“Oh, you are too kind, truly.”
“You must be Master Zhou. You certainly look like a fine, talented young man.”
Li Zhengping smiled and cupped his hands in a salute, his gaze sweeping over the young man before him.
He was slender and well-featured, standing there with proper, refined manners; one could tell at a glance he was a well-bred youth.
But looking at how cautious and guarded he appeared…
Li Zhengping sighed inwardly.
‘Living under someone else’s roof is never easy, is it?’
Thinking of this, he suddenly paused.
‘Living under someone else’s roof…’
He shook his head, cleared his mind, and put his smile back on.
Just as Li Zhengping was about to speak, the wealthy landowner Wang slapped him on the arm and cut him off.
“Oh, look at us just standing here chatting!”
“Hongfang, this is Leader Li of the Horse Gang. He is the one who helps me handle so many of my business affairs!”
Wealthy Wang beamed as he enthusiastically introduced the young man to his guest.
“I am well aware, sir. When she was busy helping Yu, she often mentioned you. She said you are reliable and steady—a true benefactor to our family.”
“Haha, not at all, it is just my duty.”
Li Zhengping looked at the grinning Wealthy Wang and raised an eyebrow. “Uncle Wang, your son-in-law is not only handsome but also has a very sweet tongue.”
The smile on Wealthy Wang’s face deepened as he patted Zhou Hongfang on the shoulder.
“This boy is just honest. He says exactly what is on his mind; he doesn’t know how to be deceptive.”
As he spoke, he winked at Li Zhengping.
“Come, come, let’s go inside and sit. We must have a few drinks today.”
Just as Li Zhengping was about to accept the invitation, several disciples of the Horse Gang walked up and cupped their hands.
“Leader, we have finished our work.”
“Big Brother, we have been working for so long, can we eat yet?”
These men had been making faces from the sidelines for a while, and seeing their leader about to leave, they crowded around.
Hearing this, Li Zhengping suddenly remembered, and he felt both amused and exasperated, chiding them with a laugh, “Eat, eat, eat! All you ever think about is food.”
“Is the work finished properly?”
“Yes, it is, it is!” The disciples nodded repeatedly, and one man complained with a bitter face, “Big Brother, it is not that we are gluttonous. It is just that Ma Sao’s cooking is far too coarse. It cannot compare to Brother Zhao’s at all. The brothers have truly suffered these past few days!”
Another disciple chimed in.
“That is right! Leader, you have not been back, so you do not know—Brother Zhao has been injured again, and we have barely had anything good to eat!”
Li Zhengping shook his head, helpless.
“Enough, enough, stop your bickering. If your sister-in-law hears you talking about her like that, you will pay for it later.”
With that, Li Zhengping turned, looking at the nearby Wealthy Wang with a sigh.
“Ahem, Uncle Wang, you see…”
“Hahaha, that is easy to fix!” Wealthy Wang waved his hand, laughing heartily.
“Call all your disciples over! Since you are at my home today, I guarantee you will have a feast. I hired a chef from the prefectural city; they are every bit as good as your Brother Zhao!”
The disciples’ eyes lit up, and they thanked him repeatedly.
“Uncle Wang, then we shall impose on your hospitality.”
Since Wealthy Wang had insisted, Li Zhengping could hardly refuse. He pulled a disciple over and instructed him.
“Go back and call the rest of the brothers. Also, tell De Biao and your sister-in-law to see if they can find a suitable gift from home for Wealthy Wang’s family.”
“Even if we helped them, this is their daughter’s big day, so we must mind our manners. Do you understand?”
The disciple nodded and dashed off toward the Horse Gang.
***
After finishing the task, Li Zhengping turned to Wealthy Wang and said politely, “Uncle Wang, we shall go inside to have a drink then.”
“What ‘impose’? Just drink your fill! There is more than enough for everyone today! Hongfang, go prepare to host our guests.”
Zhou Hongfang had been waiting to the side for some time. He stepped aside and gestured for them to proceed.
“Leader Li, brothers, please, this way.”
As the group walked toward the courtyard, chatting and laughing, Wealthy Wang patted Zhou Hongfang on the shoulder, keeping him behind.
Once the others had walked a distance away, the smile on Wealthy Wang’s face faded slightly, and he glanced around.
The man who had been smiling just moments ago now looked as sour as a bitter melon.
“Hongfang… is Yu still refusing to come out?”
Zhou Hongfang lowered his head slightly, remaining silent.
“Sigh!” Wealthy Wang rubbed his wrinkled forehead, his tone filled with frustration.
“It is all because of that freeloading pretty boy who keeps causing trouble at our home. Why does Yu insist on pampering him so much!?”
“She calls him her nephew—bah! Shameless wretch! As if I don’t know what he is plotting!”
Having said his piece, Wealthy Wang patted Zhou Hongfang, looking at him with an expression of gratification.
“But it is good that you took the initiative first. Even if it was not ideal, it is better than letting that villain succeed.”
“Do not worry, I will go back and persuade Yu. You just prepare for the wedding. In the future, this house will be yours and Yu’s to run.”
Zhou Hongfang looked up at him, a flash of something unreadable passing through his eyes before he lowered them again.
“Yes, Father-in-law.”
Wealthy Wang nodded, patted his shoulder, and said nothing more.
The two followed the others toward the main hall.
Time passed quickly, but the liveliness in Wealthy Wang’s courtyard never dimmed.
The sounds of clinking glasses, drinking games, and the chatter of servants serving food mingled together, creating a buzzing atmosphere of domestic bustle that drifted out of the courtyard and filled the entire alley.
Meanwhile, over at the Horse Gang, it was a completely different scene.
Zhao Yi’an sat on a stone stool in the corner of the courtyard, clutching a bowl of tea, his mind seemingly drifting off elsewhere.
Ever since he became an apprentice by the river, the number of times Zhao Yi’an spent staring into space had skyrocketed.
Honestly, the night after he was accepted, Zhao Yi’an had felt like he could not sleep at all, his head filled with dreams of practicing martial arts and performing heroic deeds.
But as he thought about it, he began to feel uneasy.
‘Do I actually have a Master now?’
‘What if it was just some drunken boast?’
‘I hope not! It was so hard to be chosen just this once!’
Holding onto that anxious feeling, he climbed out of bed at the first light of dawn and waited at the door.
Fortunately for Zhao Yi’an, the young woman had not been joking, and she had indeed accepted him as her apprentice.
Even though he could not learn the girl’s own martial arts, he was already content with that much.
The only problem was…
“I don’t think I have any foundation at all…”
The boy lowered his head, murmuring with a sense of inferiority.
‘In the books the storytellers recite, all those martial artists started training as children. If I am just starting now, can I really learn anything?’
‘Will I even be able to last a single hour?’
This feeling of anxiety left him genuinely unsettled, as if everyone else had already won at the starting line, while he had only just struggled his way onto the track.
“Hah…”
“I chose this path myself, if I cannot manage to get up, then I am just incompetent.”
The boy’s thoughts wandered, and he did not even notice that the tea in his hand had long since gone cold.
Just then, the sound of slightly hurried footsteps approached.
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