"Brother Min, you were a total badass today!" Lin Xiaodong kept saying as they walked.
Lin Ming remained silent. He had indeed spoken with conviction that afternoon, but surpassing Zhu Yan was an incredibly difficult task, one that would require tremendous effort.
He wasn't afraid of hard work or hardship, but his internal injury wasn't something that could be fixed with willpower alone. It required medicinal herbs, and every single one of them was incredibly expensive.
Lin Xiaodong seemed to guess what Lin Ming was thinking. He said, "Brother Min, you just focus on your Cultivation. As for the money, I'll figure something out. Don't worry. My old man's strength might not be much in the family, but when it comes to business, he really knows his stuff. He can come up with a few hundred taels of gold."
Lin Ming faltered and turned to look at Lin Xiaodong. In life, there are many who will celebrate your successes, but only a few who will help you in your time of need. Between brothers, any words of thanks would seem hollow. But Lin Ming still stopped and said earnestly, "Xiaodong, thank you."
"Alright, stop it. I can't handle this stuff. I don't have any great ambitions in life. I'm only taking the Seven Profound Martial Mansion exam to make my old man proud. Brother Min, I believe in you. Someday, when you become a master, just make sure to look out for me, haha."
Lin Ming laughed heartily as well. "Yeah! For a brother like you, I'll definitely see this path of Martial Arts through to the end."
...
It was already night when Lin Ming returned to his rented room. During the period between registration and the examination for the Seven Profound Martial Mansion, accommodations in Tianyun City were in high demand. The inns were completely full, and their prices had increased by half. Therefore, many candidates chose to rent rooms instead, though that was hardly cheap either.
Lin Ming had rented a single room of only ten square meters. The furnishings were simple. Lin Ming got on the bed and was about to sit in meditation to regulate his breath when there was a knock at the door.
Lin Ming opened the door and saw his landlady, a corpulent, middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties. Usually, the landlady wore a fierce expression and was incredibly harsh, but this time she had a fawning smile on her face, which struck Lin Ming as unusual.
"Is there something you need, ma'am?"
"Well... young man, I'm sorry, but I was wondering... could you vacate the room?"
"Hm?" Lin Ming frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Hehe, my apologies, but I've rented this room now." A grating male voice drifted in. Lin Ming looked up to see a man with sharp, ape-like features walking in from the main hall, a mocking smirk on his face.
Lin Ming was stunned for a second before he recognized the man. It was one of the servants who had been trailing behind Zhu Yan and another young man earlier that day. He seemed to belong to the unnamed youth. That youth hadn't said anything at the time, but the look he'd given Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong had been filled with contempt.
'Without a doubt, that young man sent his servant to mess with me to curry favor with Zhu Yan. As long as he offered to pay several times my rent, this greedy old landlady would naturally try to kick me out.'
'It's the registration period for the Seven Profound Martial Mansion, so rooms are scarce. Finding another place will be easier said than done. Besides, even if I manage to find a new room, this lackey will probably just follow me and cause more trouble.'
Lin Ming's expression darkened. He stared coldly at the usually sharp-tongued landlady and said, "We agreed I would rent for five months. I paid five months' rent in advance. There are still three months left, and you want me to leave?"
The landlady wore an apologetic smile. "Well... of course I know that. Look, how about this? I'll refund you the rent for the remaining three months. What do you say?"
"Hah! Refund three months? You've really done your math, haven't you!" Lin Ming was truly angry now. If the landlady had been forced into this by someone powerful, he would have just left. But her current, greedy expression made his blood boil.
"Hey, what kind of attitude is that? It was just a verbal agreement, we never signed a contract! This house is mine, and I'll rent it to whomever I please!" As the capital of Tianyun Country, the landlords of Tianyun City possessed a subconscious sense of superiority. They saw anyone from the Outer City as a country bumpkin and looked down on them, speaking with an air of immense self-assurance. With a man who was clearly a servant from a wealthy and powerful family backing her, the landlady's courage naturally swelled.
Just then, the man with the ape-like features laughed arrogantly. "If you know what's good for you, scram. Let me tell you something, I've got my eyes on you now. Even if you find another place, I've got ways to kick you out again. For the three months from the Martial Mansion's registration until the exam, you can just go sleep on the streets! Haha!"
The noble class naturally develops a sense of superiority from birth, but it is usually expressed through their temperament. Even when they lost their composure, like Zhu Yan, they might be domineering, but their words would remain decorous as they maintained the grace befitting their station. In contrast, when the servants of the nobility acted arrogantly, their arrogance was absolute. This was a textbook case of a dog flaunting its master's power.
Lin Ming stared at the monkey-like man, his gaze turning icy.
"What are you looking at? You want to start something? I'll have you know, my young master is the second son of the Military Lord of the Tianyun City Guard! If you dare to touch me, I'll make you..."
"Get out!" Lin Ming roared, lashing out with a fist that struck the ape-like man square on the bridge of his nose. With a dull THUD, the man was sent flying backward like an actual monkey. Accompanied by a cascade of CRASHES and CLANGS, wooden furniture, pots, and bowls shattered across the floor. The man collapsed in a pile of debris, his hair a mess and his face covered in blood.