Chapter 25: Affiliating with a Gang, Changes in the Situation

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Affiliating with a Gang, Changes in the Situation

"Huh? Senior Brother, where’s Junior Brother Su?"

A voice rang out as Fang Rou looked left and right, searching for Su Chen.

"He left," Li Mo said in a muffled voice. "If you want to find him, your only bet is to go to his house."

"Ah, why?" Fang Rou asked.

"He rarely comes to the Martial Arts Hall!"

Thinking of this gave him a headache. Since Su Chen had joined the Martial Arts Hall, the total time he had spent there didn’t even add up to ten days. This made him feel as though he, as the senior brother, hadn’t really been of much use!

"Alright, then could I trouble you to tell me where Junior Brother Su lives?" Fang Rou asked meekly.

Li Mo thought for a moment before replying, "Tell you what, I’ll mention your situation to him when I see him."

"Then thank you, Senior Brother Li Mo." Upon hearing this, Fang Rou broke into a bright smile and took her leave.

***

Just as Zhou Tao and the others stepped out of the Martial Arts Hall, they caught sight of Su Chen walking in the opposite direction.

"It seems our Junior Brother Su is quite busy," Fang Yanxun remarked flatly, seeing Su Chen leaving in a hurry.

Hu Zong chuckled. "He’s probably rushing back to study hard and train diligently."

"I heard this Junior Brother Su rarely trains at the Martial Arts Hall," Fang Yanxun said. "To have mastered the Iron Wire Fist, heaven knows how much time and money he must have spent."

Hu Zong shook his head. "Yanxun, you’re wrong about that. Junior Brother Su is the only one left in his family. He likely doesn’t have that much money to burn."

Hearing this, Fang Yanxun was somewhat surprised. "Oh? Without any resources backing him, he actually managed to master the Iron Wire Fist within a month? Such talent probably isn’t any weaker than Junior Brother Qin Hao’s, is it?"

Qin Hao pursed his lips. Before he could speak, Zhou Tao shook his head. "Compared to Junior Brother Qin Hao, Su Chen is still lacking."

Zhou Tao then revealed that Qin Hao had concealed the actual time it took him to learn the technique. The two were astonished and looked at Qin Hao with wry smiles.

"I originally thought a month was already fast enough. I didn’t expect Junior Brother Qin Hao to have hidden his true speed."

"Indeed, Junior Brother Qin Hao’s talent is truly enviable."

Listening to their compliments, the corners of Qin Hao’s mouth twitched upward. "Not at all, Senior Brothers. You praise me too highly," he chuckled.

"However, if I were as hardworking as Junior Brother Su, I reckon I would have been even faster," he continued after a brief pause.

He then shook his head with a sigh. "It’s just a pity that Junior Brother Su only knows how to train blindly without balancing work and rest. His future accomplishments will likely stop right here."

Glancing at Zhou Tao, he added, "As a Martial Artist, personal strength is only one aspect. More often than not, you also need the support of others."

"Junior Brother Qin Hao is absolutely right," Fang Yanxun agreed. "Su Chen’s worldview is simply too narrow. Senior Brother Zhou Tao invited him out to show him the world, but unfortunately, he lacks the fortune to appreciate it."

"Haha, let’s not mention this anymore. Who knows, maybe Junior Brother Su has his own considerations. We have no right to interfere. Let’s go, off to the Spring Breeze Building." Zhou Tao shook his head with a smile and strode away. The other three followed closely behind him.

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Su Chen didn’t head home immediately. Instead, he went to a bookstore and purchased several medical texts. Having no pressing matters in the afternoon, he spent his time reading through the books.

He read until evening. Feeling it was about time, he finally set out to find Li Mo.

Li Mo was still at the Martial Arts Hall. Upon seeing Su Chen, he asked him to wait a moment while he finished up his tasks, after which they left together.

The two arrived at the Celestial Fragrance Building. Although it wasn’t as upscale as the Drunken Immortal Tower, the food was high quality and affordable, and it was close to both of their homes.

"Junior Brother, you ordered so much. Can we finish it all?" Li Mo asked, looking somewhat surprised at the table filled to the brim with dishes.

"Whatever we can’t finish, we’ll pack up and take home!" Su Chen laughed. He then raised his cup. "Thank you for looking after me all this time, Senior Brother."

Li Mo followed suit and raised his own cup, shaking his head. "I wouldn’t call it looking after you. It’s all the result of your own hard work, Junior Brother."

He assumed Su Chen was referring to his martial arts training, completely unaware that Su Chen was also thanking him for driving away the Black Water Gang earlier. However, Su Chen simply smiled and didn’t explain.

"It seems you’ve found a way to make a living, Junior Brother Su," Li Mo chuckled, looking at the feast on the table after draining his cup in one gulp. This table of food was certainly not cheap.

Su Chen remained noncommittal. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "By the way, Senior Brother, is there anything I should be careful about when affiliating with a gang?"

As soon as he had returned home earlier today, a gang had come knocking, offering to pay their respects with tribute money. They were all minor gangs, so he hadn’t agreed immediately.

Hearing this, Li Mo said, "There’s nothing special you need to watch out for. Since you aren’t short on money right now, you can take your time to pick and choose."

"No, I am short on money!" Su Chen retorted inwardly.

Afterward, Li Mo gave a brief introduction on how affiliating with a gang worked.

A newly rising Martial Arts Hall disciple like Su Chen could only affiliate with minor gangs and small shops, and the monthly affiliation fees wouldn’t be much. At most, it would be one tael; at least, half a tael. Although the money was little, Su Chen could affiliate with multiple gangs.

This kind of affiliation was essentially protection money. It allowed the gangs to borrow the prestige of the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall to establish a firm foothold.

"However, Junior Brother, you’re only an affiliate, not a member of the gang. You don’t need to get involved in their disputes; you just collect your money every month. If they want you to fight for them, they’ll have to pay an extra fee," Li Mo reminded him, just to prevent Su Chen from being overly responsible.

Hearing this, Su Chen was somewhat surprised. "What if the affiliated gang gets wiped out?"

"Then just switch to another one," Li Mo said nonchalantly. "There are so many gangs in White Stone City anyway. If the old ones don’t go, the new ones won’t come."

Su Chen nodded. It seemed the benefits of becoming a Martial Artist were even greater than he had imagined. Collecting protection money from gangs was something he had heard of for the very first time.

"Since this is your first time affiliating, you can shop around a bit. As for how many you choose to affiliate with, that’s entirely up to you.

"There is one more thing you must watch out for. Aside from gangs and shops, some clans might try to recruit you. Although they offer high prices, signing with them is no different from signing a contract to sell your freedom."

Li Mo went on to share more of his personal experiences, which Su Chen found highly beneficial. This prompted Su Chen to raise his cup in gratitude once again.

Just as the two were enjoying their drinks, a sudden clamor erupted outside. Taking a closer look, they realized it was a street brawl.

"Sigh, White Stone City is getting more and more chaotic," Li Mo sighed upon seeing the scene.

Su Chen remained silent. The two soon diverted their attention away from the window.

At the dinner table, it was mostly Li Mo speaking and Su Chen listening. Li Mo talked about everything under the sun, bringing up whatever came to mind. Some of the information he shared benefited Su Chen greatly.

They kept eating and drinking until the restaurant closed for the night, only then taking their leave.

After seeing Li Mo off, Su Chen braved the cold wind and headed home alone.

Just as he arrived at his doorstep, he saw a beggar lying by the entrance. The beggar wore thin, tattered clothes and was shivering uncontrollably in the frigid wind. Upon seeing Su Chen, the beggar instinctively shrank back. However, catching sight of the packed food in Su Chen’s hands, he licked his chapped lips longingly.

Seeing this, Su Chen shook his head, handed the leftover food to the beggar, and walked into his house.

Just as Li Mo had said, White Stone City was indeed getting more and more chaotic. Now, not only were street brawls breaking out, but beggars were even appearing at his doorstep. This inevitably stirred up a sense of impending crisis within Su Chen’s heart.

"I need to earn money and upgrade my Iron Wire Fist as soon as possible!" he thought.