Three Fellow Townsmen

Three Fellow Townsmen

Chen Jiechang turned at the sound. When he saw Li LiBo, he gave a derisive snort. "Why can't it be me? You can come, so why can't I?"

"Heh, you looking for trouble?" Li LiBo rolled up his sleeves, making as if to teach Chen Jiechang a lesson.

Xiang ChangSong stepped between them with a smile. "You two must be very close."

"Who's close with him? *2"

Liang Qu scratched his head from the side. He remembered Chen Jiechang too.

Yi Xing City had over a thousand residents, half of them from fishing families. There were only a few dozen people their age, and Li LiBo was one of them, as was Chen Jiechang. They saw one another constantly and all knew each other.

Liang Qu was fifteen or sixteen, Li LiBo seventeen or eighteen, while Chen Jiechang was older still, around nineteen or twenty.

Unlike Li LiBo, who had two elder brothers and had developed something of an idle, loafing temperament, Chen Jiechang had only an older sister. He himself was a renowned fishing expert, earning over a hundred copper coins a day—almost as much as Liang Qu did now.

Chen Jiechang had no Golden Finger. He had caught them through his own genuine skill.

Xiang ChangSong said, "It wasn't as though no one from Yi Xing City had come before, but it's rather rare to have three at once. Since you all know each other, I'll leave what comes next to Junior Brother Liang and Junior Brother Li."

Liang Qu nodded. "All right."

"Brother Jie."

"A Shui."

Chen Jiechang nodded, his attitude plainly better than it had been toward Li LiBo. As for why he had come to learn martial arts, Liang Qu had indeed played a part in it.

The day the two of them caught the Treasure Fish together, Chen Jiechang had been completely overshadowed by Liang Qu. They were both young men, so naturally he had felt indignant, as though his moment in the limelight had been stolen for nothing.

But on the day they paid the Autumn Tax, Chen Jiechang had witnessed Liang Qu's actions with his own eyes. His indignation turned into admiration.

To be fair, if it had been him, he definitely would not have been willing to take out that one dan of rice. Then he heard that Liang Qu had gone to study martial arts. Chen Jiechang had made quite a bit of money selling the Treasure Fish, and together with his previous savings, he still had a considerable surplus after paying the Autumn Tax. That stirred something in him, and he too wanted to gamble for a way out.

A short while later, Lu Shaohui returned. When he learned that he had gained another student, also from Yi Xing City, his brows furrowed once more, though he soon returned to calm.

Chen Jiechang sensed that something was wrong, and what happened next proved it. If Liang Qu and Li LiBo had not pointed out his mistakes, he would never have known whether the stance training he performed was correct.

Before coming here, he had considered that fishermen were lowly and that he might face discrimination. He had not expected it to be so severe.

Had Liang Qu and Li LiBo not first built solid foundations under Hu Qi's guidance and been able to take over the instruction, he probably would not have learned more than a few proper stances in an entire day.

If Liang Qu had not told him there was a Martial Master Hu Qi he could count on, Chen Jiechang would have been unable to keep his temper in check.

Liang Qu consoled him. "Bear with it a little longer. Once I finish learning Crane Fist, it'll be fine. I'll teach you then."

Some parts of the stance training in the Three Fists Technique were identical or similar. Only about a third differed greatly. With the foundation from before, he would learn quickly.

Between yesterday and this morning, Liang Qu had already finished learning Tiger Fist. He would probably finish Crane Fist by tomorrow.

Chen Jiechang took a deep breath and suppressed his irritation. "Sorry to trouble you, A Shui."

"It's nothing. We're the only three fellow townsmen at the martial arts school, so naturally we should support each other."

Li LiBo curled his lip. "Why don't you say you're troubling me? I taught you just now too, all right?"

"You? Heh."

"?"

"You said that brat went to learn martial arts?"

In the courtyard, Zheng Xiang, clad in white brocade robes, paced circles around a peach tree. Fallen leaves drifted down around him, mirroring the turmoil in his heart.

The hemp-clothed servant beside him bowed. "Yes. This lowly one followed him for many days. For some reason, that boy surnamed Liang seemed to have suddenly had his head opened up. His fishing skills have become more and more formidable.

"About half a month ago, he actually caught a Treasure Fish called a Bullhorn Pomfret and sold it for six taels and five mace. Then he went to Yang Martial Hall to study martial arts. That Martial Master Yang even said he had good Root Bone. It's been over ten days now."

"Yang Martial Hall? Third Young Master studies martial arts there too, doesn't he?"

"Yes." The servant paused. "Oh, there's one more thing. During the Autumn Tax two days ago, a fisherman named Chen Qingjiang owed seven dou of rice and nearly got sent to Lan Province to dig the Canal. That boy took out enough to cover it—three dou of rice and six mace of silver. I asked around, and they said it was because Chen Qingjiang had once given that boy a flatbread and several jin of grain."

Zheng Xiang looked somewhat surprised, then narrowed his eyes and sneered. "A flatbread and a few jin of grain in exchange for one dan of fine rice—I almost want to make such a profitable deal myself."

The servant, A Quan, remained silent.

Zheng Xiang circled the peach tree once more before suddenly cursing, "That Lin bastard is truly hateful! He sent me away for over a month for nothing, that beast!"

There were two stewards in the Zhao Residence. The chief steward was Lin Guiyong, and the second steward was Zheng Xiang.

Zheng Xiang had not originally been a steward. He had been a household servant of the Zhao Residence, but he was clever and smooth in handling affairs, gradually becoming the residence's second steward.

Where there were people, there was the jianghu.

Chief Steward Lin Guiyong could not possibly watch Zheng Xiang rise and threaten his own position. Thus, friction between the two was frequent, and their rivalry never ceased.

Zheng Xiang had racked his brains to win the old master's favor, and Liang Qu was one of his methods. Yet before he could succeed, the chief steward found a way to send him away before the old master's sixty-fourth birthday, making him deliver gifts and handle business for the Second Young Master in Huang Province.

By the time he returned, more than a month had passed. Not only had he missed the excellent chance to make an appearance at the birthday celebration, but he could only hurriedly have one of his subordinates deliver his congratulatory gift.

Though the Second Young Master was pleased and praised him for handling matters beautifully, the Second Young Master was not the one in charge of the household. Not to mention, above the Second Young Master stood the Eldest Young Master.

Just when Zheng Xiang recalled that there was still a handsome young man in Yi Xing City whom he could work with, he heard from the servant that the boy had gone to study martial arts. His anger nearly choked him.

Martial Master Yang cherished his reputation immensely. If anything happened to a martial apprentice during their period of study, Yang Martial Hall would certainly investigate. Even if it were merely for show, they would still investigate.

If they learned that Zheng Xiang had been forcing sales and purchases, there would definitely be trouble.

Zheng Xiang found it strange. How had someone LaiTou Zhang described as nearly starving to death undergone such an earth-shaking transformation?

Could it really be as people said—his head had opened up?

Zheng Xiang found it hard to believe, yet he had no choice but to believe.

At this point, brute force was out of the question. No one in Ping Yang Town dared provoke the Zhao Residence, but that was the Zhao Residence—it was Master Zhao, the Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master, and the Third Young Master—not him!

He still wanted to climb higher!

Oppressing a young man was a small matter. Causing trouble was also a small matter. But if he made the Zhao Residence spend its own paper cleaning up his mess, that would become a major event!

If word reached the old master's ears, he could forget ever replacing Lin Guiyong and becoming the chief steward of the Zhao Residence! Treading carefully as if walking on thin ice was Zheng Xiang's creed in life.

"Right, where's LaiTou Zhang?"

"Had Not Seen him since last time. He's probably too ashamed to face you."

"Useless trash." Zheng Xiang cursed again. After a long while, he suddenly asked, "A Quan, have any commoners in Ping Yang Town ever made something of themselves through martial arts?"

"There have been some, I suppose." A Quan gave an awkward laugh. "I haven't heard of any from the other two schools, but Yang Martial Hall has been open for over ten years. A few commoner martial artists have broken through the barrier, though there definitely haven't been thirty."

"And over these past ten years, how many commoners have entered Yang Martial Hall?"

A Quan calculated quickly. "Five or six every month. Over a dozen years, that's nearly a thousand."

"Nearly a thousand? Heh. Then we'll patiently wait another two months."