Are You Deaf? I Said My Talent Has No Limits

Chapter 113. An Old Acquaintance

“You are too courteous, Lord Xue.”

Xu Yuan cupped his hands, his expression sincere.

“It is nothing more than each person’s own fortune. Lord Xue has rendered great merit this time, and by following the tide, you stepped into the Seventh Meridian. Your future is far brighter still. My little bit of progress is hardly worth mentioning.”

“You certainly know how to say pleasing things.” Xue Zhan pointed at him, the smile on his face unchanged.

He stood by the window, his gaze passing through the lattice as he looked out at the familiar streets beyond.

There was no reluctance in those eyes, only the calm that came after a farewell.

“Without even noticing it, I’ve already been the ward master here for three years.”

Xue Zhan’s voice suddenly lowered, almost as if he were speaking to himself. “Time really does pass quickly…”

He did not turn around, and Xu Yuan did not interrupt. He simply stood quietly behind him.

After a moment, Xue Zhan turned back around. His gaze settled on Xu Yuan’s face, more serious than before.

“If Changlin Ward were being handed to someone else, I would not be all that at ease. But if it is you… then you know the place and I know you. There is no one more suitable.”

The words were plain, but Xu Yuan understood their weight.

Xue Zhan had naturally had people backing him behind the scenes if he was able to seize this opportunity so smoothly, yet this statement now came from genuine sincerity.

Xu Yuan met his gaze and nodded. “That is how I see it as well.”

Xue Zhan looked at him, the smile in his eyes deepening.

Naturally, he knew what Xu Yuan had gone through recently.

The merit from the medicinal fields had been withheld by his superior, and even obtaining the ward master’s post had not simply happened as a matter of course. Someone had been working behind the scenes on his behalf.

And he, Xue Zhan, happened to lend a bit of help as well.

Not much, but enough to make his stance clear.

After exchanging a few more polite words, Xue Zhan no longer lingered.

He was setting out for his new post today, and his luggage had long since been packed. He had merely been waiting here for Xu Yuan to arrive so he could personally hand over the last few matters.

As he was leaving, he stopped outside the doorway. With his back to Xu Yuan and without turning around, he said only one sentence:

“Changlin Ward is no light burden. Handle it as you see fit.”

Xu Yuan stood inside the doorway and watched that figure disappear into the far end of the street.

Only then did he turn around and step into the inner hall.

From this moment on, Xu Yuan officially took charge of Changlin Ward.

…

The rear courtyard of the ward master’s office was a two-courtyard residence.

It could be considered the ward master’s official lodging.

The place was spacious and elegant, with flourishing flowers and trees in the courtyard, while the dry landscape garden had been kept in meticulous order. At a glance, it was obvious that it had been carefully maintained.

Xiao Qi led two young attendants as they carried trunks and chests into the east wing. Chun’er and Qiu’er moved briskly, making the bed, folding the blankets, and wiping down the tables and chairs.

Old Madam Wang went straight to the kitchen, opening windows for air, checking the stove, firewood, rice, and provisions. Before long, thin curls of cooking smoke began to rise, adding much-needed life to the rear courtyard.

Xu Yuan did not concern himself with such trivial matters.

He sat alone in the front hall and began reading through the ledgers Xue Zhan had left behind.

Under the ward master were nine Street Guards, each responsible for one of the nine streets under Changlin Ward’s jurisdiction.

In addition, there were various clerks, accountants, storekeepers, and other miscellaneous staff responsible for documents, funds and grain, and the allocation of supplies.

After about an hour, Xu Yuan closed the ledger, summoned a clerk, and instructed him,

“Pass word down. At the Hour of Shen today, gather the nine Street Guards at the office for a meeting.”

Xu Yuan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

As the Hour of Shen approached, the nine Street Guards arrived one after another.

When Xu Yuan stepped into the meeting hall, his gaze swept calmly over the people seated there.

Hong Qianshan, Lin Yue’e, Zhao Tieshan, Sun Xiaochuan… all familiar faces. He had dealt with every one of them back when they had served under Xue Zhan together.

Hong Qianshan still looked as steady and honest as ever, but when he saw Xu Yuan walk in, he momentarily fell into a daze.

Lin Yue’e and Zhao Tieshan accepted the situation much more quickly. Both had smiles in their eyes and nodded toward him.

As for Sun Xiaochuan, that talented Street Guard who had once had friction with Xu Yuan, he was now standing in the farthest corner of the hall, his gaze drifting nervously, not daring to meet Xu Yuan’s eyes.

Xu Yuan looked at him once, then shifted his gaze away without saying a word.

Aside from those four, the rest were unfamiliar faces.

Starting with Hong Qianshan, Xu Yuan nodded to each of them in greeting.

The reactions of his old acquaintances differed, but at the very least, they were willing to show him some face.

Yet when he greeted the other Street Guards, their attitudes were all cold. Some did not even bother introducing themselves, clearly unwilling to form any connection with him.

‘This is our first meeting, and I have not offended them. Why are they acting like this?’

Xu Yuan kept his expression unchanged, but inwardly he had already begun to frown.

It did not take him long to reach the answer: background.

Nearly all of these Street Guards were old hands who had followed the Shangyang Residence in carving out its position in the Prefecture City. Naturally, they looked at an outsider like him, someone who had climbed up from a menial servant’s position, through tinted glasses.

There was also another point.

Not long ago, Xu Yuan had stood at the same level as them, or even lower. Yet in the blink of an eye, he was now in a position to lord over them.

How could they possibly accept that so easily?

Xu Yuan sneered inwardly. More of these old-timers. You had better hope I do not catch you with any leverage in my hands, or do not blame me for bullying the elderly.

This sort of thing was hardly the first time he had encountered it.

It had been the same in the medicinal fields. People of similar background naturally clustered together, and outsiders who wanted to fit in would only be excluded.

Unless you could win a place among them in a way they accepted, offering up a token of loyalty and giving them something they could use against you in return.

But Xu Yuan naturally could not be bothered with such things. Most of his time needed to be devoted to cultivation. Who had time to waste on little cliques?

What he did find interesting, however, was that Gao Xiaosong’s older brother, Gao Dasong, was actually here as well, managing one of the more profitable streets.

Xu Yuan could not help muttering inwardly that now both brothers had been gathered together, and they had both conveniently become his subordinates.

Gao Dasong had clearly thought of the same thing, and his expression immediately turned rather unpleasant.

After all, his original wish had been to enter the medicinal fields, only to be squeezed out by Xu Yuan in the end.

And now this so-called “well-connected favorite” had somehow become his direct superior. Who could possibly feel good about that?

…

The meeting ended very quickly.

After all, it was merely a chance for everyone to recognize each other’s faces. Once it was over, Xu Yuan left the meeting hall.

The moment he entered the rear courtyard, Xiao Qi came running toward him and reported that the kitchen had already prepared the meal.

Xu Yuan nodded, but he did not go to the dining hall at once. Instead, he first went to the quiet chamber.

In the corner of the room, the spirit beast meat and medicinal treasures he had brought from the residence had already been arranged in neat order.

He stood in the center of the quiet chamber and adjusted his breathing with his eyes closed for a moment. Only after his mind had completely settled did he open his eyes and walk toward the spiked training post.

The post stood about as tall as a man, its surface covered in dense metal spikes, specially designed for tempering hard-body techniques.

Ordinary martial artists would not dare touch it lightly, but Xu Yuan was already used to it.

He removed his outer robe and stood bare-chested before the post.

In the next instant, his fists shot out.

Bang! Bang!

Heavy, muffled impacts echoed again and again through the quiet chamber, one strike after another.

At first, his skin flushed red. Then a faint bronze sheen gradually emerged.

Xu Yuan did not circulate force to protect his body. Instead, he deliberately restrained his blood and energy, relying purely on his flesh to strike against that forest of densely packed spikes.

The pain was real, yet his expression remained calm throughout.

As though it was not pain at all, but merely one part of cultivation.

…

The next day, the fifth day of the ninth month.

Xu Yuan began inspecting the nine streets under his jurisdiction.

By the evening of the third day, just as Xu Yuan finished walking through the last street, he unexpectedly saw an old acquaintance.

The man was Chen Ze, the Second Meridian martial instructor who had once taught him Benlei Fist in the training compound.

His aura was steady now, clearly showing that he had already stepped into the Third Meridian. He had become the leader of a patrol squad and was moving through the streets and alleys with several young martial artists under him.

The moment Xu Yuan saw him, he understood at once.

Though both were at the Third Meridian, Chen Ze had been transferred to the Level Three zone to shoulder danger, while Zhao Qiusheng had been able to work safely within the residence. Clearly, Chen Ze’s connections were inferior to Zhao Qiusheng’s.

As the fighting intensified, someone like him would naturally be among the first to be pushed out.

Chen Ze had also seen the student he had once taught, yet for a moment he did not dare step forward to acknowledge him. Xu Yuan was now a Sixth Meridian martial artist, the master of an entire ward, someone who oversaw nine figures equivalent to Chen Ze’s own direct superiors.

Their statuses had completely reversed. The world had changed.

Shame, awkwardness, embarrassment, and all kinds of other complicated feelings instantly filled Chen Ze’s heart. He instinctively started to bow, but Xu Yuan interrupted him first.

Xu Yuan spoke before he could.

“So it is Martial Instructor Chen.”

Now that the gap in status between them was so vast, Xu Yuan naturally could not call him Instructor Chen anymore.

Still, although Chen Ze had taught for money back then, he had never held anything back in his instruction. When Xu Yuan broke through to the Third Meridian, Chen Ze had even sent him a congratulatory gift.

That bit of goodwill still counted for something.

Seeing that Chen Ze’s Street Guard was present, Xu Yuan thought for a moment and then said,

“Martial Instructor Chen has cultivated quite a few talented people for our Shangyang Residence. At your age, it would be better to have a steadier position. Next month, transfer back to the residence, or to the medicinal fields.”

With his current status, reassigning a Third Meridian martial artist and arranging a suitable post for him was nothing at all.

Moreover, he deliberately spoke those words where the Street Guard could hear them. Once the man understood that relationship, he would surely show Chen Ze a fair bit more consideration in daily matters.

That much care was enough for Chen Ze.

Chen Ze also understood what Xu Yuan meant. For a moment, he was both thrilled and grateful, yet also filled with emotions too complicated to describe. He bowed and said, “Many thanks, Ward Master Xu!”

“I always knew that a good martial trainee was no worse than a menial servant… no, that is not what I meant…”

“All right, I understand what you mean.” Xu Yuan could not help smiling bitterly. He waved a hand at him and left on his own.

After he was gone, many martial artists immediately crowded around Chen Ze, showering him with flattery and ingratiating words.

Along with relief, Chen Ze also felt a faint sense of reflected pride.

What was this?

This was the bond between teacher and student forged in a two-month training camp, lasting for a lifetime.