Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

"How much can the shopkeeper offer?" Lin Hai asked without further ado.

Manager Chen pondered for a moment, then held up three fingers.

"Three hundred silver dollars. That's the most I can offer. I'll need to find a skilled craftsman to repair this leather."

Three hundred silver dollars is a huge sum of money in Yangcheng, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for several years.

Lin Hai brought more than just one tiger skin today. He rolled up the tiger skin and placed it aside, then unwrapped another package.

First, there was a long row of spines, neatly arranged on the counter. Next was a tiger gallbladder that had been partially dried in the sun, followed by a whole, thick tiger penis.

Manager Chen was still examining the leather when he saw these things being taken out, and his eyes widened immediately.

"This...this is the entire spine of an adult male tiger?" He lifted the spine, held it under his nose and smelled it; the bones still exuded a strong scent of blood and qi.

"Yes." Lin Hai looked at him. "The shopkeeper is an expert and should know the prices of these things. And these tiger gall and tiger penis, whether used to make medicinal wine or medicine, are great tonics for martial arts practitioners. Strengthening bones and marrow relies on these good medicinal materials. Add all these things together, and give me a fair price."

Shopkeeper Chen rubbed his hands together and paced back and forth behind the counter. The fur market not only buys furs, but also materials from these precious wild animals, which are extremely sought-after hard currency. People from various martial arts schools often pay high prices to buy these materials to brew secret medicines.

He fiddled with the abacus a few times, then looked up at Lin Hai.

"Young man, let's be straightforward. This dragon bone is intact, and the tiger gall and tiger penis are top-quality. Including the hide, I'll give you a fixed price of six hundred and thirty silver dollars. You absolutely won't find another place in the entire city that can offer this price."

Lin Hai considered it in his mind and realized that the price exceeded his original expectations, but it was indeed fair enough.

"Okay, deal." Lin Hai thought for a moment and agreed to the shopkeeper's offer.

Manager Chen immediately instructed his assistant to fetch the money from the back room.

"Young man, if you ever have any more good stuff like this in the future, feel free to send it to me. The price will definitely satisfy you." Manager Chen saw Lin Hai out.

"Definitely," Lin Hai said.

After leaving Ruiji Leather Shop, Lin Hai carried a sturdy canvas bag filled to the brim with silver dollars.

He rode the chestnut horse back to the carriage rental shop where he had previously rented it and returned the horse. Then he turned and walked onto the street, raising his hand to hail a rickshaw.

The driver was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a yellowed towel draped over his shoulder. He pulled the cart quickly and steadily.

Lin Hai leaned back in his car seat, his hands folded and naturally covering the canvas bag in front of his chest. The heavy weight made him dare not relax for a moment the entire journey. More than six hundred silver dollars, in Yangcheng, was enough to buy more than a dozen lives on the black market.

When the rickshaw reached the intersection of Sanyuan Street, the road ahead was blocked.

The street was packed with people, three or four layers deep, making it almost impossible to move.

The driver stopped, turned around, wiped his sweat, and said, "Sir, we can't go any further. It seems something happened at the Changwei Martial Arts School; people are all stuck on the road."

Lin Hai sat in the car, his gaze passing over the crowd ahead to the spacious courtyard with a black sign with gold lettering above the entrance: Changwei Martial Arts Hall.

Several idlers gathered on the outermost edge were shouting and discussing amongst themselves.

"Those Japanese devils are too arrogant. They blocked the entrance of Changwei Martial Arts Hall early this morning, insisting on setting up a fighting ring."

"That's right. I heard it's that Black Dragon Society. Didn't Master Zhao of Changwei come out to fight?"

"Master Zhao is a master of Ming Jin (a type of martial arts skill). The Japanese are very clear in their words; this time they will only spar with the younger generation. Those short Japanese men dressed in black specifically named and challenged the disciples of Changwei Martial Arts Hall who are at the Lianli (a type of martial arts skill) stage."

"So, did they win or not?"

"Win my ass! Two of Changwei Martial Arts School's disciples just went up there. One had both legs broken, and the other was in the worst shape—his spine was broken by a single kick, and he died before he could even be carried into the clinic!"

Lin Hai frowned upon hearing this.

He wanted to get off the bus and squeeze in to see what was going on, but as soon as he straightened up, the heavy canvas bag on his chest pressed down on him.

It's so crowded here. It costs over 600 yuan. If you join the crowd at this time, you might lose your money in the crush.

"Master, let's turn around and take another route," Lin Hai said.

The driver was eager to get out of this mess, so he agreed and pulled the cart into a side alley.

When he got home, Lin Hai paid the fare.

Lin An was squatting in the yard chopping wood when he heard the noise and turned around. Lin Wan poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a rag and wiping her hands.

"You're back?" Lin Wan asked.

Lin Hai nodded and waved to them: "Sister, Xiao An, come inside."

The two followed Lin Hai into the main hall. Lin Hai entered and placed the large canvas bag heavily on the table. The silver dollars inside the bag clinked together, making a crisp sound, and even the rough porcelain teacups on the table jumped.

"Brother, what's this?" Lin An put down the axe in his hand and came closer.

Lin Hai didn't say anything, but simply untied the knot in the canvas bag, turned the opening down, and gave it a hard shake.

Splash!

The white ocean water poured out like a torrent, piling up into a small mountain on the old wooden table. The crisp sound of the ocean colliding was particularly loud in the room.

Lin An stared wide-eyed at the money on the table, wanting to reach out and touch it, yet hesitant. Lin Wan gasped, her face turning deathly pale. She whirled around, strode to the door, lifted the curtain to peer carefully into the yard, and only after confirming no one was there did she pull the curtains shut before returning.

"Xiao Hai...this...how come there are so many?" Lin Wan lowered her voice, her words stammering. She had never seen so many silver dollars laid out together in her entire life.

"The tiger skin wasn't of particularly high quality, but with a complete tiger bone, gall bladder, and penis, I got 630 yuan," Lin Hai said with a smile.

He counted out one hundred yuan and pushed it in front of Lin Wan: "Sister, keep this one hundred yuan for everyday household expenses. From now on, we can buy meat whenever we need it. Xiao An is growing taller now, so eating more meat will help him grow taller."

Lin Wan looked at the money in front of her, but did not reach out to take it. Instead, she stared at Lin Hai for a long time.

"Having too much money isn't necessarily a good thing," Lin Wan sighed, her eyes filled with worry. "I couldn't sleep a wink all night after you got back yesterday."

"Sis, don't worry too much. I was just lucky to run into a sick tiger that was about to die. I got a freebie." Lin Hai made up a reason.

"Whether it's a sick tiger or not, you're never allowed to go outside the city again." Lin Wan's eyes were a little red. "The three of us siblings don't crave great wealth and status. A peaceful family life together is more valuable than any mountain of gold or silver. If you lose your life for a few coins, how am I supposed to face our parents?"

"Sister, I'll remember this. I'll never take any more risks in the future." Lin Hai agreed, not wanting to worry her anymore.

After calming Lin Wan down, Lin Hai counted out another fifty silver dollars, put them in a small cloth bag, and handed them to Lin An.

"Xiao An, take this fifty silver dollars to Uncle Zhang now," Lin Hai instructed. "Uncle Zhang has been helping our family a lot these past few years. He still has Aunt Liu who needs medical treatment and Xiao Wan who needs to go to school, so they've never been well-off. You must personally hand this money to Uncle Zhang and make sure he accepts it no matter what."

Lin An took the cloth bag, finding it quite heavy, and nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll go right now!" With that, he stuffed the money into his pocket, covering it tightly, and turned to run outside.

There were still 480 silver dollars left on the table, and Lin Hai put them back into the cloth bag.

"I'll keep the rest of the money. Practicing martial arts costs money. Once I reach the Ming Jin level, making money will be easier," Lin Hai said to Lin Wan.