A Plea for Forgiveness

For the next few days, Chen Ming stayed home, poring over that "Five Elements Saber Technique."

The more he studied it, the more he felt something was off about this saber technique.

His "Bagua Saber Technique" had already reached mastery, giving him a solid grasp of the saber path. The deeper he delved, the more he found the "Five Elements Saber Technique" riddled with inconsistencies.

Especially when paired with its internal cultivation method, the dissonance grew even stronger.

"Could it really be, as they said, that this is actually a sword technique, and Huo Chengkun twisted it into a saber technique?"

Chen Ming couldn't help but doubt it himself.

Still, he wasn't certain—after all, looking at mere diagrams only let him imagine. He'd have to wait until Hong Mingquan returned.

But he waited and waited, and the Huo Family's funeral procession still hadn't come back.

That Xiaoshui was only a little over two hundred li from Qingfeng City.

Even if they moved at the slowest pace, they should have been back by now.

That night, Chen Ming had already gone to sleep.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. Turning his head, he saw a pebble on the floor by his bed, wrapped with a strip of paper.

Again?

He rolled out of bed, unwrapped the paper, and unfolded it. The same scrawled handwriting: "Come to the Back Alley for another match."

Chen Ming's heart lifted. As long as she didn't run back for reinforcements after losing, why would he refuse?

He threw on his clothes, grabbed his saber, and headed out.

When he reached the Back Alley, she was still in her black night attire. Seeing him arrive, she said nothing, drew her sword, and thrust—still using that "Swallow Returns Swordplay."

Chen Ming responded cautiously, observing closely while matching it against the mental cultivation formulas in the "Five Elements Saber Technique" manual. It flowed much more smoothly.

"It seems she was telling the truth—the 'Five Elements Saber Technique' is really a sword technique."

He felt more certain now.

This time, they exchanged nearly a hundred moves.

The more Chen Ming understood the "Swallow Returns Swordplay," the easier it became to handle.

As soon as Zhong Shuyu made a move, he could guess which technique she might use, allowing him to anticipate and react with ease.

In terms of saber technique mastery and combat experience, Zhong Shuyu still had a long way to go compared to him.

And so, after over a hundred moves.

Zhong Shuyu suddenly retreated, breaking away from the fight, and said huffily, "I'm not fighting anymore. No fun at all."

With that, she vaulted over the wall, landed a few times, and vanished from sight.

Chen Ming felt a bit regretful. He'd wanted to spar with her more, to steal the authentic "Swallow Returns Swordplay" from her.

Too bad. From the look of her, she probably wouldn't come again.

He waited a while, but the notification for experience points never appeared. Even more frustrated, he realized he'd wasted all that effort for nothing.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Hong Mingquan still hadn't returned, with no word at all.

Communication in this era was poor, and news traveled slowly. Chen Ming had few connections, making it hard to even ask someone to inquire.

He could only comfort Hong Mingquan's wife and son. "No news is good news. Maybe something held him up."

Li Shi and Hong Zilin put on a brave front, not crying or complaining, and went about their business as usual.

Of course, what they did in private, he had no way of knowing.

On the second day, Hong Zilin had voluntarily asked to learn martial arts from Chen Ming. Now, every morning, he trained with the group of kids and had become their "Big Senior Brother."

During these two weeks, the Blue-Robed Woman hadn't come to spar with him again.

One morning.

Chen Ming had just finished breakfast and was reading a book in the courtyard—a history book, to catch up on the world's historical knowledge.

Suddenly, the maid Chunxiang reported that a guest surnamed Zhou was asking to see him.

"Looking for me?"

"Yes."

Chunxiang had been at the Chen household for over half a month, but instead of getting paler, she'd gotten darker.

She and Xiaxiang were both ambitious. When they realized Chen Ming was teaching others martial arts, they secretly tried to learn. He caught them, so he let them join the morning training—on the condition that they didn't neglect their duties.

The two sisters were endlessly grateful.

They knew well that sneaky behavior like learning martial arts on the sly would, in another household, warrant at least broken limbs.

From then on, they were utterly loyal to their young master.

Chen Ming thought it over but couldn't recall having any friend surnamed Zhou. He said, "Invite him in."

Soon, the man was ushered in—a stranger in middle age with a humble smile on his face. He performed a deep bow as soon as he entered. "Your humble servant Zhou Quan pays respects to Minister Chen."

This left Chen Ming baffled.

Still, he didn't rush to help him up. A bow this deep on a first meeting was bound to mean trouble.

Either the man had a favor to ask.

Or he had come to confess his guilt.

As these thoughts flashed through Chen Ming's mind, he stepped aside to avoid receiving the bow and said coolly, "I dare not accept the title of Minister. Mr. Zhou, I wonder why you would offer such a grand salute upon our first meeting. Could it be that you've done something to weigh on your conscience?"

Zhou Quan's cold sweat instantly poured down, but he dared not wipe it away. Trembling, he said, "Your insight is keen, Minister. It was all my momentary folly, heeding the slander of wicked men, that led me to commit such a blunder. I have come specially to apologize, hoping you, sir, will overlook my offense and spare me."

Chen Ming saw him shaking like a leaf in the wind and found it a bit odd. Am I really that intimidating?

He asked, "Tell me the whole story from beginning to end."

So Zhou Quan stammered out the account of what had happened.

It turned out that Zhou Quan was a medicinal herb merchant who had worked with the Chen family's pharmacy for many years. When Chen Ming's parents were still alive, they had sourced their goods from him.

Just over a month ago, someone approached him, offering heavy rewards to tamper with a batch of goods destined for the Chen pharmacy.

Blinded by greed, he did as he was told.

Chen Rui, unsuspecting and never imagining that a long-time supplier would betray him, accepted the shipment.

Later, somehow, he discovered the problem and confronted Zhou Quan, who naturally denied everything.

Fortunately, Chen Rui managed to find another supplier, bought a batch of herbs at a high price, and delivered on time, preserving the pharmacy's reputation.

Afterward, Zhou Quan's conscience grew heavier, so he took the initiative to bring gifts and come to apologize.

After hearing this, Chen Ming finally understood why his eldest brother had spent several days sleeping at the pharmacy without coming home.

But since Chen Rui hadn't mentioned it to him, he pretended not to know.

He knew full well that Zhou Quan's words were full of half-truths. A change of heart? Nonsense. He must have heard from somewhere that Chen Rui's younger brother had become a Ninth Rank martial artist and feared retaliation, so he came to beg for forgiveness.

Whether Chen Ming reported him to the authorities or sought private revenge, it was more than a small herb merchant could bear.

A Ninth Rank martial artist was an insurmountable force for an ordinary person.

Chen Ming watched Zhou Quan lying prostrate on the ground, weeping with regret and self-reproach, but felt nothing inside. He asked coldly, "Who was that person?"

"Your servant recognizes him... He was... a manager at Golden Source Commerce."

Golden Source Commerce?

Chen Ming was taken aback.

He had almost forgotten about his predecessor's old enemy. He hadn't expected them to pop up now to remind him of their existence.

"Minister... I was just momentarily confused... I'm willing to compensate..." Zhou Quan continued to plead.

Chen Ming found it irritating and said, "Go wait over there. When my eldest brother returns, we'll see if he's willing to forgive you."

It wasn't until evening that Chen Rui came home. When he saw Zhou Quan, his anger flared. The usually gentle man nearly lunged at him. "You still have the nerve to show up at my house?"

"Shopkeeper Chen, please calm your anger. I've come to apologize. I'm willing to compensate you for all your losses..." Zhou Quan didn't dare dodge, just spoke loudly.

Chen Rui froze at his words. "You mean compensation?"

He found it hard to believe. He still vividly remembered how Zhou Quan had shamelessly denied everything when confronted before.

Now he was voluntarily offering compensation?

He looked at Zhou Quan's cowering demeanor, then at his younger brother sitting nearby, leisurely sipping tea, and suddenly understood.

It wasn't that he knew he was wrong—he was afraid of the younger brother who had become a Ninth Rank martial artist.

For a moment, Chen Rui's feelings were incredibly complicated.

In the end, he still had to rely on his younger brother to clean up his mess.