Chapter 24: Three People Make a Tiger, Stirring Up Trouble

The years in the mountains always pass in a hurry. Long Qi sits in meditation in the morning, listens to the Dao in the forenoon, practices his physique at noon, and studies the Sword Formula at dusk. His days are not spent in vain, yet he feels something is missing and finds it slightly dull.

The Outer Disciples live four to a room, twelve to a courtyard; he naturally shares his with Liu Xia. Liu Xia comes from an official's family, and though he is not well-versed in worldly ways, they have after all been through life and death together, so he knows him reasonably well.

It was just unexpected that Zhao Wuyang, from that day, would also be in the same room. Though this man is the son of a City Lord, he shows not a shred of the bad habits of the wealthy and powerful; he treats others with sincerity and speaks with gentleness.

As for the last person, named Xin Yi, he rarely speaks on ordinary days. Whenever one speaks to him, one gets an "Mm" or "Yes" and little else follows. Furthermore, Long Qi always feels he is somewhat strange, yet when he looks closely, the man seems like nothing more than an ordinary disciple practicing the Dao.

This Zhao Wuyang was originally gloomy all day long, but after being called away by a disciple under the Punishment Elder that day, he returned beaming with joy. He, who was always absent-minded before, now finds reasons to talk to Xin Yi at every turn; even if he receives no reply, he still manages to talk to himself.

On his side, Xin Yi has never shown any sign of annoyance. Although he is always expressionless, he listens patiently and will even make a sound from time to time.

This leaves both Long Qi and Lu Ying astonished: they are surprised that Xin Yi, who looks like someone not to be trifled with, can get along with Zhao Wuyang this way; they sigh that one truly cannot judge a book by its cover, as Xin Yi, despite his cold and sharp appearance, would unexpectedly vent his anger on Zhao Wuyang's behalf.

Nowadays, when the sect recruits disciples, most test them right away to observe their natural talent. If their aptitude is average, they are taken as Outer Disciples; if they have great talent, they are made exceptions as Inner Sect Disciples to be cultivated with focus. If an Inner Sect Disciple catches the eye of an Elder, it is not impossible for them to be taken as a True Inheritor Disciple.

But the Yuanqing Sect is not like this; it breaks this convention.

This time, the Yuanqing Sect recruited sixty-four disciples, all as Outer Disciples. After a period of training, teaching them the Dao and practicing Sword Techniques, they will hold an examination for promotion to the Inner Sect. While this cannot be called absolutely fair, it at least provides an opportunity.

Lingxiang often says that at birth, human nature is inherently evil; if all things were inherently good, why would there be a need to carve jade? Why not let nature take its course and grow wild? Wherever there are people, there will be right and wrong; not every one of the sixty-four new students is of noble character. Just like in this world, some people are poor and will always be poor; the root cause is that their character and disposition are not fit for high society.

The poorer the heart, the poorer the body; the poorer the body, the poorer the heart.

For the past two days, some unpleasant rumors have been circulating among the Outer Disciples, saying that a disciple, upon entering, had the audacity to try to apprentice under the Punishment Elder, Fuyin Zhenren, but was rejected on the spot.

On the day the Hufeng Hall announced the sect rules, after Fuyin Zhenren finished speaking, everyone saw Zhao Wuyang chase after him. Once the rumor broke, people immediately pointed their fingers at him, mocking him behind his back, rolling their eyes whenever they saw him, and even pushing him intentionally.

Seeing everyone act this way, Liu Xia was burning with rage. He had been dragged along by Long Qi to follow behind that day, so he knew what Zhao Wuyang had gone to do. Such a purely filial person being spoken of in this way—even if it were none of his business, he could not help but step forward to argue every time he encountered it.

As for Zhao Wuyang himself, he acted as if it were none of his concern, continuing to treat people kindly, and even when mocked to his face, he would only smile it off.

Long Qi, however, has been watching from the sidelines. His mind is not on this at all; last time he heard Fuyin Zhenren's disciple mention the Youran Abode, could it be that Lingxiang has caused some trouble again? Without him there, this little girl will surely stir up trouble; he truly worries his heart out as a disciple.

A disciple?

Ah, right. He is the disciple and she is the master; what kind of heart is he worrying for?

At noon this day, after class, everyone gathered in the Public Kitchen to eat. Zhao Wuyang had just finished getting his food and was walking from the aisle toward Long Qi and the others when suddenly a foot stretched out and tripped him. Instantly, food and soup spilled all over the floor. Just as he was about to fall onto the broken porcelain, Xin Yi behind him grabbed his robe; with one hand holding his wooden tray, he pulled Zhao Wuyang up with the other.

Seeing this, Liu Xia was instantly furious and stood up to rush over.

"Chengkai! What do you mean by this?!"

"What do I mean? What do you mean by what I mean?" A man stood up, looking to be over seven feet tall, but Zhao Wuyang was so thin and small that he looked like a dwarf in front of him.

"Why did you trip him?" Liu Xia held his head high and glared at Chengkai.

"Trip him? When did I trip anyone? Who did I trip? Even in official cases, one must provide evidence. Do you have evidence?" Chengkai said in an overbearing manner.

"I saw it clearly just now; it was clearly you who tripped Wuyang!"

"Yo! 'Wuyang'—that sounds so intimate, even a young married couple wouldn't be as shameless as you! Who can't speak empty words? You say you saw it, but did anyone else see it?" Chengkai relied on his large build, acting like a rogue who dared anyone to do anything about it.

"You!" Such a scoundrel left Liu Xia speechless with rage; he rolled up his sleeves, ready to step forward and teach Chengkai a lesson.

Everyone here came to practice the Dao, and they all had some foundation before entering. This Chengkai, needless to say, came from a family that worked in the martial arts world; he had followed his father north and south since he was a child, honing real, solid kung fu.

Zhao Wuyang knew this well. Looking at the much larger Chengkai and seeing the two of them at daggers drawn, he was afraid Liu Xia would suffer, so he tried to step forward to stop them, but unexpectedly, he was held back by Xin Yi and could not break free.

The two had already made their moves and were about to strike when someone suddenly intervened to stop them.

"Hey~ everyone is here to cultivate; why be so hot-headed? Doesn't practicing the Dao require peace of mind? Besides, we are all fellow disciples from now on; we'll be seeing each other all the time, so it's not good to make such a scene."

The one who stopped the two was none other than Long Qi. He spoke nonchalantly, but Liu Xia was shocked: it had only been three or four months since the Cangzhou City incident, and at that time, Long Qi was merely someone who knew martial arts. Now, he could catch both their moves in an instant. Although he himself had not used his full strength, he had still used True Qi; how could someone who only knew a few moves catch it? In just a few short months, his cultivation had improved to such a degree—it was staggering!

On his side, Chengkai was also terrified: although he did not understand Qi techniques, he had thrown that punch with real force, yet this person had caught it with apparent ease, even making his forearm ache faintly. It was clear he had cultivation and had used True Qi. The four of them were together; if they clashed, he would certainly be no match.

"Hmph! Since that's the case, I won't bother with him!" Chengkai weighed the pros and cons in an instant, withdrew his stance, and signaled his companions who had stood up to sit down, as if what had just happened had never occurred.

Long Qi hurriedly pulled Liu Xia back, but inadvertently gave Xin Yi a wink. Just as the few of them sat down, a clattering sound came from Chengkai's table; the leg of the wooden chair he was sitting on had snapped in half!

Soup and food naturally spilled all over the floor. After he stood up with soup leaves on his head, he roared toward Long Qi: "You actually played dirty!"

Hearing this, Long Qi did not even lift his head; he set down his soup bowl and smiled: "Hey~ look at you saying that. Even in official cases, one must have evidence. Did anyone see it?"

Chengkai was instantly rendered speechless, yet he was stifled with rage. Long Qi continued: "Besides, if I wanted to mess with you, would I need to play dirty?" The provocation in his words was self-evident.

Chengkai's companions behind him were naturally no slouches; they saw the disparity in strength clearly and hurriedly pulled him back to persuade him to let it go.

Chengkai had essentially shot himself in the foot, but unexpectedly, Long Qi continued: "Don't forget to clean it up properly; don't let it prick the feet of the fellow disciples who come later."

……