Volume Two: Bandits in This Place Chapter 118: Pay-to-Win and Grinding

"Since you are back, it is time to relieve Gongsun Shi'er." Xu Yong ignored Lin Changtian's muttering, hauled him up, and dragged him out of the house.

"Slow down! My skin may not be as delicate as Gongsun Shi'er's, but it's certainly not as rough as that of fellows like Kuisheng or Qi Yong. Gongsun Shi'er has people who cherish her, but if I get dragged and torn, there is no one to pity me," Lin Changtian said softly. Whether to tease Xu Yong or simply indulge his own nature, he put on a coy, bashful expression, feigning anger as if he were on the verge of calling the other man "dear brother."

Xu Yong shoved Lin Changtian’s arm away, wiped his hands disgustedly on Kuisheng’s armor, and sneered, "With such a flirtatious air, you ought to be the plaything of some noble Lord Longyang. It is a pity that the heavens are blind, allowing a wretch like you to be the master of a mountain."

"You jest, you jest. Your perspective is far too narrow, isn't it? My charm is not limited to being a plaything for noble lords... If this were the Central Plains of old, I might have managed to live off the generosity of others, enjoying myself thoroughly with those ladies who are so good at 'understanding' men's clothes." Lin Changtian spoke with great solemnity, his eyes drifting into a wistful gaze. In times of true hardship, he had indeed considered becoming a happy little gigolo.

Alas, fate was unkind. He had heard that "Little Black," who accompanied guests downstairs, had suffered a work-related injury when a client insisted on using a ball made of steel wire...

"Stop the idle chatter. The people coming to Sishan to issue challenges have been endless, and ever since word spread that it was a woman, the number of martial artists seeking trouble has only increased. Some have become abnormally excited; there is even a rotund, ball-shaped fellow who prepared a whip and asked Gongsun Shi'er to lash him to her heart's content..." Kuisheng waved a hand, trying to gloss over the details—he found it hard to comprehend such perverted filth.

Lin Changtian frowned. At this rate, this book would surely be banned. "I don't understand. When Ma Hui was revered as the foremost martial artist, why did no one bother him? Is it possible that these scoundrels are simply incorrigible and want to stir up trouble now?"

"That is not it at all. It is a tradition in the Northern Territory. Even before Ma Hui, people used to find Yu Baili at the border army to challenge him. Once you deal with the toughest ones, the rest scatter like birds and beasts. However, we haven't seen such a spectacle since the Awakening Era. Besides, Ma Hui... he learned some bad habits from the people of the Central Plains and came up with a way to drive away all those martial artists who thought too highly of themselves," Qi Yong remarked, smacking his lips as he recalled the unconventional record of that Northern hegemon over the years.

It looked glorious on the surface, but in reality... it was utterly shameless.

"What bad intentions could Ma Hui possibly have?" Lin Changtian blinked, pointing at the dozen carts of money and grain below the pass. "He even gave away so many of his possessions to our Sishan for free. If it were my old temperament... I would have had to kowtow to the old man at the very least."

"Some of those possessions were likely stripped from the martial artists themselves..." Qi Yong sighed, straightening his back and clasping his hands in front of his chest, seemingly adopting the posture of a "real man" to critique Ma Hui. "That scoundrel set a rule: anyone entering the tournament must pay an entrance fee. Those who care about their image can't get past that hurdle..."

The generals were intrigued. Seeing Qi Yong stop and deliberately build suspense, they began to curse him. The insults of rough men were quite colorful, and within moments, they had already greeted Qi Yong's ancestors thirteen generations back.

"Don't be impatient, don't be impatient. This entrance fee is tiered. The higher the tier, the earlier you get to fight in the tournament. Besides this benefit, you can enjoy 'buy three, get three' opportunities, and the most expensive tier even includes exclusive commentary! Think about it, everyone. If you are in the lowest tier and someone knocks you out in one move... who will even know your name? But if you spend a little money to upgrade to VIP 7 or VIP 8, a support group arranged by the house will shout your name the moment you appear, and everyone in the city will hear it! Even better... they will post your portrait in the top three of the leaderboard for the world to admire your heroic spirit."

"That must be very expensive, right?" Lin Changtian asked, stroking his chin, suddenly tempted to spend money.

Qi Yong waved his hand quickly and pointed to the north with a grin. "Ma Hui is clever! All of this doesn't cost much; you only need one '648'. You satisfy your desires, and he earns the silver. Why not? Although '648' is enough to buy a house in Anma City and spend days and nights living in luxury at the best brothels... but who can refuse a dazzling, peerless portrait?"

The crowd nodded in unison, praising the idea. One old general, who had been saving his coffin money, even resolved to have one last moment of madness in his twilight years.

Alas, men remain boys until the day they die!

However, there is always one guy who has to be different, even if his combat strength is high, he cannot shake that annoying habit.

Lin Changtian stepped forward, glanced at Qi Yong, and sneered, "I, Lin, have always been plain and simple. How could I covet such vanity? If I don't spend a single cent, what can he do about it?"

"This guy is a real 'Leopard Head'..." Kuisheng muttered. He exchanged a look with Chen Ziliang, and they shared a mutual sense of disdain.

No wonder they both share the surname Lin...

Qi Yong paced back and forth, shaking his head and sighing. He couldn't exactly mock his own commander for being "frugal."

***

"Commander, you only know one side of it, not the other. From the moment they enter the city, countless merchants eye the 'martial artists' like a piece of fat meat. They are mostly vain people; once someone shouts in the marketplace and their accomplices join in, they will pay for even the most expensive items through gritted teeth. Even if there are those as stingy as you... they still have to eat, right? They have to find a place to stay, right? There are plenty of places that gouge customers. If you dare to cause trouble, the bailiffs of Anma City are just waiting to arrest you! Throw you into a mine or somewhere similar, and they gain a bit of labor out of it."

"Ma Hui is such a person!" Lin Changtian’s face darkened. He grabbed Qi Yong by the collar and cried out righteously, "Is there no law? Is there no justice?"

Qi Yong struggled to break free, gasping, "Commander, this has nothing to do with me..."

"You should have told us about this method sooner!" Lin Changtian was furious, glaring at Qi Yong so fiercely that the rest of his words died in his throat.

Qi Yong: ???

But Lin Changtian was actually excited. He rubbed his hands together, tossed Qi Yong aside, and hooked his arm around Xu Yong’s shoulder. "You and I need to plan this carefully."

"Changtian, you know me. I do not participate in anything involving shameless or vile behavior!" The man said righteously, subtly moving away from Lin Changtian’s grasp.

Lin Changtian looked at Kuisheng, his eyes dancing with a smile, sending "secret signals" in the hope that Kuisheng would understand his intent.

"Changtian, you know me. It is not that I cannot do it, but I recently suffered a severe head injury, and the epidermal tissue is completely damaged. If I go, it will be undignified." Kuisheng lived up to expectations, refusing the proposal immediately.

He even gave a reason that sounded solemn but was actually irrelevant, yet somehow made people care... After all, who could refuse a cool, bald head that was starting to grow hair?

Lin Changtian turned his gaze to Chen Ziliang, his expression earnest. Knowing that this man was susceptible to emotional appeals rather than force, he lowered his body and, before he knew it, knelt down.

"You... I am also a solitary man. I didn't bring any gifts when I set out. My dear 'big son,' please don't take offense." Chen Ziliang cupped his fists, looking truly guilty.

Lin Changtian curled his lip and sneered, "Look at your face; could you be my..."

"I will help you with this."

"My dear foster father!" Lin Changtian lifted his knees back up, dismissed the others in the room, and hugged Chen Ziliang’s leg, lowering his voice. "There are many people coming this time. We must not only use Ma Hui’s methods but exceed them, and keep them in Sishan forever!"

Chen Ziliang pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "Changtian, don't worry. Carrots and sticks. At the very least, I will keep an eye on them. As long as these martial artists dare to commit the slightest mistake in Sishan... I will fan the flames and turn a small incident into a major one."

The sky was growing dark. Someone had left a candle burning in the room, casting light on Chen Ziliang’s face, making the black and yellow tones distinct.

Lin Changtian smacked his lips. He felt the atmosphere was a bit off and sighed repeatedly, "These things should be understood without being said. To speak of them so openly makes us look like a pair of adulterers discussing how to feed medicine to 'Big Brother.' Hmm, come to think of it, if there were really a 'Jinlian-style' figure who threw herself at us... what would it matter if we added another bowl of medicine?"

Chen Ziliang was bewildered. "What did I say wrong? I don't see the problem. Aren't we just discussing tricks to swindle people?"

"I understand the logic, and the words were correct, but the vibe is too evil. Ziliang, look at yourself; you’ve even turned me into a villain. You should reflect more in front of Lin Xiaoxi and ask yourself if you were born with a few screws loose."

***

"Hmm, shouldn't I ask my father and mother that? Besides, isn't the only one in Sishan who has disgraced the family name you? Such... modesty. Changtian, you are so ruthless you even insult yourself..."

The light in the room was dim. The two of them whispered for a long time about the details of how to swindle—er, help—the martial artists "reform" in Sishan. Lin Changtian gave earnest instructions; he was very serious about doing bad things, laying out several schemes that were seamless and airtight, all of which Chen Ziliang noted down.

...

Some time later, a gate was erected at the foot of Sishan, inscribed with: "Heroes from all directions, gather in this state."

Even below the Weinan Pass, a new house was built with the same plaque. Martial artists lining up to register had to report there and undergo screening before they could proceed to Sishan.

At first, some refused to comply, until Xu Yong froze a troublemaker into an ice sculpture, after which the atmosphere in the area improved significantly.

Not to mention those looking for trouble, even minor "quality" issues like loud noise, cutting in line, or cursing became rare.

Because the Master of Sishan had set a rule: loud shouting was considered noise pollution, and the fine was calculated by the second...

After passing Weinan, one could experience the carefully prepared packages of Sishan.

To ensure that the martial artists' tournament journey had more fun, Sishan specifically launched the "First Charge is Six" plan. As the name suggests, for a small fee, one could have a mock battle with the big shots of Sishan.

From Lin Changtian, Gongsun Shi'er, and Chen Ziliang... all the way to Xu Yong, the prices varied.

Sishan had always been humane, constantly thinking of the martial artists of the Northern Territory. Considering they had traveled thousands of miles, if they lost their first battle, wouldn't that be a loss of face? Therefore, a lucky draw event was set up at the foot of the mountain: one free entry to start, buy ten get ten, until a resurrection opportunity was drawn!

Even better, if one’s luck was truly explosive, one could land a direct pass to the final round...

Of course, if some martial artists were short of money, it didn't matter.

Sishan added a contribution system. As long as you did work for us, the more benefit you provided, the more opportunities you could exchange for lucky draws.

However, the tasks were a bit exhausting, and perhaps not very friendly to the liver...

"What are you waiting for? The next foremost martial artist might be you tomorrow!" — A "heartfelt" quote from Lin Changtian, Master of Sishan.