My Heart Was Kind; I Could Not Bear to See Anyone Die

Crackle! Pop!

Chu Qing roasted dried rations over the campfire, their fragrance spreading through the air.

The scholar found a broken iron pot, collected some rainwater and cleaned it before beginning to boil water.

Before long, the two drank hot water and ate dried rations, warmth spreading through their bodies.

During that time, they talked and exchanged names.

The scholar turned out to be Tang Wuming, from Bitterwater County on the northwestern frontier.

This time, he had been heading to the provincial capital to take the examinations.

"Outside Stone Rock County, I stirred up some trouble and was hunted down."

"My bookboy and guards died, the horses were worked to death, and even my luggage was lost."

"If I had not met Brother Chu, I fear I would have died in this ruined temple as well."

Chu Qing smiled. "I'm a kindhearted man. I cannot bear to see people die."

"Saving you was merely something I did in passing."

The scholar had no conflict with him. Since Tang Wuming had fallen into hardship, Chu Qing would help if he could.

After all, he still had a bit of a moral bottom line.

Tang Wuming thanked him, then said, "Brother Chu, those people from Stone Rock County must still be pursuing me."

"Though the wind and rain have delayed them, they will find their way here sooner or later."

Chu Qing smiled. "If they find us, I'll hide. Once you die, I'll help collect your corpse."

Tang Wuming froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Brother Chu, you are no ordinary man!"

The two fell silent.

After a while, Tang Wuming looked at Chu Qing's iron gloves and said:

"Brother Chu, did you come from a Martial Academy?"

Chu Qing shook his head. "No. I plan to take the Martial Academy exam this year."

Tang Wuming was surprised.

He studied Chu Qing carefully, secretly admiring him.

"You wear linen and go barefoot. Your background must be ordinary."

Chu Qing nodded.

Tang Wuming took a deep breath. "If it had been last year, as long as you cultivated three or five Iron Sinews, you would certainly have entered the Martial Academy."

"But this year, the Martial Academy has reformed. Even if you cultivated a hundred Iron Sinews, entering through your own ability alone would be as difficult as ascending to Heaven."

Chu Qing raised a brow and said calmly, "I heard that after the Martial Academy reforms, Outer Court students with more than a hundred Iron Sinews will assess new candidates."

"If one has cultivated a hundred Iron Sinews, could one still fail to pass?"

Tang Wuming was astonished. He had not expected Chu Qing to know such a secret.

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that this Linen-Clad Barefoot Youth had likely cultivated more than a hundred Iron Sinews already.

How was that possible?

Dressed in linen and barefoot, even after training for more than ten years, one might not necessarily cultivate a hundred Iron Sinews.

After all, practicing martial arts was really practicing resources.

Without resources, no matter how good one's aptitude was, one's achievements would be limited.

This Chu Qing... was not simple.

"Are you the descendant of a fortified manor or a Lineage?"

"Is dressing in linen and going barefoot your hobby?"

Chu Qing shook his head.

Tang Wuming's eyes widened. "You truly come from the lowest class of mud-legged peasants?"

Chu Qing rolled his eyes.

Tang Wuming smiled bitterly. "In my eyes, anyone who cannot afford silks and brocades is a mud-leg."

Chu Qing... was speechless.

Tang Wuming sighed. "I never expected someone of your background to possess such accomplishments. Remarkable."

"But you still cannot enter the Martial Academy."

Chu Qing asked curiously, "Why?"

Tang Wuming's expression was complicated. "During the Martial Academy's Preliminary Exam, those who offer silver or sign a contract of sale can muddle through and pass."

"If you have no silver and refuse to sign a contract of sale, the assessors will go all out."

"Though you also have more than a hundred Iron Sinews, Martial Academy students possess superior cultivation methods and can mobilize forty or fifty Iron Sinews."

"Ordinary cultivation methods, meanwhile, can mobilize at most thirty-six."

"When cultivation methods clash, there is a difference of more than ten or even dozens of Iron Sinews. What will you use to win?"

Chu Qing... frowned.

His Iron Cloth Shirt had forty Iron Sinews. Together with Toad Skill, he could only mobilize a little over fifty.

He could barely match an assessor.

His odds of victory... were not great.

What should he do?

Where could he find a more advanced cultivation method?

He also did not know whether, after Mantis Fist and Red Snake Leg broke their limits, they could increase the number of Iron Sinews further.

"Other than that, is there no other way?"

Tang Wuming hesitated.

Though he was a scholar, he knew many secrets of the martial path.

But those secrets were precious.

Even ordinary fortified manors and noble households knew only a small portion of them.

He hesitated over whether he should tell Chu Qing.

He saved my life, and I could be chopped to death by those swordsmen at any moment.

There was no harm in telling my benefactor these so-called secrets.

Tang Wuming smiled in relief. "I'll tell you some secret lore. Consider it repayment for saving me."

"If I am still alive in the future, I will owe you no favor."

"You are not allowed to use this favor to demand repayment!"

Chu Qing smiled. "Saving you... was my own choice. I do not care about your gratitude."

Tang Wuming admired him.

This Linen-Clad Barefoot Youth possessed more bearing than any scion of great clans or noble families Tang Wuming had ever seen.

He said in relief:

"First secret: without an advanced cultivation method, if you can cultivate the limit of three hundred and sixty-five Iron Sinews, you can defeat Outer Court students with your eyes closed."

Chu Qing shook his head. "The limit is three hundred and sixty-five Iron Sinews? Unfortunately, there is not enough time, nor do I have enough cultivation methods."

Tang Wuming smiled. "You can pass this secret down to your descendants, making it a foundation for their rise."

Chu Qing nodded.

Tang Wuming continued, "Second secret: if your descendants enter the Martial Academy, they must not rush to cultivate Iron Bone methods."

"They must first refine all 365 Iron Sinews into Copper Sinews, or even Silver Sinews and Golden Sinews."

Chu Qing asked curiously, "Why?"

Tang Wuming sighed. "One Copper Sinew equals two Iron Sinews. One Silver Sinew equals four Iron Sinews, and one Golden Sinew equals eight Iron Sinews."

"Do you understand?"

Chu Qing nodded.

There were so many distinctions after Iron Sinews? It was his first time hearing of them.

"How does one cultivate them?"

Tang Wuming shook his head. "Those with extraordinary aptitude naturally cultivate higher-grade great sinews. Those with ordinary aptitude can use secret methods, or—if they break a cultivation method beyond Perfection and reach limit-breaking—they can cultivate them too."

"Oh, the later Iron Bones are the same."

"The higher the level of your sinews and bones, the smoother your future martial path will be."

Chu Qing suddenly understood and committed it firmly to memory.

"Third secret: secret transmission cultivation methods are the most precious. If you have a chance to learn one, then even if you must serve someone like a dog, you must learn it."

Chu Qing nodded and said, "What about the fourth secret?"

Tang Wuming rolled his eyes. "There isn't one."

"Oh, right. You should leave. If you do not go now, those swordsmen truly will catch up."

Chu Qing shook his head. "Too late."

Tang Wuming froze and looked toward the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded frantically on the door.

Chu Qing rose and loosened his limbs.

Tang Wuming said, "Do not stand up for me. You should hide or run."

"They... have many people."

Chu Qing smiled. "The secrets you told me are worth more than the debt of saving your life. I should repay you."

"I'll lay out the facts and reason with them, so they let you go."

Tang Wuming smiled bitterly. "My trouble is great. They... will not listen."

The temple door crashed to the ground.

Chaotic footsteps rang out. Through the wind and rain, a group of swordsmen in straw raincoats surged in.

"Hand over the Stone Bamboo Pearl!"

A clap of spring thunder suddenly exploded.

Chu Qing stared at Tang Wuming, his eyes gleaming as he said excitedly, "I searched everywhere in worn-out iron shoes and found it without the slightest effort."

"Bring out the pearl. I want it later!"

Tang Wuming...

Chu Qing walked outside and casually shut the door behind him.

"Everyone, can you give up the pearl?"

"No!"

Wind and rain howled, and spring thunder rolled in waves.

A few seconds later:

Tang Wuming heard screams and the clash of metal outside the door.

One minute...

Two minutes...

The sounds stopped.

Creak!

The door opened, and wind and rain swept a thick stench of blood inside.

Click. Chu Qing shut the door, blocking out the corpses outside, then stared straight at him and said:

"Friend, I helped you kill your enemies. You should repay me with the Stone Bamboo Pearl!"

Tang Wuming was silent for a moment, then patted his stomach and said:

"Come on. Cut open my belly. Perhaps you can still find some scraps."

Chu Qing... huh?

Tang Wuming... huh!

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