Feed It to the Dogs

“I might as well sell the house and turn it into silver. I'm not living there anyway. Fortunately, I had the foresight to keep a house back then. If I had sold it then, I wouldn't have one to sell now...”

“Well, I'll treat it like a short-term pawn. Once my monthly allowance is distributed, I'll redeem it. Who knows, maybe I can sell it again in the future.”

Having made up his mind, Zhuang Xun returned to the house, grabbed the property deed, and rushed to a pawnshop. After some bargaining with the shopkeeper, they finally agreed on a price of thirty taels of silver.

The monthly interest was two percent, with a term of six months.

With the silver and the pawn ticket in hand, the first thing Zhuang Xun did was head to the braised meat shop that had made his mouth water that morning and buy a pound of braised meat.

“Burp... I'm stuffed. Feed the leftovers to the dogs.” He picked out and ate all the meat, extravagantly leaving the broth behind. He stood up and walked away without looking back.

After that, Zhuang Xun went to a carriage agency and hired a carriage to take him back to the Wanxing Martial Academy.

He was too lazy to walk a distance of over thirty li.

Soon, the two-day rest period ended, and Zhuang Xun returned to his previous routine. One clone focused on practicing martial arts, while the other focused on tempering his physical strength, preparing for the Outer Court's Grand Competition in half a month.

According to An Dafu, many factions would come to watch the Outer Court's Grand Competition and select promising disciples to sponsor.

Zhuang Xun figured that if the conditions for accepting sponsorship weren't too harsh—like signing a contract of indenture—he might let Yan Pingsheng accept one.

While Bai Yujing's monthly allowance was more than enough to support Yan Pingsheng's living expenses, it wasn't enough to allow Yan Pingsheng to eat precious meat every day. He needed to find another source of income.

...

On this day, Zhuang Xun controlled Yan Pingsheng to return to the dormitory, only to suddenly sense that the atmosphere inside was somewhat off.

Li Zigeng sat with his back to the door, his head lowered so that his expression couldn't be seen.

An Dafu sat on his own bed, moving with extreme caution, not daring to make too much noise.

Filled with doubt, Zhuang Xun noticed An Dafu gesturing with his eyes. He nodded and followed him quietly out of the dormitory.

He then learned from An Dafu that Li Zigeng had been beaten.

The culprit was Zhang Laisan from the Thirteenth Courtyard.

Zhang Laisan had tried to cut in front of Li Zigeng in the dining hall. When Li Zigeng reacted too slowly and failed to yield in time, Zhang Laisan slapped him in front of everyone.

Although this Zhang Laisan was just a local thug, he had managed to cling to the coattails of Liang Shaohua, a young master of the Liang family who lived in the same courtyard.

The Liang family was one of the seven great families of Zechuan City, and they ranked near the top. Even the Outer Court instructors generally didn't dare meddle in their affairs.

Therefore, Li Zigeng could only swallow this humiliation.

Returning to the dormitory, Zhuang Xun rummaged through his bundle under the bed and pulled out a tub of wound salve. He offered it to Li Zigeng to apply to his swollen right cheek. When Li Zigeng quietly declined, Zhuang Xun didn't force it. Instead, he comforted him with a few words, picked up a wooden basin, and went downstairs to fetch water.

By the time he returned with the water, Zhang Tie, who had been missing earlier, was back in the dormitory, furiously cursing Zhang Laisan.

An Dafu walked over and said, “Pingsheng, I just discussed it with Zhang Tie. From now on, the four of us should go to meals together. That way, when Zhang Laisan sees how many of us there are, he won't dare do anything to Zigeng.”

“Sure, that works,” Zhuang Xun said as he slipped a bath towel under his clothes to wipe off his sweat.

Walking together was no trouble at all.

Besides, he figured that since it was just a minor clash, Zhang Laisan probably wouldn't go out of his way to cause trouble for Li Zigeng again.

Zhang Tie patted his chest and guaranteed, “Don't worry, Zigeng. With me around, that bastard Zhang Laisan won't dare touch you. Damn it, if only I hadn't been away at noon...”

“Thank you,” Li Zigeng said, deeply moved.

“Aw, don't be so polite. We're brothers sharing the same dorm.”

...

At dusk, the sky burned like fire.

The Seventh Courtyard's martial arts field.

Looking at the three who had already stopped to rest, Li Zigeng felt too embarrassed to continue training even though he still had some energy left, fearing he would waste their time.

“Are we going to eat now?” An Dafu, slumped on the ground, asked weakly.

“Let's bathe first.” Zhuang Xun pushed himself up, leaving a sweat outline on the ground that looked vaguely like a handheld game console.

Seeing the three of them look over, he clapped his hands and smiled. “Right now, the dining hall is packed, but the bathhouse is empty. If we bathe first, by the time we're done, the dining hall will have cleared out, and we can eat then.”

“Oh, Pingsheng, you really have the best ideas!”

“You can do that? No wonder every time I ask you to bathe, you say you've already done it.”

An Dafu and the other two looked like they had just learned a valuable life hack as they followed Yan Pingsheng back to the dormitory to grab their bath supplies.

While they were off bathing, a conflict was brewing in the dining hall.

“Zhang Laisan! What right do you have to stop us from eating?!”

“Senior Brother Liang hasn't even eaten yet, and you have the nerve to eat first? Will waiting a bit kill you? Hmph, a bunch of mud-legs. If not for Senior Brother Liang's kindness, I'd say you lot aren't even worthy of sitting in the same room to eat with him. You're getting a bargain and still acting spoiled.”

Zhang Laisan stood blocking the entrance with a group of lackeys, his tone mocking and his posture arrogant.

The disciples who were blocked immediately paled upon hearing the name of “Senior Brother Liang.” Though furious, they dared not speak up.

To give credit where it was due, Zhang Laisan did possess some low cunning.

First, he made sure of Bai Yujing's dining schedule, then he scouted out the opinions of the other young masters and ladies of the Outer Court. Finally, he specifically left a path open to accommodate disciples with minor backgrounds or notable strength...

Through this systematic filtering, the only ones he actually blocked were the ordinary disciples who had no background, no strength, and no courage.

These people didn't dare resist at all.

Zhang Laisan took in their aggrieved and suppressed expressions, and an unprecedented wave of pleasure washed over him, making him feel as though he had also become one of the noble young masters and ladies dining inside.

Suddenly, his expression turned obsequious, and his back bent low as he hurried toward a group of silk-clad disciples walking into the dining hall, chatting and laughing.

“Senior Brother Liang! You're here! And the other senior brothers and sisters, please, this way. I've arranged everything exactly as you ordered, Senior Brother Liang.”

“Mhm, not bad. Dismissed,” Liang Shaohua waved his hand dismissively.

“Yes, sir!” Overjoyed at the praise, Zhang Laisan bowed low and backed away.

An athletic youth beside Liang Shaohua glanced at Zhang Laisan and smiled faintly. “Brother Liang, you've certainly trained a good dog.”

“He's decent enough.”

“As soon as you walk in, it's just a wave of sweat. It stinks to high heaven. How is anyone supposed to eat?” A pure and charming young girl pinched her nose, waving her hand in disgust. “Brother Liang, can't you just kick them all out?”

Liang Shaohua pondered for a moment and said, “Sister Yun, endure it for today. Let's see how the academy reacts to this first.”

If they turned a blind eye... A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Did a bunch of peasants really deserve to sit at the table and eat?

“Brother Liang, have you thought about where we should go to enjoy ourselves after the Grand Competition?” the athletic youth asked.

“Hmm... how about hunting?”

“Huh? Hunting again?” The pure and charming girl pouted, clearly displeased.

“Then where would Sister Yun like to go? I'll do as you wish,” Liang Shaohua said with a doting smile.

“Hmm... I don't know.”

The athletic youth said tentatively, “Then... should we try inviting Senior Brother Bai to join us?”

“Yes, yes!” The girl's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded repeatedly.

Seeing this, Liang Shaohua secretly glared at the youth who had spoken. In a sour tone, he said, “Forget it. That future Chief Disciple is incredibly arrogant. Why would he look down from his high horse to play with us?”