Tongwen Academy

The Chen family's business in Hong Kong and Kowloon was a rice shop.

To be honest, this line of business had rather surprised Chen Ying.

Yes, it had nothing to do with any mysterious powers, nor did it involve any complicated financial tricks. They simply made money on the difference in price.

They bought rice from the countryside at harvest time, sent it to a mill, then stored it and sold it as market prices changed.

On the surface, it was a grain business. In essence, it was warehousing and logistics.

The biggest costs were labor and the milling process. Rent for the shop and warehouses did not enter into it, since Granny Chen had bought those properties long ago. This was a steady, long-term business.

Even leftover old rice and grain were simply sold at a discount. Low risk, low returns-that was the idea.

Thinking it over, Chen Ying could understand. Granny Chen had come to Hong Kong and Kowloon for a peaceful life.

Dazzling prosperity and blazing success would only draw covetous eyes. That was not what she wanted.

"You seem a little strange, husband."

While Chen Ying was drinking his soup, Wu Jie had already filled a bowl with white rice for him.

"Strange?"

Chen Ying picked up some greens with his chopsticks.

"Yes. You rarely used to ask about my shop, and you never read the newspaper."

"Then what did I like doing before?"

"You didn't like me tagging along. You liked going out dancing and having fun on your own."

"That doesn't sound like a very wholesome hobby."

Chen Ying had been in this world for some time now and had learned a little about how things worked. He knew what those so-called dance halls were-nothing more than thinly disguised brothels.

"I prefer life as it is now. Three simple meals a day, practicing martial arts when there's nothing to do, reading the paper."

Chen Ying looked at Wu Jie.

"Do you prefer the old me or the way I am now?"

A-Jie tilted her head as she looked at Chen Ying.

In truth, she did not know what had come over her either.

In the past, looking after Chen Ying had been a duty.

She could never repay all the kindness the Chen family had shown her. All she could do was be a good wife in this life.

So whether Chen Ying was cold or behaved outrageously, none of that mattered.

Now, after a terrible ordeal, the Chen Ying who had returned seemed like a different person. That instead left Wu Jie feeling a little uneasy, stirring many unfamiliar feelings.

"I'm not really sure. All I know is that you're my husband."

"That's right. Why overthink things in this life?"

Chen Ying set the newspaper aside.

"A-Jie, have you considered buying more rice?"

"Hmm?"

"If the severe drought around the provincial capital continues, won't a lot of people go hungry?"

"Yes, but we wouldn't have anywhere to store it, and we don't have any distribution channels around the provincial capital. We'd better run the business cautiously."

Wu Jie shook her head.

"Besides, most of our stock comes from Lingnan. With the provincial capital suffering this drought, never mind selling grain there—even Hong Kong and Kowloon is bound to be affected."

Chen Ying nodded at that.

"I see."

"What are you thinking about, husband?"

"Nothing. Just a few odds and ends."

Chen Ying pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

"I'm going to practice."

"All right. I'll boil some water, so we can have tea afterward."

After practicing all night, Chen Ying rallied his spirits, raised his palms like blades, and moved with rounded, integrated footwork. He felt every joint and every bit of muscle and sinew becoming part of his movements.

The essence of martial arts is the use of weapons.

With Wen Ruzhi's teachings in mind, Chen Ying focused his entire attention on his palms.

"During the previous dynasty, barbarian invaders ran rampant, turning our sacred land into a prison and enslaving every household."

"To preserve their rule, they forbade the people from practicing with weapons. To reclaim our land, our predecessors incorporated weapon techniques into punches and kicks. Practicing unarmed martial arts was practicing weapons."

"A misfortune for the nation, a great blessing for martial arts."

"Eight Trigrams uses sabers and swords; Taiji models itself on spears and hammers. Six Harmonies, Xingyi, and Eight Extremes all have the spear as their foundation."

"So Eight Trigram Palm is both saber work and swordplay. These palms of yours are the keen saber that will reclaim our land, the long sword that will uphold the nation."

"That is the true meaning of martial prowess. Saying that martial prowess means stopping conflict is merely a misreading. What does 'stop' mean? In ancient times, that character did not mean stopping. It meant your feet. Martial prowess means standing there and taking up a weapon."

"Displaying your might, proclaiming your power, sweeping unopposed across a thousand miles. That is martial prowess."

As Chen Ying thought of those words, he felt a force pent up inside his body.

This force was trapped within him. Unlike that icy baleful energy, it was like a mass of burning charcoal, surging and crashing through his chest, lower abdomen, and limbs.

He felt as though he was about to split apart.

With each repetition, that fire continued to build inside him.

It smoldered and spread, until...

He bowed his body, turned his step, and swung his palm.

Chen Ying poured his entire being into that strike. At that moment, his palm would become a true long saber, its edge aimed straight at the enemy's throat.

Kill.

An eruption.

The fire exploded inside him, power flooding his arm as his palm swept out with a howling wind.

Chen Ying felt a powerful surge of blood and vitality rise from his tailbone and swiftly course through his entire body. Since arriving in this world, he had never felt so exhilarated.

No, not even in his previous life had he felt this exhilarated.

What utter, unrestrained release.

Thump, thump, thump.

His heart pounded. Chen Ying felt the vitality of life return to this body.

"A single breath flowing through, strength enough to lift thirty thousand pounds."

Chen Ying looked at his palms.

"Is this Bright Strength?"

The indescribable ease and freshness throughout his body made Chen Ying want to keep going.

Breathing out stale air, Chen Ying resumed his practice.

Walk to where the waters end, then sit and watch the clouds rise.

For Chen Ying to reach this point, Wen Ruzhi's instruction, his own relentless practice day and night, and his unusual condition had all been indispensable.

Those three things coming together meant progress in martial arts.

Chen Ying desperately hoped for a chance at a real bout, to test himself against someone like Sha Wei and see what the so-called masters of today's martial world were like.

But no opportunity for a match came. What awaited Chen Ying was school.

The Chen family had always lived a proper, dutiful life, and Chen Ying had his own duties as a student.

Going to school.

The school he attended was not one of Hong Kong-Kowloon City's best, but an ordinary school serving the general public: Tongwen Academy.

Although its name sounded like a place that printed books, this school could be called the oldest educational institution in all of Hong Kong-Kowloon City.

"Tongwen" took its meaning from the phrase, "Our prestige awes those of foreign customs; our achievements shine among those who share our script."

This school was also a bastion of Zhongzhou tradition within Hong Kong-Kowloon City, utterly distinct from the United Empire.

After all, the foreign devils were precisely those people of "foreign customs" whom their prestige was meant to awe.

"So this is Tongwen Academy. It sounds impressive, but it looks like a very ordinary school."

Looking at the dilapidated campus before him, Chen Ying did not know what to say for a moment.

Ordinary, connected four-story teaching buildings stood to the north, east, and west, enclosing a shabby sports ground. The track was still surfaced with coal cinders, and the students did not even have matching uniforms. Several obvious young hooligans were throwing their weight around at the school gates.

"The Hong Kong and Kowloon authorities won't give it any funding, and the fees are low. It depends entirely on donations from the Board of Trustees. What else can it be like?"

Wu Jie sighed in the car.

"Actually, I don't think studying here is a good idea either, but Granny was very insistent. She said something about mountains not needing to be high and waters not needing to be deep. As though studying here is what makes us Zhongzhou people, and going somewhere else would turn us into foreign devils."

"Granny has a point too."

Chen Ying opened the car door.

"You don't need to pick me up today. I'll find my own way home."

"Won't you get lost?"

"I'll learn the way by looking for it."

"Oh, right."

Wu Jie pressed a stack of money into his hand.

"You might need this."