Sword Practice

Despite the loss of his family and the death of his loved ones, the orphan's revenge did not materialize.

Both Ma San and Ma Liu were stabbed in the stomach by several burly bandits, their intestines and blood spilling onto the ground, making them mortally dead.

They didn't even spare boys.

The whole family died on the road five miles from Shahe Village.

"Big brother, they're all dead."

A lean man with a monkey-like face spoke to the burly man in the lead.

"Carry it to Langzi Bay."

"Okay."

Then, several men carried away the bodies of Ma San's family.

A moment later.

The woods returned to silence.

A full quarter of an hour later.

A figure emerged from a hidden thicket of bushes.

It was Zhong Xuan.

When he learned that Ma San's family had been expelled from Xiahe Village, he followed them all the way.

Come here.

It's nothing more than killing someone to silence them, cutting off the roots and eliminating all traces.

He could be said to have watched Ma San grow up, so he knew better than anyone the man's evil nature and that he would definitely seek revenge in the future. In order to avoid living a life where he had to sleep with a knife under his pillow, he decided to take action in advance.

With a sharp blade in one's heart, the desire to kill arises spontaneously.

That's just how the world is.

Unexpectedly, before he could even make a move, Ma San and his family were killed by bandits.

It's truly a cruel twist of fate.

"Wandering Bay...the Sand Gang?"

Zhong Xuan pondered for a moment.

Since that great flood, many refugees along the Qinghe River have turned to banditry. Although the imperial court has organized dozens of campaigns to suppress them, the lingering effects have not been eradicated.

But from his perspective, having practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade, those burly men were clearly trained martial artists, not just baseless bandits.

And then, combined with what several people said about Prodigal Bay...

"They must be members of the Sand Gang disguised as bandits, but why would the Sand Gang commit murder?"

Zhong Xuan pondered to himself.

However, he does not intend to continue tracking and searching for the truth.

Ignorance is bliss.

This is not just empty talk, especially since he has lived for so many years and knows long ago how to control his curiosity.

Since the bandits killed Ma San's family, he could completely absolve himself of any responsibility.

I won't look at it anymore.

Zhong Xuan turned and headed towards Xiahe Village.

......

......

"What? Ma San is dead?"

In a single-courtyard house in Xiahe Village, Ma Fu suddenly stood up.

Boss Ma frowned: "Shahe Village is only a two or three-hour walk from our village. It's been three days now, my third brother should have arrived by now."

"My second brother found a large patch of blood in the woods five miles from Shahe Village..."

"Third Uncle, please tell me the truth."

Seeing Ma Laoda's expression, Ma Fu Lao's face immediately roared like a tiger:

"You bastard, if I, Ma Fu, wanted to make someone disappear, why would I need to resort to such vile methods?"

How could he not see it?

Boss Ma mistakenly believed that Ma Fu, for the sake of the Ma family's reputation, intended to make Ma San's family disappear.

The reason why Boss Ma thought this way was, of course, because he had done such a thing for Ma Fu before, and more than once.

But looking at Ma Fu now, even the eldest brother Ma hesitated. He had previously suspected that Ma Fu had indeed been blinded by his brother's death.

Ma Fu frowned.

He was well-versed in political maneuvering, and Boss Ma had done many shady things for him. If they were to break off relations, it would be ugly for both of them.

So he really did send someone to Shahe Village to smooth things over, but to his surprise, that scoundrel Ma San disappeared. According to what Boss Ma said, he was probably killed by bandits.

Since Boss Ma still had important uses, Ma Fu had to soften his tone:

"Alright, Xiao Lei will be returning home in a few days. I'll have him investigate personally and give you an explanation then."

Upon hearing Ma Lei's name, Boss Ma's expression changed.

Ma Lei, whom Ma Fu mentioned, is the best of the Ma family this generation. He has been practicing martial arts at a martial arts school in the city since he was a child, and it is said that he has become a personal disciple of the school. Everyone who hears this praises him as remarkable.

Ma Fu's willingness to let Ma Lei investigate personally is enough to demonstrate his attitude.

Boss Ma also believed that Ma Fu was not responsible for his brother's actions.

"Elder, I was confused for a moment..."

"It's alright, let's go back first."

Ma Fu felt a wave of fatigue wash over him, casually waved his hand, and leaned his back against the back of the large chair.

"Could it be that Zhong Xuan killed them?"

Ma Fu thought to himself.

The incident happened so suddenly that day that he didn't have time to think about it carefully. But after returning and thinking about it for a while, he guessed that Zhong Xuan was probably practicing martial arts.

But then he shook his head.

Subduing and killing are two different things. The power that a person unleashes when they are on the verge of death is extremely terrifying, something that an old Confucian scholar like Zhong Xuan, who has only a rudimentary understanding of martial arts, could never achieve.

However, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Ma Fu still asked one of his nephews to keep an eye on the Zhong family before finally leaving them alone.

......

"The Ma family still suspects me."

Zhong Xuan sat in his room, and he had already noticed the young man from the Ma family who often appeared outside his door.

Don't think about it.

It must be related to Ma San's death.

At this point, one must remain calm and collected to clear oneself of any involvement. If one acts rashly, even if it wasn't done by oneself, the Ma family will pin the blame on him.

Fortunately, Zhong Xuan was very patient.

The Ma family wields considerable power in the village; there's no need to provoke them.

Given enough time, everything will be forgotten.

Zhong Xuan had witnessed this situation many times.

In the blink of an eye.

January has passed.

As usual, he rarely went out except to copy books at the Zhang residence.

This day.

In the small courtyard.

"call......"

Zhong Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and put away his fist stance.

In total.

This is the fourth month since he acquired the martial bone and began practicing the Eight Pieces of Brocade.

"I should be able to exert 140 pounds of strength now."

Zhong Xuan secretly made his calculations.

With the crane bone in his body, the fastest improvement is actually in his agility and speed. Now, Zhong Xuan's full-speed sprint is even faster than many professional athletes in his previous life.

It is terrifying.

"In five months, it will be the day of the provincial examination."

"By then, my strength should be able to double again. If I could master a good sword technique, perhaps I could achieve better results in swordsmanship."

Zhong Xuandu had been studying the classics for decades.

There's not much room for improvement in the four subjects of Classics, Law, Mathematics, and Current Affairs, so we can only pin our hopes on swordsmanship and internal energy cultivation.

Thinking about this...

Zhong Xuan glanced at the heavy ten taels of silver in his sleeve.

Just a few days ago, he sold his one acre of land to Xu Tian.

He was not involved in production and was unable to farm.

Rather than renting it out for a few copper coins a month, it would be more useful to buy a sword manual and pass the imperial examination to become a scholar as soon as possible.

"There are many martial arts schools in White Sand City that sell martial arts skills, among which Flying Eagle Martial Arts School offers the most reasonable prices."

I've made up my mind.

The next day.

Zhong Xuan left early.

Not long after.

He arrived in Baisha County, turned into an alley, and then came to Donghe Street.

A magnificent courtyard came into view, with a plaque hanging above the vermilion gate, bearing four powerful characters.

"Flying Eagle Martial Arts School!"