Chapter 33: Breakup

On the other side of the courtyard.

Zheng Ziqiao clutched his agonizing shoulder, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead, his face turning slightly pale.

A cold sneer curled at the corner of Qin Lie's mouth as he said contemptuously, "Senior Brother Zheng, it seems your kung fu still lacks refinement. I only used seventy percent of my strength, and yet you can't hold up?"

Luo Qian frowned deeply. "Brothers should keep their sparring to a level of mutual exchange. Why must you strike so heavily?"

Qin Lie said indifferently, "Some things should be said, and some things should not."

Luo Qian froze momentarily, then pressed further, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's nothing! It's nothing!"

Enduring both the pain and the humiliation, Zheng Ziqiao stepped forward ahead of time to stand beside Qin Lie. He forced a stiff smile onto his face and reached out to pat Qin Lie's shoulder in an attempt at reconciliation. "It was just a joke. Junior Brother Qin, please don't take it to heart. I'll host a banquet at Linjiang Pavilion tonight as an apology. How does that sound?"

He was desperately trying to maintain a shred of dignity, hoping Qin Lie would take the offered way out.

"A joke!?"

Qin Lie brushed Zheng Ziqiao's arm away and said mercilessly, "I didn't find your joke funny. If you ever try to frame me like that again, don't blame me for turning heartless."

Before his voice had even faded, he had already turned and strode toward the exit of the courtyard.

The smile on Zheng Ziqiao's face froze instantly, then turned ashen.

He never imagined that Qin Lie would humiliate him so publicly, trampling his last bit of dignity underfoot.

A surge of rage rushed to his head. He took several deep breaths before he could manage to suppress it.

Things were not what they used to be!

Qin Lie was not only the closed-door disciple of their master, Zhou Liang, but he also seemed to have climbed into the connections of the Commandant's Office. This former commoner was truly rising in power.

A profound sense of powerlessness welled up in Zheng Ziqiao's heart.

Beside him, Luo Qian was flushed with rage, caught between shame and indignation.

She scanned the curious gazes being cast their way and snapped sharply, "What are you looking at? Do you all want a beating? Get back to your training!"

With that, she stomped her foot and hurried out of the courtyard.

The surrounding disciples scattered like startled birds, each returning to their positions.

However, in private, the whispers spread like ripples cast into a pond.

Normally, Zheng Ziqiao, Luo Qian, and Qin Lie formed a small circle that the other disciples would have killed to join.

"Did they break up?"

"Is the circle of Senior Brother Zheng and Senior Brother Qin gone?"

"What on earth caused such a huge scene?"

This sudden piece of gossip left many disciples itching for more.

Song Yufeng leaned toward Chen Qing, lowering his voice to ask with a gossipy expression, "Senior Brother Chen, you're well-informed. Do you know what happened?"

"I don't know."

Without even looking up, Chen Qing replied flatly, continuing to organize his training equipment.

Feeling restless like a cat scratching at his heart, Song Yufeng turned to other fellow disciples to ask around.

The Zhou Academy was not large, and the relationships between disciples were complex. Soon, one of the usual followers of Zheng Ziqiao began to leak information in half-whispers.

Having obtained the "truth," Song Yufeng waited until Chen Qing finished a set of boxing and was resting before rushing over like he was presenting a treasure. He said impatiently, "Senior Brother Chen, guess what? It turns out Senior Brother Zheng made a joke, saying that since the Luo family is supporting Senior Brother Qin so heavily, Senior Brother Qin might as well just marry into the Luo family! When Senior Brother Qin heard it, his face went dark instantly—like the bottom of a pot! Then, during their spar, Senior Brother Qin struck him ruthlessly..."

He looked around mysteriously and lowered his voice even further: "Someone else said that Senior Brother Qin doesn't even like Senior Sister Luo. He... he actually has feelings for Senior Sister Zhou."

At this, Song Yufeng subconsciously glanced toward the elegant figure in the corner, his cheeks flushing slightly.

In the Zhou Academy, ninety-nine percent of the young disciples had harbored some sort of fantasy about the gentle and beautiful Zhou Yucun.

It was just that most had eventually faced reality.

*Slap!*

Chen Qing gave Song Yufeng a moderate smack to the back of the head and scolded him in a low voice, "Stop gossiping and focus on your boxing! If you still haven't touched the threshold of Ming Jin in less than a month, you'll have to pack your bags and leave."

"I know, Senior Brother..."

The excitement on Song Yufeng's face vanished instantly, replaced by thick anxiety.

Calculating the time, he had been at the Zhou Academy for nearly two months.

Thinking of this, Song Yufeng lost his appetite for gossip and began practicing his boxing behind Chen Qing.

Because of this sudden turmoil, the atmosphere in the academy became somewhat strange; many disciples seemed distracted during their training.

Chen Qing, however, remained unaffected, continuing his hard practice.

It wasn't until evening, when he finished a set of Tongbei Boxing with fluid, flowing movements, that an indescribable sense of clarity surged through his limbs and bones.

At the same time, a golden light flashed in his mind

【Heaven rewards the diligent; success is certain】

【Tongbei Boxing: Great Completion (1/2000)】

Chen Qing slowly exhaled a long breath of turbid air, a sharp glint flashing briefly in his eyes.

Tongbei Boxing had finally reached Great Completion.

At this moment, his breathing and his boxing movements were one. When exerting force, he "used Qi to drive strength," his internal power flowing through his entire body, truly reaching the realm of "unity of internal and external."

This style was extremely difficult to master; it required not only comprehension but also years of tempering.

Looking at the entire Zhou Academy, only Zhou Liang had currently reached the Great Completion of a boxing style.

"My confidence in the martial examinations has increased a bit more," Chen Qing thought to himself.

Over the next few days, Chen Qing continuously consolidated his Great Completion stage while focusing more on studying the techniques of tempering An Jin (Hidden Strength).

An Jin was vastly different from Ming Jin (Visible Strength), with its subtlety lying in three points

Internal Penetration: The force is not visible externally but can penetrate the opponent's flesh to directly damage the internal organs.

Relaxed and Supple Force: It appears as though no effort is being used, but in reality, massive force is released through the successive connection of the joints.

Extreme Controllability: One can freely adjust the depth, hardness, softness, and speed of the force, even striking someone like hanging a painting—knocking an opponent back without harming their surface.

During these few days, the atmosphere in the Zhou Academy was quite peculiar.

Zheng Ziqiao seemed to have lowered his stance, frequently taking the initiative to speak to Qin Lie in an attempt to repair their relationship.

On the surface, the two seemed to have reached some sort of reconciliation, but any observant person could see that the relationship they once shared—sparring, exchanging ideas, and laughing together—was gone, replaced by an invisible barrier in the air.

Luo Qian had not even appeared in the academy for several days.

The core circle that once made countless disciples envious had disintegrated in just a few days, a sight that left people sighing.

Because of his participation in bandit suppression and his minor military merits, Qin Lie had been very busy during this period.

Wealthy merchants came to visit the Zhou Academy in an endless stream, and even managers from the five great families visited frequently. They all wanted to recruit this promising young talent before his fame spread throughout Gaolin.

The Zhou Academy was bustling with visitors, much more lively than before.

The happiest of all was Zhou Liang. He smiled from ear to ear every day, filled with unprecedented anticipation for the upcoming martial examinations.

After daily training, he would invariably give Qin Lie private instruction, carefully pointing out his shortcomings.

Seeing this, the other disciples in the academy were filled with envy that nearly overflowed from their eyes.

That day, after finishing his boxing, Chen Qing returned to Yazi Bay amidst the lingering sunset.

The usually quiet boat-linking area was uncharacteristically bustling with noise, the narrow waterway blocked so tightly that it was impassable.

The air was filled with an uneasy smell of fish and low-voiced discussions.

Chen Qing's heart sank slightly. He stepped forward quickly and saw his neighbor, Uncle Gao, cowering on the outskirts of the crowd, his face pale and his body trembling slightly.

"Uncle Gao, what happened?" Chen Qing squeezed through the crowd to ask.

Uncle Gao seemed deeply terrified, his lips trembling. "To pay for the boat girl, he took out a high-interest loan! The lenders brought four burly thugs. They said a debt of five taels of silver had rolled into twenty taels in just three months! Xiaochun couldn't produce the money, so they smashed Dachun's family's rice jar, tore apart their cabinets, and even snatched away Dachun's wife's dowry silver hairpin..."

He spoke incoherently, his eyes full of lingering fear.

"What?"

Uncle Wang, the fishmonger, stumbled a few steps while holding his fish basket. "That boy just came to my place the other day to weigh half a jin of river shrimp, saying he wanted to cook soup to nourish his father. He seemed quite thoughtful..."

"Thoughtful my foot!" Auntie Cuihua, the tofu seller, spat. "Last month, I saw him crouching in the alley behind the floating houses, stuffing osmanthus cakes into the boats."

The surrounding fishermen also huddled together, whispering to one another, their faces filled with disbelief.

Who could have imagined that Xiaochun, who usually looked clever and worked as an apprentice at Wanbao Hall, would be so infatuated with a boat girl that he would cause such a catastrophic disaster?

Chen Qing listened silently. He wasn't particularly surprised, but he shook his head heavily.

When he had encountered Xiaochun's disheveled figure being thrown out that day, he hadn't failed to offer advice; unfortunately, the boy was already deep in the mire and had turned a deaf ear to his words.

Among the vices of gambling, drugs, and prostitution, lust is a poison that eats the intestines, but this obsession for a beauty is a thorn stuck in the flesh that cannot be pulled out—it pierces through until the flesh is mangled, yet the victim treats it like honey.

Just then, he caught sight of a familiar figure in the moving crowd: Erya.

She worked as a lowly maid in a wealthy household and usually lived with the master's family, rarely returning.

Chen Qing himself spent his days training at the Zhou Academy and occasionally went on patrol; the two had hardly met since their last small gathering.

Erya also saw Chen Qing. Like a person grasping at a life-saving straw, she squeezed through the crowd and grabbed his arm.

Her fingers were ice-cold, and her voice carried an uncontrollable tremor. "A-A-Chen, did you see? Xiaochun was beaten so badly just now... those people... those people are simply not human. It was too terrifying..."

As she spoke, she looked around in terror, as if those thugs were still nearby.

Chen Qing patted the back of her hand, trying to keep his voice steady. "It's alright now. Those people have already left."

Hearing this, Erya's tense body relaxed slightly, and she let out a long sigh, but her eyes remained panicked and wary, scanning her surroundings.

The two stood at the edge of the chaotic crowd and chatted briefly about recent events.

From Erya, he learned that Liang Badou was now following his Third Uncle at the county magistrate's office, doing quite well and enjoying a prosperous life. It was said he would soon take over his Third Uncle's position as a clerk, becoming one of the most respectable people in Yazi Bay.

Erya's tone was filled with undisguised envy and longing.

As for Li Hu, there had been no news of him since their last gathering, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

Xu Fang went without saying; she was already in a different world, and Erya no longer had any contact with her.

"I have to go back,"

Erya said suddenly, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible exhaustion. "I have to get up early tomorrow to work at the master's house. I can't be late..."

As she spoke, she subconsciously straightened her coarse cloth collar, her tone carrying a habitual sense of caution and worry. "If I'm late, the Master might punish me again..."

Before she had even finished speaking, she turned hurriedly and walked toward her family's dilapidated boat, her silhouette appearing somewhat hunched in the dim light.

Chen Qing stood in place, watching Erya disappear among the cluttered shadows of the boats, his brow furrowed in thought.

The brief conversation just now had allowed him to clearly sense the change in Erya.

The former girl who was outspoken and even a bit reckless was gone, replaced by an Erya who spoke with extreme caution, was submissive, and even carried a hint of sycophancy in her words.

Her mannerisms and behavior had already been stained by the marks of serving as a slave in a grand manor, revealing a humility that had been ground down by rules and punishments.

Chen Qing understood.

The high walls and deep courtyards of wealthy families were governed by strict rules and frequent beatings and scoldings.

Erya must have suffered a great deal and endured many punishments in there to be tempered into her current state.

In this world, even surviving is difficult, let alone preserving the small edges of one's humanity.