Two New Roommates

"Yeah, Brother Xu. We just finished eating, and the food is still sitting heavy in our stomachs. Moving intensely right now won't feel good either," Li Shan chimed in.

"I looked over Thunderclap Fist last night and found it quite interesting. I wanted to strike while the iron was hot and study it some more," Xu Yuan explained.

"Fine, Xu Yuan, you keep practicing. The rest of us will head back to the dormitory and rest for a while." Wang Huan spoke abruptly. Clearly still brooding over what had happened yesterday afternoon, his words carried an undercurrent of exclusion and isolation.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Li Shan hesitated, just about to smooth things over, when Tian Yang's voice rang out. "Brother Yuan, I'll practice with you."

Li Shan quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as someone offered the other side a way out, it was fine. He said, "All right, Brother Xu. You two practice first. I'll come over tomorrow."

At that moment, Xiao Sheng, who had always been quiet, also spoke up. "I'll practice with you too. My aptitude isn't good, so I have to let the clumsy bird fly first."

Wang Huan's expression turned somewhat ugly. He had intended to lead the others in isolating Xu Yuan, yet the situation had instead formed a balance of rival powers.

Chen Sanli still wore a smiling face, as though he had not noticed the undercurrents swirling through the room. He picked at his teeth with one hand, as if savoring the meal from earlier.

In the end, the six split into two groups. Three went to the training grounds to practice martial arts, while the other three returned to the dormitory to rest.

That evening.

After dinner, the six returned to the dormitory together. On the surface, they were all amiable, as though nothing had happened before.

But once they entered, two unfamiliar faces were standing inside. Xu Yuan finally met their last two roommates.

One was rather fair-skinned, with narrow eyes and thin lips. His entire person carried a sharp, fierce air.

The other had wheat-colored skin and a lean, tall frame. Together with his somewhat pointed chin, he looked like a bamboo pole.

A rosy-cheeked martial instructor introduced them from the side. "Martial Student beds are in short supply, so some people have been assigned to share rooms with you."

After saying that, he pointed at the narrow-eyed man. "This is Qin Yang... and this one is Gao Yuan."

Not long after the introductions, the martial instructor left the dormitory.

Seeing that the newcomers were Martial Students from the front courtyard, the others could not help sizing them up curiously.

Chen Sanli was especially familiar and outgoing. He stepped forward and said to Qin Yang with a smile, "Brother Qin, I'm Chen Sanli. We'll be sharing a dormitory from now on, so please guide me."

Qin Yang merely nodded slightly. He considered himself a Martial Student from the front courtyard, and looking at these former Laborers, he felt considerable disdain, faintly carrying a sense of superiority.

Seeing his cold attitude, Chen Sanli's expression did not change as he turned to Gao Yuan beside him. "Hello, Brother Gao. Please guide me in the future."

Gao Yuan's attitude was fairly friendly. He smiled and returned the greeting.

After everyone had gotten acquainted, they each began speaking quietly with those they knew well. The dormitory seemed to divide invisibly into several small circles.

Xu Yuan, Wang Huan, and Xiao Sheng still had a few topics to discuss among themselves.

Qin Yang and Gao Yuan were both Martial Students, so they instinctively stuck together and chatted idly. Most of the time, though, Qin Yang did the talking while Gao Yuan simply responded.

Still, perhaps because none of their family circumstances were particularly good and the barriers between classes had not yet completely solidified, or perhaps because they knew they were all martial artists standing on the same level—

After three or four days passed, Qin Yang and Gao Yuan had more or less integrated into the group. At the very least, everyone was amicable on the surface.

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the month.

Xu Yuan and the other two were still practicing at the training grounds. Wang Huan was often there as well. Li Shan came by occasionally, but Chen Sanli would soon drag him off somewhere to have fun.

Though Gao Yuan seemed friendly on the surface, there was an invisible barrier between him and the others. From time to time, he went to other dormitories to spend time with old friends, acting mysterious indeed.

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. Perhaps it was simply renamed!

As for Qin Yang, he often slipped out in the afternoons to listen to opera. When he returned to the dormitory, he would hum along with a few lines whenever he had nothing to do, calling it warming up his voice.

That evening.

Qin Yang returned as usual after listening to opera, carrying an oiled-paper parcel in his hand and humming a few out-of-tune opera lines under his breath.

The moment Xiao Sheng saw him like that, he could not help laughing. "Brother Qin, had fun listening again today?"

"Eh, it was all right. Group training starts tomorrow, so I figured I'd come back early. There was still one performance I didn't get to finish watching." Qin Yang waved a hand, his face full of regret. Then he clicked his tongue twice and said animatedly:

"I'm telling you, the opera troupe got a new young female lead who's absolutely exquisite. Her skin is so tender you could pinch water from it, her figure's as slender as a willow branch, and when she moves, she's soft and flowing like rolling waves..."

His description set everyone's minds drifting, and they could not help swallowing.

Xu Yuan raised a brow. Did you really go there to listen to opera?

"Yangzi, it's not that I want to criticize you, but you should put more effort into martial training. We're still in the beginning stages." Wang Huan considered himself the most talented and did not think Martial Students were anything special. He still acted as the dormitory's big brother, and while his words made sense, they carried a lecturing tone.

Qin Yang had been speaking with great enthusiasm when he was suddenly interrupted. He frowned, somewhat displeased.

"Didn't I just train yesterday? Besides, I used to train so hard. Now that I've finally become a martial artist, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

With that, he opened the oiled-paper parcel in his hand. "Sanli Xiang pastries. Who wants some?"

"Me, I'll have some! I just practiced for a while and I'm starving. Thanks, Brother Qin!"

Chen Sanli hurried forward and grabbed a huge handful. But when he saw Qin Yang frown, he loosened his hand and let some fall back, saying, "Brother Qin is timely rain," and "Brother Qin is generous."

After such a stream of flattery, Qin Yang could not very well say anything more. Seeing this, Chen Sanli added, "I think Brother Qin is right. You've only just become a martial artist, so you should relax a little."

At that, everyone present tugged at the corners of their mouths.

"Relax? You've been slack for days already." Li Shan shot him an annoyed look. "Still, after eating so much of Yangzi's food, you really should say a few nice things."

Qin Yang then began handing pastries out to the others. Xu Yuan declined on the grounds that he had just eaten and was not hungry, while Tian Yang politely refused as well.

"Thanks, Yangzi. I hear Sanli Xiang's pastries are famous. I've never had any before." Holding a piece of nut crisp, Li Shan sighed before kindly advising, "Still, martial artists have no small expenses. You ought to keep a tight hand on your money when you need to."

He knew Qin Yang's circumstances were better than those of the others present, but only to a limited extent. He still often had to rely on support from his family.

Qin Yang waved a hand. "What does a little money matter? It's just a snack."

Li Shan shook his head inwardly. Sanli Xiang's things were not cheap, and Qin Yang also liked listening to opera. He probably spent quite a lot on those things.

Still, having eaten someone else's food, offering a few words of advice was enough. If he soured their relationship, that would be no good.

The dormitory atmosphere stiffened for a moment, then quickly grew lively again.

Xu Yuan, Xiao Sheng, and the others exchanged insights on stance training and Thunderclap Fist.

Meanwhile, Chen Sanli and Li Shan listened with relish as Qin Yang talked about amusing incidents from the opera troupe. From time to time, the laughter was mixed with bawdy jokes, making several young men blush to the roots of their ears.

At that moment, Gao Yuan returned from another dormitory, bringing a gust of cold wind in with him.

Seeing this, Wang Huan could not help complaining.

"Yuanzi, honestly, why do you run off to other people's places every day? What, is our dormitory not big enough for you?"

Gao Yuan smiled at him apologetically. Then, with a serious look on his face, he said:

"Everyone, I heard some news from a friend. It's absolutely reliable!"