Chapter 70: New Talent
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: New Talent
’Grind the ink, he says. As if I’m his servant. I don’t know what kind of spell he’s cast on my father, letting some poor kid from the countryside think he can just latch onto our family.’
The more she thought about it while grinding the ink, the angrier Zhang Shu became.
’Fang Yue is just a poor boy from the countryside. So what if he got lucky and became a Martial Scholar? Now he treats our home like his own, always coming around for free food and drinks. The nerve!’
’And my father must be going senile. Why would he ever want to marry me off to such a poor wretch?’
’He just became a Martial Cultivation Talent last year, and this year he already wants to try for Martial Scholar.’
’He can barely even write. How is he supposed to pass the Military Strategy exam?’
’Maybe taking the Martial Scholar exam is just an excuse. His real goal is probably to use my father to get close to me.’
The angrier Zhang Shu became, the more strength she unknowingly put into her hands.
Zhang Shu was at the second stage of Skin Grinding. Even if women were naturally weaker than men, she still possessed the strength of a thousand pounds.
CRACK~
The ink stick in her hand instantly shattered.
Zhang Shu never expected this and had no time to react.
All she saw was darkness, followed by a cold, wet sensation as the thick stench of ink filled her nose.
"Shu’Er, what are you doing?"
Looking at Zhang Shu’s ink-splattered face, Zhang Baiyang felt a headache coming on.
’She’s messed up again.’
All he had asked her to do was grind some ink, but she was still so much trouble. In that instant, Zhang Baiyang felt as if he had aged ten years.
"What are you still standing there for? Get out!"
Seeing Zhang Shu still standing there in a daze, Zhang Baiyang couldn’t help but berate her.
Zhang Shu finally snapped back to her senses.
Her face was now a mess of black ink.
The ink dripped down her cheeks.
Her eyes filled with resentment and hurt before she turned and ran out of the room.
After things had come to this, Fang Yue could no longer stay. He quickly rose and bid Zhang Baiyang farewell.
After that little episode, Fang Yue felt it would be inappropriate to visit again, so he could only practice his calligraphy in his room at the tavern.
「Nearly a month passed in the blink of an eye.」
It was now early winter, and the weather grew colder by the day.
On an empty plot of land by the Jade River, Fang Yue was still dressed in a simple undershirt. His strong, solid muscles imbued his every move with an aesthetic of explosive power.
Moreover, his constant practice of the White Tiger Fist over the past few weeks had caused Fang Yue’s Spirit to become increasingly vigorous.
With every swing of his fists, he began to resemble a ferocious tiger more and more.
Soon, Fang Yue slowly retracted his fists, ending his training for the day.
’I’ve finally mastered the basics of the Fist Technique for the Bone Forging Pass and achieved a rudimentary understanding.’
Fang Yue smiled faintly and focused his mind.
In front of him, several lines of text slowly materialized.
[Cultivation Technique: White Tiger Fist (Bone Forging) (Rudimentary)]
[Talent Points: 863 (One in a Hundred)]
[Note: 50 Talent Points can be consumed to form the Basic-level Copper Skin and Iron Bones Talent.]
’Huh? I can form a new Talent again?’
Fang Yue’s interest was piqued when he saw the last line of text.
He remembered that the first time he had formed a Talent, for his fist technique mastery, had been when his White Tiger Fist reached a rudimentary level in the Skin Grinding Pass.
’Could it be that forming Talents is related to my cultivation level in a technique?’
This time, however, the Talent he could form was Copper Skin and Iron Bones.
It corresponded perfectly with his current progress on the Martial Dao.
The stage after Great Success in Skin Grinding was called "copper skin," and the Bone Forging Pass was sometimes called the "iron bones pass."
So, Copper Skin and Iron Bones corresponded perfectly to the second and third passes of his current Martial Dao cultivation.
Copper Skin and Iron Bones!
’I wonder what this Talent does?’
The moment the thought appeared, a message surfaced in his mind.
[Basic-level Copper Skin and Iron Bones: Slightly enhances physical strength and defense.]
’This kind of description again. All right, this Golden Finger certainly has a style of its own.’
But it did let Fang Yue know that the Talent enhanced physical strength and defense, which was similar to the effects of the Skin Grinding Pass and the Bone Forging Pass.
Although he didn’t know how effective it would be, Fang Yue still chose to form the Talent.
As he willed it, the text before his eyes changed.
[Consumed 50 Talent Points. Acquired Talent: Basic-level Copper Skin and Iron Bones.]
[Talent: Basic-level Copper Skin and Iron Bones (Slightly enhances physical strength and defense)]
Immediately, Fang Yue felt a familiar warm current spread through his body.
It came on quickly and faded just as fast.
Before Fang Yue could even get a good sense of it, the warm current had vanished.
’It doesn’t seem like anything changed.’
As before, the formation of the Talent didn’t bring about any directly observable changes in Fang Yue.
After all, this kind of Talent became a part of him as if he had been born with it.
His physical body had already adapted to it, so of course there were no particularly noticeable changes.
Now wasn’t the time to test it out anyway. If someone saw him cutting himself with a knife in broad daylight, they would surely get the wrong idea.
With that thought, Fang Yue packed up and headed back toward the tavern where he was staying.
~~~~~~
This was a special year with an intercalary month, so the examinations for Civil Scholars and Martial Scholars happened to fall on the same day.
As the examinations drew near, Xiahe County Town began to fill up with candidates from the dozens of surrounding villages and market towns.
The major inns and taverns in Xiahe County Town were soon filled to capacity.
At the same time, another piece of news began to spread through Xiahe County Town.
Huang’s Tea House had opened for business, introducing a new style of pan-fried tea.
This tea was different from traditional tea leaves; it wasn’t as bitter, and its flavor was sweet and mellow, just like freshly picked spring tea.
Whether they were students taking the civil examinations or Martial Artists taking the Martial Scholar examination, most of the candidates who had come from all over enjoyed drinking tea.
Upon hearing this news, an untold number of people rushed to try it.
In an instant, the fame of Huang’s Tea House skyrocketed.
"Fang, heh heh, look what I’ve got! I had to fight to get my hands on this. The new tea from Huang’s Tea House really is something else. The liquor is a pale green with a sweet, mellow aftertaste, and that bitter flavor of regular tea is completely gone."
"Fang, how do you think Huang’s Tea House does it? How can they take the same tea leaves and make them taste like this?"
One morning, Fang Yue had just returned from practicing his fists outside and was about to head to his room for a bath.
Just as he walked into the tavern’s main hall, he ran into the chubby Bai Xingqiu.
He was sitting at a table by the window and, upon seeing Fang Yue, eagerly waved him over for some tea.
"Try some."
Fang Yue glanced at the unfurled tea leaves in the cup as a faint, clean fragrance wafted toward him.
He could tell with a single glance that it was pan-fried tea.
However, the production method—the technique, that is—was far too crude. They only knew how to dry it out in a wok.
It was a simple process of de-enzyming and dehydration, nothing more. There was no sign of more advanced techniques like rolling, ball-shaping to bring out the downy hairs, or final baking.
So, without even taking a sip, Fang Yue knew that while this pan-fried tea lacked much of the usual bitterness, it was still a far cry from the real thing.
’Also,’ he thought, ’did Bai Xingqiu say he bought this tea from Huang’s Tea House?’
’Not the White Tiger Tea House?’
’Oh, that’s right. Zhang Baiyang said the White Tiger Tea House would officially open three days before the Martial Examination.’
’So Huang’s Tea House released their pan-fried tea before the White Tiger Tea House could.’
’How would Huang’s Tea House know how to make pan-fried tea?’
’Did the technique leak?’
Fang Yue’s brow furrowed slightly.
He was only concerned because he was also getting a cut from the tea house; otherwise, he wouldn’t have cared.
That was how business worked. When it came to the same product, launching first versus launching later could make all the difference. To an outsider who didn’t know the full story, it would look like the White Tiger Tea House was copying Huang’s Tea House.
They would end up with a bad reputation, which would have a huge impact on future business.
Fortunately, the technique used by Huang’s Tea House was subpar.
"Hey, I’m serious, how in the world does Huang’s Tea House do it? I’m sure they’re using the same leaves as me, but the brewed tea tastes completely different!"
Bai Xingqiu was a tea drinker himself, and given his family’s status, he drank only the finest leaves. He had even tried tribute tea meant for the imperial court.
But while tribute tea might be more mellow, even it couldn’t completely avoid a bitter aftertaste.
Bai Xingqiu had to admit that with the launch of this new product, Huang’s Tea House was going to make huge waves in the tea market.
"Mm-hmm, it’s decent," Fang Yue said noncommittally after taking a sip.
It was just as he’d expected. The pan-frying technique was lacking. While the mouthfeel and flavor were a good deal better than other teas of this era, it was still a far cry from tea produced with a truly refined process.
Naturally, it couldn’t compare to the tea he normally drank.
"The tea market is about to be turned on its head. I should probably give my old man a heads-up so we can prepare and get a piece of the action."
Bai Xingqiu might have seemed carefree and boisterous, but he was no fool.
He could naturally see the vast market potential for this new kind of tea.
His family had never been involved in the tea trade before, but now, with this new product, they might be able to break into the market in the Prefecture City if they partnered with Huang’s Tea House.
"Bai, if you trust me, I’d wait a little longer. I don’t think Huang’s Tea House has what it takes."
It was true that Huang’s Tea House had somehow gotten its hands on the pan-frying method and managed to launch its product before the White Tiger Tea House.
But Fang Yue possessed an even better pan-frying process.
He could naturally produce a superior pan-fried tea.
This move by Huang’s Tea House might just end up being nothing more than a stepping stone for the White Tiger Tea House.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in Wang Yuangang’s private residence.
"Someone, go find my nephew and bring him here!"
Wang Yuangang’s face was grim, his suppressed anger making him seem like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Before long, a thoroughly drunken Wang Teng was brought before Wang Yuangang.
"You bastard! Speak! What is going on with Huang’s Tea House? Where did the Huang Family learn how to make pan-fried tea? Was it you who leaked it?!"
Wang Yuangang’s eyes were wide with fury as he glared daggers at Wang Teng.
His vicious tone instantly sobered up the drunken Wang Teng. "Uncle, it... it wasn’t me! It has nothing to do with me!"
"Hmph! Do you really think I couldn’t find out what you’ve done?" Wang Yuangang continued. "To do something like this for a mere three hundred taels... If the White Tiger Boxing Hall finds out, not even I will be able to protect you!"
"Uncle, save me! Please, save me! I’ll never do it again, I swear!"
Wang Teng knew at once that Wang Yuangang had already found out everything.
He had leaked the core secret of the boxing hall’s tea house, causing it to suffer a disastrous loss. For a crime like this, his uncle truly couldn’t protect him.
At this realization, Wang Teng broke down, crying and begging for mercy.