Martial Arts School

"Thirty paces!" Zhao Feng sprang to his feet in the woods, drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Whoosh! The arrow flew!

Squelch! The arrow struck accurately through the right side of Huang Biao's neck, piercing straight through his throat.

"Cough, cough!" Huang Biao's eyes bulged wide as copious bloody foam spilled from his mouth. He stretched out a hand and struggled to scream, but could only make rasping noises, swallowed by the snow and wind.

Bang! He fell flat on his back, his vacant eyes staring up at the night sky as his body twitched without end. Everything before his eyes turned blood-red, then gradually blurred. At that moment, a face appeared before him.

"It was you..." Huang Biao's gaze slowly scattered. Dead!

Zhao Feng swiftly pulled out the arrow and dragged the corpse deep into the woods with all his strength. He kept dragging it farther and farther, only stopping to catch his breath once he reached the heart of the forest.

He felt through Huang Biao's pockets and found a heavy money pouch, along with a stack of promissory notes. After casually tucking them away, Zhao Feng found a rock and, fighting back nausea, smashed Huang Biao's face and skull to pieces, leaving him utterly unrecognizable and completely destroying the wounds.

Only then did he dig a pit at the bottom of a tree hollow and bury the body.

That night's goose-feather snowstorm would perfectly cover every trace.

Of course, Zhao Feng still had to remain cautious and leave no clues if possible.

After leaving the woods, he took a long detour before returning home. By then, dawn was nearly breaking. Only after making sure no one was around did he take Huang Biao's money pouch from his clothes with slightly trembling hands. Opening it, he found nearly fourteen taels of loose silver inside. With the New Year approaching, this must have been the money Huang Biao had collected for Li the Landowner. Now it was all his. He took out all the silver, then hurried to the kitchen and stripped off his ragged cotton-padded jacket stained with blood. He threw it, the empty money pouch, and the stack of promissory notes into the stove and burned them to ashes. Only after finishing all this and lying down on the heated brick bed did he feel overwhelming exhaustion and lingering fear. After all, it was his first time killing someone.

Zhao Feng crossed Huang Biao's name off the little ledger in his heart.

Previously, his mother had taken out the last of the family's savings, while his sister-in-law had returned to her maiden home to borrow money. Together, they had scraped together another two taels, leaving him with six taels. Adding these fourteen taels made twenty in total—enough for his tuition and living expenses in the county seat. After some thought, Zhao Feng decided not to tell his family about this money for the time being, nor leave any with them. If someone at home let something slip, it would arouse suspicion and might even bring disaster upon them.

It was not until three days later that news began spreading through the village: Huang Biao had disappeared!

And supposedly, he had run off with the money he had collected! Li the Landowner from town, who had hired him to collect debts, was now looking for him.

Several of Huang Biao's underlings were also visited by people sent by Li the Landowner and pressed to reveal where Huang Biao had gone into hiding.

This was an unexpected piece of good news for Zhao Feng. He no longer needed to be so tense.

"Who would have thought? Huang Biao actually ran off with the money!" During the New Year, Zhao Youlin happily drank a few more cups of millet wine.

Since that thug had fled, no one would come for the time being to force him to mortgage his fields.

The dark cloud hanging over the Zhao family's heads had dispersed as well. They could finally enjoy the New Year properly.

With dried salted fish to eat, the Zhao family had an unusually prosperous New Year. Though one great worry still weighed on their hearts—there was still no news from Zhao Shuo—they had hope at last.

On the third day after the New Year, Zhao Feng was to go to the county seat to learn martial arts.

"Feng'er, have you gathered enough for your tuition?" Zhao Youlin asked strangely. He had been calculating it himself all along; they were still short by several taels.

Zhao Feng said he had borrowed it from his aunt. Zhao Youlin was half-convinced, half-doubtful. Since when had his younger sister become so wealthy? Besides, would her husband agree? That brother-in-law looked down on them and forbade them from associating. His sister could only sneak back to visit relatives, so there was no way to verify it.

"You must be good to your aunt in the future. She has always treated you like half a son," Zhao Youlin sighed.

Zhao Feng nodded solemnly.

He had originally wanted to leave a few taels behind for the children and his father to nourish their bodies, but after thinking it over, he held himself back. Everything could wait until Huang Biao had been completely forgotten. Besides, he would need money in the county seat as well.

Zhao Feng once again took Old Ding's donkey cart into the city, leaving the villagers' gossip behind him.

"Zhao Youlin's family is smashing the pots and selling the iron just to send Ah Feng off to learn martial arts."

"Don't they know their own worth?"

"A wastrel like him wants to learn martial arts? His head still isn't right."

"Zhao Youlin's family is going to fall into complete ruin."

At the county gate, following Old Ding's directions, Zhao Feng secretly clenched the money pouch tucked inside his clothes and headed toward the Huo Family Martial Arts School.

The Huo Family Martial Arts School was located in Five-Peace Ward of the outer city, a relatively tidy district. Outside an inconspicuous courtyard hung a sign bearing the four large characters: Huo Family Martial Arts School. From beyond the wall came faint shouts of training.

Several people were waiting at the entrance, and after asking around, Zhao Feng learned that they had all come to enroll after the New Year.

Before long, the gate opened, and a young man dressed in short training clothes walked out. He cupped his fists toward them and said, "I am Wei Yuan. Have you all come to study under a master and learn martial arts?"

The others hurriedly copied his gesture and returned the salute, saying that they had indeed come to learn martial arts.

"Then there is something you should know. You must first pass Master Huo's assessment. Only those who meet the standard may stay and train."

After following Wei Yuan inside, they found that it was an ordinary two-courtyard residence, not particularly large. The front yard held wooden posts, stone locks, and training equipment such as sabers and staffs.

Seven or eight men were training there. Some practiced boxing, some held horse stances, and some trained with stone locks. Veins bulged on every face, their cheeks flushed crimson as sweat poured down their bodies.

A ruddy-faced man in his fifties, with a square face and large ears, was overseeing their training.

"Don't let your mind wander while holding your stance!"

"Every punch must have force behind it, even when you punch empty air! Drive power from your waist and abdomen!"

"If you want to become a martial master, train like your life depends on it!" he barked.

At that moment, Wei Yuan stepped forward and said, "Master, these are the newly enrolled apprentices."

The square-faced man turned to look at Zhao Feng and the others. "My name is Huo Shan. I come from the Eight Extremes Lineage. Come here, all of you. Stand properly."

He began patting and feeling each of them over. Those who were too weak, too old in bone age, or carried injuries were eliminated.

When it was Zhao Feng's turn, he asked, "How old are you? Have you studied martial arts before?"

"I turned eighteen after the New Year. I have never studied martial arts," Zhao Feng answered honestly.

"If you have no foundation, you're a little old," Huo Shan said with a frown.

Zhao Feng's heart sank. "But fortunately, your bones have not fully set, and your tendons are still fairly flexible. You can train!" Huo Shan continued.

Phew! Zhao Feng let out a breath. Master Huo, could you not pause so dramatically when you speak?

Out of seven people, only Zhao Feng and two others remained. One was a somewhat sturdier youth with dark skin, while the other was thin and quiet. His constitution was so weak that he had nearly been eliminated.

"Now that you have entered my Huo Family Martial Arts School, I'll lay the ugly words out first. Ten taels of silver in tuition only covers three months. If you wish to continue training after three months, you must pay again. If you cannot afford it, do not blame me for throwing you out. I did not open a martial arts school to do charity," Huo Shan said sternly.

"Have you all thought this through?"

"We have!" Zhao Feng and the other two nodded repeatedly, taking out the silver they had prepared beforehand to pay the tuition.

Huo Shan put away the silver. "From today onward, you are apprentices of my martial arts school."

"Heaven rewards diligence. As long as you train yourself into something worthwhile, supporting your family will never be difficult. Remember, real martial arts are techniques for killing. Their purpose is to defeat, even kill, your opponent—not to be like street performers' tricks, pretty to look at but useless in a fight."

"Even apprentices must obey the rules of my school, Huo Shan's rules. Wei Yuan is your Second Senior Brother. He will explain the rules to you."