Chapter 49

Over the next two days, Zhao Jin did not get to fight, as his internal injuries were more serious than he had imagined. According to Zhao Zhenxing, it was fortunate that Zhao Jin had someone knowledgeable by his side; otherwise, the injury, if not treated in time, would have turned into a chronic condition.

Wang Zhaojing was also seriously injured, but the Wang family had more comprehensive treatment methods, and Wang Zhaojing recovered quickly.

During these two days, Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing chatted, and the young men who often made it to the top eight or sixteen, like Chen Sheng, would gather around during breaks. Zhao Jin did not want to talk about lofty aspirations, and Wang Zhaojing's refined speech was tiring to listen to, so he started telling stories to the young men. The stories were intricately detailed and incredibly engaging, quickly capturing the attention of the young men. These stories transcended their time, with their powerful impact, mythological elements, and chivalrous spirit, making them thrilling and hard to stop listening to.

As a result, some of the young men deliberately lost their matches, fearing they would miss the stories. This made Zhao Jin hesitant to tell long stories and more attentive to the martial arts competitions, not wanting his stories to interfere.

On November 13th, Zhao Jin woke up early to run and stretch his legs, and he found that his leg injuries had completely healed. Before breakfast, he remembered something and ran back to his side room to take out 200 new coins from the kang cabinet and put them in his pocket.

When he arrived at the training ground, he saw a package of sliced braised pig heart wrapped in oil paper. Zhao Zhenxing smiled and said, "This was sent by Li Miejian, the bamboo craftsman. He said that after you made that set of bamboo armor for him, his business has been non-stop, with wealthy families buying it and paying well. He has earned a lot, and this year will be much better. He wanted to thank you for finding him business and teaching him how to make the armor."

"Let's all eat together at lunchtime, Uncle," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Zhao Zhenxing, leaning on a long pole, looked at his understanding nephew and asked, "If your bamboo armor is soaked in oil, its ability to defend against weapons can be greatly enhanced. If you embed wooden boards and iron plates, it can even withstand arrows. Such armor is much better than the crudely made cotton armor. Don't you want to keep this method secret?"

"This is not a good method; it can't stop spears or firearms. Iron armor is still the best," Zhao Jin replied casually.

Zhao Zhenxing fell silent, looking at Zhao Jin for a moment before a smile returned to his face. He nodded and said, "Xiao Jin, you have big ambitions."

Zhao Jin laughed dryly, cursing himself for not controlling his words. The longer he stayed, the more his mindset became like a child's, as if he was being assimilated by the environment. He reminded himself to be cautious and think before speaking.

However, Zhao Zhenxing did not press further. After the morning training, the two of them took the package of cooked food home for lunch.

When Chen Sheng came to find Zhao Jin, the monkeys in the courtyard started screeching, frightened by Chen Sheng's impressive bamboo armor. Zhao Jin's armor looked good, but compared to Chen Sheng's, it was much rougher. Even Zhao Zhentang and Zhao Zhenxing stood up to take a closer look. Chen Sheng's bamboo armor was modeled after the mountain pattern armor, with heart mirrors and beast patterns on several parts, and it was coated with tung oil, making it look like iron armor from a distance.

Coincidentally, as they walked down the street, they saw the two monks they had encountered a few days ago. Besides Runing and Runan, there was a sedan chair parked outside, and an old woman stood beside it.

From a distance, they could hear the sounds of crying and beating. Four strong men in earth-brown monk robes dragged a little girl out of a shop, followed by the shopkeeper's family, who were wailing and crying. As they got closer, they were beaten by the monks.

After shoving the little girl into the sedan chair, the monks lifted it and Runing said fiercely, "Why are you crying? Sending your daughter to practice is a blessing for your family. The Buddha has shown mercy, and you only need to repay the silver by March next year."

"But we still have to repay the silver? Isn't it enough to pay with a person?"

"Do you understand leniency? We are giving you four months, which is a great kindness. Do you understand?" Runan's voice suddenly rose.

The shopkeeper staggered and fell to the ground, and his family immediately surrounded him, wailing and crying.

This time, there was no one on the street watching, only Zhao Jin and his group. They could hear the shouting and crying clearly. Runing and Runan glanced at them but, seeing they were just children, ignored them and walked away.

In broad daylight, the forced abduction of a civilian girl was a shocking sight. Zhao Jin felt deeply moved, and he could see that the little girl was not much older than Mu Shulan.

"You can't do anything about it. When I asked my father, he said even the Prefectural Magistrate dares not interfere with Yunshan Temple, and we can't fight them either," Chen Sheng whispered.

Chen Sheng thought Zhao Jin wanted to act heroically and quickly tried to dissuade him. Zhao Jin felt embarrassed, realizing he was seen as a hero by his friends.

Of course, he couldn't do anything. Six strong monk warriors were too much for the two of them, and the power of Yunshan Temple, as mentioned by Chen Sheng, was even more alarming. If the Prefectural Magistrate dared not interfere, and they were rampant in Xuzhou, this was the power of a major landowner. Even if Zhao Jin dared to act, it would bring trouble to his family. He wouldn't act on a sudden surge of passion.

Moreover, Zhao Jin noticed something else. He whispered to Chen Sheng, "Don't feel sorry for that family. Look, the shopkeeper had the idea of using his daughter to pay off the debt."

Chen Sheng's eyes widened, and Zhao Jin gestured for him to keep walking. After leaving the street, he continued, "The shopkeeper's family wailed and cried but did not try to stop the abduction. This was for the neighbors to see. They only collapsed when they realized the debt could not be paid off. So, they may not be as pitiful as they seem. The truly pitiful one is the girl."

"How did you figure that out? I didn't notice at all," Chen Sheng said, his mouth wide open in surprise.

"You would see it if you looked closely," Zhao Jin explained with a smile. He had worked his way up from the bottom to a mid-level position and had worked in external departments, so he had to be good at observing details.

But Chen Sheng did not accept this explanation, clearly seeing Zhao Jin as a genius. He kept pestering Zhao Jin to teach him.

When they arrived at the training ground, Zhao Jin was surprised to see a dozen young men wearing bamboo armor, even Wang Zhaojing had a set. It seemed that even the young men who loved martial arts could not resist the trend.

Chen Sheng thought his armor was the best, but when he saw Sun Dalei's, he was not happy. Sun Dalei's armor was in the style of the Ming Guang armor, with leather and cloth accents, and a large red lion pattern on the chest, making it look very impressive.

Zhao Jin knew so much about armor styles partly because of Zhao Zhenxing's teachings. He knew that the armor of Ming army officers had certain standards, but the official-issued armor was often of poor quality, so those who could afford it would buy their own, resulting in a wide variety.

"Wearing this for hand-to-hand combat is a hindrance. It's only useful for weapon sparring," Zhao Jin reminded them. The dozen or so young men wearing armor all raised their wooden sticks of various lengths.

Those who could afford this armor were from wealthy families, and it seemed they still saw this as a form of entertainment, with the appearance of the armor being more important than the training.

When Sun Dalei raised his weapon, everyone was a bit stunned. It looked like a large hammer, a six-foot-long wooden pole with a hammer head made of leather and thick cloth, paired with Sun Dalei's large and robust figure, making him look truly formidable.

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