Chapter 30: Mastery of the Flying Knife Technique
Huo Chengkun was truly dead!
After sending Deng Ziyang back to his family’s carriage, Chen Ming went to the Huo Residence.
He found the gatekeeper, whose face was filled with grief, and inquired about the situation.
The gatekeeper said that Huo Chengkun had fallen seriously ill the previous night.
Several doctors had been called in to treat him, but they couldn’t save him.
He passed away during the night.
A sudden illness?
Who would believe that?
A Sixth Grade Martial Artist dying from a sudden illness?
That kind of excuse was only good enough to deceive oneself.
Huo Chengkun had actually died just like that...
Chen Ming felt a little conflicted.
Since he crossed over to this world, he had only met Huo Chengkun three times.
Speaking of which, he owed him some gratitude—for being willing to let him stay on as a sparring partner.
Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have become a martial artist so quickly.
Chen Ming didn’t go inside and simply left.
He wasn’t Huo Chengkun’s disciple.
As an outsider, it wasn’t appropriate to enter at a time like this.
As he walked away from the Huo Residence, it suddenly began to rain.
The icy droplets struck his face, bringing a chill that seeped into the bones.
…
“It’s finally done!”
Three days later, in the morning, in the courtyard.
Chen Ming flicked out two flying knives. With two solid thunks, they landed squarely in the bullseye of a wooden target several meters away.
A sudden insight welled up in his heart. He opened his panel and took a look.
【Level: 10】
【Current Points: 4401】
【Martial Arts: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level – Perfected), "Three Suns Body Tempering" (First Level 4/1000)】
【Techniques: "Three Talents Fist" (Proficient 55/500+), "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" (Mastery), "Zhuang’s Flying Knife" (Beginner 1/500)】
There was now a new martial technique on the panel—“Zhuang’s Flying Knife.”
The flying knife technique that Zhuang Xiaotian taught him—it was perfectly reasonable to name it "Zhuang’s Flying Knife."
It required 500 experience points just to reach the beginner level, five times more than the "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique." This showed that the technique was of a higher grade.
“Young Master is amazing!”
“Young Master, you’ve mastered it!”
Nearby, two thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girls clapped and cheered.
They dashed over, retrieved the knives from the wooden board, and ran back to place them on the table beside him.
These two girls were the maids his sister-in-law had bought for him.
They were dark-skinned and thin, but quick with their hands and feet, and cheerful in disposition.
It was said they were daughters of rural farmers.
When famine struck last year, their family borrowed from loan sharks.
Unable to repay the debt, the girls were sold to human traffickers to settle it.
The wealthy households in the city had already picked through the selection. No one wanted these two, so they were sold cheaply.
Madam Wei felt that though the girls were skinny, they had strength and worked diligently.
She considered it a bargain and was quite pleased with herself.
To her, beauty didn’t matter—what mattered in a good maid was her ability to work.
When Chen Ming saw them, his dreams of beautiful maids adding fragrance to his studies were completely shattered.
He gave them names: one was called Chunxiang (Spring Fragrance), and the other, Xiaxiang (Summer Fragrance).
“Add points!”
Without hesitation, Chen Ming invested 500 points.
Zhuang’s Flying Knife (Skilled 1/1000)
Instantly, his mind filled with numerous insights and techniques regarding the flying knife.
At the same time, both hands tingled slightly—his nerves undergoing some subtle transformation.
It felt as if he had trained for years already.
“Again.”
Another thousand points went in.
Zhuang’s Flying Knife (Proficient 1/2000)
Immediately, his mind was once more flooded with a torrent of memories and insights.
At this level, he could execute intermediate techniques with ease. Even advanced techniques were somewhat within his grasp.
“But it’s still not enough!”
Gritting his teeth, Chen Ming invested another two thousand points.
Zhuang’s Flying Knife (Mastery)!
【Level: 10】
【Current Points: 901】
【Martial Arts: "Iron Horse Stance" (Fifth Level – Perfected), "Three Suns Body Tempering" (First Level 4/1000)】
【Techniques: "Three Talents Fist" (Proficient 55/500+), "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" (Mastery), "Zhuang’s Flying Knife" (Mastery)】
…
“Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Chunxiang noticed that Chen Ming suddenly closed his eyes and stood still.
A bit frightened, she softly called out to him. When he didn’t respond, she panicked and started crying, “It’s over. This Young Master has been cursed to death by us again… Let’s hurry and run…”
“Don’t say nonsense…”
Xiaxiang was nervous too, but remained calmer.
She reached out to check if Chen Ming was still breathing.
The moment she did, she nearly cried as well. “It’s over—it’s really gone…”
Just then, Chen Ming suddenly opened his eyes.
Seeing the two maids crying like little tearful kittens, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“He’s come back to life—!”
The two maids were nearly scared out of their wits.
Screaming, they turned to flee.
“Hahaha…”
It wasn’t until they heard Chen Ming’s hearty laughter that they realized what had happened.
Pouting, they scolded him, “Young Master, you scared us so badly…”
“You almost scared us to death, Young Master…”
Chen Ming casually picked up two flying knives and flung them behind him without looking.
The two knives collided midair, then ricocheted off each other and landed perfectly in the bullseyes of two wooden targets.
This technique was called “Chasing the Stars and Catching the Moon.”
It could easily throw off an opponent’s judgment and was nearly impossible to defend against.
After reaching mastery in Zhuang’s Flying Knife, he was no longer limited to the specific forms Zhuang Xiaotian had taught him.
He could freely mix and match techniques, no longer bound to fixed patterns.
Chen Ming asked, “Just now, you said ‘cursed to death again.’ What did you mean by that?”
Chunxiang’s face stiffened.
Xiaxiang stammered, “Y-Young Master, w-we were just speaking nonsense, please don’t take it seriously…”
Chen Ming said flatly, “Shall I go ask the human trafficker about it?”
The color drained from both girls’ faces.
They couldn’t take the pressure any longer and confessed.
It turned out they weren’t unwanted. They had just been unlucky. After being bought, the masters they served each died unexpectedly not long after.
Naturally, people labeled the two girls as jinxes, bringers of misfortune. As a result, they were returned to the trafficker.
“Young Master, please don’t send us away… That trafficker said if we get returned again, he’ll sell us to a brothel…”
“We don’t want to end up in a brothel…”
“Please… we won’t ask for any wages…”
“Yes, just a bite to eat is enough…”
“Please don’t kick us out…”
Seeing the two girls kneeling and crying their hearts out, Chen Ming couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy. He said, “Alright, get up.”
“Young Master…”
Two tear-streaked, sooty faces looked up at him.
He couldn’t muster even a sliver of pity. If they were pretty maids, it might have been a scene of delicate tears on a flower-like face.
Forget it—he couldn’t afford beautiful maids anyway.
They might be a little dark, but they were efficient workers.
“We’ll see how you behave.”
Chen Ming didn’t give a definite answer.
The two girls were already showering him with thanks and started kowtowing.
“Enough. With the way you’re bowing, are you trying to shorten my lifespan?”
He pulled them up and warned, “Don’t let anyone else know about this. If my sister-in-law finds out and wants to kick you out, I won’t be able to keep you.”
The two maids nodded frantically like pecking chickens.
“Alright, go get me a change of clothes. I’m heading out.”
…
Today was the day of Huo Chengkun’s funeral.
Since Chen Ming had studied martial arts at the Huo Residence, it was only natural that he would attend.
Dressed in black, he rode a carriage to the gate of the Huo Residence.
Today, the residence was especially crowded.
Huo Chengkun had been here for more than ten years.
Just among his registered disciples, there were over a hundred, not to mention his friends and acquaintances.
People like Chen Ming, who weren’t official disciples but had studied martial arts at the Huo Residence, were even more numerous. So the turnout was very large.
After entering the Huo Residence, Chen Ming could tell from the attendees’ clothing what their relationship with Huo Chengkun had been.
Those in mourning clothes were the personal disciples and his granddaughter, Huo Qianqian.
Those with white cloth bands tied around their arms were registered disciples.
Everyone else had more distant connections.
Eventually, Chen Ming ran into someone he knew—Hong Mingquan.
“You’re here.”
Hong Mingquan’s expression was a bit dazed. But upon seeing Chen Ming, a faint light returned to his eyes.
“Fifth Senior Brother.”
Chen Ming greeted him and asked sorrowfully, “How could this have happened so suddenly? Master Huo… What exactly happened that day?”
He waited until no one was nearby before asking.
Hong Mingquan shook his head and avoided the question. He only said, “Can you come by tonight? I need to ask you for something.”