Chapter 3

After a moment, Tanggu finally returned to the martial academy.

After such a long time, the "Qiu Dao Martial Academy," which had been silent for a night, finally returned to its usual bustling and lively state, as if it had suddenly come back to life.

All the martial academy disciples had gradually woken up and started to meditate, practice boxing, cultivate qi, and enter a state of forgetfulness on the academy square that Tanggu had cleaned earlier.

Some of the disciples who were fond of fighting had already begun their daily sparring, challenges, and insights.

Among them, the most prominent pair was at the center, drawing the largest crowd.

One of the challengers was a young man in red clothes with a very handsome and graceful appearance, but his demeanor was somewhat feminine. His name was "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, a second-turn Qi Dao disciple and the top-ranked student in the outer academy.

The other was a young woman in yellow clothes with a very clear and beautiful face, no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but already showing her extraordinary beauty.

Her name was "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue, also a second-turn Qi Dao disciple, ranked second in the outer academy.

The two were evenly matched in strength and martial skills, making it difficult to distinguish the winner for a while. The sound of their strikes echoed continuously, even crushing some of the blue bricks on the ground.

In the end, on the forty-fifth move, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei proved to be slightly more skilled, defeating "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue with a move called "Water Over Forgetfulness River," causing a wave of cheers.

"Iron Sword" Du Pengfei looked extremely pleased, raising his hands to accept the congratulations of the crowd. Everyone gathered around him, but Tanggu was not interested and quietly slipped away.

However, he did not realize that in the midst of the cheers, he was the only one to leave, making him stand out. This was noticed by "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, who was surrounded by the crowd. His expression immediately darkened.

"Tanggu..." he muttered to himself.

...

After returning to the servant's quarters, Tanggu did not leave but continued to tidy up the tables and chairs, and carefully wiped the windows and doors before stopping.

The morning passed in a blink, and it was already noon.

He looked up at the sky, where the sun was blazing like a fiery mirror, making his eyes sting.

Tanggu squinted slightly, feeling a pang of hunger in his stomach, realizing that it was time to eat again.

He had been busy since early morning and had not even had a drop of water. He immediately got up and walked to the kitchen, where he took a plate of pickled vegetables, two steamed buns, and a bowl of clear water to eat.

Although the servant disciples of the "Qiu Dao Martial Academy" were of low status, they were still guaranteed three meals a day. However, the food was definitely not as good as that of the inner and outer academy disciples, but it was enough to fill their stomachs.

Feeling slightly more full and with some energy restored, Tanggu turned and headed towards the "External Affairs Hall."

Today was the monthly day when all the outer academy disciples and the servant disciples received their welfare and medicine rations.

However, the medicine rations received by the true outer academy disciples and the servant disciples were naturally different.

Each outer academy disciple, according to their rank, could receive one to three "Small Essence Yuan Pills" and fifty stone coins per month.

The servant disciples, on the other hand, received only three stone coins per month.

However, for a common servant like Tanggu, three stone coins were already a decent reward.

In the market, three stone coins could barely buy a "Small Hundred Grain Pill," which, although slightly inferior to the "Small Essence Yuan Pill," still had significant benefits for cultivation.

Therefore, Tanggu never missed this day each month.

...

The "External Affairs Hall" of the "Qiu Dao Martial Academy" was a prominent three-bay yellow building.

At this time, several outer academy disciples and two servant apprentices like Tanggu had already come to receive their rewards.

Among them were the top-ranked "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei and the second-ranked "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue, who were at the front of the crowd.

Tanggu's expression remained unchanged as he silently followed the crowd and joined the queue.

Soon, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei and "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue squeezed out from the front desk, each holding a light green jade bottle and a small, heavy cloth bag.

Clearly, with their status, each of them had received the highest rations of three "Small Essence Yuan Pills" and fifty stone coins.

Tanggu looked at their hands with a burning gaze but did not feel overly envious.

The gap between outer academy disciples and servant disciples was vast, and such things could never be in his hands. It was futile to think too much about it.

He naturally understood this. Instead of envying others, he should focus on his own cultivation.

If one day he could break through to the first turn of Qi Dao and become one of them, would he still worry about not having these medicine rations?

The queue moved forward a bit, and Tanggu suddenly felt a scrutinizing gaze fall upon him, making him feel slightly strange. Who else would notice him here?

Looking up, he met a slightly cold and contemplative gaze, which belonged to the top-ranked outer academy disciple, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, who had just squeezed out of the crowd.

"Hmm?"

Tanggu was a bit puzzled, sensing that "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei's scrutinizing gaze seemed to be ill-intentioned, but he could not figure out why.

He thought carefully, realizing that he had no connection with this top-ranked outer academy disciple and had never had any conflict with him. He must be overthinking it.

With this thought, Tanggu turned his head and did not look further, dismissing this small incident from his mind.

In the crowd, the second-ranked outer academy disciple, "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue, wearing a yellow robe and standing out wherever she went, had just finished receiving her rations and was about to leave when she suddenly paused.

"Why did he stop?"

Her gaze fell on the top-ranked outer academy disciple, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, who had clearly entered earlier and finished receiving his rations first. However, instead of leaving, he stayed in place, looking at a gray-robed disciple with a hostile gaze.

Li Youxue followed his gaze and saw the gray-robed disciple, dressed in simple, light clothing, clearly from a humble background, and definitely not an outer academy disciple.

That left only one possibility: he was a servant disciple.

"Strange, what grudge does he have with a servant disciple?"

Curious, "Ice Maiden" Li Youxue did not leave immediately but stayed to observe with interest.

The queue was not long, and with the simple rations, the people in front soon finished and left, either happy or disappointed, but nothing unusual happened.

There were only two people left before Tanggu.

At this moment, the top-ranked outer academy disciple, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, with his handsome but gloomy face, suddenly gave a sinister smile and quickly approached the counter, bypassing the two outer academy disciples, and whispered a few words to the outer academy official distributing the rations.

At first, the outer academy official looked at Tanggu with some difficulty, but after Du Pengfei whispered something to him, his face brightened, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Finally, the two people in front of Tanggu left, and it was his turn. He respectfully handed over a light green wooden token and said, "Outer academy servant, ranked eleventh, Tanggu, here to receive my rations."

The light green wooden token was proof of his identity.

Under normal circumstances, handing over this green wooden token would result in the outer academy official giving Tanggu three gray stone coins with carved beast heads. However, this time, Tanggu felt a sense of unease, sensing that the atmosphere in the "External Affairs Hall" was somewhat strange.

However, he could not pinpoint the source of this unease.

The outer academy official checked Tanggu's wooden token, confirmed it was correct, and then nodded. He casually reached under the counter, pulled out a gray stone coin with a carved beast head, and threw it on the table, saying, "Here, this is your monthly ration!"

"Hmm?" Seeing this, Tanggu's expression changed slightly, finally understanding the source of his unease.

Ordinarily, a servant disciple, whether new or old, would receive the same monthly rations of three stone coins, and there had never been any delays or shortages. However, now, the outer academy official had only given him one.

A reduction of two-thirds.

Tanggu was not stupid; on the contrary, he was very intelligent. The outer academy official, Wei Jiu, had no grudge against him and should not have reduced his rations.

Even if there were reductions, they should not have been targeted at him alone. The two servant disciples in front of him had not experienced this, so there was only one possibility—

His actions were directed by someone.

Recalling Du Pengfei's sinister smile and his whisper to the outer academy official Wei Jiu, Tanggu's mind became clear.

This must be the doing of "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei. However, Tanggu still did not understand when he had offended this top-ranked outer academy disciple.

He quickly looked up at "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, who had already returned to his original position after speaking to the official. Seeing Tanggu looking at him, he smiled and nodded deliberately.

At this moment, everything became clear. Tanggu's eyes flickered, and he lowered his head again.

He knew that if Du Pengfei truly wanted to make things difficult for him, nothing he said now would make any difference. Although he still did not know when he had crossed Du Pengfei, it was clear that getting back his remaining two stone coins was impossible.

Therefore, there was only one way.

He looked up, holding a last glimmer of hope, and instead of picking up the stone coin on the counter, he looked at the outer academy official Wei Jiu and said in a low voice, "Sir Wei, did you make a mistake? Each servant disciple should receive three stone coins. Why is it only one here?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, the outer academy official Wei Jiu's face hardened, and he glared at Tanggu, saying in a threatening tone, "What, are you accusing me of withholding your rations?"

Tanggu lowered his head and said, "I dare not."

Seeing this, Wei Jiu's demeanor became even more intimidating. He coldly laughed and said, "When we recruited you into the outer academy, it was already a special favor. You are still not satisfied. For a little beggar like you, getting one stone coin is already a stroke of luck. If you keep complaining, even this last one will be taken away."

After saying this, he reached out to grab the stone coin on the table, his eyes filled with a cold smile. "Are you不服 (unconvinced), are you angry, and do you want to report me to the law enforcement hall? Let me tell you, there is no way. I have witnesses and evidence. Moreover..."

At this point, his eyes turned even colder. "Do you, a mere servant disciple, dare to report me? If the law enforcement hall finds out about this, you won't be coming back next month."

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Tanggu, who had been standing still, changed his expression slightly, knowing that the witnesses and evidence Wei Jiu referred to must be "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei.

If Du Pengfei, the top-ranked outer academy disciple, testified, even ten Tanggu would not be able to bring down an outer academy official.

Moreover, what he said was true. If he reported him, Du Pengfei would not be in trouble, but he would certainly be expelled from the outer academy.

For a formal disciple, he did not have that power, but for a common servant like Tanggu, he certainly did.

His expression changed, and he quickly thought through the situation. Tanggu bit his lip and, faster than Wei Jiu, grabbed the only gray stone coin from the counter, lowered his head, and said, "Thank you, Sir Wei, for your generosity. I must have been mistaken. This is indeed three."

After saying this, he slowly bowed and left the "External Affairs Hall."

Throughout the process, he did not say a single harsh word.

...

Third update, please give 1 recommendation and 1 collection.

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