Chapter 41: Master and Disciple, Mutual Encouragement (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Rui Lin Alley!

When Lin Chen arrived at the alley’s entrance, he knew this must be the residential district for the wealthy and powerful of Poyang County.

The alley was paved with blue stone, and on both sides stood grand mansions with carved beams and painted rafters, dazzling in gold and jade.

Following the plaques above the mansion gates, Lin Chen reached the alley’s depths and stopped.

Shu Mansion!

The residence of Inspector Shu.

Lin Chen did not know whether Instructor Yu was staying at Inspector Shu’s mansion; when he had left, the instructor had not told him his whereabouts in the county.

Even if Instructor Yu did not live at the Shu Mansion, Inspector Shu certainly knew where he resided.

Go knock on the door!

After a few breaths, a maid opened the gate.

“May I ask if this is the residence of Inspector Shu?”

“Yes, young master, what do you seek?”

“Disciple Lin Chen has come to pay respects to Inspector Shu. I humbly beg your help in announcing me.”

“You are Master Lin?”

Upon hearing Lin Chen’s name, the maid did not go to announce him—she simply opened the gate wide, which surprised Lin Chen.

Had Inspector Shu mentioned his name to the servants?

Following the maid through the Shu Mansion’s main gate, Lin Chen saw a screen wall carved with auspicious motifs.

Around the screen wall lay a courtyard for tea, surrounded by covered walkways with exquisitely carved railings. In the center stood an ancient well, its rim weathered, bearing witness to the mansion’s long years.

The maid led Lin Chen into the main hall, served him fragrant tea, then bowed and withdrew with an apology.

Lin Chen glanced around the hall: its furnishings were simple yet dignified; the armchairs were made of premium wood with masterful carving. On the walls hung several landscape scrolls, ink flowing freely, evoking profound depth.

If such decorations appeared in a scholarly family, he could understand.

But Inspector Shu was a martial cultivator.

Do martial cultivators also possess literary sensibilities?

After a few minutes, the maid returned, holding an envelope.

“Master Lin, my young mistress and Master Yu left Poyang County several days ago. Master Yu left a letter for you, and asked me to deliver it.”

Hearing this, Lin Chen was startled. He took the letter but did not open it immediately. “What is your name, sister?”

“Hua’er.”

“Sister Hua’er, where did Instructor Yu go after leaving the county? Could you tell me?”

“Master Yu is taking the martial examination. He left Poyang County, and my young mistress resigned from her post as inspector to accompany him.”

“The martial examination?”

Lin Chen was truly stunned—his instructor was going to take the martial examination now?

Thinking it over, he guessed the reason.

Inspector Shu’s family was no ordinary one; the instructor clearly wasn’t the type to live off others’ wealth—he must have resolved to strive for merit, to earn a title worthy of proposing to Inspector Shu’s daughter.

Indeed, love drives one to strive.

The instructor had been complacent before, but now he was fighting again—for love.

“Master Lin, when Master Yu departed, he specifically instructed that if you came to the mansion, besides delivering this letter, you may also stay here—the mansion has many guest rooms.”

“No need for the trouble. I’ll return to the martial academy shortly.”

Lin Chen declined. He had come to report good news to Instructor Yu; since the instructor was gone, there was no reason to stay at the Shu Mansion.

“Did the instructor say how long he’d be gone?”

“I don’t know,” Hua’er shook her head. “Perhaps Master Yu mentioned it in the letter.” She was only a maid; she knew little.

Hearing this, Lin Chen no longer hesitated. He opened the envelope.

【To My Disciple Lin Chen:】

【By the time you receive this letter, I have left Poyang County. I assume Hua’er has told you my whereabouts. My senior sister and I have pledged our hearts to each other, bound by solemn vows.】

【Yet my senior sister hails from the illustrious Shu family of Rao Prefecture. Though she does not disdain my humble origins, I cannot let her endure gossip. Thus, I have resolved to take the martial examination. If I earn the title of Provincial Graduate, I shall go to the Shu Mansion to propose.】

Reading this, Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He had not expected the instructor to confide these matters to a junior like him.

【The martial examination is harder than climbing to heaven. In the past, those who passed were either sons of noble families or prodigies meticulously trained by elite cultivators. My status and strength, attempting to pass the examination, would only invite ridicule—people would call me a fool dreaming absurdly.】

【Yet I have made this decision: first, not to betray my senior sister; second, because I have been inspired by you. In the village, a boy with no silver, yet still climbed to the top—how can I, as your instructor, do less?】

Lin Chen now understood why the instructor had written so plainly about taking the examination.

The entire letter spoke of the instructor’s own reasons—but every word was meant to encourage him.

The instructor faced the same competition Lin Chen faced in the academy. If the instructor could ignore others’ mockery and call himself a dreamer, then how much more should his disciple persist in training?

Master and disciple, mutually inspired!

【The path of martial cultivation is not achieved in a day or night—it demands constancy to reach the end. Do not rejoice or grieve over fleeting gains or losses; do not grow arrogant or give up because of temporary success or failure. Martial arts have no limit; if your heart seeks the light, the path ahead will reveal itself, and wisdom will arise naturally.】

…

【Finally, I borrow your own words to share with you: Plum blossoms perfume only after bitter cold; a precious sword’s edge is forged through grinding.】

【Though I have departed, my heart remains with you. May your future be brilliant, your path clear as moonlight after rain.】

…

…

The letter ended here, but inside the envelope lay another item: a thin twenty-silver-tael banknote.

Lin Chen’s eyes grew slightly damp. He carefully folded the letter, returned it to the envelope, and tucked it inside his inner chest lining.

Instructor Yu was his first true mentor on the martial path. Even now, after leaving the county, he still thought of him.

“May you pass the martial examination, earn your name on the golden list, and pluck the moon’s laurel.”

Whispering this softly to himself, Lin Chen composed himself, bowed to Hua’er, and said: “Sister Hua’er, since Inspector Shu and the instructor are both absent, I take my leave.”

Leaving the Shu Mansion, Lin Chen did not hurry back to the academy. Instead, he went to a incense-and-candle shop and bought a mask painted in bright lacquer, crudely carved.

Such demon-god masks were typically used in rituals and sacrifices—fierce and grotesque in appearance. Lin Chen tried it on; its size fit his face perfectly.

Holding the mask, Lin Chen went to the Martial Garden. As he stepped onto the tree-lined path, he fastened the mask to his face.

At the garden’s entrance, Lin Chen noticed many others wearing masks. When he reached the arena square, half the crowd wore masks—several even wore the same one as him.

It really was…

Lin Chen had no energy to complain. He’d wondered why the incense shop had more masks than incense—now he understood: they were meant for people like him.

Thank you to the reader “Gan Chao Niu He” for the support. In response: several readers said the pacing is slow. Nine Lantern has learned from the last novel—it strayed too far. This novel is not the traditional “charge forward and crush all” Shuangwen . It has local customs, camaraderie among classmates. I want Lin Chen, a hundred years from now, to look back on his youth and not just see a solitary figure training. I want him to remember a few people along the way. Finally, I beg for monthly votes—today is the last day. Can we push to two thousand? Just a hundred more yuan for the base guarantee.

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(End of Chapter)