Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Bowing Down

Qing Shi Village had never been so lively.

The villagers were all crowded at the entrance of the village.

Some were gathered around the body of the wild bear, while others were chatting with Second Uncle, trying to get close to him.

“Erniu, you’re going to enjoy a good life from now on,” an old man said with emotion.

“A-Liang is so capable, he’ll surely become a master in the future,” another person said.

“That’s right, A-Liang is kind-hearted. If he becomes a master, our lives will be better…”

Chu Liang was upright and kind-hearted, which was recognized by the villagers.

Just based on his previous actions of sharing his prey with his relatives, his character was beyond reproach.

Everyone naturally hoped that he could also become a martial artist master.

Farming for him would definitely be easier than farming for Master Hu.

“A-Liang has been kind-hearted since he was a child,” Second Uncle said with a smile. “When he was little, my brother and I took him to the county town for the market. He saw many refugees outside the city gate who had fled from the drought in the north… He couldn’t bear it at the time, and shared half of the baked cake that my brother had bought for him…”

As he was speaking, Second Uncle suddenly noticed Steward Hu, who was smiling, in the crowd.

His heart skipped a beat.

Oh no!

Second Uncle was not a fool, and he instantly realized the problem.

He had been overjoyed and had overlooked the existence of Master Hu!

His joy vanished instantly, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, making Second Uncle shiver.

What should he do?

Second Uncle looked at Chu Liang in the crowd, feeling anxious, and could only pray that Master Hu would not suppress Chu Liang.

Chu Liang was talking to Chu Shan.

Chu Shan was excited and kept asking, “Brother Liang, how did you do it? Can you teach me? I want to be as strong as you! No, even half as strong as you would be fine.”

“Take it slow, there’s no rush. It was just killing a bear,”

Chu Liang looked relaxed and smiled gently.

His casual and calm demeanor was undoubtedly a sign of strength in the eyes of the people around him.

Many villagers wanted to talk to Chu Liang, but they were somewhat restrained by awe and couldn’t find a topic to start a conversation. Instead, it was the younger children who dared to squeeze in and talk to Chu Liang.

Thus, the liveliness at the village entrance was divided into two parts.

One part was around Second Uncle, mostly older people.

The other part was around Chu Liang, mostly young people and children.

Many of the older people sighed, saying that Qing Shi Village had not seen such a lively scene for many years.

Just then, an untimely voice suddenly rang out, “A-Liang, you’ve got some skills. I underestimated you before.”

The voice was a bit sharp and sounded somewhat grating.

The speaker was none other than Steward Hu with his mustache.

As soon as he spoke, the voices of the others quickly quieted down, and no one dared to speak anymore.

“Steward Hu,” Chu Liang looked at him and cupped his hands in greeting.

“A-Liang, you’re quite good!” Steward Hu narrowed his eyes. “I’m very happy that such an outstanding young man has come from our village. My master is also very pleased.”

Chu Liang listened quietly, his expression unchanged, waiting for what was to come.

He knew that Steward Hu had no good intentions, and speaking at this time was naturally not just to praise him.

As expected, Steward Hu changed the subject and said, “You have no use for this bear’s carcass. Why don’t you sell it to me? My master needs bear gall to make wine.”

With that, he took out a few copper coins and casually tossed them.

Clang!

The few copper coins bounced on the ground, rolled around a few times, and finally landed at Chu Liang’s feet.

Seeing this, everyone’s eyelids twitched.

At this moment, anyone who wasn’t completely foolish could realize the problem.

Master Hu was going to make a move against A-Liang!

This thought appeared in the minds of many villagers at the same time.

◈◈◈

They all looked at Chu Liang, some with sympathy, some with worry, and some with schadenfreude.

“A-Liang, what do you say? Will you sell it?” Steward Hu asked casually.

“It’s not enough,” Chu Liang replied calmly.

“Oh? Not enough money?”

Steward Hu smiled and immediately took out a few more copper coins, casually tossing them at Chu Liang’s feet, and said, “Is this enough now? Pick it up.”

“Still not enough,” Chu Liang said calmly.

Hearing this, Steward Hu’s smile instantly disappeared.

“Still not enough?!”

His face darkened, and he tossed out a few more copper coins, saying, “A-Liang, I’ll say this one last time. Is it enough now? This is something the master wants to buy, think carefully!”

He had tossed out more than ten copper coins in total.

This amount of money was indeed not enough, and far from it.

After all, if the carcass of this wild bear were sold in the county town, it could fetch at least ten taels of silver!

One tael of silver was worth one thousand copper coins, and in the black market, it could even be exchanged for one thousand two hundred or one thousand three hundred.

The ten or so copper coins that Steward Hu had tossed out were barely enough to buy a few strands of wild bear fur!

But…

As he said, this was something that Master Hu wanted to buy!

In the village, when did Master Hu ever need to pay the normal price for anything?

Whether it was the villagers’ fields or the land used to expand the Hu Family Mansion, it was all forcibly seized by Master Hu without spending a single penny!

Now, offering more than ten coins was indeed showing respect to Chu Liang.

What would Chu Liang do?

Everyone was waiting for his answer.

Doctor Wang was full of worry, thinking to himself, “A-Liang, sell it. Take a step back, bow down, and let Master Hu know your attitude.”

Second Uncle was anxious, his thoughts similar to Doctor Wang’s, “A-Liang, don’t offend Master Hu at this time!”

They all hoped that Chu Liang would bow down.

Just bow down, bend down, and pick up those insignificant ten or so copper coins from the ground!

Just bending down… In this world, the lives of ordinary people were as cheap as weeds. Who could guarantee that their spine would always be straight?

Bowing down might offer a chance to live.

If he didn’t, it would definitely be a dead end!

Nearby, Chu Shan clenched his fists, his heart filled with anger, his teeth almost shattering, both angry and worried.

“Brother Liang…”

In his heart, Chu Liang’s image was extremely tall. He didn’t want to see Chu Liang bow down, but he also didn’t want Chu Liang to be killed by Master Hu.

At this moment, his heart was extremely conflicted.

Zhao Hu was also conflicted.

He no longer wanted to compete with Chu Liang, as he knew he couldn’t win.

He just wanted to know, would Chu Liang bow down?

Zhao Hu asked himself… If it were him, he would definitely bow down, with the most humble attitude, begging Master Hu to spare his life.

“A-Liang, why aren’t you speaking?” Steward Hu spoke up. “Is the money enough?”

“Still not enough,”

Chu Liang replied, his voice calm.

These four simple words fell on the ears of those around them like a thunderclap, shocking them so much that their eyes widened.

They couldn’t believe that Chu Liang was unwilling to bow down?

That was Master Hu!

Second Uncle was extremely anxious, constantly gesturing to Chu Liang with his eyes, wishing he could answer for Chu Liang.

Hearing Chu Liang’s answer, Steward Hu laughed instead of getting angry.

“Hehe, A-Liang, you’ve got some guts! Good, very good!” His laughter was very cold, sending chills down the spines of those around him.

With that, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

The surrounding villagers quickly made way, creating a path for him.