Chapter 5: Xin Lang, Gu Ge, and Baidu

Fatty Gu Ge’s promotion to Level Three Martial Apprentice was largely thanks to the ten basic movements and the elixir “Huaqi Dew.”

After the last period of culture class that morning, Fatty Gu Ge caught up to Xin Lang, who had just left the classroom. “Hey, classmate, could you sell me a few more bottles of your ‘Huaqi Dew’?”

Xin Lang was surprised. “Ten bottles a day still aren’t enough for you? What do you need so many for?”

“Heh.” The chubby Gu Ge grinned lasciviously. “I’ve been using ‘Huaqi Dew’ these days, and my performance at the House of Spring Pleasures has been nothing short of heroic. A few of my wolfish friends heard about it and insisted on buying some! I already sold two bottles for three silver coins each! Here, these are the four silver coins I made—let’s split them, half and half!”

As he spoke, Gu Ge handed Xin Lang two silver coins.

Xin Lang couldn’t help but admire Gu Ge’s stamina—after all those exercises during the day, he still had the energy to “plow the fields” at the House of Spring Pleasures at night.

Xin Lang took the silver coins without ceremony and said, “Huaqi Dew only restores physical strength. If you’ve got enough buyers, I can add some invigorating and essence-retaining ingredients, but the price will be much higher.”

“Heh, no one minds if the price is high, as long as the effect is obvious! Anyone willing to spend money on pleasure won’t care about a little extra!” Fatty Gu laughed.

Gu Ge’s words made sense, and Xin Lang hadn’t realized he had such a business mind.

Xin Lang said, “I’ll handle the potion-making from now on, you handle the sales, and we split the profits fifty-fifty.”

Over the past few days, Xin Lang had observed that, despite Gu Ge’s lecherous and sometimes sleazy behavior, he was trustworthy. Xin Lang had already earned quite a bit through him and felt a bit guilty, so he decided to reward him.

When Gu Ge heard Xin Lang’s proposal, he was overjoyed. “Ha! Brother, you trust me that much? From now on, I’ll be your exclusive agent for these potions! Come on, to celebrate this historic moment, lunch is on me today!”

With a free meal on offer, Xin Lang certainly wouldn’t refuse.

After lunch, Fatty Gu Ge went to help Xin Lang buy herbs, while Xin Lang returned to the dormitory to prepare potions. The new formula only required adding some invigorating and essence-retaining components to the original “Huaqi Dew,” so he needed to start by making a new batch.

He hadn’t even reached his dorm room when four people blocked his path.

Leading them was a young man with a toothpick in his mouth and a roguish air about him. He addressed Xin Lang, “Transfer student, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?”

Xin Lang frowned. He recognized them all—they were classmates. The ringleader, with his streetwise look, was Qian Baidu, a notorious troublemaker at Sunlight Academy. Last time, Fatty Gu Ge had been badly beaten by him.

“Yeah, we’re waiting just for you.” Qian Baidu smiled slyly.

“What do you want? You’re not going to try to extort me like you did with Fatty, are you?” Xin Lang eyed the four warily. Although he was now a Level Three Martial Apprentice, he hadn’t really been in a proper fight in either this life or his past one.

“Extort you? No, no, no, I haven’t done that in days! I’ve turned over a new leaf—I rob the rich to help the poor now!” Qian Baidu’s words oozed mischief. “Anyone who can afford such high tuition must come from money. So, lend us a little cash to help us poor souls out!”

Xin Lang had expected Qian Baidu to find some pretext for extortion but hadn’t thought he’d be so direct. “And if I refuse?”

“Heh! Then you’ll get the same treatment as Fatty did. But you’re so skinny; I wonder how well you’ll take a beating! Listen to my advice, just cooperate—or I’ll get rough!” Qian Baidu said.

His three lackeys began closing in, clearly ready to turn Xin Lang into a punching bag if he didn’t cough up the money.

Just as Xin Lang was considering how to handle the four of them, his Level-Up Device suddenly popped up with a mission notification: “Two-Star Side Quest: Defeat Qian Baidu and his three companions. Reward: 10 experience points! No penalty for failure. Defeat all in one move each for an extra point!”

Xin Lang almost cheered—such a generous reward!

He couldn’t help but smile, glancing at the four to calculate the quickest and simplest way to take them down. Right now, in Xin Lang’s eyes, Qian Baidu and his friends were no longer people—they were walking piles of experience.

The three henchmen closed in, one in front and one on each side, hemming Xin Lang in outside his dorm.

“Look, Qian Baidu’s bullying the transfer student again!” Several students from Sunlight Academy happened to pass by, stopping to watch with no intention of intervening.

“Both Xin Lang and Fatty have money to burn—they eat lavishly every day. Honestly, I’d like to rough them up for some cash, too! Especially Fatty, who’s rumored to visit the House of Spring Pleasures every night. If you’re going to extort anyone, it might as well be them!” another student chimed in.

“Well, last time Qian Baidu gave Fatty quite a beating, but the guy’s so stingy, I heard Qian Baidu didn’t get a single copper coin out of him!” The crowd of onlookers grew, but all just watched the spectacle.

Despite the audience, Qian Baidu showed no restraint. “Xin Lang, I’ll give you one last chance. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll have to get physical…”

“Ah—!”

“Ah—!”

“Ah—!”

Before Qian Baidu could finish, Xin Lang struck. He started with a direct kick to the stomach of the man in front, knocking him flat. Without pause, he threw a straight punch at the guy on his left, smashing his nose and sending him sprawling backward, blood gushing. At the same time, Xin Lang’s right leg shot out with a side kick to the chest of the man on his right—nearly three hundred pounds of force sent him flying.

PS: During the launch of this new book, I ask for your support! Thank you, dear readers, for sticking with me. I’ve been away for a while, and I’m sorry for that. “Level Up” is a project I’ve always worked hard on, and now I present it in full to you all! If you keep the momentum going, I’ll keep the chapters coming! If we make it onto the new releases chart this week, I’ll update five chapters in one go! Brothers, let the votes and favorites come pouring in!