Martial Cultivator

Off to the side, another man suddenly spoke up, sounding hesitant. “Big Brother, I still think you should think this through some more. Master Dong has been worshiped by scholars for so many years. If we do this, won’t it be... ‘those who commit too many wrongs are bound to destroy themselves?”

The leading man frowned. “Spouting rhymes like that, are you planning to sit the examinations?”

The man said softly, “I’ve got no hope in this lifetime, but maybe that kid back home might have a chance. Our Changban Commandery is already miserable enough as it is. If we damage Master Dong’s stone statue, won’t it be that... in the future, we won’t even produce a single successful examination candidate anymore?”

The man in the front nodded, put on a stern face, and said, “Well said. Don’t say it again next time.”

That man opened his mouth, but in the end did not say anything.

The leading man glanced at him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a sigh, “Little Liu, I don’t know whether that kid of yours will amount to anything in the future. But if you want him to have a future, you first have to find him a decent teacher, right? And now, in a place like ours, how many teachers are there who are actually decent teachers?” “If one of them were willing to take a liking to your kid, could you even afford the tuition? Relying on you carving tombstones for people, how many would you have to carve just to let your kid study for a single day?” ”“It’s not that I, as the big brother, want to do something that harms heaven and conscience. It’s really just that...”

“Big brother, stop talking. Where do we start chiseling? I’m ready.”

In an instant, that man had arrived beside the stone statue, staring at it fixedly, his eyes burning.

At this moment, the stone statue before him was no longer an ordinary statue. It was his child’s tuition, his child’s future.

That man in the front, the corners of his mouth twitched.

Up on the roof beam, Chen Chao had originally intended to step out long ago and drive these men away. But after listening carefully to their conversation, he hesitated for a moment. In the end, with a trace of reluctance, he took a money pouch from his robe, clenched it in his palm, and then said in a deep voice, “Who dares touch my stone statue?”

Chen Chao spoke these words using his powerful qi as their foundation. For a moment, it was as if the voice echoed from all around the great hall, with no discernible source.

There was something profoundly mysterious about it.

The instant they heard this voice, the faces of the men changed drastically. The man in the front reacted at once. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and began kowtowing repeatedly. “Master Dong, spare us! We were blinded by audacity and dared to tamper with Master Dong’s statue. But truly, my old mother at home is gravely ill, and I have no money to treat her. That is why I resorted to this desperate measure. If Master Dong wishes to punish someone, let it be me alone. I beg Master Dong to spare my brothers! I am willing to repay this with my life!”

As the man in front knelt, the others behind him also fell to their knees one after another, all pleading for mercy, saying much the same as he had.

Chen Chao asked, “Are these words sincere?!”

The leading man raised his head and looked straight at Master Dong’s stone statue. “I dare not deceive Master Dong!”

Chen Chao sighed, then tossed the money pouch down from the beam. It landed neatly in front of the man.

“For the sake of your filial devotion, and because each of you has your own reasons, this matter will be let go. Take this money. Find a good doctor for your old mother, and a good teacher for your children...”

“But what happened today must not happen again. If there is a next time...”

Chen Chao paused. In truth, he did not quite know what to say. If there were a next time, it would mean they had encountered another hardship. And when hardship came, who could they turn to?

If the world were not like this, why would they have come to trouble a stone statue in the first place?

The present authorities were already considered decent, but... they still could not take care of everyone.

Chen Chao said softly, “There are no treasures inside my stone statue. Even if you smash it open, it will be of no use.”

No matter what, he could not allow Master Dong, dead for so many years, to suffer such undeserved calamity.

What followed was the men breaking down in tears, overwhelmed with gratitude, thanking him again and again. In any case, in their hearts, their gratitude toward Master Dong was surely profound.

“Do not spread word of what happened today, leave.”

With that final instruction, Chen Chao let the men leave.

After they were gone, Chen Chao descended from the beam, rubbed his eyes, and glanced at Master Dong’s stone statue, his gaze filled with mixed emotions.

When he stepped out of the great hall, he found that night had already fallen. After thinking it over, Chen Chao turned back, returned to the beam inside the hall, and decided to rest there for the night.

He would leave Changban Commandery the next day.

That night, Chen Chao slept alongside Master Dong’s stone statue, and did not dream.

......

......

At dawn, there was some commotion outside the Master Dong Shrine. Chen Chao groggily opened his eyes and saw the men who had come here the day before being escorted back by constables, bound tightly with ropes.

Chen Chao furrowed his brows.

The leading constable asked coldly, “Yesterday, was it you people who intended to smash Master Dong’s stone statue?”

The men being escorted said nothing. Only the leader spoke up. “Reporting to Your Excellency, yes.”

“Then why did you give up in the end?”

The constable stared at him. The man glanced at Master Dong’s stone statue, moved his lips, and said, “I realized my error and turned back. It should not have been done.”

The constable gave an “oh,” then waved his hand. Another constable escorted in a blind old man wearing a tattered daoist robe and brought him into the hall.

As soon as the blind old man entered, he dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out, “Your Excellency! Yesterday, it was Zhang Da and the others who came to ask about Master Dong’s stone statue. This old man only spoke carelessly, saying there was treasure inside the statue. It was nothing but wild nonsense! Who knew they would really come to do such a thing!” The constable looked at the man and asked, “Is this true?”

The man nodded. “That was what we thought at first, but later we felt that the blind old man’s words might not be true, so we didn’t smash the statue.”

“Then last night, when you went to the apothecary to get medicine for your old mother, where did the money come from?!”

The constable raised his voice. “Are you still not telling the truth?!”

The man kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

He had promised Master Dong the night before that what had happened could not be spoken of. It was also his own fault for being too anxious. After getting that sum of Tianjin money, he had hurriedly knocked on the doors of the money exchange, converted it into Great Liang general currency, divided it among his brothers, and then rushed straight to the apothecary to get medicine for his old mother.

Who would have thought that in just one night, the matter would be exposed?

In truth, it was not surprising at all. How could he suddenly have so much money? Just thinking about it made it implausible.

The constable lowered his voice and asked, “Zhang Da, tell me. Where did the money come from? Did you find it somewhere inside this Master Dong Shrine? If you don’t speak, I can only assume that the source of this money is illegitimate, perhaps stolen from somewhere. You won’t be able to endure many board beatings in the constabulary.”

Zhang Da shook his head. “The money wasn’t stolen. It wasn’t!”

The constable laughed. “You say it wasn’t, and that makes it so? Just today the Commandery Governor said his household was robbed. In my view, you lot were blinded by greed and even dared to steal from the governor’s residence!”

Zhang Da raised his head and glared at the constable. “Your Excellency, don’t slander me with false accusations!”

The constable shrugged and said, “I’m the officer and you’re the thief. Naturally, what I say goes. If you can explain where this money came from, I might spare your life. If not... then I can only assume you stole it from Governor Liu’s residence. Think carefully, if you die, what will happen to your old mother?”

After saying that, he glanced at the others and sneered, “And you all should think carefully too. Think of your wives and children, if you die like this, is it really worth it?”

A few lives didn’t mean much to this constable. He scanned the Master Dong Shrine, wondering if there might actually be something valuable hidden here.

He had never taken that legend seriously. But now, who knew if they were false?

He stared at the stone statue of Master Dong, looking for an excuse to smash it and see if it really contained treasure. In the past, there had been too many scholars here, and even with official backing, it would have been difficult to act. But now, that was no longer a problem.

Zhang Da shook his head, gritted his teeth, and looked at his brothers. His meaning was clear: even if it cost their lives, they would not speak.

“I suspect there’s stolen property hidden inside this statue. Someone, smash this statue for me!”

The constable gave the order, and a group of constables rushed in from outside, carrying hammers and chisels, ready to act.

They were not scholars, so they had no reverence for the place. Besides, they were acting on orders from the commandery governor. The governor had promised that if they could find anything valuable in Master Dong Shrine, everyone present would share it.

Zhang Da frowned and shouted, “You cannot desecrate Master Dong!”

The constable scoffed. “Master Dong? Dead for so many years, and this Changban Commandery has hardly any scholars left. Why bother keeping this useless statue?”

“Smash it for -”

Before he could finish, a crisp, clear sound rang out. The constable was thrown backward, flying out of the hall.

Everyone was shocked.

When the constable stood up, spitting out a bloodied tooth, he sneered at the hall ferociously, “Well, well, well... daring to ignore the laws of Great Liang and attack an official? You must not want to live!”

Before him, at the entrance, stood a young man in a black robe.

“Your Father doesn’t care who you are. Dare to attack an official of the court, and this matter isn’t over. You really think our Lord Warden Commander is to be trifled with?!”

The constable gritted his teeth, facing the young man in black, feeling no fear at all.

But he did not notice that this young man, who had appeared without anyone realizing, held back his anger, his eyes tinged with disappointment.

This was not the Great Liang he wished to build.