Chapter 15 A Little Reputation

Inside the private room, Zhou Jing and the trio of Li Chun ate and drank, chatting idly. Though they were disturbed midway, it didn't ruin their mood, and the atmosphere soon became lively again.

Li Chun's face was flushed with drunkenness, but his eyes remained clear. He invited, "Brother, we're about to head to the prefectural capital on business. Since you have nowhere to go, why not travel with us for now? We can look after each other on the road."

"Alright," Zhou Jing nodded, not refusing.

Though he hadn't agreed to join their mountain stronghold, temporarily traveling with these three congenial greenwoodsmen wasn't a bad thing for him. In any case, he was going to wander around, and traveling with these three would make it easier to get acquainted with the jianghu environment.

Li Chun seemed surprised that Zhou Jing agreed so readily and, after thinking for a moment, said, "The manor lord here wants to hire you as an instructor. Since they've sent someone to invite you, brother, you should still pay a visit to respond, just to be polite..."

Zhou Jing raised an eyebrow and deliberately snorted, dissatisfied, "I've never liked these kinds of landlords and wealthy families. These gentry only know how to bully and oppress the common people."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yunzhao seemed somewhat unconvinced and said, "That's not necessarily true. Old Master Wu here is benevolent and charitable, and hasn't oppressed the people."

Zhou Jing glanced at him and retorted, "Then where does this benevolent and charitable money come from? It's nothing more than exploiting farmers, extorting the people's wealth, and enriching his family by sucking the blood of the poor. Even if he's benevolent and charitable, he's just being generous at other people's expense. It wouldn't be a pity to kill him."

Having received compulsory education in the main world, he naturally felt very unsympathetic toward the landlords and rich folks of this feudal era.

The landlord class occupied the land, made the people work for them, and reaped the surplus value of the farmers. Unless an external force broke the cycle, the landlords who occupied the land would always be landlords, and the poor peasants would have no choice but to work for them for generations.

Land annexation and class exploitation had been the same throughout history.

As for the so-called landlords and wealthy families of the feudal era, killing them all might wrong some, but killing every other one would definitely let some slip through the net.

"Brother, you're right, that's exactly the principle!"

Li Chun's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but look at Zhou Jing with a new level of respect.

He had originally thought that this Chen Feng was just a boorish fellow who relied on his martial prowess, but he hadn't expected him to have such insights.

What was even more commendable was that this Chen Feng claimed to be a recluse who rarely entered the world, yet he possessed a rebellious spirit and a rebellious heart, born to be a greenwoods hero!

Such a good material, if he didn't join a mountain stronghold, the jianghu would be as dark as a long night for all eternity!

Lu Yunzhao shook his head, disagreeing.

His Lu family had originally come from a wealthy background, but they had been framed and their family fortune had declined, which was why he had taken his sister to the mountain stronghold. Although he was now a greenwoodsman, the concepts he had cultivated since childhood would not be easily changed, and at this moment, he only felt that Zhou Jing's words were too extreme.

At this moment, Zhou Jing took a sip of wine, stood up, and said, "But Brother Li Chun is right, I'll go and reject that whatever Young Master. I'll be right back."

"Brother, go ahead, we'll wait here," Li Chun cupped his fist.

Zhou Jing didn't say anything more. He wiped his mouth, picked up his tree branch, and strode downstairs, heading straight for the Wu family manor in the center of the village.

The three watched Zhou Jing walk away from the upstairs window before retracting their gazes.

Li Chun chuckled, "This Brother Chen Feng is quite impatient."

"Indeed," Lu Yunzhao nodded and hesitated for a moment before saying, "But I see that he seems to be a cynical person. We're going to the prefectural capital on business, and we can't be high-profile. If we travel with him, I'm afraid it will cause trouble."

Li Chun was surprised and asked in astonishment, "Brother Lu, you're usually forthright and informal, why are you being so fussy now? Could it be that you don't like Brother Chen Feng?"

"Master, what are you saying? Do you really think so little of me? Brother Chen Feng is highly skilled and straightforward. I admire him, but..."

Lu Yunzhao shook his head and couldn't explain that this was his intuition as a martial artist. He always felt that traveling with Zhou Jing would not be peaceful, and his eyelids kept twitching.

Lu Xinniang snorted and said, "Chen Feng is so valiant. You only exchanged a few words with him, and now you're being petty, brother."

"Yes, yes, yes, it was my fault."

Lu Yunzhao smiled wryly helplessly. He doted on his younger sister the most, so he had no choice but to follow her words, punish himself with a cup of wine, and not mention the matter again.

On the other side, Zhou Jing walked with a light pace, carrying his tree branch, and was in a rather cheerful mood.

'Tsk, tsk, I'm really lucky. I was able to meet professionals as soon as I transmigrated. Now I have someone to accompany me.'

Zhou Jing chuckled inwardly.

Come to think of it, he also met someone like Barron when he first transmigrated. He wondered if there were any hidden attributes like luck, and he was definitely not low.

Recalling his acting performance just now, he gave himself a score of 85. Although there were some flaws, he had embodied many of the personality traits of Apostle No. 4.

Zhou Jing glanced at the synchronization rate, which had increased from the initial 10% to 13.6%.

He had only been here for less than half a day, and this efficiency was already good. After all, the difficulty of playing Apostle No. 4 was intermediate, and the speed of improvement was not as fast as the first three apostles.

Zhou Jing arrived at the gate of the Wu family manor and informed the doorman of his intentions. Soon, the Wu family steward hurried out to greet him.

"Hero, please come with me. The Second Young Master has been waiting for a long time."

The Wu family steward had been scolded by Zhou Jing before and was afraid of him. He didn't dare to put on airs and led the way with a flattering smile.

Zhou Jing followed him into the manor, passing through corridors and doors, looking around as he walked.

The manor was quite large. The main road was paved with stone slabs, and the houses were all made of green bricks and black tiles, which was completely different from the dilapidated thatched huts in the village.

In addition to the continuous courtyards and houses, there were also cowsheds, chicken coops, stables, granaries, threshing grounds, training grounds, and other buildings. The servants each performed their duties, some scattering feed to feed the chickens, some swinging flails to thresh wheat, some practicing with clubs, and there was also the sound of children reading from who-knew-which courtyard, creating a lively and busy scene.

Before long, Zhou Jing followed the steward to the backyard, where he saw a bare-chested young man practicing his strength with a staff in the open space, swinging it with a body full of sweat.

The young man was bare, showing a body of refined muscles that reflected the sunlight. His muscles were well-developed, indicating that he usually ate very well. His muscles rippled and undulated like flowing water with his movements.

"Second Young Master, this is the hero Chen Feng who threw the stone from the ground," the Wu family steward stepped forward to report.

Wu Zhen stopped his movements and turned his head to look at Zhou Jing. His eyes immediately lit up, and he praised, "What a hero!"

After saying that, he immediately greeted him and cupped his fists with a smile:

"I am Wu Zhen, the Second Young Master of this Wu family manor. I heard that you were performing in the village and that you have extraordinary strength, so I sent someone to invite you, wanting to get to know you."

"Alright, alright."

Zhou Jing also cupped his fist in return.

—He liked this gesture more and more. Now he wanted to cup his fists at everyone he met.

Wu Zhen looked him up and down and asked, "May I ask where Brother Chen is from and where he is going?"

"A man of the mountains, with no fixed abode, just passing through this place by chance."

Zhou Jing still used the same old words. In this era with a backward household registration system and low monitoring levels, being a black户 was not difficult at all.

He paused and asked, "You invited me here, do you want to hire me as an instructor for your family?"

Wu Zhen's eyes turned, and he smiled and cupped his fists, "Let's not rush this matter. I've loved practicing with weapons since I was young, and I often invite passing heroes to spar. Brother has such a physique, I'm sure your martial arts are also outstanding. I'm eager to test your skills and would like to spar with you for a bit. I'll offer you travel expenses afterward. I hope you won't blame me for being abrupt."

Wu Zhen had not personally seen Zhou Jing's performance. It was only when an idle person had come to the manor and specifically reported this matter that he had learned of Zhou Jing. He was actually skeptical about the so-called feat of "throwing a stone from the ground."

With a curious mind, he had asked the steward to find him, specifically using the position of instructor to lure the performing strongman to his door.

Wu Zhen's plan was simple. Once the performing strongman was in front of him, he would invite him to spar. If he had real skills, he would naturally reveal them. Then he would immediately hire him as an instructor, give him generous gifts, and hold a banquet to entertain him. After that, he would ask for advice every day and learn some skills.

If this performing strongman was just a swindler selling strength pills, and his staff skills were not as good as his own, then the matter of being an instructor would naturally be out of the question. He probably wouldn't have the face to accept it, and he could take the opportunity to teach this fake goods a lesson for daring to show off without real skills and vent his anger.

So in his opinion, he wouldn't lose out either way.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows slightly. He understood the other party's plan and, after thinking for a moment, did not refuse. He nodded and agreed:

"Then let's spar a bit, and I'll also learn from your skills."

"Indeed a hero," Wu Zhen said politely, went to the weapon rack, took another staff, and threw it to Zhou Jing.

However, Zhou Jing did not catch it, letting it fall in front of him. He only raised the tree branch in his hand and said:

"No need for your staff, this one in my hand is enough."

The one in his hand was just a tree branch casually broken off a tree, with several bends and the bark still on it, looking more like a walking stick.

Whereas the Wu family manor used high-quality staffs, straight and thick, dark brown all over, made of good wood and processed into equipment, which could be called weapons.

Seeing this, Wu Zhen only felt that this person was looking down on him, and he was angry in his heart, thinking to himself:

'In my early years, I hired four or five instructors, but their skills were all mediocre, and they taught me a set of flashy and impractical flowery moves. Later, I met a famous teacher who gave me some pointers, and I truly learned a set of martial arts. Ordinary people can't get close to me, and even passing heroes never dare to underestimate me. This person is so arrogant, it's really hateful. I'll defeat you first and then see what you do.'

Without much persuasion, he walked not far from Zhou Jing, held the long staff horizontally, and pointed the tip of the staff at the ground, adopting a fighting stance.

However, Zhou Jing didn't even adopt a fighting stance. He just leaned on the tree branch and curiously looked at Wu Zhen's movements.

Seeing that Zhou Jing didn't move, Wu Zhen took a step forward and shook the tip of the staff, using a feint to lure Zhou Jing to attack.

Unexpectedly, this amorous glance was completely wasted on a blind man. Zhou Jing allowed the tip of the staff to sway in front of his face without showing any signs of defense.

'He dares to look down on me so much!' Wu Zhen was secretly annoyed, so he simply exerted his strength and slashed down with the staff in his backhand, making a whizzing sound.

However, halfway through the staff, a sudden force came over, and Wu Zhen was directly staggered. His palms were in pain, and the staff was suddenly snatched from his palms.

Wu Zhen looked blankly, only to see that Zhou Jing had only grabbed and pulled, and he had snatched the staff from his hand.

"How is it?"

Zhou Jing casually threw the staff back to him.

Wu Zhen took the staff, his face turning pale and white. He muttered, "You do have immense strength. Let's spar again!"

He was unconvinced. In his expectation, the two sides should exchange blows, each using moves to see who could break the other's moves.

But the other person had snatched his staff with just his strength. Although his extraordinary strength surprised him, he didn't know the depth of his martial arts at all.

After saying that, Wu Zhen did not wait for Zhou Jing to respond and immediately retreated three steps, adopting a fighting stance again, waiting in full battle.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing啧, and said:

"Then take one of my attacks!"

He stepped forward and chopped down with the staff in both hands, his speed extremely fast.

Wu Zhen concentrated all his attention, not daring to fight head-on. He raised the staff diagonally to block the blow while shifting his legs, ready to dodge to the side to dissipate the force.

But at this moment, Zhou Jing suddenly released his right hand, and his big hand went straight into the center, grabbing Wu Zhen's waistband with a speed that dazzled the eyes and throwing him to the side.

Thump!

Wu Zhen suddenly lost his balance and fell directly into the mud.

"How is it now?"

Zhou Jing stood with his arms folded, looking at Wu Zhen, who was climbing up, covered in dirt, and asked casually.

Before the fight, he had probed Wu Zhen's attributes. With his own physical strength, he could use force to break through skill without using any moves. With high physical strength and high perception, he could easily see the flaws in this person's moves. Fighting him was effortless, just like an adult fighting a child.

Wu Zhen’s

face flushed red, and he immediately dropped the staff, bowed and said:

"I didn't recognize Mount Tai with my eyes, brother has good skills, I must be from jianghu, I am convinced! I am willing to hire you as an instructor with a lot of money, and I hope you will stay in the mansion and teach me martial arts. I will definitely treat you with the etiquette of a disciple!"

He was easily resolved twice, and he was sure that this person had real skills, so he immediately put away his temper and implemented plan one.

Zhou Jing waved his hand: "I didn't come for the job of instructor, I have to continue on my way, I just came to decline the invitation."

Wu Zhen ah, and paused, and said:

"It's not urgent to hurry, please stay overnight in the village, and I will set up a banquet to entertain you. Everyone will have a good time with drinks, and I will definitely offer travel expenses afterwards, as a little gift."

"That's not necessary, I'm traveling with friends, and I'll be leaving soon, so I'll say goodbye."

Zhou Jing refused, and gave a slight fist salute.

Wu Zhen wanted to persuade him again, but saw Zhou Jing turn around and leave, so he sighed and said with regret:

"It's a pity, I can't make friends with such a hero."

However, he said this on the surface, but in fact, he was not very happy that he was hiring with a lot of money, and he was also going to host a banquet and planned to give money. His attitude was low enough, but the other party didn't give him any face at all.

But there was no way, this big man was capable, and although Wu Zhen was unhappy, he couldn't say anything, so he had to swallow this breath.

The steward respectfully sent Zhou Jing out of the Wu family manor.

As soon as Zhou Jing walked out of the gate, a group of people came towards him. The first one was a well-dressed and noble old man, followed by six or seven servants.

As soon as he saw this person, the Wu family steward hurriedly left Zhou Jing and greeted the old man respectfully: "Old Master, you are back?"

The old man who came back was the village owner of the Wu family, Wu Changgui.

"Alas, my concubine's first menstrual period came today, and she was crying and crying, which is really disappointing."

Wu Changgui shook his head, his face quite annoyed.

He saw Zhou Jing aside, but he was a strange man, and immediately changed his smile and cupped his hands: "Hero, please, I don't know what's the matter with you coming to my mansion?"

The steward hurriedly leaned into his ear and briefly told the story.

Wu Changgui heard the words, stroked his beard and shook his head, and sighed: "My son is really abrupt. Go and withdraw twenty taels of silver and give it to this hero."

The steward hurriedly said yes, went back and took four ingots of big silver, wrapped them in cloth, and offered them with both hands, handing them to Zhou Jing.

Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount of money. An average farmer doesn't know how many years he has to save. This gift is very generous.

However, Zhou Jing didn't accept it, and squinted his eyes:

"I don't know each other, what do you mean by giving me money?"

"It's just a token of my heart to apologize for my son." Wu Changgui's face was full of sincerity.

"No need."

Zhou Jing glanced at him and turned away.

When Zhou Jing walked away, the steward dared to complain: "Hiss, this person is really ignorant!"

Wu Changgui's face was a little unbearable, and he took back his smile. After thinking about it, he ordered:

"This kind of person always likes to cause trouble. Let the servants keep an eye on him quietly, so as not to cause trouble in the village. If he leaves the village obediently, then don't bother."

"Yes." The steward agreed.

Zhou Jing walked away from the Wu family manor, thought for a while, but did not immediately go to the village tavern to meet with Li Chun and the others.

He turned out of the village and came to the dirt road by the fields, looking at the dark-skinned farmers working in the scorching sun.

These farmers were yellow-skinned and emaciated, working in the scorching sun, their backs hunched over, and like Wu Zhen, they were covered in sweat. The sweat also reflected the light in the scorching sun, but they did not dare to stop the farm work in their hands.

Soon, the farmers in the field noticed Zhou Jing, and while doing farm work, they frequently looked over, all confused, not knowing what this strong man was doing looking at them. It really made people feel uncomfortable.

Finally, an old hunchbacked farmer who was close by couldn't help but be curious, and barely straightened his waist, and shouted at Zhou Jing:

"Hey, big man, what are you looking at us for?"

Hearing this, Zhou Jing jumped off the field, ignoring the muddy water in the field that was over his calves, and waded to the farmer's side, with a smile, and asked the question that he had asked others before

:

"Old man, has this Wu family done anything bad?"

The old farmer's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly waved his hand: "No, no, how dare we have anything bad?!"

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