Chapter 32, Ah Chou’s Injuries

Translator: StarReader

 

Ah Chou saw that he couldn’t hide anything from Su Chen. His eyes welled up with tears, and he burst into a heart-wrenching cry, collapsing to the ground in floods of sorrow.

 

Since joining the Heaven Falcon Group half a year ago, he had endured so much cruelty. But there was no one to confide in; the bitterness and anguish he felt could only be swallowed down and bottled up inside.

 

After giving vent to his grief, Ah Chou finally managed to suppress his tears and recounted the events of his recent half-year journey into the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

After parting ways with Su Chen, Ah Chou had headed straight to the Heaven Falcon Group for the outer disciple selection process. Regrettably, his qualifications fell short of meeting their standards.

 

Ah Chou pleaded with the Heaven Falcon Group’s recruitment official at length, and eventually, the official relented, granting him permission to first serve as a laborer in the Heaven Falcon Group for three years before being admitted as an official outer disciple. Upon hearing this, Su Chen couldn’t help but furrow his brow, silently damning the situation.

 

The officials of the Heaven Falcon Group were spinning their tale to ensnare the naive newcomers who lacked martial arts experience. This was nothing but a scam aimed at exploiting Ah Chou’s free labor for three long, grueling years of backbreaking work.

 

In the martial world, it was well-known that cultivation reached its peak efficiency between the ages of nine and fifteen. Too young meant an unstable mind, while those beyond fifteen faced the issue of their bones hardening, rendering them nearly adult-like. After completing his three-year grueling labor, Ah Chou would be around fifteen or sixteen.

 

This was why all groups insisted on recruiting new disciples before the age of thirteen to begin their martial training, rather than accepting adults.

 

The age of eleven or twelve was the stage of rapid physical development, and it was also the best time to temper the body and spirit.

 

If this crucial three-year period of cultivating time was missed, then when he reached adulthood and attempted to train in martial arts, his progress would only become slower and more difficult.

 

Even if he managed to join the Heaven Falcon Group as an outer disciple after these three years, there wouldn’t be much hope for advancement.

 

If it were just that, it might not have been so bad.

 

After enduring these three years of hard labor, Ah Chou would at least be recognized as an outer disciple of the Heaven Falcon Group, which was one of the top five groups in the Wu Region. This would give him the status of a martial disciple, which was still better than being just another common citizen in the county.

 

Ah Chou was well aware that the steward’s terms were extremely harsh, essentially making him work like a beast of burden for the Heaven Falcon Group. Yet, he clenched his jaw and agreed to it.

 

Even at the Heaven Falcon Inn, where he worked as a lowly server doing back-breaking tasks and earning almost nothing, there was no hope for advancement. It would be better to work for the Heaven Falcon Group and have some prospects after three years.

 

But things were never that simple.

 

The son of Owner Wang of the Heaven Falcon Inn, known as Young Master Wang, had also joined the Heaven Falcon Group. However, he failed to pass the selection process to become an inner disciple and ended up like his father, being merely an outer disciple of the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

Young Master Wang was deeply distraught. He saw Ah Chou, a server at the Heaven Falcon Inn whom he had always looked down upon, had joined the Heaven Falcon Group, albeit currently serving as a laborer, but still with the potential to become an outer disciple in three years. This sense of loss was amplified a hundredfold. Ah Chou’s very presence seemed to mock him.

 

Young Master Wang was filled with frustration, yet he didn’t take it out on other disciples. But he knew Ah Chou had no backing—an orphan without any support. It was easier to harass someone you knew, so he often used the pretext of friendly sparring to target Ah Chou as a sitting duck, organizing beatings by his cohorts.

 

Poor Ah Chou toiled away in the Heaven Falcon Group, performing the dirtiest and most grueling tasks, like pushing carts and carrying manure. Then suffered Young Master Wang’s ire, who, as an outer disciple, took it upon himself to deliver brutal beatings. Ah Chou was often left battered and bruised.

 

Conditions within the Heaven Falcon Group were unbearable for Ah Chou. He was on the verge of collapsing. Yet, recalling his pledge with Su Chen—to one day master their arts and roam the martial world as formidable figures—he could not abandon his post. Instead, he resorted to avoiding them at all costs.

 

In contrast, Butcher Zhang at the Heaven Falcon Inn had been far more astute. He noticed Owner Wang taking Young Master Wang to the Heaven Falcon Group for registration. Acting swiftly, he transferred Zhang Tieniu to the Medicine King Group, ensuring he would escape the bullying and oppression by Young Master Wang and his ilk.

 

“Bastard!”

 

Su Chen clenched his fists, burning with anger. He wanted to beat that bastard Wang, just to see if the guy still dared to pick on the weak. But he held himself back.

 

This vengeance had to be exacted by Ah Chou personally—to punch Young Master Wang until he was begging for mercy. Otherwise, Ah Chou would never escape being bullied and looked down upon within the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

Ah Chou was well aware of his lowly status in the Heaven Falcon Group—not even an outer disciple. Every day, he had to serve the disciples by carrying out demeaning chores like removing manure and doing other menial tasks, enduring their mockery and insults without end.

 

After half a year, they met again in the county city. Su Chen was now dressed in a brand-new blue robe, clearly having made some progress within the Medicine King Group, with a promising future ahead of him. Meanwhile, Ah Chou was sinking deeper into obscurity within the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

Ah Chou felt an overwhelming sense of self-pity and had no confidence to reconnect with Su Chen. It would be better to part ways now and never meet again.

 

“Brother Chen,” he said softly, his voice trembling slightly, “I know I have no hope left. I’ll just continue to endure in the Heaven Falcon Group… You focus on doing well in the Medicine King Group—rise up, achieve greatness, and don’t let anyone push you around… Just go.”

 

Ah Chou was crying as he spoke. He dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and began pushing the manure cart.

 

“Who said you can’t? Come on! We haven’t seen each other for over half a year. Let’s head out of the city to a quiet spot and have a proper get-together. I’ll treat you to some wild game!” Su Chen snapped, pulling Ah Chou along without any delay.

 

Ah Chou’s life within the Heaven Falcon Group was many times harder than his days at the Heaven Falcon Inn. Su Chen couldn’t bear to watch Ah Chou deteriorate like this; he intended to make him stronger. He vividly remembered last winter, the harshest one in years, when he had been heartbroken and left home, traveling to Gusu County City. At his most desperate and starving, it was Ah Chou who took him in, giving him a place in the firewood shack for shelter from the cold.

 

Ah Chou shared half of the feast leftovers for martial artists with Su Chen.

 

[If it weren’t for Ah Chou’s help, I would’ve frozen or starved to death on the streets of Gusu County City.]

 

True friends shared both hardships and prosperity. They rose together or fell together.

 

“But what about the manure cart… If we take it out to sell to a farmer, we could make several copper coins!”

 

Ah Chou was being dragged by Su Chen toward the east gate of Gusu County City. He couldn’t stop thinking about his cart.

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not worth much. We’ll come back and deal with it later.”

 

Su Chen pulled Ah Chou out of the east entrance of Gusu County City at a brisk pace. He knew that beyond the eastern suburbs lay an abandoned City God Temple.

 

This City God Temple used to be quite bustling with incense offerings.

 

Since Daoist Han Shan arrived at the Han Mountain Daoist Temple, under the overwhelming fame of the region’s top cultivator, the Han Mountain Temple has seen an influx of visitors. Its incense offerings reached unprecedented heights. Who would bother to pay their respects at the City God Temple anymore?

 

The City God Temple in the eastern parts had been abandoned for decades, left to decay and fall into disrepair. It was nothing but a dilapidated, neglected shrine, only occasionally visited by vagrants or travelers unable to afford a proper inn.

 

Su Chen planned to spend some quality time with Ah Chou, enjoy a meal of wild game, and figure out a way to give Ah Chou a hand—perhaps even help him step onto the path of martial arts. The City God Temple was spacious and secluded, offering the perfect spot for uninterrupted privacy.