My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 268: Chapter 145: Post House 3

”Is that clear?” the Black Armored Soldier asked again.

Qin Fang came back to himself and nodded.

”Alright, then. Come with me to pick out a courtyard.”

The Soldier rose, retrieved a register from inside Zhi Lu, and led Qin Fang out.

Instead of heading for the main path inside the front gate, he turned and cut across horizontally.

Only then did Qin Fang see another wide path stretching out sideways. To its left, courtyards were arranged in neat, dense rows.

Qin Fang then noticed that on the vermilion walls of the courtyards, circles had been drawn in chalk, each containing a white character.

The two rows nearest the gate were all marked with the character ’A’.

Walking farther, he saw the courtyards marked with ’B’. Their layouts were clearly much smaller, probably less than half the size of the A Courtyards.

Understanding dawned on Qin Fang.

’So this A, B, C, and D system must be based on the size of the courtyards.’

After another thousand meters or so, he finally saw the ’C’ courtyards.

These courtyards were smaller still... about the same size as his lodgings at Wanshui and Fishermen’s.

Then, Qin Fang noticed that directly across from the C Courtyards, there were rows of small, three-story buildings. The wall of the very first one was marked with the character ’D’.

’So once you get to ’D,’ it’s no longer private courtyards but communal buildings?’

Qin Fang watched with curiosity.

The D Buildings were adjacent to the C Courtyards and were also the most crowded.

On the open ground in front of the buildings, Qin Fang saw numerous people stretching and warming up, and he could hear shouts and cries.

’Were people actually sparring openly here?’

Qin Fang blinked, a questioning look on his face as he glanced at the Soldier beside him.

The Soldier glanced over, sensing his confusion. ”Private duels and grudge matches are forbidden, not martial practice or friendly sparring,” he said. ”Most people here are like you, from outside counties and prefectures, all here for the Martial Arts Examination. As long as they’re just practicing techniques and know when to stop, the Post House generally doesn’t get involved—so long as there are no serious injuries, no one dies, and nobody files a formal complaint... it’s considered a non-issue.”

It clicked for Qin Fang.

After a slight nod, he looked toward the D Buildings, a flicker in his eyes.

’He knew there would probably be many people taking the Martial Arts Examination.’

’But he hadn’t expected... there were actually this many?’

’It seems the competition for this Martial Arts Examination will be even fiercer than he imagined.’

”This is the place.”

The Soldier stopped and gestured to a few C Courtyard gates before them. ”These are all empty. You may choose one.”

Just as Qin Fang was about to take a closer look, he suddenly felt many eyes converging on his back.

He instinctively glanced back and saw numerous people in front of the D Buildings staring in his direction, their eyes filled with appraisal and scrutiny.

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed...

’What’s going on?’

The Black Armored Soldier noticed the stares. Seeing Qin Fang’s expression, he realized the young man likely knew nothing about the Post House’s customs.

He said suddenly, ”You were personally selected by Tributor Yun to enter the Post House, which means he already thinks highly of you. That’s why you qualify to live in a C Courtyard.”

He pointed at the courtyard before them, then gestured with his chin toward the D Buildings. ”The amenities for the A, B, and C Courtyards are indeed different from those for the D Buildings. A C Courtyard houses one person. In the D Buildings, three people share a room. C Courtyard residents get hot water delivered twice a day and two hot meals brought to their door by Post House servants. Those in the D Buildings have to go to the mess hall to get their own food, and their hot water is rationed.”

Qin Fang was taken aback for a moment...

The amenities weren’t exactly luxurious, but they offered peace and convenience.

’Not having to compete with others for food and hot water in such a crowded place was, without a doubt, a huge advantage.’

And for Qin Fang, such treatment... was something he’d never experienced before.

’Back when he lived at Fishermen’s and Wanshui, he had to do everything for himself...’

’He never would have thought the Post House had this kind of preferential treatment.’

”As for why they’re looking at you...”

The Soldier’s eyes narrowed. ”It’s because of a Post House custom. If someone from the D Buildings wants to move into a C Courtyard, there are only two ways. The first is to wait for the Martial Arts Examination to begin, and the Post House will reassign lodging based on the results of each round. The second way...”

He paused, then looked at Qin Fang. ”...is to publicly challenge a C Courtyard resident on the Post House’s training grounds before the examination. If the challenger wins, they swap residences. If they lose, they must pay the other party one hundred taels of ’disturbance silver.’ And the person challenged cannot refuse. This is a rule the Post House tacitly allows... meant to motivate all of you to apply yourselves and not waste time.”

Qin Fang’s gaze instantly hardened.

So that was it.

’He’d only just arrived at the Post House, and the competition had already begun?’

’As expected... The Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect’s status in this city seems to be extraordinary, even higher than the Government Office’s.’

’Otherwise, why would this clearly official Post House be so invested in the ’Martial Arts Examination,’ which is essentially just a way for the Heavenly Gang Wuji Sect to select disciples?’

At this thought, he swept his gaze over the onlookers, noticing many looks that were not just scrutinizing, but also eager and ready for a challenge...

’Cannot refuse, huh?’

He frowned.

’He really had no desire to get into pointless fights with people.’

”Looks like it’s only a matter of time before you’re targeted. I might as well give you a quick rundown of the rules.”

But those were the rules, and the amenities of the C Courtyard were indeed quite appealing to Qin Fang...

’It would save him a lot of trouble over trivial matters.’

Besides, he had many secrets and genuinely needed a private environment.

Hearing the Soldier’s words, he took a deep breath and listened intently.

”There are three rules for challenges.”

”First, the challenger must register with Zhi Lu one day in advance. We will schedule the time and witness the outcome. No private fights are allowed. Violators will be severely punished.”

”Second, the one being challenged is only required to accept one challenge per day. This is to prevent them from being worn down by a series of opponents.”

”Third, the sparring must stop short of serious harm. If anyone intentionally inflicts severe injury or causes a death... do you remember that ironclad rule I mentioned earlier?”

Qin Fang let out a soft breath and nodded. ”I understand.”

’The rules seem fair enough, at least,’ he thought with some relief.

’One fight a day isn’t a big deal.’

’I’ll just treat it as a warm-up.’

”Mm.”

Seeing that Qin Fang understood the rules, the Black Armored Soldier said no more. He flipped the register in his hand to a page and pointed at the numbers of several empty, circled courtyards.

”These are all vacant. Pick one. The lock mechanism is on the inside of the door. It’s been reset to its initial state. Just push the door open, go in, and set a new combination... At mealtimes, a servant will bring your rations.”

Qin Fang’s gaze swept over the door numbers. After a moment’s thought, he picked the one in the center.

”I’ll take this one.”

He had picked one at random.

”Alright.”

The Soldier made a note in the register. ”Remember, curfew is at midnight.”

He repeated himself one last time.

With that, he said no more and turned back toward Zhi Lu.

Qin Fang stood before the vermilion gate, feeling the numerous gazes still fixed on his back.

He frowned, shook his head, and reached out to push open the gate.

The gate swung open at his touch, unlocked.

He pushed open the gate and looked inside. The scene was simple: a small courtyard paved with bluestone, about thirty or forty feet square. In one corner was a well covered with a stone slab, and next to it stood several stone locks and wooden training Piles, clearly intended for practice.

Directly opposite was a small house with its door shut tight.

He stepped into the courtyard, closing the gate behind him.

Just as the soldier had said, there was an intricate bronze mechanism on the latch where he could set the tumblers.

He fiddled with it for a moment, using a common method to set a new combination, and only then did he slide the bolt fully shut.

”Huuuh...”

He finally exhaled, the noise and prying eyes of the outside world temporarily shut out.

Qin Fang glanced around the small courtyard, now his alone. The tension that had been wound tight inside him ever since he entered the city finally eased, just a little.

He looked up at the sky...

’Finding my master in this city seems to be more troublesome than I thought...’

He fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh.

’Nothing for it. I’ll just have to take things as they come.’

He walked into the small house.

(Feeling rough. I didn’t get home until after 9 p.m. and had to rush to get this Chapter finished... Just one update for today. I don’t have to go to the countryside tomorrow, so I can aim for 20k characters. I was driving all day and I’m just too exhausted to do more... Sorry, sorry.)