“Where are we going, master?” Zhi Fen asked while looking at the strangely straight and muscular back of the old man. The word master still felt awkward rolling off his tongue but he pressed on. That awkward title was worth all his safety and future after all.
“We will stay the night in Jinan and move to Wuhan tomorrow. Our school is based in Wuhan. Since you don’t know any martial arts, it would be faster to go by boat. We might have to change a few boats but we should reach Wuhan in a week or two.” The old man generously explained the itinerary to Zhi Fen.
Zhi Fen stiffened at the mention of Wuhan. Although he was now in ancient China, the memories from his past life were still fresh in his mind. Wuhan was a scary place for people in the 21st century.
“How strong are you master? Are you above a first-rate warrior?” Zhi Fen shook off his complicated thoughts regarding Wuhan and continued to ask questions. He was very interested to know about the old man’s realm.
When the question about his strength came up, the old man seemed pleased and began to proudly talk about it, “I am what you would call a Master level warrior. It is above the first-rate level. Oh, you probably don’t know how the classification goes right?”
According to Old Man Ji, most martial artists are within the level of third-rate to first-rate warrior levels. Anyone can reach a first-rate level if they work hard enough or use a lot of elixirs. But to go above that, you had to have at least an average level of talent and a good understanding of martial arts.
Those with good talents can easily cross the moat to the Master level but those with poorer talents need enlightenment to cross that large moat. After the Master level came another moat which you had to cross to reach the Peak Master level.
“Anything beyond that is not really important to you. You might occasionally meet a Master somewhere. It is the level of elders in large sects and families. But a Peak Master is not a level of person you will interact with. They are rare even for me.”
Zhi Fen was fascinated by the differences in the levels of martial artists. But Old Man Ji dismissed his question saying, “If you get obsessed with greater powers at higher levels, you will lose sight of what is right in front of you. As you learn and grow naturally, you will find out.”
Although it was disappointing, Zhi Fen reluctantly agreed. “By the way master, what is our sect like? Who is the sect master? How many students are there?”
Old Man Ji suddenly coughed and awkwardly dodged the question, “Kheum. Well, it would be best for you to see it for yourself. It would be a nice surprise, wouldn't it?” Zhi Fen felt that it was suspicious that the old man was trying to dodge the question.
And soon, he was able to find out why it was.
…….
After the first night of the celebratory feast between the master and disciple, the next day Old Man Ji handed a thick book about all the acupoints, muscles, and bones in the human body. Although not as complete as modern medical books, it was a fairly comprehensive book of human anatomy.
“You need to start with the most basic knowledge if you want to learn martial arts. An excellent martial artist needs to have an accurate understanding of the human body. So I need you to memorize this book by the time we reach the sect.” Old Man Ji had ordered in an unquestionable tone.
Somehow, Zhi Fen felt that the old man was intentionally using the book to avoid him but he could only agree when the master gave him his first task. Whenever Zhi Fen tried asking any question, the old man would ask, “Did you already memorize the book?” and shut him up.
So, Zhi Fen studied harder than he had studied even for college exams in his past life. Other than eating and sleeping, he carried the book even when going to the toilet. But no matter how hard he tried, he could only memorize two-thirds of the book by the time they reached Wuhan.
Zhi Fen had expected their boat to be stopped by pirates of the Yangtze River Alliance but for reasons unknown to him, there was no such thing. They arrived safely in the city of Hankou on the north bank of the Yangtze.
It was a large city bustling with trade flowing through the waterways connected by the Han and Yangtze rivers. Being a major inland port city that was at the heart of the exchange of goods, money, and culture around the central plains, the vibrant atmosphere of the city could be felt from the moment you stepped foot in the city.
Following the old man, Zhi Fen was bubbling with excitement at the prospect of finally getting to see the sect. While admiring the ancient Chinese architecture, different stores, and people, the pair walked a little further from the port and into a busy street that seemed like a part of the commercial district.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The old man finally stopped when they reached the end of the street where a large, shabby inn stood.
Noticing the eyes of the old man looking affectionately at the inn, Zhi Fen had an ominous premonition. He tried to shake that feeling off by thinking of the sect and martial arts he would learn but the old man’s next words dumped a truckload of ice water on Zhi Fen’s excitement.
“This is the home of our sect. This is where we will stay from now on.”
Only then did Zhi Fen’s eyes go to the old, fading sign above the front door of the three-story building which read, ‘Eclipse Inn’. The cool name of the sect ‘Eclipse Syndicate’ was derived from the name of this shabby inn!
‘Maybe not. It could be like one of those hidden sects in the martial arts novels?’
His thoughts were cut short when a rat-faced man with whiskers for a mustache ran out and greeted the old man with a bow, “You are finally back, owner! Welcome back. We were starting to get worried.”
Although he was polite and sounded concerned, for some reason Zhi Fen didn’t believe that he was worried. The rat-like face with the prominent front teeth might have played a part in that judgment but more than that, his eyes didn’t seem sincere either.
The old man nodded like an understanding boss, “I see you are in good health Manager Shu. The trip took longer than expected this time. How is everyone else? Is the business going well?”
“Look at my mind! Come on in owner, you can go up straight to your office, I’ll bring you the ledgers and reports.” The man called Manager Shu gestured for the old man to go in while glancing warily at Zhu Fen. He seemed very curious about Zhu Fen’s identity.
Zhu Fen silently followed the old man as he greeted the staff at the inn. There were only two waiters and two cooks other than Manager Shu. For a fairly large inn to have such a small staff meant that the business was not doing well. Out of habit, Zhu Fen observed the inn closely while moving to the office.
When the two of them were finally alone, the old man with a guilty look on his face spoke up, “I’m sure you have many questions. Just ask, I’ll try to explain as much as possible.”
Zhu Fen nodded with a blank expression. “Yeah, there are many. But there is one thing I am most curious about. Did you scam me, master?” The way Zhu Fen’s voice changed pitch when saying the word master made even the old man flinch.
“Haah.” The old man sighed. “It is not like that. I just didn’t know how to tell you at the time. I had to think about how to explain it to you on the way here.”
It sounded like an excuse to Zhu Fen but he kept silent and nodded for the old man to continue the explanation. What came out of the old man’s mouth was nothing short of the plot for a fantasy novel.
The old man, Ji She is the son of the Eclipse Inn’s previous owner. As evident from its size and interior, it used to be a fairly famous inn in the region at the time. But since the owner was just an ordinary man with no connections either with martial sects or the government, they became the target of the black faction gangsters.
The previous owner was a stubborn man who had built up the inn with his bare hands so he didn’t want to beg anyone for protection. But that became the downfall of the family when one day, while traveling the whole family of the owner was massacred by the angered black faction gangsters.
Miraculously, the young Ji She survived despite his serious injuries. He was saved by the cliché ‘hermit in the mountains expert’. The unnamed master who was getting old nursed Ji She back to health and trained him for the next five years before passing away.
With his new strength and the burning fire of revenge, Ji She returned to Hankou, dealt with all his enemies, and got his inn back. By this time, other inns had already overtaken Eclipse, and Ji She could never revive it back to its glory. Even if he wanted to, he was already too embroiled in the affairs of the martial arts world to take care of the inn.
As he got older and began to feel the time slipping past him in his twilight years, he once again went back to his roots and started to earnestly look after the inn. Now he only wanted to pass on the martial arts of his master and revive the old inn that his parents left him. Unfortunately for Ji She, even though he had many lovers, due to his old injuries, he couldn’t have kids.
“So, I wanted to find someone to inherit my martial arts and this inn. I know my limitations and I also know that it is wrong to pass on your burden to your successors but what can this old man do?”
‘You beheaded three grown men in the blink of an eye, damned geezer. What do you mean by ‘what can I do’?’
The guess about it being a secret sect wasn’t entirely wrong. Although Zhi Fen felt a bit betrayed, when he thought about it again, there wasn’t much to complain about. He was going to get to learn martial arts and inherit a decent inn. It was a few years late, but it was a proper golden spoon.
‘It’s just that I escaped from a restaurant and somehow found myself at an inn. I can’t even tell whether I am lucky or unlucky anymore.’
“I will live up to your expectations and become the strongest martial artist and make our inn the best inn in the central plains, master.” Although he said it to flatter the old man, it was also something he was telling himself.
He had lived the life of a poor and weak boy for half a decade. Being in the lowest rungs of society was a hellish experience. He didn’t want to go back to those days again. He didn’t want to be looked down upon by anyone again.
Personal strength and money were the best ways to make that happen. Since he had the opportunity to get both, he was ready to do anything necessary to grab hold of everything.
“Haha. This kid is very spirited. I’ll be happy if you just do it in moderation. Remember, the nail that sticks out gets hammered first.” Although he was trying to sound calm, the content smile on old man Ji’s face couldn’t be hidden.
He also added a warning, “But don’t get ahead of yourself, I haven’t accepted you as my direct disciple yet. It will depend on your actions.”
‘It is only a matter of time. Just wait old man, I will show you the era of five-star Eclipse Inn chains spread across the continent before you croak.’
Zhi Fen’s ambitions were burning bright.