Li Qingshi assumed a stance and joked, “Please make your move, Great Hero Wang. Don’t hold back.”
What did he actually know about stances? He claimed to have studied martial arts for ten years, but all he had learned was stance training and how to take a beating. The rest consisted of some insights and experience gained from fighting people. It was nothing worth mentioning—not even a rough-and-ready style of boxing and kicking.
However, he naturally did not mind making a fool of himself in front of a good friend. They were only fooling around, and no one would take it seriously.
Wang Yuanjia gave a suave smile and lowered his longsword.
Li Qingshi had assumed that Wang Yuanjia would also strike a starting pose to add to the fun. However, he did not. Instead, he charged forward with ferocious speed.
Although Wang Yuanjia had studied martial arts for only three months, he had nevertheless been instructed by a renowned Master. Li Qingshi’s fighting skills, honed through brawling, were far inferior to his. After barely blocking two or three blows through instinctive reactions, he was kicked in the stomach.
The kick was vicious. Li Qingshi rolled more than ten feet before finally stopping. His stomach churned violently, and he nearly vomited. Fortunately, his ten years of taking beatings had not been wasted. Though the pain nearly brought tears to his eyes, he was not injured.
He grimaced and thought, “So the difference between someone who has studied martial arts and someone who hasn’t is actually this enormous. Yuan Jia has only trained for three months, yet he’s already this formidable. But he’s still a beginner and can’t control his strength. Damn it, that kick nearly killed me.”
After catching his breath, he climbed to his feet and laughed. “You’re pretty good, kid, but you still need more practice. I’ve heard that once someone’s martial arts reach mastery, they can control their strength freely. You clearly still can’t stop yourself once you start.”
Wang Yuanjia froze for a moment, then said, “Let’s try again!” He charged over with another punch.
Li Qingshi dodged the punch and shouted, “I’m done, I’m done! Damn it, the gap is too great. I’m no match for you.”
After saying that, he stopped defending himself. Unexpectedly, Wang Yuanjia seemed not to have heard him and did not stop. He kicked Li Qingshi in the thigh.
This kick carried even greater force. Li Qingshi lost his balance and fell to the ground, feeling pain deep in his bones. After checking himself, he was relieved to find that nothing was broken. Drawing a sharp breath, he said, “That was a sneak attack.”
When he raised his head, he saw Wang Yuanjia standing there with a smiling face full of contempt and mockery. Li Qingshi could not help freezing.
Li Gouzi had also realized that something was wrong. He rushed over, stood in front of Li Qingshi, and shouted angrily, “Wang Yuanjia, what are you doing? How could you use such a heavy hand?”
Wang Yuanjia let out a cold laugh. “What? You want to spar with me too?”
Li Gouzi froze for a moment, then stepped forward. “Fine, let’s fight. Do you think I’m afraid of you?”
Li Qingshi grabbed him. After trying and failing to get up, he frowned and asked, “Why are you doing this?”
He truly could not understand it. Wang Yuanjia had been perfectly fine before coming to Clearwind Manor. Why had he suddenly turned against them after studying martial arts for a few months?
Wang Yuanjia dusted off his clothes and spoke from above him. “You’ve acted like the king of the village all these years. Did you think that was impressive?”
Li Qingshi was stunned. “We used to fight often, but we were young and didn’t know any better. After growing up, we stopped fighting. All these years, everyone has helped one another whenever something happened. We’re practically Brothers.”
Wang Yuanjia gave another cold laugh. “Hah! Who wants to be Brothers with a Bastard like you? Back then, I couldn’t beat you, so I had to swallow my anger. You were proud of yourself and didn’t take it seriously, but for me, being suppressed by a Bastard was the greatest humiliation! I secretly swore then that one day I would trample you beneath my feet and make you lower your head and admit defeat!”
Li Qingshi’s expression became extremely grim.
He had not heard the word “Bastard” in many years.
He was an illegitimate son. His mother was a farm girl born and raised in Baitou Village, while his father was unknown. Supposedly, he was a Wealthy Young Master who traveled around for pleasure. In any case, Li Qingshi had never seen him in all these years.
From the moment he was born, the villagers had gossiped behind his back and pointed at him, calling him a Bastard. His maternal grandparents had been unable to endure the people’s private ridicule and backbiting. Depressed and dispirited, they died one after another within two years.
The village children had probably heard too much household gossip from the lords at home. They never treated him like a person, joining forces to bully him. A whole group would chase him and beat him, and even children a head shorter than him dared spit on him.
Of all the children in Baitou Village, only Li Gouzi was willing to follow him around and fool around with him, probably because their backgrounds were similar.
Li Gouzi was a posthumous child. While he was still in his mother’s womb, his father had gone hunting in the mountains and been disemboweled by a black bear. Thus, Li Gouzi had been fatherless from birth.
Later, Li Qingshi became Old Liu’s disciple. Although he had never learned orthodox martial arts, after two years of stance training and taking beatings, the village children gradually became unable to defeat him. At first, a group of them had chased and beaten him. Later, he was the one chasing and beating the group.
Seeing that there was no hope of turning the tables, those children stopped making things difficult for him. The two sides thus buried the hatchet and began playing together. After all these years, their bond had become extremely close. Li Qingshi had long since stopped caring about what happened before, considering it nothing more than senseless mischief by children who did not know better.
Thus, no matter what, he had never imagined that Wang Yuanjia had continued to hold a grudge over those old incidents. During all their previous interactions, he had not shown the slightest sign of it.
Wang Yuanjia let out a long breath, clearly in an excellent mood. “Breaking one of your legs today has finally allowed me to vent this anger. If you still dare act arrogant in the future, just see how I deal with you!”
He had put all his strength into that kick. Surely, the Bastard who did not know his place had broken his leg. At the very least, he would have to lie in bed for several months before it healed.
Li Gouzi trembled with rage and lunged at him ferociously. “You insidious bastard! I’ll kill you!”
He was even less of a match. The moment he reached Wang Yuanjia, he was kicked in the chest and sent sprawling to the ground, unable to get up for a long while.
Wang Yuanjia said, “Li Gouzi, if you still refuse to recognize your place, I’ll break one of your legs too. Just don’t imitate that spineless wretch and run to your mother to complain afterward.”
After catching his breath, Li Gouzi climbed to his feet and tried to charge forward again. Li Qingshi endured the pain, stood up, and stopped him.
It was obvious they could not win. Fighting again would only mean suffering more.
Just then, someone said, “Yuan Jia, who are they? Why have you started fighting?”
Li Qingshi turned to look and saw an old man in a wide robe walking toward them. He was thin, with white hair and a youthful complexion. Combined with his kind and benevolent features, he looked like an immortal who had descended to the mortal world.
Li Qingshi had seen him from afar several times before. He was none other than the Old Manor Lord of Clearwind Manor, Niu Qingyang.
Wang Yuanjia’s expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure. He respectfully saluted and said, “Master, they are childhood friends from my village. We’ve been used to roughhousing since we were children. We were only fooling around just now.”
Niu Qingyang nodded. He had already seen Wang Yuanjia kick Li Gouzi from a distance and clearly noticed that Wang Yuanjia had held back considerably. Thus, he did not doubt his explanation. He admonished him, “There was no harm in roughhousing before, but now that you have learned martial arts, both your skills and strength greatly surpass those of ordinary people. From now on, you must not fight with people who do not know martial arts, lest you accidentally injure them.”
Wang Yuanjia lowered his brows and meekly said, “Master is right. When I was fooling around with Shitou just now, I failed to control my strength and injured his leg. Please punish me, Master.”
He thought, That little Bastard is already crippled. There’s no way to hide it from Master, so I might as well say it first.
He knew that Li Qingshi’s temperament made him incapable of reporting the matter, but Li Gouzi was another story. By taking the initiative, he could frame it as an accidental injury while fooling around. Even if Li Gouzi complained to Master, Master would only assume that Li Gouzi had been unable to defeat him and, unable to bear the humiliation, had made a false accusation.
“Oh? Let me take a look.” Niu Qingyang frowned, walked up to Li Qingshi, and bent down to examine his injuries.
After a moment, he said, “Fortunately, it is nothing serious. There is only some swelling, and it will be fine in a few days. Since you are still a beginner, it is normal that you cannot control your strength. But remember this from now on: you must not fight with people who do not know martial arts.”
Wang Yuanjia looked obedient and repeatedly agreed, but inwardly he was extremely surprised. That kick could have broken a wooden stake, yet he had not expected Li Qingshi’s leg to be merely swollen. He thought, This Bastard’s bones are truly hard!
Seeing Wang Yuanjia putting on an act before Old Immortal Niu, Li Gouzi’s anger burned even hotter. He stepped forward several paces, preparing to expose Wang Yuanjia’s true nature.