Scripture of Days Past

The eight rooms in the Moon Water Villa all had identical layouts, and the only things inside were a communal bed, two desks, and four cabinets.

The thought of having to sleep in the same bed with three other people was also quite unappealing to Chu Qiguang.

The Demon Vanquishing Department can definitely afford to build better accommodation, so they must be doing this on purpose, Chu Qiguang thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Jiang Longyu was still bickering with the dark-skinned young man.

”This bed is mine! Go find your own!”

”You know what? I’ve had enough of you! Let’s go outside and fight! If you can beat me, then you can have the bed to yourself!”

Jiang Longyu’s eyes instantly lit up. ”You’re challenging me to a fight? Do you even know who you’re talking to right now?”

”Cut the chit-chat!” the dark-skinned young man scoffed. ”You gonna fight me or not?”

This played right into Jiang Longyu’s hands, and he grinned. ”All right, then let’s go.”

Chu Qiguang rolled his eyes in exasperation.

The two combatants made their way out of the room into the small courtyard outside

The dark-skinned young man cupped his fist in a formal salute toward Jiang Longyu to signify the commencement of the fight. Jiang Longyu was clearly taken aback, but he also returned the salute out of etiquette.

The instant he did so, a sly grin tugged at the dark-skinned young man’s lips, and his right foot darted out to stomp on Jiang Longyu’s foot.

Chu Qiguang was not impressed.

He’s not as foolhardy as he looks, I’ll give him that, but if he thinks that such little tricks are enough to help him defeat Jiang Longyu, then he’s far too naive.

Sure enough, Jiang Longyu’s reflexes were extremely fast, and he raised his foot before kicking his opponent in the knee.

The dark-skinned young man wanted to throw a punch, but he was kicked in the wrist, sending a jolt of sharp pain running through his forearm.

How are his kicks even faster than my punches?

From there, Jiang Longyu slowly established his dominance, restricting his opponent with his kicks. The dark-skinned young man couldn’t even throw any attacks.

The commotion soon attracted the attention of other people.

Huang Xiangyu and Li Chu were among them.

Isn’t that guy Zhang Haizhu? Huang Xiangyu thought to himself. I heard he was a bandit captured by the Demon Vanquishing Department after they overcame the White Cloud Religion in the Yong Province. Looks like the Demon Vanquishing Department really doesn’t discriminate in its selection process.

At this point, the outcome of the battle was already clear.

”What do you have to say for yourself now?” Jiang Longyu jeered with a triumphant expression.

”This is how the rooms were assigned.” Chu Qiguang sighed in an exasperated manner. ”If you don’t like it, you can go complain to the instructors.”

Jiang Longyu immediately turned to Chu Qiguang with a cold glare and snapped, ”Don’t think that you can tell me what to do just because you defeated me once out of pure dumb luck! While you’ve been slacking off, I’ve been working tirelessly, and I’ve already left you far behind!”

Clearly, Jiang Longyu was eager for a rematch, and Chu Qiguang didn’t shy away from the challenge.

He wanted to display some power to impress the instructors, as that would be beneficial to him when it came to things like resource allocation.

Huang Xiangyu’s eyes immediately widened in excitement.

They’re going to have a rematch? I wonder if Chu Qiguang can win again...

Just then, a figure began making his way into the room.

”Hey! Get out of there! That’s my room!” Jiang Longyu yelled.

The young man ignored him, so Jiang Longyu lashed out with a kick.

However, a burst of scorching heat erupted from the young man. It made everyone feel as if a huge burning furnace had suddenly descended from the heavens.

Jiang Longyu didn’t even get a chance to react before the young man gently prodded a finger into his chest, sending him flying away.

Jiang Longyu fell to the ground with a loud thump. Then, he glared at his assailant, looking quite indignant.

”You’re a fourth-state martial artist! Who are you?”

A disparity of even a single state in martial arts was an insurmountable obstacle, and it was too much to overcome, even for a prodigy of Jiang Longyu’s caliber.

Hence, despite Jiang Longyu’s fiercely competitive nature, he didn’t try to challenge the young man again, as he knew that he had no chance of victory.

”Li He,” the young man uttered his name casually, then stepped into the room.

Jiang Longyu’s servant hurriedly rushed to help Jiang Longyu up to his feet, but the latter smacked his hand away with a disgruntled face.

Even though Jiang Longyu was being forced to sleep in a communal bed like everyone else, he was permitted to bring his servant and all types of luggage up the mountain.

His servant was staying in a room reserved for servants, while his luggage was in the backyard.

The servant wanted to complain to the instructor to secure a private room for Jiang Longyu, but Jiang Longyu stopped him.

He cast a resentful glance in Li He’s direction, then made his way into the room as he grumbled under his breath, ”What’s the big deal? I’m going to reach the fourth state soon as well, and once I get there, I’ll immediately surpass you!”

Chu Qiguang wasn’t bothered by this turn of events. He would have plenty of opportunities to display his abilities anyway.

With the spectacle over, everyone else returned to their respective rooms, but word of Li He defeating Jiang Longyu with just a single finger quickly spread over the mountain. Everyone then learned that there was an unmatched fourth state martial artist among them.

***

”If I’m going to share this room with all of you, then I have to set some ground rules! Firstly, no one is allowed to touch my stuff! I’m going to sleep on the farthest side of the bed! None of you is allowed to encroach on my space, and you’re definitely not allowed to touch me!

”And all of us will have to sleep with our heads pointing toward the south and our feet pointing toward the north! I don’t wanna smell your stinky feet!”

Chu Qiguang nodded inwardly in approval at this proposal. Martial artists were not renowned for their fragrant feet, so it was a good idea to have everyone sleeping in the same orientation.

While Jiang Longyu was declaring his ground rules, his servant was busy cleaning the room and sorting out the blankets.

Chu Qiguang placed his luggage into his cabinet before also placing his blankets on the bed. From the farthest side of the communal bed to the nearest side, the order went like this: Jiang Longyu, Zhang Haizhu, Chu Qiguang, and finally, Li He.

”Lights out! There are morning prayers at six in the morning tomorrow. Make sure you’re not late!” the instructor declared, enforcing the night curfew. Li He then extinguished the candle, plunging the room into darkness.