Chapter 73, Dinner Invitation

Translator: StarReader

 

Ah Chou received a reward of one hundred silver taels from Old Su, the host of the arena, and was overjoyed.

 

It was a full one hundred silver taels; he had never held so much silver in his life.

 

Becoming a martial expert and achieving fame in the martial world was the quickest path to riches. No wonder so many common folk yearned for their children to enter the martial groups and become martial experts.

 

Following that, Ah Chou leapt off the stage, his face flushed with excitement, and said to Su Chen, “Brother Chen, with this five-winning streak, I’ve become a well-known young expert in the Wu Region martial world! I owe it all to your subtle guidance. I’m giving you half of this one hundred silver taels as a reward.”

 

Ah Chou knew very well that his achievements today were tied with Su Chen.

 

It wasn’t just because Su Chen had diagnosed his meridians and prescribed medicine and used herbs to aid his body tempering cultivation for years. He also frequently sparred with Su Chen, bringing him valuable practical experience, which led to this five-winning-streak.

 

“Keep it yourself,” Su Chen said with a smile. “I’m already saving some money. My expenses are low, so I don’t need much silver. You’re the one who needs it, so this reward will come in handy.”

 

Ah Chou nodded excitedly, clutching the one hundred silver taels and guarding them carefully.

 

It was simply not enough, though; he could only save it and continue working hard to earn more money. He wondered what opportunities there would be to make money once he became a first-rate expert in the martial world.

 

Ah Chou sighed to himself.

 

“What, don’t you have enough silver?”

 

Su Chen noticed that Ah Chou’s face had just shown a trace of happiness, only to quickly fade, and wondered.

 

If one hundred taels weren’t enough, then it had to be a large sum involved.

 

“It’s quite a bit. But it’s nothing; I didn’t earn a single tael in a year when I was a menial laborer. But now I’m a first-rate expert, earning one hundred taels from a single arena match. I’ve also gained fame in the martial world and will soon be earning a lot of silver. Brother Chen doesn’t need to worry.”

 

Ah Chou tucked away his dejected expression and quickly smiled.

 

“Mm!”

 

Su Chen nodded slightly.

 

Over these years, he only assisted Ah Chou with herbal remedies for body tempering to increase his strength and abilities and hadn’t interfered in other areas. When the young master of Heaven Falcon Inn and a group of outer disciples bullied Ah Chou, he let Ah Chou handle it himself.

 

With Ah Chou’s current mid first-rate strength, his reputation in the martial world was rising, and he should soon be able to earn the silver that he needed.

 

Suddenly, Su Chen’s thoughts drifted, and he looked toward the nearby tavern.

 

“Look, Han Shu. Young Miss Han is here!”

 

“Why is she over here?”

 

The martial crowd in the arena suddenly stirred and parted like a tide.

 

He saw that Han Shu, accompanied by over a dozen young, heroic men from various groups, riding all sorts of horses, came to the arena near Ah Chou and Su Chen and stopped.

 

“Are you Ah Chou?”

 

Han Shu looked at Ah Chou and asked calmly.

 

“I am Heaven Falcon Group disciple Ah Chou. Greetings, Young Miss.”

 

Ah Chou saw Han Shu walk over and, surprisingly, took the initiative to speak with him, becoming so excited that he was flustered and hastily performed a deep bow.

 

Since joining Heaven Falcon Group, he had been taciturn and rarely contacted even the higher-ups of Heaven Falcon Group. He had never even spoken a word to Heaven Falcon Group Young Leader Han Shu, so he never expected Han Shu to speak with him.

 

“Tonight I am setting up a grand banquet on the third floor of Heaven Falcon Inn, inviting the talented young heroes from various major groups in Wu Region to celebrate. You, as one of the talented individuals of Heaven Falcon Group, can also come.”

 

Han Shu nodded faintly and instructed.

 

“What? Young Miss is inviting me to the banquet?”

 

Ah Chou looked up in astonishment, stunned.

 

He never imagined that Han Shu not only came to speak with him but also personally invited him to the Wu Region young hero gathering. This was an incredibly joyous event, leaving him disoriented.

 

“Alright!”

 

Ah Chou suddenly thought of something and quickly said, “By the way, Young Miss, I have a brother from the Medicine King Group named Su Chen. Can he join me for the banquet?”

 

Han Shu’s gaze fell upon a Medicine King Group young disciple standing beside Ah Chou.

 

Su Chen had handsome features and wore a light blue long robe, clearly a mid-to-low-level disciple of the Medicine King Group.

 

But she rarely dealt with people like him and couldn’t immediately discern Su Chen’s status within the Medicine King Group. As she couldn’t discern it, he was evidently a person of martial obscurity.

 

“What is his standing within the Medicine King Group?”

 

Han Shu asked, raising her delicate eyebrows.

 

The banquet she was hosting invited the most elite young heroes from all the major groups.

 

Throughout the Wu Region, there were tens of thousands of martial disciples, yet fewer than thirty were fortunate enough to receive an invitation.

 

Broken down by individual groups, only two or three were eligible for the banquet, while smaller groups managed a single spot at most, or even none at all. This demonstrated the strictness of the selection process.

 

These invited young heroes were either the outstanding offspring of the highest tiers of the major groups or the actual inheritors of those groups. Or they were among the most formidable young, first-rate experts and future extraordinary masters—certainly not something anyone could simply qualify for.

 

If it hadn’t been for Manager Liu’s belief in Ah Chou, she wouldn’t have even considered him.

 

Of course, Ah Chou’s five-straight victories in the arena also qualified him as one of the Heaven Falcon Group’s promising young heroes.

 

She barely acknowledged that Ah Chou had the right to attend the banquet.

 

And this Su Chen was an obscure figure within the Medicine King Group; how could he possibly be eligible to attend a banquet she had arranged?

 

“My elder brother is also a first-rate expert, even more formidable than I am. Most importantly, he’s a highly skilled pharmacist within the Medicine King Group; few pharmacists can compare to him!”

 

Ah Chou feared that Han Shu might not appreciate Su Chen’s capabilities and quickly introduced him.

 

His current first-rate level of cultivation was largely thanks to Su Chen’s extraordinary pharmaceutical skills; he personally diagnosed and prepared herbs, and the effect of the body tempering to replenish vitality was remarkable.

 

Otherwise, he would likely only be a third-rate cultivator, just another bottom-tier martial disciple.

 

How many pharmacists within the Medicine King Group could achieve such a feat?

 

Ah Chou had never heard of such a powerful pharmacist in the martial world, capable of allowing someone to break through the first-rate realm in just four or five years—aside from the Medicine King Group’s leader, Sun Baihong.

 

“Hmph, the skilled pharmacists within the Medicine King Group are all elderly martial elders in their fifties or sixties. When did a young pharmacist emerge?”

 

“That’s right! We’ve never heard of such a pharmacist within the Medicine King Group!”

 

Some of the younger, bolder heroes behind Han Shu scoffed, clearly unconvinced, deeming Ah Chou was exaggerating.

 

Who’d believe such boasts?

 

“My elder brother is more formidable than them! Many pharmacists still aren’t as good as my elder brother!”

 

Ah Chou’s face flushed with indignation as he retorted.

 

“If he isn’t a newly promoted apothecary, then he’s not worthy!”

 

Han Shu detected that Su Chen was not a true pharmacist.

 

It was just that Ah Chou claimed his brother possessed the skills of one. How could she possibly agree to allow such a poser to participate in her meticulously planned grand banquet?

 

“Ah Chou, that’s enough; you go to the banquet yourself.”

 

Su Chen raised his hand, calming the agitated Ah Chou, and spoke calmly, “I came to the county city just to clear my head. It’s the Laba Festival tomorrow; I expect the county city to be very lively tonight, so I’ll just wander around a bit to buy some holiday goods.”

 

Such banquets were just a way for young heroes to socialize with one another, which held little significance or appeal to him. It just so happened that many small vendors from various towns and villages came out at night, so he was going to wander around to see if he could discover any spiritual materials.

 

“If you don’t go, then I won’t go either.”

 

Ah Chou immediately and resolutely said.

 

He had made an agreement with Su Chen to travel the martial world together and become renowned.

 

He already felt quite unhappy about those young heroes looking down on Su Chen. If Su Chen didn’t go, then he wouldn’t attend this so-called youth banquet and swallow his resentment.

 

This banquet was an invitation from Young Miss Han Shu, and he was very much hoping to attend.

 

But at the heart of it, going there would merely involve a lavish dinner, something he could easily afford. Eating a bowl of hot and sour noodles from a street vendor would be better.

 

“Alright, you may both come tonight!”

 

Han Shu’s fair face was flushed with annoyance, nearly driven to exasperation by their back-and-forth. She reluctantly left those words and turned away.

 

She still had many things to attend to for this banquet and didn’t want to spend any more time on it. If not for Uncle Liu wanting to see Ah Chou at the banquet, she wouldn’t have invited them.

 

The first banquet for young talents in the Wu Region that she hosted had countless people vying for entry, and these two were acting as if they didn’t care to go, which irked her.

 

Forget it; one more person at the banquet just meant another set of chopsticks. It wasn’t a big deal.

 

The young heroes quickly mounted their horses and followed Han Shu.

 

“Thank you, Young Miss!”

 

Hearing Han Shu’s words, Ah Chou finally showed a look of joy and quickly turned to Su Chen, “Brother Chen, Young Miss agreed for us to attend the banquet together tonight. The banquet held by our Heaven Falcon Group Young Leader is the most luxurious gathering in the martial world; it must be extravagant, and it’s possible there will be novel performances we’ve never seen before. When I used to work as a server at Heaven Falcon Inn, I wasn’t even allowed on the third floor when the inn hosted banquets; only the other servers were allowed to serve the guests. Speaking of which, we haven’t been back to Heaven Falcon Inn for a long time; I wonder how Owner Wang, Butcher Zhang, and old Li are doing. It’s a good chance to go and see them.”

 

“Sure, why not?”

 

Su Chen glanced at the departing backs of Han Shu and the others and nodded faintly.

 

Whether he went or not didn’t matter; shopping or attending a banquet were merely ways to relax and pass the time during these two days of the Laba Festival. Since Ah Chou was dying to go to Heaven Falcon Inn for the banquet, he was willing to accompany him on this trip.