I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 20 Sand Boat Gang

It's getting late.

Wu Ming did not continue to hone his skills.

He walked to a corner of the martial arts academy, where several large water vats were placed for the martial artists to drink while practicing. Wu Ming first gulped down a large amount of water to quench his thirst, and then left the academy to return the spear in his hand.

When returning the ox tendon spear, Wu Ming wondered whether he should buy it, but after some thought, he gave up. After all, the weapons provided by the Seven Martial Alliance were all rough drafts, only for training purposes. If he wanted to actually use them, he would need to send them to the blacksmith shop to be polished, which would be very troublesome.

Moreover,

With the martial arts token, he could rent it for free, so there was no need to buy it. After all, the training process would wear down these rough pieces. He could have waited until his spear skills were good enough before considering buying a suitable spear.

After leaving the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance, Wu Ming arrived at the main entrance of the outer hall, the place where he was to meet Wu Qu. However, Wu Qu was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if Wu Qu had arrived too early or if he was held up by something.

Wu Ming wasn't in a hurry, so he waited there.

After a while.

Instead of Wu Qu, a man dressed in coarse linen clothes greeted him.

"May I ask if you are Brother Wu Ming?"

The man approached, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wu Ming, and said, "I am Zhao Si, from the Sand Boat Gang..."

Zhao Si looked much older than Wu Ming, but he addressed Wu Ming respectfully as "Brother Wu." After a few words, Wu Ming understood Zhao Liang's purpose: to recruit him into the Sand Boat Gang. He was willing to pay him seven taels of silver every month and wouldn't need him to do anything on a daily basis. He would only need to come and help keep order at crucial moments.

The sandboat gang was engaged in the fishing business, and a section of the river near Jingye City belonged to them.

Upon hearing Zhao Si's words, Wu Ming felt a bit puzzled. This was his first time in the city, so how could the Sand Boat Gang have found him so easily? But after a moment's thought, he immediately understood.

When he joined the Seven Martial Alliance, he went through a series of processes, including aptitude testing and registration. There were many servants of the Seven Martial Alliance present at the time. It was mostly these servants who leaked the news about the new martial artists who joined the Seven Martial Alliance. They might be able to earn some money from this, which can be considered a way of survival.

Seven taels of silver a month, and you don't need to do anything special.

Is this how Blood Clotting Warriors are treated?
Even if his father, Wu Qi, worked hard all year, he couldn't earn more than thirty taels of silver. A large portion of that money had to be used to pay various taxes for his family. This clearly shows the disparity between them.

but,

Although Wu Ming was tempted by the money, he was completely clueless about the job and didn't understand the specifics. Naturally, he wouldn't agree to it easily. Just as he was thinking about how to deal with it, a familiar voice suddenly came.

"Who are you, and what do you do?"

Turning his head, he saw Wu Qu carrying a bundle on his back, walking towards him, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Zhao Si beside him.

Zhao Si was not a Blood Condensation Warrior. When Wu Qu glared at him with a sharp look, his heart clenched involuntarily. He quickly smiled and said, "I am from the Sand Boat Gang. I would like to ask Brother Wu Ming to keep order for me."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qu's sharp gaze softened somewhat, and he waved his hand, saying, "Wu Ming has already joined the Seven Martial Alliance. If there are any issues, discuss them through the alliance's channels. Don't try to negotiate in private!"

"Yes Yes."

Zhao Si gave an awkward smile and quickly took his leave.

Wu Qu stared at Zhao Si until he left, then turned his gaze to Wu Ming. His expression softened as he said, "You've become a martial artist and joined the Seven Martial Alliance. News of this will spread quickly, and I reckon quite a few forces will come looking for you in private."

"They came looking for us without going through the Seven Martial Alliance?" Wu Ming asked curiously.

Wu Qu shook his head and said, "The Seven Martial Alliance doesn't prohibit taking on jobs privately, but you should know that anyone who contacts you privately generally doesn't have a good relationship with the Seven Martial Alliance. If you take their jobs and something happens, the Seven Martial Alliance won't care. Even if they forcibly withhold your money, you won't be able to find anyone to reason with."

"But it's different if you take on jobs from the Seven Martial Alliance. You get paid from the Seven Martial Alliance, and you can actually get every penny. Plus, jobs that get approved by the Seven Martial Alliance are generally fine."

Upon hearing Wu Qu's words, Wu Ming immediately understood.

"I see."

Finding work for him privately might avoid the Seven Martial Alliance's cut, but there's no telling what's going on. If something goes wrong outside the agreement, there's no recourse. On the other hand, work done within the Seven Martial Alliance is vetted by them, making it much safer. Even if something goes wrong outside the agreement, the Seven Martial Alliance won't ignore it. Both sides are protected by the Seven Martial Alliance.

After all, this falls within the business scope of the Seven Martial Alliance.

"In short, it's best for you to avoid taking any shady jobs or illegal work."

Wu Qu said briefly.

In fact, there are quite a few people who take on illegal jobs in private, and some of these jobs pay very well. However, these jobs are not guaranteed at all, and no one knows what traps are hidden inside. It all depends on one's own judgment. He had taken on illegal jobs a few times in the past, and once he had an accident and almost lost his life. Since then, he has been extremely cautious.

Wu Ming has just entered the world of blood coagulation and is only now beginning to understand the intricacies of various shady dealings. It is undoubtedly difficult for him to discern the complexities within them. Since it is so difficult to discern, the best approach is to simply refuse to take on any of these jobs and avoid them altogether.

"Ah."

After hearing Wu Qu's advice, Wu Ming nodded in agreement.

"Let's go, it's getting late, we should head back. You'll have to come to the city by yourself tomorrow."

Looking at Wu Ming, Wu Qu's brows relaxed, and he said, "You've just joined the Seven Martial Alliance, so you should focus on practicing your skills first. Don't worry about taking on jobs. Once you've mastered the basics, find a job like night guarding. That way you'll have a place to stay, avoid traveling back and forth, and it won't interfere with your training."

Wu Qu's suggestion was exactly what Wu Ming wanted to hear. He also felt that such a job would be very suitable. However, such jobs were not something that could be taken just because one wanted to. He could only take his time to see what was available. In any case, he still had enough money on him and was not in a hurry.

Right now, practicing shooting is still the most important thing for him.

Among martial artists, the treatment they receive varies greatly depending on their strength. For example, those who have just entered the Blood Coagulation stage, have not yet learned to exert force, and have not even stepped into the 'Freehand' stage, are considered to be in the lowest tier. In fact, Wu Ming had previously noticed that most of the recruitment notices posted in the Seven Martial Alliance clearly stated that at least the 'Freehand' level of Blood Coagulation martial artists was required.

Clearly, he hasn't reached the level of freehand fighting, and he's not well-regarded outside of the martial arts world.

Thinking about it this way, there might be something strange about the Sand Ship Gang's decision to secretly invite a young martial artist who had just entered the Blood Condensation stage to take charge of the gang. However, even without Wu Qu's reminder, he wouldn't have agreed so easily given his cautious nature.

……

at the same time.

Somewhere in the corner.

Zhao Si stood there nervously, head down, as if he didn't dare to breathe.

"...Didn't you agree?"

A figure wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat shook his head slightly and said in a calm tone, "It's alright, we can just change to another one."

(End of this chapter)