A Coarse Green Serpent in the Sleeve, Boldness Arises

"Speak." Chen Si Ming was somewhat indifferent, burying his head in writing something as he spoke.
"Yesterday, someone came to me and asked me to steal manuscripts from your study, Sir Chen," Xu Lu hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Hmm?" Chen Si Ming looked up, slightly surprised, and gazed at Xu Lu. "You refused?"
"How did you know, Sir Chen?" Xu Lu asked.
"If you had agreed, you wouldn't be telling me," Chen Si Ming said calmly.
"Yes, I refused," Xu Lu nodded and said, "Although I haven't read many books, I can still distinguish between close and distant relations.
Sir Chen is my teacher; I don't know the other party. How could I help him with such a thieving matter?"
"You shouldn't have refused," Chen Si Ming said.
"Ah?" Xu Lu blinked, a little confused.
"Here's the thing—" Chen Si Ming said, "Later, when that person comes to find you again, just agree to him. Then I'll give you a few pages of manuscripts, and you can give them to him.
It's only right for you to ask for some tea money for helping him, isn't it? At that time, we'll split the tea money, half for each of us!"
Chen Si Ming began to chuckle, "That scoundrel has a lot of money; just ask for a hefty sum!"
"Infernal Affairs?" Xu Lu looked at Chen Si Ming, muttering to himself.
He didn't know what grievances existed between the person yesterday and Chen Si Ming, but if he agreed to Chen Si Ming, he would be offending that person to death.
Xu Lu wasn't a fool. He had refused that person yesterday during the day, and then someone climbed over his wall into his house that night. He didn't believe there was no connection between these events.
He only wanted to humbly seek knowledge and didn't want to get involved in Chen Si Ming's grievances with others.
"Sir Chen, I need to consider this matter carefully," Xu Lu neither agreed nor explicitly refused Chen Si Ming, giving an ambiguous answer.
Chen Si Ming didn't make things difficult. He impatiently waved his hand, signaling Xu Lu could leave, while he himself continued to bury his head in writing.
Xu Lu unconsciously glanced over. Chen Si Ming's handwriting was extremely scrawled; it was unclear what he was writing.
...
Xu Lu pondered the matter in his heart and returned home to Ande Ward.
As soon as he stepped through the gate of Ande Ward, Xu Lu saw a crowd gathered in front of his house.
"Brother Xiao Lu, you're back." Xu Lu was curious when someone suddenly pulled him aside and whispered.
"Gou Dan?" That person was Zhang Bao's second son, Zhang Shi Tou's younger brother, Zhang Gou Dan.
Zhang Gou Dan's name was vulgar, but he had a delicate face unlike his parents.
"Brother Xiao Lu, hurry and run! People from the Dajiang Gang are here to cause trouble for you. My father said you absolutely must not go home!" Zhang Gou Dan said nervously in a low voice.
As he spoke, he kept peeking into the ward gate, fearing that someone would notice them.
"The Dajiang Gang is here to cause trouble for me?" Xu Lu frowned slightly. Was it because of last night's incident?
Truly, the tree desires calm, but the wind does not cease. He didn't want to provoke trouble, yet trouble wouldn't let him go.
"Gou Dan, thank you. I'll avoid them for a bit," Xu Lu pondered for a moment before speaking.
He always carried his valuables with him. At home, there were only some manuscripts of his calculations, which others couldn't understand.
If he couldn't provoke them, he would avoid them. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.
His secret arts had not yet entered the入门 (entry-level); there was no need to act tough now.
"Bang!—" Just as Xu Lu was about to leave, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.
"Stop your damn nonsense with me! Do you even deserve to talk about face with me? I, Du Yong, am putting it out here: either hand over the person, or I'll feed you to the dogs!" An extremely arrogant voice rang out.
"Are you being reasonable or not? What does this have to do with our Ward Master?" A defiant voice just rang out, then was cut short by a groan. The speaker seemed to have been punched.
Xu Lu, who had just taken a step, immediately stopped. After a moment of hesitation, Xu Lu changed direction and quickly walked into the ward.
"Brother Xiao Lu, you're going the wrong way!" Zhang Gou Dan cried out anxiously.
"No, I'm not," Xu Lu said calmly.
He wanted to be humble, but not weak. Old Liu, though a bit arrogant, was a warm-hearted person who had helped him a lot. If he just stood by and watched Old Liu get implicated because of him, and then simply left, would he still be human?
If he was bullied to his doorstep and simply swallowed his anger, then what was the point of cultivating secret arts?
If he could gain eternal life just to be a timid turtle, he, Xu Lu, would rather not have it.
"I know my way." Xu Lu walked and muttered to himself, "I want to wander the North Sea in the morning and Mount Cang Wu in the evening, with a coarse green serpent in my sleeve, my courage rough. If I cannot freely seek vengeance and repay kindness, what use is eternal life! It would merely be a thousand-year turtle, a ten-thousand-year turtle!"
"Stop!" Xu Lu shouted loudly, quickly stepping forward to stand in front of Old Liu and the residents of Ande Ward, looking directly at the burly, dark-skinned man with a scar on his chin.
"Xu Lu!" "Why are you back?" Cries of surprise rang out. Old Liu and Zhang Bao both looked anxious. The people opposite them were all vicious thugs.
"You are Xu Lu? You have quite some guts, injuring my brother and still daring to return," the burly, dark-skinned man opposite him said, rubbing his wrists.
"This is my home; why wouldn't I dare to return?" Xu Lu said calmly, "In broad daylight, with the sky bright and clear, Jiangdu City is not a lawless place.
You are blocking someone's doorway; aren't you afraid I'll report you to the authorities?"
"Haha, report to the authorities?" Du Yong laughed heartily, the scar on his chin twisting like a snake, a startling sight. "We neither steal nor rob; the authorities won't interfere with us."
The Dajiang Gang and the authorities had countless connections. For minor matters, as long as the bottom line wasn't crossed, the authorities would simply turn a blind eye.
"Boss Du, my son works as a servant in the Bohai Marquis Manor; could you perhaps give us some face..." Zhang Bao said with a beaming smile, stepping forward.
"Uncle Zhang—" Xu Lu frowned and said.
"In Jiangdu City, if you throw a brick, eight out of ten people will have relatives working as servants in a Marquis Manor. Do we have to give face to everyone?" Du Yong said disdainfully.
"Uncle Zhang, no need to say more," Xu Lu stopped Zhang Bao, who was about to speak further, and said in a deep voice, "I can handle this."
His calm expression made Zhang Bao involuntarily swallow the words he was about to say.
Zhang Bao suddenly realized that this young man seemed a little different from before.
"Boss Du, is it?" Xu Lu turned to look at Du Yong, cupped his hands, and said, "This is a matter between me and your Dajiang Gang; it has nothing to do with the residents of Ande Ward. If there's anything, let's go inside and talk."
Xu Lu pointed to his house door.
"Am I afraid of you?" Du Yong squinted at Xu Lu, swaggered in, and, leading a few of his subordinates, followed Xu Lu through the door.
After Du Yong and a few Dajiang Gang members entered, Xu Lu closed the courtyard gate again, leaving Old Liu, Zhang Bao, and the others outside.
"Old Liu, what do we do now?" Zhang Bao said anxiously.
"Don't worry, I'll go find Constable Liu right now. He's my cousin, and Ande Ward is under his jurisdiction; he won't let the Dajiang Gang run wild here," Old Liu said with a worried expression. He wasn't very confident either.
"Then hurry and go," Zhang Bao wanted to go find Zhang Shi Tou, but was afraid of affecting his son's future, so he was extremely conflicted for a moment.
In the courtyard, Xu Lu calmly looked at Du Yong and the others.
Apart from Du Yong, who had some fierce determination, the others stood unsteadily and didn't seem to have much combat power.
In an instant, several plans flashed through Xu Lu's mind.
A few bottles of vitriol solution thrown... The kitchen knife hidden in the courtyard was just a step away... That little hooligan was about to step on the Bu Shou Armor...
Taking them by surprise, Xu Lu was at least seventy percent confident he could send these hooligans from Du Yong's group back to where they came from.
This was his home turf; if he couldn't deal with Heavenly Official Warriors, could he not deal with a few hooligans?
However, in the end, Xu Lu did not act.
Dealing with these hooligans was easy, but the difficult part was the aftermath.
These hooligans had the Dajiang Gang behind them; if he killed one wave, another would come. How could he then study in peace?
"Boss Du, an upright man doesn't speak in riddles. The Dajiang Gang and I have no past grudges or present enmity; why you've come to find me, everyone knows in their hearts," Xu Lu looked at Du Yong and said in a deep voice.
Du Yong's eyes flickered, somewhat unexpectedly assessing Xu Lu.
He had originally thought he was just a country bumpkin from Ande Ward, and he had been curious why the client would pay so much. Now it seemed this young man was indeed not simple.
Du Yong, though a street hooligan, was not brainless to have risen to his current position.
Moreover, he was originally paid to do a job; if it succeeded, that was good. If he could earn money without bloodshed, wouldn't that be even better?
"You're quite a clever fellow," Du Yong chuckled. "I, Boss Du, like dealing with clever people the most.
Since I've spoken plainly, I, Boss Du, don't mind making more friends. You give me a word: are we friends or enemies? It's up to you."
Xu Lu snorted coldly in his heart. Becoming friends with you would probably leave not even bone fragments.
"I want to talk to the person behind you," Xu Lu said calmly.
Du Yong's eyes stared coldly at Xu Lu. Xu Lu did not flinch, looking directly at Du Yong.
His hand, however, subtly held a porcelain bottle.
After about a few tens of seconds, Du Yong waved his hand, "Go, invite Fourth Master over." A subordinate ran out in unison.
Xu Lu felt a slight relief in his heart; he was actually a bit nervous too.
If negotiations truly went awry and he had to act, although he had a certain degree of confidence, any action carried risk, as he was not yet a Secret Cultivator.
What if the other party didn't adhere to martial ethics? What if the other party carried dangerous weapons?
What if he was injured, and the doctors in this world couldn't treat him, leaving him crippled? He wondered if a crippled person could still become a Secret Cultivator!
"I must quickly become a Secret Cultivator! Otherwise, if I encounter such a situation again, I will still be as passive as I am today! Only by possessing power can I exist peacefully in this world!" Xu Lu muttered to himself. Outside the door, footsteps echoed again.