A Grudge

"By the way, I heard Wen Zehao's engagement was called off. Is that true?"

After finishing with business, Deng Ziyang asked about a huge piece of gossip. He had heard it from one of the servants around him after getting up that morning, and had come specifically to ask Chen Ming about it.

His face was full of glee at Wen Zehao's misfortune, without the slightest attempt to hide his dislike for him.

Chen Ming nodded. "It's true."

"Ha ha ha..."

Deng Ziyang laughed heartily. "Heaven has eyes! I knew it—how could every good thing possibly fall into his lap?"

Chen Ming asked curiously, "Do you have some grudge against him?"

"Not really. I just don't like the sight of him."

Got it. It was just jealousy.

Deng Ziyang asked eagerly, "Then why did Huo Qianqian suddenly refuse to marry him? Could she have fallen for someone else?"

"I don't know. But with such a huge mess, I doubt it'll end well."

"Now there'll be a fine show to watch. Old Ghost Huo isn't young anymore. Who knows how many years he has left? Now that Huo Qianqian's marriage to Wen Zehao has fallen through, the happiest people must be Old Ghost Huo's disciples. Heh, just wait and see. Once he kicks the bucket, those disciples will fight until their heads bleed."

"With Huo Chengkun's cultivation, he should have no problem living another twenty years, right?"

Chen Ming felt that Deng Ziyang was worrying about the sky falling.

Deng Ziyang gave a sly grin. "That's what you don't know. Tell me, with Old Ghost Huo's cultivation, why has he stayed cooped up in Huo Manor all these years, never taking even half a step outside?

A Sixth Rank expert was actually doing something akin to running a martial arts school, taking in so many apprentices. Don't you think that's a little beneath him?"

Hmm?

Now that he put it that way, it really was a little strange.

There were quite a few martial arts schools in Qingfeng City, but the masters running them were mostly only Seventh Rank or Eighth Rank.

A Sixth Rank martial artist could be considered a second-rate expert even in the entire Great Jin Dynasty.

By jianghu convention, Third Rank and above were first-rate.

Sixth Rank through Fourth Rank were second-rate.

Ninth Rank through Seventh Rank were third-rate.

Those without rank did not even enter the stream.

In Qingfeng City, a Sixth Rank martial artist was already among the foremost experts.

Chen Ming said, "Brother Deng, stop keeping me in suspense."

Deng Ziyang lowered his voice and whispered into his ear, "I once heard the old man say that Old Ghost Huo likely has an old internal injury. All these years, he's kept buying all kinds of precious medicinal ingredients to suppress it. Who knows? One day, his internal injury might flare up and kill him."

"Huh?"

Chen Ming was rather surprised. By accident, he had just heard an even juicier piece of gossip.

"This isn't exactly a secret in Qingfeng City. Old Ghost Huo simply wants to find an heir to his mantle who can look after his granddaughter. But he's blind with his eyes wide open, actually taking a fancy to an embroidered pillow like Wen Zehao. If they can't become relatives by marriage, they may well become enemies instead."

Deng Ziyang's face was full of delight at their misfortune.

It was clear just how deep his resentment toward Huo Chengkun ran.

For a moment, Chen Ming did not know how to respond.

After all, he held no resentment toward Huo Chengkun.

Now that he was working at Huo Manor, Huo Chengkun was his employer in a sense. It would not be appropriate to gossip about him behind his back.

He lowered his head and took a tactical sip of water.

"By the way, do the people at Huo Manor know you've entered the ranks yet?"

"I didn't tell them."

"I really wonder what their faces will look like once they find out. Especially Zhang Mingyu. That guy has always looked down on you."

Chen Ming smiled faintly.

Naturally, he would not voluntarily reveal that he had entered the Ninth Rank just to give Zhang Mingyu and the others a tiny shock. That could very well cost him his job as a sparring partner.

It had to be said, Deng Ziyang truly was a friend worth having.

Deng Ziyang was probably very curious about how someone with such ordinary aptitude as Chen Ming had become a martial artist, yet he did not ask a single question.

People with that kind of sense of boundaries were exceedingly rare.

At nine o'clock, Chen Ming arrived at Huo Manor on time and continued his work as a sparring partner.

As soon as he reached the training ground, he saw that neither Hong Mingquan nor Zhang Mingyu was there. The students were gathered in twos and threes, chatting idly.

The moment they saw him, they all immediately stood up, lined up respectfully, and said in unison, "Greetings, Senior Brother Chen."

Last time, they had also been this lazy and scattered, only to be beaten up by Chen Ming during sparring. Now they had all learned to behave.

Seeing that their attitude was decent enough, Chen Ming did not press the matter.

He made the arrangements: the beginner students were to practice stance work, while the intermediate students whose names were called were to come spar with him. All the students obediently did as they were told.

In the blink of an eye, the entire morning passed.

Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu never showed up. No one knew where they had gone.

Chen Ming told the students to carry on with whatever they were supposed to do, then left Huo Manor.

That afternoon, Chen Ming sat together with Deng Ziyang and the other two, discussing martial arts.

At first, Guan Peng kept a stony face and barely spoke.

He had been holding back a fire in his heart, wanting to wash away yesterday's humiliation.

But as he listened, his expression began to change. By the end, he was somewhat astonished.

Chen Ming had actually revealed all the secrets of his saber technique.

Guan Peng was an expert himself. The moment he heard it, he knew this fellow was not holding anything back.

Guan Peng listened so restlessly that he could barely sit still. Is this really something I'm allowed to hear?

In a while, he would be fighting Chen Ming. Hearing all this was practically cheating.

Yet Chen Ming's voice kept drilling into his ears, and what he said held an immense allure for Guan Peng. Whenever he reached a crucial point, Guan Peng's eyes lit up with excitement.

So that was how it worked!

It could actually be done like this?

Some of Guan Peng's doubts instantly cleared away like clouds parting to reveal the moon. He wished he could test it out immediately.

When he finally came back to himself, the look in his eyes as he watched Chen Ming had become complicated.

This man was actually so selfless. He was willing to share even the secrets of such a saber technique with them.

At last, Guan Peng could not help speaking up. "Brother Chen, you've told us all the mysteries of your saber technique. Aren't you afraid that you'll lose to me when we spar later?"

Chen Ming looked perfectly calm. "If you can defeat me, I'll be very happy. That way, I can discover the shortcomings in my saber technique."

Those words filled Guan Peng with shame. Compared to Chen Ming, he had lost by a single move yesterday and remained bitterly hung up on it. Their states of mind were worlds apart.

Zhuang Xiaotian praised, "Brother Chen, your breadth of heart is truly admirable."

Deng Ziyang also felt inferior. If he examined his own heart, he knew that he would never casually reveal the mysteries of his own swordsmanship to others, not even sworn brothers.

Chen Ming took in the reactions of the three men and knew that his goal had been achieved.

Who would not like a friend willing to selflessly share knowledge and techniques?

Taking the opportunity, he said, "Let's begin. Which of you will go first?"

"I will!"

The first to speak was surprisingly Deng Ziyang. Smiling, he said, "You two younger brothers needn't fight me for it. I've known Senior Brother for so long, yet I've never sparred with him."

Since he had put it that way, Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian naturally had no reason to object. The two stepped aside.

Deng Ziyang used a sword. "My sword technique is called Wind Chaser. I obtained it through a fortunate coincidence. It is quite exquisite, so Senior Brother must be careful."

Chen Ming held his saber horizontally and said in a clear voice, "Please enlighten me!"

PS: I don't want to start a new book anymore. This year, I'm going all in on this one. Starting tomorrow, I'll stockpile chapters.