"I'm sure this trip will be a success."
Xiao Qiaoniang had already prepared Bai Yuan's bundle for his trip into town.
Bai Yuan accepted the heavy bundle.
"It's not like I'm not coming back. I've already asked around—apprentices can go home every day."
Though he said that, he was still delighted inside.
Ever since returning from the Chen Family's home last night, Xiao Qiaoniang had been bustling about.
"I know."
Xiao Qiaoniang pressed her lips together, a little flustered and annoyed.
Bai Yuan looked at the sky. It was time to set out.
He had to join the Martial Arts Hall as soon as possible, or it would be too late by the time the spring taxes were collected.
The Xuan Yang Dynasty had been established for a thousand years, and the various taxes had piled up more and more, to the point that even the officials in the Ministry of Revenue couldn't remember them all.
Taxes were collected in all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—and on top of that, there was heavy compulsory labor.
Bai Yuan almost wanted to be like the great reformer Lord Zhang and consolidate all these taxes with a single, sweeping law.
But that was all a matter for the future.
The most pressing matter now was to join the Martial Arts Hall.
The Xuan Yang Court valued martial prowess; as long as one could enter a Martial Arts Hall as an apprentice, they would be exempt from two years of taxes.
"Sister-in-law, I'll be going now."
Under Xiao Qiaoniang's reluctant gaze, Bai Yuan left Baisha Town.
...
"You want to learn martial arts?"
"Pay up first!"
It was the same dark-faced Martial Artist. When he learned that Bai Yuan wanted to join the Huwei Arts Hall, he held out a large hand.
Bai Yuan took two taels of broken silver and a string of copper coins from his bundle.
Seeing the full payment of silver coins, the dark-faced Martial Artist's icy expression softened slightly.
"Follow me."
He said a few words to a young man at his side and then led Bai Yuan into the Martial Arts Hall.
The Huwei Arts Hall was quite famous in Qinghe County. Of the four major martial arts halls in the county town, only Huwei was not affiliated with one of the three major powers.
The hierarchy in the Martial Arts Hall was clear-cut. Newcomers could only start as apprentices.
If they could succeed in the Skin Grinding Barrier within two years, they could be promoted to Outer Disciple. If they were favored by the hall master during an assessment, they could be promoted again to Inner Courtyard Disciple.
As for true disciples, there were only a handful.
The dark-faced Martial Artist explained the rules of the Martial Arts Hall to Bai Yuan as they walked.
Bai Yuan was very lucky. As an apprentice, his main daily task was to escort the food shipments to the Martial Arts Hall in the morning.
The job wasn't too busy, but it required him to be waiting at the market by the hours of 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.
In addition, every day from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., a Martial Artist would hold a group lesson for the apprentices. The lesson was only one hour, followed by an hour of self-practice.
This was the apprentices' pitifully small chance to practice martial arts for the day. Afterward, they weren't even qualified to enter the Martial Arts Arena.
Ultimately, apprentices were not yet considered one of their own by the Martial Arts Hall.
The dark-faced Martial Artist brought Bai Yuan to a room.
He handed the two taels of broken silver and the string of copper coins Bai Yuan had given him to an old accountant.
"Another new one."
The old accountant rubbed his sore eyes, not even sparing Bai Yuan a glance.
"Need lodging?"
"No."
"One set of clothes, one waist token."
Hearing that Bai Yuan didn't need lodging, the old accountant found the process much shorter.
Bai Yuan took the black cloth uniform embroidered with a tiger pattern. It was much better than the clothes he was wearing.
With the waist token, he could freely enter and exit the Huwei Arts Hall.
Seeing that everything was settled, the dark-faced Martial Artist led Bai Yuan to a rear courtyard filled with the aroma of food and then turned and left.
Standing in a line with Bai Yuan were three other young people.
One of them, a lively boy who looked the youngest, asked curiously, "How much silver did you guys pay for tuition?"
Bai Yuan's expression flickered.
'Isn't the tuition three taels for everyone?'
Just as he was wondering, another boy leaned in. "I paid seven taels. What about you?"
"Seven taels."
"Fi... fifty taels."
The only girl among them spoke up timidly.
Hearing "fifty taels," Bai Yuan and the other two boys showed expressions of shock.
The boy who had asked first said in astonishment, "Three taels just gets you in the door, and seven taels covers room and board. Fifty taels... doesn't that cover the cost of medicinal herbs, too?"
Everyone knew the saying: "The poor pursue literature, the rich pursue martial arts."
Those who practiced martial arts had huge appetites; the cost of food alone was more than an ordinary family could afford.
Moreover, improper rest after daily training could easily lead to hidden injuries, which required the aid of medicinal herbs.
Even with proper recuperation, supplementing with precious herbs could yield twice the results with half the effort.
It was just that the price of those herbs was far beyond what most could afford.
This was also why disciples from wealthy families always progressed faster than children from poor families—it was all paved with silver.
Unlike other martial arts halls, the Huwei Arts Hall treated everyone equally. Regardless of family background, everyone had to start as an apprentice.
However, those from better-off families could provide a superior training environment, allowing them to break through the Skin Grinding Barrier and enter the Outer Courtyard in no time.
As for ordinary people like Bai Yuan, they would naturally work for the Martial Arts Hall for two years for free, then leave dejectedly.
The girl felt a little embarrassed under their envious gazes.
Just as the lively boy was about to ask about Bai Yuan's tuition fee, a resonant voice rang out.
"My surname is Zhou, Zhou Qian. I'm the manager of the Martial Arts Hall's rear kitchen. From now on, you can call me Brother Qian."
A large, fat man with a brutish face strode over, taking huge steps.
Bai Yuan and the other three bowed in unison.
"Brother Qian."
Seeing how well-behaved the new apprentices were, Zhou Qian nodded with satisfaction.
He pointed to a shrewd-looking man beside him.
"This is Liu Chu. He's in charge of transporting the food ingredients. From now on, you'll be working under him."
"Brother Chu."
Once again, Bai Yuan and the other three bowed in unison.
Zhou Qian, seeing that he had said all that needed to be said, turned his massive body, stirred up a gust of wind, and left.
Liu Chu gave a faint smile. "We're all fellow disciples here. No need to be so formal."
"This job of transporting food is actually very simple. You just have to go to the South City Market and wait there between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. every day. Once you've brought the horse cart to the Martial Arts Hall, your job is done."
Liu Chu added a few more words of caution about not being late tomorrow and so on, then he also turned and left.
He was an Outer Disciple, and he barely had enough time for his own training. Why would he waste any more effort on apprentices like Bai Yuan?
After Liu Chu left, the lively boy's cheerful, cheeky expression returned.
"Hey everyone, I'm Ma Qi."
"My name is Wen Ji."
"Li Ting."
"Bai Yuan."
After introducing themselves, the four gradually became acquainted.
The lively boy named Ma Qi seemed to know a lot about the Martial Arts Hall. He lowered his voice and said:
"We all need to be extra careful. I heard the reason a good chore like escort duty fell to us is because something terrible happened the day before yesterday."
The quiet, dark-skinned boy named Wen Ji asked in surprise, "What happened?"
Ma Qi lowered his voice even more, so low that only the four of them could hear, as if terrified of being overheard.
"The people from the Martial Arts Hall who were escorting the food supplies were all killed the day before yesterday. Not even the Outer Disciple leading them was spared."
Before he even finished speaking, both Wen Ji and Li Ting had expressions of horror.
'A crazed killer!'
How could they not be afraid of a madman who dared to kill disciples of the Huwei Arts Hall right here in Qinghe County Town?