What Will You Support Me With?

"Brother-in-law, just drawing your saber won't help you master saber techniques. You need to practice the basic movements: splitting, chopping, sweeping upward, thrusting, circling it around your head, wrapping it behind your head, and so on."

Watching Chen Shi'an endlessly draw and sheathe his saber, Su Qingrou finally could not help offering a quiet reminder.

Although she had never practiced martial arts, she had often watched her husband practice with his saber and knew a little about saber techniques.

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly and said in all seriousness, "Sister-in-law, those basic movements you mentioned are certainly important, but drawing the saber is even more important.

"When facing an enemy, if I draw my saber faster than he does, I can seize the initiative.

"So, to practice saber techniques, I have to practice the Blade-Drawing Technique first."

Su Qingrou was about to speak when Chen Tiantian walked over and curled her little lip. "I actually thought you'd turned over a new leaf and were going to mend your ways.

"Now I see you're exactly the same as before, cutting corners and shirking work, unable to endure even the slightest hardship.

"Practicing like that, you could train for a hundred years and it would still be a waste..."

"Tiantian!"

Su Qingrou hurriedly stopped her daughter, then forced a smile at Chen Shi'an. "Brother-in-law, Tiantian is still young. Children speak without restraint. Please don't take it to heart."

The corners of Chen Shi'an's mouth rose slightly. "Tiantian, what will you say if I master my saber techniques one day?"

Chen Tiantian blurted out, "If you can master them, I'll bring you water to wash your feet every day!"

"My dear niece, you'd better not go back on your word when the time comes." Chen Shi'an smiled brightly.

Chen Tiantian gave a soft snort. "And what if you can't master them?"

"That possibility doesn't exist." With that, Chen Shi'an walked straight back into his room, leaving Chen Tiantian staring at the back of his head.

Before he had drawn his saber forty times, his arms ached so much he could no longer lift them.

Chen Shi'an slumped sideways in his chair, his face full of helplessness.

The original owner's body was truly useless. After drawing a saber that weighed less than ten jin only thirty-odd times, he had to stop and rest.

At this pace, drawing it three hundred thousand times would take at least two or three months.

Becoming a Ranked Martial Artist through drawing his saber would certainly not happen in time to solve his immediate predicament.

Chen Shi'an knitted his brows, racking his brain for a solution.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as an idea flashed through his mind.

He hurriedly grabbed the saber from the table, drew it halfway out, and looked at the stone stele in his mind.

To his delight, the draw count on the stele had actually increased.

So he did not need to draw the saber all the way out.

He continued experimenting.

He ran to the kitchen and fetched a woodcutting blade, a kitchen cleaver...

In the end, he reached a conclusion: it had to be a proper, sheathed saber, and it could not be too light. It had to weigh at least six jin, and he had to draw it at least two inches before the count on the stele would increase.

Drawing the saber two inches saved both time and effort.

Naturally, Chen Shi'an was delighted. Once the aching in his arms eased a little, he continued drawing his saber...

Still, he was nowhere near having enough time to complete three hundred thousand draws before the City Construction Tax came due.

To resolve his immediate predicament, he would have to find another way.

After two hundred draws, both of Chen Shi'an's arms ached so badly that he could no longer lift them.

He put down the Horizontal Saber, said a word to Su Qingrou, and headed out again.

Watching her brother-in-law come and go, Su Qingrou felt deeply puzzled, but she did not dare ask too many questions.

On the eastern side of Windrise Stronghold was a marketplace filled with merchants conducting all sorts of business, including the Fang family, who traded in cloth.

Chen Shi'an sat in the Fang family's reception hall. No one came to serve him tea, and he waited about an hour before the short, stout Fang Ming finally sauntered in.

"My dear nephew Chen, my apologies. Some matters delayed me. Sorry for the wait." Though Fang Ming offered an apology, his head was held high and his face wore an arrogant expression.

He plopped himself into the seat of honor. "Your elder brother's misfortune was truly regrettable. I had intended to pay a visit, but one thing after another kept cropping up at the shop. I simply couldn't get away.

"Once things settle down, I'll bring my family over to pay our respects."

"That's thoughtful of you, Shopkeeper Fang."

Chen Shi'an replied coolly, "I came today to discuss my marriage to Ruyu.

"With misfortune having befallen the Chen Family, I intend to marry Ruyu in the next few days, to dispel the ill luck with a joyous occasion."

Fang Ming's face stiffened. After a moment's hesitation, he said quietly, "I agree with your thinking, my dear nephew Chen.

"But if you want to marry Ruyu, you must at least wait until your elder brother's seventh-day memorial has passed."

Chen Shi'an raised his eyelids slightly. "And after the seventh-day memorial, I'm afraid you'll find some other excuse to keep putting it off, won't you, Shopkeeper Fang?"

At this point, he raised his voice. "Now that my elder brother is gone, he can no longer look after the Fang family's business.

"It's only human nature that you no longer approve of my marriage to Ruyu, Shopkeeper Fang.

"But dragging it out like this is no way to resolve the matter."

Fang Ming's aging face reddened. "My dear nephew Chen, what are you saying? When did I ever object..."

Chen Shi'an waved a hand. "Shopkeeper Fang, now that I've laid everything out, you might as well be frank. Please ask Ruyu to come out. I want to hear what she thinks.

"Today, let's stand face-to-face, drums and gongs ringing openly, and settle this with plain words.

"If you keep making excuses, Shopkeeper Fang, that amounts to refusing to honor the marriage agreement. I'll file a complaint at the City Yamen."

Fang Ming's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "My dear nephew Chen, you've misunderstood. Our Fang family has no intention of refusing to honor the agreement..."

"Then, since the wedding has already been delayed for half a year, how about our families hold it tomorrow?" Chen Shi'an lifted his head slightly.

Fang Ming looked thoroughly troubled. "My dear nephew Chen, you're still in mourning. Holding your wedding tomorrow would hardly be appropriate..."

"We'll keep everything simple and perform a modest wedding ceremony before my elder brother's memorial tablet, comforting his spirit in heaven without violating the rites of mourning." Chen Shi'an had already prepared his answer.

Fang Ming hemmed and hawed, searching for an excuse, when a lovely figure stepped over the threshold and entered.

The newcomer was a young woman with delicate, pretty features and a slender, graceful figure. She wore a long, pale-green dress with a white lotus embroidered at the waist.

She was Chen Shi'an's fiancée, Fang Ming's daughter, Fang Ruyu.

"Chen Shi'an, if I marry into the Chen Family, what will you support me with? You can't lift a hoe, swing a hunting blade, or draw a bow."

Fang Ruyu stood in the center of the reception hall, her lovely head slightly raised as she stared coldly at Chen Shi'an. She made no attempt to conceal the contempt and disgust in her eyes.

Naturally, the Fang family had agreed to the marriage alliance with the Chen Family not because they thought highly of a lazy good-for-nothing like Chen Shi'an, but because of his elder brother.

The City Guard Battalion had extensive responsibilities within Windrise Stronghold: military expeditions, security, inspections...

Chen Shi'an's elder brother had been a Squad Leader in the City Guard Battalion and could offer the Fang family's business some protection.

Now that he was gone, how could the Fang family still be willing to honor the engagement?

Chen Shi'an rose to his feet, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "You'll only know whether I can support you after you marry me."

"You're an ignorant, idle good-for-nothing. What can you do besides gamble? Without your elder brother, you can't even support yourself."

Fang Ruyu scoffed.

A faint smile appeared on Chen Shi'an's face. "So, Miss Fang, you've decided to break off the engagement?"

Fang Ruyu snorted softly. "Marrying a useless gambler like you would be the same as jumping into a pit of fire. No one would willingly jump into a fire pit..."

"Ruyu, don't talk nonsense."

Fang Ming hurriedly stopped her and repeatedly cupped his hands toward Chen Shi'an. "My dear nephew Chen, don't take her seriously. Ruyu is merely speaking in anger. She doesn't really mean to break off the engagement."

In Windrise Stronghold, if the man broke off an engagement, the woman did not have to return the betrothal gifts. If the woman broke it off, she had to return them-and repay twice their value.

Chen Shi'an had not come to the Fang family today to marry Fang Ruyu.

Fang Ruyu was indeed quite attractive, but she looked down on the original owner from the bottom of her heart. Chen Shi'an had no habit of fawning over women.

He wanted to recover the original betrothal gift-six taels of silver. Repaid twofold, that would be twelve taels.

If he could get twelve taels of silver, he could weather his current crisis.

However, though the Fang family had long since lost interest in a marriage alliance with the Chen Family, they had refused to break off the engagement. They kept delaying it to provoke Chen Shi'an into doing something wrong, giving them grounds to call off the marriage.

Their aim was to avoid repaying twice the betrothal gift.

Chen Shi'an had seen through their intentions. As soon as he arrived, he had taken an aggressive stance precisely to force the Fang family to break off the engagement themselves.

Fang Ming could keep his composure, but Fang Ruyu was too young. Unable to hold herself back, she had finally voiced her true thoughts.

"Shopkeeper Fang, what else do you have to say?" Chen Shi'an's expression remained unchanged, his voice low.

"My dear nephew Chen, I've spoiled Ruyu since she was little. She speaks without thinking..." Fang Ming hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

Chen Shi'an curled his lip. "Since both you and Miss Fang are here, let's make everything clear today. This marriage has been delayed for so long that I no longer wish to wait.

"Tomorrow, I will marry Miss Fang.

"If your Fang family refuses, I'll take you to the City Yamen and accuse you of refusing to honor the marriage agreement. I'll ask the officials there to uphold justice for me!"

His words were as firm as severed iron, leaving no room for negotiation.

Fang Ming's expression changed drastically, and he spoke in haste. "Ruyu, child, look at you, always saying nonsense on a whim. Hurry and apologize to my dear nephew Chen..."

"Father, you've already rejected this marriage yourself. Why keep trying to hide it?"

Fang Ruyu waved a hand, cutting her father off. "Chen Shi'an is a gambler, a gambling addict. I would rather die than marry him.

"Father, breaking off the engagement would only mean paying him twelve taels of silver. What is that compared with your daughter's lifelong happiness?

"Besides, I passed the assessment yesterday. I'll soon be able to study at Windrise Martial Academy, where I'll have a chance to become the disciple of a Ranked Martial Artist in the Stronghold. I might even become a Ranked Martial Artist myself someday.

"Now, even a hundred Chen Shi'ans put together wouldn't be worthy of your daughter.

"Ending the engagement as soon as possible is the best choice for both me and our Fang family."