Found Him

That morning, Zhuang Jin and the other Martial Students came to the Martial Arts Practice Field as usual, waiting for the Qi Channel Opening Soup to be handed out.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a long face and a crew cut entered, dressed in a gray robe with two stripes on the shoulders, Hou Yong following behind him.

Hou Yong? Why was he here? And the man beside him, wearing a gray robe with two silver stripes on his shoulders—a Two-Striped Servant of the Shen Family?

Zhuang Jin's heart gave a slight jump as his thoughts raced, and he quickly formed a guess. Hou Yong has someone backing him, though I never knew who. I thought it was some Minor Official, but now it seems it may be this Two-Striped Servant of the Shen Family.

As for why Hou Yong came looking today, it was likely because of yesterday's Tribute Money collection. My matter was exposed, and when Hou Yong couldn't find me, Little Bamboo Pole remembered the enrollment and told him. Hou Yong wasn't at ease, so he used his connections to come here.

In an instant, he had pieced together most of the matter. A little unexpected, but still under control. Last time during the Martial Student Recruitment, a Martial Arts Instructor who was a Two-Striped Servant hid things away and secretly took benefits, only to have his channels severed and his martial arts crippled. That alone showed how seriously the Shen Family took Martial Student Recruitment. They would never tolerate their people below acting recklessly.

Now that I've entered the Shen Family to study martial arts, even if my identity is exposed, so long as I deny it to the end, would that Two-Striped Servant dare tie me up and drag me out by force? Besides, things haven't reached that point yet. I've already changed my appearance. Even if Hou Yong stood right in front of me, as long as I don't reveal a flaw myself, he might not recognize me.

Still, tearing away all pretense and denying it to the bitter end is ultimately the worst of the worst options. The best course now is to fool Hou Yong and keep him in the dark for the time being.

These thoughts flashed through Zhuang Jin's mind. His slightly tensed body relaxed at once, and he slipped into character. Like the other Martial Students watching the spectacle, he looked over openly, his eyes full of curiosity.

The key was that it had nothing to do with him: Hou Yong was looking for his beggar underling, "Little Mute." What did that have to do with Zhuang Jin?

Hou Yong followed behind his patron, Guo Jun, his gaze sweeping over the Martial Students. He quickly locked onto Zhuang Jin and secretly sighed. No wonder Little Bamboo Pole said they looked alike. Their figures really are similar, but on closer inspection, they aren't the same. Their faces are clearly different. Still, since I'm here, I need to confirm it.

Through Guo Jun, he summoned Zhuang Jin over.

"My surname is Hou, given name Yong. May I ask what this little brother is called?" Hou Yong introduced himself while carefully watching Zhuang Jin's expression.

"My name is Zhuang Jin." Zhuang Jin answered calmly and unhurriedly.

"So you are Brother Zhuang. We called you over because we wished to ask about something."

"Oh? Brother Hou, please go ahead," Zhuang Jin asked curiously.

"Does Brother Zhuang happen to know a little beggar called 'Little Mute'?"

"A little beggar?" Zhuang Jin's expression remained natural. He frowned and pondered for a moment before lightly shaking his head. "I don't know the person Brother Hou mentioned. What has he done?"

"Ah, just a wretch under my hand. If Brother Zhuang doesn't know him, then forget it."

Hou Yong waved a hand, wearing the air of someone whose family shame should not be aired in public. Most of his suspicions toward Zhuang Jin dissipated, but out of caution, he deliberately chatted a little longer. Seeing that Zhuang Jin spoke elegantly and fluently, something his underling Little Mute could never have managed, the last traces of doubt in his heart vanished. He only believed that Zhuang Jin happened to have a similar build to Little Mute.

"Sorry to trouble you, little brother." Seeing Hou Yong subtly shake his head, Guo Jun had reached his own conclusion and clasped his hands toward Zhuang Jin.

"It's no trouble." Zhuang Jin spoke, knowing in his heart that he had probably passed this hurdle.

Guo Jun and Hou Yong prepared to leave. Just then, Hou Yong seemed to recall something. As he passed beside Zhuang Jin, he deliberately glanced at Zhuang Jin's neck—and froze. Near the back of Zhuang Jin's neck, he saw the same round birthmark.

At that instant, his mind exploded like a bolt of lightning. He recalled what Tan San, Little Ears, and the others had said: that Little Mute had acted entirely unlike his usual self that day, as though he had become another person, sharp-tongued and eloquent. On instinct, he immediately cried out with certainty, "It's you! It's you! You're Little Mute!"

"You must have disguised yourself before, hadn't you?" Though phrased as a question, Hou Yong's tone was certain. "Good boy, if not for the birthmark on your neck, you really would have fooled me!"

A birthmark?! Zhuang Jin's heart jolted. He had not even known about it before. Although he had inherited the former owner's memories, more than ten years of memories were a vast sea of muddled, scattered fragments. Unless someone deliberately mentioned it, it truly could not be searched out at once.

As for discovering it himself after transmigrating? By then, he had already fallen into becoming a beggar and had no conditions to look in a mirror. At most, he could look into the water while washing his face. Besides, given the location of the birthmark, he could not have seen it anyway.

Why hadn't the former owner's mother concealed it? Ah, the former owner's eldest uncle and younger uncle were not close to his family, so they didn't even know about this birthmark. Naturally, there was no need to hide it.

Then why did Hou Yong know? Probably because when I had first become a beggar, I wasn't yet too filthy, and Hou Yong happened to see it and remember. I bathed before coming to the Shen Family's Martial Student Recruitment, so it is especially obvious now.

These thoughts turned through Zhuang Jin's mind, and he understood that he had been exposed before Hou Yong. But no matter what, he could not admit it now. His expression and voice both turned cold at once. "Hou, what do you mean by that? Why are you insisting on fabricating nonsense and claiming I am some Little Mute?"

Then, he clasped his hands toward Guo Jun. "Sir, you said this man wished to question me, so I came. I answered every one of his questions politely and truthfully, yet this man suddenly went mad and started spouting nonsense, insisting I am some beggar. What a ridiculous joke! There is a limit to insulting someone, isn't there?"

Without waiting for Guo Jun to speak, Zhuang Jin raised his voice toward the people around them. "I came to take part in the Shen Family's Martial Student Recruitment and entered the Shen Family. I have always behaved myself and focused on practicing martial arts. Yet today, someone suddenly comes and insists that I am some little beggar? Outrageous! The Shen Family is the foremost household of the Prefecture City—what kind of place is this? And yet such a rogue, a ruined wretch, can come knocking at the door to stir up trouble without reason? I would like to ask the other lords of the Shen Family to judge this matter and uphold justice!"

This was precisely the worst situation he had anticipated: all pretense had been torn away. He decisively struck first, intending to make a big issue of it and borrow the Shen Family's tiger hide to make Guo Jun, Hou Yong's patron, wary of breaking the vessel for fear of the rats, so that he could first get through the immediate crisis.

As Guo Jun listened to Zhuang Jin lay the groundwork step by step, tying today's matter to the Martial Student Recruitment and the Shen Family's reputation, his expression changed slightly.

He knew how much those above valued the Martial Student Recruitment. If he had privately brought an outsider in and become involved in a Martial Student's affairs, then once such a matter was brought into the open, even for the Shen Family's reputation alone, he would certainly suffer no small punishment. Not to mention that acting as Hou Yong's patron—if this matter erupted and was exposed, it would become no small trouble.

On the other side, seeing Zhuang Jin speak so glibly and twist black into white, practically pointing at his nose and calling him a rogue and ruined wretch, Hou Yong was so furious his lungs nearly burst. Just as he was about to argue again and expose Zhuang Jin's true face, he caught the stern look Guo Jun sent him and had no choice but to shut his mouth.

"This little brother..." Guo Jun stopped Hou Yong from speaking and was about to say something.

"What's going on here?" At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded. It was Chen Yun. Song Lan had caught a chill and come down with a cold these past two days, so Chen Yun had been distributing the Qi Channel Opening Soup in her place. She had now come over.