Two Martial Scholars in One Family

Thud, thud, thud...

Under the heavy atmosphere, footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Everyone looked toward the sound. It was the Wu Family's third young miss, dressed in a blue-green silk skirt.

Wu Zhiai crossed the threshold and entered the inner hall. Yin Tianqing came forward to greet her.

"Master Yin, I came this morning because of Chen Mo."

Wu Zhiai spoke with easy grace.

Yin Tianqing's expression turned somewhat complicated. "Chen Mo, he..."

At that moment, Yin Shanshan also stood up and took a few steps this way, afraid she might miss something.

Wu Zhiai continued, "Chen Mo is at the Wu Family right now, and he's doing very well. I came over just to let you know, Master Yin, so you wouldn't worry."

She didn't mention any details. This would put a stop to rumors and gossip, while also dealing a blow to Chen Mo's fellow disciples' confidence in their path.

As for the possibility of revealing Chen Mo's whereabouts, the Wu Family's ranks were far more complicated than those of Tianqing Martial Hall.

It was only a matter of time before the Hansha Gang learned that Chen Mo was at the Wu Family.

Yin Shanshan had caught the gist of it. Her clenched hand relaxed a little.

Yin Tianqing's brows unfurrowed, and he replied, "That's good, that's good. Thank you for making a special trip, Third Miss."

Wu Zhiai waved a hand. "Chen Mo is an important member of the Wu Family. This is my responsibility. Now that I've delivered the message, Master Yin, I won't keep everyone from their training."

"Third Miss, I'll see you out."

Yin Tianqing escorted Wu Zhiai outside the hall.

Meanwhile, the worried Ji Chang was overjoyed. He threw a few punches with the force of a tiger, then returned to practicing the stake technique.

Nearby, Zhou Pi quietly exchanged a glance with Luo Heng. "He's really hard to kill."

The latter shrugged indifferently. "You're better off relying on yourself than on others. Once you grow strong, that's the greatest asset you can have! He's only got a middling-to-poor constitution. Are you afraid your potential can't surpass his?"

In a narrow alley west of Black River Town.

Chen Bao's family gathered around the dining table for lunch.

Chen Mei's husband, Wang Jing, had come today as well, bringing good food and wine he'd picked up while handling business.

Wang Jing worked for the Wu Family. His monthly salary wasn't much, but it was enough to give the whole family a taste of the good life.

Old Master Chen rose to his feet, hunched over, and offered Wang Jing the seat of honor. Wang Jing declined.

They were halfway through the meal.

Chen Bao spoke up. "A'Jing, you really are capable. Xiao Mei was blessed to marry you, and we're all benefiting from it, too!"

Wang Jing replied modestly, "Xiao Mei is a good wife, and Father-in-law raised his daughter well."

Everyone around the table joined in with laughter.

"The Martial Examination is next month. Our Chen Hang will march out in glory and bring home the title of Martial Scholar. He'll make our family proud!"

After downing two cups of wine, Chen Bao's face flushed. He bragged at the table, spittle flying.

Old Master Chen beamed too, as if he could already see the streets filled with gongs and drums to welcome a Martial Scholar, with all the neighbors arriving at their door bearing gifts.

Chen Hang forced a smile, but inside he was troubled.

He had entered the Ming Jin stage three months ago and had made no progress since. Among the Ming Jin disciples at Panshi Martial Hall, he was near the bottom.

He knew that to place in the Martial Examination, he would need Dark Jin strength.

But his whole family seemed to have already claimed the title of Martial Scholar for him. How could he dare shatter their hopes?

"I... might not make the list," Chen Hang said, scratching his head.

Chen Bao boomed, "You're good at everything, but you're just too modest!"

Chen Mei began fanning the flames beside him. "That's right, that's right. What kind of strength does our Xiaohang have? He's nothing like that useless Chen Mo, or Chen Lan, who can't even find a man."

"Clack!"

The bamboo chopsticks in Wang Jing's hand struck the table with a heavy thud. His face darkened.

The room fell abruptly silent.

They glanced at one another. At last, the old man asked timidly, "A'Jing, are you... full? Have some more, have some more."

"Right, things didn't go smoothly with your business today, did they? Don't mind those lowlifes from the streets," Chen Mei added, trying to placate him.

After the air had frozen for several breaths, Wang Jing spoke slowly. "Chen Mo is a guard at the Wu Family. When our caravan ran into bandits at night, Chen Mo killed them and saved everyone."

Old Master Chen and Chen Bao stared blankly.

What did he mean, Chen Mo had killed bandits?

Chen Mei recalled what she'd seen outside Hua Pavilion that day. She hadn't believed it then, but now that Wang Jing had said it himself, she had no choice but to believe him.

"He must have been lucky to set foot on the martial path. He's still nowhere near Chen Hang's level," she insisted.

Wang Jing's anger began to rise. "You've gone too far!"

He sprang to his feet, frightening Chen Hang beside him into sitting perfectly still.

Chen Mei was so startled that she began to sob softly, her eyes reddening.

"I used to think Chen Mo was just as useless as you all said," Wang Jing said, then paused.

"But I happened to meet him at the Wu Family today. We didn't spend much time together, but I can tell he's upright and diligent. He's certainly not the cowardly good-for-nothing you called him!"

Faced with Wang Jing's rebuke, Chen Mei's tears streamed down, smearing her makeup, but she didn't dare cry out loud.

The hunched old man wore a conflicted expression and tried to soothe him. "Now, now, you're all family. There's no saying who's better or worse. Wouldn't it be even better if they both passed?"

Two Martial Scholars in one family would be a fine story, wherever you went.

But he seemed to have forgotten all the prejudice he'd once held against Chen Mo and Chen Lan.

Seeing the old man speak up, Wang Jing didn't press the matter. He slowly sat back down and glanced at Chen Mei. "Don't say things like that again."

Seeing Chen Mei didn't dare answer, the old man spoke for her. "Don't worry, A'Jing. Chen Mei's just blunt. She didn't mean any harm, and she won't say it again."

After that, everyone sat stiffly, afraid to pick up their chopsticks. A greasy film soon rose over the dishes.

Chen Hang had wanted to ask his brother-in-law to lend him money for medicine, but now he didn't dare bring it up.

At the Wu Family, in the Blacksmith Room.

Chen Mo exhaled a breath of stale air.

His face was slick with sweat, glowing red in the furnace light.

He had spent half the day forging just two iron billets, but in terms of precision, they were far better than what he had made in the Iron Furnace Room.

A little more precision meant a little more strength.

Each iron billet seemed to turn into a stream of Comprehension, flowing like starlight through his mind before transforming into a fragment of the Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique's essence.

"I should be firmly in the middle Ming Jin stage now."

He hadn't neglected the Fuhu Fist, either.

By now, Chen Mo had not only mastered the Sand-Raising Style and Flowing Cloud Attack, but had also begun to blend each move seamlessly with the others.

"Creak—"

The door to the Blacksmith Room was gently pushed open.

A figure in a blue-green silk skirt stepped inside.

"How are your injuries?" Wu Zhiai asked as she entered.

Chen Mo shook out his arm. "Much better than this morning."

"I went to Tianqing Martial Hall and told your master you were at the Wu Family."

As she spoke, Wu Zhiai found a dirty wooden stool and sat down, her skirt draping over its edge.

"Also, there's been no movement from the Hansha Gang. If anything happens, I'll tell you right away."

Chen Mo nodded his thanks.

Wu Zhiai changed the subject. "The Wu Family has collected quite a few martial arts manuals. Would you be interested in them?"