A Sparring Match

Chen Qing frowned slightly and asked in puzzlement, "What is so special about being a guard at the Li Family?"

Cheng Ming patiently explained from the side, "You don't understand. Our Gaolin County has five Great Clans: the Huang, Han, Li, Zhu, and Luo families. These five Great Clans have very high standards when recruiting guards. At the very least, one must possess Bright Strength cultivation."

"Oh?"

Chen Qing was somewhat astonished. He knew well that in an ordinary wealthy household, a Bright Strength martial artist would already be qualified to serve as Guard Captain. Yet in the five Great Clans, they could only be an ordinary guard.

On second thought, it made perfect sense.

The five Great Clans of Gaolin County had almost monopolized the county's major trades—rice, flour, grain, oil, cloth, tea, and more. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they controlled Gaolin County's entire economic lifeline.

In the eyes of the local people, these five Great Clans were veritable local emperors.

Cheng Ming continued, "Zhu Ming's Sea-Breaking Fist is indeed quite formidable, but he is still far from comprehending it to great mastery."

Great mastery in a fist art was not easily attained. It required not only exceptional comprehension, but also time.

In all of Zhou Academy, only Zhou Liang had cultivated the Tongbei Fist to great mastery.

Chen Qing secretly calculated that if he wanted to cultivate his own Tongbei Fist to great mastery, even maintaining the intensity of ten practice sessions a day, it would take at least half a year.

Cheng Ming turned to Chen Qing, encouragement in his eyes. "A Qing, do you want to go up and test your skills?"

Chen Qing rubbed his hands together, eagerness flashing through his eyes.

This sort of practical sparring could not only build experience, but also deepen his understanding of the Tongbei Fist.

Besides, the combat experience of these Patrol Guards was far beyond that of Zhou Academy disciples.

"I am Chen Qing. I practice the Tongbei Fist!"

Chen Qing then stepped onto the platform and cupped his fists toward the Sea-Breaking Fist expert.

The burly man smiled and returned the gesture. "Zhu Ming, Sea-Breaking Fist!"

"The Tongbei Fist? Could he be Zhou Liang's disciple!?"

"Zhou Liang is no simple man. This kid looks very young—I wonder how much of his true teachings he has inherited."

The surrounding Patrol Guards all turned to watch.

Chen Qing planted his feet like roots, lowered his waist, and sank into his stance—the standard opening posture of the Tongbei Fist.

His left arm shot forth like a spirit snake leaving its burrow. In an instant, it probed forward, his five fingers slightly spread, his fingertips carrying a sharp whistle through the air like the tip of a whip as they struck straight for Zhu Ming's face.

This move, Spirit Snake Probes Path, appeared light and nimble, yet it contained the essence of the Tongbei Fist: "extend far and strike distant," "cold, snapping, crisp, and swift." Bolstered by the powerful force of Bright Strength, it was both a probing move and a hidden killing stroke. If it landed solidly, it could numb the nerves in an instant.

"Good kid!"

Zhu Ming's heart jolted. Seeing Chen Qing's youthful, honest appearance, he had not expected his attack to be so vicious.

He neither dodged nor retreated. A sharp gleam burst from his eyes as his right fist spiraled out from his waist. The tearing gale of force it generated pressed Chen Qing's striking arm into the slightest pause.

Smack!

Zhu Ming's fist smashed precisely toward the wrist joint of Chen Qing's extended left arm, intending to use absolute, ferocious power to forcibly "break" Chen Qing's long Tongbei snake arm.

Chen Qing felt the other man's fist force was incomparably fierce. Meeting it head-on would surely put him at a disadvantage.

The next moment, his left arm abruptly sank and curled as though it had lost all its bones, like an ape nimbly avoiding a falling log.

At the same time, his body spun sideways with the momentum. His right arm whipped back from an inconceivable angle, and with a crisp smack, the whip hand lashed straight at Zhu Ming's right ribs.

This combination of Monkey Circles Branch followed by Reverse Arm Whip Hand displayed the Tongbei Fist's ability to soften hardness and release power, its tricky viciousness, to the fullest.

Quite a few Patrol Guards felt cold sweat spring up along their spines at the sight.

Seeing Chen Qing neutralize his attack and counter, Zhu Ming's right fist cut through empty air, but his left fist had long been poised to strike. He stomped down with his left foot, twisted his waist and hips, and drove his left fist with the strength of his entire body upward like a Mountain Splitting Great Axe, smashing down toward the Vital Point at Chen Qing's shoulder and neck.

This was the Mountain Breaking Style of the Sea-Breaking Fist. Its momentum was vast and majestic, charging forward without hesitation, seeking to settle all beneath heaven in a single blow.

Yet just as his power erupted to its peak, in that fleeting instant when his Internal Force fell out of balance, his center of gravity inevitably tilted forward by the tiniest degree. Under that wild fist momentum, a flaw appeared along the central line of his chest and abdomen.

Chen Qing's keen senses caught that fleeting flaw. Faced with the ferocious Mountain Breaking Style, he did not meet it head-on. Instead, he pushed the Tongbei Fist's "length" to its utmost limit.

He drifted half a step back, narrowly evading that fierce fist wind. At the same time, borrowing the momentum of his retreat, his supple whip-like right arm snapped out a second time with a whoosh, before the old force had yet faded, as if fitted with a spring.

Not a fist. Not a palm. His fingers were joined like a sword!

His fingertips gathered a penetrating inch force, swift as lightning, passing with perfect precision through the barely perceptible gap in Zhu Ming's violent fist momentum and stabbing straight toward his heart.

When Chen Qing's fingertips were only an inch from Zhu Ming's Shanzhong acupoint, he held his force without releasing it and stopped abruptly.

The gust raised by his fingertips had already made Zhu Ming's chest skin feel a piercing chill.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ming's incomparably mighty Mountain Breaking Style froze in midair, still half a foot from Chen Qing's shoulder.

"Brother Chen, you are so young, yet your skills are already this outstanding."

Zhu Ming shook his head and sighed. "I am impressed, truly impressed!"

Chen Qing modestly replied, "Brother Zhu had already fought a match earlier and had expended some Strength and Vitality. That was why this little brother was lucky enough to gain an advantage."

Zhu Ming merely smiled without speaking.

He had indeed spent some physical strength, but Chen Qing's fist art was nimble and varied, his moves flowing into one another like drifting clouds and running water. It was nothing like the stiff, rigid routines of ordinary apprentice disciples.

After that, Chen Qing sparred in fist and foot techniques with several more Patrol Guards, greatly enriching his practical combat experience and skills.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Qing began his usual patrol.

Both sides of the docks buzzed with voices. Vendors' cries rose and fell one after another, while pedestrians brushed shoulders in a ceaseless stream.

"A Qing!"

Chen Qing, who was patrolling with a saber at his waist, suddenly heard someone call him from behind.

Turning around, he saw Xiao Chun standing some distance away and waving at him.

"Brother Xiao Chun, what a coincidence." Chen Qing smiled and walked over.

Xiao Chun rubbed his hands together and gave an awkward laugh. "Not a coincidence. I came here specifically to find you."

A trace of confusion appeared on Chen Qing's face. "You came looking for me?"

Xiao Chun glanced around, then lowered his voice. "It's not convenient to talk here. Let's speak somewhere else."

As he spoke, he pulled Chen Qing into a secluded corner.

"A Qing, I... I've run into something. It's a good thing, a tremendous good thing!"

Xiao Chun lowered his voice even further, saying excitedly, "You know Miss A Cui from the Floating Houses on the river, right? That A Cui whose eyes are like autumn waters and whose singing surpasses a yellow warbler's!"

What could he possibly know!?

Chen Qing vaguely guessed a few things, but he did not respond.

Xiao Chun did not wait for an answer at all, instead hurriedly continuing, "She has feelings for me! Really! A Qing, you don't understand. Every time I go to listen to her sing, her eyes only look at me, and she smiles at me! How could those crude boat passengers know how to cherish her? Only I... only I understand how good she is!"

He swallowed, as though savoring something, his tone turning both sweet and pained. "Damn that madam of the Floating Houses—she recognizes money, not people! A Cui had no choice but to sell smiles there. She secretly told me last night that her heart is bitter, and all she hopes for is that I can take her away! As long as I have thirty taels of silver, thirty taels! I can redeem her and free her from that sea of suffering!"

Xiao Chun suddenly seized Chen Qing's arm. "A Qing, we grew up together! Help me, just this once! Ten taels of silver will be enough! A Cui said that once she has been redeemed, she will leave with me and live a good life with me. When the time comes, even if I have to smash pots and sell iron, even if I have to be an ox or a horse, I will definitely repay you! I swear it!"

Ten taels of silver is not much!?

Looking at Xiao Chun's state, Chen Qing inwardly sighed. This was not redemption at all. He had clearly been bewitched out of his senses by that Chuan Shu.

He shook his head, keeping his tone as mild as possible. "Brother Xiao Chun, you know that I'm Learning Martial Arts now. Where would I get any spare money?"

What use is Learning Martial Arts! Can it compare to A Cui smiling at me once?

Xiao Chun grumbled inwardly, but outwardly continued to beg bitterly. "Then five taels? A Qing, five taels will do! Redeem half of her first and let her suffer a little less. If that truly won't work, three taels will do too! I'll find a way to gather more. I'll manage to collect enough eventually! A Cui cannot wait much longer. I'm afraid..."

Redeem half of her!?

It sounded like a joke.

Chen Qing still shook his head. "I truly don't have it. I only have a few mace of silver."

Xiao Chun immediately climbed along the pole once the snake was struck, as though he had grasped his final lifeline. "Then lend me one tael! I'll first buy A Cui some rouge and powder, so she knows I'm thinking about her! We grew up together—can you really bear to watch me... watch A Cui suffer in deep waters and blazing fire?"

His voice had even taken on a sobbing note.

Chen Qing: "."

In the end, Xiao Chun wheedled and begged three hundred copper coins from Chen Qing, swearing up and down, "Don't worry, A Qing! Once I redeem A Cui, the two of us will repay you together! Principal and interest, we'll give you back one tael! No, two taels!"

"Oh, right."

Before leaving, Xiao Chun repeatedly urged him, "You absolutely must not tell anyone about this, especially not my father. If he finds out, he'll be so anxious he might fall ill... He doesn't understand. He doesn't understand that A Cui and I truly love each other!"

With that, he hurried away with the copper coins tucked into his clothes, as if he carried not copper coins, but the key to happiness.

Chen Qing watched Xiao Chun's retreating back and shook his head with a soft sigh.

The lights of the Floating Houses on the river reflected upon the water, swaying and wavering.

He continued his patrol, but his heart felt heavy.

About half an hour later, Chen Qing was preparing to return to the River Bureau to check in.

Suddenly, a commotion and the angry scolding of women erupted from the direction of the Floating Houses ahead. A bedraggled figure was being punched and kicked by several vicious-looking thugs before being thrown out, sprawling on the muddy shore.

"Pah! A toad lusting after swan meat! Miss A Cui said you should get the hell away from her—she feels sick just seeing you!"

"Looking as poor and shabby as you do, you actually dared to take out three hundred copper coins and make a spectacle of yourself? You cannot even afford one box of rouge for Miss A Cui!"

"Come pester her again, and we'll break your dog legs! Get lost!"

Bruised and swollen, Xiao Chun struggled up from the ground. Half his face was smeared with mud, his eye sockets darkened with bruises, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and his clothes had been torn.

He wiped wildly at his face with his sleeve. The moment he raised his head and met Chen Qing's complicated yet knowing gaze, he froze where he stood, all color draining from his face.

"Brother Xiao Chun, what happened to you..."

Chen Qing looked at his bruised eye sockets and bleeding mouth, but swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.

Xiao Chun forced out a smile even uglier than crying. "A Qing, y-you misunderstand. That madam forced A Cui into it. A Cui definitely has me in her heart. Tomorrow, in my free time, I'll definitely work hard copying books to earn money."

Chen Qing stared at Xiao Chun in surprise, but what came next made him utterly ashamed.

". A Cui said that only when a man is willing to spend money on her is he sincere."

Xiao Chun spoke with a face full of longing. "Once I gather enough money, I'll take her back to Yazi Bay. We'll plant a few mu of water chestnut ponds and raise two egg-laying ducks."

Chen Qing: "."

He did not say much more. After all, could someone whose mind had been bewitched listen to the advice given to a simp?

At this moment, Xiao Chun was probably still thinking only of that "Miss A Cui," who considered even three hundred copper coins too little, wasn't he?