Chapter 35: Chapter 33: Falling Out

On the other side of the courtyard.

Zhengzi Bridge clutched his throbbing shoulder, his forehead beaded with cold sweat and his face slightly pale.

A cold sneer played on Qin Lie’s lips. “Senior Brother Zheng,” he said contemptuously, “it seems your skills are still lacking. I only used seventy percent of my strength, and you couldn’t take it?”

Luo Qian’s brows furrowed. “We’re just fellow disciples sparring. We’re supposed to stop before causing injury. Why did you have to strike so heavily?”

Qin Lie said flatly, “Some things are fine to say, and some things are not.”

Luo Qian faltered for a moment, then pressed, “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

Swallowing his pain and humiliation, Zhengzi Bridge hurried to Qin Lie’s side. He forced a stiff smile and reached out to pat Qin Lie’s shoulder in a gesture of reconciliation. “It was just a joke, Junior Brother Qin. Please don’t take it to heart. As an apology, I’ll treat you to drinks at Linjiang Tower tonight. What do you say?”

He was trying his best to maintain his last shred of dignity, hoping Qin Lie would accept the olive branch.

“A joke!?”

Qin Lie slapped Zhengzi Bridge’s arm away. “I don’t find your joke funny,” he said mercilessly. “If you spread rumors about me like that again, don’t blame me for getting nasty.”

Before the words had even faded, he had already turned and was striding out of the courtyard.

The smile on Zhengzi Bridge’s face instantly froze, then his expression turned ashen.

He never imagined Qin Lie would humiliate him so thoroughly in public, stomping on his last bit of dignity.

A wave of fury rushed to his head, and he had to take several deep breaths to barely suppress it.

’Times have changed!’

’Qin Lie isn’t just Master Zhou Liang’s Closed-door Disciple, he also seems to have forged a connection with the Captain’s Mansion… That country bumpkin from before has truly gained Momentum.’

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over Zhengzi Bridge.

Beside them, Luo Qian’s face was flushed red with a mixture of shame and anger.

She scanned the curious gazes from all around and snapped, “What are you looking at? You all have an itch for a beating? Now get back to training!”

With that, she stomped her foot and quickly left the courtyard.

The surrounding disciples scattered like startled birds, each returning to their post.

In private, however, whispers spread like ripples from a stone tossed into a pond.

The small circle formed by Zhengzi Bridge, Luo Qian, and Qin Lie was one that the other disciples in the institute would have killed to get into.

“Did they just have a falling out?”

“Is the clique with Senior Brother Zheng and Senior Brother Qin over?”

“What on earth caused such a huge scene?”

This sudden, juicy piece of gossip left many disciples itching with curiosity.

Song Yufeng sidled up to Chen Qing, lowered his voice, and asked with a gossipy expression, “Brother Chen, you’re always in the know. Any idea what just happened?”

“No idea.”

Chen Qing didn’t even look up, continuing to organize his training equipment. His tone was flat.

Feeling as if his heart was being scratched by a cat’s paw, Song Yufeng couldn’t contain his impatience and turned to ask other disciples.

The Zhou Institute wasn’t large, and the relationships between disciples were tangled. Soon enough, one of the lackeys who usually followed Zhengzi Bridge around half-divulged the story.

After finding out the “truth,” Song Yufeng approached Chen Qing during a break in his routine, eager to present his findings like a treasure. “Brother Chen, guess what! It turns out Senior Brother Zheng made a joke. He said since the Luo Family is sponsoring Senior Brother Qin so heavily, why doesn’t Senior Brother Qin just marry into the Luo Family! The moment Senior Brother Qin heard that, his face fell—WHOOSH—dark as the bottom of a pot! Later, when they were sparring, Senior Brother Qin struck to injure…”

He glanced around conspiratorially and lowered his voice even further. “And some people are saying Senior Brother Qin doesn’t even like Senior Sister Luo. He… he has his heart set on Senior Sister Zhou.”

As he said this, Song Yufeng subconsciously glanced at the elegant figure in the corner, and his cheeks flushed slightly.

Ninety-nine percent of the young disciples in the Zhou Institute had, at some point, fantasized about the gentle and beautiful Zhou Yu.

But most of them eventually came to accept reality.

SMACK!

Chen Qing gave Song Yufeng a light rap on the back of the head. “Stop gossiping and focus on your training!” he chided in a low voice. “In less than a month, if you still haven’t touched the threshold of Manifest Force, you’ll be packing your bags and leaving.”

“I know, Senior Brother…”

The excitement on Song Yufeng’s face vanished without a trace, replaced by a thick layer of anxiety.

Counting the days, he had been at the Zhou Institute for almost two months.

At that thought, Song Yufeng lost all interest in gossip and began practicing his fist techniques behind Chen Qing.

Because of this sudden turmoil, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew strange, and many disciples seemed distracted during their training.

Chen Qing, however, was unaffected. He continued to practice his Fist Technique diligently.

As evening fell, he finished a set of the Long Arm Fist with the grace of flowing water. As he drew to a close, an indescribable sense of clarity instantly spread through his entire body.

At the same time, a golden light flashed in his mind:

[Heaven Rewards Diligence; Success is Certain]

[Long Arm Fist Great Success (1/2000)]

Chen Qing slowly exhaled a long, turbid breath, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes before vanishing.

He had finally achieved Great Success in the Long Arm Fist.

Now, his breathing and fist movements were perfectly integrated. When he exerted force, he could “channel Power with qi,” allowing Power to flow unimpeded throughout his body. He had truly reached the Realm of “internal and external unity.”

The Fighting Method was incredibly difficult to master. It required not only comprehension but also years of relentless polishing.

Looking at the entire Zhou Institute, only Zhou Liang had previously reached Great Success in a Fist Technique.

’My confidence in achieving Martial Science High School has grown a bit more,’ Chen Qing mused.

Over the next few days, Chen Qing continuously consolidated his Fist Technique Realm of Great Success, while also focusing more on studying the techniques for refining Dark Force.

Dark Force was completely different from Manifest Force. Its subtleties lay in three key points.

Internal Penetration of Power: The force is not visible on the outside, but it can penetrate an opponent’s flesh and blood to directly injure their internal organs.

Soft and Relaxed Power Generation: It appears effortless, but in reality, it releases immense Power that travels sequentially through the joints.

Extreme Controllability: The depth, hardness, softness, and speed of the Power can be adjusted at will. One can even send an opponent flying without any external injury, like hanging a painting on a wall.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the Zhou Institute had been very strange these past few days.

Zhengzi Bridge seemed to have humbled himself, frequently approaching Qin Lie to talk in an attempt to mend their relationship.

On the surface, they seemed to have reached some sort of reconciliation, but any discerning person could see that their former relationship—sparring, exchanging pointers, and laughing together—was gone, replaced by an invisible barrier hanging in the air.

Furthermore, Luo Qian hadn’t shown her face in the courtyard for several days.

The core clique that countless disciples had once envied had disintegrated in just a few days, a lamentable sight.

As for Qin Lie, who had participated in suppressing bandits and earned minor military merits, he was extremely busy during this period.

Wealthy merchants visited the Zhou Institute in an endless stream. Even Stewards from the Five Great Noble Families made frequent visits, all hoping to recruit this promising young talent before he became truly famous in Gaolin.

The Zhou Institute’s gates were as crowded as a marketplace, far livelier than before.

No one was happier than Zhou Liang. He was all smiles every day, filled with unprecedented anticipation for the upcoming Martial Arts Examination.

After daily training, he would invariably give Qin Lie private lessons, meticulously correcting his shortcomings.

As the other disciples in the courtyard witnessed these scenes, their envy practically overflowed from their eyes.

One day, after finishing his practice, Chen Qing returned to Mute Bay under the fading light of dusk.

The usually quiet Lianchuan District was abnormally bustling with noise, the narrow waterway congested to a standstill.

The air was thick with the unsettling smell of fish and hushed discussions.

Chen Qing’s heart sank slightly. He quickened his pace and saw his neighbor, Uncle Gao, cowering on the edge of the crowd, pale-faced and trembling.

“Uncle Gao, what happened?” Chen Qing asked, squeezing through.

Uncle Gao seemed utterly terrified, his lips trembling. “For a ’boat beauty’ from the floating houses, he took out a high-interest loan! The lenders came with four burly thugs. They said a debt of five taels of silver had rolled into twenty taels in just three months! Xiaochun couldn’t pay, so they smashed Da Chun’s family’s rice vat, broke their cabinet, and even stole the silver hairpin that was part of Da Chun’s wife’s dowry…”

He spoke incoherently, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

“What?”

Uncle Wang, the fishmonger, staggered back two steps, fish basket in hand. “That kid was just here the other day buying half a catty of river shrimp. Said he was making soup to help his dad recover. He seemed so thoughtful…”

“Thoughtful, my foot!” spat Auntie Cuihua, the tofu seller. “Last month, I saw him squatting in the back alley of the floating houses, stuffing osmanthus cakes into one of the boats.”

The surrounding fishermen also huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, their faces filled more with disbelief than anything else.

Who would have thought that Xiaochun, the clever-looking apprentice from Wanbao Hall, would become infatuated with a ’boat beauty’ and bring about such a disaster?

Chen Qing listened in silence. He wasn’t particularly surprised, just heavy-hearted as he shook his head.

The day he saw Xiaochun’s pathetic figure being thrown out, he had tried to warn him. Unfortunately, the boy was already caught in quicksand and had paid his words no mind.

Of vice’s trifecta—lust, gambling, and drugs—lust is a poison that guts you. But this infatuation for a beautiful woman, that’s a thorn stuck in the flesh that can’t be pulled out. It tears you to a bloody pulp, yet you still think it’s sweet as honey.

Just then, he caught sight of a familiar figure among the bobbing heads in the crowd: Erya.

She worked as a manual labor maid for a wealthy family and usually lived at her master’s house, rarely returning home.

Chen Qing himself spent all day training at the Zhou Institute, only occasionally going on patrol. The two of them had barely seen each other since their last small get-together.

Erya saw Chen Qing too and squeezed through the crowd as if grabbing a life-saving straw, seizing his arm.

Her fingers were ice-cold, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. “Ah… Ah Qing, did you see? Xiaochun was beaten so badly just now… Those people… they’re not even human. It was terrifying…”

As she spoke, she glanced around in terror, as if the thugs were still nearby.

Chen Qing patted the back of her hand, trying to keep his voice steady. “It’s okay. They’re gone now.”

Hearing this, Erya’s tense body relaxed slightly. She let out a long sigh, but her eyes remained fearful and uneasy as she scanned her surroundings warily.

The two stood at the edge of the chaotic crowd and briefly caught up.

He learned from Erya that Liang Badou was now doing splendidly at the County Yamen under his third uncle. Things were going his way, and it was said he would soon take over his uncle’s position as Scribe. He had become the most respectable person to come out of Mute Bay.

Erya’s tone was filled with unconcealed envy and yearning.

As for Li Hu, there had been no news of him since their last meeting, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

And needless to say, Xu Fang was now in a completely different world; Erya no longer had any contact with her.

“I have to go back,”

Erya said suddenly, her voice tinged with an almost imperceptible weariness. “I have to get up early tomorrow to go back to my master’s house for work. I can’t be late…”

As she spoke, she instinctively straightened the collar of her coarse cloth clothes, her tone carrying a habitual caution and anxiety. “If I’m late, I’m afraid the master will punish me again…”

Before her words faded, she turned and hurried toward her family’s dilapidated connected boat, her back looking somewhat stooped in the dim light.

Chen Qing stood still, watching Erya disappear among the chaotic shadows of the boats. His brow furrowed as he fell into thought.

Their brief conversation had made him clearly sense the change in Erya.

The straightforward, even reckless girl from before was gone. In her place was an Erya who spoke cautiously and timidly, her words even carrying a hint of a sycophantic desire to please.

Her demeanor was now stained with the marks of being a servant in a grand household, exuding a humbleness born from having her edges worn smooth by rules and punishments.

Chen Qing understood.

’The high walls and deep courtyards of wealthy families are full of strict rules, where beatings and scoldings are common.’

’Erya must have suffered a great deal and endured countless punishments to be shaped into the person she is today.’

’In this world, it’s hard enough just to stay alive, let alone hold on to the sharp edges that make you human.’

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep