Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 47: The Rebels

Liang Yun, after hearing this, thought about his current situation and couldn’t help but sigh.

"A while back, the Black Mountain Army, on Lord Xu Yuan’s orders, sent out a recruitment order to all the gangs in Black Mountain Prefecture. I thought it was an opportunity, but who knew—busting my ass for the Great Yuan still wasn’t enough. If you want a position, you gotta cough up 100 taels of silver!"

Everyone’s brows instantly shot up.

"You gotta pay to answer the recruitment? What the hell’s up with that?"

"It’s not all like that. That call-up had requirements. If you didn’t have connections or real skills, well, pony up the silver."

"A hundred taels? That’s freaking insane!"

Everyone shook their heads and sighed, asking what was so tempting about this recruitment—enough to make people dig up a hundred taels just for a spot.

"It’s all about the True Qi Heart Method, of course!"

"True Qi Heart Method?"

Before Liang Yun could answer, Lu Chang’sheng spoke up: "The True Qi Heart Method is the core of advanced Martial Arts—it’s one of the main things separating basic Martial Arts from high-level stuff. Training in martial arts will make you strong and fit, but an average Martial Artist is nothing compared to someone in the True Qi Realm!"

He wasn’t trying to one-up Liang Yun, but showing that his side had a leg to stand on.

Just proving that they weren’t clueless about everything over here.

It’s like negotiating a deal—even if you’re bluffing, you gotta throw out a few real-sounding lies. Makes the partnership more likely to work out.

This was something Lu Chang’sheng picked up while learning martial arts from Yu Hongtao.

Yu Hongtao had been at it for years. Maybe he never killed a pig himself, but he’d definitely seen one run. So it’s no surprise he knew all this.

Liang Yun nodded in agreement.

"This is the real wall blocking us from becoming Martial Artists! There are dozens of Martial Arts Halls in Black Mountain Prefecture, but fewer than ten have the True Qi Heart Method—and good luck getting them to actually teach it to you!"

"Faction pride—runs deep, and hard to shake!"

Everyone felt that in their hearts.

But, well, what was there to say?

If it was them with that kind of power, they’d do the same—even if you’re a genius, not worried about being passed by your peers, you still gotta look out for your kids.

No matter how unbeatable you are in this lifetime, when you’re dead, who can promise your descendants will be as strong?

And if they’re not, those Martial Artists you taught—think they’ll really care about you after you’ve passed? Not likely.

Might as well lock the doors and keep it in the family a little longer!

"Look—where there’s a spot, you work for the payoff. That’s just how people are! All we can do is grit our teeth and keep climbing!" Lu Chang’sheng said with a laugh.

That night, Liang Yun and Zhao Fan didn’t head home. Instead, they stayed for a late-night meal and an old-school candlelit chat with Lu Chang’sheng and the others.

At first, Zhao Hu and the rest could join in. But before long, only Lu Chang’sheng and Liang Yun were really talking—to each other nonstop.

What really had everyone rattled was, even sitting before Liang Yun—an old hand, smart as a whip, who’d been wheeling and dealing in Black Mountain Prefecture for years—Lu Chang’sheng didn’t show the slightest sign of nerves. Whatever came up, he seemed like he’d already thought it through.

As for Zhao Hu, Wang Heihou, and the rest, they didn’t say much. They already had plenty of faith in Lu Chang’sheng. But Zhao Fan over on the side was floored.

"Old Zhao, just drop it, will you? Chang’sheng isn’t even human! Let them talk shop—us brothers, let’s get some real work done!" Zhao Hu hauled over a jug of liquor, holding it up to Zhao Fan.

"We’re both Zhaos, right? Maybe we were one family in another life. Come on, let’s drink!"

In no time, the two of them were chatting like they’d known each other forever.

The rest piled in to join the fun, and soon the room reeked of booze.

Off in the corner, Lu Chang’sheng and Liang Yun just shared a smile.

And kept on chatting quietly.

In a blink, dawn was breaking across the sky.

Liang Yun got up, bowed slightly to Lu Chang’sheng, and said in a low voice, "You can trust us with the gang business. Just focus on your studies, Chang’sheng!"

"Then I’ll have to trouble you with this, Mr. Liang!"

The address stunned Liang Yun for a second, then he burst out laughing, woke a hungover Zhao Fan, and led the way out.

Lu Chang’sheng walked them to the door.

After they’d gone some distance, Zhao Fan—still a bit foggy—suddenly straightened his back, eyes sharp as ever.

"You really made up your mind?"

"I did."

"Six years... If he fails this time, we may never get another chance for the rest of our lives."

Zhao Fan’s voice was grave.

"Then let’s gamble one last time!" Liang Yun said, almost fiercely.

Meanwhile, over by the South Gate, two figures left the merchant caravan and stopped outside a traveler’s inn.

One tall and sturdy, the other short and frail-looking.

"We finally made it. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure!" The short one said, sighing, his eyes full of worldly wit.

The tall one rubbed his face, looking a little uncomfy. "So, what do we do next?"

"First, let’s stay a few days and scope things out. This is a long-term job—Xu Yuan isn’t easy to deal with. We’ll need to take it slow," whispered the short guy.

They went into the inn and got a bottom-rate room.

Inside, the tall man finally couldn’t stand it and started tugging at his face. In a moment, he tore off a piece of human skin, revealing a rugged face underneath.

If Lu Chang’sheng and Wang Heihou had been there, they’d instantly have recognized him—it was Black Tiger Mountain’s Third Boss, Li Long!

"Third Bro, you’re gonna blow your cover like that! You gotta get used to the human-skin mask, or someone’ll notice," the short man said, shaking his head.

Li Long muttered, annoyed, "It’s just this Xu Yuan guy. I could sneak into his place and shank him, no sweat!"

"Third Bro!" The short man looked like he could die of exasperation. "If it was that easy, would the Boss send me to run the show? If you keep thinking like that, just haul your ass back to Red Water County and quit screwing up my plan!"

Seeing he was pissed, Li Long quickly said, "Don’t be like that—otherwise big bro will have me shave my head to apologize!"

He pulled off his straw hat, revealing his head—one patch lopped off, scalp scarred. He’d carefully combed his remaining hair up to hide it as best he could.

Too bad the bald spot was so big, if he wasn’t careful, his hair would just fall away to the sides.

"I’m just saying—you look like this, why not just shave it all off?" the short guy’s eyelid twitched.

He was always the cool-headed mastermind—even if the sky fell, he wouldn’t so much as blink. People called him the Black Dragon Mountain Star of Wisdom. Ever since that battle at Red Water County, when Third Bro’s thick hair was sliced off with a chunk of scalp, he couldn’t look at it without feeling his own scalp tingle.

"Drop it, Second Bro! Losing some hair’s fine, but none at all? No way!" Li Long put his hat back on, looking emotional.

How come your closest brother never understands what your hair means to you?

It’s cold, man!

He didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he switched topics: "So, what’s the plan?"

"No rush, no rush. Let’s observe a bit fir—"

’Star of Wisdom’ Ruan Youzhi abruptly clammed up.

The bottom-rate room he’d rented happened to have a window with a clear view of the street, and right then, a gang of mean-looking Shaving Knife Gang members came swaggering down the road.

"Let’s join that gang tomorrow. Our cover’s thin—they can sniff us out if we go too high up too quick. This way, when we try for a bigger gang’s support later, no one will question us right away."

"Why not just go straight into a big gang?" Li Long asked.

With his True Qi Realm skills, showing a little strength, joining a big-time gang would be a piece of cake.

"Nah, can’t do that—it’s too flashy. Big gangs won’t trust some nobody with no background. They’d send us to do something dangerous, and we’d get stuck in endless grunt work."

"But this small gang’s different. The top guys are probably easy to win over. Then, we use them as a stepping stone and blend in with the bigger Black Mountain Prefecture gangs even faster!"

Ruan Youzhi’s eyes gleamed even brighter. That very day, he sent Li Long—in his human-skin mask—out to dig up information and figure out how to join the Shaving Knife Gang.