Change, Part 1

Cheng Shaojiu clenched his fists, yet he could not say a word.

He remained silent for a long while before turning around, leaving the escort agency, and heading toward Huishan Fist Academy.

He had known all along what the situation was with his eldest uncle. Though he appeared not to care about anything, he actually understood everything clearly.

The escort agency's business had been affected, but it was still far from being in real trouble. His eldest uncle had merely made it sound serious to keep him from bringing more people into the escort agency.

His family had never met his sworn brothers and sisters for the same reason.

Everyone thought the people he befriended were nothing but rogues and scoundrels. They thought he spent every day playing with things and wasting his ambitions. Yet how many of them knew what he truly thought?

He, Cheng Shaojiu, treated others with sincerity, and others would surely treat him sincerely in return.

Only true hearts could be exchanged for true hearts. His friends might not look like much on the surface now, but when the critical moment came, the people willing to stand up and support him would definitely be far more reliable than the escort masters under his eldest uncle!

But his eldest uncle did not see it that way.

Following his usual route, Cheng Shaojiu soon arrived at Huishan Fist Academy once more, only to keep anyone from noticing that something was wrong.

He had no choice but to bury what had just happened deep in his heart, lest anyone detect a clue.

Quite a few fellow disciples had already arrived in the courtyard and were practicing on their own.

Cheng Shaojiu spotted his good friend Wei He at a glance. The two exchanged looks and were just about to speak.

"Something terrible has happened!" A newly joined junior disciple suddenly shoved open the courtyard gate and rushed inside.

"Senior Brother Xiao Ran was severely injured in yesterday's fist match!"

"!!?"

The people in the courtyard were stunned at first, then disbelief and suspicion spread across their faces.

Who was Xiao Ran? He was now the prized treasure of Huishan Fist Academy, Old Zheng's darling, and a formidable expert at the Stone Hide level.

And now someone had suddenly claimed that he had been severely injured!?

"It's true!" Another person quickly entered through the gate and said solemnly, "The teacher has ordered Third Senior Brother, Xiao Jue, Zhang De, Zheng Niu, and Xu Anshan, the five senior brothers, to come with me. Everyone else is to remain and guard the courtyard!"

This person was a junior disciple who had always run errands closely under Zhao Hong. He often delivered the teacher's and Senior Disciple Brother's orders.

Hearing him say so, everyone immediately began to believe it somewhat.

After all, no matter how bold this fellow was, he would not dare forge an imperial decree.

The named disciples immediately stepped forward. Led by Cheng Shaojiu, they hurried after the man and left the courtyard. Judging by their direction, they were heading toward the district with the most physicians and apothecaries.

Wei He had not even had time to tell Third Senior Brother that he had broken through.

Then he watched as nearly half the people vanished in a rush.

He let out a soft breath.

"How exactly did Senior Brother Xiao get injured? With Old Zheng accompanying him, he could still get hurt?" someone muttered quietly.

"Old Zheng may be strong, but none of us have ever seen him make a move. How do you know he is stronger than Senior Brother Xiao? Besides, he is old. His qi and blood would decline too," another person retorted under his breath.

"Didn't they say they went for a fist match a few days ago? Could it be...!?"

"Who knows? Heh, I heard from the older senior brothers that fist matches had never injured anyone this badly."

"Stop making wild guesses." Jiang Yan coldly rebuked them. "Practice properly."

Wei He also withdrew his attention. His heart remained utterly undisturbed as he continued practicing at an unhurried pace.

The courtyard gradually returned to calm, though beneath that apparent quiet, everyone was holding back a surge of curiosity.

Xiao Ran had never been particularly well-liked in the courtyard. Thus, upon hearing that he had been injured, and severely at that, some of those present even felt secretly pleased at his misfortune.

Before long, Ouyang Zhuang arrived as well. His gaze flickered, and he walked over to Wei He while pretending to be composed.

"Senior Brother Wei, I just went to Taihe Hall. Senior Brother Xiao is receiving treatment there. Do you want to know how he got hurt?"

He lowered his voice mysteriously.

Wei He remained silent and continued with his own work. He built up the fire and began heating and sterilizing the sandstones used for Skin Grinding.

Ouyang Zhuang blinked and waited for a while. When he saw that Wei He had no reaction, he immediately became anxious.

Compared to Cheng Shaojiu and Old Zheng, he had far less patience. Unable to hold it in for long, he immediately spilled all his so-called inside information.

"Brother He, how can you stay so calm? Let me tell you, I asked the guards at home. During yesterday's fist match, Xiao Ran caught the eye of both the Zhao Family and the Tian Family of the Seven Families Alliance. Both sides invited him to join their families and take up a position."

"But then... that Xiao Ran..."

"Speak properly." Wei He shot him a glare.

Such careless forms of address, with no regard for seniority, would not cause Wei He any trouble if others heard them. But Ouyang Zhuang would surely gain a reputation for disrespecting his seniors, which would be terrible for his future.

"Fine, fine. Senior Brother Xiao, all right?" Ouyang Zhuang curled his lips, unconcerned.

He was young and did not care about such things at all.

"Let me tell you, Xiao Ran rejected the Tian Family and chose to join the Zhao Family. Then... today, word came that he had been ambushed and severely injured. It was a masked attacker too. Tsk, tsk. The Zhao Family and Tian Family have always been rivals. If not for the agreement within the Seven Families Alliance, there would not be any alliance at all.

"Senior Brother Xiao really suffered a calamity from nowhere. How utterly miserable."

"If you ask me, had he chosen the Tian Family, the Zhao Family would definitely have struck too. Neither side would want to see a young elite like him, a genius with enormous potential, join their rival.

"Actually, the Zhao Family would surely have kept watch and guarded against an ambush. But the Tian Family acted too quickly. How could anyone guard against thieves for a thousand days? Don't you think so?"

He went on to say more things that delighted in Xiao Ran's misfortune. Xiao Ran usually wore an expression that said he was first under heaven and everyone else was second, ignoring everyone as he pleased. Ouyang Zhuang had clearly found him extremely displeasing.

But Wei He could no longer take in any of it.

His mind was filled with the information Ouyang Zhuang had just revealed.

Xiao Ran, because he was too talented, had been invited by two families during the fist match. After agreeing to one of them, he had been ambushed by the other and was now severely injured...

So genius also came with risks. Wei He had originally thought the risks would not be great, but now it seemed... the risks were considerable.

A great tree that grew apart from the forest had to bear the wind and rain from all directions alone.

Is this the price of standing out from the woods? Wei He's heart sank.

He had originally been thinking of quickly making his progress public. Perhaps he could even gain the title of a minor genius.

But now, it seemed...

I should conceal it for a while longer. I cannot rush this. Wei He sensed danger.

Being a genius was not so easy.

Still, he understood that it would be difficult to hide his situation from Old Zheng. That was fine. If only Old Zheng knew his progress, he could receive a greater share of resources.

His safety could also be guaranteed. And he could obtain subsequent training methods at ease, without being held back.

But he would not make it public to anyone else.

Wei He formed a plan. It would be best to delay a little longer before revealing that he had broken through. That way, he would not have to bear the name of genius and could deal calmly with more things.

If Old Zheng noticed it himself, Wei He would not need to bring it up proactively. But if he did not notice, Wei He would find an opportunity to reveal it to him alone.

Ouyang Zhuang continued chattering beside him, gloating and talking nonstop.

Wei He responded only now and then as he continued his practice.

Gradually, the entire day passed. Old Zheng and the others never returned.

Senior Disciple Brother Zhao Hong, Cheng Shaojiu, and several core disciples had not come either. They were clearly all keeping watch at Taihe Hall.

With such rare gossip in their hearts, no one in the courtyard had much mind to practice properly.

Only Wei He urged Ouyang Zhuang on and earnestly completed both of their daily lessons.

"Senior Brother Wei, you really can keep your cool..." Ouyang Zhuang said weakly.

Wei He said nothing. He slowly placed his sweat towel into hot water, scrubbed it, wrung it dry, then tilted his head back and laid it over his face.

The sky gradually darkened. It was almost time for everyone to disperse.

Only then did a group push open the courtyard gate and enter.

Senior Disciple Brother Zhao Hong was walking at the very front. Cheng Shaojiu followed behind him, while two disciples carrying a stretcher came behind them.

Lying on the stretcher was none other than Xiao Ran, whose face was as pale as gold paper.

There was no color at all in Xiao Ran's face or lips. He was unconscious, clearly grievously injured.

Old Zheng walked at the very end, holding a cane. His expression was extremely unpleasant.

His usual lazy, slow steps now faintly carried a heaviness and imposing force.

Contrary to what Wei He had expected, Old Zheng had no mind whatsoever to look at the others in the courtyard. With a cold face, he followed the group inside, quickly entering the inner room.

Before long, bursts of scolding came from inside. One disciple hurried out with a prescription, apparently going to buy medicine.

Wei He's expression remained calm. He packed up his things, pinched the gloating Ouyang Zhuang beside him, and led the guileless boy out through the courtyard gate.

"Ow! Brother Wei, why did you pinch me?!"

"What did you call me?" Wei He paused.

"Brother Wei?" The moment Ouyang Zhuang spoke, his ear was viciously pinched again.

The pain made him cry out at once.

"Senior Brother Wei! Senior Brother! Senior Brother, my good senior brother, I was wrong!"

He hurriedly begged for mercy.

Only then did Wei He withdraw his hand. "Let's go."

"Oh..." Ouyang Zhuang rubbed his ear, his face full of bewilderment and helplessness.

The two packed up their belongings and left the courtyard.

Wei He had originally intended to take the initiative and tell Old Zheng about his breakthrough. For now, he set the matter aside.

Seeing Xiao Ran's fate showed just how great the risks of being a genius could be. Wei He still decided to be someone less talented.

He would have to find another opportunity to tell Old Zheng.

After Xiao Ran was severely injured, Old Zheng mobilized his connections and searched everywhere for the culprit. Unfortunately, he found nothing at all.

Instead, he wasted a great deal of time, energy, and money.

This continued for more than half a month.

Old Zheng left early and returned late. Only after continuing to find nothing did he return to the courtyard with an ugly expression.

But unlike usual, when he liked to slowly gnaw chicken claws after a sip of tea, he now had no inclination to eat chicken claws at all. His eyes seemed fixed on the others in the courtyard, but they drifted aimlessly, his attention nowhere in the courtyard.

Everyone could tell that Xiao Ran's severe injury had dealt him a considerable blow.

Xiao Ran had also rested for more than half a month and could barely walk again. He occasionally appeared in the courtyard, but he could not practice. He merely wore a gloomy face as he watched the others train, his gaze extremely unpleasant.

Another half month passed. Wei He continued honestly saving up Boundary-Breaking Pearls while waiting for an opportunity.

Fortunately, having spent a long time with Cheng Shaojiu, he knew some simple training methods for the early Stone Hide stage. There was no need to rush at first, and he had not delayed much.

The main issue was that he did not know the complete training method for the Stone Hide level, nor was it convenient to ask. He still had to seek out Old Zheng for this matter.