Chapter 36: Brother, Hit Me!

As the Pan family father and son departed, the atmosphere loosened, no longer as tense. Yet for Ye Kun, this victory brought no joy; instead, he felt a familiar melancholy settle within him. His classmates had grown used to this—whenever Ye Kun claimed first place, this was always his expression.

“Kunkun, well done!” Old Wei gave Ye Kun a thumbs-up, his pride in the child he had chosen evident. Beside him, Ba Tai nodded in agreement—Ye Kun, he mused, would one day shine as a brilliant star in Taijing.

Yuan Zhen and Feng Dian could scarcely believe it. Was this really happening? The young master of Ankang Prefecture had been beaten, and yet the victor walked away unscathed—preposterous!

Ye Kun sighed deeply. Who could understand this sense of helplessness? He bowed respectfully to his teacher. “I, Ye Kun, have won by no true merit.”

Old Wei nodded with satisfaction and glanced at a nearby teacher, who immediately understood and called out, “Gather round, everyone! The teacher has a few announcements!”

The students quickly lined up, awaiting instruction.

“From today onward, Ye Kun is your leader. If the teacher is absent and you’re unsure of something, you may ask Ye Kun.”

Ye Kun was speechless. Ask him if they don’t understand? And if he doesn’t know, who is he to ask—the air itself?

He had come here to train, not to instruct others. What was he supposed to teach them—rely on luck?

But Old Wei seemed pleased with this arrangement. He turned to Ba Tai. “County Chief, shall we be on our way? Let’s not disturb the children any longer.”

“Indeed, after you, Old Wei.”

“No, after you, County Chief.”

The two exchanged polite words and left the training courtyard together.

“County Chief, such an incident is hardly a boon for you,” Old Wei said, leaning on his cane as he walked, intent on conversing with Ba Tai.

“It matters little; being transferred to Ankang Prefecture is only a matter of time.”

“If you need anything, just say the word.”

Ba Tai’s heart lightened at these words. He bowed with a smile. “Then I’ll trouble you, Old Wei.”

“If you are transferred to Ankang Prefecture, you’ll be able to look after Kunkun as well,” Old Wei continued thoughtfully. “A small place like Taixi County cannot contain Ye Kun; even Ankang Prefecture will serve only as a stepping stone.”

Ba Tai laughed, teasing, “It seems I owe my good fortune to Ye Kun, then.”

“Indeed.”

“You don’t mince words, Old Wei.”

“We’re old acquaintances—no need for pretense. Are you truly set on this course? You won’t consider Banqing’s prospects?”

Ba Tai sighed, “I’ll make proper arrangements.”

“Don’t let the children be implicated. They are innocent.”

“Old Wei, I understand.”

“Well, I still need to visit the private school. Now that I’m old, teaching has become too much. I plan to close it in a few months.” Old Wei was advanced in years; having taught a child as gifted as Ye Kun, he no longer felt the same passion for teaching others.

Ba Tai understood and did not try to persuade him further. “You’ve contributed much to Taixi County, Old Wei. It’s time for a well-earned rest.”

Old Wei said nothing more, waved his hand, and took another path.

Watching Old Wei’s figure slowly disappear, Ba Tai exhaled and headed toward his residence.

Meanwhile, in the training courtyard—

The teacher was introducing himself to Ye Kun.

“My name is Wu Chi—just call me Teacher Wu. Your performance today did not escape my notice. It seems you’ve honed your physique well. When I was your age, I was still playing with wooden swords.” Wu Chi grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and—of course—a whiff of alcohol.

Ye Kun was tempted to ask, “Teacher, are you planning to leave the training courtyard to me so you can spend your days drinking?”

“I hope you’ll reconsider what you just said,” Ye Kun replied. “How can a student teach others?”

Wu Chi lowered his head, furtively gesturing as if to share a secret.

Curious, Ye Kun leaned in. This teacher seemed a bit frivolous.

“Truth is,” Wu Chi whispered, “I’m just making it up as I go. You only need to toss out a few moves and let them figure things out themselves.”

Ye Kun was dumbfounded. This was the most irresponsible teacher he’d ever met!

“Well then, I’ll leave things here to you for now. I’ll go take a walk outside and be back soon,” Wu Chi said, waving his hand as he strode out of the courtyard, leaving Ye Kun utterly bewildered.

Wu Chi was truly something else.

“Brother, has Teacher Wu always been like this?” Ye Kun asked Ye Qin curiously.

Ye Qin nodded. “Yes.”

“Uh… don’t any of you mind?”

Ye Qin draped an arm over Ye Kun’s shoulder and replied earnestly, “Brother, isn’t it nice not to be supervised? In the morning, Teacher Wu demonstrates a set, and we try to comprehend it ourselves—it’s challenging, but he’s actually quite dedicated.”

Ye Kun was incredulous. Was this really acceptable?

“When will Teacher Wu return?” Ye Kun asked.

“I doubt he’ll be back. Brother, come teach us—we can’t wait!” Ye Qin said happily, certain that learning from his brother would be even more effective.

Ye Kun saw the children’s adoring gazes and felt his scalp tingle. Don’t look at me like that; it was all luck.

“Ye Kun, the teacher expressly said you were to teach,” Ba Banqing said seriously, as if daring him to keep hiding.

Feng Dian and Yuan Zhen looked crestfallen. They’d expected Ye Kun to at least suffer today, yet now he was their junior instructor.

Challenge him? Even Ankang Prefecture’s Thunder Fist had been broken; their own skills would surely be no match.

Unable to best Ye Kun for now, Yuan Zhen and Feng Dian felt their misery would only continue.

Ye Kun inhaled deeply and called out, “Ye Qin!”

“Brother, what is it?”

“Come up here and show a few moves.”

Ye Qin was speechless.

Ba Banqing was speechless.

So Brother Kun really doesn’t know what to do. If only I’d watched his sword techniques first.

That afternoon, as school let out, Ye Kun left under Ba Banqing’s strange gaze.

“Brother, be honest—what really happened?” Ye Qin asked, curious.

“Brother, trust me, it was truly an accident.”

Ye Qin rolled his eyes expertly; he’d heard this explanation countless times.

“Brother, if you keep brushing me off, I’ll get angry.”

“Haha, just teasing you.” Ye Kun forced a smile. How was he supposed to explain? Should he just make something up again?

Ye Qin snorted, “Then hurry up and tell me.”

“We haven’t eaten few of Mother’s elixirs, right?”

“Yeah, I’m tired of them.”

“But Mother’s elixirs are powerful. If you’d been on stage instead, the outcome would have been the same.”

Ye Qin considered this and found it reasonable. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that? Brother, you should show me the Thunder Fist.”

“….”