The Capital, Qingyang Lane.
The morning’s sunshine spilled into a yard, as a youth wearing coarse hemp with sweat pouring down his face trained a set of blade techniques.
The yard was exceedingly roomy, as the red lacquered main door, strong and tall walls, with it’s spacious layout overall, all spoke of the great fortune and prosperity that had once graced this yard.
Except, much of the red lacquer had been chipped away from the main door under the erosion of time, appearing rather in mottled disorder. The strong and tall walls also showed some tattered gaps, and seemed to be unable to withstand the wind and rain from the outside.
The spacious internal layout appeared empty and deserted as well, with no trace of any decent furniture to be found.
No matter how illustrious and wealthy this house had once been, the owner who lived here now had absolutely come down in the world. This was verified by every detail.
Except, the youth in the yard didn’t seem to want to accept this harsh reality. He trained in an exceedingly desperate fashion, with the emotions of his family once again prospering inspiring him. He had practiced this set of blade techniques whenever he heard the rooster’s crow, everyday, for no less than eight years.
He had no other choice. He seemed to wish to regain the lost splendor, and find the illustrious eminence of this house through the blade in his hand once again.
The red lacquered doors were banged open.
A crowd of nefarious servants like a pack of tigers and wolves barged in, gathered around a youth around twenty years old.
“Guo Jin, you’re keeping your poise alright. You’re still in the mood to practice? Today is the final deadline. Are you giving up this house and its surrounding yard or not?”
The youth’s smile was sinister and ruthless, and his tone was that of complete confidence in that the practicing youth was at the former’s mercy.
The youth Guo Jin stopped and rested his blade on his shoulders, saying coldly. “You, with the Zhuo surname, this house and its yards have been passed down from my forefather, and his forefathers, and is the honor and glory of my Guo family. We can discuss anything else, but you should forever drop the idea of having me sell my ancestral home!”
“Not willing?” The Zhuo surnamed youth smiled threateningly. “Then let’s tally up our accounts clearly. You came to my financing house last year to borrow ten thousand silver. It’s been one full year by now. Combining both principal and interest, you need to return fifteen thousand silver. Either you immediately pay up, or I’ll immediately make a statement to the local authorities to impound your house.
Don’t blame me for not telling you that the local authorities will swallow you whole, without leaving not much behind. I, Zhou Tan, am willing to pay eighty thousand silver to you right now. If we go to the local authorities, if there’s even ten thousand or eight thousand silver left to you, it’ll be because you were lucky enough that the auspicious sign of green smoke rising from your Guo ancestral graves appeared.”
This ‘Zhou Tan’ was the young boss of the biggest firm for exchanging and transferring money in the capital, and he had methods for both legitimate and shady ways. He had taken a fancy to this house and had no doubts in his mind that he could handle this friendless and helpless youth whose family fortunes had declined, whether through the local authorities or through other methods.
Young man Guo Jin only shook his head, “Zhou Tan, kill me if you want, but I will never betray my ancestors or give up this house.”
“Betray your ancestors?” Zhou Tan laughed a rather meaningful laugh. “You think too much. You’re a youth who simply doesn’t know any better. How could you still have the face to mention your ancestors with your infamous father, that army deserter? If it was me, I would have left the capital long ago and found a remote backwater location to hide in.”
Deserter!
It was as if that word was like lightning, causing the youth Guo Jin’s body to slightly convulse all over. His originally somewhat restrained eyes shot out killing intent like that of wild beasts gone mad.
“Zhou Tan, just try saying what you said again!”
The hand clasping the blade’s hilt trembled lightly as Guo Jin’s eyes filmed over with red, as if ready to leap forward and fight to his death at any second.
His father was a taboo subject that could not be touched in Guo Jin’s heart!
“Huh. To speak of this matter or not, this reputation already exists in the capital. Even if you forbid me from saying it, can you stopper all the wagging mouths in the capital?” Zhou Tan obviously didn’t take much notice of Guo Jin’s ferocity.
However, he was here to scheme and seize the house, and didn’t wish to fight until one of them died.
“Bullshit, this is all bullshit! I’ve said that my father wasn’t an army deserter, he isn’t a deserter! I’ll fight whoever says he’s a deserter. Zhou Tan, just try saying that one more time!”