Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

The next day, Zhou Fugan left home early.

There were already quite a few early risers on the street, coming and going, each busy with their own things.

He arrived at a large mansion near the upper part of the city. The mansion had red walls and black tiles, a vermilion gate, and two imposing stone beasts standing at the entrance, making it very grand.

A sandalwood plaque hangs above the door, bearing four large characters: Hammer Cloud Boxing Hall.

At this moment, the gate of the boxing gym was tightly closed, and shouts could be heard coming from inside the courtyard, where the apprentices were practicing.

Clang clang—

Zhou Fugan stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Soon, the door opened, and a tall, strong young man poked half his body out.

This man, named Liu Cheng, was an inner disciple of the Hammer Cloud Boxing Academy, responsible for recruiting apprentices. He had Zhou Fugan make clothes for the academy several times and greatly admired his craftsmanship, which led to their acquaintance.

Of course, this relationship is limited to exchanging a few words; if you're looking for someone to do you a big favor, forget about it.

Zhou Fugan brought his grandson here last time, and he had also asked for this person. Coincidentally, both grandsons had the aptitude to meet the martial arts school's requirements for accepting disciples, so Liu Cheng agreed to take them in. As for wanting a reduction in fees or better treatment, forget it!

"It's me, Martial Arts Master Liu."

Zhou Fugan greeted him with a forced smile, looking like a kind, simple old man. This was his old self, and he still maintained it, to avoid being recognized by acquaintances like Liu Cheng and causing misunderstandings.

"Old Zhou, come in."

When Liu Cheng saw it was him, he immediately opened the door and let him in.

Zhou Fugan walked through the gate and found himself in a spacious courtyard. At the other end of the courtyard were wooden stakes, stone locks, sandbags, and other training equipment. A dozen young men were practicing shirtless, sweating profusely.

"What? Have you raised enough money? Which grandson are you planning to send over?" Liu Cheng asked with a smile.

Zhou Fugan hesitated for a moment before replying, "No, I wanted to inquire about some things this time."

"Oh? What is it?" Liu Cheng asked casually.

Zhou Fugan hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "I want to ask, do you think I can come here to learn martial arts?"

"What? Which bastard is coming?"

Liu Cheng's eyes narrowed, and he looked puzzled, wondering if he had misheard.

"...I mean me, I want to learn martial arts myself." Zhou Fugan knew he would find it hard to accept, but he had no choice but to explain.

"You? Hahaha—"

Liu Cheng heard clearly this time, paused for a moment, and then burst into laughter, attracting the attention of the apprentices cultivating on the other side.

"No, no, Old Zhou, you came here so early in the morning just to make me laugh, didn't you?"

Liu Cheng laughed so hard he could barely breathe.

"Hehe, no, I really want to learn martial arts."

Zhou Fugan chuckled and answered somewhat embarrassedly.

"Heh, I don't know if you're serious or just teasing me. But it's impossible for you to learn martial arts."

Liu Cheng stopped laughing, his expression turning cold. Was this old Zhou just being ridiculous? Did he think he was above the law just because he'd been given a few smiles?

"Can't I even pay the full tuition fee?"

Zhou Fugan pressed on relentlessly.

Liu Cheng shook his head and said irritably, "No way. Do you think our boxing gym is a shop? When we recruit disciples, we look at their physical attributes first. Only those with good physical attributes will be accepted. If their physical attributes aren't good enough, no amount of money will teach them."

"Your two grandsons are of inferior aptitude, which meets our minimum requirements for recruiting apprentices. We'll take them in as long as they pay the fee."

"You can't do it."

Why?

Liu Cheng sneered and replied bluntly, "Because you're too old. Even if you had superior physique when you were young, your body is now like rotten wood. Forcing yourself to practice martial arts won't be able to withstand the hardship; you'll only die faster."

"Besides, if word got out that our boxing gym hired an old man for money, it would be incredibly shameful. My master would kill me."

"So if I want to learn martial arts, then no one will accept me?"

Zhou Fugan said disappointedly. Although he had expected this, he was still quite heartbroken after being rejected.

"No martial arts school in the entire Qingshan County will accept you. I advise you not to ask other martial arts schools. I'm the only one who's easy to talk to; anyone else would have kicked you out long ago."

Liu Cheng shook his head, then a hint of impatience appeared on his face. "Alright, if you have nothing else to do, you can leave."

Zhou Fugan didn't leave. Instead, his face flushed red with shame, he said, "This...sigh! I'm sorry to have made Master Liu laugh at me. Actually, I didn't really want to learn martial arts. I was just angry. I can only afford to support one grandson to learn martial arts, but...sigh! It's a family scandal, better not to talk about it."

After saying that, he shook his head helplessly, his face full of unspeakable frustration.

Upon seeing his expression, Liu Cheng immediately understood what was going on.

It's just that poor families can only afford to send one child to learn martial arts, and then both want to go, leading to a fight at home, right? He's seen this kind of situation many times. This kind of bickering is considered mild; some families even beat each other so badly that the dog's head is smashed.

His expression softened, and he stopped trying to shoo them away. With some understanding, he said, "It's alright. Go back and discuss it with your family. Once you've chosen who to come, you can come find me anytime. I can also give you some advice; it's up to you whether you take it or not."

Zhou Fugan listened attentively, "Martial Arts Master Liu, please speak."

"Your eldest grandson is resolute and steady, and his age is just right. It would be best to send him over. As for your second grandson, he's still too young. It won't be too late to come over in a couple of years."

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Liu. I'll head back now and bring my grandson over once I've raised enough money."

Zhou Fugan took his leave with gratitude.

.....

Turning a street corner, with no one around, Zhou Fugan's expression changed, revealing a thoughtful look.

"Since Liu Cheng said that other martial arts schools wouldn't accept me either, there's no need to ask. But how do I learn martial arts?"

Zhou Fugan was making plans in his mind.

Just as Liu Cheng warned, if he went to other martial arts schools to inquire, he might be seen as provoking them, and he might even get beaten up in an unfamiliar place. Therefore, his path to learning martial arts from a martial arts school was basically cut off.

After some thought, a look of determination flashed in his eyes.

"Then the only option is to learn it by stealing it."

First, send a grandson to learn martial arts, then have the grandson return and teach him, so he can learn martial arts. However, this involves enormous risks.

These martial arts schools have a strict rule for their disciples: they must never pass on the martial arts they have learned to outsiders. Otherwise, the instructor and the private student will be killed without exception.

However, Zhou Fugan already had plans for this.

He sent his eldest grandson, Zhou Sheng, to learn martial arts, partly for this reason.

Zhou Sheng, like his father Zhou Guangshun, is extremely filial to his grandfather. If he were to learn martial arts, he would be even more grateful to him. He wouldn't refuse to be privately taught martial arts.

Moreover, Zhou Fugan would not openly ask Zhou Sheng to teach him, but would find other reasons to make him demonstrate his martial arts skills so that he could secretly learn them.

Furthermore, Zhou Sheng has endured hardship since childhood and is mature and steady; he would never gossip about such things. It's hard to say if it were Zhou He; he's young and naive, and might unintentionally be tricked into revealing information.