Chapter 296 - 295: A Poor Boy Meets a Master?

Chapter 296: Chapter 295: A Poor Boy Meets a Master?

At 9:00 PM, Old Tang returned to the Jingtuan dormitory area in the back, feeling completely satisfied. Thanks to the orders doled out by the various big shots, he had managed to deliver over a hundred in one go. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have delivered more, but he wasn’t the only one getting orders from them. If he took too large a share, it would lead to trouble.

About a hundred orders, but after deducting the commission for the big shots, his actual take-home was equivalent to the pay for about seventy. At seventy orders a day, he was on track to earn over nine hundred Gang Contribution points a month. That would be nine thousand value points, and its purchasing power was even higher.

’Heh heh, that kid’s probably still out on the streets, racking his brain,’ Old Tang thought smugly as he walked. ’Trying to snatch orders directly from the big shots? He’ll get two or three a day at most, and he might even have to get into a bloody fight with some tough customers. At this rate, he won’t even be able to pay his rent in a month. That’s when he’ll come crawling to me on his knees!’

Old Tang chuckled to himself as he headed back. As he passed the dormitory area, an idea suddenly struck him, and he decided to drop by Shi Tiexin’s room.

’First, I’ll go see his roommates.’

Old Tang wasn’t going there to make trouble. On the contrary, he planned to show his face in the dorm to demonstrate his concern for the newcomer.

’In his mind, a newcomer like Shi Tiexin must be getting a hard time from his roommates. But as long as I show my face, those first-three-rank Outer Disciples wouldn’t dare offend me, and they’ll naturally change their attitude toward Shi Tiexin.’

’Once their attitudes change, Shi Tiexin will naturally realize that I’m the one quietly looking out for him from behind the scenes. Then he’ll start to trust me a bit more.’

’And that trust will become a key, a primer, allowing me to proceed with my plan as a matter of course. Until one day, I’ll be able to feed that kid a bowl of sweet, delicious poison.’

’Yes, my persona is that of a "great master incognito in the mortal world, searching for a worthy successor." If I don’t cultivate this image properly, how will I ever get that kid to bow his head and swear fealty?’

Mulling this over, Old Tang headed for Shi Tiexin’s dormitory.

He pushed the door open.

Before he could even speak, he saw Shi Tiexin sitting commandingly at a desk, writing furiously. Meanwhile, a skinny young man was at his side, serving tea, pouring water, doing laundry, and folding a blanket.

"Boss, what do you think of the blanket-folding?" the skinny guy asked, diligently tidying the bed without a hint of reluctance on his face.

Just a moment ago, he had issued three more challenges and, unsurprisingly, lost all three. He had already lost all hope and resigned himself to being a wage slave with no future. But then, to his surprise, Shi Tiexin had casually offered him a bit of advice, pointing out the flaws in his Leg Technique.

Even though it was just a tiny, insignificant piece of advice, the skinny guy’s attitude toward Shi Tiexin immediately did a complete one-eighty.

He discovered the advice was actually useful!

No one had ever guided him before. People would just watch him strive in confusion, persist in futility, and struggle in vain, but no one ever pointed him in the right direction.

’But this big guy... this newcomer... this Boss... he was actually willing to... to guide me?’

In his eyes, Shi Tiexin’s image instantly grew so tall that the roof could barely contain him.

"Boss, you must be thirsty! I’ll go get you some water!" the skinny guy chirped, happily scurrying off to pour him a cup.

Shi Tiexin calmly finished writing on a name card, then noticed Old Tang standing dazed in the doorway. With a greeting that was enthusiastic, polite, and perfectly smooth, he called out, "Teacher Tang, what brings you here? Please, come in!"

"I, uh, I just came to see if you’re settling in all right." Old Tang quickly composed himself, walked into the room with feigned nonchalance, and asked like a concerned uncle, "You’re new here. Are you getting along with your roommates?"

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Tang. My roommates are all great." Shi Tiexin gestured with an air of command. "Xiaozhang, serve Teacher Tang some tea."

"Coming!" The skinny guy scampered over, deftly handing a cup to Teacher Tang. "Oh, it’s Teacher Tang! Are you here to see Brother Shi? Please, you two talk. Don’t mind me, I’ll just be here to wait on you."

Teacher Tang looked at Skinny Xiaozhang. He didn’t seem to be under the effects of the Soul Capturing Heart Technique. He couldn’t help but scratch his head.

"The way you’re handling your roommate situation... is certainly unexpected." Teacher Tang stared at Shi Tiexin, his voice laced with meaning. "You’ve got a trick or two up your sleeve."

"Heh heh, Teacher Tang, you flatter me. Ever since I was young, when it comes to handling interpersonal relationships, I’ve just..." Images of all the people he’d beaten up—older, his age, and younger—floated through his mind. Phantoms like Teng Chaoguo of the piss bucket and He Chong of the headshot screamed and wailed in his memory. Shi Tiexin’s expression was utterly sincere. "...had a bit of a knack for it. Just a bit."

"That’s good, that’s good. I was just worried you wouldn’t be able to adapt." Old Tang was at a loss for how to continue the conversation. He mulled it over for a moment, then decided to go for the finishing blow. "It was your first day of work today. Did you run into any trouble?"

’Come on, kid! Let’s see that expression change! Look miserable and defiant! Start pouring your heart out to me!’

"It was pretty good. The people in the Upper City District are really warm and hospitable, very down-to-earth." Shi Tiexin recalled how, just three hours earlier, Yin He had not only treated him to a video game and given him fifty orders, but, most touchingly, had placed the final order for Shi Tiexin himself.

That was an Essence Nourishment meal set worth over two hundred value points!

Yin He had just generously treated him to an Essence Nourishment meal!

Shi Tiexin had been stunned by the favor and tried to refuse, but Yin He’s hospitality was so insistent it was impossible to decline. His perfect-grade basic Essence Nourishment Technique extracted a full four wisps of vital essence from that meal. While it might as well have been junk food to the likes of the Champion Scholar Stone and the Black Venerable, Shi Tiexin himself had never eaten anything so good in his entire life.

’Could there possibly be a kinder person in the world?’

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but sigh. "The people of the Upper City District... they’re truly rich, and they’re truly good people. As the saying goes, ’Folk with full granaries know etiquette, those with enough food and clothing know honor.’ The people here have full granaries and know their manners. They’re so much better than a vicious commoner like me from the harsh backwaters."

Seeing that Shi Tiexin’s moved expression didn’t seem fake, Old Tang was utterly clueless as to what had actually happened. All he could do was draw out a long "Oh..." while he racked his brain, trying to think of something that would hit a nerve.

’It’s just like a pyramid scheme. If you don’t break them down to rock bottom first, how can you rebuild their entire belief system?’

"Boss, you must be tired after a full day of deliveries. Let me give you a leg massage!" The skinny guy came over and, as obediently as a young attendant, began to massage Shi Tiexin’s legs.

Old Tang’s eyes went wide.

’What the fuck? I don’t even have an attendant! No one gives me leg massages!’

"Boss, I heard from the girl at the front desk! You delivered more than fifty orders in a single day! You’re definitely going to be the potential new star this month. That’s amazing!"

’More than fifty orders?’

Old Tang’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

’More than fifty orders on his first day... How many did I do on my first day at Jingtuan? Who’s supposed to be breaking down who, here?!’

Time to leave!

After offering a few perfunctory words, Old Tang hurried back to his own dorm. He lay on his bed, unable to sleep, and muttered viciously, "What happened to the plan to drop that trashy web fiction nearby? The one titled ’Poor Boy Meets Master on Hard Times, Gains Godly Power, and Rises to Rule the World’? Did they drop it or not?"

Young people love to daydream, and the more miserable their reality, the more they indulge in fantasy. Old Tang believed this ploy ought to have had some effect.

He remembered that his contact was always reliable, so the story must have been disseminated. Reassured, he settled in to wait for the results.

「Meanwhile, in Shi Tiexin’s dorm room.」

Skinny Xiaozhang lay on his bed, staring at the trashy web fiction on his screen. The plot points within resonated deeply with him.

’A poor boy meets a kind master and rises to become invincible?’ Xiaozhang secretly glanced at Shi Tiexin, who was still writing on his name cards, and thought with glee, ’This whole trope... I’m buying it!’