I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

The entire pawnshop fell into silence.

Xie An stared at the silver in Madam Li's hand, unable to speak for a long time.

Xie An could sense Li Ru's thoughts, which were no more than three:

First, he felt that after being a slave for thirty years, he shouldn't think about breaking free from the Li Mansion...

Second, he had offended Li Ru's authority, displeasing him.

Third, Li Shaoyun's martial arts training was very expensive, so he simply cut him with a harsh knife. It was both suppression and a real cut.

Li Ru knew that he couldn't come up with so much silver, so he could only continue to stay in the pawnshop and work for the Li Mansion. Over the years, Xie An's appraisal skills were good, and he had accumulated a considerable reputation inside and outside the town. Many old customers came for Xie An.

As long as Xie An continued to stay in the pawnshop, the value would naturally exceed two hundred taels.

If Li Ru insisted on this, with Xie An's current ability, he had no intention of letting the Li Mansion have a good time.

But Madam Li... was kind and benevolent.

For a moment, Xie An couldn't help but recall the grand scene of Madam Li marrying into the Li Mansion.

At that time, he was a young man, and Madam Li was also a maiden in her prime.

Now, both of them had graying hair at the temples.

Time urges people to grow old.

Coming back to his senses, Xie An cupped his hands and said, "Madam Li's kindness, I appreciate it. But this sum of silver, I absolutely cannot accept."

Madam Li's attitude was firm, "Old Xie, I sincerely hope that you can have a good end, and I am not testing you in any way."

Feeling Madam Li's sincerity, Xie An no longer concealed anything, "Madam, if I don't have the ability to raise the money to redeem myself, even if I receive Madam's favor, I won't be able to live outside. Such redemption would be meaningless. Please give me seven days, Madam, I will go and raise the money."

Sensing the determination in Xie An's eyes, Madam Li didn't force him any further, "Since that's the case, I won't force you. I will talk to the master and give you seven days to raise the money. If you can't raise it by then, have Chunlan come and tell me."

Leaving these words, Madam Li got up and left, stepping back into the wind and snow.

Xie An saw her to the door, watching Madam Li's back disappear into the distance.

Chunlan, who followed behind, came up and said, "Master Xie, Madam Li has shown you kindness, why do you have to be like this? This will only make things harder for yourself."

Xie An said, "Madam Li was a maidservant who married into the Li Mansion, and her life must not be easy. If the master knows about this, her days will be even harder. Madam has been kind to me, how can I make things difficult for her?"

Chunlan stared at Xie An for a long time before turning and leaving.

...

If it were a few months ago, one hundred and eighty taels would definitely have been an unimaginable number for Xie An.

But for Xie An now, it wasn't too exaggerated.

After all, Zhang Lin said that the White Feather Hall deacon's salary was twenty taels per month. Find Zhang Lin to smooth things over and overdraw half a year's salary... a total of one hundred and twenty taels, plus the sixty taels in hand. That would be enough.

Returning to the small house, Xie An saw that his two disciples were enthusiastically practicing the health-preserving exercise, and Han Li was doing it quite well. As for He Chunli... he was practicing with his butt sticking out, looking like a dog paddling...

"Master, look at whether I'm practicing correctly?"

"Me too, me too..."

Xie An glanced at the two disciples' stances, "Han Li's is okay, Xiao He, what is this... dog paddling?"

"Hahaha."

Han Li was so happy when he heard this that he clapped his thighs. He Chunli, who was already shy and thin-skinned, became even more embarrassed.

"I'll demonstrate it for you, watch carefully."

Xie An was in a bad mood today, but seeing his two disciples so diligent, he couldn't help but be infected, so he stopped and showed them a demonstration.

As the saying goes, 'Opening the door reveals a mountain,' Xie An only demonstrated a few movements, and he shocked the two disciples.

"Master, your performance is so good, it's like a great hero."

"Xiao He, you really don't know how to talk, please remove the word 'like'. Master is a great hero."

"Brother Han is right, I was rash."

"Don't be distracted, watch carefully." Xie An scolded, and the two disciples then gathered their minds and studied carefully. The more they watched, the more shocked they became. Although they were beginners, they clearly felt that Xie An's movements were smooth and flowing, completed in one go. When he punched, he could even cause bursts of air explosions, which was extremely mighty.

In an instant, the two people's eyes were filled with admiration for their master.

After Xie An finished demonstrating each move, he retracted his hand and stood still, "Okay, you can figure it out yourself, cultivation mainly depends on yourselves."

Leaving a sentence, Xie An returned to the utility room next to the small house and practiced the health-preserving exercise for a day.

At dusk, after Xie An and his two disciples had dinner, they hurried out.

When they walked out of the town, night fell, Xie An wrapped his face in black cloth and came to the Blood Ridge Black Market again.

Although the Black Market did not explicitly announce its closure, there were not many people on the third day of the new year, only a few twenty or thirty stalls, and few merchants.

Xie An came directly to the Black Market and did not find the young man with the chamber pot that night. He went to the courtyard on the edge to find Zhang Lin.

"Old brother, I've finally been waiting for you." Zhang Lin was still wearing the uniform of a deacon, warmly welcoming Xie An into the inner hall, and even asked Zhou Xing to brew Chen tea to entertain him.

After a few words of greeting, Zhang Lin directly got to the point, "It's a coincidence. Deacon Zhang Biao was ambushed and killed by bandits on New Year's Eve, and his position as deacon happens to be vacant. If the old brother is interested in joining my White Feather Hall, you can just take over this position."

As he spoke, Zhang Lin looked at Xie An with a smile that was not a smile, as if he knew something.

Although there was no evidence, Zhang Lin strongly felt that this matter was done by the old man in front of him.

A few months ago, Zhang Lin hinted at Zhang Biao to Xie An, and then Zhang Biao died.

And only three days after his death, Xie An came to the door?

How could there be such a coincidence?

What's more, Zhang Lin had checked the scene and knew that Zhang Biao was shot to death by a heavy bow. When Zhang Wei and Lu Wei died before, Zhang Lin saw it from a distance, and Xie An used a heavy bow at that time.

In summary, Zhang Lin deduced eighty or ninety percent: Zhang Biao was killed by the old man in front of him.

But there was no evidence, and this kind of thing could only be buried in his heart, and could not be said.

Facing Zhang Lin's gaze, Xie An knew what this old guy was thinking.

However, Xie An was not panicked, he was just speculating and had no evidence. Moreover, after half a year of understanding, Xie An felt that the interests of both parties were currently the same, and the other party would not expose the matter.

Of course, Xie An would not completely place his hope on Zhang Lin's credibility. He wore a mask every time he came to the Black Market, and Zhang Lin did not know his identity. If Zhang Lin really had any measures to harm him, he could only send him on his way.

Favor is favor, and it can be repaid. But if it was a matter of life and death, Xie An, who possessed strength, would never be ambiguous.

After weighing it again and again, Xie An said, "Deacon Zhang, can I pre-pay half a year's salary?"