blueteamnovel Chapter 42, Part 3: Knocking on the Gate
Chapter 42, Part 3: Knocking on the Gate
It's already October, the crescent moon hangs in the sky, and the autumn wind is chilly.
Meng Chen toiled from morning till night, and the Yang Fish had long since dimmed. At this moment, his whole body felt as if it were being stung by thousands of poisonous bees, causing him excruciating pain and numbness.
Meng Chen stayed up until the third watch of the night, when he felt a change in his body. His blood and energy surged again, and there seemed to be subtle lightning running between his skin and flesh. In the midst of the tingling and numb sensation, his exhausted body suddenly regained its strength, and he felt extremely comfortable all over.
Cui Butong and Qi Yun stood in front of the dormitory, their eyes fixed on Meng Chen in the courtyard.
Most of the people in the other dormitories were also awake, all watching to see if Meng Chen would succeed.
Although Meng Chen failed twice in his three attempts to pass the test, everyone had personally witnessed him succeed in his second attempt late at night, so they were very much looking forward to it.
No one made a sound at night, but Cui Butong saw a rustling sound coming from Meng Chen's body, followed by steaming heat emanating from him.
Qi Yun was still dazed when he heard cheers coming from all the dormitories.
That day and night, the Du Family Martial Arts School finally welcomed its first disciple who had completed the three-knock test since it opened last year.
"I was thinking that things wouldn't work out in three tries, and if it didn't work this time, it would be difficult to succeed in the future. I didn't expect him to actually succeed!" Du Renben, who was sitting in the hall, suddenly stood up and looked at Du Zhong with joy on his face.
Du Zhong remained seated, merely nodding slightly, and said, "This young man has an excellent temperament; he may very well rise to prominence in the future."
"Father is right! He knocked on the first barrier on the eighth day of the eighth month, the second barrier on the twenty-seventh day of the eighth month, and the third barrier on the eighth day of the tenth month! He was even more successful than Yan Long back then! It's been so many years since anyone has been this fast, hasn't it?" Du Ren opened the account book, checked it over, and remembered the date of today's barrier knocking.
"What does temporary speed matter? Early talent doesn't guarantee future success. In martial arts, one shouldn't only focus on short-term progress, but also on character and temperament; that's what ensures long-term success."
Du Zhong began to lecture him seriously, "I remember you said that in the middle of last month, an old man from his village came by and said that Gao Yuan had gone to his house and threatened the old man. At the time, he acted as if nothing had happened and persuaded the old man to leave. But after the old man left, he was so angry that he punched the wall. He must have been extremely anxious at the time, but afterwards he didn't panic, didn't show any fear, and even made great progress. That's character. Think about it, if you were in his shoes, what could you have done?"
"If it were me, if it were me..." Du Ren stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "If it were me, I wouldn't have offended Gao Yuan in the first place. Even if I had, I could have mended the relationship."
Du Zhong had intended to offer a few more words of advice, but upon hearing this, he immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Who can live in this world without offending someone? I've always taught you to be kind to others, but I haven't taught you to be completely spineless! Otherwise, everyone would know you're a coward and would bully you to death! We're martial arts practitioners; we can't be ignorant of human relationships, but we can't just bow down when we're bullied!"
Seeing his godfather was angry, Du Ren quickly said, "Your son has learned his lesson!" Then he enthusiastically suggested, "Father, since you think so highly of him, why don't you just adopt him as a godson? He has no parents, and we've raised him for so long for nothing; he definitely won't refuse. I don't have much talent in martial arts, so we can have him as the instructor at the martial arts school, and I'll be the housekeeper. We can take care of you in your old age; that would be perfect!"
Du Zhong pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said, "How do you know if he's willing or not? Some words, once spoken, can't be taken back."
Du Zhong was actually somewhat tempted by the suggestion, but he still rejected it. "If someone doesn't want to, but can't refuse you, wouldn't that just be adding to their frustration? Besides, he's only just begun to show his potential; it's not even certain if he'll succeed. If we, father and son, eagerly go after him, how are we any different from Cui Butong and Qi Yun?"
Upon hearing this, Du Ren felt there was some truth to it, and then offered another suggestion: "Is your eldest sister's child about twelve or thirteen years old? I wonder if your brother-in-law has arranged a marriage yet?"
"A heretical and unorthodox approach!" Du Zhong frowned and asked, "How do you treat Meng Chen?"
"That's great!" Du Ren replied.
"How does he treat you?" Du Zhong asked again.
"You treat me like your own brother!" Du Ren replied.
"That's fine. If he's grateful, he'll always remember you as his brother; if he's cold-hearted, what good is it to adopt him as a son? Will he try to take over the martial arts school from you someday?"
Du Zhong took a sip of the lukewarm tea and said, "Ren'er, remember this: we kept him around not because of his talent, but simply to save face for the Gao family. If he can become an asset to you in the future, then it won't be a loss. If he forgets our kindness, then we'll pretend we never met him."
"Dad, you're so insightful! But I think he's an honest kid," Du Ren retorted.
"We've only known each other for a few days; you can't truly know a person's heart just by looking at their face! You can't be truly close to someone without going through hardships together. Don't spend all your time with these young men and pick up their youthful impetuosity, thinking that a few words make you brothers!" Du Zhong sneered. "How did Yan Long treat the Zhang family girl back then? He practically wanted to marry into her family, but in the end, didn't he kick her out and marry the Sun family girl from the prefectural city?"
Upon hearing this, Du Ren dared not bring up the matter of recognizing relatives again, but chuckled and said, "Meng Chen has made three attempts to break through this time. At this rate, he'll probably break through to the second realm very quickly! Once this news gets out, there will definitely be people coming to befriend him."
In Qingshui County, there are quite a few martial artists at the second realm, but those who reach the second realm at such a young age of sixteen or seventeen are naturally much more precious, and their future prospects are predictable.
Therefore, even though it's only the third time they've approached, some wealthy families will definitely try to establish good relations beforehand. But they won't spend too much; at most, they'll give some gold and silver to build a good relationship.
If I can really break through to the next realm within the year, then who knows, someone might come to propose marriage.
"It's still early. We can talk about it when he reaches the second realm. But you need to keep a close eye on him these next few days." Du Zhong nodded to Du Ren and walked towards the inner courtyard, saying, "Don't let such a promising young man be led astray by those people. Young people should be striving for progress; we can't let him get involved with things like wine and women too early."
Only after Du Zhong entered the inner courtyard did Du Ren mutter under his breath, "Do you think I can control his crotch?"
After a good night's sleep, Meng Chen woke up the next day full of energy again.
During morning exercise, an apprentice approached me and struck up a conversation.
This man's name is Qian Yi. He comes from a well-off family and started learning martial arts at the school last year. He has already completed the second round of training.
Currently, not counting Meng Chen, there are six apprentices in the Du family martial arts school who have reached the second level of mastery, among whom Cui Butong is the most talented.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qian Yi said, "Junior Brother Meng, you are the first person in our martial arts school to achieve the third knockout stage. A few of us wanted to celebrate, so we pooled some money and wanted to treat you to drinks tonight. Don't worry, there are five of us in total, including you and me. There are no outsiders; we are all brothers from our martial arts school."
Meng Chen had been at the martial arts school for four months, training hard every day. Because of Gao Yuan, he had no interest in making friends, and no one was willing to befriend him. So apart from his fellow villager Qi Yun, he really had no contact with anyone else.
Now that Gao Yuan is dead, there are no more ties. He himself has knocked on the gate three times, revealing some talent; it's clear the other party wants to befriend him. Meng Chen had originally planned to take leave to go home today, but it wouldn't be too late.
Besides, if I'm going to be living in Qingshui County in the future, it's good to make more friends.
"How could I ask everyone to chip in? I should contribute too. And my fellow townsman Qi Yun, count him in as well." Meng Chen knew that Qi Yun was always scheming, so he wanted to include him as well.
Qian Yi naturally wouldn't refuse, and the two chatted for a few more minutes before settling the matter.
After his morning exercise, when Meng Chen went to eat, Cui Butong personally served him food with a respectful attitude.
Ever since Meng Chen successfully passed the second trial, Cui Butong had been constantly by Meng Chen's side, helping him get meals every day and being very attentive. Later, after Cui Butong succeeded in his second trial, he became very distant from Meng Chen, let alone personally getting meals for him.
"He changes his tune every single day." Even a sycophant like Qi Yun couldn't stand it anymore.
Cui Butong pretended not to hear.
After the meal, Meng Chen went to Du Zhong to ask for advice on how to break through to the next level, but Du Zhong told Meng Chen to rest for three to five days before discussing it further.
Meng Chen listened to the elders' advice the most, and since the Yang fish had already dimmed, waiting a few more days wouldn't hurt.
Then Meng Chen tested his strength. After these three taps, his strength did not increase much, but his endurance increased.
After a day of practice, in the evening, Qian Yi came to find Meng Chen. The group of six first said goodbye to Du Ren and then went out to drink and have fun.
They're all young people, and when they sit together drinking, it's mostly just about bragging and chatting, and maybe discussing their future plans.
However, Meng Chen learned the identity of the white-robed scholar while Qian Yi and the others were discussing matters in Nancheng.
In Qingshui County, the south is poor and the north is rich. The south town has always been a place where filth and evil are hidden, with a dozen or so gangs of all kinds. Some gangs are tyrants of manure and vegetables, while others only control a small alley. In any case, most of them have a background with the county government or the three major clans.
Among them, the Sihai Gang and the Jinshui Gang are considered major gangs.
Another small gang, named the Bamboo Basket Gang because its headquarters were in Bamboo Basket Lane, specialized in lending money and operating brothels. If someone couldn't repay their debts, they would pawn their wives and daughters at brothels or simply throw them into prostitution.
Their leader liked to wear white, hence the nickname "White-Robed Scholar." This White-Robed Scholar's real name was Qu San. He was a martial artist who had passed two levels of the first realm. He wasn't very capable, but he had supposedly climbed up to the position of a high-ranking clerk in the county government, which allowed him to thrive.
Meng Chen didn't deliberately inquire about Qu San's affairs; he simply kept them in mind.
After returning late at night, Meng Chen was pulled into the main hall by Du Ren for a talk.
"Someone sent you an invitation, saying they want to treat you to drinks," Du Ren chuckled. "Guess who it is?"