Chapter 91
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“Endure what humiliation and bear what hardship? Just obediently listen to them and let them bully you,” Fu Nineteen whispered.
Little Nian hesitated for a moment, pondered, and then replied in a dazed manner, “But if you’re not obedient, you’ll end up like senior brother, unable to eat.”
Fu Nineteen: …
Seeing his new Junior Brother being both naive and sharp in his speech, he quickly changed the topic. “By the way, what’s the story with your hand and leg?”
“It’s most likely congenital. My hand and leg have been like this since I can remember—broken.”
“What about your parents?”
“I’m an orphan.” Little Nian’s voice was very flat, and he quickly ended the conversation.
Fu Nineteen was at a loss for words and didn’t ask any further questions.
Getting up in the winter morning was particularly difficult. Even before it was light outside, Fu Nineteen was forced to get up and chop firewood and light the fire in the courtyard.
“Clang, clang, clang, clang…” He deliberately made the sound of chopping wood extra loud, with the intention of preventing his fellow disciples from getting any peaceful sleep.
Who let his fellow disciples tease him, and in the end, only he received the punishment.
As expected, not long after, Fu Nineteen heard impatient sighs, clicks of the tongue, and restless movements coming from the room.
He smiled satisfactorily.
After a while of chopping wood, he heard footsteps rushing out of the room.
He thought it was one of the dissatisfied senior disciples, so he picked up his axe and turned around, looking fierce.
However, the newcomer was not a senior disciple but the Junior Brother who had just joined yesterday.
Seeing this new Junior Brother limping over with ill-fitting prosthetic limbs, his right arm sleeve empty, his face unusually pale from the cold, and his teeth chattering, Fu Nineteen asked, “So, did they send you to persuade me to be quiet?”
“They did send me to persuade you to be quiet,” Little Nian’s voice was somewhat hoarse with a heavy nasal tone due to the cold. “But mainly, I came to check… if Senior Brother Nineteen got injured. After all, chopping firewood shouldn’t make so much noise. I thought you were calling for help.” After speaking, Little Nian glanced at Fu Nineteen’s sturdy figure, who was single-handedly wielding an axe, and yawned. “Fortunately, you were just venting your frustration and didn’t hurt yourself.”
Fu Nineteen: …
Once the new Junior Brother finished speaking, he turned around with a tired expression and limped back.
Fu Nineteen, still holding the axe, stared blankly at the ground.
Something was strange. He had prepared his retorts, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty when he was shown such concern.
Since Master had returned, Fu Nineteen had spent most of his time in the kitchen.
Apart from daily training, he helped with chopping firewood and carrying water in the kitchen. It couldn’t be denied that since his free time had been filled with these chores, he really hadn’t had the time or inclination to fight with others.
Today, after the morning training session, Fu Nineteen saw that his fellow disciples were gathered under the flowering tree in the courtyard.
He went over to join the crowd, thinking that they were admiring the flowers, only to find Master fitting the new Junior Brother with the newly made prosthetic limbs.
In addition to the leg prosthetics, there were also functional prosthetic hands. When he put on his clothes, at first glance, he looked just like an ordinary person.
Fu Nineteen watched as Little Nian used the prosthetic limbs to pick up a tree branch from the ground and pretended it was a knife handle, making some motions in the air. He had a look of joy and amazement on his face.
“Oh, Nineteen, come take a look at your Junior Brother. How are the prosthetics that I made for him?” Master asked.
Suddenly, the tallest man in the crowd spoke up. Even as he spoke, his hands were resting on the wheelchair of the eldest senior brother.
Fu Nineteen was rarely the center of attention, and he felt a sense of joy at being noticed.
However, instead of responding to Master’s call, he remained in place, wearing a sullen expression.
The man didn’t insist and simply laughed heartily, “Ah Di, look at Nineteen, he’s just like you when you were a child—clever but always getting into trouble.”
“Indeed,” the eldest senior brother in the wheelchair replied gloomily, forcing a smile. He then turned his gaze to Fu Nineteen, who stood alone, “Unfortunately, I lost the use of my legs later on, so I couldn’t be as clever as before. All that’s left is the troublemaking part.”
“What are you saying, Ah Di? You’ll definitely get better…”
Fu Nineteen paid no attention to their lively gathering and quietly returned to the storage room to find a basket, preparing to go out to collect herbs.
Before he could find the herb basket, he suddenly heard a noise behind him.
Fu Nineteen turned around and found the tall figure standing at the doorway. He quickly put down what he was holding and hurriedly bowed, “Master.”
The man leaned against the door frame without rushing to speak.
“You…” Fu Nineteen hadn’t finished his sentence when he suddenly felt something being thrown at him.
He reached out and caught it, realizing it was a long wooden sword.
“Do you still remember when I picked you up from the plague village all those years ago, and you blindly accepted me as your master… Back then, you were so young, and now you’ve grown almost as tall as me. It’s just that your temperament is quite different from when you were a child. You used to be timid, but now you’ve grown into a little tiger who knows how to bite,” the man’s voice was very low, and after speaking, he chuckled a few times, deliberately pausing for a moment. “This time I came back, I saw that you’ve been training diligently and your spirit is as strong as anyone else’s. I’ve decided to teach you the longsword technique.”
Fu Nineteen was stunned.
The longsword technique…
He vaguely remembered that when Master had protected him from those government ruffians back then, he had used longsword moves.
After entering the sect, most of the disciples mainly practiced basic martial arts, short sword combat, and the use of concealed weapons. He had never seen anyone, like Master, who wielded a longsword.
“In the future, come to the inner courtyard under the mulberry tree after noon. During this time, while I’m at the Distant Moon Sect, you should solidify your foundational sword skills. This way, when your eldest senior brother teaches you, you’ll understand.”
Fu Nineteen paused for a moment. “Does the eldest senior brother also know this?”
“Of course. However, he hasn’t touched a sword in many years because of his legs…” the man hesitated when he mentioned this.
Fu Nineteen didn’t ask further. He held the sword with both hands and knelt down respectfully, saying, “Thank you, Master.”
After the man left, Fu Nineteen felt a sense of joy.
Ever since Master had returned, he had been subjected to punishments constantly. He had thought that this man didn’t like his cheap disciple and found him annoying, which was why he was punished indiscriminately.
Unexpectedly, the man remembered the details of how he had picked him up and his temperament when he was a child. Moreover, he gave him special treatment and taught him sword techniques that his fellow disciples couldn’t learn.
Thinking about this, Fu Nineteen found that being punished seemed to have a bit more fun to it, and he willingly shouldered the herb basket, feeling much lighter on his feet.
When he returned in the evening, Fu Nineteen patiently brewed the herbs he had just collected, still immersed in the joy of Master’s concern earlier.
Even though his stomach was growling, and there was no food to be found in the kitchen, Fu Nineteen was still very happy doing his chores.
As he was frying the herbs, he suddenly detected the scent of food in the air.
Fu Nineteen made an effort to sniff it.
“Senior brother.”
Just as he was sniffing the air, a hoarse voice suddenly came from beside him.
“Little Nian? Why aren’t you sleeping yet?” Fu Nineteen asked, and as he finished speaking, his gaze was drawn to the food in Little Nian’s hands.
Little Nian didn’t say a word; he simply handed over the food.
Fu Nineteen didn’t say anything either; he gobbled it down eagerly.
The meat patty was generously filled, undoubtedly a comforting remedy for hunger.
“Where did you get this food…” Fu Nineteen mumbled between bites, “Our usual meals aren’t this good…”
“I stole it from eldest senior brother,” Little Nian calmly replied.
Hearing this, Fu Nineteen’s eyes widened, and he almost wanted to vomit out everything he had just eaten.
“What’s wrong?”
“How could you dare to steal from eldest senior brother—”
“When I was a street urchin, I stole from people in much higher positions and with more power. Now, I’m just stealing one or two meat patties; I won’t be caught.” Little Nian finished speaking and added, “I already ate one; I saved two for you.”
Fu Nineteen: …
In the end, he still said thank you and finished the remaining food.
Stealing was strictly prohibited in the sect.
Mutual protection was the thing to be.
But all these rule-breaking actions were for him. The feeling of being favored like this, not to mention reporting it, he was lucky if he didn’t get lost in it.
After eating, Fu Nineteen finally asked, “Why are you still awake at this hour?”
“My leg hurts, I can’t sleep.”
“Your leg hurts?”
“The prosthetic isn’t a perfect fit, Master said it would take about half a month to adjust.”
Fu Nineteen nodded.
“By the way, Senior Brother Nineteen, what’s wrong with eldest senior brother’s legs? Today I asked Master why they didn’t give eldest senior brother a new set of prosthetics, and I got scolded.” Little Nian’s voice still sounded dull. “I asked the other senior brothers and got scolded again.”
Fu Nineteen managed to hold back his laughter.
Eldest senior brother’s legs were indeed a taboo topic.
When he first entered the sect, he was curious too, but instead of asking others like a clueless person, he took his time to learn how to read and then secretly searched for records in books.
“I’ll tell you, but you’re not allowed to tell anyone else.” Fu Nineteen thought for a moment and decided to share this with his junior brother. After all, they were already on the same stolen ship.
Little Nian nodded.
“Eldest senior brother’s legs were originally fine, but during a trip, he met a young lady from a certain family. He came back and asked Master to let him leave the sect. Although Master was reluctant, he agreed. However, after eldest senior brother left the sect, the young lady’s parents didn’t approve of their relationship, so they poisoned him… After that, his legs became useless, and he returned to the Distant Moon Sect, becoming Master’s sworn brother. But over these years, Master has been trying to find a way to cure his legs. Sometimes, eldest senior brother can still stand.” Fu Nineteen recalled the details from his journal, “We don’t know what kind of poison it was, and the young lady was just an ordinary girl from a common family. It’s a mystery how she obtained such a deadly poison. Unfortunately, she ended up marrying someone else, not as wealthy and handsome as our eldest senior brother.”
“That’s strange…” Little Nian muttered.
“What’s strange?”
“When I was stealing the meat patties earlier, I heard eldest senior brother shouting at Master, saying that Master ruined his ability to stand for the rest of his life. So I was curious. According to what you just said, eldest senior brother received Master’s teachings since childhood, left the sect of his own accord, and then failed to pursue his love and got poisoned. Master still takes care of him, finding medicine for him every day… But he’s still shouting that Master ruined him. He doesn’t seem to understand gratitude.”
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