Zhang Meng's Admiration

With his dazzling Cleaning Swordplay, Xu Qian had successfully kicked off a sanitation storm in the depths of Heaven's Prison and earned his immediate superior Zhou Kang's high praise for his "dedication to the job." The story soon spread among the guards in Zone D.

Most people's reaction was: Is this kid an idiot? In a hellhole like Heaven's Prison, who's going to appreciate him cleaning so thoroughly? Wouldn't it be better to use that energy to take a break?

But there were always exceptions.

And Zhang Meng was that exception.

In Zhang Meng's simple mind, brimming with the brotherhood of the jianghu, Xu Qian's image had grown immeasurably tall, mysterious, and... captivating, as one incident after another piled up: subduing Scarface Li, offering a brilliant solution to the rat problem, supposedly "lucky" enough to survive a killer's nighttime raid, and now producing cleaning results so dazzling they could blind you.

Now, everything about Xu Qian looked good to him. Even Xu Qian's seemingly casual, lazy gait carried, in Zhang Meng's eyes, the air of a hidden grandmaster—one who concealed his depth and made the difficult look effortless!

That day, the two of them headed back to the dormitory after their shift. Xu Qian was in high spirits after using a little Sword Qi to give a flight of steps some "deep conditioning." His pace was unconsciously a little brisker than usual, falling into a rhythm that was hard to describe.

Following behind him, Zhang Meng stared with wide, ox-like eyes, utterly entranced.

[Look! Just look at Brother Qian's stride! It seems casual, but it's actually in harmony with the Heavenly Dao! Every step is so steady, so full of rhythm! No wonder he's so good at sweeping!] Zhang Meng was cheering Xu Qian on in his mind.

The more he watched, the more he felt there was profound truth in Xu Qian's gait. He couldn't help trying to imitate it. He relaxed his shoulders a little, just like Xu Qian, and lightened his steps, hoping to find that "making the difficult look effortless" feeling.

But Zhang Meng was tall and powerfully built, and he usually walked with a vigorous, tiger-like stride. Forcing himself to change his posture so suddenly made him look incredibly awkward. He crept along like someone sneaking around to plant a land mine, tiptoeing and moving his arms and legs on the same side at once. He nearly tripped over himself.

As Xu Qian walked, he sensed something was off behind him. He turned around and saw Zhang Meng following close behind with an extremely contorted, shifty-looking posture, wearing an expression of earnest concentration.

Xu Qian: "???"

"Mengzi, you... what are you doing? Did you hurt your back?" Xu Qian was completely baffled.

When Zhang Meng realized he'd been spotted, he wasn't embarrassed. Instead, he came closer, scratched his head, and gave a silly grin. "Brother Qian, the way you walk has this... this... style to it! I wanted to learn!"

Xu Qian's mouth twitched as he looked at Zhang Meng's build, a whole size sturdier than his own, trying to imitate his "lazy-style" walk. The sight was painful to behold.

[This is just me walking around because I'm in a good mood, man! You've got one heck of an imagination!] He grumbled inwardly.

"Ahem." Xu Qian cleared his throat and patted Zhang Meng's sturdy arm. "Mengzi, everyone walks differently. You don't need to imitate me. Your Dragon-walking Tiger-stepping stride is great. It's got presence!"

"Really?" Zhang Meng was doubtful, but he obediently went back to his usual gait. He immediately felt much more comfortable. Still, he was convinced that there had to be some secret to Brother Qian's walk; his own understanding simply wasn't good enough to get it right.

Back in the dormitory, Zhang Meng became the strongman version of a thoughtful little angel. He rushed to fetch water for Xu Qian to wash his face, then insisted on giving him a piece of dried meat he'd been saving for himself.

"Brother Qian, you worked hard cleaning today. Have some to build up your strength!"

Unable to refuse, Xu Qian accepted it, feeling both amused and warmed. In the icy cold of Heaven's Prison, it really wasn't bad to have a brother so simple-hearted and genuinely kind to him.

"Brother Qian," Zhang Meng leaned closer and lowered his voice, his face shrouded in mystery. "I don't think you're an ordinary person!"

Xu Qian's heart gave a thump, but he kept his expression calm. "Oh? What makes you think I'm not ordinary?"

"Just look!" Zhang Meng counted on his fingers. "You can fight—that time with Scarface Li. You know a lot—that rat problem. You're lucky—that killer's nighttime raid. And now you're ten times better at sweeping than everyone else! How could you be ordinary?"

Xu Qian: "..." He couldn't even argue.

The more Zhang Meng talked, the more excited he became, his eyes shining. "I think you're like those people in the storybooks—the kind of... Hidden Master who deliberately pretends to be ordinary and hones himself in the mortal world! Right?"

Looking at Zhang Meng's adoring, starry-eyed gaze, Xu Qian couldn't bring himself to shatter his fantasy. He could only laugh vaguely. "There's no such thing as a Hidden Master. I'm just an ordinary prison guard trying to live a little more comfortably."

To Zhang Meng, this "humble" attitude only proved Xu Qian had the bearing of a master!

[Just look at him! Brother Qian is so low-key! He's obviously so capable, yet he's still so humble! That's what a true master is!] Zhang Meng's admiration for Xu Qian surged on like a mighty, endless river.

From that day on, Zhang Meng became Xu Qian's number-one fan and most loyal supporter. If Xu Qian said east, he never went west; if Xu Qian said to chase the dog, he never went after the chicken. Though his overactive imagination occasionally led to a few amusing mishaps, his presence really did save Xu Qian a lot of trouble. At least with Zhang Meng as his imposing signboard, hardly anyone in Zone D dared openly pick on Xu Qian.