Chapter 226 - 128: Surprise

A beautiful sight, to be sure.

But after a while, you get used to it.

"Cheng! You’re really something, kid!"

Wang Chuang walked over.

"Treasure Fish are such a rarity, and you’re just raising them in your courtyard, all hale and hearty? And four of them! People struggle to buy even one, and here you are, raising a whole tankful!"

"A post at the Fishing Village has its perks."

Chen Cheng just smiled, offering no further explanation as he gestured for them to come inside.

"Come, let’s talk inside."

He led the two into the main hall and showed them to their seats.

Li Family immediately came to pour tea for the two of them, then looked at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng knew that this was the time Li Family usually went next door to see Lady Sun, so he gave her a nod, letting her know she was free to go and didn’t need to stay with them.

Li Family breathed a sigh of relief and silently excused herself.

After she left, a brief silence fell over the main hall.

Wang Chuang picked up his teacup, took a large gulp, set it down, and was the first to break the silence.

He was a straightforward man who never beat around the bush.

"Cheng, we came uninvited today, mainly to thank you for saving our lives."

"Those five jars outside are the entire cellar of Golden Ring Treasure Snake Medicinal Wine that my Jiuan Hunting Manor has aged for the past several decades. I brought it all over for you, down to the last drop."

"Well, isn’t this just what I needed?"

Chen Cheng looked at the five enormous wine jars in the courtyard and laughed.

"I just finished my last jar and was thinking about finding time to visit the Hunting Manor to ask you for more. And here you are, delivering it to my door. In that case, I won’t be polite. Please give my thanks to Manor Master Wang when you see him."

"This is nothing!"

Wang Chuang grinned.

"The only reason my uncle didn’t come today is that he’s personally arranging for an even greater thank-you gift for you!"

"He didn’t tell me what it is, only that it might not work out. He was worried that if it fell through, it would just end up disappointing you..."

"Besides, it can’t be brought back to Zhao City right away. That’s why my uncle had me bring over all the Golden Ring Treasure Snake Medicinal Wine first, as a preliminary token of our gratitude."

"That’s... really not necessary. This Medicinal Wine is more than enough."

Chen Cheng was intrigued. He wasn’t greedy, but he was immensely curious. ’What on earth could it be? Something that requires Wang Peng to handle it personally? And it might not even succeed?’

"Don’t be so modest!"

Wang Chuang said with a chuckle,

"You genuinely saved our entire Jiuan Hunting Manor! Ever since my uncle returned, he’s been saying the same thing every day... ’If it weren’t for Brother Chen, the Jiuan Hunting Manor would have met its end under my watch!’"

Wang Chuang paused, his smile fading as his expression turned serious.

"My uncle wishes he could pluck the stars from the sky for you! Just you wait. And stop being so modest!"

Chen Cheng knew Wang Peng’s character and understood Wang Chuang’s temperament even better, so he simply nodded and said nothing more.

"My turn!"

Just then, Yun Shuanglin stood up and walked over to Chen Cheng.

She first produced an exquisitely embroidered Money Bag, made from a remarkable fabric, from within her robes.

From it, she drew a stack of Silver Notes, placed them on the table, and slid them forward with her fingers.

"These are twenty Official Banknotes, each with a face value of one hundred taels. Any reputable bank will exchange them for silver."

As she spoke, she divided the stack of Silver Notes into two equal piles.

"This one thousand taels is the bounty for killing Zhu Biao. And this one thousand is the bounty for killing Yu An."

"In total, that’s two thousand taels. I collected it all myself from the Captain’s Mansion yesterday."

"Thank you for collecting it on my behalf, Miss Yun."

Chen Cheng nodded. Without ceremony, he reached out, gathered the Silver Notes, folded them, and tucked them into his robes.

Originally, Chen Cheng hadn’t known there were bounties from the Captain’s Mansion for Zhu Biao and Yu An. It was Wang Peng who had quietly told him about them later.

For Chen Cheng, this money was a very pleasant surprise.

Adding this to the money he already had, he was now carrying a sum equivalent to more than three thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

And yet, this great fortune was only barely comparable in value to those three bags of Exotic Tiger Dried Meat.

With these resources in hand, Chen Cheng conservatively estimated that he wouldn’t have to worry about his cultivation for the next two or three months. He could focus wholeheartedly on preparing for his three-month pact with Elder Pang.

If he could be recommended to a Sect then, that would be ideal.

If not, the improvements from three months of hard training should be enough for him to face the Zhao City Martial Selection next year.

A place in a Sect or a path to official recognition—he had to secure one of the two.

"Also, I’ve already taken care of the matter that was worrying you most, Brother Chen."

Yun Shuanglin said with a brilliant smile, her delicate hand tapping a small leather pouch at her waist.

The crisp clink of metal pellets colliding sounded from within the pouch.

She continued,

"I told Xu Linyuan of the Captain’s Mansion that I was the one who killed all three of them—Bai Fangshuo, Zhu Biao, and Yu An. If anyone wants revenge, they can come for me."

She paused, her beautiful eyes meeting Chen Cheng’s.

"The only thing is, this means you will lose out on a rare opportunity for fame, as well as tangible Military Merit..."

"All of it has been credited to me. The official documents from the Captain’s Mansion, and the public notices that follow, will all bear my name."

"It’s no matter."

Chen Cheng shook his head and replied with a smile,

"Miss Yun was willing to solve such a major problem for me. Mere fame and merit are things you fully deserve..."

"That’s not the way to see it."

Yun Shuanglin’s smile faded as she spoke with great earnestness.

"Ridding the world of villains, carrying out heaven’s justice, becoming famous from a single battle... This is the kind of reputation that countless people in the Jianghu dream of."

"You might not understand, Brother Chen, but many people fight and kill their whole lives just for a chance at a reputation like this. With fame comes influence, and with influence comes everything else."

Her tone grew even more serious as she continued,

"And then there’s the merit. Once you earn the title of Military Guard, you’ll understand just how important it is."

"Every entry in the Merit Record represents an official post, real authority, resources, Secret Techniques—it is the very ladder of advancement!"

"You may be dismissive of it now, but when you want it in the future, you may find it impossibly difficult and forever out of reach!"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Chen Cheng just smiled, his tone remaining calm.

"Right now, all I want is to be safe and secure."

’How could he not understand the benefits of fame and merit?’

’But he knew, even more clearly, that he was different from everyone else.’

’Others had to rely on fame to pave their way and on merit to climb the ladder, but he didn’t need to.’

’He had the Vertical Eye Mark as his foundation. As long as he could develop safely, he would grow continuously stronger.’

’For that very reason, fame and merit had to take a backseat to safety and security.’

’Once he was powerful enough, he could obtain such things whenever he pleased.’

"So be it. In the future, Brother Chen, you will come to understand the meaning of my words."

Yun Shuanglin sighed softly, then produced another item from her robes.

"Brother Chen, this is my gift of thanks—for saving my life!"