From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

"The portal... is certainly not the key."

Li Hang relaxed his furrowed brows, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Hong: "The waters of the martial world are deep and unfathomable. Outlaws have their way of life, and established families have their rules." His tone suddenly shifted, the probing in his eyes vanishing completely, replaced by unwavering certainty:

"Charitable organizations are no exception!"

"Your interference today has broken the rules of the charity, cut off its financial lifeline, and harmed many brothers." The tone was low, but every word was like a nail:

"Whoever you are, you owe an explanation!"

Framed?

If it were the naive and ignorant person I once was, I might have truly been overwhelmed.

But now, Zhu Hong takes it all lightly. These veiled threats and intimidation are nothing more than the wind passing by his ears; he has seen them all before.

"Then let us discuss the Dao." His expression remained unchanged, neither humble nor arrogant, and he waited for the other party to finish speaking before calmly speaking:

"But I wonder how Uncle Liu's family offended your family?"

Li Hang did not answer directly, but instead asked:

"Young man, do you know how many households in Chicken and Goose Alley, and even the three poor alleys nearby, froze and starved to death last winter, or fell seriously ill without medical help?" Before Zhu Hong could answer, he continued, "Seventeen households."

"Twenty-nine people died. Among them," Li Hang recounted:

"Half of them are widowed or orphaned, and the other half are like Liu Guaizi's family, where the men are sick and weak, and the women and children are helpless, making them 'soft-legged households'."

"And my charitable hall," he said, his eyes gleaming as he stared intently at Zhu Hong, "has set up a 'charitable shelter' here since the beginning of winter last year, distributing porridge every three days and medicine every five days, snatching hundreds of lives back from the clutches of the King of Hell."

Zhu Hong frowned. "What do you mean?"

He didn't believe that the other party could portray the charity as a savior of suffering by using this kind of rhetoric.

Distributing porridge and medicine?

It's simply a matter of bestowing favors first and then committing evil.

"Charitable organizations have their own rules and regulations for their operations."

Li Hang finally got to the point: "This 'repair money' is one of the rules." He then took out a piece of paper from his pocket:

"Any household in the poor alley who needs urgent repairs due to damaged housing can receive an advance on money and materials, to be repaid within one year. However," he glanced at the people lying haphazardly on the ground, his voice turning cold:

"This Liu the cripple owes 'repair money' and hasn't paid it back for a month."

"We've only come to collect debts today, but you, young man, have done something terrible. Without even asking what happened, you've injured so many of my people."

"Repair money?" Zhu Hong raised an eyebrow.

"That's right." Li Hang tossed the contract aside, not worried about it being torn up: "It's in black and white, with Liu Guaizi's fingerprint on it."

Zhu Hong raised his arm and caught the paper contract, unfolding it:

(A loan agreement for house repairs)

Because my house is dilapidated and I am unable to repair it, I am willing to borrow two taels of silver from the Jinyang City Charity Hall to purchase bricks, tiles, wood and stone to repair the house.

Note:

Interest accrues at 1% per month, with a term of one year, and principal and interest will be repaid together.

If the loan is not repaid by the due date, and the delay exceeds three days, the monthly interest rate will increase by 2%, with interest calculated on the principal plus interest, compounded annually...

This contract serves as proof, and our fingerprints are the witnesses.

From the day this contract is established, no son or daughter may renege on it.

Erected on the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the forty-first year of the Longqing reign.

Contracting party: Liu ✘✘

Middleman: Jinyangcheng Charity Hall

……

What an unfair contract term!

"Descendants inherit the debt, and none can renege on it." Zhu Hong sneered inwardly.

Even money shops and banks that specialize in money and debt rarely pass on interest and debt directly to their descendants. This charity hall is indeed unworthy of the word "charity".

"I've read the contract." Thinking of this, he didn't show it on his face, only nodding slightly.

"Paying back debts is indeed the right thing to do."

"Ha!" Upon hearing this, Ma Pan abruptly turned his head, raised an eyebrow, and curled his lips into a mocking smile: "You're smart enough to know what's good for you, then hurry up..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a hurried voice.

"No...no, no," Aunt Liu stumbled over from the corner of the room, her eyes red-rimmed.

"That's not how it works!"

"This contract...this contract, we haven't overstepped any limits!"

"Oh?" Zhu Hong's eyes narrowed.

He had already made up his mind that regardless of whether Uncle Liu had exceeded the time limit or was in the wrong, now that he had gotten involved, he had to take on this trouble.

To everyone's surprise, Aunt Liu shouted out the words "Not over the limit".

His mind immediately raced, and he asked Aunt Liu, "Aunt Liu, please tell me what's on your mind."

"well."

Aunt Liu hastily wiped away her tears with her sleeve and said in a hurry:

"Hongwa, you know your Uncle Liu is a very honest man. He can't sleep soundly at night if he owes anyone even a penny. The debt of two taels of silver is due on the deed on the fifteenth of last month. But..."

At this point, her tears rolled down even faster:

"But your Uncle Liu sent the two taels of silver he had collected to the charity hall on the afternoon of the thirteenth."

"But when we got there, they said the accountant wasn't feeling well that day and had taken leave, telling the cripple to go again tomorrow," Aunt Liu said helplessly.

"Your Uncle Liu is an honest man, so he believed it."

"The next day, the fourteenth, before dawn, he went again. This time, there was a different person at the door, who said that the master would come in the afternoon... He dared not go far, so he stood in the wind and snow from early morning until sunset."

"But...but no one paid any attention."

She had only spoken half of her sentence when she broke down in tears.

Zhu Hong's eyes hardened completely, and he gently patted Aunt Liu's trembling shoulder: "Aunt Liu, speak slowly, and say each word clearly."

He said coldly:

"With Hongwazi around."

"And so it went, day after day, only to find them gone, never able to find them again." Aunt Liu's voice was filled with grief and indignation.

"With the three-day grace period almost over, and the 18th or 19th approaching, when we went back, the accountant was there, but... when your Uncle Liu brought the silver to return it..."

"Those beasts, they just blinked and opened their mouths: 'The days are over.'" she said bitterly.

"From then on, the interest kept piling up, snowballing until just a few days ago, when they even sent people to take Aci away to pay off the debt." Aunt Liu pointed at Li Hang and Ma Pan, cursing loudly:

"wishful thinking!"

"Even if it means death, I will never sell Cige'er to you!"

Whether it was anger or pent-up frustration from the past few days, as soon as she finished speaking, her body swayed, her legs went weak, and she was about to fall.

"Aunt Liu!"

Zhu Hong quickly stretched out his arm to support Aunt Liu's waist, helping her onto the heated kang bed, and said gently:

"The rest can be left to Hongwa."

After saying that, he slowly turned around, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "A charity? What a brilliant scheme of 'finding someone but not being able to,' 'delaying the collection of exorbitant fees,' and finally 'plotting to seize someone's child.'"

"Didn't you find your words of relief rather harsh?"

"Enough with all this nonsense!" Ma Pan's face flushed instantly from the blunt and biting sarcasm. He abruptly turned his head and shouted, "Debts must be repaid, murderers must pay with their lives—it's always been the way of heaven!" He became more and more excited as he spoke.

"How exactly do you intend to settle this score today?"

"Does he really think he can run wild and act recklessly just because he knows a few punches and kicks!"