Chapter 11 (1/2)
The punch Lin Xun threw at Lu Ting was as fast as a gale and as fierce as fire.
It was the sixth move of the Marching Boxing, FTSH (flames to scorch the heaven).
Lu Ting was quite familiar with it, for he had fought with it more than once. But this time, he sensed something different.
Lin Xun’s attack was much stronger and more intense, like the wildfire burning in the wasteland that could sweep off everything in its way.
Was it the same move he knew?
Suspicion flashed across Lu Ting’s brain.
Bang***
Lu Ting had no way but to block the attack with another punch. Two fists crashed with each other, making a depressed shock-wave noise followed by a sudden harsh scream.
The hard impact violently knocked over Lu Ting and blinded him by the pain in his hand as if his fingers were broken. He couldn’t help but give out a muffled sound.
Had he decided to exert all his power at the last minute, he would have been badly injured!
How come this little thing was so good at it?
Lu Ting was aghast, as it had never occurred to him that a 12 or 13-year-old boy who was as weak and thin as Lin Xun could defeat him.
“Boy, we are not finished. Next time I will get even with you.”
Seeing things were not going well as he planned, Lu Ting fled away the moment he steadied his body, and disappeared in the darkness within a short time of several breaths.
Instead of chasing after Lu Ting, Lin Xun secretly felt relieved. Right after that, he felt a burning pain shooting across the meridians all over his body.
The attack, which successfully beat back Lu Ting, consumed nearly half of his spiritual energy. Normally it would mean nothing, but things were never normal when it came to Lin Xun. As his Spiritual Vein had been ripped off when he was an infant, his meridians were too fragile to afford any intense consumption of the spiritual energy.
The Marching Boxing, which was actually a basic boxing Kungfu widespread in the imperial troops, had its own uniqueness.
Every move of it required the person who practiced it to stretch out as far as one could, and to channel all of the spiritual energy through the meridians and acupoints of the body to one’s palms and fingers. By doing so, one’s fist could be as hard as iron, his speed as fast as the lightening, and his attack as powerful as the rolling thunder.
However, such intense way of practicing it also needed one’s meridians to be strong enough.
As for Lin Xun, it had reached his physical limitation to give full play to the move of FTSH (flames to scorch the heaven).
Standing in the messy courtyard, Lin Xun exhaled a long breath of foul air. He was then lost in thought, going over tonight’s fight in his brain.
“It looks like Captain Lian and other guardians in the village do not want me here, but why?”
He wondered.
“Lin Xun, can I come in?” He heard the village head Shiao Tianren asked from outside of the door.
“Uncle Shiao, please come in. I was about to talk with you something urgent.” Lin Xun collected his thoughts and promptly opened the door.
“Just minutes ago……”
Before he could speak, Shiao Tianren sighed and waved his hands to stop him, “I already knew about it. It’s not your fault.”
Lin Xun frowned and continued to say, “Uncle Shiao, I am new here. I know nothing about what’s going on in the village. I am surprised things like this happened to me. Would you please shed some light on why?”
Shiao Tianren put his hands behind his back and looked at the big mess caused by the fight, feeling ashamed. It had been a while before he opened his mouth again, “I never thought Lian Rufeng would lay a hand on you, a total outsider. So it seems he has made up his mind to defect to Green-sun Tribe.”
Lin Xun looked thoughtful. He had heard of Green-sun Tribe, and he knew it was the place where the villagers traded for daily supplies with their spiritual rice.
Lian Rufeng, as the captain of the village guardians, had been in charge of the trading. He led the guardians traveling between Feiyun Village and Green-sun Tribe and providing protection for the spiritual grain and the goods got back.
“Lian Rufeng is of the highest cultivation in the village, thus he is of high prestige. He used to be different. But since his son Lian Fei was sent to one of the most famous martial arts schools in Donglin Town, he has changed.”
Xian Tianren said slowly, “Lian Fei is smart and the most talented boy in the village. In order to help him embark on the journey of martial cultivation, his father Lian Rufeng paid a great price to persuade the Patriarch of Green-sun Tribe to put in a good word for him.”
Lin Xun listened with no intention to interrupt, despite that he knew things would not be such easy.
As expected, Shiao Tianren soon unveiled the mystery, “Cultivation is never an easy thing, let alone for a boy from a poor village like Feiyun. The daily expenses alone take a lot to cover. So Lian Rufeng turned eyes on the village’s business to make sure his son did not get distracted.”
“As you know, he has taken full responsibility in transportation of spiritual grain to trade for daily supplies in Green-sun Tribe. A few years ago, he could bring back goods worth of 300 imperial copper coins each time. But in recent years, he returned with fewer and fewer things, even empty-handed for several times.”
Shiao Tianren got a bit angry at this point, “If he embezzles only to cover the expenses for Lian Fei’s cultivation, it is completely understandable for me and for other villagers. However, his wrongdoing gets worse and starts to endanger the livelihood of the villagers. He is outrageous!”
Lin Xun then remembered, during his first meeting with Lian Rufeng, the Captain was wearing a pendant carved from “aromatic rosewood”, which was worth as much as 10 imperial silver coins, or 1000 imperial copper coins.