Chapter 23: The Colonel |
The turmoil of the Black Water Gang quickly passed. The destruction of such a small gang was utterly insignificant within Gaolin County, barely worth mentioning.
The streets and alleys buzzed with discussion for merely two or three days before returning to their usual tranquility.
After all, in this vast Gaolin County, new gangs rose and old ones perished every day, people had long grown accustomed to it.
Three days later, inside Zhou's courtyard.
Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the old locust tree in the courtyard, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Zhou Liang had hurriedly left the courtyard early in the morning.
With the master absent, the atmosphere in the courtyard was considerably more relaxed. Some were refining their qi and blood, others sparred and exchanged experiences.
The most conspicuous were Zhou Yu, Qin Lie, Sun Shun, Luo Qian and other hidden strength disciples.
After organizing the small gathering, these few often sparred and exchanged knowledge with experts from other courtyards, gaining considerable benefits.
He Yan, as usual, practiced boxing alone in a corner, silently and diligently.
His forehead was covered with beads of sweat, his coarse cloth clothing long soaked through with perspiration, yet he still tirelessly repeated the basic moves without knowing fatigue.
During this period, several new disciples had joined the courtyard, full of vigor and enthusiasm.
Similarly, several veteran disciples had left. These people, knowing they had no hope of breakthrough in martial arts, ultimately chose to seek their fortune elsewhere while their qi and blood had not yet withered.
For He Yan, such scenes had become all too familiar.
Familiar faces grew fewer and fewer, while strange faces multiplied.
Day after day, year after year, he remained the most diligent disciple in the courtyard, but heaven seemed never to have favored him for it.
Chen Qing spread a cold water-dampened towel over his face and rested on a rattan chair by the side of the training area.
The heat of early summer was already beginning to show, even the stone bricks at the courtyard's edge were scorched hot by the sun.
He Yan walked over and sat beside him, speaking in a low voice, "Junior Brother Chen, my qi and blood have accumulated to completion. In a few days, I want to attempt my second breakthrough."
The second breakthrough would allow one to reach hidden strength!
This was a qualitative leap.
If obvious strength was about tempering flesh and blood, then hidden strength required tempering down to the bone marrow, with incomparably greater power.
Zhou's courtyard had seen disciples come and go, with at least several hundred disciples over the decades, yet only about ten had reached hidden strength. Each of these was an elite within the courtyard and received Zhou Liang's highest regard.
Whether training within the courtyard or making a living outside, obvious strength masters and hidden strength masters received vastly different treatment.
Chen Qing removed the towel, revealing a sincere smile, "Then I wish senior brother He immediate success."
He Yan shook his head with a bitter smile, "I hope so."
He had been stuck at obvious strength for more than two years, attempting breakthrough three or four times during that period, all ending in failure.
If he failed again this time, he would likely never touch the threshold of hidden strength in his lifetime.
At this thought, he couldn't help but clench his fists tightly.
The two chatted for a few sentences before He Yan returned to his cultivation.
Chen Qing raised his hand to wipe away the fine sweat from his brow, took out a blue cloth bundle from behind him, and walked over to Sun Shun with a smile, "Senior brother Sun, congratulations on your precious son. This is tiger-head shoes my mother sewed by hand. Though the stitches are coarse, it's a token of her heart."
Sun Shun's wife had given birth to a son two days prior, this congratulatory gift came at just the right time.
Sun Shun set down what he was doing, his dark face breaking into a smile, "Junior brother Chen is so thoughtful! You must come to the full moon celebration, we brothers will have a good drink together."
Chen Qing smiled and agreed, "It's a promise."
Sun Shun rubbed the tiger-head shoes in his palm twice, then suddenly lowered his voice, "Speaking of which, junior brother, you're not young anymore either. Do you have any girl you fancy? Would you like senior brother to help arrange some introductions?"
Chen Qing waved his hand, "I don't have such thoughts at the moment."
"You! You spend all your time on martial arts practice."
Sun Shun shook his head with a laugh, "Look at Junior Brother Qin, matchmakers are practically breaking down his door. I hear quite a few daughters of wealthy families have had people pass along messages."
Chen Qing said, "Senior brother Sun is joking, how can I compare to Junior Brother Qin."
Sun Shun scratched his head.
Just as Chen Qing said, the two were indeed different.
Qin Lie had already successfully completed his second breakthrough and very likely could attempt a third breakthrough in the future.
Such a young talent was naturally courted by various major families.
Suddenly remembering something, Sun Shun moved half a step closer and spoke in a low voice, "By the way junior brother, the county might not be peaceful lately, keep an extra eye out while practicing martial arts."
He knew this junior brother of his buried himself in martial practice all day and knew little about outside affairs, so he couldn't help but remind him.
Chen Qing's brow furrowed slightly, "What's happened?"
"Colonel Pang is returning to his post."
Sun Shun looked around and lowered his voice even further, "He was transferred from outside and has never gotten along with the local five major families. Last year he returned home for mourning, but now the mourning period is nearly complete..."
He didn't continue, but the meaning was already clear.
Chen Qing's brow knitted into a knot.
The colonel commanded five hundred county soldiers, responsible for city defense, bandit suppression, and criminal pursuit.
He truly held real power, even the county magistrate had to show him respect.
The five major families needless to say were authentic local powers, maintaining numerous retainers and guards with formidable strength.
If these two forces clashed, the entire Gaolin County would find it difficult to remain peaceful.
No one knew whether they might be affected by the collision of these two behemoths.
Chen Qing pondered silently, he much preferred to have a stable environment to focus on martial arts practice.
"If one had an official position, it would be much easier to protect oneself wisely."
Sun Shun sighed, "Guo's Records has also had poor business lately, their sponsorship has been cut by more than half. If I don't pass the martial examinations this year, I'm afraid I'll have to find other paths..."
Halfway through his words he suddenly came to his senses. Sun Shun rubbed his hands awkwardly, "I'm just talking pessimistically, junior sister Zhou is still waiting for me to spar and exchange knowledge."
Sun Shun's face reddened slightly, somewhat embarrassed.
Chen Qing nodded, "Good, then I won't disturb senior brother."
Afterward he returned to his position and continued practicing stance work.
His stance work was nearly at its limit, breaking through the second breakthrough to reach hidden strength was just around the corner.
And only by reaching hidden strength would he have the possibility of ranking high in the martial examinations.
On the other side, Sun Shun came over to the group. Luo Qian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did that kid want with you?"
Sun Shun replied, "Nothing much, just casual chat."
Zheng Ziqiao shook his head with a laugh, "In my opinion, that kid regrets it and wants to join the small gathering."
Sun Shun quickly shook his head, "Junior brother Chen didn't say that."
Qin Lie said, "I saw with my own eyes that he gave you a gift."
He had seen clearly just now, Chen Qing had handed Sun Shun a package.
Hearing this, Zhou Yu's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Sun Shun's face reddened as he hurriedly explained, "It was just a pair of tiger-head shoes..."
"Senior brother Sun, you don't need to explain for him."
Luo Qian interrupted Sun Shun's words, "Back then it was his own lack of appreciation for the opportunity."
Her tone carried several notes of disdain.
Zheng Ziqiao shook his head, "It's too late now."
Qin Lie reminded, "Senior brother Sun, spending time on him is completely wasteful."
He never paid attention to overtures from those impoverished disciples, nor did he associate too closely with them.
Luo Qian nodded beside him in agreement.
In her view, a disciple like Chen Qing wasn't worth the effort to befriend.
Sun Shun's mouth opened slightly, not knowing how to explain.
Zhou Yu glanced lightly at the package and said, "Don't talk about these irrelevant matters, let's continue."
When Sun Shun put away the bundle, she had clearly seen it was merely a pair of tiger-head shoes.