Martial Saint with Passives

Of course, Jiang Che wasn’t about to let Gu Song just walk away.

He had already dispatched a sliver of his consciousness, commanding the crow lurking outside the Zhao’s Earth Castle to silently trail the old man from a distance.

He had to nip any potential danger in the bud!

...

「Meanwhile, in the artisans’ dormitory area.」

A dim, damp room was filled with the thick, mingled aroma of medicinal herbs and chicken soup.

Jiang Dawu was carefully feeding his wife a freshly brewed medicinal broth with a wooden spoon.

"Why did you buy a chicken? They’re so expensive..." Mrs. Zhou couldn’t help but nag her husband about his reckless spending as she looked at the golden-brown hen stewing in the pot.

Jiang Dawu gave a simple, honest smile. "I figured this was your favorite. It’s fine. Eat up, and you’ll get better faster. If the money’s gone, we’ll just earn more!"

After she finished the medicine, Jiang Dawu ladled a bowl of chicken soup for Mrs. Zhou and placed a drumstick in it.

Although Mrs. Zhou grumbled, a trace of warmth still showed in her eyes as she looked at the fragrant drumstick in her bowl.

The old couple began to eat, gathered around a small wooden table.

After the meal, Jiang Dawu took the empty bowls outside to wash them.

Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped out, he ran right into someone.

The man was slightly chubby with a handlebar mustache; it was the foreman in charge of their dormitory area.

Jiang Dawu’s heart sank.

The foreman’s nose twitched as he caught the scent of chicken soup wafting from the room. A smile that didn’t reach his eyes immediately appeared on his face.

"Well now, Old Jiang, stewing a chicken, are we? You’re that rich? So how come... you keep dragging your feet on the money you owe me?"

As it turned out, Jiang Dawu was strapped for cash because all his money went to his wife’s treatment. Some time ago, he’d had no choice but to borrow one tael of silver from the foreman for an emergency.

But this foreman was ruthless and greedy, charging an exorbitant interest rate. In just a few short months, the debt, including principal and interest, had already ballooned to two taels.

Jiang Dawu had worked himself to the bone and barely scraped together one tael, which only covered the interest. The principal was still one whole tael!

The interest compounded, snowballing bigger and bigger. Meanwhile, he couldn’t stop buying his wife’s medicine. They were living hand-to-mouth, and life was incredibly difficult.

"Foreman Wang..." Jiang Dawu immediately put on a fawning smile and said, almost pleading, "Please, just a few more days! Give me a few more days! As soon as I get this month’s wages, I’ll definitely pay you back!"

"I don’t care!" the foreman snapped, his eyes wide with impatience. "You’ll pay me whether you want to or not! Otherwise..."

His eyes darted around as he suddenly remembered something. He gave a sly chuckle. "I hear you have an old house in the south of the city, don’t you?"

"You can use that to cover the debt!"

Hearing this, the color drained from Jiang Dawu’s face!

The house may have been old and dilapidated, but it was the only property he owned!

More importantly, without the house...

If Che’er and Ling’er ever came back, they would never be able to find them!

"No! I can’t use the house as collateral! Absolutely not!" Jiang Dawu suddenly became agitated.

"Oh-ho? Still treating that old wreck like a treasure?" the foreman sneered. He then switched to a persuasive tone. "How about this, Old Jiang? Look, you’re short on cash right now. Use the house to cover the debt, and I’ll even throw in another tael of silver. How does that sound? When you’ve got money again later, you can just buy the house back. Simple, right?"

Jiang Dawu was indeed desperate for money. He was torn, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.

Just then, a group of soldiers clad in armor and holding long halberds charged in, their presence menacing as they surrounded the entire dormitory area!

"Jiang Dawu! Who is Jiang Dawu!"

Hearing the commotion, the artisans in the dormitory area poked their heads out of their rooms to see what was going on.

"Jiang Dawu, are you in trouble?!" The foreman was shocked and took an instinctive step back, terrified of being associated with him.

"I... I... I don’t know..." Jiang Dawu was also in a panic. He couldn’t understand how a simple, honest carpenter like himself could have attracted the attention of soldiers.

The other workers also ran out, and a wave of discussion immediately broke out.

"Old Jiang must have messed up a job. He’s in for it now!"

"Maybe he snuck out a few days ago and they’re making an example of him?"

"I bet he went out gambling! Why else would he owe the foreman so much money!"

The crowd looked at Jiang Dawu with expressions of pity, but also of schadenfreude.

In any case, it was as if everyone could already see the tragic fate that awaited him.

Jiang Dawu himself was trembling, with no idea what was happening.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a steward’s uniform emerged from among the soldiers.

This man was the Head Steward who normally managed the entire artisan district—a top figure in the eyes of craftsmen like them.

However, upon seeing Jiang Dawu, he immediately put on a sycophantic grin, scurried over with his back bowed, and asked cautiously:

"You... you must be Jiang Dawu, Elder Mr. Jiang?"

"His Majesty is looking for you!"

Jiang Dawu was completely dumbfounded.

His Majesty? There was only one king in Lin Yuan City!

The self-proclaimed "King of Lin Yuan," Zhao Kang!

The foreman was stunned! The other workers were stunned!

What? His Majesty was looking for Jiang Dawu? What was going on?

Moreover, they saw the Head Steward—the supreme boss of all of them, a man who was normally so imposing—now bowing and scraping before Jiang Dawu, the very picture of a sycophant...

The foreman suddenly shuddered!

’It’s over... This Jiang Dawu... he’s about to strike it rich!’