Chapter 50: That Will Cost Extra

That woman did not leave; she stayed at Iron Forest Keep.

Not that she entirely stayed, either.

She ate none of Iron Forest Keep’s food, slept in none of Iron Forest Keep’s rooms, and rarely even spoke a word.

Yet every morning, when Lin Chuan pushed open his door, he would invariably see her sitting atop the garrison’s perimeter wall.

The wall was two zhang high, with not a single foothold in sight.

Heaven knows how she managed to get up there.

She always wore that bamboo hat veiled in black gauze, sitting with her sword cradled in her arms, her expression obscured from view.

The soldiers were wary of her at first, but gradually, they grew accustomed to it.

"Commander, what on earth is this grandmistress up to?"

Wang Tiezhu shouldered his longspear and jutted his chin toward the wall.

Lin Chuan looked up and, sure enough, saw her sitting on the rampart, her face hidden behind the black gauze, motionless.

"Leave her be," Lin Chuan waved a hand. "At least she doesn’t eat our food."

Whenever the soldiers drilled, she watched from the wall.

When Hu Dayong practiced his saber, she gave a cold scoff;

When Er Gou missed the target with an arrow, she shook her head and sighed;

When Wang Tiezhu tripped over his own spear, she even let out a soft, mocking click of her tongue.

The soldiers were fit to burst with frustration, yet dared not say a word.

After all, this grandmistress was truly formidable in combat.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Lin Chuan tilted his head back and called out to her:

"Lady, why don't you come down and show us a move or two?"

The woman lowered her gaze, glanced at him, and said nothing.

"Won't you at least have a bite to eat, or drink some water?"

Lin Chuan continued, "Sitting up there all day without food or drink—what will you do if you faint from hunger and fall?"

The woman glanced at him again, remaining silent.

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Lin Chuan grew all the more determined.

"Lady, what is your name?"

Silence.

"Did Old Dog Zhang hire you to kill me?"

Silence.

"How much silver did he give you?"

The woman’s fingers twitched slightly, her knuckles tapping lightly against the scabbard.

Lin Chuan’s eyes lit up.

*There’s a chance!*

"If you decide not to kill me, what happens to that silver?"

The woman’s shoulders stiffened by an imperceptible margin.

Lin Chuan’s lips curved upward.

Unhurriedly, he fished a silver ingot from his tunic and weighed it in his hand.

The silver caught the morning light with an alluring sheen.

"How about..." he drew out the tone, "I give you silver, and you teach me a thing or two?"

The woman’s throat worked.

Suppressing a smile, Lin Chuan produced another ingot.

The two silver ingots clicked softly together in his palm, making a crisp sound.

The woman on the wall finally spoke:

"...That will cost extra."

"Deal!" Joy surged in Lin Chuan’s heart. "Name your price!"

The woman was slightly taken aback.

Clearly, she had not expected him to agree so readily.

Through her observations over the past few days, she had roughly figured out the strength of Iron Forest Keep:

The true fighting men in the stronghold numbered no more than twenty.

The rest were ordinary folk accompanied by their families, trying to eke out a living within the walls.

Yet it was precisely these commoners who, whenever they laid eyes on Lin Chuan, revealed a respect that came straight from the heart.

This baffled her completely.

In her past jianghu endeavors, officials and common people were always as irreconcilable as fire and water.

Border troops, in particular, had a notorious reputation for slaughtering without blinking.

Yet this commander before her eyes...

She raised her head.

It was lunchtime, and Xiaocui was serving meals.

The young maid had her sleeves rolled up, busily ladling porridge into the bowls of the commoners lined up for food.

An elderly lame man shook slightly as he handed over his bowl, spilling some of the contents, but instead of being angry, she scooped an extra half-ladle for him.

Unconsciously, the woman touched the hidden pocket at her waist.

Tucked inside was still the note given by Squire Zhang, claiming that Lin Chuan had forcibly seized a concubine.

Yet from what she had witnessed these past few days, this Xiaocui was plainly living more freely and contentedly than anyone else.

"F-Five... five hundred."

She held up five fingers toward Lin Chuan below.

"Five hundred liang?" Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow.

The girl certainly had some nerve asking for that much.

On second thought, however, considering she had single-handedly beaten back a group of soldiers, not to mention her skill in catching an arrow out of the air, five hundred liang wasn't actually exorbitant.

A blush crept up the woman’s face.

Asking for so much silver felt excessive even to her.

Yet the day she had received those five hundred-liang banknotes, she had sent men overnight to purchase grain and transport it back to her stronghold.

After all, Black Wind Stronghold raised nearly a hundred orphans, all waiting for rice to be put in the pot—how could she afford to soften her heart?

Now that the assassination had failed, she somehow had to make up for that silver...

And return it to Squire Zhang...

Second Uncle had said, doing business requires some sort of principle...

Damn it, she couldn't remember...

"Deal!" Lin Chuan suddenly broke into a grin. "Five hundred it is."

He had noticed her little habit of biting her lip just now.

Was this really a ruthless assassin haggling?

She looked more like a debtor afraid of getting scolded after buying on credit.

"But I have a condition!" he said, tilting his head back.

The woman looked at him alertly: "Speak."

"You have to actually teach me."

Lin Chuan pointed at her sword. "Internal energy arts, swordsmanship—I want to learn it all."

The figure atop the wall visibly stiffened.

The morning breeze ruffled her black veil, making her furrowed brows faintly visible.

In the ways of the jianghu, how could a sect’s ultimate arts be lightly passed on?

Yet the image of the children's eyes back at the stronghold flashed through her mind...

"You want to learn it all?"

"Mn, all of it."

"...That will cost extra!"

Those four words were practically squeezed out between her teeth.

Lin Chuan, however, was already nodding cheerfully:

"Another five hundred, and I learn both. How about that?"

One thousand liang of silver for peerless martial arts—it was a bargain!

*Another five hundred?*

A tremor ran through the woman’s heart.

She hadn't meant to ask for so much...

It was just habit, blurting out those three words...

Should she refuse...?

Internal struggle gripped her.

Five hundred liang... that was another five hundred liang...

Enough for the old folks and children in the stronghold to peacefully get through this winter.

"What? Think it's too little?"

Seeing her lingering silence, Lin Chuan asked.

"Ah, no, not at all, deal, five hundred, just five hundred..."

The woman nodded in frantic succession.

"Great! Advance payment first!"

Smiling, Lin Chuan fished out five banknotes and handed them over.

The woman shuddered, her face turning crimson. "I-I haven't even started teaching yet."

"This is called a retainer," Lin Chuan laughed. "From today on, you are my master."

"Who wants to be your master!"

The woman nearly jumped down from the wall. "I only agreed to teach you martial arts!"

"Then what should I call you? I don't even know your name yet..."

"My name is... Lu Chengyue!"

"Lu Chengyue... Well then, shall I call you Instructor Lu?"

"..."

"Master Lu?"

"..."

"Little Lu?"

"Lin Chuan!"

Lu Chengyue finally reached her breaking point, ripping off her bamboo hat in one motion.

Bathed in sunlight, her cheeks were flushed with anger.

With her almond eyes widened in exasperation, not a single trace of the cold-faced assassin remained.

Lin Chuan stared for a moment, then burst into laughter:

"All right, all right, Lady Lu. Calling you Lady Lu will do, won't it?"

He turned and strode toward the training grounds, waving a hand behind his back without looking back.

"Starting today, you'll live right next door to me. Your room is already prepared... Lessons begin tomorrow, and room and board are completely free! You'll eat the soldiers' rations!"

Upon hearing those words, Lu Chengyue perked up instantly.

Her stomach let out a thunderous growl.

...

Night fell. Inside the barracks.

After a grueling day of training, the soldiers finally lay down to rest.

In the darkness, someone spoke up first:

"Hey, did you guys see how much that grim reaper of a lady ate?"

"How could we not?" someone clicked their tongue. "Scary as hell!"

"She’s almost catching up to One-Eyed Dragon!"

"Bullshit!" One-Eyed Dragon retorted in a muffled voice from his corner. "I only ate nine sesame cakes, and she ate twelve! Plus two huge bowls of meat soup!"

A chorus of sharp gasps instantly echoed through the barracks.

"Good grief..." someone muttered under their breath, "Do you reckon the commander has taken a fancy to her?"

"Piss off!" Wang Tiezhu sat up with a swift, spring-like motion. "The commander appreciates talent!"

"That's right, that's right," Hu Dayong rolled over. "Besides, with Lady Lu's skills, if the commander dared harbor any crooked thoughts, he'd probably get beaten so badly even Yunniang wouldn't recognize him..."

Roars of laughter erupted among the men.

Meanwhile, in the single room right next to Lin Chuan's quarters.

Lu Chengyue stood silently by the brick bed, cradling her sword.

It wasn't that she didn't want to climb up and sleep. It was simply that—

She was entirely too full...