After changing into the Disciple's Robe, Jiang Che returned to the front courtyard.
The apprentices who were training stopped in unison, crowding around to congratulate him:
"Senior Brother Jiang!"
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Jiang!"
Jiang Che looked at them and noticed that their expressions held not only envy but also a newfound respect.
He suddenly remembered the mocking faces of those who had laughed at him behind his back when he'd been struggling to break through. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.
After offering a few noncommittal replies, he quickly left the Martial Arts Hall.
...
After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Che headed south.
He wanted to get home as quickly as possible to tell his sister the good news.
He rounded the corner of a small alley.
A sudden burst of shouting and cursing came from up ahead.
He saw several bare-chested thugs surrounding an old farmer who was selling vegetables.
The man's vegetable basket had been knocked over, and its contents were scattered all over the ground.
Jiang Che frowned and walked straight over.
"Sir, how much are these greens?" he asked.
"Sell you my—" The lead thug looked up, cursing.
But when he got a clear look at Jiang Che's uniform, he froze, and the color drained from his face.
'A formal disciple of the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall?!'
He quickly stumbled back a few steps, a fawning smile plastered on his face.
"Please, buy them! Go right ahead!"
As he spoke, he hurriedly motioned for his cronies to pick up the scattered greens and put them back in the basket. Then, they all scurried away.
For a thug, the most important skill is knowing how to read people.
You have to know who you can afford to mess with and who you can't.
A Martial Artist? That was someone you absolutely could not touch.
Especially a Martial Artist from the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall!
The Martial Arts Hall wasn't large,
but each of its formal disciples was more brutal than the last when it came to fighting.
'So this is the weight a Martial Artist carries...'
Jiang Che watched their panicked retreat, a thoughtful expression on his face.
He hadn't even had to lift a finger. The uniform alone was enough to make them shrink back in fear.
"Thank you, young hero! Thank you!"
The old farmer thanked him profusely, insisting on giving him a couple pounds of greens.
Jiang Che nodded, not refusing the offer.
A couple pounds of greens wasn't much, so there was no harm in accepting.
Upon entering Rag Alley,
COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!
he suddenly heard a violent coughing fit.
He looked toward the sound.
An old man was sitting in a doorway, clutching his mouth as he coughed violently.
When he was done, he pulled his hand away to reveal a glob of bloody phlegm in his palm.
Jiang Che's heart sank.
'Could that be tuberculosis?'
He quickly backed away.
In a world with such primitive medicine, tuberculosis was a death sentence!
And it was contagious!
The man didn't live far from his home. Jiang Che suspected his sister might have even mended clothes for him!
If she got infected…
A chill of worry ran through Jiang Che.
He hadn't gone much farther
when Jiang Che saw a few teenage boys dressed like beggars going door-to-door, begging for food.
When they came to houses with courtyard walls,
they even climbed up to peer inside.
Judging by the direction they were coming from, they had probably already knocked on his door.
Jiang Che's heart tightened, and he rushed home.
Don't be fooled by their age.
When boys like that decided to cause trouble, they were utterly ruthless.
When he got home,
Jiang Che found the door was latched.
He knocked on the door.
"Ling'er, it's me!"
CREAK—
The door opened.
Jiang Ling's small head peeked out.
"Brother?"
Seeing that his sister was alright, Jiang Che breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Ling's expression turned to shock when she saw Jiang Che in a white martial arts uniform.
"Brother, your clothes?"
She opened the door wider and stepped out, looking him up and down as if he were some kind of exotic animal.
"It's the Disciple's Robe from the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall," Jiang Che said with a smile. "I'm a formal Martial Artist now!"
"A Martial Artist? Brother, you really became a Martial Artist?!"
Jiang Ling could hardly believe her eyes.
Jiang Che smiled and ruffled her hair, deliberately messing up her bun.
"Silly girl, why would I lie to you about that?"
Jiang Ling pulled her head away and pouted. "I told you not to mess up my hair! I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"By the way, did anyone knock on the door earlier?" Jiang Che asked, his playful mood vanishing as he remembered the beggars.
A flicker of fear crossed Jiang Ling's face. She said,
"Yes… Someone was knocking and knocking earlier! I didn't dare make a sound, and eventually, they left."
Jiang Che nodded.
"You did the right thing! From now on, if anyone knocks on the door, don't open it for any reason. Just wait for me to get back!"
These days, a beggar could turn into a thief or a robber in the blink of an eye.
If a little girl like Jiang Ling opened the door, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"Okay, I get it! You've taught me all this before, Brother!"
"Also, Ling'er, have you been feeling unwell at all lately? Any coughing?"
Jiang Che thought of the coughing old man.
Jiang Ling shook her head. "No! Why do you ask, Brother?"
Jiang Che looked her over carefully. Aside from being a bit thin, her energy and spirits seemed fine, so he relaxed.
"Listen to me," Jiang Che said seriously. "From now on, if you see anyone coughing like that, stay away from them. You could catch consumption!"
"I'll remember. Don't worry, Brother," Jiang Ling said with a nod.
Jiang Che breathed another sigh of relief. Then, a thought struck him, and he raised his eyebrows.
"By the way, I have something good for you!"
"Something good?" Jiang Ling asked, curious.
"Let's go inside first!"
With that, the two of them went inside.
After latching the door securely,
Jiang Che smiled and reached into a hidden pocket inside his robe.
He fumbled for a moment before extending his hand and opening his palm.
In it were several pieces of silver, in addition to some Copper Coins.
"That's so much money!"
Jiang Ling's face was a picture of shock.
"Yep. We have money now, so you don't have to take on any more of this sewing work."
Jiang Che said seriously, looking at the pile of clothes on the table that needed mending.
Besides that old man, who knew if anyone else in the neighborhood had some infectious disease.
In a place this dirty and chaotic, you could never be sure.
As long as she kept doing this work, contact was inevitable, no matter how careful she was.
If she got infected, it would be a disaster.
Besides, the work was grueling, and it didn't even pay much.
It wasn't worth the risk.
"But…" Jiang Ling hesitated.
"But what? It's easy for a formal disciple of the White Cloud Martial Arts Hall to earn money! You work yourself to the bone sewing, and for what? How much can you possibly make?"
Jiang Che grinned and pressed the silver into his sister's hand.
"You'll be in charge of this silver from now on!"
Of course, Jiang Che didn't give all the silver to his sister.
He planned to give her enough each month for their daily expenses, and that was it.
Giving a young girl too much money would only invite trouble.
Jiang Ling cradled the silver in her hands, her eyes shining.
"This is the first time I've ever held so much money!"
She reached out to touch his Martial Arts Hall uniform again and said happily,
"By the way, Brother, this robe is so handsome. You look like a great hero!
"If Mom and Dad knew, they would be so happy…"
As she spoke, her voice trailed off.
Jiang Che was silent for a moment. "I'll find a chance in a few days to go with an Escort Agency to Hengsha City and look for them."
Jiang Ling looked worried. "But it's so chaotic out there…"
"Don't worry. The Escort Agency will have veterans leading the way. We'll be fine," Jiang Che reassured her.
Night fell.
Jiang Ling was already fast asleep.
She mumbled in her sleep:
"Roast chicken… so good…"
Jiang Che smiled and closed his own eyes.
Suddenly, a RUSTLING sound broke the silence.
Jiang Che opened his eyes and saw a rat scurry across the wall.
He looked around the dilapidated room and thought of the spacious, high-rise apartment he had lived in during his previous life.
This place was tiny and falling apart by comparison.
And it was far too dangerous.
Jiang Che couldn't help but think about all the things that had happened recently.
Brother Dao from the Thunderbolt Gang, the green-eyed monster in the night, the beggars, the coughing old man…
It was too dangerous for his sister to be home alone.
'We have to move,' Jiang Che thought.
They had to move somewhere safe!
The Inner City was the safest, but that was the territory of the great Noble Families. He wasn't even qualified to set foot inside.
Even though he was a Martial Artist and had some status in the Outer City District, in the eyes of the Inner City's Noble Family Members, he was no different from a commoner.
As for the Outer City,
the North and South Districts were overrun with Gangs, and while the West District was prosperous, robberies were frequent.
After thinking it through, the East District seemed the most suitable.
The White Cloud Martial Arts Hall was there, so no one would dare cause trouble, and his master and senior brothers could look out for them.
'We'll move to the East District.'
Jiang Che made his decision.