Between the Countryside

Once they left Qinghe Town, the road became much harder to travel.

The main road was fairly level, but once they turned onto the country lanes, the ground beneath their feet was full of uneven potholes.

It had rained a few days ago, and puddles still remained in some places.

Chen Mo carried a pole loaded with medicinal herbs in the middle of the group, his steps steady.

Zhao Chuan walked beside him.

At first, he had been full of enthusiasm.

But after walking for half an hour, his shoulders began to ache.

"Why is this thing so heavy?"

Chen Mo glanced at him.

"Weren't you just saying this was the first step for martial artists to protect the countryside?"

"I said protect."

Zhao Chuan gritted his teeth.

"I never said anything about guarding medicinal herbs all the way out here."

Chen Mo laughed.

"Then you can put it down."

"No way."

Zhao Chuan immediately straightened his back.

"I'm a martial arts hall apprentice, after all."

"Exactly."

As the two spoke, the group ahead suddenly came to a stop.

The person leading them pointed at a collapsed stretch of road.

"This is the place."

"Put the medicinal herbs down to the side first."

Everyone unloaded the baskets of herbs one by one.

Wang Lie had already rolled up his sleeves.

Without saying anything, he directly lifted a stone much larger than the ones everyone else was carrying.

"Where does this go?"

"Over there."

Someone pointed.

Wang Lie carried the stone over and casually set it down.

With a bang.

Several people nearby turned to look.

Zhao Chuan clicked his tongue.

"Can't you leave some work for the rest of us?"

"You're too slow."

Wang Lie's answer was blunt.

"..."

Zhao Chuan had nothing to say.

Chen Mo crouched down and picked up the scattered stones by the roadside one by one.

"Don't just watch him."

"We need to work too."

Zhao Chuan sighed.

"Fine."

Before long, everyone was busy.

Some carried stones.

Some filled in the dirt.

Some used wooden boards to flatten the road.

At first, Zhao Ming had stood rather far back.

He clearly had not done this sort of work before.

After carrying a few loads, sweat began to bead on his forehead.

"Who used to do this work?"

A person beside him laughed. "The villagers did it themselves."

Zhao Ming looked at his mud-covered hands.

Then he glanced at the villagers passing by in the distance.

Two elderly men stopped by the roadside and watched them.

"Are they from the martial arts hall?"

"Yes."

"Are they all apprentices?"

"That's what I heard."

Several villagers spoke quietly among themselves.

Their expressions clearly held a measure of respect.

Zhao Ming had been complaining about being tired.

But after hearing those words, his back unconsciously straightened again.

"One more trip."

As he spoke, he hoisted another stone onto his shoulder.

Zhao Chuan grinned at the sight.

"Weren't you tired just now?"

"Not anymore."

Zhao Ming answered with a solemn face.

Chen Mo almost failed to hold back his laughter.

Still, he did not think there was anything wrong with it.

It was their first time coming out to do work. If it could make them happy, that was a good thing in the end.

After working for more than half an hour, the road finally looked somewhat restored.

The person leading them inspected it once, and only after confirming that a horse cart could pass did he have everyone load the medicinal herbs again.

They continued westward.

The closer they got to the foot of the mountain, the more scattered the villages became.

There were not many houses, and most had been built beside the fields.

The courtyard walls were piled from mud bricks.

Strings of dried vegetable leaves hung beneath the eaves.

Several children were squatting by a doorway playing. When they saw the martial arts hall apprentices pass by, they all ran out.

"Big brothers, are you from the martial arts hall?"

A child of seven or eight asked.

Zhao Chuan immediately perked up.

"That's right."

He patted his chest.

"Apprentices of Blue Martial Arts Hall."

The children immediately crowded around them.

"Do you know how to fight?"

"Of course."

"Can you throw a punch for us to see?"

Zhao Chuan chuckled.

"Not right now."

Chen Mo added from the side.

"Wait until he delivers the medicine."

Zhao Chuan turned and glared at him.

"When did I agree to that?"

Hearing the voices, the villagers also came out one after another to help.

When the medicinal herbs were delivered to the village's temporary medicine shop, a gray-haired old man hurriedly came forward to greet them.

"Thank you for your hard work, young masters."

"It was nothing."

Zhao Chuan answered quickly.

Wang Lie had already set down the last basket of medicinal herbs.

Chen Mo rolled his shoulders.

A woman walked over carrying a wooden basin.

"Have some water first."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Chen Mo accepted the water and tilted his head back, taking a large gulp.

The well water was cool.

Much of the fatigue from the journey immediately faded.

The group sat down at the village entrance to rest.

The villagers gathered around as well and chatted with them for a while.

"Has the village been peaceful lately?"

Zhao Chuan asked casually.

"Nothing much during the day."

An old man shook his head.

"It's just that at night, we have to keep the livestock penned up tight."

"More wild beasts around?"

"They've been more restless than before lately."

As the old man spoke, he glanced beyond the village.

"Sometimes, you can hear calls from the mountains in the middle of the night."

"What kind of wild beasts?"

Zhao Chuan asked.

"Who knows?"

The old man smiled.

"They're so far away, you can't even tell by listening."

Someone beside him continued.

"Just make sure the doors are shut tight."

"A few days ago, a cow rammed its pen in the middle of the night and caused a racket all night."

Chen Mo said nothing.

His gaze fell upon a fence at the edge of the village.

Two wooden posts there had snapped.

Several messy hoofprints remained in the mud.

They looked like they had been made by livestock kicking wildly after being startled.

Chen Mo got up and went over to take a look.

There were no obvious signs of the fence being torn apart.

It looked more like the livestock inside had broken it open themselves.

"What is it?"

Zhao Chuan came over.

"Nothing."

Chen Mo shook his head.

"Probably the cow that rammed it."

Just then, a deep beastly howl suddenly came from the distant mountains.

The sound was very far away.

Everyone paused for a moment.

Yet the villagers showed little reaction.

"There it goes again."

The old man raised his bowl and took a sip of water.

"We've been hearing it often at night lately."

Zhao Chuan raised his head and looked westward.

"Sounds pretty far away."

Wang Lie leaned against the tree trunk.

"Far is enough."

"Didn't you want to fight it?"

Zhao Chuan asked.

Wang Lie shot him a glance.

"Then we at least need to know what it is."

Zhao Chuan was left speechless for a moment.

Chen Mo smiled.

That much was true.

Not knowing what it was and rashly chasing after it was no different from asking for trouble.

After resting for a while, they checked the remaining stretch of road again.

By the time the sun slowly tilted westward, the day's assignment was finally over.

They sat back down beneath the big tree at the village entrance.

Zhao Ming rubbed his arm.

"I really never thought martial arts hall fieldwork meant doing this."

Zhao Chuan laughed.

"What? Regretting it now?"

"Not at all."

Zhao Ming glanced at the children in the distance pointing and whispering about them.

"It actually feels pretty good."

Wang Lie merely snorted.

"What does repairing roads and delivering medicine have to do with practicing martial arts?"

"How does it not?"

Zhao Chuan immediately retorted.

"If people need us, then we come help them."

Wang Lie did not respond.

He clearly still felt it was lacking somehow.

Chen Mo sat to one side, listening to the two argue.

He did not speak up for either of them.

Practicing martial arts was certainly not only for beating people up.

But where the skills truly trained at the martial arts hall would ultimately be used was something he had never seriously considered before.

Today was the first time he had seen it.

The well water brought over by the villagers.

The sparkling eyes of the children when they looked at them.

And the natural respect that showed on people's faces when they heard the three words "Blue Martial Arts Hall."

These things really did have something to do with the fists and kicks taught at the martial arts hall.

But they were only one part of it.

"Alright."

Zhao Chuan suddenly clapped his hands.

"Stop thinking about that."

"There's still the Quarterly Assessment when we get back."

Zhao Ming immediately chimed in.

"Right."

"This time, I've got to push my ranking higher."

Wang Lie raised his head as well.

"Top ten."

Zhao Chuan looked at him.

"You're going for it too?"

"Of course."

Wang Lie answered without hesitation.

"Who wouldn't?"

They looked at one another.

The exhaustion from earlier suddenly faded by several degrees.

Chen Mo leaned against the tree trunk and smiled.

"Then we'll train more when we get back."

He lowered his head and looked at his palm.

The calluses on it had grown thicker than before.

A mountain wind in the distance swept across the fields.

The leaves rustled softly.

Before long, they were discussing the Quarterly Assessment again—whose punches were faster, whose strength was greater, and who had improved the most lately.

That distant beastly howl was gradually drowned out by their voices.