ATPnovel Chapter 14 Changhui Martial Arts School
Chapter 14 Changhui Martial Arts School
Before leaving, Lord Qianhu gave Changyuan two letters.
The first letter is a certificate proving that the person has passed the screening for extraordinary ability. With this certificate, they can receive a resettlement allowance of 80 silver dollars from the accountant.
Eighty silver dollars is quite a lot; it's enough for Chang Yuan's family to cover four months of normal expenses.
The 120 silver dollars I borrowed were spent in just over ten days because there was no limit to medical treatment and funeral expenses in the Ming Dynasty; it was a real money pit.
The second letter was a letter of recommendation, which granted entry to Changhui Martial Arts School for training.
Changhui Martial Arts School is not located within the Thousand Household Office, but in the adjacent Zhangde Prefecture City. It is known as one of the four strongest martial arts schools under Shaolin Temple.
Unexpectedly, it was also an enterprise of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
After collecting his resettlement allowance, Chang Yuan returned home and piled all the money together on his bed, creating a small mountain of silver.
Yesterday, the commander of the thousand households rewarded him with 300 silver dollars, two gold cups, and a silver candlestick.
Afterwards, he spent 1 silver dollar and 175 copper coins to buy a table full of food and wine, and received 325 copper coins in change.
After dinner, I gave each of my younger siblings a silver dollar.
Today I repaid 146 silver dollars in Xiangfu County, settling my debts. While traveling, I ate a meal that cost 6 copper coins.
Upon returning to the garrison, he received another 80 silver dollars as a resettlement allowance.
There are now 235 silver dollars and 299 copper coins, two flattened gold cups and a silver candlestick, a considerable amount of cash.
He had a letter of recommendation from a thousand households, so there were no barriers to entering Changhui Martial Arts School to learn martial arts.
However, the costs of tuition, miscellaneous fees, equipment, meat, medicine, etc., add up to a considerable sum.
Chang Yuan's family of four spent about 20 silver dollars a month.
Upon entering Changhui Martial Arts School, one must pay 100 silver dollars as a pre-deposit fee for three months of martial arts training.
If you ask for help a lot, get injured a lot, and have a big appetite, you might run out of 100 silver dollars in less than two months.
The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" is truly not without reason.
That evening, when his younger siblings all went home, Changyuan gave his second younger brother, Changjian, 35 silver dollars.
"Starting tomorrow, my eldest brother will be going to Zhangde Prefecture to learn martial arts. He will only be able to come back once every ten days or half a month. The second brother will be in charge of the household expenses this month."
Holding the heavy silver coins in his hands, he was often so nervous that he didn't know what to do with his hands.
He replied in a trembling voice, "Yes, elder brother."
Third sister Chang Zhuo laughed and said, "Second brother is so nervous he's sweating. Why don't you leave it to me?"
Chang Yuan laughed and said, "Let him try first, and if it really doesn't work out, then we'll switch to you."
Chang Zhuo protested, "Don't you believe me, brother?"
Chang Yuan remained silent, but gave his younger sister a flick on the forehead.
Dinner was a simple taro porridge with homemade pickled vegetables. The preserved meats from last night still made the four "visionary" siblings eat until their mouths were greasy.
After drinking three large bowls of porridge, Changshi patted his round belly and said, "I wish I could eat meat every day from now on."
"That way I can grow up faster, earn money, and buy more meat to eat."
Chang Yuan raised an eyebrow and chuckled inwardly, saying nothing.
Chang Jian replied, "It's too early to count on you. Next, it'll be my turn, your second brother."
"Once I get into Yangming Academy this year, I can take the imperial examination in the fall and become a Xiucai. I can earn at least seventy or eighty silver coins a year."
Chang Zhuo pouted and said, "I'm only a year younger than my second brother. If you don't succeed this year, I'll go down the field with you tomorrow."
The brother and sister resumed their daily rivalry.
Chang Yuan smiled and admired it, while the fourth child, Chang Shi, pouted and muttered, "I want to grow up quickly."
The mundane routines of family life gradually soothed Chang Yuan's inner turmoil.
The next day, he set out in high spirits and paid five copper coins for a carriage with many passengers, and leisurely made his way to Zhangde Prefecture.
After entering the city, Chang Yuan ordered a bowl of flat rice noodles with vegetables from a street vendor, along with a crispy sesame flatbread, and ate to his heart's content.
Then he went straight to Changhui Martial Arts School. Using the letter from the Imperial Guard as proof, he was led by the students at the gate to the backyard, where he met Master Chen, the person in charge of the martial arts school.
After reading the letter, Master Chen asked in surprise, "You're so young, and you're already a superhuman?"
Chang Yuan nodded and said, "Some people say I'm a superhuman, but I'm still completely clueless about it."
Master Chen smiled: "So you are an extraordinary person who awakened on your own without any cultivation."
"He just looks thin and doesn't seem to have any serious health problems. He's a lucky kid."
Chang Yuan murmured, "Lucky?"
Master Chen nodded and said, "Of course."
"Orthodox extraordinary individuals all cultivate along different paths, diligently tempering their bodies and honing their foundations."
"Finally, they cautiously try to draw in their inner energy and break through to the extraordinary realm, often without success for several years or even more than ten years."
"Those who awaken naturally often have a weak foundation. By chance, they draw qi into their bodies, but their bodies cannot withstand it, resulting in damage or even disability."
"So you're lucky."
"As long as you earnestly make up for the deficiencies in your foundation with me, you can make up for the defects caused during awakening."
Chang Yuan knew full well that his "precision" was an external cheat code, without any awakening process or physical defects, but he still took out a wad of silver coins from his pocket and respectfully offered it to Master Chen:
"Please teach me, Master."
Master Chen accepted the silver dollar and said, "Alright, from now on, you are my apprentice, Chen Ang's apprentice."
"Where do you want to start learning?"
Chang Yuan said, "Please start with the most basic common sense, Master. This disciple knows almost nothing about cultivation."
Master Chen shook his head: "Don't waste my time on such basic knowledge."
"Chen Jiu, you teach him."
A handsome young man appeared from outside the door: "Yes, Master!"
"Chang Yuan, apprentice, come with me."
Chang Yuan bowed slightly: "Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother."
"Master Chen, your disciple is off."
After saying that, he left with Chen Jiu, his heart filled with curiosity about the cultivation system of the Ming Dynasty.
With Chen Jiu in front, he led Chang Yuan through several training grounds, several canteens of different sizes, medicinal baths, and storerooms, finally arriving at the quiet room deep inside the martial arts school.
In one of the quiet rooms, Chen Jiu began to introduce the current system of spiritual practice.
"The current methods of cultivation are based on the four main schools of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and the military school as the main orthodox paths, while the ten schools of Legalism, Divination, Yang Zhu, Strategists, Yin-Yang, Agriculturalists, School of Names, Miscellaneous School, Novelists, and Medical School are the branches and side schools."
"In addition, there are systematic cultivation methods such as Mohism, Yang Zhu, Fangji, witchcraft, shamanism, incense burning, worshiping gods, spiritualism, and demons, all of which are classified as unorthodox or heretical paths."
Chang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "The Mohists, Yang Zhu, and Fangji were all schools of thought during the Hundred Schools of Thought period. The Mohists were even a prominent school of thought at one time. How could they be classified as heretics?"
Chen Jiu scratched his head and replied, "Yang Zhu advocated preserving one's true nature and claiming that one should neither pluck a single hair to benefit the world nor take a single hair to harm the world. In reality, he only believed half of it and used it as an excuse to indulge his desires."
"Those who practice Yang Zhu's method of preserving one's true nature are almost all degenerate; they have long been a family of wicked people."
"Fangjijia, tsk, their bedroom arts are too strong... really not presentable."
His voice suddenly became softer: "The Mohist cultivators are very upright, but the problem is that their righteousness is wicked."
"They are intolerant of any wrongdoing and are quick to assassinate court officials. From the court's perspective, they are just as dangerous as the White Lotus Sect."
"So, they were labeled as rebels and heretics."