Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 20: Clues
"Auntie... As long as I can get through this, once I become a true Martial Artist, I’ll definitely honor you and Uncle in the future! I swear it!"
Chen Hao raised a hand toward the heavens, the oath rolling off his tongue.
"His auntie..."
Seeing this, his mother, of the Wang Family, immediately rushed forward and grabbed Chen Yan’s arm.
"For the sake of the boy being so diligent and having it so hard, just help him out one more time! He’s right at the finish line. As his own aunt, can you bear to see all his previous efforts go to waste?"
The woman of the Wang Family shot Chen Hao a look, prompting him to come over and grab Chen Yan’s other hand.
"His aunt, Hao is someone who repays his debts of gratitude. Once he’s successful, how could he possibly forget your kindness?"
Pinned between mother and son, Chen Yan’s expression shifted multiple times.
"...Alright, alright, stop talking!"
She shook off the hand of the Wang Family woman, her tone a mixture of irritation and helplessness.
"I can give three taels at most this time... I really don’t have any more. Otherwise, Old Zhao will definitely lose his temper..."
"Thank you, Auntie! Auntie dotes on me the most!"
Chen Hao’s gloomy expression instantly brightened, and he beamed from ear to ear.
He immediately looked toward the other side.
"Third Uncle, a bottle of Blood Refining Powder costs five taels of silver. We’re just short two taels now. Don’t you think you should... just cover the rest for your nephew?"
"Hao... Third Uncle has let you down... This time, I really, truly can’t help you..."
Chen An looked mortified, burying his head even lower. His rough hands unconsciously clenched the patched fabric of his trousers.
"Oh, Third Brother! How can you say that with a clear conscience!"
The woman of the Wang Family clapped her hands and started shouting irritably.
"When I went to your house to get you just now, I saw it with my own two eyes! You were clearly cooking coarse rice porridge, and there were even fish and shrimp floating in it!"
"You have money to buy rice and meat to cook a special meal for yourselves, but when your own nephew’s life is on the line for his breakthrough, lacking just these two taels of silver, you, his own uncle, have the gall to cry poor?"
She took two steps forward, spittle flying onto Chen An’s face.
"Hao is the only hope for you Chen Family right now! He’s the sole heir who can bring honor to our ancestors! If you don’t help him, can you face the ancestors of the Chen Family? Can you face the old father who raised you?"
"...I... This."
Chen An was never good with words, and he had no defense against the barrage from the woman of the Wang Family.
Seeing her husband being pushed to the point where his face was pale and his body trembled, the woman of the Bai Family at his side felt a sudden surge of indignation.
"Sister-in-law! That coarse rice and fish and shrimp... Chen Cheng saw that we were about to starve to death... He saved it from his own mouth, and his mother’s, and brought it to us in the middle of the night!"
The woman of the Bai Family shot to her feet, her eyes red-rimmed, her voice choked with tears.
"If it weren’t for Chen Cheng helping us, my husband and I probably wouldn’t have even had bran soup to drink these past few days! If I’ve said even half a false word, may I be cursed with a rotten heart and lungs, unworthy of being human!"
The courtyard instantly fell into a dead silence.
Old Chen lay back in his chair, his face as grim and wooden as a block of elm.
Chen Hao and the woman of the Wang Family were both completely stunned.
After a long moment, Chen Yan, who had been silent all this time, slowly spoke up. "Chen Cheng... How is he doing now?"
"Chen Cheng is doing very well!"
The woman of the Bai Family straightened her back a little, her voice growing steady.
"He refined One Pillar of Blood Qi long ago. He’s already a Martial Artist!"
"That’s impossible!"
Chen Hao shrieked as if someone had stepped on his tail.
The gazes of the others all turned to Chen An. They all knew he was not one to lie.
"It’s true..."
Chen An nodded, his expression serious.
"The night Chen Cheng brought things to our house, he also made a point of speaking to the local Black Wolf Gang Steward. From now on, our family... no longer has to pay the peace coins."
"...What!?"
Instantly, only the sound of heavy, ragged breathing filled the courtyard.
Ever since they started sponsoring Chen Hao’s martial arts training, the family had gradually learned of the unwritten rule of the Jianghu: the relatives of a Martial Artist were exempt from paying peace coins.
Old Chen, the eldest son Chen Yong’s family, Chen An’s family, and Chen Yan’s family—every one of them had been eagerly awaiting the day that would come.
But what they never could have imagined was that Chen Hao, whom they had supported with all their might, had yet to become a Martial Artist.
Instead, it was Chen Cheng, who hadn’t cost them a single copper coin, who had achieved it first.
The faces of Chen Hao and the woman of the Wang Family flushed red, then went pale, burning as if they had been slapped repeatedly.
Old Chen shot to his feet, his lips trembling. He wanted to say something, but couldn’t squeeze out a single word.
Chen Yan’s brows knitted tightly. A regret rose from the bottom of her heart like fermenting sour liquid, bubbling up uncontrollably.
Her husband was a butcher, so their family’s financial situation was much better than that of the truly destitute.
But when it came time to pay the peace coins each month, didn’t they still have to bow and scrape and act subservient to those gang underlings? They even had to pay more than the poor!
Add to that the various taxes from the Government Office and Chen Hao’s constant demands over the past six months... their family’s life was visibly getting worse by the day.
If they could be exempt from the monthly peace coins that felt like having their flesh scraped from their bones, how much easier would their lives be?
She had originally pinned all her hopes on Chen Hao, with his superior Root Bone, to make something of himself quickly. Not only to get them exempted from the peace coins, but ideally to also win some Military Merit and get her family exempted from commercial taxes, land taxes, military service, and corvée labor all at once.
But what was the result...
Her family’s silver had been spent on Chen Hao like flowing water, without even making a splash.
Instead, it was Chen Cheng, that block of wood who she’d never given a second glance, who had silently become a Martial Artist.
’If I’d known this would be the outcome, it would have been better to have casually tossed a few scraps his way back then, to hedge my bets on Chen Cheng, rather than dumping everything on Chen Hao!’
Now she was finally realizing it... ’In that child’s heart, could there possibly be any room left for a snobbish aunt like me?’
"Wrong!"
Chen Hao held it in for a long time before finally forcing out that single word through gritted teeth. He paused, then continued.
"In martial arts, Root Bone is the first priority, and resources are second. That’s the undeniable truth! Chen Cheng’s physique, his family’s situation—do I even need to say more?"
"The way I see it, he must have taken a crooked path! He must have used some kind of shady, unorthodox method!"
Chen Hao’s gaze swept over the crowd, as if searching for agreement.
"There’s been a rumor going around the martial arts circles lately that the Red Moon Nunnery has a method for rapidly condensing Blood Qi."
"The Hall Master of our White Ape Hall has given repeated orders strictly forbidding disciples from even inquiring about it, let alone discussing it in private! Because that method is extremely sinister, and it’s bound to become a source of disaster in the future!"
As these words landed, the expressions of the crowd changed abruptly once again.
Chen Hao keenly sensed the tide turning in his favor. His voice rose, carrying a tone of absolute certainty.
"Refining Blood Qi is nothing! Being able to enter the Dragon Mountain Hall Middle Courtyard is what counts as real skill!"
"Just you wait and see! If Chen Cheng really did use some unorthodox method, the masters in charge of the Dragon Mountain Middle Courtyard will naturally deal with him!"
Chen Hao sneered and glanced sideways toward the corner of the wall.
"Third Uncle, Third Aunt, take my advice and stay far away from Chen Cheng from now on! Don’t get dragged down by him, only to be foolishly singing his praises!"
