Could Tie Rong Really Be a Good Person?

The next day, Jiang Feng rose early and reached the Medicine Hall before the hour of the Rabbit.

He crossed the front courtyard and headed straight for the Guard Hall.

The Guard Hall was completely different from the Apprentice Hall where he had stayed before. It covered more ground and had a more imposing air, with even a separate little courtyard set aside for the guards to practice martial arts.

It was just past the hour of the Rabbit, yet the courtyard was already packed with Medicine Hall guards, their upper bodies bare as they shouted in unison through their morning drills.

"Hey! Hup! Hah!"

Roars of deep, booming force surged through the courtyard one after another. Sweat streamed down their bare backs, and their punches and kicks carried a rugged, solid power.

Jiang Feng watched, unable to keep a trace of awe from stirring in his heart.

Keeping his steps light, he silently made his way along a path by the corner toward the far end of the courtyard, doing his best not to disturb anyone.

When he reached the Guard Hall's main entrance, Jiang Feng took the initiative and approached the guards standing watch.

Before he could get close, one of the burly guards thrust out a hand to stop him and barked, "Hold it! The Guard Hall is an important place. Unauthorized people aren't allowed in. What are you here for?"

Jiang Feng stopped as asked, clasped his hands in greeting, and replied in a calm, unyielding tone, "I am Jiang Feng. I passed the Guard Assessment yesterday and was ordered by Steward Tie to report here today."

The burly guard first froze, then broke into an amused smile. His gaze swept up and down Jiang Feng several times.

"You're the Jiang Feng who beat Liu Mo unconscious yesterday?"

He tilted his head and sized Jiang Feng up, undisguised contempt in his voice.

"You don't look like much to me."

The guard beside him joined in the laughter, looking thoroughly amused, as if he were watching a joke.

"I bet that kid Liu Mo's legs just went weak on their own. He'd spent all his energy on the girls at Moon Gazing Pavilion. How could he have any strength left to test a new recruit? Hahaha, right?"

Jiang Feng's brows knitted almost imperceptibly, but his voice remained calm.

"I was fortunate to pass the assessment. Still, I'd appreciate it if you'd inform Steward Tie, so I don't keep him waiting."

The guard in the lead gave a scornful snort, as though he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Keep Steward Tie waiting?

"Do you even know your place? What makes you think you're important enough for Steward Tie to wait for you?

"You're too late. Steward Tie is inside, doing his morning exercises. Wait over there. Once the steward is finished, I'll call you."

Too late?

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Feng's eyes. He'd carefully timed his arrival, and it was only just past the hour of the Rabbit. The sky hadn't even fully brightened.

Did the Guard Hall keep an even more hellish schedule than the lowly apprentices?

Then it clicked. They were doing this to him.

An ordinary guard wouldn't dare turn someone away and deliberately leave him waiting without orders from someone higher up. Jiang Feng simply didn't believe otherwise.

Even if he'd arrived earlier, they'd probably have found some other excuse to keep him waiting.

Yesterday, he'd still been trying to figure out Tie Rong's attitude. Now, the other man had made it perfectly clear.

To be honest, Jiang Feng was thoroughly annoyed.

All he wanted was to cultivate in peace and improve himself. Why did these blind fools keep picking on him?

Did they have to force him to kill someone?

Drawing a deep breath, he forcibly tamped down his churning emotions. He stopped arguing with the two guards, turned, and went to wait quietly in a corner of the courtyard.

Jiang Feng had assumed that morning exercises would last, at most, an hour.

But he waited from the hour of the Rabbit all the way until noon, and the door still hadn't budged.

Somehow, word got out. News that Tie Rong had left him waiting outside spread through the entire Medicine Hall, and quite a few apprentices and guards came specially to laugh at him.

"Well, would you look at that, it really is Jiang Feng. What'd he do this time? He's barely joined the Guard Hall, and he's already been turned away at the door?"

"What's the point of becoming a guard? I'd rather be an apprentice like me.

"Sure, the work's a little tiring, the accommodations are a little shabby, the stipend's a little low, and the treatment's a little lousy. But at least I can live with my dignity intact."

"Brother, don't say any more. We came to watch the spectacle. Keep talking, and I'm going to start crying."

The surrounding jeers and gossip made Jiang Feng's already foul mood even worse. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the two guards from earlier finally sauntered over, wearing undisguised, mocking smiles.

"Jiang Feng, go on in. Steward Tie's finished his morning exercises."

Jiang Feng didn't even glance at them. He headed straight for the tall door.

As he pushed it open, a heavy, murky stench of rust and sweat washed over him.

The room was extremely spacious, its walls bare and its floor paved with square blue-stone slabs. Several weapon racks stood scattered in the corners, with blade after blade glinting coldly on them, lending the whole room a grim, murderous air.

In the middle of the room, Tie Rong sat cross-legged, his upper body bare.

His already exaggerated muscles looked even more savage and terrifying, swollen with blood. A sheen of sweat gleamed on his skin, and mist curled up around him, an oppressive presence bearing down on Jiang Feng.

Sensing someone enter, Tie Rong abruptly opened his eyes. His vulture-like gaze snapped onto Jiang Feng.

Once he recognized Jiang Feng, his expression gradually softened, and he relaxed a little as well.

"You're the kid who passed the assessment yesterday. If I remember right, your name's Jiang Feng?"

Tie Rong rose and casually plucked a sweat towel from a nearby weapon rack. Wiping the sweat from his body, he laughed heartily.

"You must've been waiting outside for quite a while.

"Don't take it personally. I wasn't deliberately targeting you.

"Ever since I took the position of steward of the Guard Hall, I've had one rule: when I'm practicing martial arts, no one's allowed in to disturb me unless the sky's falling."

His words were frank and direct, and Tie Rong looked far gentler than Jiang Feng had imagined. He was almost unrecognizable from the gloomy, arrogant man on the viewing platform yesterday.

For a moment, Jiang Feng wavered. He even began to wonder if he'd judged too hastily before. Could Tie Rong really be a good person?

At his words, Jiang Feng put on an admiring expression and echoed him sincerely.

"Steward Tie, you truly are the strongest martial artist in our Medicine Hall. Your perseverance and discipline alone are enough to earn my heartfelt admiration."

Flattery never failed.

Tie Rong laughed loudly and gave Jiang Feng a pat on the shoulder. His touch was neither too light nor too heavy, and there was a hint of warmth in it.

"You've got a way with words, kid. I like young people like you best. You've got a bright future!"

After a few simple pleasantries, Jiang Feng saw that Tie Rong seemed in no hurry to get down to business, so he took the initiative to ask, "Steward Tie, does that mean I'm officially a guard now?"

Tie Rong nodded warmly, his smile as bright as the spring sun.

"Of course.

"You passed the assessment on your own merits, so you're naturally a guard of the Medicine Hall. Starting this afternoon, you'll join the Guard Hall's Patrol Team and begin standing watch and making the rounds."

He agreed readily, but at the assignment, Jiang Feng's brows furrowed ever so slightly.

Although he'd been a lowly apprentice until now, he wasn't completely ignorant of how duties were divided in the Guard Hall. The Patrol Team was precisely the worst posting in the entire Guard Hall, with the least to gain.