Chapter 10 3 years

Chapter 10 3 years

Chapter 10 Three Years
The autumn wind is gentle, the sky is blue, white clouds are floating, and wild geese are flying south.

The gentle sunlight shines through the increasingly sparse branches and leaves of the old locust tree in the yard and falls on a young man.

The young man was tall, wearing a linen short shirt, and was practicing boxing and martial arts.

clap clap clap!
He moved extremely quickly and his eyes were sharp. Wherever his fists and feet passed, they left a trail of afterimages and made a continuous sound of breaking wind, the sound of which was extremely terrifying.

"call……"

After practicing for a full hour, the young man stopped walking with his fists, slightly closed his eyes, opened his mouth and exhaled a foot-long white gas, shaped like a long arrow, which lingered for a long time.

He slowly opened his eyes, his face looked a little ugly, and murmured:
"It's been seven months, and I still can't break through. It seems that I have to change to a better method..."

The young man's eyes flickered, and after a moment, he returned to calm.

He took two steps to the weapon rack under the locust tree, slowly pulled out a four-foot-long sword from the scabbard on the rack, and gently stroked the blade with his fingers.

Suddenly, the young man shook his wrist, the blade flashed, and a withered yellow leaf was silently split into two halves and fell down.

Swish swish!
The long sword weighing thirty pounds was as light as a feather in his hand, and the blade was shining with a dazzling cold light.

What was even more horrifying was that after the young man finished performing a set of sword techniques, he breathed slowly and his face remained calm. He showed no sign of exhaustion at all, and his hands kept moving as he continued to practice his sword techniques.

The long sword is heavy and difficult to hold. It is a weapon used in the army. Even the strongest soldiers can only swing it a dozen times with all their strength. Few warriors in the world use it.

After the young man finished practicing a set of sword techniques, he acted as if nothing had happened and even continued practicing. After an hour, he sheathed the sword.

Only at this moment did the young man's face turn slightly red, but his breathing remained steady and long.

He looked up at the sky and saw that it was almost noon, so he walked into the main house, changed into a yellow cloth short coat, tied a wooden badge around his waist, picked up a food box, and walked out of the courtyard.

The young man walked through the alleys and came to a yard with three chimneys and walked in.

A dozen gray-robed apprentices gathered in the courtyard, queuing up to get their meals. When they saw the young man coming in, seven or eight of them greeted him:
"Brother Chen, you're here!"

"Brother Chen!"

The young man showed a simple smile:

"Haha, Junior Brother Zhang, Junior Brother Wei, you guys are here quite early..."

He greeted everyone one by one, then handed the lunch box to a servant and said with a silly smile:
"Brother Xiaoliu, let's stick to the old rules. Twenty white flour cakes, three bowls of stewed meat, and one bowl of vegetables!"

"okay!"

Xiaoliu took the food box, turned around and walked into the house.

A long-faced apprentice heard the young man's words and smacked his lips:
"This guy has such a big appetite!"

After hearing this, the short and fat apprentice in front of him turned around and said in surprise:

"You are so ignorant, aren't you? You don't even know Brother Chen."

The long-faced apprentice asked curiously:
"Brother, is Senior Brother Chen very famous? Tell me about it! I just passed the test and became an apprentice three days ago. I don't know anything..."

The short and fat apprentice became interested:

"Then I will tell you about it. Senior Brother Chen is a very good man, kind-hearted, and humble. He often helps us gray-robed apprentices, and he is also very skilled in martial arts. I heard that he will soon become the fourth leader of the guard team!"

The long-faced apprentice said enviously:
"The Guard is a good job. You don't have to work and you can eat meat every day. It would be great if I could join the Guard... Is Senior Brother Chen in the Guard now?"

"Of course! Senior Brother Chen joined the Guards a year ago. He wields a thirty-jin long sword and I heard he killed several bandits!"

"A 30-jin sword?!" The long-faced apprentice's eyes widened. "It's hard for me to even move 30-jin iron!"

The short and fat apprentice showed a proud look on his face:

"Hehe, Senior Brother Chen is a martial arts genius. He passed the apprenticeship test three years ago and was accepted as an apprentice by Manager Li on the same day. He broke through to the Skin Refining Realm in one year and stayed with Manager Li for a year before joining the Guard. He is extremely brave and has made many contributions. He broke through to the Bone Refining Realm a month and a half ago. The three senior brothers who lead the Guard are only at this level!"

"Brother Chen is the disciple of Manager Li? No wonder he is so powerful. Before I came to the hall, I had heard of Manager Li's reputation. He is a master at the peak of marrow refining. The reputation has spread all over Leping County!"

"Then did you know that Manager Li has two more powerful disciples?"

"Which two disciples?"

"That's a long story..."

The young man stood in the distance, listening to the two people whispering, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

Although the two men deliberately lowered their voices, they could not hide from his increasingly sensitive five senses.

The young man was Chen Yuan. Three years had passed since he entered Baibing Hall and became the apprentice of Manager Li.

Hearing from an apprentice about his experiences over the past three years, Chen Yuan felt a little nostalgic.

He has indeed experienced a lot in these three years.

Soon, Xiaoliu came over with a full food box and handed it to Chen Yuan carefully:

"Brother Chen, take it."

"Thank you."

Chen Yuan took the food box very politely and turned to leave.

Behind him, a group of gray-robed apprentices spoke up:
"Senior Brother Chen, walk slowly!"

"Brother Chen, are you still only taking one day off?" Chen Yuan said with a smile as he walked:
"Yes, I will return to the Guard tomorrow..."

After another round of greetings, he walked out of the kitchen, quickened his pace, and walked along the way he came. The smile on his face slowly disappeared and he returned to calmness.

……

After lunch, Chen Yuan came to Manager Li’s house.

Chen arrived very early, while Wang Cong and Zhao Shan had not arrived yet.

Chen Yuan came to the main hall and bowed respectfully to Manager Li:
"Erniu greets the master!"

Manager Li stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Erniu is here. Today is your monthly day off, right? Why don't you go to the brothels and listen to music?"

Chen Yuan scratched his head and said with a silly smile:
"Erniu doesn't understand those things, he only knows how to practice martial arts. I have nothing to do during the month break, so I have to serve my master."

The smile on Manager Li's face became more intense:

"You are very filial. How is your practice of Subduing Tiger Strength going? What are the difficulties?"

Chen Yuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked:

"Master, when I circulate my Qi through the Chong Meridian, I always feel agitated..."

He asked a few questions and Manager Li gave him instructions one by one.

During this period, Wang Cong and Zhao Shan arrived one after another. Neither dared to make a sound to disturb them. They stood aside and listened carefully.

They are only at the Bone Refining Stage now, but their accumulation is deeper than Chen Yuan's. Manager Li's guidance is equally effective for them.

A quarter of an hour later, Manager Li stopped smiling and said seriously:
"Okay, let's stop here first. Your two brothers are here too. There is something I need to tell you."

"Master, please give me instructions!"

Wang Cong responded, and Chen Yuan and Zhao Shan also looked serious and listened attentively.

Manager Li stroked his beard and spoke slowly:
"Tomorrow morning, the hall will transport a batch of ironware to the Chimang Mountains. I will also go with the caravan. You three should also go with me."

"Yes, Master!"

The three of them responded in unison.

"This time we are doing business with a new village. It is a big deal worth several thousand taels of silver. We need to deliver the goods to the depths of the Chimang Mountains. The journey is difficult and dangerous, and there are bandits everywhere. You must be well prepared and don't take it lightly."

Wang Cong asked:

"Master, didn't the gang buy the flags of those villages? There shouldn't be anyone so blind as to rob us, right?"

Manager Li narrowed his eyes and said solemnly:
"Things are different now. Last year, Lanzhou and Xingzhou in the north and west suffered drought and locust plagues respectively. The victims fled in all directions. There are more and more new villages in Chimang Mountain, and they are becoming less and less aware of the rules. The flags we bought before are becoming less and less effective. We must act with caution."

Wang Cong's face changed:
"Yes, Master, I won't be careless!"

Manager Li nodded, his expression slightly relieved:
"You don't have to worry too much. After all, our Fu Hu Gang is not a small business. No one will provoke us easily. Moreover, Manager Sun attaches great importance to this transaction. He sent me and Zhang Jinkui together. He will definitely bring his apprentice with him. With you, there will be six bone refining warriors, which is even safer."

The three of them nodded in unison, but Wang Cong and Zhao Shan looked extremely solemn.

Chen Yuan still had an honest look on his face, but he was also startled in his heart and became secretly alert.

Baibingtang is an openly law-abiding blacksmith shop, but secretly it has been doing business with bandits.

The business of the garrison in the county is not easy to do. One has to go through the workshops and barracks of the county government, and also have to share profits with other shops. There are too many people involved in the middle, so the cost is too high and the profits are not that great.

Landlords and powerful people often have their own blacksmiths, and the ironware they buy from Baibingtang is not much and is unstable.

The bandit camps in the Chimang Mountains are willing to spend money to buy weapons and ironware, and the demand is huge. Doing business with them does not require paying taxes to the county, and the profits are the most lucrative.

Baibingtang has the support of the Fuhu Gang, bribed the county garrison, and has connections in both the black and white worlds. Of course, they will not let go of this piece of fat meat.

This is also the reason why the hall has a large number of guards. If it only does legal business in the county, there would be no need for so many guards.

But in the past, Baibingtang had always done business with the bandits on the edge of the Chimang Mountains. This time, they were going to enter the middle section of the mountains and do business with a new village. They didn't know the details, so the risk was greatly increased.

Even the two stewards have been dispatched, so Chen Yuan and the other two need to be even more careful.

Afterwards, Manager Li gave a few more instructions and asked Wang Cong, Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan to leave the Li Mansion.

Zhao Shan did not rest today, but had to go to the guard team. When he said goodbye to Chen Yuan, he reminded him:
"You heard it too. This trip into the mountains is no small matter. You can't act rashly again."

Chen Yuan nodded heavily:

"I will obey Master and Senior Brother in everything!"

Zhao Shan was still worried:
"You said the same thing last time, but what happened? Zheng Jun is Zhang Jinkui's apprentice, and he has bad intentions. He asked you to charge forward, but you did? You were lucky that you didn't get besieged and even killed a bandit. But if you are so reckless in the future, you won't even know how you died!"

Chen Yuan scratched his head and said embarrassedly:

"Senior Brother Zheng is the leader of the guard team. I have to follow his instructions. Who knew he would harm me..."

Zhao Shan shook his head and said helplessly:
"You are too honest! This time when we go into the mountains, you must stay with me the whole time and you are not allowed to do anything on your own!"

Chen Yuan grinned:
"Yes, senior brother!"

(End of this chapter)