Chapter 115: Some Rejoice, Some Worry

They parted at the intersection. Six escorted Chen Sheng home, and four escorted Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin made a point of passing by the Wang family gate and said to the gatekeeper, "Please inform your young master that all is safe and well. This morning's matter has been settled."

Though he spoke vaguely, the Wang family gatekeeper clearly understood what he meant. He nodded fearfully and hurried inside to relay the message.

Only after leaving did it occur to Zhao Jin that, given the Wang family's influence and information network, they had probably already learned of these events long ago.

In fact, the Wang family had received word from the yamen even earlier than Zhao Jin imagined. As soon as Wang Zhaojing got home, he went to see his father, Wang Youshan. The Wang family immediately dispatched someone to wait outside the prefectural magistrate's yamen, and as soon as definite news emerged, it was reported back at once.

Before the news came out, two household guards and a servant had already made preparations, bringing gold, silver, and supplies. The horses had already been harnessed, ready at any moment to escort Wang Zhaojing out of Xuzhou.

Just like in the government offices, there was no real secrecy within a great household. Not long after the person sent to gather news returned from the yamen, everyone from top to bottom knew what had happened. All were shocked and tongue-tied. Even though they had seen much of the world, none had imagined that their own refined and cultured young master, who had gone out as usual to practice martial arts, would come back covered in blood, having reportedly killed some kind of river bandits—and more than a dozen at that.

Word spread quickly among them: this time the young master would surely be confined by the old master, perhaps even sent off to Jiangnan to study, so he wouldn't keep causing trouble in Xuzhou. And today he would certainly face family discipline—a beating with the rod and kneeling punishment were unavoidable. The old master's personal attendant had already sent someone to buy medicine for injuries.

But the bookboy who served the old master came out with a different story. The old master had not reprimanded the young master, nor had there been any kneeling punishment or the like. Father and son sat together chatting idly, perfectly at ease. This left many people baffled. But after tea was served once, the old master said not to enter without orders, so no one knew anything more.

In the Wang family study, Wang Youshan sat reading quietly as usual, while Wang Zhaojing also held a scroll of books, reading. Father and son did not disturb each other.

The window paper glowed red with the sunset's evening light, and the room had grown quite dark. Wang Youshan set down his book, rubbed his eyes, then lit the candle on his desk himself.

Wang Youshan paused in thought, ground ink, lifted his brush, and wrote a passage on paper. Then he read it aloud: "Bold and of immense strength, the people delight in plunder and raiding. At the slightest displeasure, an overbearing and domineering heart arises—it is not merely violence for its own sake. Emperor Gaozu of Han, Xiang Yu, Liu Yu, and Zhu Quanzhong all came from within a few hundred li of Xuzhou. The people here take pride in this; a spirit of heroic excellence has accumulated into custom."

After reading, he smiled and asked Wang Zhaojing, "Whose words are these?"

Wang Zhaojing set down his book and said, "They are Su Dongpo's remarks on Xuzhou."

Wang Youshan nodded, placed his brush on the brush rest, leaned back in his chair, and said, "The realm is at peace; civil pursuits are honored and martial ones despised. Everywhere, people know that study is supreme. Only in Xuzhou does the martial ethos prevail, and courage determines rank."

Hearing this, Wang Zhaojing rose from his seat and said respectfully, "But Xuzhou has also produced a scholar like Father..."

"No need for flattery. What I am discussing with you is Zhao Jin," Wang Youshan said with a smile.

Wang Zhaojing leaned forward slightly, about to speak, but Wang Youshan waved his hand, looking toward the window, and said, "A few days ago, when you killed those monks of Cloud Mountain Temple—no matter how you judged Zhao Jin, I only saw him as a reckless brute. But when that Cheng Tongtou died under unclear circumstances, I began to think he had some cunning."

At the mention of Cheng Tongtou's death, Wang Zhaojing trembled. He stole a glance at his father and found that he did not seem to know the truth, which set his mind at ease. Although Wang Youshan lived at home in idle study, he was no pedantic scholar oblivious to the outside world. Moreover, given his status and position, countless people in Xuzhou city would willingly bring him news. That he knew of Cheng Tongtou's death and guessed it was connected to Zhao Jin was not at all strange.

Once he had reasoned this through, Wang Zhaojing's mind settled somewhat. Wang Youshan continued with a smile, "You surely don't know this, but I had already planned to send you to Nanjing to study. He dares to kill, dares to scheme—you think him extraordinary, but there are many such men in Xuzhou. That he can accomplish these things is simply because he learned much at his father's side. The runners and bailiffs of the yamen are fierce and cunning; that is no surprise."

Wang Youshan rose from his seat, nodded, and said, "But today's events have changed my impression of him. To achieve something like this cannot be explained by mere ferocity and cunning. This can already be called great courage."

Only then did Wang Zhaojing breathe a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face. Just as he was about to speak, Wang Youshan glanced at him and said, "I am not praising him. I am saying that Zhao Jin's martial valor has reached such a level that he is worth befriending. But you must be clear about your primary duty. You must still pursue your studies and advance. Befriending more people like this will help you in the future and keep your studies from turning pedantic—but you must not abandon your studies to spend your days in brawling and idle mischief."

Wang Youshan's tone turned stern: "Your body was given to you by your parents. As a scholar, you must know how to cherish yourself. To charge into such peril—if any mishap had occurred, what would become of me? And how would you answer to your mother?"

Wang Zhaojing hesitated, then knelt and bowed, saying, "Your son was reckless. I beg Father's forgiveness. However, Brother Zhao is a hero of outstanding brilliance, surpassing my judgment. Your son believes that Brother Zhao's future prospects are boundless."

Wang Youshan looked at Wang Zhaojing, smiled, and shook his head dismissively. "The times are indeed worsening, but the general trend of the realm remains one of peace. He is but a martial man—what prospects can he have?"

Hearing his father's assessment, Wang Zhaojing felt uneasy. The last time, after rescuing people and killing the warrior monks, his father's evaluation of Zhao Jin had been quite favorable, and he had even said that with the world descending into chaos, befriending such a man would be beneficial. Yet today, all those words had been reversed. Wang Zhaojing understood the reason clearly in his heart. That morning's slaughter had been far too harrowing; the slightest misstep would have meant death. His father had been frightened and did not dare let him grow too close to Zhao Jin, lest he encounter such danger again.

Wang Zhaojing grew anxious. He knocked his head against the ground twice and said earnestly, "Father, Zhao Jin and your son are as brothers. This time, he killed too many. Although he sent word that all is well, he may not pass the yamen's scrutiny. I beg Father to help him."

He kowtowed again. Only after several kowtows did he sense something amiss. He looked up and found his father, Wang Youshan, standing before him, a mocking smile on his face. Seeing him look up, Wang Youshan said coolly, "Your judgment still lacks a certain maturity. Since he said there is no trouble, then there is certainly no trouble."

Seeing that Wang Zhaojing meant to argue further, Wang Youshan raised a hand to stop him and said in a deep voice, "After killing so many, who would dare make trouble? Everyone is afraid now."

"Stay in Xuzhou and focus on your studies. It is always good to befriend such a hero, but do not get yourself entangled." After saying these few words, Wang Youshan waved his hand and sent Wang Zhaojing out to eat.

The area where the Zhao, Wang, and Chen families lived had many residences. For a great household to expand was troublesome, yet they had no choice but to live here, because there were too few decent areas within Xuzhou city. In recent years, Xuzhou had grown increasingly desolate, and quite a few residences had become vacant, allowing both the Wang and Chen families to expand.

Chen Sheng deliberately took the side gate when he returned home. Because his family held official posts and Chen Wu was the Chief Constable, news traveled very quickly. Even Chen Sheng's mother, who rarely went out, would soon learn what had happened in the city. Today's shocking slaughter in the south of the city would, by custom, surely bring tearful scolding from his mother. Chen Sheng had always found such scenes the hardest to endure, so he preferred to avoid them if he could.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the courtyard, someone below spotted him and hurried over. Chen Sheng quickly lowered his voice and said, "Don't tell my mother I'm back. Wait until my father returns and speaks with her, then I'll go over."

In the Chen household, Chen Wu made the decisions. Whenever Chen Sheng got into trouble, Chen Wu would usually go and placate his wife first, so that Chen Sheng would receive a bit less scolding.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Sheng was about to leave, but the servant hurriedly said, "Eldest Young Master, the Old Master wants you to go over the moment you return."

Chen Sheng was taken aback. "The Old Master" referred to Chen Sheng's grandfather, Chen Peng. It was precisely because he had fought through life and death in the Qi Family Army and returned to serve three years as a Patrol Inspector that the Chen family's substantial estate had been built. The true head of the family was him. However, having experienced so much life and death in his army days, the old man took everything in stride and had always been largely indifferent to household affairs. In earlier years, he had taught and supervised Chen Sheng's martial training, but once Chen Sheng began training diligently under Zhao Jin, he had stopped paying much attention and lived a life of leisurely ease.

Hearing that his grandfather had summoned him, Chen Sheng immediately grew nervous. Indifferent as he usually was, his authority remained deeply ingrained. Whenever he stood before his grandfather, Chen Sheng could not help but feel fear.

There was no avoiding it. With a grimace, Chen Sheng headed to the small courtyard on the east side of the Chen residence—the Old Master's own quarters.

Four torches blazed in the courtyard, illuminating the spacious area brightly. The white-haired and white-bearded Old Master Chen wielded a long saber in practice. His movements were very precise, though much slower than Chen Sheng's usual speed. After all, he was a man past seventy, considered advanced in age for this era.

Chen Sheng announced himself outside and, upon entering, stood obediently to one side. He knew his grandfather enjoyed practicing the saber at night, and that he disliked lamps, preferring torchlight instead. Chen Sheng also knew this was his grandfather's way of reminiscing about his army days. Chen Sheng did not much like such scenes. Ever since he was a child, watching this had always felt oppressive, making it somewhat hard to breathe.

Once he had entered the courtyard and stood still, Chen Sheng suddenly realized his breathing was very smooth. All those previous feelings of discomfort had vanished.

As he was puzzling over this, Old Master Chen stopped his movements. The old man's face showed no flush, his breath no panting. Apart from his snow-white hair and beard, he showed no sign of age whatsoever.

Old Master Chen said nothing. He looked Chen Sheng up and down by the torchlight, his gaze making Chen Sheng extremely uncomfortable. Yet Chen Sheng dared not speak, merely lowering his head repeatedly.

"Mm. Practicing the saber is only worthwhile when you've killed and drawn blood. Now you finally have the look of it," Old Master Chen said abruptly.

Chen Sheng had instinctively flinched, expecting a scolding. He never imagined his grandfather would say this. He looked up in astonishment.

"How many did you kill today?"