Chapter 5: Subduing the Tiger

Chen Yuan followed behind Zhao Shan as he entered the gate, looking around carefully.

The courtyard had a decent-sized open space, the ground was level, and several stone locks were scattered about in a disorderly fashion.

On the east side of the courtyard stood an old locust tree with lush branches and leaves, its wide canopy shading half the sky and casting a large patch of green shade.

Under the tree sat a stone table and a wooden weapon rack. The rack held only two weapons: a saber and a spear.

There were only two rooms in the courtyard. One was the main room, its door half-closed. Under the eaves sat a large water vat, with a bucket, broom, dustpan, mop, and other sundries nearby.

To the west was a smaller side room, its door tightly shut.

Zhao Shan pointed to the side room

"Junior Brother Chen, you will live in this side room from now on. I still have to return to Master to attend to my duties, so you can tidy up for now."

Chen Yuan gave an honest, straightforward smile and said gratefully

"Alright, thank you for looking after me, Senior Brother!"

Once Zhao Shan left, the smile on Chen Yuan's face slowly faded.

He closed the courtyard gate, thought for a moment, and then slid the bolt into place before walking into the side room.

The side room had likely been unoccupied for a long time, as the furniture inside was covered in dust.

Chen Yuan set down his bundle, went to the front of the main room to fetch some tools, and began to clean.

There wasn't much furniture in the room: just a wooden bed, a cabinet, a square table, two short stools, and a chamber pot.

The bed was completely bare, with no bedding or pillows. The cabinet was also empty, and the square table held only a candlestick, a teapot, and two ceramic bowls turned upside down.

Fortunately, the chamber pot was very clean, without any filth.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Chen Yuan had cleaned the side room until it was spotless.

He pondered for a moment, then carefully cleaned the main room as well.

The main room had more furniture, and since Zhao Shan was a rough man who didn't pay much attention to such things, the room was cluttered, and the corners were filled with years of grime.

Chen Yuan did not change the arrangement of the furniture in the main room, nor did he touch Zhao Shan's cabinet or bed; he simply cleaned away the surface dirt he could see.

Afterward, he straightened the stone locks in the courtyard and swept away the loose dust on the ground.

Chen Yuan was strong and had good stamina, and since these chores weren't heavy, the small courtyard looked brand new in less than an hour.

He then opened the bolt, moved a short stool, sat by the stone table, and waited silently for Zhao Shan to return.

...

At dusk, just as Chen Yuan was starting to feel a bit bored, Zhao Shan walked in carrying a large bundle.

Chen Yuan stood up to greet him

"Senior Brother, you're back."

Zhao Shan placed the bundle on the stone table, scanned the area, and said in surprise

"You cleaned all this?"

Chen Yuan smiled honestly

"I tidied up the side room, and while I was at it, I cleaned the other places too."

Zhao Shan went into the main room to take a look and praised

"Not bad, it looks much cleaner. I couldn't tell you were so meticulous in your work."

Chen Yuan scratched his head and smiled sheepishly

"My mother said that I don't know how to do anything else, but I have a bit of strength, so I must work diligently so that my employer will teach me real skills. Since you are teaching me martial arts, Senior Brother, I suppose you count as my employer, right? I was afraid you'd think I was lazy and wouldn't teach me properly."

Zhao Shan shook his head and chuckled, but his gaze toward Chen Yuan became softer

"Since Master has given the order, I will naturally teach you martial arts properly... But why didn't you clean inside the cabinet or the bed?"

Chen Yuan waved his hand

"My mother said I shouldn't mess with an employer's things."

Zhao Shan nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face. He pointed to the bundle on the stone table

"This is the bedding, clothes, and daily necessities I picked up for you, so you don't have to make another trip."

Chen Yuan untied the bundle. Inside was a thin quilt and pillow, two sets of yellow fine-cloth short robes, a wooden plaque engraved with the character "Four," a food box, and a white cloth towel.

He took these things back to the side room, made the bed, changed into the yellow fine-cloth robes, hung the wooden plaque at his waist, tucked the coarse cloth bag containing the jade pendant close to his body, and returned to the courtyard.

Zhao Shan looked him up and down and smiled

"I didn't know your exact size, so I specifically picked two sets that were a bit larger. How do they feel?"

"They fit perfectly, thank you, Senior Brother!"

"These are summer clothes. You'll be issued two sets of winter clothes when winter comes, and the same goes for the bedding; you'll have to go pick those up yourself then... Let's go, take the food box, I'll take you to get some food."

Zhao Shan locked the courtyard gate and led Chen Yuan through two small alleys into another courtyard.

There were three large rooms in the courtyard, all with chimneys on the roofs emitting wisps of smoke. Several large tables were lined up in the courtyard, with wooden buckets on them filled with food.

Several servants wearing coarse cloth aprons were serving food to over a dozen gray-clad apprentices standing in line. From time to time, servants would walk out of the rooms, pouring steaming hot food into the buckets.

A middle-aged man with a plump figure, dressed in silk, was watching the servants serve the apprentices, occasionally shouting

"Move faster! Don't be lazy! Where are the coarse flour cakes? Go get some more..."

When Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan walked in, the plump man's face lit up with a smile, and he nodded at Zhao Shan

"Leader Zhao is here. What would you like to eat today?"

Zhao Shan cupped his hands in a salute

"Steward Sun is here too. I'll have the usual—just give me more white flour cakes and stewed meat."

The plump man laughed heartily

"You got it! Xiao Liu, come over here, fill Leader Zhao's food box—ten white flour cakes, two large bowls of stewed meat, and a small bowl of greens!"

Under the envious gazes of the gray-clad apprentices, a young servant hurried over, took the food box from Zhao Shan with both hands, and turned to enter the room.

The wooden buckets in the courtyard were filled with coarse flour cakes and stewed vegetables with very little oil or meat. Each apprentice held a ceramic bowl instead of a food box, and everyone had a fixed portion—only one bowl of stewed vegetables and two coarse flour cakes. They couldn't eat whatever they wanted like Zhao Shan.

After Steward Sun finished instructing the servant, the gray-clad apprentices all greeted Zhao Shan enthusiastically

"Big Brother Zhao, long time no see!"

"Big Brother Zhao, thanks to your help last time, I didn't get punished. If you need anything in the future, just say the word!"

Zhao Shan smiled and returned the salutes, showing no airs at all.

Steward Sun laughed

"Leader Zhao is certainly popular!"

Zhao Shan smiled

"I just helped a few brothers with small favors, it's nothing."

Chen Yuan's heart stirred; it seemed his Senior Brother was a kind-hearted person.

Steward Sun smiled and turned to look at Chen Yuan, asking

"And this is..."

Zhao Shan said

"This is the new disciple Master took in today, Chen Erniu, Junior Brother Chen. This is Steward Sun, who manages the kitchen."

Chen Yuan mimicked Zhao Shan, cupping his hands in a salute

"Erniu greets Steward Sun."

Steward Sun returned the salute and smiled

"So he is also a disciple of Steward Li, then he's one of our own. Little Brother Chen, just tell me whatever you want to eat."

Chen Yuan smiled embarrassedly

"I have quite a big appetite..."

Steward Sun waved his hand dismissively

"Little Brother Chen, don't be shy. Eat as much as you want!"

Chen Yuan smiled honestly

"Then thank you, Steward Sun."

He called out to Xiao Liu, who was coming out of the room, handed him the food box, and said

"Big Brother, please help me fill this with five white flour cakes, two large bowls of stewed meat, and a bowl of greens."

Xiao Liu was flattered and hurriedly took the food box

"I wouldn't dare, I'll serve you right away, Senior Brother!"

A strange look flashed in Steward Sun's eyes

"Little Brother Chen's appetite is indeed quite large."

Zhao Shan explained

"Steward Sun might not know, but my Junior Brother possesses divine strength, so it's normal for his appetite to be a bit larger."

Steward Sun then realized.

Before long, Xiao Liu walked out of the room and handed the food box to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took the food box, opened the lid, took a deep breath, and wore an intoxicated expression

"It smells so good! Senior Brother, can I eat meat every day from now on? This is better than what we eat during the New Year!"

Before Zhao Shan could answer, Steward Sun laughed loudly

"Haha, don't worry, Little Brother Chen. From now on, not only will you have meat every day, you'll have it at every meal."

Zhao Shan said quite awkwardly

"Please excuse him, Steward Sun. Junior Brother Chen comes from a farming family and lived a bit poorly before, so he hasn't seen much of the world..."

Steward Sun laughed

"It's fine. Little Brother Chen is straightforward and speaks his mind; that suits my temperament, haha!"

Chen Yuan scratched his head and looked at Zhao Shan embarrassedly

"Senior Brother, did I say something wrong..."

Zhao Shan shook his head

"Let's go. It's not your fault. I'll explain it to you in detail when we get back."

...

The two carried the food box back to their courtyard.

Zhao Shan placed the food box on the stone table, and Chen Yuan took the initiative to move another short stool from the side room and place it by the table.

Zhao Shan sat down and opened the food box

"Junior Brother, you're much sharper when it comes to working than you are at speaking."

Chen Yuan sat opposite him and smiled honestly

"My mother says the same thing. She says my brain is slow and I'm not good with words, I only know how to work, so I have to rely on you to guide me, Senior Brother."

Zhao Shan smiled

"Then let me tell you properly about our Hundred Weapons Hall..."

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered, and he listened carefully.

Zhao Shan opened the food box and said while eating

"Our Hundred Weapons Hall has a long history. It is a branch of the Hundred Weapons Hall under the jurisdiction of the Fuhu Gang in the prefecture city, responsible for the ironware business in Leping County. The local garrison, wealthy landlords, shops, and farmers all come to our branch to buy ironware."

"Senior Brother, what is the Fuhu Gang?"

"The Fuhu Gang is one of the two major gangs in Yuzhou. It is powerful, with over a thousand members, and oversees three major halls: the Hundred Weapons Hall, the Shennong Hall, and the Law Enforcement Hall. The Gang Leader, Luo Zhenwu, is a Transformation-level expert famous throughout Yuzhou, with peerless martial arts. My biggest dream is to join the main gang, learn profound martial arts, and break through to Internal Energy!"

Zhao Shan's eyes were filled with longing, and in front of the simple-minded Chen Yuan, he did not hide his ambitions at all.

Chen Yuan said

"Senior Brother is so amazing, you'll definitely be able to do it!"

Zhao Shan shook his head

"My martial arts have only reached the Bone Refining stage, I'm still far off..."

"Bone Refining?"

Zhao Shan explained

"Martial arts realms, from low to high, are divided into Skin Refining, Bone Refining, Marrow Refining, Internal Energy, Gang Energy, Transformation, and Innate. I've been practicing martial arts for four years and have only just broken through to Bone Refining; I'm still a long way from Internal Energy."

Chen Yuan said nervously

"Is practicing martial arts that hard? Then what realm do I need to reach to save enough money to build a house and get a wife?"

Zhao Shan stuffed a piece of stewed meat into his mouth and said

"Don't worry, Junior Brother. You possess divine strength, which shows your physical body's strength is not low. As long as you practice diligently without stopping, you should be able to progress smoothly until Marrow Refining. Getting a wife won't be difficult, but it gets hard after that."