Chapter 78: Clear on Gratitude and Grudges, Entry-Level Fist Skill
Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Clear on Gratitude and Grudges, Entry-Level Fist Skill
The New Year season was a busy time for the Escort Agency, a prime time for making money. However, Shen Longteng had built his fortune through martial arts and possessed a magnanimous spirit. He wasn’t like those black-hearted gentry who would force people to work overtime during the holidays and shamelessly call it a blessing.
The Darts Masters were away from home all year round and had little time to spend with their families, so Shen Longteng decided not to capitalize on the holiday rush, allowing his men to enjoy a rare family reunion.
Therefore, aside from the necessary staff on duty and a few extremely important escorts assigned by drawing lots, there was hardly a soul to be seen in the agency’s large courtyard.
After entering the Escort Agency, Xie Yuan didn’t let Zhu Dongming leave right away. Instead, he led him on a tour that ended at the pharmacy, where he picked up two prescriptions of medicine for strengthening the body and nourishing the blood.
Zhu Dongming was still marveling at the grandeur of the Longteng Escort Agency, which took up half a street, when he heard Xie Yuan speak.
"Brother Zhu, the agency’s pharmacy is top-notch. This formula is excellent for nourishing Qi and Blood. I’ll also explain the key points of the Iron Cloth Shirt to you. You have a solid foundation. If you take this medicine home and practice with it, you have a good chance of breaking through to the First Training and becoming a Martial Artist."
Zhu Dongming was stunned, his excitement suddenly becoming difficult to hide.
"I... I still have a chance to become a Martial Artist?"
"Of course you do. Brother Zhu, you may be a bit older, but you’re still in your prime. Your Qi and Blood are already ample. As long as you have the right method and some supplementary medicine, it won’t be hard to become a Martial Artist. It’s just that advancing further might be more difficult," Xie Yuan said.
He was already at the Second Training and had nearly mastered this Iron Cloth Shirt set from the Iron Garb Sect, so giving Zhu Dongming some pointers was no problem at all.
Xie Yuan took Zhu Dongming to his small private courtyard and had him demonstrate the six sets of the Iron Cloth Shirt’s Pile Skill. He then demonstrated them himself several times, making numerous corrections. The process took up half the day.
Xie Yuan nodded. Feeling that the major issues with Zhu Dongming’s practice had been resolved, he said,
"Brother Zhu, thank you again for lending me a hand. And Zhou Feng, too. I don’t have much to offer in thanks besides some introductory knowledge of the Martial Dao. But he hasn’t trained with the Iron Garb Sect, so I can’t just pass on their techniques without permission. I’ll have to go to the martial arts hall and ask first."
There was also the matter of what came after the Iron Cloth Shirt. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Panlong Martial Arts Hall was holding a tournament, and Xie Yuan needed to go see whether Liu the Monk had fled or not.
Killing an Official was no small matter. Anyone with discerning eyes knew who was responsible for Zhang Yufeng’s death. A Second Training Martial Artist getting drunk, knocking over an oil lamp, and burning to death? That was treating Yu Chunsheng like a complete fool.
But Zhu Dongming had helped Xie Yuan use a great fire to burn away all traces of evidence. Without proof, Yu Chunsheng couldn’t just storm into the Escort Agency and arrest someone. As long as they held the moral high ground, Shen Longteng could certainly handle the situation. In Yunzhao, no one would dare lay a hand on someone from his Escort Agency.
However, if the county yamen’s experienced constables found concrete evidence and came to demand his surrender under the banner of justice, even Shen Longteng would find it difficult to openly confront the authorities.
So the help from Zhu Dongming and Zhou Feng was not insignificant—although in hindsight, even if he had slowly started the fire with rice wine, the villagers’ collective effort would have likely ensured the fire still burned the Zhang family’s home to the ground.
But by doing so, the two of them had essentially defied the authorities, making them accomplices. Xie Yuan naturally had to acknowledge the favor.
Avenge your grudges, repay your debts—that was the only way to live a worthy life.
Zhu Dongming said with repeated sighs of relief:
"It’s more than enough, more than enough! I really didn’t do much..."
He was now just incredibly thankful that he had sided with Xie Yuan ever since witnessing him kill Li Mazi.
After Zhu Dongming left, Xie Yuan prepared several more doses of injury medicine to invigorate his blood and replenish his Qi, and he began to recuperate at the Escort Agency.
The Escort Agency’s injury medicine was excellent, its only drawback being the price. Xie Yuan had now spent the last of his saved silver, and he couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh again at the old saying: "Poverty for scholars, wealth for warriors."
With the Iron Cloth Shirt for external defense and a body-nourishing art for internal strength, his resistance to injury was already formidable. Combined with the medicine, his internal injuries were mostly healed in less than two days. He therefore used his free time to focus on practicing the Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist.
The Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist had eight stances, corresponding to the shapes of the eight trigrams, each with its own characteristics.
For example, the Qian Character Fist was lofty and grand, while the Kun Character Fist was heavy and powerful. Each of the eight stances of the Fist Skill held its own profound mysteries, its essence running deep.
Xie Yuan immersed himself in the art, practicing and familiarizing himself with each move one by one. Watching his progress increase bit by bit, he trained tirelessly day after day, finding immense joy in the process.
「County Yamen, Study.」
County Captain Yu Chunsheng sat in a grandmaster’s chair, his slightly plump, pale face betraying no emotion as he listened to his subordinate’s report.
"...we only recovered a single county yamen waist token. We could faintly make it out, and it is indeed Squad Leader Zhang’s. Everything else was burned to ash."
Yu Chunsheng said calmly:
"You’re saying the villagers all claim the two brothers got drunk, had an argument, and knocked over a candle? The village head and the local elder both said the same thing?"
"Yes."
Yu Chunsheng stroked his short beard and gave a dry chuckle.
"It seems Yu Feng wasn’t very well-liked."
His subordinates all lowered their heads, not daring to respond.
Yu Chunsheng leaned forward and asked,
"What about that Xie Yuan?"
"By the time we arrived, he was no longer home. Someone said he headed for the county seat at the break of dawn."
Yu Chunsheng’s eyes narrowed, and he remained silent for a long moment.
The study fell completely silent, the atmosphere growing increasingly oppressive.
"A Second Training Martial Artist, knocking over an oil lamp and burning himself to death? The most ridiculous joke in the world!"
He suddenly slammed his hand on the table—BANG!—making his subordinates flinch.
’That kid definitely did it.’
’Zhang Yufeng was already at the Second Training, yet he was still murdered. The fire burned so fiercely that not a single trace was left—even these veteran constables of mine couldn’t find a thing. And he left immediately after it was done, not leaving a single loose end for anyone to grab...’
’Not simple. Not simple at all.’
’Is this kid really a village boy not yet twenty years old?’
Yu Chunsheng’s expression was grimly uncertain. In a low voice, he commanded:
"I want every detail on this Xie Yuan. Go investigate him!"
For the first time, he regarded Xie Yuan with true scrutiny, no longer seeing him as mere prey to be toyed with at will.
The eighth day of the New Year was for a wife’s visit to her parents’ home.
This was one of the customs in this world that differed from his previous one. In his past life, the homecoming visit during the Spring Festival was on the second day, but here it was after the seventh.
This tradition had nothing to do with Xie Yuan, however. He had no wife, and his parents were gone, so he simply continued to practice his martial arts at the Escort Agency.
The only thing that made this day special was that he finally reached the Introductory level of the Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist.
[Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist - Introductory: (1/500)]
With the same one hundred points invested, the progress on the Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist was clearly much slower than on the Rushing Wolf Saber Skill, a testament to its difficulty.
But no matter how difficult, for Xie Yuan it was merely the difference between reaching the introductory level in one day versus five.
Xie Yuan didn’t practice in the courtyard. The rooms provided to Darts Masters were large enough that after moving some furniture around, he could train indoors.
As he threw a punch, the very air in the room seemed to ripple. A nearby vase trembled slightly, as if a sudden draft had blown through the house.
’I’ve reached the introductory level. This much power is already enough for actual combat.’
Xie Yuan nodded in satisfaction. The force of the Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist was immense and its power considerable. Even at the introductory level, its practical application would be no less effective than the Rushing Wolf Saber Skill.
Just as he was about to continue practicing, there was a loud KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK at the door. A puzzled Xie Yuan opened it to find Qin Hai standing outside.
"What the hell was all that noise? I thought you’d brought a girl back with you."
"No, I was just practicing."
Xie Yuan scratched his head. ’Was the crackling sound of my Fist Skill too loud?’
Seeing his reaction, Qin Hai didn’t press the matter and simply pulled him out the door.
"The boss wants you over there, right now. It’s an emergency!"