Chapter 80: Challenging the Target

Chu He signed and pressed his hand as his signature.

Su Wen smiled at Zhao Jin and said, “Go, bring him out to see how much the repairs cost.”

“Return my sword to me!” Chu He was most worried that Su Wen wouldn’t give him the sword.

Su Wen lightly smiled before walking inside and taking out Chu He’s sword. He casually handed it to him as he said, “Selling the sword to gather funds? That’s a good idea. If you’re willing, I can give you 10,000 taels for it. You can come and find me anytime.”

Chu He glanced at Su Wen and was somewhat suspicious. This fellow actually guessed his thoughts, so why did he return the sword to him?

It seemed like he did not really wish to recruit him.

But before he could think too much about it, Zhao Jin brought him out.

At that moment, Ning Shuang had already found a craftsman.

The craftsman looked at the wreckage on the ground and did not dare to ask further. He only started calculating the cost of repairs.

Chu He and Zhao Jin waited by the side. About an hour later, the craftsman stood up and walked to Ning Shuang’s side. He smiled apologetically as he said, “If everything is restored as it was, it will cost 47,500 taels of silver!”

“What?” Chu He jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He walked forward and asked the craftsman, “Did you make a mistake?”

The craftsman sized up Chu He. Seeing that he was dressed like a beggar, he thought that this guy was probably some curious bystander. His expression darkened as he impolitely snapped, “What are you doing? I’m talking to Miss Ning Shuang. What does it have to do with you?”

Besides, can’t you see for yourself what’s on the ground? The door is completely made of wood from the golden thread chinese cedar. The tiles on the door and walls aren’t ordinary tiles as well. They are all made from Kuan porcelain tiles[1]. The interior and exterior of the walls are carved by famous sculptors from the capital. They have to be redecorated.”

“Furthermore, look at the steps, they’ve been shattered to such a state. These are all top grade hot spring jades. They maintain warmth throughout the four seasons. Just touch them and you can tell that its surface is warm despite the cold winter! With them reduced to such a state, they’ll have to be dug out and replaced totally. For so much labor, the price is already very reasonable!”

Chu He was dumbfounded.

“It’s too expensive! This is too expensive! So much money just for a gate? Is this guy crazy?”

Chu He muttered to himself.

Zhao Jin patted him on the shoulder and laughed, “Kid, you’ve taken on a huge debt.”

Chu He looked angrily at Zhao Jin. He finally understood everything!

In reality, from beginning to end, he was only given one choice!

At this moment, Zhao Jin took out the contract and handed it to Chu He. He said with a smile, “Young Master said that if you aren’t willing, he won’t force it. The contract is yours. You can tear it up and pretend nothing happened.”

Would Chu He not admit his debt?

Of course he would not. This was not his personality.

He was never willing to owe others anything, nor was he willing to accept any charity from others.

Even if it was someone else’s kindness, such as how the owner of the stir-fried flour stall gave him extra ingredients.

At that time, he had also chosen to leave his sword behind, planning to redeem it after getting some money.

Chu He reached out to take the contract.

He tore it up on the spot, then turned to Zhao Jin and said, “Bring me to see him!”

“Call him Young Master!”

Zhao Jin corrected him seriously.

Chu He :”…”

At the fried vermicelli stall, Su Wen, Zhao Jin, and Chu He arrived together.

Chu He had changed into a guard uniform and looked much more energetic.

It was just that the imposing uniform did not match the broken sword at his waist.

As the three of them sat down, Su Wen smiled at the boss, “See, you didn’t believe me when I said I was going to return your sword!”

Chu He reached out for the three copper coins and handed it to the boss. “The money from last time.”

The boss quickly said, “There’s no need for that. It was originally half a serving last time.”

“Just take it if he gives it to you!” Su Wen smiled. “Otherwise, he’ll keep agonizing over it.”

The owner wiped her hands on the apron before gingerly receiving the three coppers from Chu He.

The three of them then ordered three bowls of vermicelli.

“Young Master, how can it be so round?”

“Lots of meat.”

“But it’s not wide at the same time!”

“Well proportioned!”

Chu He couldn’t stand it any longer. He whispered angrily, “Do the two of you have to do this?”

Su Wen turned to look at him and smiled. “Then why don’t you change your seat and sit with your back facing her? If you change your seat, we won’t talk about it anymore.”

“I…”

Zhao Jin patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, “Being outwardly lusty isn’t considered as being flirtatious, but hiding it only makes it more conspicuous. Brother, you’ve been single for 29 years, so I’m afraid you’re already secretly lusty to the point of being unparalleled. Just a casual sentence from me, and you can already fantasize that the young master has ill intentions towards you, so don’t pretend to be a proper person. I’ll bring you to the ‘pavilions’ in the capital city to see the world some other day. At that time, you’ll know the reputation of our young master!”

Chu He shut his mouth immediately.

Su Wen looked at Chu He and asked curiously, “Say, why didn’t you get a good set of clothes previously? With your skills, you shouldn’t have been reduced to such a state, right?”

Chu He whispered, “Master said that overly comfortable environments will make my sword blunt. The discomfort in my body can make me maintain a higher focus at any time. Therefore, I’ve been like this since I was young. I’ve already gotten used to it.”

Zhao Jin explained to Su Wen, “Perhaps it’s a technique that specializes in tempering the soul. It’s similar to ascetic monks. When I fought him, I could sense that his swordsmanship was extremely sharp. Sometimes, he could even change his moves before I attacked. This isn’t something that can be done through technique.

What he has achieved is more similar to communing with the Dao. His master might be a Heaven Rank expert. To be honest, Chu He is right. Perhaps his swordsmanship will be beyond my reach in ten years.”

Su Wen narrowed his eyes.

Heaven Rank?

There were many powerful experts in Zhou, but few of them had actually reached the realm of Heaven Rank.

At the very least, Su Wen had never seen a Heaven Rank expert in action before. He had only heard that an expert of such caliber could slash apart rivers and mountains with a single wave of his hand.

They had completely reached another level of power.

Su Wen smiled and said, “Don’t worry, even though you’re working for me, you don’t have to stop cultivating the cultivation plan that your master has set for you. You can still fight when you need to. Whoever you want to challenge next can be invited by us through letters.”

Chu He nodded and said, “Originally, there were three people in the capital that needed to be challenged.”

“Oh? Which three?” Su Wen’s interest was piqued.

Chu He said, “The head of the Imperial Capital’s Chang Yuan Bodyguard Services, Du Yuan; the Martial Inspectorate’s Deacon Ruan Ze, and Jingji Province’s swordsmanship instructor, Meng Pingzhi.”

Su Wen frowned. Among the three of them, the first and third were understandable targets. However, Su Wen did not expect Ruan Ze to be among them.

For that damned fatty to be included in the challengers, there must be something special about him.

Chu He continued, “Actually, in the letters Master left behind, I can only challenge them after reaching the peak of 5th Grade. Therefore, I still have to raise my cultivation level for the time being.”

Su Wen’s eyes narrowed slightly. This Chu He’s combat strength was formidable. From the battle between him and Zhao Jin, if it wasn’t for the fact that Zhao Jin had quite a number of spirit artifacts from the Spirit Master’s Residence on him, his combat strength would be inferior to Chu He’s.

And Chu He had even defeated people with 7th Grade Earth Rank cultivation!

There was no need to doubt his combat strength when fighting someone two grades above him.

Even so, he still had to reach the peak of 5th Grade before he could challenge Ruan Ze?

Ruan Ze, this Silver Saber Deacon, was probably not ordinary. One had to know that on the surface, Ruan Ze only possessed a cultivation level of 4th Grade Earth Rank!

[1] A type of high-status stonewares

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