"Damn!"
"Damn!"
These two voices were exclaimed by Jin Le and another pupil.
Although Chu Ning had left the school, the pupils felt that the word "Damn" he had used was very invigorating, and they silently memorized it.
If Chu Ning were here, he would only have one comment, look at you two exposing your lack of culture.
Zhao Qin's hands, which were originally clasped behind his back, were now placed at his sides.
Tang Ruowei's beautiful eyes sparkled; she knew that if Chu Ning dared to sign up, he must have the strength.
"Chu Ning's punch must have had a force of over three thousand pounds, while I now have only two thousand five hundred pounds. Chu Ning is too impressive, if he had stayed in the school..."
As Jin Le expressed his inner emotion, the other pupils' mouths twitched, and Zhao Qin's eyelids gave a few jumps.
"If Chu Ning had stayed in the school, he might have already broken through to the Martial Master," Tang Ruowei added to Jin Le's comment, completely stripping the other pupils of their pretenses.
They had looked down on Chu Ning and constantly mocked him, but now Chu Ning had slapped them in the face with the truth.
In the end, who is the true martial arts prodigy!
On the chairman's stage, He Xu showed no expression, but Huang Zhongtai didn't hide the smile on his face; the first place was surely Chu Ning's.
Next in the six-to-three round, including the three remaining contestants vying for first place, Chu Ning would win effortlessly.
"Indeed, a dark horse, claiming to have a strength of nine hundred pounds but only admitting to eight hundred fifty, hiding that fifty pounds of power, which could explode with an extra two hundred pounds of strength," Huang Zhongtai thought as Chu Ning despised his second-placed opponent with a scathing look.
"A hero emerges from youth, Director Huang has done well, but I have official duties and must leave first," said He Xu, leaving immediately after the determination of the first place winner. Gan Hai had assured him that Zhang Tao would surely take first place, but what happened? Not to mention the unexpectedly emerging Chu Ning, even the actual second place had more strength than Zhang Tao.
Huang Zhongtai watched He Xu leave with a beaming smile while Liu Junshan beside him said, "Director Huang, I shall take my leave as well."
"Brother Liu, I will come to your door to apologize tomorrow," Huang Zhongtai said with a wry smile.
Liu Junshan didn't respond; he could tell that he'd been used by Huang Zhongtai, and Huang Zhongtai guessed that he'd figured out he'd been used.
Some things don't need to be said out loud.
Now, all the spectators from outside had left; only the arrest officers and constables from the patrol arrest office remained.
Huang Zhongtai's gaze fell on Chu Ning, the only one still standing on the platform, with a satisfied smile on his face: "First place, Chu Ning, awarded three hundred taels of silver, one Tongjin Elixir, three hundred-year ginseng roots, and promoted to a first-class constable; second place, Yang Shan, receives one hundred taels of silver, one hundred-year ginseng root…"
The great contest was over, and the constables began to disperse. Chu Ning became the focus of the crowd, but the average arrest officers didn't greet Chu Ning. It was obvious that Chu Ning was now on the verge of becoming a Martial Master, and his status was only slightly below that of an arrest officer.
"Old Liao, what are you lurking around for, planning to ambush me?"
While greeting those officers, Chu Ning also noticed Old Liao to the side, apparently wanting to greet him but afraid of getting the same treatment as Zhang Tao.
"You brat, to use your own words, 'Damn,' impressive!" Old Liao gave Chu Ning a thumbs up.
"Don't come looking for me to listen to operas for a while."
"I understand, to use your words, 'A tall tree catches the wind,' you need to keep a low profile now."
...
...
After taking his rewards from the storage at the arrest office, Chu Ning went straight home. The rewards included three hundred taels of silver and three ginseng roots; as for the Tongjin Elixir, he had to collect it from Director Huang's residence.
Chu Ning was not in a hurry to retrieve the Tongjin Elixir, but when he arrived home, he found his place was bustling with activity.
Neighbors had come over; the old aunt was sunbathing in the yard, surrounded by neighbors who continuously praised her.
"Ah, here comes little Ning."
"What little Ning, in a few years he'll be an arrest officer; we'll have to call him 'Sir' then."
The townspeople had broader experiences compared to those from villages and didn't regard a common arrest officer with much esteem, but an arrest officer in their eyes was a person of high standing.
Word of the arrest officer contest's results spread quickly; with Chu Ning delayed by half an hour at the patrol arrest office, the neighbors obviously had gotten the news.
Chu Ning smiled and chatted with the neighbors, and after a quarter of an hour, the yard finally became quiet again as the satisfied neighbors left.
"Old aunt, we're moving to Xiazhen Town; I've already set up a house for us there."
Winning the first place in the grand contest and taking the old aunt with him to Xiazhen Town was a plan Chu Ning had made beforehand. Since he'd drawn attention this time, it was certain people would come to him—not with trouble, but with requests for favors.
The old aunt's health had largely improved after more than half a year of recuperation, and she was ready to move to a new place.
"Going to Xiazhen Town," the old aunt's face showed regret: "It's a pity about the Chen Family's eldest daughter. I was still planning to observe her character to see if she would be a suitable match to propose for you."
Chu Ning's mouth twitched. Ever since the old aunt had recovered, she started to worry about another major concern for him: the lifelong matter of carrying on the family lineage.
The young women in the neighborhood had all been inspected by her recently. In the end, she thought this family's girl was good and that family's girl wasn't bad either. If Chu Ning hadn't told the old lady that having intercourse before becoming a Martial Master could cause martial progress to come to a halt, he might already have multiple wives and concubines by now.
After transmigrating to this world, Chu Ning had considered the matter of taking a wife, but it was still too soon; he wasn't even sixteen years old yet.
Even in his past life, he had indulged in the pleasures of love, but that was after he had achieved career success.
...
...
Before taking his elderly aunt to Xiazhen Town, Chu Ning made a trip to the Huang Residence and met with Director Huang once again.
"This box contains the Tongjin Elixir, which I obtained from the county yamen. Lord He had quite the iron-blue face at the time."
Huang Zhongtai pointed at the brocade box on the desk and burst into laughter as he spoke.
Chu Ning's gaze sharpened; it seemed that Director Huang and the county magistrate must be at odds.
However, for Director Huang to reveal this side of himself in front of Chu Ning, it meant he truly considered him one of his own.
"Are you wondering why I have a conflict with that county magistrate, He?" Huang Zhongtai looked at Chu Ning and said, "You don't need to know too much about these things for now, but as long as I'm here, no one in Daning County can touch you. What you need to do now is strive to cultivate the Dark Energy and become a martial master as soon as possible."
"Understood, uncle."
Chu Ning took the brocade box and left the Huang Residence to prepare to take his elderly aunt away, but he didn't expect to find a guest at home.
There was Tang Ruowei, dressed in a red gown, chatting with his aunt, who was smiling so much her eyes were nearly closed; Chu Ning had a hunch.
He guessed that his elderly aunt must think Tang Ruowei is a good girl, very suitable to be his wife.
"Chu Ning, Instructor Liu asked me to find you. If you have time, please go to the school," said Tang Ruowei sweetly upon seeing Chu Ning return.
"Alright."
Although he was unsure why Instructor Liu wanted to see him, he still followed Tang Ruowei to the school.
"What did my aunt say to you? I saw you smiling ear to ear just now."
"She just told me some embarrassing stories from your childhood, like how you climbed trees to take bird eggs and got pecked by the birds, or when you sneaked into someone's field to steal melons and ended up losing your shoes while being chased."
"And about your sick aunt, how as a child you carried your aunt for miles to see the doctor. One time, when there was no rice to cook at home, you braved the heavy rain to gather wild vegetables, only to catch a cold yourself. You seemed quite filial."
Chu Ning pursed his lips; his aunt was blatantly lying, as he was frail and often sick during his childhood - when had he ever climbed trees? As for walking miles to see the doctor, that was when his aunt carried him.
It seemed his aunt had the potential to be a matchmaker, as she could tell such blatant lies.
Though she was old, she was not one for many truths, which could be twisted into being old and honest but not talkative.
...
...
Once he arrived at the school, Chu Ning went straight to the backyard to see Instructor Liu.
As he entered, Liu Junshan greeted him with a smile, "What are your thoughts on taking first place in the arrest officer competition this time?"
"Thank you for your instruction, Instructor."
Not knowing why Instructor Liu had summoned him to the school, Chu Ning subconsciously replied.
"I haven't instructed you in anything, but if you would like me to, you can come to the school to find me in the future."
Chu Ning was stunned for a moment and, after a few breaths, he quickly said, "Disciple pays respect to teacher."
He understood that Instructor Liu intended to take him as his disciple.
Could it be that Instructor Liu had seen his talent in martial arts?
No matter the reason, Chu Ning only knew that Instructor Liu was an influential figure; someone who could sit with Director Huang and the county magistrate during the arrest officer competition, and whom Director Huang had to address respectfully as 'Brother Liu,' was certainly no ordinary instructor.
"I'm taking you as my disciple, not because you took first in the arrest officer competition, but because you share a similar background and experiences with me."
Chu Ning believed this, for his teacher had long known about his strength and could guess that he might win first place in the arrest officer competition. There was no need to wait until now to express an intent to take him as a disciple.
But what was it that prompted the teacher to consider taking him as a disciple at this moment?
"If you hadn't participated in the arrest officer competition, I wouldn't have taken you as my disciple just yet. I'm doing it now because I don't want you to follow in my past footsteps," Liu Junshan said, looking at Chu Ning and not waiting for him to ask further, "It is difficult for the children of the destitute to truly bond with those of the privileged. It is fine to show gratitude, but take care not to get too deeply ensnared."
Chu Ning's pupils contracted slightly; his teacher's words were pointed.
"Director Huang hails from the Huang Family, and among the eight surnames of the great Liang dynasty, one of them is Huang."
By now, Chu Ning fully understood that his teacher knew about Director Huang's kindness towards him, fearing that out of gratitude Chu Ning would offer his loyalty blindly.
The teacher did not know that Chu Ning had lived two lives and would not simply give his life in service for a bit of kindness.
"However, discussing this now might be premature. What you need to do at present is to break through to the Martial Master Realm as soon as possible. Here is a notebook of my own reflections on martial arts training; take it back with you and have a look. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to the school to seek my guidance."
Liu Junshan handed Chu Ning a notebook, which Chu Ning did not rush to browse but respectfully accepted.
This was a sign of respect for his teacher.