Lee Kee Bookstore of Donglin Town.
The unimpressive little bookshop, located in the deep corner of a busy street, was quite remote, so its business inevitably languished.
The shop owner surnamed Li, an old man in his twilight years, was drowsy behind the counter, with hands supporting his forehead.
There was only one young boy picking books from the shelves in the bookshop, and the atmosphere was quiet.
At the age of thirteen to fourteen, the boy who exhibited a thin and tall figure was handsome and warm, wearing gray clothes made of coarse homespun, which looked clean and neat.
The boy was Lin Xun.
After picking out four books, Lin approached the counter and whispered, "Elder Uncle."
The old man woke up and smiled, "Well, let me see. Imperial Geographic, Imperial History Official, Cultivation Basics and Spiritual Tattoo Atlas..."
He looked up, amazed, and said, "Nowadays young people are seldom interested in such knowledge. It is rare that you are so fond of reading."
Smiling, Lin Xun asked, "Elder Uncle, how much are the four books?"
The old man said casually, "Twenty imperial copper coins if you want."
Lin Xun hurried out of the bookstore with the paid books.
The night outside was as black as ink, and rows upon rows of buildings in the distance were lit up, brilliant as falling stars.
In the night breeze, Lin trotted along the street, and soon he veered into a shop called "Tiger Pulp". He spent five imperial copper coins on a large cup of sweet and sour "Ruta Pulp", a specialty drink of the shop.
The drink, made with several spiritual materials such as the leaves of poria cocos, wistaria and ruta fruits, as well as some spiritual vegetables, was not only delicious, but also pure, extremely suitable for practitioners to drink.
Taking the purchased books and pulp in his arms, Lin Xun passed through the crisscross alleys without pause, and soon came upon a bustling wide street.
The street was crowded with people, carriages and horses, and colorful lights were blazing in the buildings on both sides of the road.
Quite a few of the pedestrians were in finery, carriages shuttled, and from time to time practitioners on scaled-horses and horned deer galloped past.
Some vendors hawked frequently by their stalls, and the noises kept coming all around the busy street.
This was the most famous street in Donglin Town. The street was 800 zhang (over 8,700 feet) long, which was how it got the name "800 Avenue".
In the center of the street were multifarious stores, including the top business houses, restaurants, inns, elixir stores, and spiritual material shops of Donglin Town.
All the stores were well-known money-squandering dens in Donglin Town, supported by various forces, and almost all their guests were highly-paid practitioners, since ordinary people couldn't afford the services.
At the east end of the 800 Avenue, there was a famous school named "Donglin School", which was run by the imperial government. Every year, the school enrolled students to preach and teach knowledge. Once the students passed the examination, they only needed to pay a sum of tuition fee to start cultivation.
For all the people who were dedicated to cultivation in Donglin Town, it was a glory for them to get the chance to study in Donglin School.
Happening to pass "Donglin Town", Lin Xun couldn’t help but took a glance at the school which covered a very wide area. Buildings of different heights dotted the campus, which students went in and out from time to time.
Lin Xun stopped to look at the school quietly. A moment later he turned away.
At this moment, a group of well-dressed young girls in high spirit came in the opposite direction, appearing quite different from ordinary people.
"County Test is about to begin a month later. I have already reached the third level of the Martial Realm. It should be quite easy for me to pass the test."
"Ha ha ha, among us, who is not under the age of fifteen and who has not reached the third level of the Martial Realm? County Test is as easy as pie for us."
"That's right. County Test is nothing to worry about. What really worth considering is whether we should go straight to the Green-maple County to take the State Test in March of the following year after passing the County Test!"
"Don’t be so sure about that. This time, there are three thousand students of Donglin School about to take part in the County Test, while only one thousand students can be admitted. That is to say, two thousand people will be eliminated directly. So, don't take it lightly."
"Alas! That's also my concern."
These young girls chattered as they walked, focusing on the topic of "County Test".
Lin was about to pay more attention to what they said. Unfortunately, all the young girls had entered Donglin School. They were obviously students of the school.
Seeing this, Lin Xun had to give up.
"I didn't expect that there would be so many people taking part in the County Test and 2,000 people would be eliminated, which means that even if I pass the exam, I may not be admitted."
Lin Xun thought as he walked. The so-called admission was to obtain a certificate which showed that you had passed the County Test, and this certificate was one of the conditions for participating in the "State Test".
Soon the figure of Lin Xun disappeared in the "800 Avenue". After the duration of a burning joss stick, Lin walked into a run-down lane which was dark and desolate.
This was the "Civilian Area" of Donglin Town. Most of the people living here were the underprivileged. Compared with the prosperity of other places, the Civilian Area, where good and bad people mixed up, looked undoubtedly shabby.
The security here was also pretty bad. Every day thieves, rascals and villains fled hither and thither, creating chaos.
Lin Xun wouldn't have settled here if he had had another choice.
He made his way along a dark alley, as his feet were stained with muddy water. In the distance came the barking of wild dogs and meow of the wild cats now and then.
At the corner of the lane, a man with a protuberant mouth and thin cheeks suddenly rushed out, smiling and greeting Lin, "Hi, bro! Alone, ha?"
Crack!
As soon as the man lifted his hand, Lin Xun grabbed it. Concentrating the strength of his palm and fingers, Lin Xun broke the man's wrist directly.
A small blade, shining coldly, fell to the ground with a tinkling sound, as the man loosened his lifted palm.
The man felt the pain, and then passed out by one smack from Lin Xun before he could scream. His body was paralyzed and then fell down beside the road on which sewage was flowing.
All the actions were quick and simple, done in a flash.
Lin Xun seemed to have got used to this. He walked on with an easy look.
Not long after Lin's departure, two furtive figures appeared at the corner of the lane.
Gloating at the comatose man on the ground, the fatty guy gleefully asked, "How many guys were there before him?"
Counting on his fingers, the other guy said, "Since the young Childe settled here seven days ago, this is the nineteenth man he beats."
"Ha ha, the Peanut-head Zhang used to be a clever guy, but it's too ignorant of him to set this young Childe up today. Didn’t he know how Head Snake died?"
"He was as blind as a bat. Nowadays, in this area, who doesn't know that a ruthless young Childe with a fierce and deadly manner has lodged in the Courtyard 49, deep in the alley?"
"Alright, let's do it."
Upon that, the two guys leaned over and fumbled around on the man known as "Peanut-head Zhang". After collecting more than ten imperial copper coins, they left with a light heart.
……
Arriving at the Courtyard 49, Lin Xun pushed the door and entered.
Bang!
A punching in a horrifying momentum broke through the air and ran towards Lin, stirring up a blast wave with a dull thud.
"It's me." Lin Xun said helplessly, without moving a muscle.
Suddenly, the air returned to calm as the punching stopped. The small and slender figure of Shia Zhi emerged.
"I know it's you. Should it be someone else, he would be dead by now." Shia Zhi walked forward, naturally took the cup of "Ruta Pulp" from Lin Xun, and turned away.
Smiling, Lin Xun shrugged and went in the room.
In the middle of the courtyard which was not large, there was a large pagoda tree, with an umbrelllike canopy, lush and shady. On the other side were two rooms and a kitchen. After thorough cleaning, the place was quite neat and tidy.
In the room, a southern spiritual candle was lit, glowing brightly and giving off a faint scent which could soothe the nerves.
Lin Xun sat at the table, looking through the books he bought, while Shia Zhi sat quietly on a stool, sipping the "Ruta Pulp" in the cup.
Seven days ago, Lin Xun and Shia Zhi came to Donglin Town. However, they found that with the 300 imperial silver coins Lin had brought, they couldn't rent a nice place to live in the town; besides, it was not advisable to stay long at inns since living in an inn was not only expensive, but also compelling.
Lin Xun had to rent this courtyard located in the "Civilian Area". The rent was so cheap, only 30 imperial silver coins a year.
It was after seven days that Lin finally understood why the rent was so cheap. The place was too chaotic, quite a mixed bag, full of people of all sorts.
On the first day of their settlement, a man nicknamed "Head Snake" came with a gang of local ruffians to collect protection fee.
The next day, Lin Xun went out to buy daily necessities. When he returned home, he saw three dead bodies lying in the courtyard. They were three burglars, according to Shia Zhi.
On the third day, Lin Xun was stopped in the lane by a gang who had already been lying in wait to rob him.
On the fourth day, Lin Xun encountered a group of villains who were attempting to rob a woman. Lin immediately came forward to rescue the woman, but it turned out that the woman was in league with the mob.
On the fifth day...
All in all, Lin Xun, in the seven days, saw all kinds of robbers, rogues and villains coming like pie-dogs which had smelled the blood.
Of course, those people had incomparably miserable end, and quite a few of them even completely disappeared from the world, but Lin Xun was clear that if they had to deal with these criminals every day, it was hard to be sure that nothing would go wrong.
Most of all, there was a little girl by his side, and he didn't want her to grow up in this dirty and menacing environment.
The reason was very simple. Lin Xun was brought up in the dark environment of the mine prison. Since childhood, he had seen a lot of cruel, crafty, bloody and vicious tricks, as well as fiendish and bloodthirsty evildoers.
Compared with those evildoers, the hooligans living in the "Civilian Area" were pure as white pond lilies, and well-behaved like innocent children, without deterrent force.
Lin Xun knew that had Master Lu not been there, he, living in such environment since childhood, would have sunk into the darkness and become inhuman.
In light of this, Lin wouldn't allow Shia Zhi to live in this murky place.
However, removal required a huge sum of money, which was not yet available to Lin.
So what Lin cared about most right now was how to make money, rather than pass the County Test!