Chapter 79: Extra 7
[Youthful Encounter]
Qin Zheng had been a lively and restless child since young. He disliked being confined and was always drawn to new and exciting things.
When he was little, his father was often away serving in the army. Qin Zheng found the military life dull and uninteresting and didn’t want to follow his father. Most of the time, he preferred to stay in the capital city instead. Later, his father sent him to the palace academy, where he became a companion and study buddy to several princes. Among them, his closest friend was Li Zhan.
Li Zhan was more steady and calm in temperament but sincere and straightforward, never pretending or being insincere.
Because Qin Zheng hated beating around the bush, he naturally got along well with Li Zhan.
Qin Zheng spent several years studying at the palace school. When he grew into a youth, his father was stationed at the military camp in the outskirts of the capital.
Qin Zheng’s father hoped he would spend more time in the army camp. Since Qin Zheng also felt restless staying at the palace school, he moved out to the camp near the capital.
Although young Qin Zheng had not lived long in the army, he had been moving around often with his father, so when he relocated to the camp, he adapted very quickly.
He was energetic and spent all day mingling with the other soldiers’ sons. On top of that, he was handsome and well-spoken, able to charm others easily. Over time, everyone grew fond of this “Second Young Master Qin.” His father’s subordinates treated him like a little lord, spoiling him thoroughly. Eventually, Qin Zheng began to lose his bearings a bit…
His “loss of bearings” specifically meant that he started believing he was naturally gifted, the strongest fighter in the entire military camp. Besides his father, nobody in the whole camp could match him.
The reason for this illusion was that the other boys didn’t want to hurt his pride—they knew he hadn’t been through any real hardship yet—so when sparring, they deliberately let him win. At first, Qin Zheng was modest when he won one or two bouts, but as he won more and more often, he enjoyed sparring even more.
Since his father’s men all wanted to save face for him, they deliberately lost to him. The lower-ranked soldiers dared even less to challenge him seriously.
In short, Qin Zheng somehow became known as the “strongest” person in the entire camp on the outskirts of the capital.
When Qin Zheng’s father heard about this rumor, he scolded him a few times. But since Qin Zheng was not officially enlisted and was still very young—the youngest son in the Qin family—his father couldn’t bring himself to seriously reprimand him. Besides, sparring was meant as entertainment, and everyone understood the situation well enough, so it didn’t really matter.
As long as his father didn’t feel embarrassed, he didn’t care if Qin Zheng went a little wild.
After all, children are young and immature; they would learn how to behave when they grew up!
What neither of them expected was that the person who would teach Qin Zheng to behave properly was coming soon…
That year, Qin Zheng was seventeen. Just before autumn, a delegation from the Liang Kingdom arrived in the capital.
It was said that among them was Prince Qi Jingchuan of Liang.
This Qi Jingchuan was two years older than Qin Zheng, already nineteen.
Qin Zheng heard from others that this Liang prince was handsome and elegant, an exceptional warrior and a rare talent among youths.
Qin Zheng considered himself a rare talent too, so he had no interest in other young talents. But as is often the case, things don’t stop happening just because you don’t like them.
Soon after, Qin Zheng learned that Qi Jingchuan would visit the military camp near the capital.
He couldn’t understand why a Liang prince would come to visit a military camp, which was mostly full of old soldiers. What was there to see? But since the prince was coming, Qin Zheng decided he wouldn’t hide. Though he said he wasn’t interested, inwardly he was a little curious.
Young men were naturally competitive, and Qin Zheng’s competitive spirit was especially strong.
Having mistakenly believed he was the martial prodigy of the entire camp, Qin Zheng’s urge to spar was almost uncontrollable—he wanted to challenge anyone he met.
Since this Liang prince was reportedly a formidable fighter and was coming right to his doorstep, it was only right to have a contest.
On the day Qi Jingchuan arrived at the camp, Qin Zheng deliberately borrowed some martial clothes and blended in with the other soldiers’ sons. But he was naturally striking, with fair skin unlike the tanned soldiers, so even dressed in martial gear among the crowd, he still stood out prominently.
Qi Jingchuan had remarkable observational skills and could tell at a glance that this young man’s identity was not ordinary.
Later, seeing Qin Zheng’s father give the youth a slightly “reproachful” glance, Qi Jingchuan roughly guessed who he was.
He had already heard rumors that the commander of the capital’s outskirts camp had a second son who was somewhat notorious within the camp.
Today, seeing him in person… He couldn’t tell much else, but the young man’s face was quite pleasing to look at.
The next day, this “Second Young Master Qin” with the pleasing face was sent by his father to accompany Qi Jingchuan.
Qi Jingchuan had said he liked the scenery around the camp and wanted to stay a few days. Qin Zheng’s father, as the camp commander, couldn’t keep him company all the time, so since Qi Jingchuan and Qin Zheng were close in age, maybe they would get along well. Thinking this, his father assigned Qin Zheng to the task.
Before sending him, his father also reminded Qin Zheng to be very polite to the Liang prince.
Qin Zheng was famously good at charming others, otherwise he wouldn’t be so well-liked in the army. His father wasn’t worried about that.
But unexpectedly, Qin Zheng’s usually smooth-talking tongue seemed to lose its spark in front of Qi Jingchuan.
“The day you hid among the crowd, I spotted you right away,” Qi Jingchuan said at their first formal meeting. Before Qin Zheng could react in surprise, he added, “Just by looking at your fair skin, it’s clear you haven’t been tempered by army life.”
Qin Zheng had originally thought that this man’s ability to see through his identity at a glance showed sharp, seasoned judgment, but upon hearing the latter half of his words, he was no longer very pleased.
“I was born with fair skin. I just don’t tan,” Qin Zheng said irritably. “You don’t look dark either—could it be that you got sunburned and then covered it up with powder?”
Hearing this, Qi Jingchuan laughed. “That’s an interesting method. If I ever do get tanned someday, I might give it a try.”
“You—!” Seeing that Qi Jingchuan was not angered at all, Qin Zheng instead felt a trace of frustration rise within him. He added, “I’ve long heard that Your Highness is exceptionally skilled in martial arts. I just don’t know how the martial techniques of your Liang Kingdom compare to those of our Great Yu. If there’s a chance, I’d very much like to test myself against you.”
“Sure,” Qi Jingchuan said with a smile in his eyes. “But let’s not do it today.”
“What, does the Prince even have to pick an auspicious day for sparring?” Qin Zheng had always been used to winning and assumed the other party was backing down, afraid to accept the challenge.
Qi Jingchuan, however, said, “In our Liang Kingdom, there’s a rule: when meeting friends, you must not spar within three days, lest it harm the relationship.”
Qin Zheng thought to himself, who’s friends with you? Still, since a guest had come, no matter how much he messed around, he would not truly embarrass Qi Jingchuan.
Over the next two days, Qin Zheng “dutifully” accompanied Qi Jingchuan.
Perhaps it was because Qi Jingchuan’s temper was simply too good. No matter how many barbed or sarcastic remarks Qin Zheng threw at him, Qi Jingchuan never became angry and often looked at him with a smile in his eyes. At first, Qin Zheng could not help but needle him with words, but later it began to feel rather boring. He simply assumed Qi Jingchuan was timid and cowardly, not daring to provoke him.
Gradually, the sharp edge of Qin Zheng’s deliberate “targeting” faded away.
In truth, it was not that Qi Jingchuan had an especially good temper, nor was it because he had conceded.
Rather, although Qi Jingchuan was only two years older than Qin Zheng, he was far more mature and did not have the same youthful impulsiveness.
He could sense that although this Second Young Master Qin had been full of hostility toward him from the start and frequently aimed his words at him, he had never actually done anything to make things difficult. On the contrary, while Qin Zheng complained about him verbally, when he took him around the outskirts of the capital to eat and play, everything he chose was top-notch, with no hint of perfunctory treatment.
This youth’s temper was a bit poor, but his heart was sincere.
Compared to those who sweetened their words with honey while hiding who knew how much filth in their hearts, Qi Jingchuan rather liked Qin Zheng.
Qi Jingchuan had grown up in the palace from a young age and had encountered all kinds of people. Anyone who could move freely within the palace was never without a head full of schemes. Straightforward people like Qin Zheng, who spoke and acted directly, were ones he rarely saw.
As the saying went, rarity made things precious—and people were no exception.
The longer they spent together, the more curious Qi Jingchuan became about this young man.
That day, Qin Zheng took Qi Jingchuan to race horses in the outskirts of the capital, and the two of them passed by a river.
When Qin Zheng had previously gone out on patrol with the young men from the military camp, they had caught fish here. He remembered that the fish in this river were very plump and delicious.
“Want to eat fish?” Qin Zheng reined in his horse and lifted his chin toward the river as he asked.
Qi Jingchuan turned his head to look at him. “You know how to catch fish?”
Qin Zheng raised his brows and smiled smugly. “I’ll open your eyes today!”
After saying that, he handed the reins to Qi Jingchuan, stripped off his outer robe, leaving only his undergarments, and walked to the river before leaping in. The river was not very deep, and the water was not very clear, but one could vaguely see quite a few fish swimming within.
As soon as Qin Zheng plunged into the river, he began groping around for fish. Qi Jingchuan calmly tied up the horses, took out a dagger, then snapped off a branch from a tree. Sitting by the riverbank, he watched Qin Zheng catch fish while shaving the branch in his hands.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Qin Zheng had caught nothing.
He poked his head out of the river and said, “I haven’t seen any big ones yet. Don’t worry!”
Qi Jingchuan looked at him and smiled. “If you’re tired, come up and rest for a bit.”
“How could I be tired?” Qin Zheng said. “I’ll look again for a big one. The small ones aren’t filling enough.” After speaking, he plunged back into the river.
Qi Jingchuan watched the slender figure darting around in the water. His swimming ability was indeed quite good. As for his skill at catching fish… that went without saying.
After another cup of tea’s worth of time, Qin Zheng still had nothing to show for it.
Seeing this, Qi Jingchuan asked, “No big fish?”
“Yeah.” Qin Zheng scratched his head awkwardly. “How about we eat something else today?”
The young man stood in the river, water droplets clinging to his lean body. His half-loosened black hair had a strand that curled around his neck and fell onto his collarbone, carrying a string of water beads that meandered downward.
Qi Jingchuan looked away, stood up, and pulled the young man out of the river. Then he took the sharpened branch in his hand and thrust it into the water—straight and true, spearing a fat, large fish.
Qin Zheng: …
That afternoon, Qin Zheng dozed off while sitting in a tree.
Qi Jingchuan sat by the river roasting the fish.
“Hey, you really know a lot of things,” Qin Zheng said, making conversation for lack of anything else.
“Not more than you,” Qi Jingchuan replied. “At the very least, I don’t know how to go down into the river to catch fish.”
As soon as his words fell, a short length of branch was tossed down from the tree, lightly striking his shoulder.
“I’ve never gone down to catch them before. It was always the others who did it. I thought it was pretty easy,” Qin Zheng said. “You knew how, but you didn’t say anything earlier. You watched me fuss around in the river for half the day and made my arms ache from exhaustion.” Although Second Young Master Qin felt a bit embarrassed about his failure at fishing, he was nonetheless quite frank about it afterward.
Qi Jingchuan said, “I was afraid of hurting your pride and making you cry.”
“If you really cared about my pride, you shouldn’t have speared that fish,” Qin Zheng said.
“If I hadn’t speared it, would you have had anything to eat?” Qi Jingchuan said, lifting the fish in his hand toward him. “It’s roasted. Try it and see if the seasoning’s right.”
Hearing this, Qin Zheng leapt down from the tree, sat beside Qi Jingchuan, and took the fish to taste a bite.
“It actually tastes pretty good,” Qin Zheng said in surprise. “Even better than what the brothers in our camp make!”
“Want to learn? I can teach you how to spear fish,” Qi Jingchuan said.
Qin Zheng waved his hand. “No need. Eating alone is boring. If I come with others, then I don’t have to do it myself anyway.”
Qi Jingchuan paused slightly at his words, then smiled and said nothing more.
A few days later, His Majesty held an autumn hunt in the outskirts of the capital.
Both Qi Jingchuan and Qin Zheng wanted to join in the excitement, so they entered the hunting grounds together.
Before entering the hunting grounds, Qin Zheng had hurled a harsh warning at Qi Jingchuan, vowing to let him witness his true strength.
He had not expected that once inside the hunting grounds, he would realize he had been thinking far too simply.
Objectively speaking, Qin Zheng’s martial skills were average, but still barely passable. He did have some ability when it came to hunting.
But people feared comparison most of all. Once he encountered a true expert, what was merely “passable” immediately became “not good enough.”
After having three to five prey snatched away by Qi Jingchuan in succession, Qin Zheng grew anxious.
Qi Jingchuan, however, seemed as though he were deliberately opposing him. He stayed right on Qin Zheng’s heels, and whenever Qin Zheng set his sights on a target, before he could even loose an arrow, Qi Jingchuan would beat him to it.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Qin Zheng shouted angrily.
“Do you want to learn? I can teach you,” Qi Jingchuan said, still wearing that same unhurried, composed expression.
Qin Zheng’s competitive spirit was thoroughly provoked. With reddened eyes, he spurred his horse and charged deeper into the hunting grounds.
Qi Jingchuan did not let him go, urging his horse forward to follow closely behind.
Qin Zheng had thought that after being warned, Qi Jingchuan would ease off, yet the other showed no sign of stopping at all and proceeded to snatch several more of Qin Zheng’s prey.
In the end, Qin Zheng was so furious he nearly lost all rationality. While galloping, he almost crashed into a tree branch. Qi Jingchuan reacted swiftly, grabbing the reins and pulling hard, preventing the collision. However, the horse was startled and threw Qin Zheng off directly.
Qi Jingchuan leapt down from his horse, caught him, and rolled with him on the ground. Only then did Qin Zheng avoid being injured.
Pinned beneath him, Qin Zheng glared up at Qi Jingchuan with red eyes. After a moment, his eyes reddened further as he said, “You did this on purpose to humiliate me, didn’t you? I’ve never ranked last in hunting. Today, once we leave the grounds, I won’t have fired a single arrow. My father will lose face because of me!”
“I told you—if you’re willing, I can teach you,” Qi Jingchuan said.
“Who cares about your teaching? There are so many animals in the hunting grounds, yet you insist on snatching mine!” Qin Zheng shoved him away, cursing as he got to his feet, looking as though he were on the verge of crying from anger.
He knew that in the hunting grounds there was no such thing as “yours” or “mine,” and that others could hunt whatever prey he had set his sights on. Still, he felt that over these past few days, there had been some measure of friendship between him and Qi Jingchuan. The other’s actions clearly felt like deliberate targeting.
Second Young Master Qin had always been coddled, and he had never suffered such a grievance before.
More than anger, however, he felt dejected, having realized that his hunting skills were far inferior to Qi Jingchuan’s.
In all his years, this was the first time he had truly been taught a lesson.
The feeling was not entirely unbearable, but it was undeniably uncomfortable.
“Forget it. I’ll accept the loss,” Qin Zheng said after calming himself for a moment. “But can you at least leave me some face? I can’t walk out of here without firing a single arrow. I’m not afraid of losing face myself, but my father is the commander of the suburban garrison…” When the prey were tallied later, if none bore his arrows, it would indeed be humiliating.
Second Young Master Qin knew when to bend and when to stand firm. Having encountered a truly formidable opponent today, he had learned to soften his stance.
“The world is dangerous. You’ve been coddled since childhood, and over time you’ve lost the ability to tell truth from falsehood,” Qi Jingchuan said as he shook the quiver on Qin Zheng’s back. “I was afraid that in your muddled state, you’d be coaxed and taken advantage of someday. I didn’t mean to anger you. The prey I snatched earlier—I used all your arrows.”
Qin Zheng turned around and saw that the arrows in his quiver were nearly gone.
At some point, Qi Jingchuan had stolen his arrows without him even noticing…
After they left the hunting grounds that day, the guards went to count the prey. Qin Zheng had not missed a single shot. Aside from the few animals he himself had shot at the end, all the prey Qi Jingchuan had taken earlier were credited to him.
Afterward, Qin Zheng was gloomy for most of the day.
He finally realized something… his past “brilliant achievements” in the hunting grounds were likely of questionable authenticity.
At dusk that day, Qin Zheng went to find Qi Jingchuan.
He wanted to spar with him.
No matter what, he needed to verify what had happened today; otherwise, he would not be able to let it go.
“Are you sure?” Qi Jingchuan asked.
“Yes. And I ask that you absolutely do not hold back. Use your true skills. Don’t coddle me,” Qin Zheng said.
Qi Jingchuan looked him over and asked again, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Qin Zheng said firmly.
He wanted to know how much truth there really was to his title of being “invincible wherever he went.”
“If you go easy on me, I’ll sever ties with you,” Qin Zheng declared solemnly, expressing his resolve.
Qi Jingchuan nodded. “Alright.”
They found a secluded spot with no one around to fight. Qin Zheng felt that he might not necessarily win, and he still cared about his pride. A young man might barely manage to accept losing a bet, but that did not mean he could calmly endure a crushing defeat in front of others.
In any case, he had already lost to Qi Jingchuan several times.
Losing face once more did not really matter…
Once Qi Jingchuan left, no one would ever know about it.
Having thought this through, Qin Zheng felt much more at ease.
When they formally began, Qi Jingchuan yielded three moves to Qin Zheng on the grounds that he was older.
And then…
There was no “then” at all.
In just a few moves, Qin Zheng was subdued. His arm was twisted behind his back, and he was pinned to the ground, unable to move. The sensation was hard to describe. No matter how much strength Qin Zheng used, all he met was an immovable mountain—and the fine sheen of sweat covering his head.
“You… you can let go now,” Qin Zheng said in a muffled voice.
Hearing this, Qi Jingchuan released him.
Qin Zheng lay prone on the ground for a long while without getting up, his head buried in his arms, his slender back trembling as he held himself together.
Qi Jingchuan froze and asked, “You… are you crying?”
“Shut up!” Qin Zheng said with his head down, his voice choked with undisguised sobs.
Qi Jingchuan had never imagined he would make him cry. For a moment, he was at a loss, and could only stay by his side, waiting for him to finish.
Second Young Master Qin had never suffered such a blow in his life. His youthful pride had nearly been shattered.
He had anticipated losing to Qi Jingchuan, but he had never imagined it would be in such a devastating manner.
“You… compared to my father’s subordinates, do you think they’re much worse than you?” Qin Zheng asked, still burying his head.
Qi Jingchuan did not know what answer he wanted to hear, so he replied honestly. “There are a few generals whose skills far surpass mine, a few who might fight me to a draw, and…”
“Stop talking!” Second Young Master Qin’s shame and anger deepened, and he wished he could burrow into the ground and never see another soul again.
These people—every single one of them—were even more formidable than Qi Jingchuan, yet in the past they had pretended to be defeated by him…
And he had believed it all, even taken pride in it, making half the capital know that Second Young Master Qin was outstanding in martial arts!
Qin Zheng felt that he no longer had the face to meet anyone.
“Actually…” Qi Jingchuan thought for a moment and said, “What happened between us today—if you don’t say it and I don’t say it, no one will know.”
Hearing this, Qin Zheng turned to look at Qi Jingchuan. The youth’s eyes were red, his lashes damp. Seeing him like this, Qi Jingchuan froze and unconsciously swallowed.
“Isn’t that just deceiving myself?” Qin Zheng asked.
“Everyone’s been indulging you just to make you happy. No one really cared about winning or losing,” Qi Jingchuan said. “Some things only matter if you feel awkward about them yourself. Why insist on exposing them?”
Qin Zheng frowned and thought it over. His mind was not as quick as Qi Jingchuan’s, and for a moment he could not quite wrap his head around it.
“Think about it—haven’t you all gotten along this way for years?” Qi Jingchuan said. “Just pretend you don’t know. At worst, don’t spar with them again in the future. No one’s going to drag you into a duel on their own, right?”
Qin Zheng felt that what Qi Jingchuan said made a lot of sense. His dejection came quickly and went just as fast.
So what if his skills were inferior? There were so many men in the world with mediocre martial arts—did that mean they all stopped living?
At most, as Qi Jingchuan said, he simply would not brag anymore in the future.
Having figured this out, Qin Zheng felt much better.
His mind was not particularly delicate, and he listened to advice, so he was not the type to get stuck in a dead end.
After steadying himself for a bit, Qin Zheng and Qi Jingchuan headed back toward the camp.
As they were nearing the camp, Qin Zheng suddenly remembered something.
“About what happened today—you promised you’d keep it secret for me?” Qin Zheng asked Qi Jingchuan.
Second Young Master Qin’s eyes were no longer so red, but his damp lashes had dried without being rubbed apart. At a glance, they still carried a faint trace of moisture, lending his gaze an emotion rarely seen in him.
“Hm?” Qi Jingchuan raised a brow. “You mean losing the spar?”
Qin Zheng immediately grew anxious at his words, his face flushing as he lowered his voice. “Not just that… also… also the part where you beat me so badly that I… cried.”
Qi Jingchuan was used to seeing Second Young Master Qin’s reckless, shameless demeanor. Suddenly seeing him like this, he found it quite amusing and felt a hint of mischief stir.
After a moment’s thought, he said with feigned difficulty, “So I have to keep two secrets for you?”
“You—” Qin Zheng was so anxious he failed to catch the teasing in his tone. He hurriedly said, “What do you want in return? We can trade, right?”
Qi Jingchuan nodded. “What kind of benefit? Tell me.”
“Don’t you really like the capital?” Qin Zheng said. “I know… there are lots of fun places in the city. You’d definitely like them. I’ll take you around to all of them.”
Qi Jingchuan raised a brow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Thinking he was unwilling, Qin Zheng added, “Food and lodging included. I’ll cover all the silver!”
Only then did Qi Jingchuan nod.
Qin Zheng finally let out a sigh of relief, completely missing the faint smile that flickered in Qi Jingchuan’s eyes when he turned away.
Love the drama and palace machinations? Buy Ciacia a coffee on Kofi to keep the intrigue brewing.
Tired of cliffhangers? The Zhouzhou Tier unlocks up to 5 chapters early, letting you peek behind the golden screens before the rest of the court.
