Chapter 52: Chapter 36: Survival and Rules
Translator: 549690339
“Hmm, I just heard about it from two merchants at the tea stall in the market.” Lu Yuan casually responded.
Could he say that he heard the news about the Black Wind Gang in Mei County, South Sea Prefecture?
Of course not, that would expose him.
So for now, he could only bluff his way through the conversation.
Fortunately, Doctor Zhou didn’t seem to mind too much, only lamenting, “We common people are already struggling to make ends meet. Now with these bandits running rampant and adding to our misery, life is really difficult.”
Lu Yuan glanced at him and unmasked the truth, “You’re a doctor, and now with the bandits causing trouble, the government and local gangs will inevitably take action. There will definitely be fights, and fights will inevitably lead to injuries.
When people get injured, won’t they come to you for treatment?
And I’ve heard that this Black Wind Gang is a gang of horse thieves with hundreds of members.
It won’t be easy to suppress them.
Who knows, this suppression might even drag on for months.
So someone like me, a lowly commoner, might indeed have a hard time making a living because of this banditry. But you, a doctor who saves lives, will definitely have an unending stream of business and make plenty of money.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ze’s eyes grew wide with anger, “I am a doctor, and my purpose in practicing medicine is to save lives. If I could, I would rather not accept these patients or make money from them. I only wish for peace and prosperity for the world.”
As a compassionate and ambitious doctor, Zhou Ze felt belittled by others.
Was he the kind of person who would disregard human life in order to make money?
Of course not.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have persistently persuaded Lu Yuan earlier.
Although it turned out in the end that persuasion was of no use and even mistaken, it didn’t negate Zhou Ze’s good intentions.
“Alright, alright.”
Lu Yuan quickly surrendered, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I misunderstood you. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Seeing that his supplier was upset, Lu Yuan immediately stopped talking. He was still counting on Doctor Zhou to provide herbs in the future, so he couldn’t afford to offend him.
Zhou Ze snorted lightly, “I think you’re the one who seems to be more excited about this banditry. Just because you’ve learned a bit of martial arts, you want to play the hero and kill bandits?”
“Of course not.” Lu Yuan waved his hand, “I’ve only just started to make some progress in my training, and my life has improved a little because of it. I haven’t enjoyed enough of the good days yet.
Let those people of the Jianghu deal with the killing and chaos.
I’m not one of them, I’m just an ordinary hunter who wants to live a peaceful life, make money, practice martial arts, and accumulate wealth so that I can enjoy life to the fullest.”
He was just joking.
The banditry in Luling didn’t affect any of his interests.
So what if trade routes were blocked?
He wasn’t doing business and had no goods to transport, so there was no loss.
He didn’t care if the Black Wind Gang was committing murder and arson. As long as it didn’t affect him, only those who were full would think of risking their lives against such desperate criminals.
Lu Yuan wasn’t a great saint, and he didn’t have much chivalrous spirit in his heart. He had never thought about saving the world.
All he ever wanted was to practice martial arts for self-defense and happily live out his endless days.
Zhou Ze looked at Lu Yuan approvingly, “Although your way of thinking lacks ambition, it is indeed a good way to ensure longevity.”
Doctor Zhou had seen many chivalrous young heroes who stood up for justice when needed, but with very few exceptions, these people did not last long in the Jianghu, and most of them lost their lives after a short time.
The ones who really survived in the Jianghu were those who knew how to keep a low profile.
“What’s the use of ambition? Can it be eaten?” Lu Yuan retorted.
As an immortal, what he needed wasn’t ambition, but goals and ideals.
The ambition that motivated others to strive harder was useless to him.
Because with the passage of time, all achievements would slowly accumulate.
For example, while others encouraged themselves to master an unparalleled sword technique within a year,
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, could practice just one move a year and still master an unparalleled sword technique after hundreds or thousands of years, and even excel at it.
So ambition and aspiration held no meaning for him.
“Oh, right.’
Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled out three large silver ingots, each weighing ten taels, from his pocket and placed them on the table, “Please prepare six months’ worth of medicine for me this time. Since there are bandits outside, I’ll buy more medicinal materials for safety reasons, so I won’t have to come every month.”
He was reminded of the Black Wind Gang’s ruthlessness.
This gang of thieves was notorious for their brutal methods, killing countless people. They had already slaughtered more than a dozen wealthy households in Mei County, and now that they were in Luling, who knew how many local tyrants in the countryside had been wiped out.
Even Lu Yuan couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of their actions.
Though there was no news of the Black Wind Gang in Dayu County, Lu Yuan decided to minimize his outings just in case and planned to stay at home to avoid any trouble.
“However, Yangmei Town only has a dozen or so militia members for defense, and even I could easily defeat them. If the Black Wind Gang really comes, it won’t be safe either.
Actually, the best option would be to hide back in the cave in the mountain. The vastness of the mountains and seas, once I dive into the woods, no one can find me.
Forget it.
The situation hasn’t reached that point yet; let’s wait and see what happens.
If things really go south, it won’t be too late to run then.”
Lu Yuan thought to himself.
While he was thinking, Zhou Ze had already prepared the medicinal herbs he needed for his martial arts practice. Half a year’s worth of herbs, plus the additional ones for the Seven-step fragrance, was a huge amount.
Seeing that Lu Yuan didn’t bring his own carrying basket this time, Zhou Ze found one for him in his own home to carry the herbs.
However, it wasn’t for free. It cost 50 cents.
For the already-wealthy Lu Yuan, naturally, he paid willingly.
And so, carrying a large basket on his back, he left the medical clinic.
He had acquired all the medicines he wanted.
After hearing the news about the Black Wind Gang, Lu Yuan no longer wanted to stay in the city and planned to return quickly.
Walking down the street, he suddenly saw a large crowd gathered at an intersection up ahead.
Curious, he approached.
Before he even got close to the crowd, he heard mournful cries and wails of pain.
When he got there, Lu Yuan saw several strong men beating an old man in the center of the crowd, and it was Scarface’s group.
“Please stop hitting him, I beg you, don’t beat my father anymore.”
On the side, a shabbily dressed young man was being restrained by two strong members of the Black Wolf Gang, desperately sobbing, “We know we were wrong, we really don’t want to refuse to pay, but we have no money on hand now.
Once we sell the hides and have the money, we’ll pay immediately, we’ll pay double.
I beg you, please stop hitting my father.”
However, no matter how much he pleaded, the Black Wolf Gang members did not stop. Instead, seeing his desperate state, they showed sadistic smiles and hit even harder.
Under their beating, Old Chen was rolling and writhing on the ground, wailing constantly, with blood splattering all over the ground. The old hunter’s struggles gradually weakened.
But no one cared about any of this.
The bystanders outside even seemed excited, cheering quietly, as if watching a great show.
Some kind-hearted people showed sympathy but didn’t dare speak up. Even when some Black Wolf Gang members looked at them, they were frightened and lowered their heads.
This was exactly what they wanted.
To see these commoners desperately begging for mercy and then the look of despair on their faces.
Having been bullied by these commoners today, the Black Wolf Gang wanted to vent their anger.
Scarface stood by, not saying anything, but the excitement in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.
In the crowd, watching all this, Lu Yuan’s brows furrowed: “Old Chen and Little
Chen?”
He recognized the father and son who were being beaten. They, like him, were hunters from Dayu Mountain.
However, they didn’t have much interaction on a daily basis, and only knew each other’s faces, and didn’t have a close relationship.
‘Are these mad dogs biting others since they can’t bite me?’
That’s what Lu Yuan thought as he took one last look at the scene before turning to leave.
He had no intention of stepping in to help.
Although Old Chen and his son might be the ones paying for his actions.
But like he said before, they aren’t close.
Moreover, Lu Yuan was relying not only on his strength but also the “rules” of Jianghu.
He had driven off Scarface and his group based on the rules of Jianghu.
Now, Scarface and his group were beating Old Chen according to the same rules.
And for that reason, Lu Yuan would never dare to go against those rules until his strength could break them all.
Because that meant danger.
As a pursuer of longevity, danger is what he feared most.
As for Old Chen and his son?
Lu Yuan could only mentally mourn them and then put the matter out of his mind.
Two strangers died and he had spared them two moments of mourning; that was already good enough, what more do you want?
Alright, he indeed has a cold-blooded nature.
But perhaps it’s because of this that he might live a long life..