Sworn Brothers

"Brother! You mean this room will be mine from now on?"

Zheng Shan asked Zheng Fa dazedly, her mouth split into a wide grin, seemingly unable to believe his arrangements.

"What? Can't sleep alone?" Zheng Fa chuckled.

"I can!" the little sister quickly replied.

Their new home in the Zhao Family wasn't exactly large, but compared to the mud hut they used to live in, it was incredibly spacious.

Entering the small courtyard, there was a small room on each side, which Zheng Fa planned to use as the kitchen and woodshed.

The main house had a total of four rooms, not counting the central living room.

Of the remaining three rooms, Zheng Fa intended for each of the three family members to have one.

This made Zheng Shan ecstatic. She grabbed Zheng Fa's index finger and gestured towards her room.

She nodded with great seriousness, "My new room is so pretty!"

Zheng Fa glanced inside. The room was empty, filled with nothing but dust.

He wondered where his little sister saw the prettiness.

"Your sister is still young. This room should be yours for a study," Mother Zheng said after a moment's hesitation. "You are the Young Master's Page now, and studying is important. Your sister can just sleep with me."

Hearing this, Zheng Shan lowered her head, saying nothing. Her lips pouted, looking very wronged.

Zheng Fa knew that sleeping with Mother Zheng was always difficult for Zheng Shan. Since his father's death, Mother Zheng had been overworked. She couldn't stay up late and was a light sleeper, while Zheng Shan was energetic and slept late. However, she was also considerate and didn't want to trouble her mother.

Every time Mother Zheng fell asleep, the little girl wouldn't dare move, afraid of waking her. For the lively and active Zheng Shan, it was quite an ordeal.

This was also why Zheng Shan's biggest wish before moving into the new house was to have her own bed.

"Although little sister is young now, she will grow up. Since there are extra rooms, letting her have her own room now will save us from moving again later," he told his mother.

Little sister's head shot up, and she grinned foolishly at Zheng Fa.

Seeing Mother Zheng about to speak again, he continued, "I need to study. I can study in Mr. Shen's class or in the Seventh Young Master's study. Even if I'm home, can't I study in the living room?"

"This… I saw that Steward Wang's family set up a study for Wang Gui after he enrolled, saying that scholars should have a dedicated room for books."

Zheng Fa waved his hand and chuckled, "A poor student has too many stationery… uh, I mean, books on shelves are useless. They need to be in your head."

"But…"

"Mother, he's studied his way into Misty Rain Tower. He's even lost his father's steward position. If we're going to learn, we should learn something good."

"That's true!"

Thank goodness for Wang Gui, Mother Zheng had become very receptive to advice…

Zheng Shan cheered, raising her hands above her head, "Mother! I want to decorate my own room!"

"Then you clean it yourself," Mother Zheng said with a smile, seeing how happy her daughter was.

"I'll clean it myself! I'll clean your room too, Brother, and Mother's room too!"

Mother and daughter happily put their heads together, whispering about how to arrange the furniture Steward Gao had sent. Zheng Fa glanced at the sun and said to them, "You two discuss it. I need to go practice martial arts with Instructor Xu."

Mother Zheng waved her hand, not even looking at Zheng Fa, engrossed in the joy of decorating their new home. He felt a sense of being neglected.

In a room on the training grounds, Instructor Xu stroked several thick ancient texts before him with a long sigh.

His rough face was filled with subtle sorrow.

Instructor Xu's young apprentice, who was also his nephew, walked over and saw his master's expression. He asked with concern, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Alas, Madam sent over the Crane Body Technique. She wants me to teach it to that brat Zheng Fa."

"Crane Body Technique!" Instructor Xu's nephew exclaimed, looking at the book in his uncle's hands. Indeed, the cover bore the three large characters for Crane Body Technique.

His gaze immediately became fixed on it. "Uncle, can I take a look?"

"Do you want to die? I've served the Zhao Family for twenty years and only then was I appreciated by Madam, who allowed me to learn the Crane Body Technique, but alas…"

"Uncle, it took you twenty years to qualify," Instructor Xu's nephew lowered his voice. "Isn't that a bit too biased…"

"Shut up, you're getting bolder. How dare you speak about Madam?" Instructor Xu slapped his nephew on the head.

Instructor Xu's nephew rubbed his head, wincing. "I saw you sighing, Uncle, and I felt it was unfair to you!"

Instructor Xu's expression improved slightly. "It's not about that, it's… I wanted to take Zheng Fa as my disciple before, didn't I?"

"You can't take him now!" Instructor Xu's nephew suddenly understood.

"Yes, he's now favored by Madam. How could I have the audacity? What would Madam think of me?" Instructor Xu nodded. "It's just that I should have told Zheng Fa about taking him as a disciple earlier."

"If I had told him earlier, he would have been my junior disciple!" his nephew said, understanding now.

"Even if he couldn't become my disciple, telling him earlier would have established good relations!"

Instructor Xu seemed regretful. He didn't notice his nephew's eyes darting as he quietly walked out of the training grounds.

As Zheng Fa approached the entrance to the training grounds, he saw a young man crouching there, as if waiting for someone. The person looked somewhat familiar, seemingly one of the people who had stood beside Instructor Xu last time.

He stopped, gave a slight bow to the other person, and prepared to walk inside.

Just then, the other person leaped up, looking at him with immense joy, and said enthusiastically, "Brother Zheng!"

"Hm?" Zheng Fa stopped, looking at the other person doubtfully, "And who might you be?"

"We met last time! Instructor Xu is my uncle."

"Brother Xu, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing major!" The other person walked forward, enthusiastically taking Zheng Fa's arm. "We only met briefly last time, but I felt an instant connection with you, Brother Zheng. It's even more coincidental this time, meeting by chance here. What fate!"

Zheng Fa glanced at the two shallow pits the other person had made on the ground, tilted his head back, and dodged the spittle that flew out with the man's fervent words. "It truly is a pleasure to meet you!"

"How about this, let's become sworn brothers!" Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Fa watched in disbelief as the other person pulled an incense burner from where he had been squatting. Three incense sticks were inserted into it, and three wisps of smoke curled upwards.

"This... isn't this a bit hasty?"

"They say even a brief encounter can forge a bond. When I saw you, Brother Zheng, that's exactly how I felt."

The other person was so enthusiastic. As the saying goes, you can't strike a smiling face. Zheng Fa could only politely decline, "This... becoming sworn brothers might not be necessary. How about we just call each other brothers informally?"

"If that's how you feel..." Seeing his reluctance, Instructor Xu's nephew seemed to realize he shouldn't force it. He could only reluctantly nod and say sincerely, "You must remember, in my heart, I already consider you my brother, Brother Zheng!"

"Brother Xu, I have something to do, I'll be going now!" Zheng Fa replied and quickly ran off.

The other person was still standing there, shouting, "Let's meet again another day to continue our brotherhood!"

Zheng Fa walked into the training grounds and found Instructor Xu's room.

He saw Instructor Xu standing in the room with his hands behind his back, looking at him with teary, intense eyes, a look of deep affection, as if gazing at an old friend.

"Instructor?" he asked cautiously.

"Young Zheng, do you know what day it is today?"

"What day?"

"I had a younger brother when I was a child. We were extremely close, but sadly, he passed away young. Today is his death anniversary..."

Zheng Fa said softly, "Please accept my condolences, Instructor."

Instructor Xu wiped his face and said, "To be honest, the first time I saw you, I felt you resembled my late younger brother."

"..."

"Let's become sworn brothers!"

"Wait, that... sounds a bit familiar." Zheng Fa looked at the incense altar behind Instructor Xu and frowned.