Chaotic Brawl

After eating and drinking his fill, streams of fine currents flowed into the essence flame, making it grow a little stronger.

Over these past days, Meng Yuan had constantly observed the essence flame and discovered that different foods provided it with different amounts of nourishment. Meat was best; rice, flour, vegetables, and fruit were somewhat inferior.

Even among meats, there were differences. Eating sheep's testicles and bull's testicles was better than eating other things.

Judging by this meal, Meng Yuan estimated that in another month, the essence flame would envelop his whole body, likely reaching a state of completion.

What will happen then? And would eating other things be even better for the essence flame? Could I eat demons... Meng Yuan could not help thinking of Grandmother.

Just as he was thinking, a piercing pain shot through his arm.

"Why are you pinching me?" Meng Yuan hurriedly grabbed Tie Niu's hand.

"Brother!" Tie Niu said with a stern expression, "My dad said that if you stared blankly at the tiger's mouth and grinned stupidly, I had to wake you up. And I had to ask you: Have you forgotten the little wife back home?"

"..." Meng Yuan had not expected Uncle Bighead to have so little faith in him, fearing he would be lured away by a demon.

"Did you forget or not? Say it!" Tie Niu grabbed Meng Yuan's arm and shook it hard.

"I didn't forget..." Meng Yuan answered weakly.

By now, night had fully fallen, and the moonlight was thin.

After filling their bellies, everyone went to the Training Field to practice Horse Stance Punches, then lifted stone locks.

Only when the night had deepened and they had sweated all over did the gathering finally break up.

Everyone else headed back to their quarters, but Meng Yuan and Tie Niu were in no hurry to leave.

As his body had recovered and the essence flame within him burned vigorously, Meng Yuan's strength had increased greatly. Tossing around a twenty-pound stone lock was effortless now.

Though he had worked himself ragged at the ranch, he had never tested his limits. Now was the perfect time.

Seeing that the Training Field was empty, Meng Yuan chose a hundred-pound Stone Roller. He settled into a horse stance, gripped the lifting handles with both hands, and slowly raised it with gritted teeth. After silently counting to thirty, he gently set it down.

After catching his breath, Meng Yuan tried a two-hundred-pound Stone Roller. This time, however, he felt powerless. He could only shift it, not lift it.

"Let me try!" Tie Niu grabbed the two-hundred-pound Stone Roller and strained with all the strength he had, actually managing to slowly hoist it up.

The gap between people truly was enormous. Tie Niu had sturdy bones and sinews, along with tremendous brute strength. He really had been born with divine strength.

Meng Yuan reckoned that his own limit was around a hundred and fifty pounds, while Tie Niu's was likely around two hundred and fifty.

Of course, neither of them had received any training. If they tempered themselves for a while longer, gaining greater strength and more skill, they would be able to lift heavier weights.

Besides, as the essence flame grew, his strength would grow as well.

Chatting idly, the two arrived at the well.

There were twenty-seven people here in total: fifteen boys and twelve girls. They all lived around the Training Field, their quarters separated by a hundred paces.

There was no hot water here, and the winter night wind howled fiercely. Most people simply went back to sleep. Only a handful washed themselves briefly by the well.

The girls were more particular. They carried water back to their rooms to wash up.

"Master Nie said martial artists needn't fuss over trifles. Wouldn't it be great if we washed together here?" Wu Changsheng was also by the well, teasing the female trainees with a lewd grin.

After flirting with the girls for a few lines, Wu Changsheng was nudged by one of them and immediately trotted off with a bucket to deliver water to the girls' quarters.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu did not chatter either. Bare-chested, they washed themselves in the cold wind.

Seeing some female trainees drift closer, praising Wu Changsheng for being considerate, their words full of encouragement as they tried to get Meng Yuan and Tie Niu to help.

But the two were honest fellows and could not understand the hint at all. They quickly dried themselves and headed back to the dormitory.

When they pushed open the dormitory door, an Oil Lamp was burning inside, casting a dim glow.

"Newcomers!" As soon as Meng Yuan and Tie Niu entered, the room fell quiet, followed by several strange snickers.

Meng Yuan looked over and saw someone sitting against the wall at the innermost end of the long kang bed, one leg cocked high. Two boys sat cross-legged on either side of him, all of them grinning at the newcomers.

Two bundles had been tossed onto the floor, with shoes and socks scattered from within. They clearly belonged to him and Tie Niu.

The rest of the room's occupants were either lying down to sleep or wearing expressions that said they were waiting to enjoy a good show.

"Go." The boy with his leg cocked gave a chuckle and pointed outside. "Bring me a basin of water to wash my feet."

"Where's the basin?" Meng Yuan asked with a smile.

"Are your eyes just for decoration?" The boy glared at Meng Yuan and pointed to the floor.

Where there were many people, masters and servants would naturally emerge. Some bullied others, while some were bullied.

Meng Yuan did not want trouble, nor did he have any desire to bully anyone. But they had brought their show of force down on his head, and Jiang Yatou had painstakingly washed that bundle clean in the bitter cold!

Having once nearly starved to death, Meng Yuan cherished his life especially dearly and especially did not want to cause trouble. But...

Meng Yuan stepped forward, picked up the wooden basin, then suddenly stepped onto the kang. He smashed the basin directly into the boy's face, followed up at once, and kicked toward the boy's head.

"You dare hit me? I'm Steward Liu's son!" The boy had not expected Meng Yuan to disregard all martial virtue. Blood spurted across his face as he howled and cried.

The two boys beside Steward Liu's son froze for a moment before coming to their senses. They hurried over to stop Meng Yuan. One was kicked in the lower belly; the other had his arm seized, then a powerful force yanked him forward, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Having dealt with the helpers, Meng Yuan kept his main target fixed on Steward Liu's troublemaking son.

"Come help me!" The boy crouched on the kang with both hands shielding his head, howling wildly.

Seeing this, the others hurried forward. Some grabbed Meng Yuan around the waist, some grabbed his legs, and some shouted for them to stop fighting while throwing punches at Meng Yuan.

Tie Niu was an honest boy. At first, he loudly tried to break up the fight, but when no one listened and Meng Yuan was surrounded instead, he shouted and grabbed someone before throwing him backward. "Don't hit my brother!"

He possessed tremendous brute force. In one breath, he threw five or six people back in succession. Then he grabbed another person, only to find that this one was quite strong and could not be dragged away so easily.

"Tie Niu, it's me! Watch where you're fighting!" Meng Yuan was in the middle of beating people up when Tie Niu grabbed him around the waist.

"I've never fought before, Brother!" Tie Niu hurriedly let go and grabbed someone else instead.

For a time, seven or eight people could do nothing to Meng Yuan and Tie Niu. The boys' dormitory filled with cries to father and mother.

"Don't fight! Don't fight!" Wu Changsheng had been outside currying favor with the female trainees. Hearing the commotion, he rushed over to intervene, but he could not stop them at all.

He tried to pull people apart, but someone kicked over the Oil Lamp. The boys' dormitory instantly became pitch-black, and his face was struck by mistake.

In an instant, the kang became a battlefield. In the utter darkness, no one knew who was hitting whom. It had already become a pot of porridge.

These people had only been learning martial arts for five or six days. They had no method to their fighting, and it was nothing but a chaotic brawl.

After a while, the cries of ghosts and howls of wolves grew louder. People kept shouting for them to stop, but Meng Yuan did not stop at all, focusing solely on beating that boy.

"Stop fighting already!" The dormitory door was flung open, and several female trainees held lanterns up to shine inside.

"Everyone, stop!" A tall female trainee entered carrying an Oil Lamp. She seemed rather respected. Wu Changsheng covered his bleeding nose with one hand and lowered his head.

The boys all stopped as well. For a moment, no one spoke, though quite a few sobs could be heard.

Of the fifteen boys, aside from the three who had not joined in, every one of the rest was injured, with bruised noses and swollen faces. Even Wu Changsheng, who had tried to break up the fight, had been caught up in it.

"Who started it?" the tall female trainee asked.

The boys all turned to look at Meng Yuan and Steward Liu's son. Seeing this, Tie Niu hurriedly stepped to Meng Yuan's side.

Meng Yuan was still gripping Steward Liu's son by the hair. Without looking at anyone else, he yanked hard backward, forcing Steward Liu's son to raise his head as blood continued streaming from his nose.

"If I ever find anyone touching Tie Niu's things or mine again, I'll beat you." Meng Yuan was bare-chested, his body mottled purple and blue both front and back, but he did not care at all. He merely swept his gaze around the room before fixing it on Steward Liu's son.

Steward Liu's son had a bruised, swollen face and ragged clothes. Tears streamed from his red, swollen eyes, mingling with the blood on his face and flowing into his mouth. He continued to sob miserably. "You'll hit me even if I didn't do it?"

"Yes. I'll only hit you." Meng Yuan understood well the principle of striking one punch to open a path.

"Sister Qian, save me..." Steward Liu's son cried even harder, looking pleadingly at the tall girl by the door.

"Crying? I'll beat you even if you cry." Meng Yuan released his grip, blew out a bloody wad of snot, wiped it with his hand, and smeared it on Steward Liu's son's clothes.

Tie Niu copied him, but the sound of his nose-blowing was far too loud, and he was much too crude about it. There was not the slightest beauty to it.

The tall female trainee glanced at Meng Yuan and frowned. "All of you, go to sleep! Whoever dares start fighting again will be thrown out tomorrow!"

"Don't worry, Sister." Half of Wu Changsheng's face was swollen as he forced a smile at the tall female trainee, then stepped forward and patted Meng Yuan and Tie Niu on the shoulders.

Everyone gathered up the things from the floor. Sure enough, no further trouble broke out, and they each fell into a deep sleep.