Chapter Thirty-Eight: Kneeling in Sincerity to Beg for a Master

  Liu Zhong saw that Zhang Fei had finally given in and hastily helped him up, saying: "Get up quickly, brothers, let's not talk about this."

  "Haha!" Zhang Fei grinned foolishly: "Big brother is still the most powerful, I don't know what kind of fist technique big brother used, but it actually made me feel so stifled. I heard Master say that I was born with divine strength and ordinary people can't beat me! But with my great strength, I was completely helpless in big brother's hands, it's really too amazing!"

  "This boxing is called Tai Chi Boxing!" Liu Zhang smiled shamelessly: "This is my own creation, it has a strange effect on people with innate divine power like you!"

  "Huh?! Zhang Fei exclaimed in surprise: "No wonder I've always been unable to hit my brother, it turns out that his boxing technique is specifically designed to counter mine! Not good! Brother must teach me this set of punches!"

  "You want to learn? I won't be stingy!" Liu Zhang smiled and said, "However, this fist is easy to learn but hard to master. Let me demonstrate it for you once!"

  Liu Bei demonstrated the Tai Chi moves one by one to Zhang Fei, explaining each move. However, before he finished half of it, Zhang Fei shouted: "Brother, are you kidding me? This kind of fist can be used to fight? Forget it! Let's go back and drink instead!"

  After listening to Zhang Fei's complaints, Liu Zong secretly smiled in his heart. Tai Chi is an internal family fist, which emphasizes the combination of movement and stillness, natural breathing, and has a bit of Taoist quiet and effortless flavor. With Zhang Fei's explosive personality, if he were to learn Bajiquan or Hongquan, he might be enthusiastic, but Tai Chi really doesn't suit his taste. Unfortunately, Liu Zong only knew a little about Bajiquan and Hongquan, having seen his father practice them in his previous life.

  After staying in Zhang Xiong's mansion for two days, Liu Shao sent a fast horse to report back to Liu Yan. He said that the son of Zhang Xiong, the butcher from Zhuo County, was a young man he valued highly and would definitely become a great general in the future. Liu Yan didn't care who Zhang Xiong's son was; he trusted Liu Shao's judgment. As a result, soon everyone in Youzhou knew that there was a Zhang Xiong in Zhuo County who couldn't be provoked because behind him stood the little evil god Liu Shao!

  On the third day, Liu Yan's reply arrived, and Liu Zhang no longer lingered. He had been dawdling on the road for many days, making Master Tong wait for a long time, which was not good behavior. Before leaving, Liu Zhang pulled Zhang Fei aside and said: "Younger brother, you must not only practice martial arts but also study hard. In the future, when older brother takes you to the battlefield, you won't have to worry about being bullied! Older brother is a relative of the Han imperial family!"

  Zhang Fei was still young and didn't understand what the concept of "Han room relatives" meant, but Zhang Xiong knew that they were relatives of the emperor. Since he had taken hold of Liu Zhang's thigh, Zhang Xiong no longer had any other thoughts. Moreover, the relationship between Zhang Fei and Liu Zhang developed rapidly over the past two days, and this seemingly weak young man was actually able to rival Zhang Fei, which shocked Zhang Xiong greatly.

  It is worth noting that every time Zhang Xiong 'educated' Zhang Fei, he would be shaken by Zhang Fei's great strength and feel somewhat uncomfortable. In his opinion, Zhang Fei was only fifteen years old and had already surpassed him. Zhang Xiong has always been worried about Zhang Fei's future development, knowing that those who rely on brute force often have no good ending. That Xiang Yu was brave, but even his corpse was not left intact!

  Now that Liu Zhang is here, Zhang Xiong can finally relax! Moreover, Zhang Xiong also knows that Shi Ah by Liu Zhang's side is Wang Yue's disciple, and Liu Zhang is Tong Yuan's disciple. The two great masters of the late Han dynasty are their disciples, so how could they not control Zhang Fei? Zhang Xiong thought about it with great satisfaction! However, before leaving, Liu Zhang asked Zhang Xiong to recruit more Jianghu heroes, saying that they would be useful in the future. This made Zhang Xiong somewhat puzzled, but he didn't ask further questions. It's not uncommon for aristocratic families to recruit dead soldiers. As for the purpose of recruiting dead soldiers, Zhang Xiong dared not ask. He understood that knowing more means dying faster.

  Liu Zhang left Zhuo County under the reluctant farewell of Zhang Xiong and Zhang Fei, heading to Changshan Prefecture. After nearly half a month's journey, he finally arrived at Zhengding Prefecture in Changshan Prefecture! Taking out the simple map drawn by Tong Yuan, Liu Zhang finally found the mountain that Tong Yuan had mentioned. This mountain didn't have anything special, but it was unknown why Tong Yuan chose this place.

  To show respect for the teacher, Liu Zhang got off his horse and walked up the mountain. Halfway up the mountain, he saw a thatched hut on the top of the mountain, with a flat ground in front of it. From halfway up the mountain, it looked as if someone had shaved off the top of the mountain and built a thatched cottage on the flattened ground!

  Liu Zhang climbed to the top of the mountain and immediately knelt down in front of the thatched hut, saying: "Master! Disciple Liu Zhang pays his respects!"

  "Zhuang'er is here! Come in!" The thatched cottage opened, and only saw Tong Yuan bringing Zhang Ren sitting inside the thatched cottage, as if teaching something.

  "Long time no see, Brother Zhang!" Liu Zhang knew that being polite wouldn't make him look bad, especially since he deeply understood Zhang Ren's abilities.

  Zhang Ren also looked at Liu Zhang with great favor, and immediately stood up to return the courtesy. The two men's appearance of being like brothers made Tong Yuan very happy. Liu Zhang's identity was placed there, and relying on this relationship, if Zhang Ren were to join the army, he would definitely be able to avoid many detours.

  Tong Yuan smiled and said: "Zhang Er, from Ji County to here, it's only half a month's journey, but you've taken a whole month!"

  "Master, it's my first time traveling far away, I couldn't help but linger on the road a bit!" Liu Zhang scratched his head with a red face, looking embarrassed: "And I also got involved in some trivial matters on the way!"

  Tong Yuan smiled and said: "You little guy loves to meddle in other people's business!"

  "If it weren't for the young master's meddling, would he have met his master? Good people will always be rewarded, and besides, the apprentice isn't a bad person either!" Liu Zhang said with a smile as he told one side of Zhang Xiong's story, and Tong Yuan nodded repeatedly as he listened.

  "Zhang Tutu of Zhuo County, I've also heard of him. He's quite a chivalrous person. If you can save his life, it would be his good fortune!" Tong Yuan nodded and said: "However, since you have a close relationship with Zhang Tutu's son, calling each other brothers, don't you think it would be beneath your status?"

  "Liu Zhang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master, it is often said that those who rely on their noble birth are often inferior to those of humble origin! The High Ancestor rose from a lowly position, Xiao He was just a minor official, Han Xin was just a commoner. Fan Kuai, Xiahou Ying, and Cao Shen were nothing more than butchers and cart drivers. Yet the High Ancestor did not look down on them because of their humble origins, instead he relied on them to establish his empire. Although I am not as talented as the High Ancestor, how can we look down on others just because of their status? Is it any different from judging people based on their appearance?"

  Tong Yuan was overjoyed, he was unwilling to teach martial arts to the sons of officials and aristocratic families, precisely because these people always looked down on others based on their status. Tong Yuan came from a humble background, and the sons of aristocratic families looked down on him, while he also looked down on them. When he took Liu Zhang as his apprentice, he thought that Liu Zhang was willing to lower himself to treat others with courtesy. However, after some time had passed, he discovered that Liu Zhang was actually very polite even to his subordinates. In this rigidly hierarchical feudal era, subordinates were considered their master's property; did the master need to be polite when using his own property? From Zhang Xiong's affair, Tong Yuan saw that Liu Zhang did not reject people from humble backgrounds and even intentionally promoted them, which made him feel very relieved in his heart.

  "Jiang Er, you didn't come alone, did you?" Tong Yuan smiled and said: "Ren Er, take Shidi to choose a room, also pick one for his followers!"

  "Master, no need!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Huang Xu and Shi A are both my brothers, let them live with me!"

  "Alright! Alright!" Tong Yuan smiled and said: "You've had a hard journey, hurry up and rest now! Tomorrow, I'll start teaching you martial arts! If you don't get a good rest today... hehe..."

  Looking at Tong Yuan's gloomy smile, Zhang Ren and Liu Zhang couldn't help but shiver. Zhang Ren quickly took Liu Zhang down to clean the house, lest tomorrow they really wouldn't have the energy and would be cleaned up by Tong Yuan.

  "I've said it! I'm not taking any more disciples!" Just as they were tidying up, Liu Zhang and the others heard someone speaking outside. They immediately walked out of the door and saw Tong Yuan standing not far away, saying something to two children. The two children, however, knelt on the ground, with an air of "you don't agree, we won't get up".

  "Liu Zhang asked in surprise: 'Elder brother, what's going on?'"

  "Hey! Two kids who want to be apprentices have come for the third time already! I don't know why Master won't take them in!" Zhang Ren smiled and said, "However, Master seems to appreciate them. It's possible that all this is just a test by Master for them."

  Liu Zhang smiled and said: "If so, it seems we will have two more junior brothers!"

  "Oh? How did you know, junior brother?"

  "Three strikes and you're out!"

  Zhang Ren was stunned.

  "Right, brother, what are these two people's names?" Liu Zhang suddenly remembered that Tong Yuan had only three disciples: Zhang Ren, Zhang Xiu, and Zhao Yun. Zhang Ren was here, Zhang Xiu was in Liangzhou, so it was very likely that one of these two was Zhao Yun! When Liu Zhang thought of this, his eyes flashed with a sharp light. Unfortunately, Zhang Ren didn't know what their names were, nor did Tong Yuan possibly know either.

  "Hmph! If you want to kneel, then kneel! Even if you die from kneeling, no one will care about you!" Tong Yuan coldly snorted and turned to leave, leaving the two children kneeling there.

  Tong Yuan got angry, Zhang Ren and Liu Zhang hastily retreated into the house. Although Liu Zhang wanted to speak up for the two children, he knew it wasn't the right time yet. Tong Yuan must have taken a liking to these two kids; otherwise, she would have chased them away long ago. Suddenly, Liu Zhang had an epiphany - perhaps Tong Yuan settled on this mountain because of one of these two children! So...Liu Zhang made up his mind.

  The next day, Liu Zhang and Zhang Ren were called up early by Tong Yuan. When they arrived at the front yard, they saw that the two children were still kneeling there, clearly having knelt for a whole night. Tong Yuan stood in the middle of the yard, carefully explaining the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Gun to Zhang Ren and Liu Zhang. The two little guys kneeling beside them seemed to be listening very seriously as well. Tong Yuan didn't bother with them; after finishing his explanation, he went back inside, leaving Liu Zhang and Zhang Ren to practice in the yard on their own.

  On the third day, it was still the same, only those two children were already somewhat dizzy, and by dusk, they finally couldn't hold on and fell to the ground. Liu Zhang saw this and hurriedly went to report to Tong Yuan. Tong Yuan immediately carried the two into the house, he just wanted to see their willpower, and didn't want to kill them.

  After a night's rest, the two children finally regained their spirits. They saw Tong Yuan immediately struggle up from bed, kneel on the ground and beg: "Sir, we two are really sincere in our request to be your apprentices, please have mercy and accept us!"

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