Chapter 33: Presenting Himself for Punishment
The next several days, Chen Ming stayed at home, immersed in studying the manual of “Five-Elements Saber Technique.”
The more he pondered, the more he felt something was off about this saber style.
He had already mastered the “Eight Trigrams Saber Art” ("Bagua Saber Technique") and had gained a certain understanding of saber combat.
The deeper he studied, the more he found illogical points in the “Five-Elements Saber.”¹
Especially when paired with its accompanying mental framework, the sense of inconsistency grew even stronger.
“Could it be, as people say, that this is actually a sword technique, and Huo Chengkun just retrofitted it into a saber style?”²
Chen Ming couldn’t help but suspect this possibility.
Still, he wasn’t sure—after all, he could only rely on diagrams and his imagination. He’d have to wait until Hong Mingquan returned.
Yet as he waited left and right, the funeral escort from the Huo family still hadn’t come back.
After all, Xiaoshui is only a little over 200 li from Qingfeng City, so even if they traveled slowly, they should have returned by now.
…
That very night, Chen Ming had already gone to bed.
Suddenly, he heard a noise.
Turning over, he saw a small stone on the floor beside his bed, with a piece of paper wrapped around it.
“Again?”
He swung out of bed, removed the note, and opened it. In the same scrawled handwriting, it read: “Back alley—duel again.”
Chen Ming’s heart leapt with joy. As long as she lost and didn’t go for reinforcements, how could he refuse?
He threw on his clothes, picked up his saber, and headed out.
In the back alley, she appeared once more dressed in black night-gear.
Seeing him emerge, she didn’t say a word; she drew her sword and attacked, using the “Returning Swallow Swordplay” as before.³
Chen Ming cautiously defended, carefully observing.
Matching it with the mental formulas from the saber manual, he found it much smoother.
“So it’s true what she said—the Five-Elements Saber is actually a sword technique.”
He began to feel quite certain.
This time, the two fought nearly a hundred moves.
As Chen Ming’s understanding of the “Returning Swallow Swordplay” increased, he responded more easily.
Whenever Zhong Shuyu attacked, he could predict which move she was about to use and respond in time.
In terms of saber discipline and combat experience, she really lagged behind him.
After more than a hundred exchanges, Zhong Shuyu abruptly withdrew, stepping out of the fray. She huffed:
“I’m done—this is boring.”
With that, she vaulted over the wall and disappeared into the night.
Chen Ming felt a bit regretful—he had hoped to spar more and secretly learn the authentic “Returning Swallow Swordplay” from her.
Too bad. Judging from her attitude, she probably wouldn’t come back.
He waited a moment.
Seeing no notification about earning experience points came up, his spirits sank further—he’d wasted all that effort for nothing.
…
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Hong Mingquan still hadn’t returned, and there was no word of him at all.
In this era, communication was undeveloped and news slow to spread.
Chen Ming had few connections, so it was difficult even to ask around.
He could only comfort Hong Mingquan’s wife and child:
“No news means good news. Perhaps he was delayed by something unforeseen.”⁷
Li, Hong Mingquan’s wife, and their son Hong Zilin showed great strength.
They didn’t weep or fuss—they continued with their daily routines.
What they felt privately remained unknown to him.
The next day, Hong Zilin volunteered to start martial training under Chen Ming.
Now each morning he practiced with the other boys, and he had already become “Senior Brother Big” among them.
Over these two weeks, the lady in blue hadn’t come back to challenge him again.
On this morning, just after breakfast, Chen Ming was reading in the courtyard—a history book—trying to catch up on the factual knowledge of this world.
Suddenly, maid Chunxiang came to report: a guest surnamed Zhou was requesting to see him.
“Here to see me?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Chunxiang had been staying at the Chen residence for over half a month, and instead of becoming fairer, she had actually grown darker.
She and Xiaxiang were both quite motivated.
Knowing that Chen Ming was teaching martial arts to others, they had been secretly trying to learn by watching from the sidelines.
When he discovered this, he simply allowed them to train along with the others in the mornings—on the condition that it wouldn’t interfere with their primary duties.
The two sisters were immensely grateful.
They knew very well that in most households, such behavior—secretly trying to learn martial arts—would at the very least get their limbs broken.
From that day on, they became completely loyal to this young master.
Chen Ming thought it over but couldn’t recall knowing any friend surnamed Zhou, so he said, “Invite him in.”
Soon, the guest was led in.
He was a stranger—an unfamiliar middle-aged man wearing a humble smile.
As soon as he entered, he bowed deeply and respectfully. “I am Zhou Quan, paying respects to Lord Chen.”
This caught Chen Ming off guard.
However, he didn’t rush to help the man up. For someone to give such an exaggerated salute upon their first meeting—there had to be something going on.
Either he wanted something.
Or he had come to atone for a misdeed.
In a flash of thought, Chen Ming stepped aside, refusing the bow. He spoke indifferently, “I don’t dare accept the title of ‘lord.’ Mr. Zhou, why would you greet me with such a grand gesture upon our first meeting? Could it be you’ve done something shameful?”
Cold sweat instantly poured down Zhou Quan’s face. He didn’t even dare to wipe it and replied, trembling, “My lord sees clearly. It was all my fault—momentarily muddled by greed and deceived by a scoundrel. I committed a disgraceful act. I’ve come specifically to apologize. I beg your lordship not to hold a grudge against a lowly person like me and grant me a chance.”
Chen Ming was puzzled seeing the man trembling like a leaf.
Was he really that terrifying?
He asked, “Tell me the full story.”
Zhou Quan stammered through the whole ordeal.
…
It turned out Zhou Quan was a medicinal herb merchant who had worked with the Chen family’s pharmacy for many years.
Even when Chen Ming’s parents were still alive, they used to source from him.
Just over a month ago, someone had approached him, asking him to tamper with a shipment bound for the Chen pharmacy—offering generous rewards in return.
Blinded by greed, he did as the man asked.
Chen Rui hadn’t been on guard at the time—after all, Zhou had been a long-term supplier—so he accepted the batch without question.
Later, somehow, he discovered something wrong with the goods and confronted Zhou Quan about it.
Of course, Zhou denied everything.
Fortunately, Chen Rui eventually found another supplier, paid a premium for a new batch, and managed to make the delivery on time—thus preserving the pharmacy’s reputation.
Afterward, Zhou grew increasingly uneasy with guilt and had now come, bearing gifts, to seek forgiveness.
Having heard everything, Chen Ming finally understood why his big brother had been staying at the pharmacy for several days straight without returning home.
However, since Chen Rui hadn’t said a word about it, Chen Ming had simply played dumb.
Of course, he didn’t believe Zhou’s explanation about a guilty conscience.
That was pure nonsense.
Most likely, he had heard somewhere that Chen Rui’s younger brother had become a Ninth Grade Martial Artist and had come groveling out of fear of retaliation.¹
Whether Chen Ming reported it to the authorities or took private revenge, it was not something a small-time herb merchant like Zhou could bear.
To ordinary people, a Ninth Grade Martial Artist was an unchallengeable force.¹
Chen Ming looked at Zhou Quan, who was kneeling on the ground sobbing with remorse, and felt no sympathy.
He asked coldly, “Who was the one that told you to do this?”
“I… I recognize him… He was… a steward from Jinyuan Prosperity Trading…”
Jinyuan Prosperity?
Chen Ming was momentarily stunned.
He had nearly forgotten this old enemy of the original body’s owner.
He hadn’t expected them to show up again now, trying to make their presence known.
“My lord… I was truly momentarily blinded by greed… I’m willing to compensate…” Zhou Quan continued to plead.
Chen Ming found it annoying and said, “Step aside. Wait for my big brother to return. Whether or not he forgives you is up to him.”
…
It wasn’t until evening that Chen Rui returned home.
Seeing Zhou Quan, he immediately flew into a rage.
Normally a gentle man, he almost rushed up to punch him.
“You still have the face to come to my house?”
“Manager Chen, please calm your anger. I’ve come to apologize—I’m willing to compensate you for all your losses…” Zhou Quan didn’t dare dodge. He just shouted loudly.
Chen Rui froze when he heard the word “compensate.”
He could hardly believe it.
The image of Zhou’s shameless denial during their last confrontation was still fresh in his memory.
And now, he was offering compensation of his own accord?
Looking at Zhou’s fearful expression, then at his younger brother casually sipping tea on the side, everything suddenly clicked into place.
It wasn’t guilt that drove Zhou here—it was fear of his younger brother, now a Ninth Grade Martial Artist!
For a moment, Chen Rui’s emotions were complicated.
In the end, it still came down to relying on his younger brother to clean up the mess.