Chapter 29. Learning Martial Arts (4)

"Ughh—!"

The next day, I felt an incredible sense of refreshment. There was no significant muscle soreness. It felt like I had just completed a light day of exercise. Compared to the grueling training from the previous day, only a slight muscle ache remained.

"Amazing."

I marveled sincerely.

If I had practiced the Three Disasters Heart Method and gone to sleep, I might have woken up in a state of full-body paralysis. Looking at it this way, I could feel the incredible efficacy of the Heavenly King Heart Method.

"The Heavenly King Heart Method is said to be close to a supreme martial art."

Thinking about it, I felt quite lucky. While I didn't know much about other martial arts, most of the heart methods belonged to the secret traditions of various sects, making them hard for self-taught practitioners like me to obtain.

Of course, there were ways to learn. If you went to any martial arts school with a large sum of money and threw a tantrum to be accepted as a disciple, it was possible.

However, the heart methods learned this way were usually only slightly better than the Three Disasters Heart Method. The truly secret and hidden heart methods were never easily taught. One had to pass the sect's character evaluation to learn them.

That's why there's a saying in the martial world: "Do not transmit unless to a person."

'Hmm.'

I pondered the phrase "Do not transmit unless to a person" that suddenly came to mind.

In fact, it was quite extraordinary for a martial artist of Wei Zhiyan's level to teach even the basics of martial arts. Normally, even if you went with a large sum of money, they wouldn't teach you. It wasn't about the money.

No matter how well-packaged as a longevity technique or a life-saving art, martial arts are ultimately killing techniques.

They are the result of accumulated research on efficient methods of killing. What if someone taught the wrong person? If the person who learned it went around killing people, the teacher would be indirectly responsible for those deaths.

Hence, "Do not transmit unless to a person."

Despite this, she took the time to teach me martial arts because she had a good impression of me during the Wujiangshan raid.

'I should do something nice for Miss Wei.'

When I went down to the inn's dining area, it was bustling with people gathered for breakfast. Most were day laborers, eager to eat quickly and head to work.

"Give me a bowl of noodles!"

"Are the dumplings ready yet?!"

"Bring me a steamed bun quickly!"

Pushing through the crowd, I approached the waiter and said,

"Hey."

"Yes, sir!"

"Wasn't there a female guest who checked into the room next to mine yesterday?"

"Oh, you mean that beautiful female knight! Yes, she said she would be staying long-term starting yesterday! Is there something you need?"

"It's nothing much. She's someone I know. When she comes down, tell her to charge her meals to my account."

I said this and gave him a tip. The waiter, who quickly counted the coins, nodded with a smile.

In fact, waiters, unlike modern workers, are not protected by labor laws and rarely receive proper wages from innkeepers.

If you agreed to pay 100 coins but only gave 50, saying you'd make up for it next month because of poor performance, they couldn't say a word. It was a sad profession.

So, waiters, who were generally poor, would handle tasks smoothly if given a tip.

This is based on personal experience.

'What a life I've led.'

As I watched the waiter scurrying around, I was lost in thought for a moment before sitting down.

"Hey, can't you hear me calling you?!"

Someone was shouting loudly. Turning around, I saw a large, intimidating man yelling.

"Are you ignoring me because I only have one arm?!"

"Oh, sir, that's not it."

What a troublemaker.

Looking in the direction of the noise, I saw the waiter bowing repeatedly.

A man, clearly frustrated, continued to yell, and each time, the sleeve of his missing arm flapped emptily.

I recognized the face and involuntarily spoke.

"Yang Zhenpo?"

"Eh, you—"

Oops, I shouldn't have recognized him.

The one-armed man was Yang Zhenpo, who had captured me and lost his arm. When he saw my face, he stopped yelling and looked flustered, his mouth agape.

"Y-You, why are you here...?"

"I came to eat, of course... Why else?"

"..."

There's no other reason.

An awkward silence enveloped us. Yang Zhenpo made an indescribable expression, turned bright red, and tried to leave the inn.

However, in his haste, he bumped into someone, and his money pouch's string came loose, causing coins to spill onto the floor with a jingling sound.

"Don't touch them! They're mine!"

Yang Zhenpo shouted and knelt to collect the coins. He was only using one hand, so it took him a while.

After struggling, he managed to gather a few coins but dropped a couple when he tried to put them back into the pouch, which wouldn't open properly.

"Move your feet!"

"..."

...This is really painful to watch.

I quietly got up and approached him. Yang Zhenpo, startled, looked at me with a wary expression.

"What, what is it?!"

"Just stay still, kid."

Who's going to eat you?

I slowly started picking up the coins, and Yang Zhenpo, initially flustered, soon focused on collecting the other coins.

After a brief but long moment, I handed him the coins I had gathered.

"Here."

The coins totaled about 20 coins. He extended his hand, blushing, but then hesitated and pulled it back, realizing he couldn't put them in the pouch with one hand.

He seemed to want to say something, but after a moment, he silently extended the pouch at his waist, opening the mouth.

"..."

He looked embarrassed, so I tried to act like it didn't bother me and put the coins in for him.

After the coins were in, he bit the string and tightly tied it, then silently left the inn as if fleeing.

I watched him go, scratched my head, and followed him.

"Wait a moment."

"…What is it?"

Yang Zhenpo's face was different from before. He looked dirty and disheveled, like a broken man who had lost all his confidence and martial spirit.

"I want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you."

He looked eager to leave. It was understandable. Seeing someone you tried to harm wouldn't be pleasant.

I wasn't comfortable either. The fight was close, and thinking about it now, it was a heart-stopping battle. I didn't really want to see him again.

But it was a good opportunity to ask some questions, so I decided to be bold.

"Can you talk to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You owe me."

"Owe you?"

"Right. I picked up the coins for you earlier."

Yang Zhenpo looked at me as if I was ridiculous.

"What?"

"Just consider it a debt. Answer a simple question, and we're even."

He sighed deeply, realizing I wasn't joking.

The "debt" I mentioned was actually about the time he tried to frame me. I just said it was about the coins to save his face.

He seemed to understand that if he wanted forgiveness, he had to answer my questions. He nodded.

"…What is it? I'll answer if I can."

"I just want to know more about the Juejian Sect."

Yang Zhenpo shook his head.

"Even though I was expelled and am in this state, I won't betray my sect."

"Is it about loyalty?"

He lifted his shirt slightly to show his abdomen. There was a large scar where his dantian was.

"It's not about loyalty. It's about life and death."

"Your dantian was damaged."

"At least I'm not a cripple. My tendons weren't severed, but if the sect finds out I've been talking, I won't survive."

When a sect expels a disciple, they usually disable their martial arts, making them half-dead or crippled. They destroy the dantian to seal their inner energy and cut the tendons in the limbs to prevent them from using strength.

It's brutal, but they do this to prevent the spread of martial arts and to avoid issues like Bai Shengyi. If an expelled disciple causes trouble, the sect's credibility is questioned.

Yang Zhenpo, though not completely crippled, had lost an arm and had his inner energy sealed.

"I'm in this state, but I still want to live."

Martial artists are often seen as willing to throw away their lives, but in reality, most want to live long lives like ordinary people. They might even have a stronger desire to live because they've seen more death.

"…I'm not asking about such deep secrets."

I sighed.

"I just want to know if there's anyone in the Juejian Sect who might still be after me."

"If that's the case."

We moved to a secluded spot to talk. The Juejian Sect's movements were a concern, especially since I had killed their second son.

I wanted to know if there was anyone like Yang Zhenpo who might take extreme actions.

"Absolutely not."

"Quite certain? Do you have a reason?"

"They've all been expelled."

"Expelled? What do you mean?"

"The faction that followed the second young master was dismantled by the eldest young master, starting with me."

This was interesting information.

Indeed, there were two factions.

"Master Shengyi… was different from the eldest young master. He was more lenient and well-respected by his subordinates. Of course, that might be why this happened…"

"Then what about Bai Songlin?"

"You can tell just by looking."

"Well, he was a bit scary."

I remembered how he had cut off a subordinate's arm without hesitation. Honestly, I wouldn't want to work for someone like that.

How can you work for someone so terrifying?

"He was like that all the time. 'Punish one to warn a hundred' sounds good, but it's hard to bear from the subordinate's perspective. It's scary."

"Understood."

In the military, there are those called "demons" by subordinates.

They might seem like top-tier soldiers to superiors, but to subordinates, they are just cruel and controlling. The perspectives of superiors and subordinates can be very different.

"That's why many people followed the second young master. Of course, most followed the eldest, but some, like me, had high hopes for the second young master."

"What happened to those people?"

He showed me his empty sleeve.

"I'm like this, and the others were sent away with various excuses. That's why I said you don't need to worry. No one is out to get you now."

"I see."

"The sect leader has been bedridden for a long time… You don't need to worry."

"Then I can relax a bit."

"More importantly, you should worry about the eldest young master."

"Why?"

From what I heard, he didn't seem like someone who would hold a grudge. He was more like a benefactor who had eliminated a rival.

But according to Yang Zhenpo, it wasn't that simple.

"The eldest young master is a very scary person. I don't know what the Baiyun Escort Service thinks, but the person I know would never let go of losing a business."

"But he said he would leave in a year?"

"Hmph!"

Yang Zhenpo snorted and looked at me directly.

"If you believe that, the Baiyun Escort Service is very naive."

"In the martial world, one can't break a promise. Besides, the Baiyun Escort Service is at least as big as the Juejian Sect, if not bigger. The Juejian Sect isn't a small fry to mess with."

"It's not about breaking a promise. It's about not trusting it."

After saying this, Yang Zhenpo seemed to be done and started to leave. I threw him a silver coin.

"What's this?"

"Payment for the information."

"..."

"Just take it, kid."

He stared at it for a while, muttered something, and quietly left, his empty sleeve flapping. I couldn't hear what he said.

I watched him go, feeling a mix of emotions, and headed back to the inn.