Chapter 28: Second Master's Benevolence Relies on His Fists

Zhang Yuan entrusted Feng Cheng with finding a wife for Chen Wu. Feng Cheng did not neglect the task; he returned to his clan to discuss it and ended up quietly bringing his own younger sister to the banquet.

During the feast, Feng Cheng played matchmaker in secret, and the young lady of the Feng family developed a certain fondness for Chen Wu.

However, Chen Wu felt that his family background was unworthy of the Feng lady, so he remained indifferent toward her. It wasn't until he had consumed a few extra cups of wine that he mustered the courage to say a few words.

Once the alcohol wore off, he felt those words should never have been spoken.

Inside the carriage, Master Tao spoke with a smile, bringing up Chen Wu's drunken ramblings from the previous night.

Chen Wu had already arrived at Dingjia Alley, but he did not dare to discuss these matters with Zhang Yuan, so he could only use the momentum of his intoxication to seek out Master Tao.

As the carriage moved forward, Zhang Yuan sat upright, his expression tinged with solemnity.

Chen Wu, Huang Sanliang, and several others were the first batch of disciples of the Yulin Academy, and they were of the perfect age among the children of their fallen comrades.

When they entered the academy, they were fourteen or fifteen years old and already understood their family circumstances; they knew that the opportunity to study and practice martial arts at the academy had been bought with the lives of their fathers and brothers.

There were nine youths in total, who had studied in the academy for various periods of three to four years.

Zhang Yuan taught fist techniques, saber techniques, and some military tactics, while Master Tao taught Confucianism, reading, and writing.

Hu Chunniu would also make time to visit, helping to teach battlefield first aid and basic medical knowledge.

Of this first batch of youths, Chen Wu and Huang Sanliang entered the Martial Guard Office to take up positions, while two others went to the Prefectural Government to serve as bailiffs.

As for the others, aside from one who joined the Red Fox Caravan, the rest were in the Crimson Scale Army.

Most of the disciples coming out of the academy in recent years had gone to these places.

Last year, Bai Yu of the Crimson Scale Army had personally come to Luyang Prefecture to visit Zhang Yuan and Master Tao at the academy.

According to Bai Yu's suggestion, any recommendation letters Master Tao wrote for future academy disciples could explicitly state that they should serve under Bai Yu's command, rather than being sent to anyone else.

In truth, it was because the disciples from the academy, whether literary or martial, had solid foundations and were hardworking, making them immediately effective in the military.

In particular, the fist and saber techniques taught by Zhang Yuan were so well-grounded that reaching the "Small Success" realm was considered the minimum qualification.

When the military recruited soldiers, those who had already achieved "Small Success" in fist and saber techniques were enlisted directly. The squad and company leaders who led them would grin from ear to ear, treating them like precious treasures.

Among these academy disciples, Chen Wu's cultivation was the most solid; his Iron Armor Fist and Cloak Saber techniques had reached "Great Success," and his martial cultivation had stepped into the middle stage of the Houtian realm.

In the entirety of Luyang Prefecture, a twenty-year-old at the middle stage of Houtian was the elite among elites.

"Unworthy?" Zhang Yuan pressed his hand against his knee, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "In what way is he unworthy?"

Master Tao waved his hand and said softly, "I asked him the same thing last night."

"He said she is a lady of a great family, while he, Chen Wu, is just a uniformed martial guard with a worthless life."

"His monthly salary of two taels of silver cannot even cover the cost of one of her boxes of rouge."

War was incessant, and the lives of martial artists were cheap.

The Great Qin gave martial artists glory and the chance to fight for wealth, but it also treated their lives like mere weeds.

Zhang Yuan frowned slightly.

From studying and practicing martial arts at the academy to entering the Martial Guard Office, Chen Wu had faced hardships, but he had been supported by Zhang Yuan and the others all along.

Even though his cultivation was no longer weak, he had never felt that he was particularly extraordinary.

The strength of disciples coming out of the academy was not vastly different; moreover, Zhang Yuan, who taught them martial arts, was not much older than them, yet he was so strong it felt hopeless to them.

Over time, they had become accustomed to seeing themselves as ordinary people.

In the cultivation of martial arts, if you do not put your life on the line, you truly are just an ordinary person.

Whether you sell your life to the imperial court and the military, or to the martial world, you are gambling your life for a chance at prosperity.

"Master Tao, in a few days, the two of us will pay a visit to the Feng family," Zhang Yuan sat straight, his expression calm. "With Brother Youde gone, you and I are Chen Wu's elders."

"Regarding this matter, you and I shall make the decision."

"Actually, it was selfish of us to keep Chen Wu and Huang Sanliang in Luyang Prefecture."

Zhang Yuan turned to look out the carriage window and spoke softly, "I stayed in the prefectural city because I thought that with them here, they could help the academy teach martial arts and carry on their fathers' legacies."

The intention was good.

But human hearts always harbor desires.

Just because Zhang Yuan could stay in Luyang Prefecture for the sake of a few rolls of linen did not mean others could.

They were in their prime, in the age of hot blood, and possessed formidable combat strength; how could they be content?

"After he marries, Master Tao, you write a recommendation letter and send him to the Northern Border. The border troops there are constantly clashing with the State of Wei and the Liangyuan Territory; it won't be hard to achieve merit and build a career there."

Looking at Master Tao, Zhang Yuan held up two fingers.

"First, the Chen family must have an heir, otherwise we would be failing the entrustment of Chen Wu's father. Second, those military treatises I left at the academy must be memorized by the boy, so he can start from the rank of an ordinary soldier in the army."

Master Tao nodded with a smile and looked out the window.

"Luyang Prefecture is, after all, a bit too small."

It was unclear whether he was sighing with emotion or speaking specifically to Zhang Yuan.

——————————————

Zheng Family Village.

By the time Zhang Yuan and the other arrived, Old Man Zheng's coffin was already prepared for the funeral procession.

The two of them entered the mourning hall to pay their respects, burned some spirit money, and then stepped aside.

"Second Master, Teacher, thank you for coming to see the Old Master off." The elderly man speaking was the village head of Zheng Family Village, of the same generation as Zheng Qiang, who had died in battle in Fengtian County.

With Zheng Qiang dead and Old Man Zheng having no sons, the village's collateral nephews were numerous, so the funeral arrangements were quite grand.

In recent years, because of Zhang Yuan and the others, Old Man Zheng had lived quite well in the village; it was only because of his later severe illness that he had moved to a medical clinic.

Several of the Zheng family descendants stepped forward to bow to Zhang Yuan and the other.

Everyone knew that with Old Man Zheng's passing, the connection between Zheng Family Village and the Second Master would fade.

However, according to the Second Master's usual way of doing things, as long as there were promising talents among the family's descendants, the Second Master would still agree to send them to the academy.

Even if the family had to scrape together the tuition, as long as they could study and practice martial arts at the Yulin Academy, they would eventually have a future.

Zhang Yuan did not promise immediately. He asked Master Tao a few questions, picked out two bright youths, and said he would send them to the academy to try in a few days.

This already left the Zheng family overjoyed.

"Second Master, Teacher." Two middle-aged men wearing green martial robes stepped forward and cupped their hands, signaling the surrounding villagers to step back.

Both of these men were from Qingshan Fortress; people in the village had been talking about them since they arrived this morning.

Zheng Family Village was inhabited by ordinary folk; even though Qingshan Fortress had turned away from evil to conduct legitimate business, people still did not dare to get too close.

Zhang Yuan nodded in greeting.

One was named Yao Gao and the other Fang Dahe; back when Duan Hong was at Qingshan Fortress, they were both leaders of the fortress.

Zhang Yuan had dragged them down from the mountain, and these two had led their brothers to build rope bridges and start legitimate businesses.

As Zhang Yuan and the others fulfilled the military merits of their fallen comrades by assisting their families, the people of Qingshan Fortress would also lend a hand whenever they heard of it.

Firstly, it fulfilled the code of brotherhood in the martial world.

Secondly, it was an opportunity to curry favor with the Second Master.

Only the leaders of Qingshan Fortress knew the true extent of the Second Master's methods.

Others thought the Second Master had persuaded them to come down from the mountain.

Only they knew that they had truly been dragged down.

Dragged down like dead dogs.

The Second Master's benevolence was backed by his fists.

(End of Chapter)