Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 10 How can I distinguish myself?
Master Zhao's words were like a wake-up call for his foolish younger brother, who exclaimed, "That's absolutely right!"

Having made up his mind, he went out and didn't return until evening, carrying two fighting roosters.

"Oh, Second Master, what brings you here?"

The butler asked what was going on. So you've been gone for so long, and all you did was buy two fighting roosters?
Master Zhao smiled and said nothing. He walked through the main room to the backyard, placed the two fighting roosters next to Ji Cheng, and called everyone to take a look.

"So, can you tell which of these three fighting roosters is which?"

Master Zhao asked smugly.

It turns out that he didn't just pick these two fighting roosters randomly; he specifically chose them to resemble Ji Cheng.

The golden rooster breed weighs eight pounds and six ounces, and even their appearance is almost identical.

As we all know, many chickens of the same breed look very similar. Master Zhao specifically chose them based on the model. Now that the three fighting roosters are placed together, it's really confusing.

If the positions of the three fighting cocks were changed, most people wouldn't be able to tell which one was the winning cock.

"Second Master, your move is truly brilliant. I've been walking around this backyard for a long time and have even fed your fighting roosters a few times, but now I can't tell the difference between these three fighting roosters. I guarantee that outsiders will be even more confused!"

The butler understood Master Zhao's intention and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

Master Zhao laughed triumphantly, saying that once these two fighting roosters were all gone, he would buy two more that looked very similar.

He intends to use this method to mislead the guys at the cockfighting arena. Tomorrow, he will bring a newly purchased fighting rooster to the arena, claiming it is a prized fighting rooster that has been on a winning streak. Once the rooster is killed, everyone's attention will dissipate.

After that, I maintained a rhythm of winning two or three games and then losing one, in order to avoid attracting too much attention and envy.

Moreover, all the fighting roosters he uses look the same; who would notice which fighting rooster he has bought?

In the evening, during dinner.

Master Zhao proudly explained how brilliant his strategy was, winning unanimous praise from everyone.

Zhao Yan was unconvinced and said, "Do you think everyone else is stupid? They can't tell which fighting rooster is on a winning streak?"
Seeing his daughter arguing, Second Master Zhao provocatively said, "Go to the backyard now and see. If you can tell the difference, your father will pay you ten taels of silver on the spot!"

Hey, Zhao Yan immediately put down her chopsticks and got up to go to the backyard.

Zhao Kun followed behind her with a smile, watching the excitement, while Second Master Zhao witnessed it from the side.

In the backyard, the three fighting roosters were kept in three separate cages, and their positions had been deliberately rearranged.

Zhao Yan was initially dismissive, but when she saw the three fighting roosters that looked remarkably alike, she was stunned.

She turned her head and glanced at Zhao Kun and Second Master Zhao.

Zhao Kun was a little nervous. Knowing Zhao Yan as he did, he knew that Zhao Yan must be confused and unable to tell the difference.

Master Zhao also put down his chopsticks and came over, stroking his beard with a smile on his face.

Zhao Yan looked at the three fighting cocks again, scratched her head, confused, but unwilling to admit defeat.

Upon close observation, one can see that the three fighting roosters are quite different in subtle ways; indeed, they can be distinguished by remembering their distinctive features.

The problem is that the previous "weakling" title reduced her presence, and Zhao Yan was never interested in cockfighting. Now, she racked her brains but couldn't remember any characteristics of the previous fighting rooster.

Master Zhao smiled smugly and said, "You're not stupid. Can you tell which one is the fighting cock with a fifteen-win streak?"

"Hehe, don't worry, I can tell!"

Zhao Yan stubbornly insisted, and immediately squatted down, approached the cage, and carefully observed each fighting rooster.

After looking at it for a long time, the food had gone cold, but Zhao Yan was still grumbling to herself.

After several urgings from Master Zhao, Zhao Yan guessed randomly based on her intuition: "This is it!"

Ji Cheng was somewhat surprised; Zhao Yan was quite lucky to have guessed correctly.

At this moment, Zhao Yan was pointing at Ji Cheng.

"Wrong, wrong, it's this one, you guessed wrong!"

Master Zhao laughed and pointed to another fighting rooster, saying that this was his prized fighting rooster that had won fifteen consecutive victories.

Zhao Yan felt discouraged and lamented her bad luck.

She admitted that it was indeed difficult to distinguish these fighting cocks when they were placed together, as they looked too similar.

At this moment, Zhao Kun smiled and revealed the truth. He told Zhao Yan, "You guessed right, it was Second Master who was lying to you!"

"What? You lied to me?" Zhao Yan realized what was happening and glared at Master Zhao. "I won! Give me ten taels of silver!"

"What? You won? I said it was this fighting rooster, and you didn't refute me, which means you couldn't tell the difference at all and were just guessing, so you lost!"

Master Zhao's logic is sound; guesses don't count.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Yan reached out and snatched his purse, emptying a few taels of silver. Zhao Yan shouted, "Pick up the money!" She and Zhao Kun each picked up two or three taels of silver, beaming with joy.

After kneeling on the ground and busying himself for a while, Master Zhao only managed to snatch one tael of silver, and he was so angry that he kept groaning.

The entire backyard of the Zhao residence was filled with laughter and joy.

Under the old persimmon tree, the big yellow dog lay on the ground with its head drooping, and for a moment it seemed to laugh.

……

Once no one was around, Ji Cheng assumed the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg posture and began his cultivation.

The two new fighting roosters had no effect on him.

The Zhao family was smarter than Ji Cheng had imagined; in this way, he didn't have to go to great lengths to control the score.

In fact, as his bloodline becomes purer and his cultivation level increases, his appearance will change considerably.

But this seemed to be something he could control. He chose to remain the same, not showing any abnormality, so that he would not attract attention and could blend better into a group of similar golden roosters.

The big yellow dog has been drinking the young master's bathwater these past few days, and it hasn't gone out to steal chickens at night anymore.

Moreover, it has never cultivated itself under the moon.

Ji Cheng's mood went from full of anticipation to gradually turning cold.

Fortunately, he also had the title of "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" which allowed him to cultivate continuously for twelve hours a day.

This long and tedious training also made him realize that cultivation is not something that can be achieved overnight, and even if he had a cheat code, he couldn't rush it.

the next day.

After having breakfast, Master Zhao took a fighting rooster and went out.

Around noon, he returned carrying a dead chicken that had been plucked, bled, and cleaned. He threw it in the kitchen and ordered it to be stewed for dinner.

Clearly, Master Zhao lost this cockfight.

Master Zhao also recounted that this time his opponent was extremely powerful; it was the black-necked rooster raised by the eldest son of the Xu family, which pecked his fighting rooster to death in just two moves.

Of course, his actions misled everyone, making them believe that his 15-game winning streak in cockfighting had ended.

Because the black-necked chickens raised by Young Master Xu were so formidable, people had no doubts about him and felt that his fighting rooster had won so many matches that it was time for it to lose.

That evening, during dinner, Zhao Yan revealed some news.

The master of Kaishan Martial Arts School was attacked while he was out. After a fierce battle, he killed all the enemies, but he was also seriously injured.

I believe this matter will soon be the talk of the town.

"Huh? Who did this?"

Master Zhao asked hurriedly, as he had a premonition that Wuzhen might be in chaos again.

The key point is that now that the founder of the gang is seriously injured, the delicate balance between the two gangs has been broken.

Zhao Yan shook her head: "I don't know, the Kaishan Martial Arts School hasn't revealed anything to the public."

"Kun'er, what do you think?"

Master Zhao inquired about Zhao Kun, who had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood.

Although the Zhao family in Wuzhen has never been involved with any of the major gangs or martial arts schools, it would be difficult for them to live a peaceful life if the various gangs and martial arts schools started fighting each other.

"Father, in my opinion, we should wait and see. Whoever the attacker is, I believe they will come to light soon."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Here's a chicken leg for you as a reward, to help you recover."

"Thank you dad."

……

It's quiet at night.

The sleeping big yellow dog suddenly rolled over and stood up.

The rattling of the chains woke Ji Cheng. He peeked at the big yellow dog through the gaps in its wings, wondering what the dog was up to.

It was already past midnight, and according to past habits, the big yellow dog would never go out to steal chickens again.

Soon, the big yellow dog took off its collar and quickly darted out of the dog hole. The whole process was so smooth and fluid that it was unclear what it was rushing about for.

Ji Cheng concentrated intently and faintly heard shouts of battle coming from a great distance.

(End of this chapter)