Chapter 81: The Visitor

Chapter 81: The Visitor

When Han Ruzi woke up, the sky was still dark. He turned his head and slowly made out the silhouette of his wife’s head. She was sleeping soundly, a few fingers showing outside the blanket, as if peeking from behind a curtain.

Han Ruzi got out of bed, quietly got dressed, and heard a soft voice from the bed, “It’s still dark...”

“I’ll get up and sit for a while,” Han Ruzi replied softly. He stood in place for a while. After hearing no more sounds from the bed, he slowly walked to the window and sat down, quietly waiting for dawn.

The back garden of the Manor of the Weary Marquis had been abandoned for a long time and had not yet been cleaned up. Master Du and his grandson had swept away the accumulated snow yesterday, and had cleared out a rectangular area to teach martial arts.

Han Ruzi and Zhang Youcai changed into tight-fit clothes and arrived as soon as the day dawned. The old man, Du Motian, hadn’t come yet. Only Du Chuanyun was waiting there by himself, hands behind his back, sizing up his two “disciples”.

Zhang Youcai did not like his attitude, “Hey, this is not your ‘pugilist world’, you need to bow when you see the Marquis.”

“One bows to the Heavens, the Earth, the Emperor, one’s Parents, and one’s Teachers. Here, I am the teacher, and you are the student. How can a teacher bow to a student?” Du Chuanyun’s spine straightened even more.

Zhang Youcai wanted to argue further, but Han Ruzi raised his hand to signal him to comply.

Du Chuanyun nodded, and continued, “The Du family martial arts are famous all over the world. Many people would kneel and beg to have us as teachers, but we have never agreed. You two are extremely fortunate...”

Zhang Youcai sulked.

“Unconvinced, huh? Come, let’s have a duel.” Du Chuanyun rolled up his sleeves. Despite it being midwinter, he was not heavily dressed, just a layer of cotton clothes, with the collar deliberately open.

Zhang Youcai knew himself well enough. “No, I will not duel with you. I’m just an ordinary little eunuch—there are thousands upon thousands of people who can defeat me; it doesn’t prove anything. If you really are capable, challenge a stronger opponent.”

There was no stronger opponent in the manor. But Du Chuanyun insisted on showing off his skills. He looked around and pointed to the nearby unswept snow, “You want to see true skill? Fine, I’ll show you the move ‘Traceless in the Snow’.”

Du Chuanyun tightened his belt, took a deep breath, and then sprinted, fast as a galloping horse. In a moment, he reached a tree, ran around it, and then returned, stopping and exhaling lightly. He said triumphantly, “Have you seen such a move?”

Han Ruzi and Zhang Youcai looked to the ground. Indeed, there were no footprints on the pure white snow. Zhang Youcai still felt unconvinced, so he walked over to examine the snow carefully. He stepped on the snow himself. His footprint was clear, but where Du Chuanyun had run, there were only very shallow traces. “This can’t be considered ‘traceless’,” he muttered.

Nevertheless, Zhang Youcai felt a deep respect within his heart. He slowly walked forward, examining each trace.Updated chapters at novelhall.com

“My grandfather is named Du Motian, and I am Du Chuanyun. Now you know how powerful our Du family’s light-foot technique is. My grandfather also has a nickname—people call him ‘Sword Immortal’. That means his swordsmanship is also very powerful. As for me, my nickname is the Dragon that Chases Lightning’...”

“You’re bragging again.” Du Motian came over and pushed his grandson aside, “Nicknames are given by one’s peers in the pugilist world, not self-proclaimed. If You change yours every day, you will never have your own by the time you die.”

Zhang Youcai came around from behind the tree, laughing loudly, “There are footprints behind the tree, you took a break halfway!”

“No one said that I couldn’t take a break.” Du Chuanyun muttered.

Du Motian laughed, “Lord Marquis, don’t mind him, my grandson is a blabbermouth, he just loves to talk nonsense.”

“How can it be nonsense? Your grandson’s light-foot skill is outstanding.” Han Ruzi was quite impressed with Du Chuanyun.

Han Ruzi also laughed, “I shan’t go looking for a fight. Learning martial arts is just for fitness.”

“That’s good. From what I see, Master Du is not the kind of charlatan masters that the Cui clan invited. They flattered my foolish brothers every day, making them feel important, which is why they dared to cause trouble. Later, all these people were driven away by my mother.”

Han Ruzi thought that there really were many scammers in this world. The fate seer Chunyu Xiao was also a scammer, only his scams were on a larger scale and he was able to incite lords and princes into rebellion. Even the great scholar Luo Huan-zhang regarded him as a sage.

After breakfast, they trained for another hour, still squatting in horse stance. Han Ruzi rested twice and managed to hang on, while Zhang Youcai kept trying to cheat, sitting on the ground time and again. Du Chuanyun came up with a solution, placing a dry twig vertically under Zhang Youcai’s buttocks. The young eunuch didn’t dare to sit down anymore, and when he was too tired, he would stand up and walk around.

“How many days do we have to practice the horse stance?” The practice finally ended, and Zhang Youcai walked with a limp.

“A few days? There’s no end to this training. My grandfather at his age still practices it every day.” Du Chuanyun was lively and bouncing around, the hour of horse stance didn’t affect him at all.

Zhang Youcai grimaced, filled with regret.

Han Ruzi changed his clothes, preparing to welcome the visitor who was scheduled to arrive.

Han Shi was the orphan of Crown Prince Ju. Although he was blessed with luck by the ancestors when drawing lots in the Ancestral Temple and therefore missed out on the throne, he was appointed the Champion Marquis[2] and given charge of the Northern Army. Within a few days, he was facing off with the elite Southern Army, becoming the center of attention.

Why would such a person come to visit a dethroned emperor? Even Yang Feng did not know why, nor did he teach the Weary Marquis how to deal with the visitor, only suggesting that he treat the visitor normally.

At seventeen years old, Han Shi was Han Ruzi’s cousin. Under usual rules of decorum, the Weary Marquis ought to go out of the manor to receive him. But Han Ruzi was a former emperor, with a status equivalent to a prince, and somewhat nobler than the Champion Marquis.

The Manor Clerk didn’t dare to make the decision alone, and specially ran to the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs to ask for help from his superior. The instruction he received was: rank was paramount, so the Weary Marquis only needed to welcome the Champion Marquis at the inner gate, not outside the manor. The Weary Marquis only needed to clasp fists and did not need to bow. The two marquises should call each other by their titles, not “brother” and certainly not “imperial brother”. After entering the hall, the Weary Marquis should take the main seat, and the Champion Marquis should sit as a guest.

The arrangement by the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs was quite meticulous, just short of specifying what the two should talk about.

In the morning, between nine and eleven, the Champion Marquis Han Shi arrived punctually for his visit. He had clearly received guidance as well, and his manners were perfectly coordinated with the Weary Marquis, as if they had practiced many times.

The two had seen each other once in the Ancestral Temple, but it wasn’t until now that they had the opportunity to observe each other closely.

Han Shi looked much more mature than his seventeen years, with a smile on his face, and a hint of vibrance. There was some resemblance in his eyes and brows to the portrait of the Founding Emperor that Han Ruzi had seen.

The two men gave way to each other three times and walked shoulder to shoulder into the main hall. The Manor Clerk had to be present under these circumstances, and similarly, Han Shi was also followed by officials. Behind the officials were their personal attendants.

The initial conversation was formal and respectful. Han Shi thanked the imperial clan for their help in a non-committal way, praised the simple elegance of the Weary Marquis’s residence, and expressed suitable envy of the leisurely life of the Weary Marquis. Han Ruzi responded with a smile, wondering if the other party had come specifically to try to read him to see if he had further ambitions. Although Han Shi was mature, he had not yet reached the point of being able to read people at a glance.

Han Ruzi was rather distracted—the soreness in his legs made him restless, so he missed a few words. Suddenly reacting, he asked, “What did you just say? The part related to Yang Feng.”

Han Shi smiled and said, “I said that I had long heard of the great name of Lord Yang, but unfortunately I had no chance to meet him before. The Northern Army currently lacks a strategist, so I wonder if you would be willing to part with him?”

[1] The horse stance is a common posture in Chinese martial arts.

[2] This was previously translated as Crowned Marquis but I’ve decided to change it to Champion Marquis because I think that would be more accurate.

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