Chapter 56: A Gentleman

55 A Gentleman's Agreement

Zuo Hu was lying on the bed, sleeping soundly.

In the darkness, there was a soft "click" of the door bolt.

Zuo Hu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he woke up instantly.

He was not like those green youngsters in the courtyard; even in his sleep, his vigilance was extremely high, and he reacted almost immediately, reaching back to touch the blade under his pillow.

Who would have thought the opponent would be so fast? After appearing in the doorway, the person closed the door behind them, pushed off from the spot, and actually vaulted over the open space in the room, lunging directly toward the bed.

This move was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain; Zuo Hu had no time to draw his blade and could only strike out with a palm.

The opponent struck with a palm as well. Just as the two palms were about to meet, that palm moved with incredible speed, arriving after but striking first, and somehow, it reached his chest a step ahead.

The palm force was fierce, and Zuo Hu felt a sharp pain in his chest, but it vanished immediately; clearly, the opponent had voluntarily retracted their strength and did not take the opportunity to channel internal energy to shatter his internal organs.

Next, the opponent's other hand clamped onto his pulse point.

Zuo Hu's chest felt stifled, and he thought to himself: An expert in Inner cultivation!

Experts in Outer cultivation do not clamp onto a person's pulse point when controlling them; at most, they would break the person's arm, usually seizing vital points like the throat. Only experts in Inner cultivation, because their internal energy can circulate, can channel a burst of internal energy through the pulse point to instantly shatter the heart meridian, which is why they use it as a threat.

In the entire Black Spider Villa, apart from the Manor Master, there were likely few who were experts in Inner cultivation.

Had another expert in Inner cultivation entered the villa?

Was it going to be another great chaos?

But, why was the silhouette of this person in the darkness so short?

"You... what are you doing?"

The opponent lit a lamp, revealing a face that was young yet extremely upright.

"You... you aren't that..." Zuo Hu was extremely astonished, searching his mind for a long time, only to find he could not call out the opponent's name.

The youth was polite and said, "Student Tang Zhao, I have disturbed your rest, please forgive me."

Zuo Hu cursed loudly, "Forgive your grandmother..." but felt his pulse point tighten, so he hurriedly lowered his voice and said, "What 'disturbed your rest,' what are you doing? Do you know who I am?"

Tang Zhao said, "It is precisely because I know that I want to chat with you. I was attacked yesterday, are you aware of this?"

Zuo Hu said blankly, "I... don't remember clearly."

Tang Zhao said, "The attack is one thing, but someone even put poison in my room. Once, twice, three times—this is going too far."

Zuo Hu said angrily, "What does that have to do with me? If they attacked you, why don't you fight back? You can even beat me, so why do you care about the others? Were you sent by the Land Inspection Office? You are just as arrogant and rude as the Land Inspection Office; you have hands and feet, yet you won't move, just waiting for us to rush to serve you?"

Tang Zhao said sternly, "I do not know if the Land Inspection Office is arrogant; this student has no intention of being rude. It is just that what is the point of everyone fighting like this? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to practice their martial arts and cultivate without bothering each other? This student believes that peaceful coexistence is best." As he spoke, he took out a Wooden Sword and slowly pressed it into the bed until the hilt was buried.

Zuo Hu's eyes bulged out.

His bed was a wooden bed, but the bed board was not thin and was made of hardwood. It would be one thing to pierce it with an iron tool, but he could see clearly that the opponent's weapon was also a Wooden Sword!

Moreover, it wasn't stabbed in, but "pressed" in, wedged in inch by inch without any explosive force, just like sticking it into soft mud. How much physical strength was this?

This Tang Zhao... with such strength, wouldn't he be ten times stronger than himself?

But with this level of strength, how could he still be trading blows back and forth with those little Disciples?

Playing the pig to eat the tiger?

With Zuo Hu's knowledge, he truly did not know of such strange objects as "Art Tools," and only found it inconceivable.

Tang Zhao said, "This is also what I wanted to talk to you about, Teacher Zuo."

Overnight, Tang Zhao hurried and rushed, finally finishing things according to plan.

The next morning, when the Grape Courtyard Disciples went out, they discovered a giant rock in the middle of the training ground.

Tang Zhao stood in front of the rock, his expression serious.

No matter how serious his expression was, he was ultimately refined in appearance and had not yet reached his full height, possessing no majesty at all. When the Grape Courtyard Disciples passed by, they would at most take a glance, thinking: Who is this pretty boy trying to act tough with again? Then they paid no more attention.

Tang Zhao's gaze swept around, and he suddenly walked up to someone and said, "Please wait a moment."

That youth was tall and thin with a sallow complexion and said, "What for?"

Tang Zhao said, "Are you Wan Biao?"

The youth said, "I am he, what of it?"

Tang Zhao said unhurriedly, "You went to my room to poison it yesterday."

Wan Biao's expression darkened and he said, "Nonsense, do you have proof?"

Tang Zhao said, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Wan Biao laughed loudly and said, "Did you learn this from Zhang Dazui? You lie without blinking; how could you have seen it? It's completely impossible."

Tang Zhao said, "I saw it. Your posture while sticking your butt out to crawl under the bed was quite unsightly."

Wan Biao was furious and shouted, "Cut the crap. Are you looking for a fight? I've wanted to beat you up for a long time, you pretty boy!" After saying this, he threw a punch.

Tang Zhao changed his footwork, closed the distance by three steps out of thin air, and imprinted a palm on Wan Biao's stomach, causing him to double over; then, he swept his left palm horizontally and threw him out.

Wan Biao rolled a few times and lay on the ground, struggling to get up. Tang Zhao said, "Good fellow, still have the strength to fight!" He then kicked out, sending him flying a few steps away.

He was beating Wan Biao violently here, and the commotion was not small, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

This kind of conflict scene happened almost every day, but one so one-sided was rare. Many people stole glances at Jiao Feng. This kind of one-sided crushing used to be Jiao Feng's specialty, but now there were others.

Jiao Feng stood to the side watching, lost in thought. The rest of the crowd did not dare to approach him and only whispered back and forth behind his back.

"I feel like this kid has improved a lot compared to yesterday, could it be my imagination?"

"No, he's just like a different person compared to yesterday, that palm technique... pfft!"

"Why? A complete transformation overnight?"

"Could it be he's not pretending anymore? Showing his cards?"

"How do you think he compares to that person?"

"Which person?"

"You know who I'm talking about, don't try to trick me into saying his name."

"Heh."

Over here, Tang Zhao gave Wan Biao a sound beating, only stopping when he saw that he had fainted; he lowered his sleeves, smoothed out his clothes, regulated his breathing, and said, "Fellow colleagues of the Grape Courtyard, I have something I wish to say to everyone."

The crowd finished watching the spectacle and dispersed, with no one listening to what he had to say.

Tang Zhao turned his head and said, "Trouble the two of you to maintain some order."

Two people emerged from behind the large rock, both looking dejected and crestfallen, their faces covered in bruises as if they had been soundly beaten; one was Gao Mo, and the other was Zhang Xu, known for having a big mouth.

Tang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Much obliged."

The two were speechless, then Zhang Xu suddenly shouted, "Hey, YoungMaster Tang is telling you to listen to him, didn't you hear? Get back here, are you all in such a rush to be reincarnated?"

The crowd turned back, more than half of them wearing expressions of anger.

Tang Zhao knew Zhang Xu was drawing hatred for him, but he did not mind; he kicked off the ground with both feet, rose into the air, and landed on the large rock.

Ever since he learned the Mountain-Moving Palm, he had gradually grasped the Dao of merging Inner and outer strength; whether it was palm power or leaping, with both forces working in parallel, his strength was more than doubled, and this jump was high and graceful, effortless, something that not a single person present could possibly achieve.

The crowd was dazzled and remained silent, all thinking to themselves: just listen to what he has to say, it won't cost us a piece of flesh.

Tang Zhao said in a clear voice, "Student Tang Zhao offers his greetings. I have shared the camaraderie of a fellow student with you all for over half a month; if not harmonious and friendly, at least we have been at peace. I did not expect that in these past few days, the situation would suddenly change, and several among you have repeatedly provoked and harmed me, using all sorts of endless methods, which I feel is not good. I will be leaving in a few days and will not return; life's encounters are all matters of fate, why must we leave each other with bad memories?"

The crowd remained silent; some acted as if they had not heard, some wore mocking expressions, and some even whispered, "This kid talks so pretentiously, is he showing off that he has read books?"

Tang Zhao continued, "Of course, you are all heroes of the jianghu, accustomed to using your hands rather than your mouths; to say that everyone is forbidden from using their hands is likely asking too much. How you all treat each other is not my concern, but I hope that when you at least deal with me, there will be some restraint. I think we should first set three gentlemanly agreements."

There was already a faint sound of laughter beneath the rock.

Tang Zhao bent his fingers and said, "First, do not stir up trouble for no reason. Humans are not sages, perhaps I have done something wrong, and someone is angry; please tell me the cause and effect, and if it is truly my fault, I will do my best to compensate, and if that really won't work, then we can agree to fight. Of course, if you do not provoke me, I will never provoke you. Is this point acceptable?"

The crowd sneered slightly, all watching as if it were a play, and no one said they agreed, nor did anyone say they disagreed.

Tang Zhao said, "Good, no one objects, the agreement is made. A gentleman's word is his bond, no one can go back on it."

He continued, "The second point: I like to use a sword, you all like to use fists and kicks, or like to use poison arrows, it makes no difference; each relies on their own ability. If someone uses fists and kicks to hit me, I will also use my sword to counterattack. This point... it seems no one objects either."

Facing all kinds of gazes, Tang Zhao continued, "The third point: bullying the few with the many is not the way of righteousness. If you want to duel one-on-one, then duel one-on-one; if you want to brawl in a group, then brawl in a group. When the numbers are vastly different, winning is not glorious, and losing is even more shameful. This point..."

Before he could finish, someone finally said in a sarcastic tone, "I just happen to like bullying the few with the many, what are you going to do about it?"

Hearing this, Tang Zhao leaped lightly, descending like a goshawk diving down.