Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Concession

At Guo Wei’s invitation, Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu had no choice but to step aside.

The middle-aged man pushed the door open and entered.

The four men behind him saw this and began to file in.

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu blocked the doorway. The two men in the lead reached out to grab their shoulders. Both of them retaliated at the same time, striking at the men’s chests with the Mountain Ascending Technique of the Iron Mountain Fist.

Sensing the Fist Force, the two men turned their palms downward and viciously slapped at their fists.

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu shuddered from the impact.

The two men, however, stumbled back two steps, nearly crashing into the second-floor hallway railing.

“Stand down!”

Xu Haizhou barked.

The four men obediently stood outside, shooting provocative looks at Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu.

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu stared back fearlessly, though they were secretly alarmed. Xu Haizhou’s four disciples were seven or eight years older than them, all young men in their early twenties. Their palms were broad, the calluses on their knuckles like iron nails hammered into bone.

They had just repelled the men with the Iron Mountain Fist and gained the upper hand, but they knew that in a close-quarters fight in this narrow hallway, neither Chu Lingguang nor Hei Hu would have an advantage.

Xu Haizhou sat down in front of Guo Wei. “A big room all to yourself. No wonder you’re still in the mood for tea this late.”

He was a Boxer who served as a household guard for a Court official. He was currently passing through Dingyuan County with several disciples to report for duty, not to participate in the Daoist Examination in a few days.

Running into Guo Wei at the small tavern had been a complete surprise.

“The county seat is only twenty li from here,” Guo Wei said calmly. “With your speed, you could be there in under half an hour. Why trouble the innkeeper?”

“I’m tired. I don’t want to move again,” Xu Haizhou said with a smile. “I see you three, master and disciples, have two rooms. Why don’t you and your students squeeze into one and give this room to us?”

“If you don’t like the idea of squeezing together, you can just go to the county seat. It’s only half an hour away, after all,” the aggressive young man chimed in.

Guo Wei slowly set down his teacup.

Xu Haizhou and he had a history. Years ago, during the Martial Arts Examination, Guo Wei had defeated him. Unwilling to accept the loss, Xu Haizhou had resorted to using a Hidden Weapon, only to have it backfire and injure his own leg tendon. The injury left a lasting weakness and got him disqualified from the examinations.

He never competed again.

He started out as a guard for merchants, but slowly built connections with Court officials. Now, he was a Guard Commander at the Capital Mansion. While he held no official rank, he had leveraged the Capital Mansion’s prestige to build a successful career.

“After all these years, how has your Thunderbolt Fist improved?” Guo Wei asked.

Hearing this from outside the door, Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu stepped back across the threshold into the room. Several of their weapons were stored in Guo Wei’s room.

’If a fight breaks out, having weapons will increase our chances.’

Besides, the hallway was narrow. By falling back into the room, they could just defend the doorway and completely block the four men outside.

As for Xu Haizhou, they would naturally leave him to Guo Wei.

’We’ve followed Master Guo for two years, so we know his character. He never does anything he’s not sure of. For him to ask about Xu Haizhou’s Thunderbolt Fist, he must be confident he can win.’

Xu Haizhou’s expression turned serious. Outside, his four disciples were cracking their knuckles, ready to rush in on his command.

Over the years, with the backing of the Capital Mansion, he had become arrogant and overbearing, and his disciples had adopted his attitude.

’In a tavern outside a small county, I could act with impunity,’ he thought. ’But I’m facing Guo Wei. I was the one he defeated. He even knocked my own Hidden Weapon back at me, injuring my leg and leaving this weakness.’

’For years, I’ve focused on my fist Kung Fu, and my Thunderbolt Fist has long since reached Great Success. But against Guo Wei… I’m not completely confident I can win.’

Seeing Guo Wei in the tavern, he had charged over out of habit. But if he retreated now, the hatred he already harbored for Guo Wei would surely fester into an internal injury from sheer frustration.

He glanced at Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu. They had immediately secured the doorway, long sabers already in hand, clearly prepared for a bloody fight.

’If I don’t answer his challenge, won’t word get out that I was scared off?’

At this thought, Xu Haizhou clenched his fists, his knuckles popping. His breathing grew heavy.

Guo Wei, sitting opposite him, appeared calm, but he was secretly gathering his strength. ’When the fight starts,’ he planned, ’my first priority is to take down Xu Haizhou within a few rounds. I’ll break both his arms to eliminate this problem for good.’

“Hm?”

But just as Guo Wei was preparing to strike first, he noticed the shoes on Chu Lingguang’s feet. They were patched together from several different pieces of cloth.

Guo Wei remembered them. They were the same shoes that had been torn when Chu Lingguang fought Da Wu at the Weiyuan Escort Agency, ripped by a blast of Da Wu’s Qi Power.

He had sent Hei Hu to buy a new pair of boots for Chu Lingguang back then.

He hadn’t seen Chu Lingguang wear those boots since. It seemed the boy had treasured them and put them away. Now, looking at the needlework on the patched shoes, he saw it was crooked and uneven. Several stitches were clearly visible—not the work of a skilled tailor who could hide the seams from view.

’Clearly, Chu Lingguang did this crude needlework himself.’

Guo Wei was suddenly reminded of Chu Lingguang’s impoverished background.

He had trained bitterly day and night for two years, all for the sake of passing the Martial Arts Examination and distinguishing himself. With the Daoist Examination so close, all his hard work was about to pay off.

Guo Wei couldn’t bear the thought of it all being ruined tonight.

Then he glanced at Hei Hu. Though sturdily built and from a landlord’s family, he too carried the hopes of his entire clan. If he got injured tonight because his master got into a petty squabble, and it affected his performance in the examination, Guo Wei wouldn’t be able to face Master Hei.

Especially when he saw the two of them, long sabers in hand, ready and waiting to fight the four men at the door at a moment’s notice, Guo Wei finally let out a long sigh. “If you want the room, it’s yours. My disciples and I will share for the night.”

“Master.”

Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu, who had been ready to fight, were utterly surprised.

Across from Guo Wei, Xu Haizhou was even more incredulous. He looked from Guo Wei to Chu Lingguang, and a thought seemed to strike him. His expression grew more solemn than before.

Guo Wei motioned for Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu not to say anything, then stood up to gather his things and move to the adjacent room.

“Master Guo, please wait.”

Xu Haizhou stood, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture. “You were right earlier,” he said with a smile. “With our speed, we can be in the county seat in under half an hour. Why suffer by cramming into a small room? We won’t trouble you further. Farewell!”

“Master.”

His four disciples outside looked on in confusion.

“Hurry up and go.”

Xu Haizhou’s face was grim as he hurried downstairs.

The four quickly followed. Once they were out of the tavern, the aggressive young man asked, “Master, Guo Wei already backed down. Why didn’t we just stay?”

“Guo Wei’s eldest disciple is a Captain in the Governor’s Mansion,” Xu Haizhou demanded. “Do you really think a man like that would back down in front of me?”

The four disciples’ expressions froze.

“Sigh…”

“Guo Wei only backed down for the sake of his two disciples.”

“But those two boys have unwavering eyes. They were willing to shed blood for Guo Wei’s sake. That shows you how deep their bond is. If they succeed in the examinations, they will definitely come after us for revenge on Guo Wei’s behalf.”

“Never underestimate a poor young man. We can’t afford to provoke them. Let’s go!”

Xu Haizhou’s face was a mask of bitterness. He had not only lost to Guo Wei in terms of Kung Fu, but the caliber of his own disciples was also far inferior. He inwardly regretted that he had ever tried to challenge Guo Wei in the first place.

(Author’s Note: The book is about to reach a major climax. I’ve spent the last few days working on the outline, but I’ve been unhappy with a lot of what I’ve written, constantly writing and deleting. That’s why updates have been slow for the past two days. I’ll strive to return to a normal schedule tomorrow.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep