Me?

Luo Jing's head felt dazed. Several hard objects dug into his mouth, and when he spat them out, a few molars came with them.

Blood mixed with saliva dribbled from his mouth, making a disgusting sight.

His face was completely numb. For the moment, he could not even feel the pain.

Then he looked up and saw Qin Sicheng striding over with a stern expression.

"How could you strike a fellow disciple so viciously? I told you to stop short!"

Luo Jing stared groggily at Qin Sicheng. Hearing his words, he thought,

Exactly! How could he be so vicious? He knocked out my molars! This won't be settled without at least a dozen taels of silver! Teeth don't grow back!

But as his vision gradually came back into focus, he realized, bewildered, that Qin Sicheng was speaking to him. Utterly confused, he slurred,

"Senior Brother, are you talking about me?"

As he spoke, he pointed a finger at himself, his eyes blank with confusion.

"Who else would I be talking about? You put all your strength into that last strike. Even I would have suffered damage to my muscles and bones if it had hit me. I called for you to stop, but you refused and pressed the attack instead. That's why you ended up like this."

Qin Sicheng snorted coldly, looking at Luo Jing's face, which was already beginning to swell.

"If you hadn't supplied that force yourself, the accidental strike Junior Brother Lin landed while regaining his balance wouldn't have been nearly so heavy. And if you hadn't pursued him, it wouldn't have hit you at all."

The spectators were all apprentices at the Martial Arts School and knew the Crouching Tiger Staff. They had also seen what had happened. With Qin Sicheng's explanation, they understood that this was indeed the case and began nodding one after another.

"Serves him right."

"He really shot himself in the foot."

"Junior Brother Lin was lucky. Otherwise, that blow would've done a number on him."

"There's no need for that between fellow disciples."

"Didn't Luo Jing's strike just reach the level of bright force?"

"I can manage that once in a while too. It's nothing special."

"Exactly. What matters is doing it consistently. If you can't pull it off in a fight to the death, you'll be the one getting killed."

"..."

The agreement from the apprentices around him made the whole thing feel even more absurd to Luo Jing.

Luo Wei and Luo Hong, who had followed him over, could not speak up for Luo Jing either. Even they felt he had brought this on himself.

They had only meant to test Lin Hao, but Luo Jing had gotten carried away. If he had not chased after that last blow, he would never have ended up like this.

Lin Hao had only been practicing with the staff for a short time, and everyone had seen his progress throughout. There was no way he could deliberately use his opponent's momentum to launch himself into an airborne strike like that.

Still, Luo Hong, who carried a little more weight, supported Luo Jing and spoke up.

"Senior Brother Qin, Junior Brother Luo Jing must have gotten carried away after finally managing a strike at his peak. He meant no harm. Fortunately, no damage was done, and Junior Brother Luo Jing was the one who suffered. Let him apologize to Junior Brother Lin, and let's leave it at that."

As he spoke, Luo Hong nudged Luo Jing. With so many witnesses, there was no denying it.

"I'm... sorry."

Luo Jing slurred his apology, the resentment inside him threatening to overflow.

He felt so wronged that he wanted to cry.

Why do I have to apologize when I'm the one who lost my teeth?

"Ah, I feel bad that you were injured too, Senior Brother Luo Jing. Since you didn't mean it, of course I won't hold it against you."

Lin Hao sighed, then felt around in his pocket and tipped out a dozen or so copper coins in loose change. He handed them to Luo Jing.

"Whatever happened, you were injured, Senior Brother Luo Jing. Take this money and buy some duck eggs to help you recover."

At Lin Hao's gesture, quite a few of the apprentices nodded in approval.

"Junior Brother Lin knows how to do things properly."

"How generous."

"Now that's martial virtue, isn't it?"

Even Qin Sicheng nodded, apparently pleased by Lin Hao's gesture. His eyes were full of approval.

Good-looking, talented, wealthy, and virtuous!

This was exactly the kind of disciple the Martial Arts School needed!

Only Zhao Xiaowen, who had hurried over to support Lin Hao, felt something was a little odd.

Of course she had been worried. Staffs did not discriminate between targets, after all.

But she also had plenty of confidence in Lin Hao. He had killed so many madmen in the apartment building. With his composure, he should never have looked panicked earlier.

So that strike had very likely been deliberate!

Although she had noticed something amiss, Zhao Xiaowen's eyes still reddened slightly. In a soft voice tinged with a sob, she said,

"We only fled here looking for shelter and somewhere to settle down. We just want to live in peace, not fight people or prove ourselves better than anyone. But perhaps some people simply can't stand seeing outsiders like us live peacefully..."

With that gently aggrieved tone, she brought the possible source of their conflict into the open without pushing too hard.

Zhao Xiaowen was no fool. Everyone had heard the news over the past few days. It was impossible that Luo Jing had suddenly approached them without some ulterior motive.

Then they might as well drag it into the light. And there was no one better suited to saying it than a seemingly fragile woman like Zhao Xiaowen.

Listening to her, Lin Hao's expression turned a little strange. She really had been a livestreamer. That coy, innocent act was devastating in an era like this...

Sure enough, the Martial Arts School was full of energetic men. Although their Senior Sister's authority, and the knowledge that Zhao Xiaowen was Junior Brother Lin's family, kept them from bothering her, the sight of a beauty like her on the verge of tears, combined with her words, made almost everyone realize that Luo Jing might have proposed the spar with ill intentions from the start!

Indeed, there was no evidence of such a thing, but that did not stop anyone from drawing their own conclusions!

For a moment, everyone's gaze toward the three Luo brothers changed.

They were all locals and knew that the newly arrived junior brother and sister had some spare wealth. It seemed perfectly plausible that those two penniless fellows had let greed drive them to something wicked!

Everything made sense now!

Even Qin Sicheng's gaze sharpened. After a moment's consideration, he addressed Luo Jing.

"Junior Brother Luo Jing, remember the feeling of that last strike. Keep practicing once you return home, and sooner or later you'll achieve bright force. There's nothing more the Martial Arts School can teach you now, so you may leave. This will give you a chance to recover properly too."

Then he turned to Luo Wei.

"The same goes for you, Junior Brother Luo Wei. You can go home and take care of Junior Brother Luo Jing."

Those words struck both men like a bolt of lightning.

They had heard hints before, but no one had actually driven them away or objected when they shamelessly kept coming.

Now they were truly being told not to return!

Their tuition fees had already been waived for two months. Unless they brought more money, there was no longer any excuse for staying!

For a moment, even Luo Wei began resenting Luo Jing. If that idiot had not lost his composure, how would he have dragged Luo Wei down with him?

Luo Hong did not dare speak up for them now. He even released the arm supporting Luo Jing, as though trying to distance himself.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Qin. But I'd still like to wait until Master returns so I can thank him in person."

Luo Jing was almost in tears. The humiliation pierced his heart, hurting even worse than the injury to his face!

"Master won't be back for a while. If you're sincere, you can bring him gifts and visit during the holidays."

Qin Sicheng was both a Personal Disciple and an Instructor. He could decide such matters himself, and he cut off Luo Jing's way out completely.

Although Luo Hong's explanation of Luo Jing's actions was plausible, after hearing what Zhao Xiaowen had exposed, Qin Sicheng still felt that Luo Jing harbored crooked intentions. His former sympathy for the young man's poverty had vanished.

Living in Dam Market in this day and age, Qin Sicheng was no sheltered young master. The Qin family was also a prominent local clan. He knew that most farming households were indeed simple and honest, but he also understood all too well how harsh, impoverished places could breed vicious people.

There were even occasional cases of people poisoning someone else's livestock because they could not bear to see a fellow villager prosper.

Sometimes, gangs fighting in the market might at least be concerned with dividing profits. Yet the bizarre things certain individuals did could still defy belief.

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Qin."

Luo Jing forced a smile. After casting one last venomous sidelong glance at Lin Hao, he left the Martial Arts School supported by Luo Wei, who grumbled under his breath.

Once the spectacle was over and the apprentices had dispersed to resume practicing, Qin Sicheng beckoned to Lin Hao.

"I suspect the Luo Clan Brothers may have ill intentions toward you two. Master and Eldest Senior Brother are away at the moment, so try not to go out alone for the time being. Just stay here at the Martial Arts School and focus on your training."

Lin Hao knew good advice when he heard it. He nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Qin."

Beside him, Zhao Xiaowen also voiced her thanks.

"I almost failed to stop him in time earlier. If your technique hadn't been so adaptable, your leg might have been broken. You handled that strike very well. Techniques are fixed, but people are alive. Don't let individual moves constrain you."

Recalling Lin Hao's Antelope Hanging Its Horns strike, Qin Sicheng could not praise it enough.

Much like a poet's brilliant line or perfectly matched couplet, such a flash of inspiration was exceedingly rare. It had even opened up new possibilities in Qin Sicheng's own thinking.

"You're right, Senior Brother."

Lin Hao naturally knew what had happened with that strike. Luo Jing had been using the Crouching Tiger Staff. With Lin Hao's [Great Achievement]-level Staff Technique, he could practically guide whatever move his opponent would use next and whatever action he would take.

Fighting him was like controlling a puppet on strings. It had been utterly effortless!

With the trait stacked up to [Great Achievement], even Wu Deshui himself might not understand the Crouching Tiger Staff much better than Lin Hao did!

Still, Qin Sicheng's warning was worth heeding. He had enough silver for now anyway. He could simply keep his head down and train, turning it all into strength of his own first...