Chapter 41 : Chapter 41
Chapter 41. Choosing an Assignment
On Xu Yuan’s side, the world had turned warm and calm, like a gentle breeze on a mild day.
But today, on the outskirts of the Prefecture City, where the Wild Wolf Gang was based, chaos reigned—like chickens scattering and dogs leaping in disorder.
“What?”
“You’re saying Li Daqiang failed the job… and was even killed?”
A middle-aged man with dark skin and bulging muscles across his upper body suddenly turned his head, glaring at the scar-faced thug beside him.
That thug was none other than Zhang Ergou, who had previously been spying on the Xu family. As for the burly man before him, his identity was obvious—Quan Xiong, who had just returned from socializing outside.
Quan Xiong was already furious. Dealing with the Xu family had only been a casual order from him, a trivial matter in his eyes. Yet it had somehow turned into this mess.
“Gang Leader, it must have been that second son of the Xu family!” Zhang Ergou bent his body low, his face filled with grief and indignation, as if he had lost his own father.
“I heard from Niu Er’s nephew that he had already become a Formal Martial Artist at that time, but deliberately hid it. He’s incredibly scheming… Poor Brother Qiang died so miserably!”
“Enough!”
Annoyed by the noise, Quan Xiong raised his hand and slapped Zhang Ergou hard, sending him sprawling. He said coldly,
“All of you are useless trash. You cannot even handle such a small task.”
“Gang Leader, you cannot blame us for this! That brat became a martial artist—what could we possibly do?” Zhang Ergou clutched his swollen cheek, speaking in grievance.
“What about his elder brother?”
“Oh, do not even mention it. That boy had already moved his elder brother and sister-in-law into the inner city long ago.”
“Good! Very good!”
The anger on Quan Xiong’s face deepened further as he sneered, “A mere one-meridian martial artist dares to act arrogantly in front of me? Did he not bother to inquire about my reputation, Quan Xiong?”
This matter had to be handled properly.
If everyone could act like Xu Yuan—offend him and simply hide to avoid consequences—how was he supposed to maintain his position as the Gang Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang?
“Where are his brother and sister-in-law now? I could ruin his father once, and I can ruin them again!”
After some thought, Quan Xiong refused to swallow this insult. Just as he was about to call someone over to ask—
A servant suddenly walked in and whispered in his ear, “Master, Steward Liu is here to see you.”
“Steward Liu?” Quan Xiong was momentarily stunned, unable to react.
“Have you forgotten? Steward Liu from the Shangyang Residence,” the servant reminded him.
“What does he want with me?”
Filled with confusion, Quan Xiong made his way to the reception hall outside.
A middle-aged man dressed in blue stood inside. He was also one of the minor stewards of the Affairs Hall—Liu Yue.
After hearing that Quan Xiong had returned to the city, Liu Yue hurried over without delay, worried that he might act impulsively and cause trouble.
After all, among the Shangyang Residence’s new batch of martial artists, only four or five had both solid cultivation and fist technique. Xu Yuan was one of them. Moreover, after Zhao Qiusheng’s deliberate reminder, Liu Yue naturally understood the stakes.
“What?!”
Upon hearing the news, Quan Xiong abruptly stood up in disbelief. “That brat broke through to the Second Meridian??”
“Not only that—he has also brought his martial skill, Benlei Fist, to the entry level,” Liu Yue added.
“In just one month, both his cultivation and martial skill advanced…”
Quan Xiong stood there in a daze, muttering, “I have trained for nearly ten years and am still stuck at the Second Meridian. How did he achieve it in just one month?”
At this moment, Liu Yue also stood up and spoke slowly,
“Xu Yuan’s talent has already caught the attention of some higher-ups. There is no way you can suppress him now. What you should be thinking about is how to resolve this matter.”
“How am I supposed to resolve it?” Quan Xiong snapped out of his shock, but had no idea what to do.
“We have been friends for many years. Tell me honestly—how badly did you offend him?” Liu Yue stared at him intently.
“How badly?” Quan Xiong thought carefully. “It is not that serious. When his father came to gamble, the casino did use some tricks, but no one forced him to keep gambling.”
“In the end, he lost everything—who can he blame? But that incident where Li Daqiang went to cause trouble at his house… that is more troublesome…”
As Liu Yue listened, his brows gradually furrowed. He knew his friend was not a good man. Whenever he found a fat sheep, he would slaughter it mercilessly. The outcome was hardly surprising.
However, Liu Yue also had a share in the Wild Wolf Gang’s business, which brought him considerable income every year. Naturally, he could not let it collapse like this.
‘Fortunately, Xu Yuan is only at the Second Meridian. The situation is still manageable.’
After pondering for a moment, Liu Yue said,
“There is still some room to turn things around. Prepare a generous gift and apologize to him. Try your best to settle this matter.”
“After all, Xu Yuan’s family is poor. A martial artist cannot advance without money. There is still room for negotiation.”
Apologize to a mere young brat of the same cultivation level?
Upon hearing this, Quan Xiong’s dark face flushed red. Ever since his early days as a bandit, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
However, Xu Yuan was within the Shangyang Residence and had already attracted attention. He could not act against him. Moreover, Xu Yuan’s talent was exceptional, while he himself was stuck at a bottleneck…
Under such circumstances, the situation was stronger than the man.
“Brother Yue is right.”
Quan Xiong decided to give it a try, though he still felt uneasy.
“But what if—just what if—Xu Yuan refuses to reconcile?”
Now that Xu Yuan had reached the Second Meridian, his temperament might have changed completely, becoming arrogant and dismissive.
After all, there was already significant conflict between them.
“He probably will not. We are the ones taking the initiative to apologize. As for the troublemaking incident, just push all the blame onto Li Daqiang. Besides, I still have some influence within the Shangyang Residence,” Liu Yue waved his hand.
‘But what if he truly refuses to give face?’
At that thought, Liu Yue’s expression darkened. Then he would have no choice but to abandon Quan Xiong and cut ties completely.
Yes—that was correct. He was not planning to confront Xu Yuan head-on. He was preparing to give up on Quan Xiong.
As previously stated, Xu Yuan had reached the Second Meridian in just one month. His talent was extraordinary, and he was within the Shangyang Residence. There was no way Liu Yue could act against him under such conditions.
Although it pained him to lose the steady income from his “good brother,” he had no choice but to cut his losses.
He understood clearly which mattered more.
After all, this was reality—not some fictional tale. Knowing that offending someone was unwise, would anyone still fight to the death and drag their entire clan down with them?
Liu Yue glanced at Quan Xiong and thought, ‘If it truly comes to that, you can only blame yourself for offending Xu Yuan.’
…
The next day, Xu Yuan went to his elder brother’s place to share a New Year meal. After strolling through the streets for a while, they returned to the Shangyang Residence.
Time passed to the third day of the first month.
At dawn, the Shangyang Residence resumed operation like a finely tuned machine. The training courtyard Xu Yuan had once been part of welcomed a new batch of recruits.
As for their group of “graduates,” they gathered at the entrance of the Affairs Hall, forming a long queue.
They were here to collect their monthly pay, confirm their evaluations, and choose—or be assigned—their duties.
“This scene is somewhat similar to the job fairs from my previous life,” Xu Yuan thought with a faint smile.
Following the line, he arrived at the window overseen by Zhao Qiusheng.
With so many people present, it was not a private setting. Zhao Qiusheng merely nodded at him and spoke in a neutral tone,
“Xu Yuan, two-striped retainer. Both your cultivation and fist technique have improved. You are granted six months of self-selected assignments. Hand over the jade token issued by the martial instructor.”
“Mm, verification complete. You may proceed to the assignment list on the right to review and make your selection, then return here to register.”
“Thank you, Steward Zhao.” Xu Yuan nodded and cupped his fists in thanks.
He then went to the side to examine the materials. As expected, there were no assignments from first-level zones.
He continued reviewing, filtering out all third- and fourth-level tasks, including those related to medicinal fields, leaving only second-level zones and positions within the Shangyang Residence.
He further narrowed it down to assignments suitable for two-striped retainers.
“Hm… Outer Courtyard Gate Captain. That is basically a head guard… No, too many trivial matters.”
“Pill Hall Supply Line Leader, responsible for escorting goods from the medicinal fields into the residence… That sounds rather risky.”
Xu Yuan scanned through the list continuously, until his gaze finally settled on one particular assignment.
“Outer Courtyard Martial Instructor.”
…