Blade Light

At Three Quarters Past You Hour that afternoon, Zhuang Jin finished another round of Quiet Cultivation and emerged from the Quiet Room. Just as he was about to take a little more Black Essence Powder and refine it with Stance Training, he saw Xiong Lei waiting on the Training Ground. "Jinzi, stop training. Let's wait for the others to come out and go eat together!"

Zhuang Jin suddenly realized it was already time to eat. He asked, "Brother Xiong, where do Formal Martial Artists eat? How much is each meal?"

Ping Yongfeng and Chang Hetong really had not mentioned such trivial details to him. Then he recalled that Martial Students had paid for their own meals by the month, and he had only eaten eighteen days' worth so far.

If meals on the Formal Martial Artist side cost money, I wonder if I can still go eat with the Martial Students and finish out this month's meals? Zhuang Jin pondered.

"Formal Martial Artists eat in another dining hall. The meals are free."

As Xiong Lei spoke, he grumbled, "Jinzi, remember how, when we were Martial Students, there was a distinction between free meals and paid meals? Actually, the free meals were for the Shen Family's unranked male servants and maidservants, while the paid meals were for ranked servants and Formal Martial Artists like us. Oh, and I heard that once you reach the level of Household Retainer, you get your own special meals!"

Zhuang Jin nodded, having grasped the important point. Formal Martial Artists ate for free. Free was good. That spared him the trouble of figuring things out on the Martial Student side.

Nor did he ask whether the remaining paid meals could be refunded. There was no need to ask; he knew they could not. Paying monthly had been cheaper than buying individual meals, and from his chat with Chang Hetong that morning, he had learned that the Shen Family pooled and accounted for all income and expenditures together. The one tael of silver paid for Martial Student Recruitment and the money for monthly paid meals had long since been handed into the Shen Family's Public Treasury. Refunding it would involve a mountain of troublesome procedures. Even if he made enough of a fuss to get it back, it would not be worth leaving a bad impression on so many people in the General Affairs Department over a hundred-odd copper coins.

Speaking of paid meals, Zhuang Jin thought again of the Qi Channel Opening Soup. "Brother Xiong, do you think we can still go drink the Qi Channel Opening Soup every morning?"

Xiong Lei was startled by Zhuang Jin's idea as well and reflexively said, "Would the Qi Channel Opening Soup even still be useful to us?"

Before Zhuang Jin could answer, Xiong Lei remembered it himself. In the past, Ping Yongfeng had always drunk the one or two bowls of Qi Channel Opening Soup left over each time, so it was certainly useful to Formal Martial Artists too.

"The Qi Channel Opening Soup is a simplified version of Black Essence Powder. Even if one dose cannot sustain three days of cultivation like Black Essence Powder can, it should still have some effect. It may not last a whole day like it did when we were Martial Students, but it should at least last half an hour or an hour," Zhuang Jin mused.

Since it was useful, the question became whether they were allowed to drink it.

Strictly speaking, they were now Formal Martial Artists rather than Martial Students, so they should not be allowed to drink it. Yet the one tael of silver they had paid during Martial Student Recruitment covered one month, and the Qi Channel Opening Soup had been included. From that perspective, they should be allowed to drink it.

Xiong Lei was stumped too. "Jinzi, how about I go with you tomorrow morning and you give it a try?"

Zhuang Jin glanced at Xiong Lei and accurately caught the other man's intention from those words. Go with you, you give it a try. From that phrasing alone, it was clear Xiong Lei had no intention of drinking any himself. With his rough-and-ready nature, it was perfectly normal for him not to care about a single bowl of Qi Channel Opening Soup.

Then why did he still want to go along?

Xiang Zhuang performed the sword dance, but his heart lay with Duke Pei. Naturally, it was for that "Miss Yun"—although Song Lan's cold had long since healed and she had resumed preparing Qi Channel Opening Soup for the Martial Students, Chen Yun still occasionally went over to inspect. If Xiong Lei accompanied him, he could reasonably run into her by chance.

Zhuang Jin had not expected Xiong Lei to still refuse to give up even now. But he had already advised him once and did not wish to say more. He merely said, "All right."

In truth, he had already thought it through. In this sort of ambiguous matter, where it was unclear whether they could drink it or not, the key lay with the Martial Arts Instructor. After all, once they left, the remaining Qi Channel Opening Soup belonged to the Martial Arts Instructor. Going back to drink it was tantamount to encroaching upon the Martial Arts Instructor's interests.

If it were me, Master Ping would likely be delighted. He already intends to forge a good connection. If I go over without standing on ceremony, he will probably be quite pleased. Give and take is precisely the way to draw closer. That was the true reason Zhuang Jin decided to go.

It was not that he was pinching pennies over such a small matter. He was simply poor. For the sake of martial arts, he had no choice but to calculate every last coin.

As they spoke, Xiang Qichen, Lin Hong, Qian Wende, and Bi Kai emerged from the Quiet Rooms one after another and headed to the dining hall together.

When they arrived at the dining hall for Formal Martial Artists, it was indeed just like the paid Martial Student meals: the dishes contained meat and were rich with oil. What was even more precious than the Martial Student meals was that after finishing one bowl, they could get more rice.

Martial artists truly were different. Compared with the treatment of Martial Students, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

Well, with the thought that I have already lost out on the monthly meal money, so I need to eat it back, Zhuang Jin ate two extra bowls. Martial artists naturally had large appetites, and the others were no less formidable. They ate plenty as well, especially Qian Wende. When there was a chance to take advantage reasonably, he naturally would not hold back. He ate until his belly was visibly swollen and kept belching with fullness.

After the meal, the group left the dining hall and reached the fork between the Training Ground and the dormitories. Seeing Zhuang Jin turn toward the Training Ground, Xiong Lei asked, "Jinzi, you're going to do extra training already?"

"Mm."

"No, Brother Zhuang, we're Formal Martial Artists now. We don't need to keep ourselves wound so tight. Rest when it's time to rest—work and rest should be combined!" Qian Wende said.

Xiong Lei urged him as well, "Yeah, Jinzi. We just ate, and there's food in our stomachs. Not only will Stance Training feel uncomfortable, its effects will not be good either."

"No, I'm going to study the Black Fiend Palm Martial Skill for a while." Zhuang Jin had checked that afternoon. The Quiet Rooms in the Training Ground were equipped with oil lamps.

"All right, Zhuang Jin, you go ahead. We'll head back to the dormitory and rest for a while, then go over later." Xiang Qichen suddenly spoke. He seemed still to be holding a grudge over Zhuang Jin embarrassing him at noon. The way he addressed him had changed from "Jinzi" at noon to "Zhuang Jin," and his words themselves carried a faint hint of exclusion and isolation.

The atmosphere fell silent for an instant. Then another voice suddenly rang out—Bi Kai's. "Brother Zhuang, I'll go with you!"

In just two short sentences, there seemed to be a clash hidden beneath, blade light and sword shadows flashing.

Xiong Lei was broad and careless, failing to notice anything. He even said, "All right then, Jinzi, Kai Zi, you two go ahead first!"

Qian Wende seemed to have caught something, yet also seemed to have caught nothing. He still wore his squinting, cheerful smile as he patted his bloated belly again and again.

Lin Hong looked at Zhuang Jin and Bi Kai, then at Xiong Lei, but said nothing.

In the end, Xiang Qichen, Xiong Lei, Qian Wende, and Lin Hong returned to the dormitory, intending to rest for a while before going over. Zhuang Jin and Bi Kai headed for the Training Ground.

That evening, as the Training Ground was about to close, the six of them chatted idly as they returned together. They looked harmonious and amicable, as though nothing had happened that evening.

When the group returned to the dormitory, someone was already inside. Zhuang Jin finally met Jiao Kun, whose name he had heard all day but whom he had never seen.