Wang Yuanjia was an only child, and his family consisted solely of his parents. He was helping them pack inside the house when someone called from the courtyard, “Yuanjia, when are we leaving? I haven’t finished packing my things yet. We’ll have to wait a while longer.”
When he stepped outside, he saw that it was three of his uncles.
Wang Yuanjia thought that if he took them along, there would be more than ten people in total. What if he displeased his Master...? He said, “Didn’t I just say that I’d come back for you after I asked my Master?”
One of the thin, gaunt men said, “We’re your own uncles. Can’t we go with you?”
“Second Uncle, I wouldn’t dare disobey my Master’s orders.”
“Everyone says Old Immortal Niu has a bodhisattva heart. He wouldn’t be so unreasonable. Just take us with you. Surely the old man won’t say anything.”
Wang Yuanjia was becoming impatient. “Just wait a little longer. It’s not as though a few moments will make a difference.”
“What kind of thing is that to say? What if Zhao Fenghu arrives before you return? Will we still be alive? Yuanjia, you know very well how your uncles have treated you from childhood to now. You can’t just abandon us.”
Wang Yuanjia grew even more impatient. “It took me no small effort to become a disciple under Old Immortal Niu. Our whole family is counting on this chance to turn our fortunes around. Would you be happy only if you dragged me into being expelled from the sect?”
“What use is turning our fortunes around if we’re already dead?”
Wang Yuanjia could not reason with them and turned back into the house.
The three men followed him inside and continued arguing. Seeing that their eldest nephew was determined to wash his hands of them, they soon started grappling with him.
How could they possibly be Wang Yuanjia’s match? One after another, they were thrown out of the courtyard. Outside, they wailed, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, aren’t you going to say something?”
Inside the courtyard, the couple saw the ugly expression on their son’s face. They opened their mouths, but neither said a word.
In the distance, someone was scolding a child at home. “Just look at how accomplished Yuanjia is, then look at you. If you could become Old Immortal Niu’s disciple, would our entire family have to live in such fear?”
The child protested, “Martial arts depend on bone structure and aptitude. You were the ones who gave birth to me with poor aptitude. Why blame me?”
…
Carrying wine and meat, Li Qingshi entered the secluded small courtyard at the eastern end of the village. As expected, Old Liu was once again drinking beside the wooden table beneath the tree.
There was still only one dish to go with the wine: fried peanuts.
Li Qingshi could not understand why the old man, whose teeth were already in such poor condition, liked fried peanuts so much.
He set the wine and meat on the table and said, “I guessed you’d started drinking again. How old are you now? Don’t you have any sense about drinking like this every day?”
The old man was using the few lonely teeth he had left to gnaw at the peanuts. When he saw the Pig’s Head Meat, he grinned. “Perfect, perfect. I was just short of a dish to go with my wine. Come, come, have a drink.”
The village not far away was in total chaos, but the old man seemed to be enjoying himself too much to hear it.
Li Qingshi thought that the master and disciple had hardly any belongings to begin with, so there was no need to waste time packing. There was no rush. He went inside, took a white bowl, and returned to sit opposite the old man. Instead of sitting down, he assumed a strange Horse Stance, then filled his bowl with wine.
The old man picked up a piece of Pig’s Head Meat and put it in his mouth. Speaking indistinctly, he said, “Have you seen the new daughter-in-law Wang Dazhu married? She’s quite something. She looks very fertile.”
Li Qingshi drained half a bowl of wine in one gulp. “Old Liu, let’s not get sidetracked by this nonsense. I have something to ask you.”
The old man cast him a glance. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
Li Qingshi put down his bowl and looked at him. “Tell me the truth. Do you actually know martial arts?”
The old man swallowed the meat in his mouth. “You tell me. How many times have you asked that already? Aren’t you tired of it?”
Li Qingshi drained the remaining half-bowl of wine. “Today, Old Immortal Niu from Clearwind Manor examined Gouzi’s and my aptitude. Forget about me for now. You said Gouzi’s bone structure and aptitude were excellent, but he said Gouzi was inferior even to an ordinary person.”
The old man tossed another peanut into his mouth and gnawed at it. “What the hell does he know?”
Li Qingshi refilled his own bowl, then topped up the old man’s. “He also mentioned a common fact known to everyone who practices martial arts: once someone passes eighteen, no matter how good their bone structure and aptitude are, they are already cut off from the martial path—unless they have previously opened at least one major acupoint.”
The old man worked hard at his peanuts with his few remaining teeth. “That is indeed what people say. But unless I’ve become senile, I remember teaching you that common knowledge isn’t necessarily correct. Is your memory worse than mine now?”
Li Qingshi ignored that and asked once again, “Old Liu, just tell me the truth. Do you actually know martial arts?”
The old man shot him a sidelong glance. “What? If I didn’t know martial arts, you’d stop acknowledging me as your Master?”
Based on years of experience with him, this was clearly a sign of guilt... Li Qingshi let out a long, mournful sigh. “Ten years of my sincere devotion, and in the end, I placed it in the wrong hands...”
He rose and said, “Stop drinking. Hurry up and leave. We heard in the city that Zhao Fenghu’s band of bandits entered Guidang Mountain. I thought that if you knew martial arts, we could move faster and perhaps drink a little longer. But with your legs in this condition, we’ll just have to leave first.”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this news, the old man not only failed to look shocked, but also revealed an expression of utter disdain. “You call people like them Brutal Bandits?”
What was that supposed to mean? Could it be that Old Liu really knew martial arts?
Hope began to rise in Li Qingshi’s heart once more.
Then he watched the old man drain his bowl of wine in one gulp and nimbly rise to his feet. He straightened his clothes, covering the ribs showing beneath the skin of his chest and abdomen, then tossed his head and said, “Let’s go!”
Li Qingshi was stunned for a moment. Suppressing the urge to give him a resounding slap, he said, “Wait. Even if we don’t have anything valuable, shouldn’t we at least take a few changes of clothes?”
Unexpectedly once again, the old man kicked him in the butt and snapped irritably, “You good-for-nothing! Do you think I, Liu Beidou, would do something as pathetic as running for my life?”
The kick left Li Qingshi dazed. He asked in astonishment, “Then where are you going?”
The old man jerked his chin toward the house. “Take my Seven Star Sword. We’re going to Guidang Mountain.”
Li Qingshi was even more bewildered. Had he failed to make himself clear, or had the old man become confused with age? Zhao Fenghu’s people had entered Guidang Mountain. Going there now was tantamount to courting death. He asked blankly, “What are we going to Guidang Mountain for?”
Seeing his dazed expression irritated the old man. He had no bearing at all. The old man kicked him in the butt again. “Didn’t I tell you that your aptitude is nearly ready? That band of people couldn’t have arrived at a better time. They’re perfect for sparring practice.”
This time, Li Qingshi was no longer confused. He finally understood. Old Liu’s damn old habit had flared up again—he was boasting. Li Qingshi could currently only perform stance training and take a beating. Spar with Zhao Fenghu’s band of bandits? Who would be sparring with whom?
However, when he looked up, the old man had already left the house with his hands behind his back, strolling leisurely away. Judging from the direction he was headed... he was really damn well going to Guidang Mountain!
Li Qingshi began to feel confused again. It took him a long while to recover. Could it be that Old Liu really knew martial arts?
And judging by this posture, could he not only practice martial arts, but also defeat that entire band of bandits single-handedly?
Yet even Old Immortal Niu of Clearwind Manor had not dared to lead his sect disciples into the mountain to kill them!
Seeing the old man get farther and farther away, Li Qingshi gritted his teeth and cast aside his doubts. “Damn it, if I die, so be it. What’s there to fear?” He went inside, took out the Seven Star Sword, and chased after him.
Old Liu often said that line. After years of exposure to it, Li Qingshi had already absorbed its essence.
Sometimes, he really was reckless.