At dusk, the small courtyard was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. The sky dimmed while the mortal realm retained a faint glimmer, as if standing on the boundary between red and black.
Chen Yuan was fully engrossed in studying his fist techniques when the dinner bell suddenly rang out.
Hearing the sound, Master Huo stopped his instruction. He looked at Chen Yuan and said calmly, "That will be all for today. I’ve taught you the Eagle Catch starting stance, along with parts of the Five Elements Fist, including the Splitting Fist, Beng Fist, and Cannon Fist. After dinner, review them a few times to loosen up your bones and muscles."
Chen Yuan nodded and cupped his hands. "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will take my leave now."
Although Master Huo had spent most of the past two hours guiding Xu Heng, his teaching was undoubtedly much more meticulous than usual. He picked apart many detailed essentials, as if breaking the fist techniques down into bite-sized pieces to feed to Xu Heng. Chen Yuan had benefited greatly as a result, effectively riding the coattails of this genius disciple, Xu Heng. He felt no dissatisfaction in his heart.
It was the same logic as the Gu Family sponsoring Yu Yan with seven taels of silver every month; whoever had better talent and higher potential received more attention.
During this short session of learning fist techniques, he had personally experienced Xu Heng’s talent. Many details clicked for the boy with just a single pointer, and his physical coordination was excellent. Even though he hadn’t yet grasped the basics of the Rocky Pile Skill, he learned much faster than Chen Yuan. Clearly, it wasn’t just bone structure; Chen Yuan also had a significant gap in comprehension compared to his junior martial brother.
Master Huo gave a slight nod. "Go on."
He then looked at Xu Heng, his voice softening a bit. "Remember to drink a bowl of Body-Strengthening Soup for dinner. Afterward, since you and Chen Yuan are learning the combat methods at the same time, you can spar with each other to reflect on your shortcomings. It’s better than training blindly on your own."
Xu Heng nodded. "I will keep that in mind." He trotted to catch up with Chen Yuan’s pace and asked casually, "Senior Brother Chen, how many days did it take you to grasp the basics of the Rocky Pile Skill?"
Chen Yuan replied calmly, "About five days. My bone structure isn’t as good as yours, so I can only rely on diligent training."
Xu Heng thought for a moment and smiled. "You’re too modest, Senior Brother. Being able to persist in bitter training is a skill in itself. I should learn from you."
Over the past two days, while practicing martial arts in the Outer Courtyard, Xu Heng had taken note of Chen Yuan’s hardworking figure. It constantly reminded him of his mother, who toiled day and night weaving fishing nets to support his martial arts training, exhausting herself until she could barely keep her eyes open. On his way to the Martial Arts Academy, Xu Heng had sworn that if he ever got the chance to practice martial arts, no matter how hard it was, he would definitely make a name for himself and give his mother a good life. Fortunately, heaven had favored him...
Chen Yuan gave Xu Heng a deep look, hoping that even after mixing in the great dyeing vat of the world, the boy would still retain his pure, untainted nature.
Many years later, when Chen Yuan recalled his time practicing martial arts in the Huo Courtyard and remembered this walk to the Dining Hall during his early acquaintance with Xu Heng, he would realize that he couldn’t even remember the boy’s face clearly. Only the burning flame in the youth’s eyes still blazed brightly in his memory. Sadly, things remain while people change.
Chen Yuan sat down in the Dining Hall with his food tray. After a gulp of meat soup, a wave of comfort washed over his entire body.
Soon after, a figure sat silently across from him.
Chen Yuan looked up and saw Xue Anping. His complexion was rather awful, and he was staring right back. Their eyes met.
Xue Anping’s lips trembled, his voice dry. "Chen Yuan... you’ve grasped the basics of the Rocky Pile Skill?"
Chen Yuan nodded and said softly, "I suddenly had an epiphany while training this afternoon and luckily broke through."
Watching Chen Yuan go to find Senior Brother Tao and then enter the Inner Courtyard together, Xue Anping’s eyes had widened in shock, as if he had been struck by lightning. As a result, he had been absent-minded for the rest of his training time, yielding very little progress.
Hearing Chen Yuan personally admit it, his heart turned to dead ashes. He said unwillingly, "In terms of hard work, I am no worse than you. In terms of comprehension, I am even better! We both have Grade D Superior bone structures. Why am I so far behind you?"
With his head bowed and fists tightly clenched, he seemed to be questioning Chen Yuan, questioning himself, and even questioning the world itself. It was one thing to be inferior to Yu Yan and the others, but why was Chen Yuan, who was in the same tier as him, so much stronger?
Chen Yuan remained silent. He couldn’t exactly say that his aptitude was now at Grade C, and that he had used a system to add a point of progress. However, he wouldn’t trouble himself to come up with words to comfort Xue Anping either. He had no such obligation. If he did, wouldn’t he have to comfort every suffering soul in the world? He simply buried his head and went back to eating his meat.
Sun Chengjie and a few others seemed to have overheard and walked over. They comforted him, saying, "Brother Xue, there are gaps even among those with Grade D Superior aptitude. If you just treat Brother Chen as having Grade C aptitude, you won’t feel so miserable."
"Yeah, Brother Chen’s bone structure is better than ours, and he works hard. Plus, he has an extra quota of five maces of silver. Isn’t it normal that he’s stronger than us?"
"My dad once told me that if a Hunter targets a ferocious beast beyond his capabilities, he deserves it if his arm gets bitten off."
From time to time, the three cast complex glances at Chen Yuan, who was silently eating his food. The two with Grade C Inferior aptitude didn’t even know if they had grasped the basics of the Rock Posture yet, but Chen Yuan had already done so. This was probably something no one had anticipated. One could only say that Xue Anping’s loss wasn’t unjust.
Chen Yuan found it somewhat amusing. Xue Anping, whose progress was ranked second, was currently being comforted by three people whose progress was worse than his. What He Qing’s father said really made some sense.
"Chen Yuan! Who is Chen Yuan? Come out for a moment, someone is looking for you outside the courtyard!"
Chen Yuan, who was shoveling rice into his mouth, was interrupted by the shout. Confused, he had no choice but to stand up and walk out of the Dining Hall. He wondered who would come to the Huo Courtyard to find him. Could it be his aunt? Had something happened? His heart tightened, and he quickened his pace.
But when he stepped out of the courtyard gate and saw that repulsive face, he instantly furrowed his brows and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
It was none other than his Late Mother, Mrs. Li, with whom he had already severed all ties.
Mrs. Li stood with her hands on her hips and said arrogantly, "Oh, how successful! That coolie who moved goods at the docks actually got accepted into the Martial Arts Academy. Too bad he’s a heartless, ungrateful wretch!"
After hearing from the neighbors that Chen Yuan had received sponsorship from the Gu Family and was currently practicing martial arts at the Huo Courtyard, she immediately flew into a rage. She simply couldn’t accept that Chen Yuan was living a good life, so she had come knocking right away.
Chen Yuan frowned. "I have already severed my ties with the Chen Family, so why are you looking for me? Could it be that Chen Dashan is dead?"
His unfilial words instantly made Mrs. Li bristle with fury, and she cursed, "You heartless beast, how dare you curse your father to die? Are you even human?"
Chen Yuan ignored her completely. Looking at the old man guarding the courtyard gate, he said plainly, "Uncle Wang, if she comes looking for me again, just chase her away with a stick." With that, he turned to leave.
Furious but out of time to hurl more insults, Mrs. Li shouted her true purpose for coming: "Chen Yuan! Do you really think those two taels and four maces of silver can repay our kindness? It should be at least twenty taels! Only when you hand over the silver will we be even!"
Chen Kai was practicing martial arts at the Martial Arts Hall, and he often came home complaining about not having enough money, saying that all his fellow martial brothers had Body-Strengthening Soup to drink. Although both father and son were carpenters with a trade to rely on and had saved some money over the years, practicing martial arts was like a bottomless pit that would suck the family dry. Anxious, she had thought of squeezing some silver out of Chen Yuan.
Twenty taels? Chen Yuan was amazed she even had the nerve to say that. Even if she sold herself, she wouldn’t be worth twenty taels. She was truly insane. He didn’t even pause his steps.
Mrs. Li panicked and shouted with false bravado, "Chen Yuan! You’ve got guts! You’re not going to pay, right? Then I’ll go to your aunt and let all her neighbors know that she took in a shameless, ungrateful wretch! Let’s see if she pays up then!"
Chen Yuan’s footsteps halted, his face darkening like stagnant water. He turned around and walked step by step until he was right in front of Mrs. Li. Lowering his voice, he spoke with palpable, chilling intent: "If you dare to go make trouble, I will definitely cripple Chen Kai and make him wish he were dead."
The ferocity in his words made Mrs. Li take a step back, suddenly finding Chen Yuan to be a terrifying stranger. Watching his departing back, her throat bobbed as she wanted to say something else, but she ultimately swallowed her words. She was scared.