In the courtyard next door, three people were drinking under a tree.
But at this moment, they fell completely silent, secretly listening to Yan Pingsheng's conversation with Xu Ziyi and Chen Qing'er.
After a long while, a wealthy-looking man shook his head. Holding his wine cup, he sighed, “A true gentleman. They say the deeply sentimental do not live long, and this must be what they mean. When things go wrong, they don't blame others; instead, they reflect on themselves first. It is hard to understand, but I admire such a person.”
He raised his cup toward the wall to toast Yan Pingsheng, then downed it in one gulp.
“I always thought gentlemen only existed in books and ancient times. I never expected to find one right beside me,” said a man wearing a scholar's headpiece, looking like a man of letters. “From now on, I shall take Brother Yan as my benchmark and look up to him.”
He solemnly picked up his wine cup with both hands and also toasted in Yan Pingsheng's direction.
The last man, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, carried a strong air of the marketplace. He took a heavy swig of his wine and muttered, “A gentleman? I don't understand that. I only know Brother Yan is a good man. I once read in storybooks that doing good deeds and accumulating virtue can build up good fortune. A saint of nine lifetimes will have a completely smooth tenth life. Brother Yan's good luck must have been accumulated lifetime after lifetime like this. I'm going to spread the word. If anyone dares to envy Brother Yan because of this in the future, I'll be the first to teach them a lesson.”
He poured himself a bowl of wine, toasted Yan Pingsheng from afar, and gulped it down.
The respect of the three men was beyond words.
In fact, such a scene had happened more than once in the martial academy.
As a highly watched figure in the martial academy recently, every move Yan Pingsheng made would quickly attract attention. The moment he spent a full day inside his courtyard without stepping out, someone would immediately come to check if he was still alive.
Thus, the news that Yan Pingsheng was confining himself to his courtyard for a year out of self-reproach quickly spread.
At first, some people were merely annoyed that they could no longer use the human lucky charm to lead them treasure hunting.
But as time passed and Yan Pingsheng truly never stepped out of his door, their emotions gradually turned into admiration.
The disciples admired his noble character, which stood as grand as a mountain, while the elders praised his pure and spotless qualities, like a refined orchid.
Even Xu Jianxing, who was always snobbish and looked down on everyone except Bai Yujing, reluctantly praised him, saying, “Hmph, as Senior Brother's fellow townsman, he's barely passable.”
Even Yu Wuyong dedicated an entire chapter to Yan Pingsheng in his 《The Annals of Bai Yujing》.
—In the Wanxing Martial Academy, there is a disciple named Yan Pingsheng, a fellow townsman of Bai Yujing. Deeply influenced by Bai Yujing in his youth, he vowed to become a person of upright character and high moral integrity like Bai Yujing in the future.
As he grew up, Yan Pingsheng... (five hundred words omitted)
And as for all of this, Zhuang Xun... was of course well aware!
Well, except for that last one.
I am going to become a saint.
Yes, keep praising me like that. I really am such a pure and spotless person! (facepalm)
My level of purity is practically on par with Tang San.
At this moment, Yan Pingsheng, whom everyone imagined to be a pure, spotless, orchid-like gentleman, was lying on his bed reading storybooks. From time to time, he would let out a silly chuckle, reach out to grab a couple of pastries from his bedside table, and stuff them into his mouth.
“Sigh, I should stop reading and start cultivating, or else I'm going to get fat again.”
Zhuang Xun pinched the flab on his belly. Ever since he came up with this trick, his life had been incredibly comfortable.
No one came to bother him about going out to find treasure anymore, and he could reasonably avoid the resumed conflict between the Wanxing Martial Academy and the Shengxue Cult.
After all, Yan Pingsheng was currently a martial artist of the Eighth Rank, and as Bai Yujing's fellow townsman, it would be unjustifiable for him to keep avoiding the fight. Otherwise, those who envied him would definitely spread rumors calling him a coward.
How could he have it as good as he did now? Even though he stayed inside and avoided the war, he still won the reputation of being the moral benchmark of the martial academy.
I really am a genius.
Zhuang Xun lamented inwardly as he went into the courtyard to train his legs.
The Ninth Rank stage of the Posuo Sword trained the arms, while the Eighth Rank stage trained the legs.
Once the martial physique of the legs was successfully shaped, he would be able to learn the movement technique of the Posuo Sword, the Posuo Step. By constantly rotating the direction of his legs, he could change his moving direction without any loss of speed, making it impossible for enemies to predict his next move.
While Zhuang Xun was cultivating seriously, in the Wanfu Restaurant opposite the Wanxing Martial Academy...
Two errand boys were sneakily spying on the opposite side.
“Tsk, he hasn't come out even after a month. He literally wore out the Left Protector until he left. Is there some custom in their hometown that forbids them from going outside? First Bai Yujing, and now Yan Pingsheng.”
“Could we have been exposed?”
“Impossible. If we were exposed, the Law Enforcement Hall would have knocked on our door by now.”
“I've gathered some news.” At this moment, a young waiter wearing a cloth cap ran toward the two whispering errand boys. “That Yan Pingsheng is confining himself for a year because of the mountain expedition team incident.”
“What?! Doesn't that mean we have to stay here for a year?!”
“What else can we do? Sneak into the martial academy and kill him? We just have to grind it out. The Left Protector gave a dead order to take Yan Pingsheng's head.”
“Hmph, I don't believe he can really stay inside for a whole year! When the time comes, I will definitely...”
“What are you three huddling together for?! Don't you know how to serve the customers when they arrive?!”
Hearing the shopkeeper's roar, the three men, who had been conversing with calm expressions, instantly shuddered. They immediately dispersed and went about their respective duties—serving customers, sweeping the floor, and wiping tables.
...
“You'er, during this period, you should stay in the martial academy and cultivate well. Don't run around. It's dangerous outside, understand?”
I didn't plan on going out in the first place... Zhuang Xun, who was feeding the Qiankun Chicken, looked up at Yi Xiaoxiang, who was instructing him, and nodded.
“Oh.”
After the Shengxue Cult attacked the disciples of the Wanxing Martial Academy, the academy immediately retaliated. They quickly dispatched people to destroy any hidden properties of the Shengxue Cult they could find.
However, this action quickly drew the dissatisfaction of the City Lord's Manor.
To outsiders, the hidden properties of the Shengxue Cult appeared to be legitimate, legally operated businesses with no connection to the cult.
Of course, the most important thing was that they paid taxes to the City Lord's Manor. Therefore, in the eyes of the City Lord's Manor, the Wanxing Martial Academy was overreaching and trying to challenge its authority in Zechuan City and the surrounding counties. Consequently, they obstructed the academy's efforts to purge the Shengxue Cult. Recently, there had been several standoffs and conflicts between the Crimson Robe Attendants and the Law Enforcement Hall.
Even Qushe Ridge had gotten involved.
They captured some isolated people from various factions to mine for them, and then ran away.
Currently, Mount Dazhou was a complete mess. Thus, Zhuang Xun not only planned to have Yan Pingsheng lie low, but also wanted Yi Wangyou to lie low as well, providing double security.
On the other hand, he planned to control Bai Yujing to go out and fight.
After all, as the chief disciple, staying in the camp all the time while letting the people below do the fighting and killing would easily cause dissatisfaction over time.
Although Zhuang Xun believed that such a thing was unlikely to happen given his personal charm, it was still best to avoid it if possible.
He had set his date to emerge from seclusion after reaching the Third Rank, which would be in a day or two.
Shengxue Cult, City Lord's Manor, how dare you act so arrogant. I'll let you taste your Grandfather Zhuang's fists soon... Regardless of the reason why the City Lord's Manor was protecting the Shengxue Cult, from the moment they began protecting them, Zhuang Xun had already defaulted to treating the two parties as one.
Rate on N.U.
