The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
At Lakeside Village's wharf, many villagers had come to see them off.
Lin Chen carried his bundle on his back, bade farewell to his parents, and boarded the fishing boat.
"Set off the firecrackers!"
At the village chief's shout, Gu Fei was the first to light the firecrackers.
The popping firecrackers startled many birds into flight. Amid the smoke, Lin Chen waved goodbye to his parents and the villagers who had come to see him off. Only after the fishing boat had completely disappeared did he lower his hand.
He was now, in a sense, the hope of the entire village.
He bore not only the hopes of his family, but also the expectations of all the villagers.
Since he was going to the Martial Hall to learn martial arts, he had to achieve something.
"Big brother, let me do it."
"No, Brother Chen, just sit there. I'll row."
His elder brother Lin Liang smiled as he refused, continuing to pull the oars. Although the trip from Lakeside Village to the county-town wharf went against the current, the fishing boat carried no catch, only people, so rowing was not tiring.
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month was very lively on Poyang Lake. Many fishing boats had already begun heading out to fish.
On the waterway, there were fishing boats, pleasure boats taking advantage of the early spring, and, more than either of those, brightly painted boats.
Today was the day the county-town Martial Halls registered students. The youths from each village who had cultivated Essence Energy within three years—especially those from the lakeside villages—would choose to enter the city on brightly painted boats.
Wherever the brightly painted boats passed, the fishermen aboard the fishing boats looked on with envy. If they had children aboard as well, they would point at the brightly painted boats and use them to encourage their own children.
The belief that only martial arts could allow one to rise above the common herd had already taken root in the hearts of every citizen of Poyang County.
In recent years, Poyang County had enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests. Unless a family was in truly dire straits, they would save money to set aside the registration fee for their children to enter the Martial Hall.
As the pride of the entire village for cultivating Essence Energy within a single year, Lin Chen had originally been the reason the village chief wanted to rent a brightly painted boat, but Lin Chen had politely declined.
It was fine to be superstitious, but there was no need to spend money.
In his previous life, whenever he passed temples or Taoist shrines, he would devoutly bow if he could do so without paying an admission fee or offering incense. But if he had to spend money on incense, then sorry—he was a firm successor to materialism!
He was the only person from the village going to register at the Martial Hall this year. Renting a brightly painted boat would have been too wasteful; the rental fee alone was one liang of silver.
Wouldn't it be better to use that liang of silver to buy meat?
On the river, the youths aboard the brightly painted boats were all in high spirits. Even though it was still chilly in early spring, every one of them stood on deck, unafraid of the cold wind.
Compared to the brightly painted boats, Lin Chen's fishing boat looked rather shabby. A strip of red cloth was merely tied to its bow, signifying that good fortune was upon them and marking Lin Chen as a Martial Hall student.
According to Lin Chen, even the red cloth was unnecessary. But the village chief had insisted, and his own parents had agreed, so he finally let his elder brother tie it to the bow.
As a result, amid the many brightly painted boats, his fishing boat with its strip of red cloth stood out especially clearly.
"Which village is that from? They only tied a strip of red cloth to the boat. Couldn't the village even bear to rent a brightly painted boat?"
"They probably only cultivated Essence Energy in their third year, and the village doesn't think much of them."
The youths aboard the brightly painted boats discussed him among themselves. In their view, Lin Chen's riding a fishing boat with only a strip of red cloth meant he was likely one of those who had cultivated Essence Energy at the very last possible moment. Whether such a person could open his Aperture was still uncertain, so the village naturally would not attach much importance to him.
Most of them had cultivated Essence Energy within two years. Those who failed to do so in two years gave up, and very few persisted into the third year.
As for cultivating Essence Energy within a year—that was beyond anything they dared imagine. It was the goal of the wealthy young masters from the towns. Those privileged youths would all ride horses into the city; very few would take brightly painted boats.
Entering the city on a brightly painted boat was a pride unique to the youths of the villages.
"Brother, why don't you come aboard our boat?" one of the youths on a brightly painted boat called out with a smile.
"No need." Lin Chen smiled and declined.
Although the brightly painted boat was larger, it was not fast.
Although the fishing boat was small, it was not slow either.
After an hour and a half, Lin Chen saw the wharf of Poyang County's city.
At that moment, boats crowded the wharf as densely as a forest. There were heavily laden merchant ships, small and nimble fishing boats, and some medium-sized pleasure boats weaving among them, interlacing into a bustling and orderly scene of prosperity on the water.
Along the waterway on the left side of the wharf, brightly painted boats were drawing toward it one after another. This passage had been specially reserved for Martial Hall students entering the city.
Whether merchant ships or pleasure boats, even if they had waited in line for a long time, none dared cut into this passage.
"Big brother, follow that brightly painted boat and pull in behind it."
Seeing the several brightly painted boats traveling with them move toward the left, Lin Chen reminded his elder brother. This was where the fishing boat's maneuverability came in handy—it could weave through the line. But Lin Chen did not ask his brother to do so. There was no need to rush for the sake of a moment.
Just as Lin Liang was rowing the fishing boat toward the back of the line, several brightly painted boats ahead began fighting for first place and refusing to yield to one another. They nearly collided, and the youths aboard them glared angrily at each other.
The commotion soon attracted the attention of the government patrol boats. Two patrol boats headed this way.
"What are you doing? Line up properly! Don't cause trouble!"
A soldier aboard one of the patrol boats shouted. One of the youths boldly explained, "They're trying to cut in front of us! We clearly got here first."
"Nonsense! Our boat arrived first." A youth aboard another brightly painted boat immediately argued back.
"Shut up, all of you."
The soldier shouted again, his sharp gaze sweeping over them. The youths no longer dared argue, though they continued glaring at one another, unwilling to yield.
"You move back and line up behind them. And you, fishing boat..."
The soldiers maintaining order began arranging the brightly painted boats. When his gaze swept over the fishing boats behind several of them, he paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Let that boat go first."
"Thank you, sir."
Lin Liang, who had been waiting in line, did not react at first. Once he realized the soldier was referring to their boat, he immediately began rowing happily, sending the fishing boat forward. The sight displeased the youths on several brightly painted boats.
"Why should that fishing boat go first? It was the last one to arrive."
"Why? Because I'm responsible for maintaining order on this waterway. If anyone causes trouble, I'll record your names and report them to the Martial Arts Administration."
Lin Xiuyong gave a cold snort. The moment he said this, the youths aboard the brightly painted boats fell silent.
The youths were not afraid of the government, but they were terrified of the Martial Arts Administration.
Under Great Liang's laws, if a Martial Hall or Martial Arts Academy student committed a crime, the government had to report it to the Martial Arts Administration after arresting him. Only after the Martial Arts Administration stripped him of his student status could the government sentence him to prison.
"Your brightly painted boats are too large. Letting the fishing boat go first won't delay anything." Seeing that the scene had quieted down, Lin Xiuyong finally explained loudly.
Once the surroundings fell silent, Lin Liang rowed the fishing boat through the several brightly painted boats and toward the shore. As they passed beside the patrol boat, Lin Chen also inclined his head toward Lin Xiuyong in thanks.
Lin Xiuyong returned his smile, his own smile growing even broader.
That attitude made Lin Chen pause. He vaguely felt that the soldier seemed to be currying favor with him.
It must be an illusion, right?
The soldier probably just felt that letting the smaller fishing boat pass first would not delay anything. He was reading too much into it.
Seeing the fishing boat pass, one of the brightly painted boats was about to move forward when Lin Xiuyong immediately shouted, "What are you doing? Wait a little longer."
After stopping the brightly painted boat, Lin Xiuyong looked back and saw that the fishing boat had already reached the shore. Only then did he let it proceed.
"Brother Lin, what's going on? What background does that youth on the fishing boat have?"
Aboard the patrol boat, another soldier asked in a low voice. He had only recently joined the city gate guards and had been temporarily transferred to the wharf with Brother Lin to help maintain order.
He did not believe for a moment that excuse about the fishing boat being small and not delaying anything.
"Before the New Year, this person was personally led into the city and to the Martial Arts Academy by a Martial Hall instructor. He's probably already at the Aperture Opening Realm. Old Ge said so himself. How could those youths compare with him?"
Lin Xiuyong lowered his voice, and his words left his companion stunned.
"He's already opened his Aperture? And he came on a fishing boat like that?"
"Perhaps he doesn't want to flaunt himself. In any case, he isn't someone we can afford to offend. If we can make things convenient for him and form a good connection, all the better."
Lin Xiuyong knew what his companion meant by "you can't tell."
It was not that his appearance gave anything away. His companion simply felt that the boat was too shabby.
"Concealing one's brilliance and keeping one's edge hidden—that is what true ability looks like." Lin Xiuyong invented an excuse for Lin Chen's choice to ride the fishing boat.
"Let me teach you another trick. As gate guards, we must keep our eyes sharp when judging people. Look at him—his clothes are ordinary, but when he faced the two of us just now, he was neither servile nor overbearing. Someone like that has confidence behind him. Don't provoke him lightly."
"Thank you for the advice, Brother Lin."
"I only gave you a word of guidance because I took a liking to you."
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