Blade, there were many Daoist references. Even now, Li Rui only half-understood many of them.

Books were expensive in ancient times, a random book cost 100 wen, and pricier ones cost several taels of silver.

So the saying “scholars are poor and warriors are rich” wasn’t exactly accurate.

Practicing martial arts burned money, but so did reading.

Now that he could read books for free, Li Rui naturally wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by.

“Transforming vital energy into purity, the body serves as a vessel for the Dao, originating from the innate Dao lineage and flowing through Laozi's teachings, encompassing three levels: Niwan (spiritual consciousness), Chicheng (sincerity of the heart), and Qi Sea.”

Li Rui flipped through a Daoist text.

When he looked up again, unknowingly, dusk had already fallen.

“Marvelous!”

Li Rui closed the Daoist scripture. Many parts of the saber techniques that had once baffled him now suddenly became clear.

What surprised him even more was while he was reading, the breathing rhythm of White Ape Phi Blade had actually begun to circulate faster.

Whether there was a beauty like jade in books, he didn’t know. But books really did make you stronger!

Zhou Shulin delivered a boxed meal to his residence.

In that moment, Li Rui felt that Zhou Shulin was also worth cultivating.

Unfortunately, in his current position, he held almost no real power there was little he could do to help Zhou Shulin.

After eating,

Li Rui began practicing his saber again.

After one full round of White Ape Phi Blade, he stopped and frowned at his arm, the medicinal effect of the Minor Yuan Pill had finally worn off.

“I’ll go check the Medicine Hall tomorrow.”

Every branch of the Heaven-Earth Alliance typically had seven halls, Civil and Martial Hall, Loyalty Hall, Reception Hall, Discipline Hall, Medicine Hall, Transmission Hall, and Tianyi Hall.

Of course, aside from these seven, the Heaven-Earth Alliance also operated many businesses in Qinghe, restaurants, brothels, gambling dens, and so on.

These were collectively referred to as “the venues.”

Each venue had a Manager, a position on par with Hall Masters.

Most of the “Hidden Eight Gates” people who had joined the Heaven-Earth Alliance had become Managers of these venues.

Hall Masters were usually people the Branch Master or Deputy Branch Masters brought in from the headquarters. Only Tianyi Hall was so lacking in perks that Li Rui had gotten in by sheer luck.

Joining the Heaven-Earth Alliance came with a generous salary, but more importantly, it offered abundant resources.

For example, disciples of the Heaven-Earth Alliance could buy pills from the Medicine Hall at prices at least 20% cheaper than the Profound Pill Pavilion. For Hall Masters like Li Rui, it was 30% cheaper.

Over time, this meant significant savings.

Li Rui now had a total of 130 taels of silver, enough to last him quite a while. The Alliance paid salaries monthly, so with some frugality, he could get by comfortably for several months.

Early next morning.

Li Rui showed his face at Tianyi Hall and gave Zhou Shulin and Liang He a few instructions.

Then, he headed straight to the Medicine Hall.

Along the way, disciples of the Heaven-Earth Alliance, upon seeing the “28” token at his waist, began whispering among themselves.

“That old guy is the new Hall Master of Tianyi Hall. I heard from Civil and Martial Hall he’s already seventy.”

“Damn, seventy? He’s older than my grandpa!”

“No wonder, even as a Ranked martial artist, he’s only a Tianyi Hall Hall Master. Not even as good as a Deputy Hall Master.”

“Shh! Keep your voice down.”

Those disciples tried to keep their voices low, but unfortunately for them, Li Rui’s breathing technique had greatly enhanced his hearing. He heard every single word loud and clear.

“Getting old… This is the downside.”

Li Rui smiled and shook his head.

They say at sixty the ears obey, and now he was seventy, he didn’t take such things to heart anymore.

Do not look down on the youth when they are poor.

Just walk your own path.