What Are You Supposed to Be?

Three days passed in a flash.

Xu Qing had always been the first to rise and the last to sleep.

Before dawn, he got up to practice stance work. At night, after everyone else had gone to bed, he was still practicing his punches—not a single day missed.

That ruthless drive gradually made those fellow disciples waiting to see him make a fool of himself put away their contempt.

As for Xu Qing and Zhou Wen, they had long since lost face.

After all, the two of them had mocked Xu Qing plenty, both to his face and behind his back. They had even declared with absolute certainty before the others in the courtyard that "Xu Qing won't last three days."

Now that three days had passed, not only had he not wilted, he was practicing with more and more spirit. It made the two of them look like clowns leaping about on a stage.

However, Xu Qing himself had also noticed his body's discomfort. After days of grueling practice, he had long finished the mutton his aunt had given him. Relying solely on the steamed buns, cabbage, and tofu from the courtyard really was not enough to hold him up.

He needed meat.

The little over one tael of silver he had brought remained untouched.

He planned to eat lunch in the courtyard, then go out onto the street to buy some meat to replenish himself.

Just as noon arrived, before the courtyard had even served its meal, Xu Yan came to the Zhao Family Martial Hall carrying a food box.

She had steamed a basket of meat buns and stewed two large bowls of mutton. She had wrapped them tightly in cotton cloth, afraid they would grow cold along the way.

"Qing'er!" Xu Yan spotted Xu Qing the moment she entered. Her heart ached so badly that she frowned. "Child, how did you get so much thinner in just three days? Why haven't you come to your aunt's house for meals?"

Xu Qing smiled. "Aunt, I can get full here too."

Xu Yan said no more. Her gaze drifted around the courtyard as she looked for Xu Qing.

Seeing Xu Qing sitting on a stone stool resting, she hurriedly waved with a smile. "Qing! Come quickly—Auntie steamed buns and stewed meat!"

Xu Qing did not move.

He had heard her, yet acted as though he had not. He did not even lift his eyelids.

Zhou Wen, beside him, laughed instead.

He had seen Xu Yan bring Xu Qing meals before and knew she was Xu Qing's second aunt. He elbowed Xu Qing and teased in a lowered voice, "Junior Brother Xu, so now I know. Xu Qing is the one your mother called 'your second aunt's nephew from her maiden family.' You're relatives?"

Zhou Wen pursed his lips, his smile carrying a hint of mischief. "Your aunt and cousin are calling you. Aren't you going to eat buns and meat?"

Xu Qing's face flushed bright red.

He had never told anyone in the courtyard that Xu Qing was his cousin. That stinking fishmonger—how humiliating would it be to admit it! Now that Xu Yan had called out like this, the entire courtyard knew he was related to that mud-legged peasant!

A wicked fire shot up inside him.

He abruptly rose to his feet, looked coldly at Xu Yan, and said stiffly, "Keep those buns and meat for your nephew from your maiden family! I can't afford them!"

With that, he turned and entered the room. With a bang, the door slammed shut.

Xu Yan stood there in a daze, the smile on her face frozen.

"This child." She shook her head, assuming Xu Qing was merely throwing a childish tantrum, and did not take it to heart.

She opened the food box, and the fragrance of meat immediately wafted out, making several fellow disciples in the courtyard swallow. She took out one portion of buns and mutton for Xu Qing. "Qing'er, eat first." Then she carried the food box toward Xu Qing's door.

"Qing, the buns and mutton just came out of the pot. They're still nice and hot. They won't taste good once they get cold..." Xu Yan raised her hand and knocked. Before she could finish the word "eat," the door was violently yanked open from inside.

Xu Qing stood in the doorway, his face shifting from green to white.

"Eat! Eat! Eat!" Xu Qing roared at the top of his lungs. "Do you think I'm lacking your lousy buns and mutton?!"

Before his words had even faded, he kicked out.

Bang!

The food box flew away. Buns rolled all over the ground, while mutton soup splashed across the blue bricks, steaming as white vapor rose from it.

Xu Yan froze. Her eyes widened round, her lips trembling faintly, as though she no longer recognized the person before her.

It was not as though she had never come to see Xu Qing. Every time she had brought food before, he had eaten happily, calling her "Second Aunt" with great affection. What was wrong with him today? Was it because of Xu Qing?

Over the years, Xu Qing had eaten and taken far more from her household than Xu Qing ever had.

Her eyes suddenly reddened, and tears the size of beans rolled down her cheeks.

From the moment Xu Yan knocked on the door, to the food box hitting the ground, to her breaking down in tears, it seemed to have taken a long time. In truth, it had lasted only two or three breaths.

Everyone on the training ground stopped what they were doing.

Dead silence filled the courtyard.

The disciples looked at one another. Even Zhou Wen, who had been prepared to watch a good show, was stunned.

Xu Qing had gone too far.

Xu Qing abruptly stood up. His face was as dark as water. Step by step, he walked to Xu Yan's side, wiped away his aunt's tears for her, then turned around and looked coldly at Xu Qing.

"Pick up the food box." His voice was not loud, but it was like a wind scraping out of an ice cellar. "Apologize to my aunt."

Xu Qing looked as though he had heard a joke. His mouth twisted as he sneered, "What are you supposed to be? You dare point fingers and give orders in front of me?"

He sized Xu Qing up and down, his gaze filled with contempt. "What? You want to fight me? Pah! If Master hadn't set rules, this punch of mine—"

He shook his fist, gritted his teeth, and enunciated each word. "—could put you in bed for three days!"

Xu Qing said nothing. He merely looked at him, his gaze as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

Xu Yan came back to herself and hurriedly seized Xu Qing's arm. "Qing'er, don't... Aunt is fine. I'm really fine."

As they remained locked in a standoff, Chen Wang strode over.

Master had assigned Chen Wang to look after the daily affairs of these outer-courtyard disciples. With something like this happening, he could not ignore it.

He had seen the entire incident and naturally knew that Xu Qing was at fault. He first patted Xu Qing on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "Junior Brother Xu, calm down. Don't act rashly."

Then he turned to Xu Qing, his tone growing heavy. "Junior Brother Xu, you've gone too far. Your aunt came all this way with food out of kindness. It would have been one thing if you did not appreciate it, but you even kicked over her food box? If word gets out, where are we supposed to put the face of our martial hall?"

Xu Qing stuck out his neck and stubbornly retorted, "I never asked her to bring me anything! She wanted to come herself. What does that have to do with me?"

Chen Wang's brows drew together even more tightly. Just as he was about to say something else, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.

"Senior Brother Chen."

His voice was calm—calm in a way that was somewhat abnormal.

"If fellow disciples spar and someone gets hurt by accident, that shouldn't count as breaking Master's rules, right?"

Chen Wang froze, but still answered, "N-no, it doesn't. The martial hall does not forbid sparring. As long as no one tries to kill anyone, and you stop at the proper point, it is fine."

He paused, then suddenly realized what Xu Qing meant. His expression changed, and his eyes widened. "Junior Brother Xu, what are you planning to do? Junior Brother Xu has trained at the martial hall for two months, while you've only been here for three days!"

"Qing'er!" Xu Yan panicked and clutched Xu Qing's sleeve tightly. "Don't be foolish! Qing has trained for two months, and you've only been here a few days. What if you get hurt? Aunt is fine, really. Don't fight Qing..."

Xu Qing gently patted Xu Yan's hand and said softly, "Aunt, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I won't hurt him."

Xu Qing was stunned.

He stared at Xu Qing for two breaths, then suddenly laughed.

First, the corner of his mouth twitched. Then his shoulders began to shake. Finally, he laughed aloud, laughing until he bent forward and backward as though he had heard the funniest joke of his life.