Chapter 202 — Education

CHAPTER 202

Education

Shi Feng brought the knife.

It was his plain kitchen knife, wrapped in cloth. The stranger was already waiting at his door at first light, still in the scorched robe, with the empty sack over one shoulder and a roasted potato in his free hand.

“You actually brought one,” the stranger said, delighted. “Do you know how rare that is? Most juniors ask why first.”

“Why?” Shi Feng asked.

“Walk first. Ask later,” the stranger said.

They went down the slope to Coal Row, a muddy lane below the outer court gate. Eight sheds stood in a line, all with black dust on the roofs. Outer-court disciples queued at the biggest one, holding their own sacks and counting their contribution points twice.

At the front, a thin boy in a patched robe was arguing with a fat man in a clean apron.

“I paid three points,” Deng Wu said, his voice shaking. “This sack’s lighter than last month’s. At least weigh it again!”

“The seal’s intact, so there’s nothing to check!” Tong Gui snapped. “Move. You’re holding everyone up!”

“That's Tong Gui,” the stranger said, chewing. “Bone Refinement, nothing special, and he's been selling the poorest disciples on this mountain half a sack of coal for three contribution points. The boy is Deng Wu. Qi Condensation. He sleeps next to a broken window.”

“How do you know?” Shi Feng asked.

“I asked him, junior brother,” the stranger said. “Try talking to people before deciding what they need. Now go and cut that sack open.”

“It isn't mine,” Shi Feng said.

“Neither is the coal. Cut,” the stranger said.

Shi Feng thought, This man has a gift for making a bad idea sound like an order. Still, the boy was shivering. He stepped forward, unwrapped the knife and slit Deng Wu's sack from top to bottom.

A few lumps of coal rolled out. Behind them came a slide of grey stones, a handful of sawdust and a rusty horseshoe.

The lane went quiet.

“Stones?”

“Half the sack is stones!”

“That's the third time this month for me!”

“Tong Gui, you thief! Heaven has eyes!”

“…”

Tong Gui's face turned red, then pale. “Slander! Those stones fell in on the road! Who is this? You don't wear a Hall badge! Guards!”

“Badge?” the stranger said. “I have a better thing.”

He held up the potato.

Tong Gui stared at it. The potato was scorched and slightly squashed.

“This is the official inspection token of the Hall,” the stranger said gravely. “Very old. Very powerful.”

Someone in the queue snorted. The stranger’s smile faded, and a heavy pressure filled the lane. Disciples hurried back. Tong Gui’s knees buckled, dropping him into his own coal dust. His face turned pale; the potato joke was no longer funny.

Shi Feng felt the pressure slide past him without touching him. It was gentle, for something that heavy. He kept his face calm. That was far heavier than any Foundation Establishment cultivator's weight. It was heavier than a Golden Core's too.

The pressure vanished as quickly as it came, and the stranger was cheerful again.

“Now. Arithmetic,” the stranger said. “Forty-one poor disciples. Eleven months. Two sacks each, a month. Half stones. Tong Gui, what's that come to?”

“I—I don't—” Tong Gui said.

“Nine hundred and two points. Ten times that, for the insult. Plus an education fee for my junior brother here, who carries heavy things and doesn't complain.” The stranger turned to Shi Feng. “Write that down.”

“This is extortion,” Shi Feng said.

“It's education,” the stranger said.

“What's the difference?” Shi Feng said.

“Who keeps the money?” the stranger asked, pointing at the queue. “They get back what was stolen. You get a fee for helping. Don’t confuse the two, junior brother.”

Shi Feng still disliked the old fox’s methods, but Deng Wu was staring at the stones from his sack, furious and relieved. The other disciples crowded forward for refunds. None of them wanted this ‘education’ to stop.

Fine, he thought. I'll watch how this old fox does it.

Tong Gui paid. It took a long time and he moaned the whole way. Zhu Liu, who had followed Shi Feng without being told and was now hiding behind a post, wrote out forty-one receipts with shaking hands. Each disciple took their refund with both hands. Deng Wu bowed so low he nearly hit the mud.

When it was done, the stranger lifted a full sack of good, clean coal onto Shi Feng's shoulder.

“Your fee,” the stranger said. “Deliver it to your own door. The sect master has a long memory about coal.”

Shi Feng adjusted the sack on his shoulder. It was full of proper coal this time. Whatever he thought of the stranger’s tricks, the shivering disciples had their money back.

“I'll count it against my debt,” Shi Feng said. “With a receipt.”

“You see? You're already learning.” The stranger beamed.

Behind them, Tong Gui had found his courage again, now that the lane was emptying. He pushed himself up and shouted after them.

“I'll file a complaint! The chief disciple will hear about this! Tomorrow, at the assembly, in front of everyone! You're overestimating your own abilities!” Tong Gui said.

The stranger stopped. He looked back over his shoulder, still chewing.

“Please do,” the stranger said warmly. “I'll be there.”