Data-Driven Daoist

“They say you passed the stewardship exam,” Li Yao said. “But you didn’t take the position.”

That meant Li Tieniu was in the qi-gathering realm, but didn’t meet one or more of the other requirements for inner-court promotion yet. The most obvious was the age requirement, and Li Tieniu looked at least as old as Father.

Sun Tao, on the other hand, was probably Dad’s age.

Did I die? Or am I comatose on that side? It wasn’t so hard. Maybe the answers were in the Mirror Earth. All he’d have to do was step in. Then this nightmare might be over.

“They don’t lie,” Li Tieniu chuckled. “Though that’s not the whole truth.”

“Nobles?” Li Yao asked.

“Nobles,” Li Tieniu said. “Among other scum.”

“Are you aiming for top ten in the qi-gathering bracket?” Li Yao asked.

Top ten? Oh yeah, of the outer sect tournament. Yu Han didn’t know how many qi-gathering disciples were stuck in the outer sect. There had to be a lot, with hundreds of thousands of active disciples. That means he’s at the highest levels of qi gathering.

“Something like that,” Li Tieniu said. He didn’t elaborate further.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Li Tienu was a level 20. If he broke through to foundation building before he made it into the inner-court, then he could say goodbye to a core disciple position and aim for being a deacon. Since he didn’t take the stewardship though, that option was also out.

“Sorry to say that I haven’t heard of Senior Sun Tao,” Li Yao turned to the old man.

“This old man’s just a spice seller,” Sun Tao pointed at himself with chopsticks. “My bones are too old to wrestle with things with too many teeth and claws. And I mean teenagers in tournaments. Monsters are a cute bunch compared to overzealous kids.”

“I see you selling vegetables now and then,” Yu Han said.

“Not vegetables,” Sun Tao said. “Vegetable foods. My own cakes from sea carrots and rice. Will fill up your lifeforce faster than your hunger. Tastes much better than the crap here.”

They finished up the meal with small talk and a few laughs here and there. Sun Tao pretended to be a grumpy old man even though he practically radiated laughter. He was also in the qi gathering realm. Though he’d been stuck at level 14 for more than a decade now. Li Tieniu looked intimidating but at the end of the day, he was just another dude. A muscly dude that ate the meat, bone and all.

“Old Sun and I took the liberty to listen in. Don’t mind it, will you?” Li Tieniu said, but he didn’t look apologetic. “Xu Jinshui’s been actin’ like a bully these last few months. He wasn’t like that before, but I’m guessing someone gave him ideas.”

“The kid’s been a rotten one since he was in his mama’s belly,” Sun Tao said. “You were too much of a big brother to notice.”

“Rotten and dumb then,” Li Tieniu said. “Imagine tryin’ to turf part of the outer sect up when you’re just a body-tempering level 8. Kinda glad he showed his true self then. Funny guy. My fist started itching when I saw his mug. You see, I don’t much like bullies.”

“Bullshit,” Old Sun said. “His name’s Iron Bull ‘cause he shits from both ends. He talks crap and drops it too.”

“You wanna say that again, old man?”

“Sure. You. Talk. Crap.” Sun Tao smirked.

“Old Sun, I got a new remedy for your back pain. Let Iron Bull fold ye in half,” Li Tieniu cracked his knuckles.

“Bring it on. My bones are old but I got a mean swing. You should ask your mother---”

“You court deads”

“It’s ‘you court death’, you numbskull!”

They must have a good relationship.

“Iron Bull here was here for the token too. Giving Xu Jinshui a memorable night with the floor was his secondary motive,” Sun Tao said. “Reckon his mind’s changed now.”

Li Tieniu shrugged.

Curious. Why would they admit their agenda? Unless that was part of the plan and now they wanted Yu Han to overthink? If so, their plan was working.

“Tubs, you shouldn’t eat the chopstick,” Li Yao said. “We can order more meat if you’re hungry.”

“Wine’s here,” Yu Han said. “But we won’t be drinking. Take it as a token of gratitude. We must really be off to the Law Enforcement hall now.”

The gazes were starting to get to him. The bastards still hadn’t had enough. Xu Jinshui’s group might have left, but others were still there. Spying like a bunch of creeps.

Is this a negative side-effect of Thousand Petals Awareness? He didn’t have the art active. But he did use it when he first noticed they were being followed. As the art increased its level, he had noticed a slight passive buff to his awareness too.

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It’s an awesome art. But if the side effect is always feeling like an exhibitionist, then something drastic had to be done!

“We can drink while we walk with ya,” Sun Tao said. “You two look confused as baby ducks. And confused ducks make for good meals.” He swirled his finger around the air. “There’s too many dogs out hunting for scraps today, so they might just bite.”

“Old Sun, that sounded like a threat.”

“No it didn’t. Now get your beefy palms off my wine.”

“Kid, you better listen despite his rambling,” Li Tieniu said. “Strong Shan’s been going around saying you’re looking for buyers. Half a mil mortal-grade spirit stones and you’ll hand over courtyard rights. But looking at your puffy cheeks, that was a lie, huh?”

“Lu Shan, that piece of work.” Yu Han gritted his teeth. No, it’s probably Zhang Jiyou. So this is the route they took. Smart. Smort. Can’t argue with Duan Xiaolong and can’t verify if my words are the truth. So they went and created their own version of the truth.

“Let’s walk, kiddos,” Old Sun said. “I like what you did with the Mad Bloodhounds. Made the sect a better place. Here, this drink’s to you!” He gulped down the full gourd of wine and burped. “Ah, it tastes even worse than their cooking.”

“Old Sun’s just old. He ain’t ungrateful,” Li Tieniu told them as if to defend his companion.

The walk to the Law Enforcement hall took no more than ten minutes, but each step felt watched. Eyes clung to them from alleys, rooftops, and shopfront shadows. Too many, far too many. There were even the goons from Wang Daming and Xu Jinshui’s gangs.

What are we? Public enemy number one? What the hell did Lu Shan say to them?

“Now the show’s heating up,” Li Tieniu whistled.

“They have to know Lu Shan lied,” Yu Han grumbled.

“The gangs don’t give a rat’s tail if you really wanna sell or not,” Old Sun said. His breath carried a hint of alcohol. “They know you have something. That something’s a courtyard right. And they want it.”

“They can’t just take it,” Yu Han said. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s bound to us. We have to be the ones to use it. If they show up with the token and not us, they’re done for.”

“Tubs, sometimes I don’t know if you’re a sinister snake or a naive kitten,” Li Yao shook his head.

“What do you mean?” Yu Han asked. “Why a kitten? Why can’t I be a naive tiger?”

“Missing the cat?” Li Yao grinned. “Or Fang Zhao?”

“Am not,” Yu Han denied. “Fei Rui has.”

“Your friend means they don’t care,” Sun Tao said. “Some got nobles backing ‘em. Some got courtyards and pavilions. Some just got fists. More still are like Iron Bull here. They’ve been in the grind for decades, trying to cobble together enough contribution points for an honest shot at a good life. It gets harder and harder every year, and they’re tired. They want an easy way out.”

“And we’re that easy way?” Yu Han frowned.

“Not all of’em are gonna try and strong-arm you. In fact, most won’t. Ain’t no harm in asking. If it works, great. If it don’t, no matter. They won’t care.” Sun Tao burped as he spoke. How heavy was that basket? He was hunched more now. “Something’s been happening that made these easy ways easy. It’s like the nobles don’t care what commoners do anymore. The sect master’s not butting in either.”

“Reckon the incident in Great Barrier City’s been behind it?” Li Tieniu said.

“Don’t care ‘bout that,” Sun Tao said. “Better not to put your head in that jar.”

“What happened in Great Barrier City?” Li Yao asked.

“Demonic cultivators,” Li Tieniu grimaced. “Quite a lot of them.”

“That don’t matter to us,” Sun Tao said. “We’re in the centrum and there’s been no demons here in centuries. How much years is a century again?”

“Why do you think it’s strange that the nobles don’t care now?” Yu Han asked. “Isn’t it better if they let commoners be? Ah, and a century is a hundred years.”

“It’s suspicious is what it is,” the old man rambled on. “Most elders didn’t like it when a courtyard popped up with nothing but commoner work. They’d always, and I mean always, go outta their ways to mess things up for us. But the new sect master, now he’s a piece’a solid steel they say. Don’t bend to no noble pressure. Don’t break or crack. Says he don’t care much for the noble bloods, but who’s to say he cares for us grassroots? He talks big, says he’s cleanin’ house. Orthodox-shit and all that. But you can’t clean rot when it’s in the foundation. He don’t care that gangs been popping up, and how’s that helping his orthodoxy?”

“I can’t believe it will,” Yu Han said.

“By the bleedin’ heavens it won’t!” Sun Tao said. “Sect Master only cares if the nobles bully us or not. He don’t care if peasant gangs paid off by nobles bully other peasants, by the looks of it. Pushing commoners to dirty their hands’ll make it harder on all of us down the line. Either way, it’s honest folk like us who get squeezed dry. Even with the last sect master, when the nobles threw their weight around, it wasn’t so bad. We’d just feel oppressed. I say that’s better than feelin’ ignored!”

“It’s not that bad now,” Li Tieniu disagreed. “Just more chaotic.”

“I’d take shitty rules over vague or no rules any day,” Sun Tao swung the wine gourd, spilling a few drops on the ground. “It’s like we’re invisible. Why no wonder demons’ve been popping---”

“Old Sun,” Li Tieniu clamped a hand over Sun Tao’s mouth. “Some things are better left unsaid.”

Sun Tao clicked his tongue. He must’ve had a pretty heavy grudge. Even after Li Tieniu let go, he complained and vented. Or maybe he was drunk. Li Tieniu just shrugged, agreeing here and disagreeing there.

“If I were to sell the courtyard rights, would you buy it, Senior Tieniu?” Yu Han asked.

“Keep that thing away from me,” Li Tieniu scowled. “I don’t want no part in whatever games of messed up chess the nobles and the sect Master are playing. There’s the Law Enforcement hall. We won’t wait, so make sure you get home without a bunch of mutts biting off a jin of flesh. It won’t be strange if they jump you.”

Li Tieniu glared at the Law Enforcement hall like he wanted to knock on the front gate and leave a scathing complaint.

Old Sun looked the same. He even spat, his spit filled with thick phlegm. “Useless grunts with no face. Kid, better make your courtyard soon. Sooner than your food turns into shit I reckon. Don’t trust the nobles. If it comes to it, better to even let a commoner gang take you in. Just make sure they ain’t paid off by nobles first.”

“What makes you say that?” Yu Han asked.

“A buddy of mine took in some brats. Nobles from outside the sect from this and that cultivation clan. Said they’d invest in his family. Even let them be nobles! That snake Sima Yan somehow kicked the old fart and his whole family down to the gutter the moment they got in. They spread some fake rumours on mismanagement and whatsit, and the moment some Shu clan elder sneezed, guess whose side the Administration and Vassal Affairs hall took?”

“Didn’t the sect master care?” Yu Han asked. “This is a clear case of nobles bullying commoners.”

“Well they got a figurehead,” Sun Tao scratched his head. “The new courtyard leader is that boy with the funny name. Ma whatever.”

“Ma San?” Yu Han’s eyes widened.

“Yeah that,” Sun Tao said. “He’s a commoner. Whatever. Good luck, kid.”

With that, the old spice-seller and the burly monster-hunter took their leave.

Yu Han frowned. If someone could pull a hostile takeover off once, what’s to stop them from doing it again? Specifically, against his soon-to-be courtyard. He would have to find out the exact loopholes, just in case some future member tried a similar trick with them.

After all, thanks to Zhang Jiyou and Strong Shan, they had a swarm of piranhas trying to convince them to hand the courtyard rights over. Sun Tao thought it would stop after they officially formed the courtyard, but would that really be the case?