Chapter 24: Grudge
"By the way, I heard that Wen Zehao got his engagement annulled. Is it true?"
After discussing the main business, Deng Ziyang brought up a big piece of gossip.
He had heard it that morning from one of his servants and had come specially to ask Chen Ming about it.
He wore an expression full of gloating, not bothering to hide his dislike for Wen Zehao.
Chen Ming nodded and said, "It's true."
"Hahaha..."
Deng Ziyang burst into hearty laughter. "Heaven has eyes! I knew it. How could all the good things always fall into his lap?"
Chen Ming asked curiously, "Do you have some sort of grudge against him?"
"Not really, I just can’t stand the sight of him."
Got it—just plain jealousy.
Deng Ziyang asked with great interest, "Then why did Huo Qianqian suddenly refuse to marry him? Did she fall for someone else?"
"Not sure. But since it’s blown up like this, I doubt it’ll end well."
"Now this is going to be fun to watch. That old ghost Huo isn’t young anymore—who knows how many years he’s got left. Now that the engagement between Huo Qianqian and Wen Zehao is off, the happiest ones are probably his disciples. Heh, just wait and see. When he kicks the bucket, those disciples will scramble for the inheritance."
"With Huo Chengkun’s level of cultivation, living another twenty years shouldn’t be a problem."
Chen Ming felt Deng Ziyang was worrying over nothing.
Deng Ziyang chuckled, "You don’t know the half of it. Think about it—why do you think that old ghost Huo, with his cultivation, has been holed up in the Huo Residence all this time, never stepping outside?
"A Sixth Grade expert, doing something like running a martial school and taking in so many disciples. Don’t you think that’s a bit beneath him?"
Hmm?
Now that he mentioned it, it did seem a bit odd.
There were quite a few martial schools in Qingfeng City, but most of their owners were Seventh or Eighth Grade martial artists.
Sixth Grade placed someone among second-tier experts in the entire Great Jin Dynasty.
According to the rules of the martial world, Third Grade and above were considered first-tier.
Fourth to Sixth Grade were second-tier.
Seventh to Ninth Grade were third-tier.
Unranked were not considered notable.
In Qingfeng City, a Sixth Grade expert was already among the top.
Chen Ming said, "Brother Deng, stop keeping me in suspense."
Deng Ziyang lowered his voice and said into his ear, "I once heard the old man say that the old ghost Huo probably has some chronic internal injury. All these years, he’s been buying all sorts of precious medicinal ingredients just to suppress the condition. Who knows when it might flare up and kill him."
"Huh?"
Chen Ming was a little surprised.
He had unexpectedly caught wind of an even juicier piece of gossip.
"This isn’t really a secret in Qingfeng City. That old ghost Huo is just trying to find someone to pass down his legacy and take care of his granddaughter. But he’s blind as a bat to actually favor someone like Wen Zehao, that fancy-pillow type. Now that the marriage fell through, he might’ve made an enemy instead."
Deng Ziyang wore a schadenfreude-laced expression.
Clearly, he held a serious grudge against Huo Chengkun.
Chen Ming didn’t quite know how to respond to that.
After all, he didn’t have any grudge against Huo Chengkun.
Right now, he was working at the Huo Residence, so in a way, Huo Chengkun was his boss.
It wouldn’t be good to badmouth him behind his back.
He lowered his head and tactically took a sip of water.
"By the way, do the people at the Huo Residence know that you’ve become a Ranked Martial Artist?"
"I haven’t told them."
"Wonder what their expressions would be if they found out. Especially that Zhang Mingyu—he’s always looked down on you."
Chen Ming smiled faintly.
He naturally wouldn’t go out of his way to reveal that he had become a Ninth Grade Martial Artist just to give Zhang Mingyu and the others a little shock.
That might even get him kicked out of his training partner job.
It had to be said, Deng Ziyang was indeed a friend worth having.
He was probably extremely curious as to how someone with average talent like Chen Ming had managed to become a martial artist—but he didn’t ask a single thing.
Such people, who understood boundaries, were quite rare.
…
At nine o'clock, Chen Ming arrived at the Huo Residence on time to continue his sparring partner duties.
When he got to the training field, he saw that neither Hong Mingquan nor Zhang Mingyu were around.
The students were gathered in small groups, chatting idly.
As soon as they saw him, they all stood up straight with respectful postures and greeted in unison, "Greetings, Senior Brother Chen."
Last time, they had been just as lazy and casual, and during practice, Chen Ming had given each of them a solid beating.
Now, they had all become obedient.
Seeing that their attitude was decent, Chen Ming let it go.
He issued instructions: beginner students were to practice stance training, while intermediate students whose names were called were to come spar with him. Everyone followed his orders without a fuss.
Just like that, the morning quickly passed.
Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu never showed up; no one knew where they had gone.
Chen Ming dismissed the students to continue with their respective routines, then left the Huo Residence.
…
In the afternoon, Chen Ming sat with Deng Ziyang and the others, discussing martial arts.
At first, Guan Peng wore a cold expression and said little.
He had a fire in his heart, determined to redeem himself from the humiliation he had suffered.
But as the conversation went on, the expression on his face began to shift—eventually showing signs of surprise.
Chen Ming was openly explaining the key principles of his saber technique.
As an expert himself, Guan Peng could tell right away that Chen Ming wasn’t holding anything back.
Guan Peng grew restless in his seat. Was he even supposed to be hearing this?
Soon, he was going to spar with Chen Ming, and listening to all this felt like cheating.
However, Chen Ming’s voice kept flowing into his ears, and the content was incredibly enticing.
When it reached a critical point, Guan Peng’s eyes lit up with excitement.
So that’s how it was!
It could be done like that?
Several doubts he had held in his heart instantly cleared up.
He felt an overwhelming urge to go test it out immediately.
When he came to his senses, he looked at Chen Ming with a complicated gaze.
This man was so selfless—willing to share even such profound insights into his saber technique.
Finally, Guan Peng couldn’t hold back and asked, “Brother Chen, you’ve told us the secrets of your saber technique—aren’t you afraid that during our spar later, I might defeat you?”
Chen Ming remained calm and replied, “If you can defeat me, I’d be glad. That would help me discover the flaws in my technique.”
These words filled Guan Peng with shame. In comparison, he had been brooding over losing a single move yesterday. Their mindsets were worlds apart.
Zhuang Xiaotian praised, “Brother Chen, your magnanimity is truly admirable.”
Even Deng Ziyang couldn’t help but feel inferior.
He asked himself honestly—if he were in Chen Ming’s position, he definitely wouldn’t reveal the secrets of his saber technique so freely, not even to sworn brothers.
Chen Ming observed their reactions and knew his goal had been achieved.
Who wouldn’t want a friend willing to share knowledge and skills selflessly?
He took the opportunity to say, “Let’s begin. Who wants to go first?”
“I’ll go!”
The first to speak up was Deng Ziyang. He smiled and said, “You two juniors don’t need to fight me for it. I’ve known Senior Brother the longest and have never had the chance to spar with him.”
Since he put it that way, Guan Peng and Zhuang Xiaotian naturally had no objections and stepped aside.
Deng Ziyang wielded a sword. “My sword technique is called ‘Chasing Wind’. I came upon it by chance. It’s quite exquisite, so Senior Brother better be careful.”
Chen Ming raised his saber and said loudly, “Please, show me!”