I Only Know How to Bully Noobs

Chapter 17: That Wasn't Up to Him

"Ah Ming, this second daughter of the Wang family is not only beautiful and courteous, but also a skilled cook. Everyone who has met her has praised her. Are you really not going to consider it?"

After breakfast, Madam Wei asked this.

Chen Ming shook his head and replied, “My ambition lies in martial arts. I have no intention of marrying for now. Sister-in-law, please reject them all for me.”

Seeing how resolute his attitude was, Madam Wei didn’t press the matter further, though she couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful in her heart.

This second daughter of the Wang family matched her taste perfectly. If they could become sisters-in-law, it would have been ideal.

What a pity.

In recent days, the Chen family’s doorstep had practically been worn down by matchmakers.

Previously, those people were all disdainful of Chen Ming, using him as a cautionary tale to lecture their own children. Yet almost overnight, his reputation had flipped, and he became the model child everyone admired.

Let alone that he had no desire to marry. Even if he did, he wouldn’t choose these opportunistic families.

Marrying into such a household would only invite endless trouble in the future.

Just then, the maid Xiaohong came to report, “Second Young Master, there’s a young gentleman surnamed Deng outside who says he’s your friend.”

Chen Ming quickly asked, “Where is he now?”

“In the main hall.”

Chen Ming put down his chopsticks and went out.

Upon entering the hall, he saw Deng Ziyang in a green robe, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the wall.

“Brother Deng, what brings you here?”

Deng Ziyang turned around and smiled, “I heard you haven’t gone to the Huo Residence these past few days and got a bit worried, so I came to check on you.”

“Sorry to have made you worry, Brother Deng.”

Soon, the maid Xiaohong brought over tea.

Chen Ming sat down with Deng Ziyang and chatted casually.

Deng Ziyang didn’t bring up the matter of Wanli Gambling House coming to collect debts.

He believed that with Chen Ming’s abilities, resolving such an issue was a breeze.

If he brought it up himself, it would only seem like he was trying to curry favor and lower himself.

After the small talk, Deng Ziyang finally got to the point. “I’m planning to take the martial examination and join the Six Doors. I’ll be setting out tomorrow.”

Chen Ming was a little surprised. “Will your old man agree to that?”

Deng Ziyang smiled, “That’s not up to him.”

Though he was smiling, there was a fierce gleam in his eyes. “That old man already has four sons and refuses to pass on his martial arts to me. Old Ghost Huo also doesn’t dare take me as his disciple. And I refuse to live a mediocre life. So, the martial exam is my only option!”

Chen Ming could feel the unwillingness in his heart, as well as his yearning for the martial path.

He raised his teacup in place of wine and solemnly said, “I wish Brother Deng all the best on this journey.”

Deng Ziyang also raised his cup and clinked it with his, laughing heartily, “I’ll take your good wishes!”

After finishing the tea, he added, “Once I leave, what worries me most is our gang of brothers. I hope you can keep an eye on them for me.”

Chen Ming shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. They won’t listen to me. Only you can keep them in line. So Brother Deng, you’d better come back soon.”

Deng Ziyang laughed, “You’re wrong about that. They might not say it, but deep down, they really respect you. Over the past half month, thanks to sparring with you daily, they’ve all improved quite a bit.”

“Oh right, help guide them more in saber techniques. Once I join the Six Doors, I’ll definitely need to use blades and firearms.”

Saber techniques, huh.

Chen Ming thought of the Eight Trigrams Saber he had just started learning and could only say, “I’ll try.”

After wrapping up the main business, they moved on to casual chat.

“I heard Wen Zehao is back. The Wen family has prepared generous betrothal gifts and will be going to the Huo family in a few days to propose. Why is that guy’s life so good? He’s become Huo Chengkun’s grandson-in-law, and the martial path is wide open for him.”

Deng Ziyang’s tone carried a trace of bitterness, lamenting how different people had different fates.

He believed that in terms of talent and character, he was no worse than Wen Zehao. But just because he was the illegitimate son of the Giant Tiger Gang’s leader, such fortunes would never come his way.

Chen Ming recalled a saying and remarked, “All the gifts fate bestows upon us have long been secretly marked with a price. I dare say, in the future, his accomplishments will never match yours, Brother Deng.”

Deng Ziyang savored the words, finding them more meaningful the more he thought about them. His eyes gradually lit up, and he suddenly cupped his hands in a formal salute.

 With deep respect, he said, “Senior Brother Chen, I’ve learned something today.”

Chen Ming quickly waved him off. “Brother Deng, what are you doing? You’ll embarrass me.”

“Senior Brother, this is where we part.”

Deng Ziyang soon took his leave.

Chen Ming escorted him all the way to the gate, watching him leave into the distance. In his heart, he silently thought, “Six Doors.”

To better control the grassroots, the court of the Great Jin Dynasty implemented a dual-track system—civil matters were handled by the yamen, while military affairs fell under the Six Doors.

Naturally, the imperial examinations also had both the civil exam and the martial exam.

The smaller the locale, the greater the authority held by the Six Doors.

In a major city like Qingfeng City, it was an unspoken rule that the head of the Six Doors led the officialdom, with civil officials playing a supporting role.

If one could pass the martial exam and join the Six Doors, there would naturally be opportunities to learn profound martial techniques. However, the price for that was one's freedom.

The Six Doors was not only a super sect but also part of the bureaucratic system.

In such a vast and complicated network, lacking connections meant one could be dragged into a deadly whirlpool at any moment, without even knowing how they died.

If there were any other choice, Chen Ming would never willingly take this path.

...

In the latter half of the night, just after the hour of the rat, the entire city of Qingfeng had fallen silent.

At the Chen Residence.

A shadow silently flipped over the inner wall, weaving its way through the darkness, avoiding the night patrols and the workers emptying chamber pots.

Half an hour later, the figure arrived in front of a hidden residence.

The black shadow vaulted over the high wall, when suddenly the sound of a dog barking rang out.

Whoosh!

A pebble shot out.

With a whimper, the dog inside the yard collapsed and died on the spot.

The shadow slipped through the courtyard and reached the rear residence.

He drew a thin short dagger and slid it into the door crack. After a few gentle twists, the latch opened.

“Who’s there?”

A wary voice came from inside the house.

With a flicker, the figure in black entered the inner room and pointed the short dagger at Old Ghost Xiao on the bed, speaking in a hoarse voice, “If you don’t want your entire family dead, shut up.”

The moment Old Ghost Xiao saw the movement technique the other had displayed, he was horrified and lost the will to resist.

This was clearly a martial artist of the ranked grades.

He forced himself to stay calm and said, “Good sir, let’s talk this through. The money is in the box under my bed. I’ll fetch it for you, just please spare my family’s lives.”

“I’m here for money. Blame your bad luck. If you behave, I can spare your family.”

As he spoke, the man in black grabbed the belt by the bed and looped it toward Old Ghost Xiao’s neck.

Terrified, Old Ghost Xiao caught a closer look in the dark at the eyes exposed under the mask.

They were clearly the eyes of a young man.

A sudden thought struck him, and he cried out a name, “Second Young Master Chen, spare me...”

The man in black froze.

Old Ghost Xiao instantly knew he had guessed correctly. He racked his brain, trying to find a way to survive. “I truly meant no offense to your elder brother. Everything was the fault of my men acting on their own...”

Seeing the black-clad figure tighten the belt around his neck, his soul nearly fled in terror.

Thinking of his family’s safety, he dared not fight back and could only beg, “I’m willing to offer a martial arts manual, just spare my life...”

As soon as he finished, he felt the belt around his neck loosen slightly.

Still using that hoarse voice, the man in black asked, “You have a martial arts manual?”

“It’s absolutely true.”

Old Ghost Xiao clung to this straw of hope. “I got it years ago from a destitute household. That man’s ancestors once had a fifth-grade expert... If the young master doesn’t believe me, I can retrieve it and show you.”

“Where is it?”

“Under the floorboard, the center plank, there’s a hidden compartment—ugh—”

Just as he finished, the belt around his neck tightened violently. He struggled frantically, his eyes bulging.

After a while, his body stiffened and he lay motionless, dead with eyes wide open.

The man in black hung his body from the beam, staging it to look like a suicide.

Then, he lifted the bedding and searched thoroughly.

As expected, under one of the floorboards, he found a hidden compartment.

Inside was an oilcloth-wrapped book.

He didn’t examine it closely. Wrapping it again in the cloth, he left the room and used a fishing line to pull the latch shut from the outside.

Only then did he disappear silently into the night.

Under the cover of darkness, no one knew that a murder had just occurred here.