Chapter 11
Dragon Gate Pavilion
To Lin Yan’s surprise, Kui Shan did not show any disappointment or disgust when he heard his decision.
“Martial arts, martial arts, boy Lin, your heart for martial arts is even more resolute than I thought. That’s good. With this perseverance, at least you won’t regret it.”
Kui Shan handed over a wooden tablet carved with patterns. There were 20 thumb-sized squares engraved on it.
“Kid, I don’t know you well, but you’re quite to my liking. This is a meat card with a total of 20 squares. Each square can be exchanged for a catty of meat strips in the dining room. Take it as a gift from me.”
Lin Yan hesitated slightly. Thinking of Xiaozhi, he took the meat card. “Thank you, Master Kui!”
“Don’t celebrate too early. You’ve entered the Dragon Gate Pavilion, but it’s extremely difficult for you to stay. You’d better take care of yourself!”
After sending Kui Shan off, Lin Yan heaved a sigh of relief and turned to bow to Elder Wen behind him.
Elder Wen was the person who welcomed the guests at the Dragon Gate Pavilion. Master Kui had just brought Yu Qian in to do something, and Elder Wen was accompanying her. Hence, no matter how Geng Bing rang the bell, Elder Wen did not come out.
“Elder Wen, I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter. An evil guest like him dares to make a fuss in front of the Dragon Gate Pavilion just because he gave me a small gift. He deserves to be beaten to death.”
They were naturally talking about Geng Bing. Lin Yan knew without asking that Elder Wen must have accepted Geng Bing’s gift and agreed to deliver something for him.
Elder Wen looked indignant, but Lin Yan couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
“Come with me. I’ll show you where you live and introduce to you the layout in the hall so that you don’t bump into others.”
As if to prove his indignation, Elder Wen was clearly much more enthusiastic towards Lin Yan.
In the novels of his previous life, such gatekeepers were often hidden experts. However, Lin Yan observed his expression and felt that this Elder Wen had thinning hair and a shriveled figure. He seemed more like an ordinary elder.
“Our Dragon Gate Pavilion looks like a large courtyard, but it is actually divided into five small courtyards. They are the Instruction Yard, the Dragon Yard, the Tiger Yard, the Wei Yard, and the Wu Yard.
“Among them, the Instruction Yard is the inner courtyard of the Pavilion Master, the Guest Masters, and the martial arts masters. Remember, you are not allowed to barge in.”
Lin Yan bowed. “Got it.”
“Dragon, Tiger, Wei, and Wu are the disciple yards. For example, when you first enter the academy, you’ll enter the Wu Yard. After two months, if you pass the assessment, you can choose to enter the Wei Yard. Of course, if your talent is exceptionally high, it’s not impossible for you to enter the Dragon Yard.”
Lin Yan asked, “What if you don’t pass the assessment?”
“Then I can only leave sadly. Of course, if you have enough money, it’s naturally another matter if you spend a large sum.”
It seemed that this was what Master Kui meant by ‘extremely difficult to stay’.
His heart skipped a beat. “Elder Wen, the girl named Yu Qian who came in previously, did she enter the Wu Yard like me?”
“She…” Elder Wen clicked his tongue and sighed. “The young lady’s family is quite rich. It’s said that she paid a large sum of money before she entered the academy. Two months later, she can directly enter the Wei Yard for a year without needing to take the assessment. She even has a specialized teacher to teach her.”
200 taels?! And she could only stay for a year? It was really too expensive!
Elder Wen continued walking with Lin Yan.
“In the Dragon Yard, there are only a few genius disciples from our pavilion or the rich families in the city. Remember to avoid them.”
The courtyard in front of him faced south. There were a few unique red-walled houses arranged neatly. There were also colorful flowers and rockeries. They did not look like dormitories, but more like some home hotels he had seen in his previous life. It was pleasing to the eye.
After walking for a while.
“This is the Wei Yard. This is where the core disciples of our pavilion reside.”
This place was relatively crowded. It was similar to the university dormitory in his previous life, but they were all single rooms side by side.
“Finally, this is the Wu Yard. There are more people in the Wu Yard, and new disciples will be introduced every month. They are all four-person rooms. However, if you want to stay in a single room, you can also rent it in the Wei Yard. You just have to go to the administrative office to register. You have to spend one tael a month.”
One tael of silver was equivalent to four months of Lin Yan’s salary. It was really too expensive.
However, it was no longer safe to stay at home. With Xiaozhi around, it was inconvenient for him to stay in the common bed. He had just asked Elder Wen about it. The disciples were allowed to bring a family member into the pavilion. He only needed to go through an application and registration. Although it was expensive, he could only grit his teeth and pay it first.
“Lastly, this martial arts arena. The disciples of the Dragon, Tiger, and Wei Yards have their own special martial arts arena. You are a disciple of the Wu Yard, so you practice martial arts here.”
The martial arts arena occupied a large area, half the size of a football field. The grayish-yellow soil was compacted and not paved with bricks. Some tools were arranged, and it was rather simple.
At this moment, many people were practicing martial arts in the venue. When they saw the two of them, they whispered to each other.
“There’s another newcomer.”
“It’s a guy. It’s boring.”
“Junior Sister is still the prettiest.”
“Cultivate, cultivate…”
The corners of Lin Yan’s lips twitched. This feeling inexplicably reminded him of school in his previous life.
Unfortunately, outside the Dragon Gate Pavilion was another world that was extremely dangerous.
He continued forward.
“This is the dining room. You can fetch food here to eat…”
“This is the medicine room. You can come if you’re injured, but you have to spend money…”
“A quiet room. It’s used for closed-door cultivation, but it costs money…”
“Playing room, used for entertainment…”
Upon hearing that Lin Yan wanted to rent a single room, Elder Wen brought Lin Yan to the manager’s office.
“Elder Wen, why don’t I see the Tiger Yard?”
“Oh, there’s only one small house in the Tiger Yard. It’s inside the Dragon Yard.”
“Are there fewer disciples in the Tiger Yard than in the Dragon Yard?”
“That’s not it. There are many disciples in the Hu House.”
“Then how can they live here?”
“The students of the Tiger Yard don’t live here. That small house is for the officers of the Tiger Camp to rest. The disciples of the Tiger Yard are all from the Tiger Camp. The city lord entrusted our master to teach them. They all live in the Tiger Camp, west of the Dragon Gate Pavilion.”
Tiger Camp!
Lin Yan was slightly shocked. He did not expect someone from Tiger Camp to be at the Dragon Gate Pavilion. No wonder Geng Bing blocked the door just now.
After receiving two sets of clean gray specially-made cultivation kung fu shorts, two wooden lunch boxes with cutlery, and a wooden waist token with the word “Dragon” engraved on it, Lin Yan handed over two taels of silver to the manager with heartache. Then, he took the key and found the rented room.
The area was not small. There were all kinds of furniture. It could not be compared to the warmth at home, but it gave him a sense of security.
He immediately went out and ran all the way to Liuying District.
“Xiao Lin, have you met Kui Shan?”
When Elder Li asked, Lin Yan said respectfully, “Thank you for your concern, Elder Li. Master Kui sent his regards. He said that he would visit you in a few days.”
Elder Li nodded. “Alright, alright. Since you’ve decided to practice martial arts, you have to remember that martial arts is a killing technique. It’s a bloody and life-or-death battle! Since you’ve practiced martial arts, there’s an inch of sharpness in your chest. You have to hide your anger in your heart and nurture a sense of heroism in your bones!”
At this point, Elder Li’s eyes widened, and his entire body emitted a cold and majestic pressure.
Lin Yan was shocked and said solemnly, “Thank you for your guidance, Elder Li!”
“You can go!”
He carried Xiaozhi and walked away quickly.
“Brother, aren’t we going home?”
“Xiaozhi, I’ll bring you to a new home today. We’ll stay in the new home from now on.”
“Sure, sure!”
After all, Xiaozhi was still a child. Seeing that she had walked on a path that she had never taken before, she stared at it without blinking, full of curiosity.
Not long after, Lin Yan brought Xiaozhi into the Dragon Gate Pavilion.
“Xiaozhi, this is our new home.”
“New home! New home! Brother, we’re moving to a new home!”
“I’ll take you to eat something delicious today!”
There were not many people in the dining room. Other than the stove, there were several small black tables. Someone had specially arranged for them to prepare the dishes.
Especially in the rightmost corner, a fat chef with a scar on his face crossed his arms and sat with his eyes closed to rest.
Beside him, there was a large pot bubbling. It was filled with fat and lean pork. The meat was glossy and ruddy, and the soup was thick, emitting a rich fragrance.
There was rice at the window. There were not many dishes, and they were greasy. However, there was almost no meat. Everyone could receive three simple meals on time every day.
Lin Yan led Xiaozhi to get a simple meal first before spending money to buy a second serving. Then, he took out his meat card and went to the scar-faced chef in the corner.
The cook took the meat tag. “You were recommended by Kui Shan?”
“And you are?”
“I’m in charge of meat. My surname is Zhu. The meat tokens are issued by me. If you want to get a meat token in the future, you can come to me. I’ll give you a 10% discount!”
“Thank you, Master Zhu!”
Master Zhu accepted the meat card and took out a file to carve a cross on the first square. Then, he took out a big spoon and delivered two pieces of fat meat into his lunch box.
After returning to the room, Lin Yan placed the food on the table, washed Xiaozhi’s face, and carried her to sit down.
Xiaozhi stared straight at the meat in the bowl and kept swallowing her saliva.
Lin Yan picked up a large piece of meat and placed it in Xiaozhi’s bowl. “Xiaozhi, you must be hungry. Eat quickly.”
“Brother, there’s so much meat. It smells so good!”
“Xiaozhi, eat slowly. There will be more meat in the future.”
“Okay!”
Seeing that Xiaozhi was focused on eating the meat with her face buried in the lunch box, Lin Yan wiped her face with a cloth. “Take your time, take your time.”
Killing people, copying poems, and practicing martial arts. Thinking about how he had only awakened for three months, he had really done great things. Compared to his previous life, it could be said to be full of ups and downs. It was incomparably exciting.
But at this moment, when he saw Xiaozhi burying her head in the meat and smiling happily, he felt that all the risks he took were nothing.
“Brother, you eat, you eat too!”
“Alright, let’s eat together!”
He took a bite. It was soft, juicy, and fragrant. It was delicious!