Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

Grandmaster!

Innate Realm!

Hearing the storyteller's answer, the diners were slightly stunned.

"So... does that mean the Innate qi skill that Qing Xuzi created is a Grandmaster's martial art?"

A young man dressed in short, strong attire muttered quietly.

The storyteller picked up his teacup, blew away the dark green tea leaves floating on the surface, revealing the light brown tea inside. He took a sip and said, "Well, that I wouldn't know."

"Then, may I ask, Mr. Liu, are there any requirements for Qing Xuzi to accept a disciple?"

This time, the speaker was a woman dressed in a green archery outfit. She was robust, with large, calloused hands covered in a thick layer of old skin.

"Requirements, huh? Old me wouldn't know that either. Qing Xuzi said all the requirements and rules will be announced at the Iron Sparrow Villa on the seventh day of the month."

The storyteller answered in a kind tone.

The woman respectfully clasped her fists and said, "Thank you, Mr. Liu."

After speaking, she left the Ju Ke Inn without looking back.

Other armed martial artists in the hall couldn't contain themselves either and began to leave one after another.

Those who were just ordinary diners looked puzzled as they watched this group of martial artists rush out.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant said, "Iron Sparrow Villa, I think I saw it when I passed through Jiangning Prefecture the year before last."

Hearing this, everyone present froze.

Chen Ye finished his tea, took out an oil paper package, and wrapped up the leftover peanuts.

He stood up from his seat and walked out slowly.

As he passed by the people from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, he heard one of them sneer, "Another one trying to get lucky."

Chen Ye walked out of the Ju Ke Inn, and it was still raining outside.

In the drizzle, the street resounded with the rapid clopping of hooves. As the horses stepped into puddles, water splashed everywhere.

Chen Ye saw a few martial artists who had been listening to the storytelling in the Ju Ke Inn now riding swiftly towards the city gate.

He looked up, the edge of his oil paper umbrella blocking out the dim sky.

The rain continued to fall steadily.

A smile suddenly appeared on Chen Ye's lips, and his eyes seemed to sparkle.

"How could I resist joining the excitement after hearing about something related to the martial world?"

"Besides, what if I'm really chosen?"

Chen Ye smiled slightly and took a step.

In the next moment, he appeared at the corner of the street.

Another step.

Chen Ye's figure disappeared.

...

Yuhang Orphanage.

Chen Ye walked into the courtyard holding an umbrella and heard Xiaofu's indistinct babbling.

"Ming..."

"Ming..."

Walking into the house, Chen Ye saw Da Ming coaxing Xiaofu.

Xiaofu's face was full of joy, laughing heartily, utterly delighted.

However, Da Ming didn't do anything; he was just smiling dumbly at Xiaofu.

Hearing footsteps, Da Ming turned his head and, seeing Chen Ye, called out foolishly, "Dad."

Chen Ye nodded instinctively.

Da Ming had insisted on this and couldn't change it. After calling him that for two months, Chen Ye had also accepted it.

"Dad?" Xiaofu's young voice called out from the side.

Chen Ye almost lost his composure. "Xiaofu, you should call me Director."

"You can't call me Dad."

Xiaofu blinked his shiny eyes and started laughing cheerfully.

After comforting Xiaofu for a bit, Chen Ye looked at Da Ming, his expression becoming more serious. "Da Ming, I need to go out for a bit."

"If things go well, I'll be back in a day."

"If it takes longer, I'll definitely be back within three days."

"When Xiao Lian comes back, tell her I'll return soon, no need to worry."

Da Ming nodded vigorously. "Yes."

After Chen Ye gave Da Ming the "Great Wisdom Appears Foolish" attribute, his intelligence had improved significantly.

He no longer had that foolish look he had when Chen Ye first met him.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ye walked into the house, pulled out 20 taels of silver from under the bed, and handed it to Da Ming. "If there's an emergency and you need money, use this."

"When Xiao Lian comes back, give it to her."

"Yes."

"Oh, and here's a bag of peanuts. You can eat them yourself, but Xiaofu is too young, he can't eat them." Chen Ye stuffed the remaining half-bag of peanuts to Da Ming.

Da Ming's eyes lit up instantly.

After giving a few more instructions, Chen Ye glanced at the orphanage, feeling a bit uneasy.

He opened the oil-paper umbrella and walked out of the orphanage. The sky was still drizzling.

There was a slight chill in the air.

...

Jiangning Prefecture.

The sky was clear, the clouds were light, and the breeze was gentle.

The air carried a faint scent of post-rain freshness.

Outside Jiangning Prefecture, on the official road.

"Come on! Come on!"

A gray-brown donkey brayed loudly.

It was pulling a cart behind it.

"Smack! Smack!"

A whip made of rough hemp rope was lashed forcefully on the donkey's back, leaving clear red marks.

"Come on! Come on!"

The donkey brayed twice but stubbornly stood still.

The whip wielder was an old man in rough clothes. He had a fierce expression as he lashed the donkey's back.

"Beast! Move!"

"You ungrateful beast!"

The old man whipped several more times, but the donkey still didn't move.

Seeing this, the old man had no choice but to look helplessly at the cart.

Five people were sitting on the cart.

One was a middle-aged scholar in a purple robe.

A man with a bare chest in a yellow short shirt.

A woman in a faded blue dress with a light veil over her face.

A small blind boy with a black cloth over his eyes.

And a young man in black clothing wearing a silver mask with a leaf pattern engraved on the side.

The old man, looking embarrassed, turned back to the five people and said, "Sorry everyone, but you know this donkey, once it gets stubborn, even whipping it won't help."

"Jiangning Prefecture is just ahead, not far now."

"I'll only charge you half the fare for the ride."

The old man said this tentatively.

Hearing the old man's words, the woman in the faded blue dress with a light veil frowned slightly, glancing at the muddy official road that had just been rained on.

The road was full of mud, with various ruts and hoof prints everywhere.

She was wearing embroidered cloth shoes, and if she got out of the cart, they would definitely get stuck in the mud and dirty her shoes.

"No problem, old sir, the official road is full of mud, and we can't walk well if we get off," said the middle-aged Taoist in the purple robe. His voice was gentle, making people naturally have a good impression of him.

The woman's frown relaxed, and she said nothing.

"This kind of animal should be beaten to death! When I was in Baoding, donkey meat was a real delicacy," said the big man with a broad chest and a hairy torso, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

The old man's mouth twitched twice, and he smiled, "This donkey is one of the few valuable things my family has. I would be a bit sad to beat it to death."

The big man couldn't help but laugh out loud at these words.

The old man looked at the remaining two people on the cart.

A small blind boy with a black cloth over his eyes and a young man in a silver mask.

"What do you two think?" he asked.

The small blind boy was sitting on the edge of the cart, swinging his legs. He said cheerfully, "I can't see. If I get off the cart and don't find a kind person, I might never reach Jiangning Prefecture in my lifetime."

He expressed his opinion.

The old man nodded and looked at the young man in the silver mask.

"I'm not in a hurry either," said the young man succinctly, with a hint of indifference in his voice.

Seeing that none of the five people on the cart wanted to get off, the old man breathed a sigh of relief.

The day before yesterday, something seemed to have happened in Jiangning Prefecture.

A large number of outsiders had arrived, their accents and mannerisms different from those of the locals.

The old man had vaguely heard from them that something significant was going to happen in Jiangning Prefecture on the fourth of July.

So, many outsiders were heading to Jiangning Prefecture.

The old man thought it over and decided it was a good opportunity.

So, he drove his donkey cart out of Jiangning Prefecture and chose a spot on the official road to specifically pick up outsiders heading into the city.

He charged 200 copper coins per person.

In the morning, it was raining, and he hadn't picked up many passengers.

Now, he had finally gotten some passengers, but the donkey was being stubborn and refused to move.

"Ah, this beast! So ungrateful!" the old man sighed, then grew angry and lashed the donkey's back hard with the whip.

"Come on! Come on!"

The donkey brayed a few times but still didn't move an inch.

"Sorry, everyone..." the old man said apologetically.

"No problem, this beast doesn't understand human language," said the middle-aged Taoist gently.

The man in the yellow short shirt with a bare chest suddenly laughed, "Taoist, why don't you predict when this donkey will move?"

"So we don't have to wait in vain."

The middle-aged Taoist remained gentle as always. He shook his head and said, "I am not skilled in divination."

The man felt a bit disappointed and glanced at the small blind boy sitting on the edge of the cart. "Hey, kid, do you know anything about divination?"

"Hehe, what a coincidence," the small blind boy perked up and said, "I have some knowledge of plum blossom divination, six yao, and iron mouth divine judgment!"

The people on the cart showed interest.

"Alright then, kid, why don't you predict when this donkey will start moving?" The man became interested as the boy engaged in the conversation.

The small blind boy shook his head and said, "Divination isn't done casually; it also depends on fate. Doing too much of it can harm my fortune."

The man, having seen such tricks before, laughed and said, "Go ahead and divine. If you get it right, I'll pay your fare!"

The small blind boy smiled upon hearing this and said, "What a coincidence, fate has come."

Everyone on the cart couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, they heard several low horse hooves in the distance. They looked and saw a few riders appear faintly on the southern side of the official road.

The small blind boy listened to the sound of the hooves and, after a moment of contemplation, said, "Divination works with movement, not stillness."

He raised his right hand, muttering incantations and quickly calculating something.

After a moment, he spoke, "Strange, truly strange!"

The man with the bare chest asked curiously, "What's strange?"

The small blind boy looked hesitant and said, "The divination shows that this donkey won't move."

As soon as he finished speaking, the donkey that had stopped suddenly started moving again.

It began trotting through the muddy official road, braying as it went, "Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

The man laughed out loud, patting the small blind boy on the shoulder, "You got it right! It's spot on."

Feeling the donkey cart start moving, the small blind boy blushed.

He murmured to himself, "This shouldn't be..."

The small blind boy looked puzzled and troubled, unable to understand.

"Kid, next time you predict something, just assume the opposite will happen!" the man laughed heartily.

The people on the cart also chuckled.

The old man driving the donkey cart lightly whipped the donkey while laughing, "This stubborn beast must have heard the young master's words and got even more stubborn, just to be contrary."

The small blind boy remained silent, frowning deeply, still unable to figure it out.

"Yah! Yah!"

Amid their conversation, the sound of rapid horse hooves approached from behind. The riders were shouting.

The people who had been far away on horseback quickly caught up to the donkey cart.

As the riders got closer, everyone noticed they were wearing the same yellow-brown brocade garments, with a copper coin embroidered on their chests.

There were three men in the group, all looking weather-beaten, as if they had come from a far distance.

The sound of the horse hooves was urgent and dense, and their speed was very fast.

In contrast, the donkey cart was much slower.

Just as the three riders reached the donkey cart, a flash of silver light appeared, chilling and cold.

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