Promise!

Chapter 30, Loyalty

The next morning, after the seven people in the dormitory had breakfast, Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei turned and went to the martial arts training ground. They subconsciously asked Qi Chen a question, and Zhuang Jin did not hide it, saying that they were going to see if they could still drink the Kailuo Soup.

"Okay, go ahead!"

Xiang Qichen waved his hand. Now that he was the leader of the dormitory, he knew that he would never do such a shameful thing. At the same time, he also looked down on Zhuang Jin's stingy behavior.

Qian Wende was eager to do something, but when he thought of the impression he had on Ping Yongfeng, he had to give up the idea.

"Brother Zhuang, I'll go to the martial arts training ground first." This time, Bi Kai didn't follow him. He knew that Zhuang Jin was sent there personally by Ping Yongfeng, and he didn't have the face to do so in front of Ping Yongfeng.

Lin Hong and Jiao Kun were originally from other martial arts training grounds and also did not go.

Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei went over. On the way, he saw Xiong Lei seemed quite nervous, wiping sweat off his clothes. He asked him, "Jinzi, what do you think of me today? Is there anything inappropriate?"

Zhuang Jin looked her up and down and said, "She's fine. Nothing inappropriate. No, Brother Xiong, it's not like you haven't seen Miss Yun before. You haven't seen her like this before, have you?"

Xiong Lei scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly, "Haven't we met for a day or two? I wonder if Miss Yun has forgotten me... You said I haven't prepared anything here, isn't that a bit bad?"

Zhuang Jin: ...

Do you think this is a blind date meeting? You even need to prepare gifts?

Seeing Xiong Lei's bewildered and helpless look, he secretly shook his head. Not to mention that his current focus is on practicing martial arts, even if he wants to pursue a woman, how can there be any follow-up if he looks like this and is nervous even when talking?
Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei came to the No. 1 Wu training ground. More than 20 martial artists were surprised to see them come back. Many of them greeted them and asked about the affairs of the formal martial artists. Unlike Xiong Lei who could not stand the enthusiasm and was a little uncomfortable, Zhuang Jin was much more natural. He still maintained a non-approachable and non-arrogant attitude and said a few things briefly.

Because they came here based on the estimated time, Song Lan came over to distribute Kailuo Soup after just a few words, and the martial artists went over to line up.

Song Lan was quite surprised and delighted to see Zhuang Jin. She greeted him and offered to make him a bowl. Zhuang Jin smiled and declined. Although this was the purpose of his visit, he still planned to follow the plan and wait for Ping Yongfeng to come and inform him.

Well, in this world where looks matter, Song Lan and Zhuang Jin seemed to notice Xiong Lei on the side only after they finished chatting. She stuck out her tongue embarrassedly and greeted him as well.

Today, Miss Yun hadn't come. After all, she didn't come for inspections every day. Perhaps she had something else to do today? This disappointed Xiong Lei. Zhuang Jin, seeing that he was clearly distracted and absent-minded, asked him to leave first. Xiong Lei forced a smile, patted his chest, and said he was loyal and refused to leave.

Song Lan suddenly interjected, "When I came here, I saw Sister Yun at the Wuzi No. 3 martial arts training ground. If I go out now, maybe I can run into her!"

She was only fifteen or sixteen years old, at the age of being lively and smart, and it was obviously a joke.

"Really?" Xiong Lei suddenly became excited, then looked at Zhuang Jin, coughed twice and said, "Well, Jinzi, I believe you can handle this alone. I remembered that I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!"

After saying this, he rushed out in a hurry, as if his butt was on fire. Zhuang Jin: ...

No, didn't we just agree to be loyal? Look at how you value love over friendship. You're really like that, Xiong Lei!
When Song Lan saw this scene, she couldn't help but smile and chuckled with her hands covering her mouth.

After a while, Ping Yongfeng came over. When Zhuang Jin explained his purpose, he immediately scolded him with a smile, "You kid, you've become a formal warrior, and you're still thinking about this meridian-opening soup!"

Seeing Ping Yongfeng's expression, which clearly showed he wasn't angry, Zhuang Jin pretended to complain, "Master Ping, you know, that Black Yuan Powder costs five coins a pack, and the Black Evil Palm medicine pack is one coin each... I'm so poor, so I have to be stingy, don't I? I'm so shameless to come here and ask for a bowl of water from you, starving!"

He didn't say that he wanted to drink the bowl that originally belonged to him, but only said that he wanted to ask Ping Yongfeng for a bowl. Immediately, the question of "whether the martial artist can come back to drink the Kailuo Soup after becoming a formal warrior" became a matter between the two of them.

Ping Yongfeng understood instantly and agreed, "Normally, after you become official warriors, you can't come back to drink the meridian-opening soup. There's no such rule. But I see you like a nephew at home, and you look so kind... Well, consider this bowl my treat!"

He also realized this problem. Even though he didn't care that Zhuang Jin came back every day to drink his bowl of wine, and even felt very happy to see Zhuang Jin's informality, if Zhuang Jin set an example, would the other formal warriors who left here this month follow suit?
To put it in a broader context, this wasn't just a matter for Wuzi No. 1 Martial Arts Training Ground. What if the martial artists from other training grounds also followed suit? Wouldn't he, the instigator, be offending others for no reason?

But now Zhuang Jin changed his words, and instead of drinking his own bowl of Kailuo Soup every day, he asked Ping Yongfeng for a bowl. This way, the initiative was in the hands of the martial artist, and by avoiding that problem, he was not afraid of other formal martial artists following suit.

"This kid is quite clever." Ping Yongfeng sighed secretly. The more he looked at Zhuang Jin, the more he liked him. If he didn't have a daughter, he would have wanted to find a son-in-law.

Ping Yongfeng watched Zhuang Jin finish a bowl of Kailuo Soup and called him over to warn him, "You're a full-fledged warrior now. Unlike when you were a student, one bowl of Kailuo Soup could sustain you for a day's practice. Now, you can probably refine the medicinal properties of a bowl of Kailuo Soup in half an hour. So, you still have to use the Black Yuan Powder later. Don't skip it, or you'll hurt your body."

"Also, this Kailuo Soup needs to be refined as quickly as possible after drinking it. The faster it is refined, the less damage it will cause to your body..."

This was also one of the reasons why he would leave immediately after teaching for an incense stick every day, in order to refine the medicinal power of Kailuo Decoction.

"Thank you Master Ping for your teachings. I'll be leaving now." Zhuang Jin listened carefully, bowed respectfully, and then made a gesture to leave.

"Get lost!" Ping Yongfeng cursed and laughed, but he didn't stop walking until he had sent Zhuang Jin out. When he came back, he saw that the martial artists hadn't practiced the standing meditation, but were gathered together to watch the fun. He immediately felt annoyed and shouted, "What are you looking at? Have you all mastered the art of controlling your Qi and blood? Have you all felt the bottleneck of being a martial artist? When can you become a formal martial artist?"

After being asked these three fatal questions, the martial artists immediately became dejected like wilted flowers.

Ping Yongfeng nodded in satisfaction after seeing this scene, but then he started cursing again, "Look at Zhuang Jin, he's extremely talented and diligent in his practice. And then look at you all, you're not talented and you don't know how to work hard. You're really a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

When the martial artists heard Ping Yongfeng compare Zhuang Jin to them, and then thought about the disparity in treatment, they realized that Zhuang Jin was Ping Yongfeng's favorite, while they were just useless people who were disliked anyway. They envied Zhuang Jin, but were also greatly stimulated, and a sense of urgency arose in their hearts.

……

(End of this chapter)