Crisis

Chapter 26: Crisis. Hearing the word "scoundrel," Hong Gui was trembling with rage, yet he dared not pursue or strike. Especially the way the other party stared at him—it was as if he were aiming a bow and arrow, which was, for a moment, quite frightening. This place was not far from the Hong family ancestral school. Today was the first day of school, and many people had come to attend. Those who could enter the Hong family ancestral school to study were naturally either wealthy or noble, young masters dressed in fine clothes and riding spirited horses. Among these young masters, there were certainly some wastrels, but there were also those with keen eyes. After the feeling of exhaling a long-pent-up breath, Hong Yi also felt that exposing his martial arts like this would lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Are you trying to bully your master with numbers?" Seeing five or six people surrounding him, Hong Yi spoke with stern severity: "If I submit a report to the Yujing Prefecture, you will all be exiled three thousand miles away. Do you believe me?" However, Hong Yi did not care about the gazes of so many people; he continued to study with focused concentration, pondering the text, appearing completely calm and composed.

"You, stop right there!" Hong Yi had also been startled by this sudden change in moves, feeling a chill in his lower body. Fortunately, he practiced both immortal and martial arts, his thoughts turned quickly, and his body coordinated well. With agility, he blocked the kick with one hand, grabbed the ankle with a reverse wrist, lifted it upward, and exerted force to flip him over. Hong Gui's face flashed a bright red. After the initial shock, he reacted, his face becoming increasingly ferocious. He pointed his horse whip at Rong Pan, who was being helped up by a servant boy ten steps away and was unable to move. Looking at Hong Gui, Hong Yi spoke unhurriedly.

"What is going on here! Tell me about it." Thump! Like flipping a stone, he flipped Hong Gui upside down, landing him on his backside on the ground. He was covered in dust, and his image as a wealthy young master was completely gone.

"Bullshit! You spawn of a bitch, how dare you wag your tongue in front of the young master." This whip crack was very loud; if it had landed, it would have at least left a bloody welt.

"Hong Gui, what are you doing!"

"The horse must have been startled. Riding a horse recklessly through the streets, it's inevitable that it would get spooked. Hong Gui, you should tell your cousin to be careful in the future. It doesn't matter if he hurts himself, but if he accidentally injures someone and word gets out that relatives of our Marquis Wuwen estate are riding recklessly and hurting people, that would be a disgrace to our family reputation." Hong Gui scrambled up, mounted his horse, and headed back to the estate.

It was time for a break and lunch when suddenly, four or five expressionless men burst into the schoolhouse. They walked up to Hong Yi and said, "Young Master Yi, the First Madam wants you to return to the estate."

Hong Yi ignored their gazes, standing on the ground, looking at the horse that had fallen more than ten steps away and Rong Pan, who had fallen and was bleeding from the head. In his heart, however, there was a sense of relief he had never felt before.

"Yes, yes, yes, he is dead for sure this time. It won't be as simple as just breaking a leg." Just then, the sound of a whip tip suddenly rang out from behind him. Someone had actually lashed a whip at his head.

"Hmph!" Hong Yi let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeve with a swish, and dropped two words: "Scoundrel!" Then he strode into the schoolhouse.

He had already grasped five or six parts of the personality of Marquis Wuwen, Hong Xuanji. Having held great power for many years and being a peerless expert himself, such a person naturally could not tolerate any rebellion. What he said was set in stone.

The horse was also led away. On the long street, people and horses were in chaos. If it had been him in the past, the momentum of the charging horse would have terrified him into a panicked dodge. Hearing the roar behind him, Hong Yi was already prepared. He dodged to the side, turned around, and discovered it was Hong Gui, looking ferocious, having already dismounted and raised his whip, coming at him aggressively to strike again.

Thump! Thump! This servant was clearly trained in martial arts, and his eye for detail was quite sharp. He had actually recognized that the move Hong Yi used to flip Hong Gui was the Small Heavenly Dipper Grappling Hand. Hong Gui retreated two steps, startled by Hong Yi's sudden, unexpected shout. In his impression, Hong Yi had always been silent and reticent, someone who would avoid trouble and walk away. How had he become so bold today?

It was noon. Hong Yi did not look back, acting as if he hadn't heard his name called, and walked forward, playing deaf and dumb. Seeing Hong Yi reach out to grab the whip, Hong Gui's mouth curled into a sinister smile. He retracted the whip, feinting to confuse his eyes, but suddenly launched a kick, fast and vicious, aiming straight for the crotch.

Just now, he had only caused the horse pain, startling it into stumbling and falling. A sharp roar came from behind. Hong Gui had practiced fist and stick techniques; this move was a feint up top and a real strike below, with fierce leg power. Hong Gui was, after all, the son of the Marquis's secondary wife and held a high status. He had three or four servant boys and several other lackeys who had caught up. Seeing their master suffer a loss, they immediately surrounded them. The clever ones went to help him up, while those wanting to show loyalty rolled up their sleeves and prepared for a fight.

Dusting off his clothes, he acted as if nothing had happened. His face was cold, and his steps remained steady as he walked toward the schoolhouse. This move was not from the Ox Demon Great Strength Fist, but the unique Small Heavenly Dipper Grappling Hand of Hong Xuejiao. Just as Hong Gui was so angry he could spit blood, a strong, guard-like servant spoke up.

Hong Yi had been practicing archery and training his eyes, focusing his spirit on his vision for many days. He could see birds in the trees and stars in the sky, and when he drew his bow, his eyes had developed a bit of the sharpness of an arrow's intent when he glared at someone.

"Young Master, don't be angry. We will deal with him in time. I saw it clearly just now; he used the Second Miss's unique Small Heavenly Dipper Grappling Hand. It is clear that the Second Miss secretly taught him martial arts, which is why he dared to treat you like this. I heard the Marquis forbade him from practicing martial arts, but he is practicing in secret now. You should report this to the Second Madam and have her tell the First Madam. Then he will get what's coming to him!"

"Hmph!" His mother was a thorn in Hong Yi's heart. At this insult, a fire ignited in his heart, but he remained calm on the surface. As the other party's whip lashed out, he suddenly reached out and grabbed it.

Hong Yi looked up and immediately recognized that these were guards from the main estate, all of them former soldiers who had followed Hong Xuanji. Their skills were far superior to those of the arrogant servants.

Not good. I should have just dodged. Why did I strike the horse? If word that I know martial arts reaches my father's ears, I fear that hurdle will be very difficult to overcome. But knowing the other party wanted to humiliate me, not fighting back would make me look afraid. There will be more of these things in the future, and it will become even harder to handle.

After Hong Yi arrived at the schoolhouse, many who had seen the scene were secretly shocked. During their studies, they would look at him from time to time. No one had expected that a concubine-born son with the lowest status in the Marquis's estate would have such a stiff backbone, daring to scold and rebuke.

Hong Gui had never imagined he would suffer a loss at Hong Yi's hands. Before he could even crawl up, he began to shout loudly. This group of aggressive servants immediately froze as if hit by a binding spell, looking at each other, unable to advance or retreat.

However, thinking of the principle that a man should be spirited in his dealings with the world, Hong Yi felt a bit more at ease. Hong Yi was not afraid, nor did he dodge again. He shouted loudly, pointing his finger at Hong Gui, staring into his eyes, focusing his spirit on his gaze, and manifesting the intent of drawing a bow and aiming.

Hong Gui was furious and lashed out with his whip at his head again. He could not win an argument against Hong Yi, and given his high status, why would he want to debate him? After the initial shock, many people gathered around, whispering. Most did not know what had happened, but a few shrewd individuals looked at Hong Yi with expressions of suspicion and surprise.

"You... what are you still looking at? Attack him!"

With Hong Yi's current fist strength, he had not yet reached the level of killing a horse with his bare hands. Even if the horse were standing still for him to hit, he couldn't kill it with one punch, let alone the fact that the horse had been charging. That Hong Yi could dodge in that instant and then strike to cause the horse pain was already the best performance of his three months of hard training.