Amidst bursts of marveling,
Shen Xiuhan slowly withdrew his stance, lightly brushed the wood splinters from his sleeves, and clasped his hands.
“I have made a fool of myself.”
“A fool of yourself?!”
The first to react was the plump, fair-skinned steward of the Luo family, who leaped to his feet.
“If Brother Shen's skills are considered a humble display, then ninety percent of the martial artists in Changyun County should jump into Cloudwater Lake out of sheer shame!”
“To put it bluntly, our Luo family's Renxin Hall on South Street is currently in dire need of a guest elder who can hold down the fort!”
“If Brother Shen just nods, you will receive a monthly salary of four taels of silver, ten catties of meat, and three portions of blood qi medicinal cuisine free of charge! In addition, we will present you with one Blood-Nourishing Pill every month for free!”
He spoke in a rapid, urgent rush, as if terrified someone would beat him to it, and added,
“If Brother Shen agrees, I promise you won't have to do any chores. You only need to hold an honorary title!”
Hearing this series of offers, the disciple surnamed Zhang, who had just been recruited, turned green in the face.
The difference in treatment was simply too vast!
Not only was the monthly salary three taels higher and the meat ten catties more, but the medicinal soup was actually upgraded to medicinal cuisine!
One had to know that a portion of medicinal cuisine—brewed with Precious Fish or Precious Beast meat as the primary ingredient and supplemented with rare herbs—contained a massive amount of blood qi. Its efficacy was easily worth two or three bowls of medicinal soup!
What was more, they were even offering a free Blood-Nourishing Pill!
That was one of Renxin Hall's most highly sought-after, top-grade pills!
Its medicinal power was mild and rich, offering immense benefits to Mingjin martial artists, and a single pill was worth four taels and eight mace!
This was hardly recruiting a guest elder; they were practically enshrining a living Buddha!
The surrounding outer courtyard disciples watched with bloodshot eyes, their breathing growing as heavy as bulls.
However, before they could even recover from this staggering, sky-high price, the stewards of the Han and Ji families could no longer sit still.
“Brother Shen!”
The Han family steward spoke, his voice booming like a great bronze bell.
“Our Han family's Fine Iron Weaponry is currently in need of a courtyard-guarding instructor who can hold down the fort!”
“A monthly salary of five taels of silver, ten catties of meat, plus two portions of highly nourishing medicinal cuisine, and one Blood-Condensing Pill, a secret Mingjin Grand Pill of our Han family!”
“And that is not all!”
The Han family steward stared intently at Shen Xiuhan, directly raising the stakes:
“I heard that Brother Shen is still residing in the Outer City? If you just nod, our Han family will allocate a quiet courtyard in the Inner City and lend it to your family to live in, free of charge!”
Boom!
The entire outer courtyard instantly erupted into a frenzy!
The crowd of disciples was so shocked by these generous terms that their scalps went numb and their jaws nearly hit the ground.
“Lending a courtyard directly?!”
“These terms... they think incredibly highly of Senior Brother Shen!”
“A courtyard in the Inner City, even in the cheapest area, would cost at least a dozen taels of silver, right?”
“I am green with envy!”
“Accept it quickly! What is there to hesitate about?!”
Shen Xiuhan's heart also skipped a beat.
The Han family's sincerity was indeed substantial.
Although the basic silver, herbs, and food were similar to the Luo family's offer,
But that Inner City courtyard perfectly targeted his needs, making it impossible for him not to be tempted.
But right at this moment, the Ji family steward suddenly stood up and laughed heartily.
“Brother Shen, when it comes to heritage, our families might each have our strengths, but when it comes to compensation, our Ji family has never feared anyone!”
The Ji family steward stood with his hands behind his back, drawing everyone's attention the moment he spoke:
“Our family is willing to offer Brother Shen two positions for you to choose from.”
“First, you can serve as a deputy manager for our Ji family's Yuanfeng Fleet.”
“A monthly salary of six taels of silver, plus twelve catties of meat—not some cheap river food used to fill the quota, but choice lean meat—along with three portions of medicinal cuisine and one Jasper Blood Pill, a Mingjin Grand Pill!”
“Second...”
The Ji family steward smiled and continued,
“you can serve as a guarding Patrol Envoy on Cloudwater Lake's Yunyi Island!”
“Our Ji family's fleet travels between the various prefectures of Cangzhou all year round for trade. To guard against river pirates and thugs intercepting our merchant ships, we have specifically established permanent Patrol Envoys and patrol guards at the bottleneck waterway of Yunyi Island.”
“The position of Patrol Envoy requires a Mingjin martial artist. The monthly salary is eight taels of silver with one rest day every six days, and the pills, meat, and medicinal cuisine are exactly the same as the deputy manager's.”
“And considering the convenience of patrolling on water, we will also allocate a black-awning boat solely for your use.”
The moment these words were spoken, the entire outer courtyard fell silent for a moment before buzzing with hushed discussions.
“Good heavens, eight taels of silver a month!”
“My father works in the militia squad, and he doesn't even make that much in a year!”
“And the medicinal cuisine! I heard that the Ji family's beast park raises Tier Two Precious Beasts like the Blue-Spire Chicken, so the meat in that medicinal cuisine is all Precious Beast meat!”
“Most importantly, the Jasper Blood Pill's efficacy is far superior to ordinary pills!”
“Exactly. The Han family's Blood-Condensing Pill and the Luo family's Blood-Nourishing Pill are both refined from Tier One Precious Fish. But the Ji family's Jasper Blood Pill is actually refined from Tier Two Precious Beasts, which is of great use even to Anjin Rank martial artists!”
“Why doesn't such a good thing ever happen to me?!”
...
The buzzing chatter rose and fell as gazes swept over Shen Xiuhan one after another.
Some with envy,
some with jealousy,
some with resentment...
Shen Xiuhan, however, had no time to pay attention to any of this.
Because right now, his mind was entirely filled with information about Yunyi Island.
Shen Xiuhan had once learned the general location of this island from Shen Sanhuai.
The distance...
Shen Xiuhan's gaze shifted slightly, and he turned his head to look toward the southwest.
A faint golden point of light was shimmering brightly dozens of miles away.
That was it!
Yunyi Island was extremely close to the location of the Diaohai Pavilion core disciple!
Rowing a boat from Yunyi Island might not even take thirty minutes...
What was there to weigh?
The Ji family it was!
Not to mention that the Ji family had already offered the most generous compensation, but for the sake of the Diaohai Pavilion legacy alone, he had to make this trip!
It was no secret that there were river pirates in Cloudwater Lake, and man-eating water monsters in its deep waters.
If he rowed a boat there alone, the risk would be far too great.
But if he took on the identity of the Ji family's “stationed Patrol Envoy,” he could openly patrol and cruise around, using the opportunity to get close to the legacy.
This would be ten times safer than going it alone.
Shen Xiuhan took a deep breath, and just as he was about to speak,
“Brother Shen, you are young and do not know how deep the waters of the martial world run.”
Beside him, the Luo family steward suddenly sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“I, Luo, kindly advise you: if you truly go to Yunyi Island, I'm afraid there will be no coming back!”
Before anyone could react, he intentionally raised his voice, a mocking smirk playing on his lips:
“In the younger generation of our Changyun County, there were originally five great geniuses who shared the spotlight. But do you all know why there are only four left now?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere of the entire courtyard instantly froze!
Under the veranda, the Ji family steward, who had been smiling while stroking his beard, had his expression change drastically:
“Luo Zhan! You old dog, how dare you!”
The Luo family steward, called Luo Zhan, showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed wildly:
“Why wouldn't I dare?”
“I'm going to say it today anyway!”
“That fifth genius was sent to Yunyi Island by his Ji family, only to be captured alive by the Blood Dhuta of Chenjian Dock and have his head chopped off in public!”
“Hahahahaha!”
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