Miao Chu

Chapter 252 Teaching
On the other side, Liang Yan carried a bundle and a food box on his back. Although his back and hands were heavy, he was quite happy.

Once the problem is understood, and the misunderstanding is cleared up, most people will stop treating themselves and Zhu Zhan the same way they used to.

Secondly... they have jelly noodles!
Sister Song's jelly is so delicious! The tangy sugar syrup is so refreshing and tasty. This time it's even served with ice, so I'm going to enjoy it to my heart's content...

No! I can't think about it too much, or I won't be able to walk—just bear with it a little longer, we can eat when we get back, and I'll share half a bowl with Zhu Zhan then!
What else could one think about besides jelly noodles?

The bundle was so full and heavy, I wonder what delicious treats my sister brought for herself!

The martial arts school only gets one day off every ten days. This time, I need to go back to Song's to chop more firewood and carry more water. I also need to grow up quickly so I can earn money. Only when I earn money can I give it to Sister Song and my aunt for their household expenses. Otherwise, wouldn't it be like eating for free?
Last time, Zhu Zhan really liked that amber walnut. I wonder if it's in the package this time?

—Oh right, he also asked me to ask if the restaurants sell it, saying he wanted to save up some money to buy it as a gift. Oh dear, I was so focused on the stove that I forgot to ask! I should really be punished; I should have helped my sister get more business!

He walked here, unaware that a great commotion was brewing inside the Xu Family Martial Arts School.

It turned out that Zhu Zhan had been waiting for a long time, but Liang Yan had not returned, so he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

He had always felt that the people in the martial arts school were ostracizing him and his companion, but because he was young and had a friend, he couldn't be bothered to care. But when he heard the news that Liang Yan had gone home with Yang Mian and would only return in the afternoon, he felt more and more uneasy.

I've heard that in some martial arts schools with a bad atmosphere, students often fight and brawl over disagreements, and there's also bullying of the weak.

Although the Xu Family Martial Arts School has a good reputation outside, it cannot guarantee that all the martial arts students inside are good.

Those wicked people don't like you, they don't need any reason at all, what if they really bully Liang Yan...

He was really worried, so after eating, he lay in bed during his lunch break but couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned, so he got up and went to find the person who had brought the news earlier, intending to get to the bottom of things.

After searching high and low, he found the drill ground and spotted the person immediately.

The other person was surrounded by a group of boys who were talking loudly.

"I don't know what's wrong with Yang Mian, he actually brought that rascal home. Could it be that he was tricked by him?"

A group of people nearby chimed in, all agreeing with the sentiment.

"In my opinion, the best course of action is to kick Liang Yan out of our martial arts school as soon as possible!"

"Exactly, they've tarnished our reputation!"

“He won’t leave. He has such a disgusting father, but he doesn’t see it at all. He’s not ashamed at all. He always wants to show off and be the best in everything. The last time Master asked us why we practice martial arts, he actually dared to say loudly that it was to ‘uphold justice.’ It made everyone want to vomit—if it were me, I wouldn’t even dare to say it!”

"What Liang Yan? He should clearly be called Xiang Yan—shameless! He even changed his surname! So he knows his father is a disgrace after all!"

Zhu Zhan was completely baffled.

He couldn't help but step forward and shout, "What are you talking about! What Xiang Yan? What disgusting father? When did Liang Yan start having the surname Xiang?!"

Hearing the question, the group of people opposite all looked over. When they saw it was Zhu Zhan, some were embarrassed, while others said to him in a harsh tone, "Don't you know? Aren't you always going in and out with that Xiang Yan? Wasn't he staying at your house that day? How could you not know? What are you pretending for!"

"That's right, Liang Yan's father's surname is Xiang, and he's the treacherous thief who helped the gangster escape, named Xiang Yuan—they found out from the officials who went to Huazhou. Who are you trying to fool!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhan knew there must have been some misunderstanding, and hurriedly explained, "You've got it wrong! Liang Yan's surname is Liang, he's my grandmother's younger brother—my maternal uncle's relative, he's my cousin! He has nothing to do with that Xiang Yuan!"

The person opposite him sneered and said, "Keep making things up! Someone saw it. In the spring, that scoundrel Xiang Yuan was walking around outside with Liang Yan, claiming he was his son. Surely they couldn't have misread or misheard, could they?"

Zhu Zhan paused for a moment, then immediately said, "Liang Yan only followed that man surnamed Xiang to the capital, because he..."

He paused suddenly at this point.

Upon seeing this, the person opposite burst into laughter and said, "What about him? Tell me! You can't even make this up!"

"He's a rotten person! His father is rotten, and his son Liang Yan is rotten too!"

"Like rats, they know how to dig holes. Who knows, Liang Yan might help kidnappers escape someday! Maybe he'll become a kidnapper himself!"

Seeing that the other party's words were full of sarcasm, Zhu Zhan couldn't care less about anything else for a moment. He couldn't help but repeat what he had overheard.

He shouted, "Hey! Watch your mouths! Liang Yan's father is a bodyguard. Because he saved the life of the Xiang family, they wanted a good reputation, so they pretended to adopt him as their son, but they didn't at all..."

The group of young men opposite them all sneered.

"Go ahead and make it up! Keep making it up! You're lying through your teeth!"

The one who spoke the most aggressively and the fastest had cursed, "Shut your dog mouth—Liang Yan's father is nothing but a maggot spewing pus! The entire Liang Yan family deserves to die!"

"Watch your mouth! I've already said we're not family! You can insult Xiang Yuan if you want, but don't drag Liang Yan into it!"

"I'll curse, I'll curse! Liang Yan, the Liang Yan family! Maggots oozing pus! Maggots oozing pus!!"

Zhu Zhan was furious: "You can't listen when I speak nicely, you only listen when you get hit?? I'm going to use my fist!"

"Go ahead and hit me! You're not going to let me lose!"

Seeing that the person opposite him was extremely obnoxious, as if he were deaf, and his every word was provocative, Zhu Zhan could no longer hold back. He clenched his fist, rushed forward, tackled the other man to the ground, sat on him, and started punching him, yelling, "Keep cursing! Everyone says Liang Yan has nothing to do with that Xiang guy! Why are you cursing his father!"

The man opposite him was stunned for a moment. Being a martial artist, he quickly dodged the punch, managing to avoid it, but still got a graze on half of his face from the force of the blow. He reacted in a moment, shouting but not stopping his actions. With his arms outstretched, he flipped over and threw Zhu Zhan to the ground.

The two rolled around on the ground and started wrestling.

The two boys were about the same age. Zhu Zhan had grown up in a butcher's family since he was a child, so he had plenty of meat to eat and had grown into a big, fat man. The boy opposite him had practiced martial arts for half a year longer.

One relied on weight and brute force, while the other relied on skill. At first, the one with skill had the upper hand, but as the fight went on, strength became important, and Zhu Zhan was able to turn the tables and pin his opponent down.

It is always easier for evenly matched opponents to really fight. The group of people on the sidelines were just watching the show at first, but as they watched, they suddenly realized something was wrong.

Zhu Zhan had a black eye, which was bad enough, but his own man opposite him also had a bruised mouth and a face full of blood. No one knew where he was injured. Everyone rushed forward to help, but they didn't know where to start—the two men were rolling around so intently that they couldn't find a handle to grab onto!
Just then, someone behind shouted, "Stop fighting! Master Cheng is here!!"

Panic gripped the room, and everyone shouted, "Quick! Stop!"

But it was too late.

The Xu Family Martial Arts School has a rule that brothers cannot spar privately. Once they do spar, at least one instructor must be present to watch, and the fight must be stopped when the point is reached.

Seeing the two fighting like this, Master Cheng immediately noticed something was wrong as he approached and shouted angrily, "What are you doing! Stop it, both of you!"

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward and yelled at the men around him, "What are you all standing there for? Just watching them fight? If something really happens, none of you will escape. You'll all be locked up in solitary confinement!"

In an instant, the crowd swarmed forward and forcibly pulled the two apart.

Zhu Zhan covered his eyes, while the person opposite him wiped his nosebleed. They still wouldn't let go of each other. Even though they were being held back, they still kicked each other with their legs. Master Cheng hit each of them twice with a stick before they finally behaved.

He said, "Let's make it clear right here how the fight started!"

The man opposite spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "Master, I did nothing wrong! Liang Yan's father helped the kidnapper escape and even wanted to change his name and personality. I despise such a coward! I only spoke a few truths, and Zhu Zhan came to beat me. I'm so wronged!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, watching Zhu Zhan with schadenfreude.

Master Cheng remained silent and turned to look at him as well.

He was surrounded by people, all of whom were looking at him with condemnation, ridicule, and contempt. The more Zhu Zhan thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt more and more wronged for Liang Yan, more and more indignant for himself, and annoyed that the group of people opposite him were stupid and had to wrong an innocent person.

He was only eight years old, how could he tolerate it? He immediately shouted, "What truth are you talking about! What nonsense are you spouting! Liang Yan's surname is Liang, not Xiang!"

"Then why did he go to the capital with the thief, and why did the thief claim he was his son?" "We've already said his father was a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), and he died protecting the镖师! Why won't you listen! Why won't you believe it?!" Zhu Zhan was furious. "His father saved the thief Xiang's life and died himself! He was left without parents, and the Xiang family took him in to raise him because they were afraid of being gossiped about! They didn't raise him properly; they said they were adopting him, but they wouldn't give him anything!"

He learned a jumbled collection of things he had secretly overheard from the adults, including how Xiang Yuan forced Liang Yan's father to return to the bandit circle for other people's money, which resulted in the father's death. He also neglected the widow and orphan, and only after the widow passed away, had nightmares, and encountered bad things did he have no choice but to take Liang Yan home.

Zhu Zhan wasn't very eloquent, his speech was illogical and even a bit incoherent. He was so anxious that he was covered in sweat and had a bruise on one eye, which made him look rather funny.

But everyone present could see his anxiety and hear his anger, and no one laughed.

"Liang Yan's father and mother are both gone. He finally found a foster father and thought he had a home, but he was bullied in his new home. To make matters worse, the man surnamed Xiang is the enemy who killed his father. His father was so righteous, and he and his mother were so pitiful—and you still gossip behind his back, cursing him! Cursing his father! Cursing his whole family! Are you even human?! Do you have any conscience?!"

As Zhu Zhan shouted, his voice grew louder and louder, then softer and softer, becoming increasingly indistinct—his nose suddenly stung, and tears and snot streamed down his face, even into his mouth. He could only wipe them haphazardly as he yelled, "Don't you have any conscience?!"

The other disciples in the room remained silent, turning their heads away, not daring to meet his gaze.

Master Cheng sighed, turned around and shouted, "Wang Dalin! Who told you that behind your back?"

Wang Dalin, who had been rolling on the ground with Zhu Zhan for half a day, covered his nose, which had stopped bleeding, and stammered for a while before pointing to someone.

The man quickly replied, "I heard it from Xiao Sun!"

Xiao Sun: "Huh? I heard it from Senior Brother Zhang!"

Senior Brother Zhang hurriedly tried to distance himself, saying that he had heard it from someone else.

After much back and forth, just when it seemed like the whole thing was a mess, a pale-faced man stepped forward and said, "I... back in the spring, when I went out with my parents to deliver goods, I often saw that scoundrel Xiang with Liang Yan, socializing and entertaining people. Everyone knew he had a son, so I assumed Liang Yan was his son..."

“He has a son! His son's name is Xiang Lin, and he's even fatter than me! He's always bullying people, he's so annoying!”

"I...I don't know, I thought..." The person speaking was flustered and at a loss, "What should I do...I really didn't think that much, I thought I was ridding the world of a scourge!"

When the questioning finally came to a head, the answer became obvious—it was all a misunderstanding.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground.

“Last time Liang Yan greeted me, I ignored him…”

"Sigh, he went out of his way to pick up arrows for me, but I ignored him!"

Master Cheng then pointed at Wang Dalin and Xiao Lin across the table and said, "What are you standing there for? Apologize to Zhu Zhan first!"

He then said to Zhu Zhan, "They made a big mistake, and you made a mistake too—you were the one who struck first, weren't you?"

After seeing Wang Dalin and Xiaolin honestly apologize, Master Cheng said again, "Remember to apologize to Liang Yan later!"

Zhu Zhan suddenly jolted awake and quickly said, "No! No!!"

He was extremely anxious: "Don't apologize! We can't let Liang Yan know! He doesn't want others to know about his family situation, and he doesn't want others to feel sorry for him!"

He then regretted it, saying, "My stupid mouth! How could I have blurted it all out! Hey! Fellow disciples, could you please not spread this around and just pretend you don't know anything about it!"

So everyone in the room unanimously agreed.

"Don't worry! We absolutely won't tell anyone a single word!"

"Of course I won't tell!"

"But if we don't say anything, how will others know he's not Xiang Yuan's son?"

"Yeah! We still have to tell him, right? Tell him secretly, and then tell everyone not to let Liang Yan know!"

"Do you think he's stupid?!"

A group of people were discussing and deliberating here.

Master Cheng then asked, "Have you finished speaking?"

He pointed at Zhu Zhan and Wang Dalin and said, "You two are fighting."

He then pointed to Xiao Lin on the other side and said, "You don't know the inside story, yet you spread rumors and ruin the reputation of your fellow disciples."

"All three of you, you're to sweep and mop the floors of the martial arts school for the next two days, wipe the doors and windows, and clean the outhouses too. The rest of you, who just watched your fellow disciples fight, you'd all have to run twenty laps around the training ground right now!"

So when Liang Yan returned, he saw that it was almost time for afternoon classes, but the schoolyard was full of people slumped over, all sitting in the shade of the trees wiping away sweat.

He carried his things on his back and in his arms, and didn't have time to go back to his dormitory to put them away, so he had to put them aside and then searched everywhere for Zhu Zhan.

Just as he was wondering, he heard someone beside him say, "Hey, Liang Yan is back!"

"Liang Yan, are you looking for Zhu Zhan? He's sweeping the outhouse in the back!"

"There's still half a cup of tea's time left. If you need to find him, hurry up before your master arrives!"

"Yes, Master Peng usually arrives a little late. You're just getting back, aren't you? Hurry up and have some water while you're at it!"

Previously, even if I took the initiative to greet them, no one would pay attention to me. But now everyone has changed their attitude and is very enthusiastic.

With such a significant change, how could Liang Yan, a sensitive person, not notice it?

He didn't ask any further questions, only thanked them, and hurriedly went to the outhouse at the back.

He had just arrived when he saw Zhu Zhan standing at the door of the outhouse with two wads of cloth stuffed up his nose, holding a broom in one hand and a rag in the other, looking completely lost.

"Zhu Zhan!" Liang Yan called out, rushing forward. "What's wrong?"

Zhu Zhan was quite embarrassed when he saw him return, and stammered for a moment.

Upon hearing Liang Yan mention the change in his senior brothers' attitudes, he sighed and said, "Liang Yan, I'm sorry... I... I accidentally revealed your family's affairs!"

He recounted what had happened at noon, and his eyes welled up with tears again. He said, "I couldn't hold it in anymore, and... I'm sorry, I overheard my grandfather talking to my parents..."

Liang Yan paused for a moment, then said, "It's alright, it's not a big deal, I've already said it."

However, when he went to class in the afternoon, he quickly realized that something was wrong.

Others often peek at him, and during sparring matches, his opponent would occasionally hold back some of their strength.

Even though it was a small class, some people still took the opportunity to talk to me and show goodwill.

Liang Yan didn't react, just as usual.

When the archery class started and everyone had finished their individual practice, he took the communal bow and arrow, drew the bow, nocked the arrow, and shot.

With three quick swishes, all three arrows hit the bullseye simultaneously, forming a neat triangular pattern.

Liang Yan was very talented in riding, archery and martial arts. He didn't need to be taught. On his first try, he was able to hit the mouth of a small bottle two zhang away with a stone. After learning archery, he not only won more often than he lost to his peers, but also to people much older than him.

His archery skills were exceptionally clean and precise today, quickly earning him cheers from the crowd.

Liang Yan, holding his bow, stood in the middle of the training ground, looking at the people surrounding him, and said loudly, "My father said that martial artists rely on real skills to deal with each other—although I am a newcomer, I would like to ask my senior brothers to teach me more with real skills!"

(End of this chapter)