Aptitude for Martial Arts

Huang Yu stood there with his mouth slightly open, watching Zheng Fa follow Steward Wu away.

He could not put a name to the feeling in his heart.

He recalled what he had just said:

"Maybe a little better than you..."

"You're no worse than him..."

I was just trying to comfort you.

How could you really be no worse than him?

That faint sense of "we're in this together" vanished from his heart. In fact, this new friend of his stirred up even stronger jealousy in him than before.

Compared to his inexplicable feelings, everyone else's thoughts were far simpler: Who was this guy?

Everyone had expected Gao Yuan to be called away.

Han Cheng was not without a background either. He was one of the three scholars, but his quiet nature made him less conspicuous among the three.

But Zheng Fa...

"Where did that Zheng Fa come from? Does anyone know him?"

"I remember him. He seemed to have been sitting in the corner the whole time."

"I remember him too. He looked utterly ordinary, and his Family Background didn't seem very good. I thought he was just here to make up the numbers, but who would've thought..."

Still, a few people had seen Huang Yu speaking with Zheng Fa earlier.

"Brother Huang, are you familiar with that Brother Zheng?"

Huang Yu looked at the person questioning him. Earlier, he had been one of the group gathered around Gao Yuan.

Huang Yu remembered even more clearly how, when he had said he had not brought any money—

That man's expression had carried undisguised, faint mockery.

Now, seeing the Visitor's enthusiastic smile, Huang Yu found it rather strange.

"I... I came here with him. Well, his family's circumstances probably aren't very good. They're even poorer than mine."

"A poor family can produce an honored son." Unexpectedly, the other man showed none of his earlier disdain. Instead, he praised him with exceptional sincerity. "Brother Zheng truly is extraordinary."

No, where was that snobbish face of yours from before?

Huang Yu felt deeply discriminated against.

"Brother Huang, it's not that I changed too quickly." Seeming to notice his gloom, the man pointed at his silk clothes. "Before, we were both people looking to cling to a thigh. There was only one thigh to cling to. I have money, while you don't, so naturally I had to kick you out of the running."

His words were so frank they were nearly naked, yet they somehow carried an unusual sincerity.

"But things are different now, Brother Huang. Brother Zheng may well be another thigh to cling to. And you've already gotten there first."

Huang Yu felt as though he had suddenly understood.

He seemed to have truly warmed the right cold stove?

"But aren't there still three people?" On second thought, Huang Yu felt that was not right. Nothing had been decided yet.

"Then it'll be too late!" The man looked at him as though he were a Fool. "You got there before me, so I came to curry favor with you. If I wait until he gets the position of bookboy, I won't even be qualified to curry favor with him."

After saying that, the man jerked his chin behind Huang Yu. Huang Yu turned around and was startled to see several more Youth smiling enthusiastically at him.

At last, understanding dawned on him:

When one person attains the Way, even the chickens and dogs...

Hm?

When Zheng Fa walked out of the Waterside Pavilion, he felt a wider variety of gazes upon him.

Behind him were the questioning and enthusiastic looks of those Youth.

Before him were the scrutiny and wariness in Gao Yuan's and Han Cheng's expressions.

What puzzled Zheng Fa even more was the faint coldness in the eyes of Steward Wu, the man who had called him out.

He did not seem to have offended this man?

Steward Wu had no intention of speaking to them. He merely led the three onward at a brisk pace.

The three did not dare speak either. They could only lower their heads and hurry after him, with no time at all to admire the scenery along the way.

Zheng Fa felt that they seemed to be heading toward the outer courtyard. By the time Steward Wu stopped, they had arrived at a broad yard.

It was called a yard, but it resembled a spacious training ground more.

Half the ground was paved with enormous slabs of dark bluestone. Stone locks of varying sizes and weights were laid across them, and the originally rough slabs had been trampled until they gleamed as if washed by water.

At the end of the stone pavement stood a row of small houses. Several racks holding Weapons had been placed before their doors.

The unpaved ground was covered in grass, and at the far end of the lawn stood a row of upright targets.

A Big Man was galloping across the grass on horseback, drawing his bow and nocking arrows as he wheeled, leaped, and shifted about.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zheng Fa did not even see how many arrows he fired at once. He only heard Steward Wu beside him clap his hands and laugh. "Instructor Xu, what divine archery!"

Hearing this, the Big Man turned his horse's head and charged wildly toward Zheng Fa and the others.

Clatter, clatter. Clatter, clatter.

The sound of hooves striking the bluestone slabs drew ever nearer, ever louder.

Yet the man showed no intention of slowing down. Instead, he bent low over his horse, assuming the posture of a charge.

His chin was covered in a thick, Disorganized black beard. His body was huge, and as he thundered toward Zheng Fa and the Four People, his imposing momentum was terrifying.

"Whoa!"

Only when Zheng Fa could feel the steed's hot breath spraying across his face did the Big Man sharply yank the reins, sending the horse's hooves soaring into the air.

Those massive black hooves, larger than Zheng Fa's face, were less than three inches from his forehead!

Han Cheng, beside Zheng Fa, toppled backward onto the ground with a pained cry.

The Big Man swung down from his horse and hauled Han Cheng to his feet with one hand, somewhat dissatisfied. "This kid won't do. He hasn't got enough nerve!"

"He isn't here to serve under you as one of your Guards, Instructor Xu." Steward Wu smiled placidly. When Instructor Xu had charged at them just now, even the curve of his smile had not changed.

"Hm?"

"He's a candidate to become the Seventh Young Master's bookboy. Madam asked you to take a look at him."

Only then did Manager Wu explain to Zheng Fa and the others, "The Seventh Young Master's bookboy will not only have to study literature under Mr. Shen in the future, but also Practice Martial Arts under you, Instructor Xu. Take a look and see how the three of them fare in aptitude."

Upon hearing this, Instructor Xu set Han Cheng down. His enormous hands squeezed Han Cheng's shoulders, back, waist, and hips several times.

"No good! This child has only the lowest aptitude for Practice Martial Arts."

Before anyone else could speak, Han Cheng became anxious. No matter how taciturn he was, he knew that one sentence could ruin his future. "Drill Instructor, you can judge my aptitude just by feeling me up a few times?"

"Ha!" Instructor Xu actually smiled at him then. "At least you've got some nerve. You refuse to accept it?"

"I refuse!"

Han Cheng said through clenched teeth.

"I've examined every Guard in the Zhao Family. As for what aptitude they have and whether they have a future in Practice Martial Arts, I can say that I have never once misjudged anyone."

Defiance still lingered on Han Cheng's face.

"Then let me ask you: do you usually dislike eating? And do you dislike greasy meat even more?"

Han Cheng's face went pale. It was clear that he had been hit right on the mark.

"When all is said and done, aptitude for Practice Martial Arts is decided by two things—being born well, and eating well!"

"From the moment you are born, whether your frame is large, whether your bones are hard, whether you have any disabilities or mismatched limbs, whether your muscles and tendons have strength—those things determine more than half of it! And if you possess this talent, its clearest sign is this: you can eat!"

Han Cheng had nothing to say.

"Of course, natural talent alone isn't enough. You need to have food to eat!" Seeming to have found his stride, Instructor Xu continued, "If someone has good talent but nothing to eat—then he is even worse off than someone with poor talent! Steward Wu, you practice Martial Arts too. You should understand what I mean."

Steward Wu nodded. "Of course. Talent is a double-edged sword. Those with better talent need more food and are born with greater consumption. If they cannot eat enough, forget Practice Martial Arts—even their lifespans will be shorter than those of ordinary people."

"Exactly! It's like those precious flowers and plants. In some places, Weeds can grow, but they can't even sprout!"

Zheng Fa once again noticed that as Steward Wu listened to this, his gaze kept landing on Zheng Fa from time to time, as though those words were meant specifically for him.

He had not imagined it.

In Steward Wu's heart, Madam's sending Zheng Fa and the other two to Xu Zheng was originally meant to use Zheng Fa to knock some sense into him.