Chapter Six: Leaving the "Beginner's Village"

Old Master Tong choked and coughed violently. When he finally caught his breath, he looked at Zhang Xuan and said,
“Shameless, truly shameless. I thought I was pretty thick-skinned, but you’ve got me beat.”
Zhang Xuan pointed to his own cheek.
“It’s called the waves of the Yangtze pushing on, the new wave overtaking the old. You’re the old wave, already washed up on the shore by me, the new wave. But I suppose you wouldn’t understand even if I explained. You look like you’ve no culture—just a brute.”
Old Master Tong burst out laughing.
“You’re quite something, kid. Looks like I won’t be lonely these next few years, unlike my previous two disciples, who were always so respectful, barely daring to breathe when I spoke, saying hello and then fleeing, terrified I’d check their martial arts. But you’re different—thick-skinned, completely shameless.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Zhang Xuan replied. Without waiting for the fish to cool, he took a bite. Delicious!
If only there were some salt, chicken essence, pepper, and all sorts of seasonings, it would be perfect.
After one bite, he handed the fish to Old Master Tong.
“Here, take this. Consider it my filial respect. Who knows if there’ll be a next time, though judging by how things are now, I’m sure there’ll be plenty more chances.”
Old Master Tong didn’t stand on ceremony. He exchanged his own fish with Zhang Xuan and told him to keep roasting without a trace of modesty.
He took Zhang Xuan’s fish, blew on it, and took a bite.
“Not bad. Tastes about the same as mine.”
Though he said that, his hands and mouth kept moving, and he finished the fish in no time.
“No one’s fighting you for it. There are still two left. Watch out for the bones—don’t choke. Don’t let your own words come true.”
Old Master Tong waved him off.
“Don’t worry, the bones are as burnt as they could possibly be. Didn’t expect it, but you’re pretty talented for someone so young. If things go south for you, you could always open a small tavern in a big city.”
“Heh, my skills are only as good as yours, so I think I’ll pass on that,” Zhang Xuan said, shaking the fish in his hand before handing it to Old Master Tong.
“Here, this is your last one. The other one’s mine.”
Once they’d finished the fish, the two chatted idly. Zhang Xuan didn’t press for questions—there would be plenty of time for that.
Old Master Tong didn’t ask much about Zhang Xuan either, perhaps because he’d noticed the boy had just been through a major trauma and didn’t want to force him to recall the past.
If Zhang Xuan had known what Old Master Tong was thinking, he would have silently flipped him the finger.
But the truth was, Zhang Xuan had been dealt a heavy blow—where was his golden finger, the cheat that was supposed to be his? Why didn’t he have one?
“All right, by my guess the chicken should be about ready to come out of the earth now.”

As he spoke, Zhang Xuan pushed aside the firewood and used his knife to pry open the clay covering the chicken.
He’d just wait for it to cool before anything else!
At that moment, Old Master Tong, having finished Zhang Xuan’s roasted fish, was staring hungrily at the freshly unearthed chicken.
If Zhang Xuan hadn’t blocked him, Old Master Tong might already have peeled off the clay and devoured it.
Anything Zhang Xuan cooked was bound to be a delicacy.
With a few gentle taps of his knife, Zhang Xuan cracked the chicken’s clay shell, freeing it from its earthy prison.
(Enough—this isn’t a food novel, I can’t go on describing every detail!)
Zhang Xuan split the chicken in half with his knife and handed one half to Old Master Tong.
“Try it! It might not be great—I’m not sure myself.”
He started gnawing on the other half.
It tasted pretty good, and he didn’t bother watching Old Master Tong’s eating manners.
Once finished, he said,
“All done? Let’s get going. There’s nothing left to take anyway.”
“Should we take some clay with us? Too much would be heavy, too little might not be enough…but never mind, we’ll just find more wherever we go…”
Hearing this, Zhang Xuan glanced at Old Master Tong, helpless.
The two tidied up the campfire and left Zhang Family Village. As for their next destination, Zhang Xuan had no idea.
“Old Master Tong, where are we going? Do we have a goal, or are we just wandering aimlessly?”
By now they had been away from Zhang Family Village for four days, with Old Master Tong leading Zhang Xuan northward through the Han lands.
“I was planning to look for my elder brother. I heard he was somewhere on the northern frontier, but after searching for over a month, I haven’t found him. No idea where he’s gone. I’ll look a few more days, but if there’s still no sign, I’ll give up. By the way, you’ve been practicing the basics of spear-work I taught you, haven’t you?”
“Don’t worry, Old Master Tong, I’ve been practicing earnestly! I’m hoping to earn glory on the battlefield with this martial skill!
But I never expected you to be so skilled, hiding your talents so well!
You’re amazing—short of flying and tunneling through the ground, there’s nothing you can’t do. Feels like I’m clinging to a mighty backer!
Don’t look at me like that. Don’t believe me? Come on, let’s spar!
I know I’m probably destined to get thrashed, but maybe getting beaten will help me improve rapidly!”
“Forget it. What does ‘amazing’ mean, and what’s a ‘backer’? Never mind, I won’t ask. You and your strange words—there’s too many of them. If I don’t understand, I just don’t understand!
Just keep practicing. I might not be able to watch over you these next few days. Afterward I’ll take you to my old school, and you can train properly for a couple of years.”
Speaking of his old school, Old Master Tong fell into reminiscence. Everyone has something they’d rather not say.

Zhang Xuan, for his part, figured the less he knew the better—no need to stir up more trouble by asking questions.
“All right, Old Master Tong, take care of yourself out there. Don’t worry about me!
I’ve got sharp eyes—if anything looks off, I’ll be gone before trouble starts, and I’ll leave markers along the way for you. Don’t worry!
You’ve left me behind quite a few times these past four days anyway. Kids from the countryside grow up fast!
Go on, then.
Hey—if you’re still worried, why not leave me some money? I promise I won’t waste it.”
Old Master Tong was feeling gratified at first, but the more he listened, the more the conversation took a turn.
“Get lost—I don’t have any money myself, and you want me to save you some? I’ll look a bit more, and if I still can’t find him, we’ll leave. Maybe the information was never that accurate. I’m off—you take care.”
With that, Old Master Tong once again left Zhang Xuan behind.
What a hands-off master—dragged me out here, then ignores me!
Every time he comes back, it’s with a chicken, a duck, or a fish, making me cook and roast for him, and on top of that, he still makes sure I practice every day. What a hard life.
But to be honest, practicing spear techniques is a pretty good way to pass the time.
Enough sulking—might as well go for a run, build up my stamina. Back in the twenty-first century, all my time was spent on work and games—no time for exercise!
Here, with nothing else to do, maybe I really could become a formidable general with the right foundation.
In an age without electronics, there’s really no other entertainment than exercise.
After graduating high school, I did a stint in the army—just a regular soldier, nothing special—but I do know a bit about special forces training. All those movies and novels weren’t for nothing!
Running with weights through the wilds;
doing sit-ups and pull-ups every day, lifting heavy things,
all the basic workouts.
Though this young body can’t handle too much for now,
with so much spare time, I might as well train.
If I had a computer, a phone, Wi-Fi—who would bother with this? But alas, there’s none of that here.