Chapter 7 Senior Brother

Chapter 7 Senior Brother

Chapter 7 Senior Brother
Chen Yuan practiced boxing with great concentration in the yard. He stopped only when it was almost noon because he felt too hungry.

Practicing martial arts requires strengthening the internal energy, which consumes a lot of energy and requires more energy. This is one of the reasons why the poor are good at literature but good at martial arts.

Chen Yuan washed off the sweat stains, changed into a yellow cloth short shirt, picked up the food box, and prepared to go to the kitchen to get food.

Just as he was about to go out, Zhao Shan came back and the two of them happened to go together.

Chen Yuan's appetite was much larger than yesterday. He asked Xiaoliu for ten white flour cakes, two large bowls of stewed meat and a bowl of vegetables.

Manager Sun was not in the kitchen today, so there was no need to deal with him. Zhao Shan was obviously much more casual. He chatted happily with the group of gray-clothed apprentices and introduced Chen Yuan to them.

On the surface, Chen Yuan still had a silly smile on his face, but in private he was calmly observing everyone and their attitude towards Zhao Shan.

From the time the two entered the kitchen to the time they left with food boxes full of food, in just less than half a quarter of an hour, more than thirty apprentices in gray came to the kitchen to get food, and there were also several apprentices in yellow. They all knew Zhao Shan and respected him very much.

Seeing that Zhao Shan was so popular, Chen Yuan became less wary of him.

When he first entered Baibing Hall, he met the malicious Steward Li, and he did not dare to trust Zhao Shan, who seemed warm and kind.

But now it seems that Zhao Shan has a very good relationship with people and he must be kind to others in his daily life.

Combined with the past two days of interaction, Chen Yuan was certain that Zhao Shan was indeed not a bad person.

Of course, one can never judge a person by his appearance, so Chen Yuan would not take off his disguise, nor would he reveal his progress in martial arts training in front of Zhao Shan.

But if Zhao Shan truly regarded him as his fellow apprentice, he would never treat Zhao Shan unfairly if he became successful in martial arts in the future.

……

After lunch, Zhao Shan brought Chen Yuan to Manager Li’s residence.

The Li Mansion is a large house with three courtyards, not far behind the Baibing Hall.

Chen Yuan learned from Zhao Shan that the area where Baibingtang was located was called Xingyefang, and all the courtyards and mansions in the square were the properties of Baibingtang.

The small courtyard where the two lived and the mansion of Manager Li were both owned by the hall.

The doorman of Li's mansion was very familiar with Zhao Shan, so he let the two men into the mansion without informing them.

The two of them came to the main hall, and Zhao Shan bowed respectfully:
"Zhao Shan has met the Master."

Chen Yuan followed suit and saluted:

"Erniu has met the master."

Steward Li sat on the armchair, and Wang Cong stood beside him, very respectful.

Manager Li stroked his beard and chuckled:

"Now that you are here, Erniu, demonstrate the Subduing Tiger Fist for me to see."

"Yes, Master."

Chen Yuan responded respectfully, and then practiced the Subduing Tiger Fist again, but at a much slower speed.
After Chen Yuan finished his drill, Manager Li nodded with satisfaction and said:

"You've mastered the Subduing Tiger Fist to this level in your first martial arts training. Not bad, not bad."

Chen Yuan smiled and said:
"This is all thanks to Senior Brother Zhao's good teaching..."

"Junior Brother Chen, be careful with your words!"

Before Chen Yuan finished speaking, Wang Cong suddenly shouted:
"You are Master's apprentice. Junior Brother Zhao is just passing on the skills on behalf of Master. Master taught you well!"

Chen Yuan was stunned, and quickly changed his words:
"I was wrong, it's the master who taught me well!"

Manager Li nodded slightly, seeming to be very pleased, and looked at Zhao Shan:
"You have put in a lot of effort. Go to the account tomorrow and collect one or two taels of silver."

Zhao Shan said gratefully:
"Thank you for the reward, Master!"

Manager Li looked at Chen Yuan again:

"Erniu, when you return, concentrate on practicing martial arts and enter the Leather Refining Realm as soon as possible. Your master still has great use for you... Wang Cong, send Erniu back."

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Yuan responded respectfully and followed Wang Cong out.

Behind him, Manager Li said to Zhao Shan:
"Any movement from the Guard today?"

"Reporting to Master..."

Wang Cong sent Chen Yuan to the gate of the courtyard and suddenly said:

"Brother Chen, have you remembered Master's instructions?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said:
"Remember, Master told me to practice martial arts well and enter the Leather Refining Realm as soon as possible."

Wang Cong nodded:
"Just remember, Master is kind-hearted. He accepted you as his disciple and taught you martial arts, but he didn't want you to eat for free. Within one year, you must enter the Skin Refining Realm, otherwise I will persuade Master to demote you to a menial job!"

Chen Yuan was horrified and said in panic:

"Yes, Brother, I will definitely practice martial arts well."

Wang Cong stared at Chen Yuan's face, and when he saw that his expression was not fake, he smiled and said:

"Very good. Once a teacher, always a father. Since we are accepted as disciples by the master, we must repay the master. Think about the days you spent in the countryside, and then think about the days you have spent these two days. It was the master who made sure you had enough food and drink. Don't let the master down."

Chen Yuan's eyes turned red and he nodded heavily:
"It is Master who allows me to eat meat every day. Don't worry, Brother, Erniu is not an ungrateful person!"

Wang Cong nodded with satisfaction:

"Go ahead. From now on, come to the mansion to pay respect to the master at noon every day. The rest of the time, concentrate on practicing martial arts. When you enter the Skin Refining Realm, I will arrange tasks for you."

"Yes, senior brother!"

Wang Cong waved his hand, turned and walked into Li's house.

Chen Yuan looked at Wang Cong's back. The fear and trepidation on his face disappeared, his red eyes returned to normal, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and he turned and left.

He played the good and bad cops again, and really took him for a stupid country boy.

However, within this year, he can concentrate on martial arts training, which is good news. After a round of boxing, Chen Yuan had no doubt that he could enter the skin refining realm.

And judging from the deadline given by Wang Cong, Manager Li also believed that he would be able to enter the Skin Refining Realm within a year, which should not be a problem.

But just reaching the Skin Refining Realm is not enough. Chen Yuan doesn't know how intense the fight between Manager Li and Zhang Jinkui is, what kind of tasks they will assign to him, and how big the risks are.

We must make good use of this year and try our best to improve our strength.

……

In the afternoon, Chen Yuan continued to practice the Subduing Tiger Fist, and the internal energy in his body grew rapidly.

At dusk, Zhao Shan did not come back. He went to the kitchen alone to get food and met Manager Sun again. They couldn't help but exchange pleasantries.

Manager Sun saw that Chen Yuan's appetite had increased greatly, and he understood:
"Brother Chen, have you started learning martial arts?"

Chen Yuan said embarrassedly:

“Did I eat too much?”

Manager Sun was startled and said with a smile:

"The kitchen staff's job is to provide meals for the apprentices and servants in the hall. No matter how much Brother Chen eats, it's his due."

Chen Yuan smiled and said:
"I'm afraid if I eat too much now, I won't be able to eat meat in the future."

Manager Sun was both amused and confused:
"Haha, Brother Chen, you're worrying too much. It's impossible for a martial artist to eat less!"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he smiled innocently:
"I can rest assured that……"

……

After Chen Yuan finished his meal, he practiced the Subduing Tiger Fist for another hour before Zhao Shan returned to the courtyard.

He saw Chen Yuan was sweating all over, his face was red, his breathing was rapid, and he frowned and said:

"Junior brother, have you been practicing from the afternoon to the evening?"

Chen Yuan nodded, Zhao Shan frowned even more and said sternly:
"Nonsense! When you first practice martial arts, you will be exhausted after practicing for three hours at most. How can you drag your tired body and force yourself to practice until now? This will damage your meridians and body!"

After saying that, he took two steps forward, stretched out three fingers, pinched Chen Yuan's wrist, and examined it carefully.

Chen Yuan was stunned and said:
“But I don’t feel exhausted…”

Zhao Shan raised his head and said in surprise:

"Strange, you've been practicing for so long, how come your pulse is still so strong and powerful?"

Chen Yuan scratched his head:
"I don't know either. After meeting Master at noon, Senior Brother Wang asked me to practice martial arts well to repay Master. I didn't dare to slack off, so I started practicing Subduing Tiger Fist as soon as I came back, and I have been practicing it until now..."

Zhao Shan nodded slowly and said thoughtfully:

"Ordinary people would definitely not be able to bear the amount of martial arts you practice. It must be that your physical strength is different from that of ordinary people, so you can bear the burden of martial arts practice on your body."

Chen Yuan nodded, not quite understanding:

"Then can I still continue to practice the Subduing Tiger Fist?"

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"It should be no problem. It seems that you are also a martial arts genius. Although you didn't develop the Qi in one day, you have practiced martial arts for much longer than ordinary people. In the long run, you may achieve something."

Chen Yuan smiled bitterly:
"Senior Brother Wang said that I must break through the Skin Refining Stage within a year, otherwise he will demote me to a menial job. I don't want to be a menial job, so I can only practice martial arts desperately."

Zhao Shan's expression changed:
"How dare Wang Cong say that? I'll report this to Master right now!"

Chen Yuan quickly stopped him:

"I think Senior Brother Wang is right. Master has done me a great favor by accepting me as his disciple. Of course I must practice martial arts desperately and repay Master in the future."

Zhao Shan's expression eased:
"That's true, but Wang Cong usually relies on the master's favor to bully apprentices. Today he bullied you again. This is really too much. I have to go find him and ask for an explanation!"

A trace of fear flashed across Chen Yuan's face:
"Master didn't say anything. Brother, will it be helpful if you go find him?"

Zhao Shan sighed:
"Master is just too kindhearted. He was kept in the dark by a treacherous villain like Wang Cong. He deceived his superiors and subordinates. How despicable!"

He was still indignant, but he no longer mentioned going to Wang Cong to ask for an explanation.

Chen Yuan smiled bitterly but shook his head secretly in his heart.

Even after he said so much, Zhao Shan still firmly believed that Manager Li was kind-hearted and it was Wang Cong who was cunning.

Zhao Shan changed the subject:
"Junior brother, since your body can bear the burden, don't waste time and practice martial arts well. Although Wang Cong is cunning, he is very favored by the master. If you can't break through the skin refining realm within a year, he may really persuade the master to demote you to a menial job."

"Yes, Brother, I will never slack off!"

Chen Yuan agreed solemnly, but then he stroked his belly and said awkwardly:

"I've been practicing for an hour and I'm hungry again..."

Zhao Shan laughed:
"That's easy. I'll go find Manager Sun tomorrow and ask him to prepare an extra food box. You can fill an extra portion of rice and eat it in the evening."

Chen Yuan was overjoyed:

"Thank you, senior brother!"

"It's a small matter. Come on, go and eat something so you don't have to go to bed hungry."

Chen Yuan stood up:

"Wait a moment, brother. I'll go get the money."

Zhao Shan waved his hand:
"No, if it weren't for you, Master wouldn't have rewarded me with a tael of silver today. Today is my treat."

"This... cost me a lot of money."

"Haha, we are brothers, why are you being so polite? Come on, come on, you haven't been to a restaurant yet, right? There is a Zhang's Restaurant nearby. The twice-cooked pork there is very good. I'll take you to try it..."

(End of this chapter)