Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

"I didn't play games before, it was dangerous, you..."

Ye Jiaofang suddenly realized what he was saying and burst into laughter.

"Shen Ya, of all the people I know, you are not only the bravest, but also the smartest. But you are wrong this time. I have to go because I will win. If you insist on coming, then come. Tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon, I will set off from the south gate. I will be waiting there at two o'clock. If you come, then come with me."

"Is it a deal?"

"A word is settled!"

The next day, at eight o'clock in the morning, Ye Jiaofang packed his luggage and left through the north gate.

What he said earlier was, of course, a lie. Although lying and standing someone up are both bad things, Ye Jiaofang felt it was acceptable compared to involving Shen Ya, who had nothing to do with this matter. She was the chief priest of the Qishui Shrine, and there was no need for her to go all the way to fight against a bandit. If something went wrong, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Jiao took a deep breath, hummed a nursery rhyme from his hometown, walked out of the city gate, and then looked up.

Even ten years later, a hundred years later, a thousand years later, Ye Jiaofang could still clearly recall that scene. It was a morning with morning dew, the air was fresh, he was carrying a rather large bag on his back, a knife at his waist, humming a little tune as he walked out of the city gate, intending to take the first step in fulfilling his life's ideal. When he looked up, he saw that bright and beautiful girl.

Although Shen Ya was dressed in casual clothes, she could not hide her stunning beauty. Her bright, intelligent eyes and peach-blossom face were looking at him with a smug expression. She had one hand on her hip and was holding up a small blackboard. Ye Jiaofang would never forget that look.

She proudly held up the small blackboard.

"Don't underestimate me, you bastard! Are you trying to abandon me?!"

Ye Jiaofang was slightly taken aback, then burst into laughter.

From that moment on, he was certain...yes, absolutely certain.

I must be with her. If I'm not, my life will never be complete, and I'll never feel happy. So...

We must be together.

-

Seven days later, Ye Jiaofang and Shen Ya returned to Yingman.

Ye Jiaofang successfully completed the mission and returned with the token. Shen Ya, after returning to Yingman, rushed back to the Great Heavenly Shrine; she was in real trouble this time. Although she often disappeared before, it was extremely rare for her to leave a letter and vanish for seven days like this. The people at Qiming Shrine were going crazy with worry.

Ye Jiaofang went to the government office, handed over the token, and met with an important figure whose identity he did not know. The person was calm and collected, asked Ye Jiaofang a few questions, took the token, and told him to wait a few days.

The next day, someone came to him. It was a middle-aged man. He knocked on the door of Ye Jiaofang's rented room, and after seeing Ye Jiaofang, he went straight to the point and asked, "Where did you get that token?"

Standing at the door, with one hand still gripping the doorknob, Ye Jiaofang said, "Kill them."

“We investigated you. You’re from out of town. You worked at a rice shop for two years, then quit to start your own business, which failed completely. A month ago, you were doing odd jobs at a martial arts school, and then, for some reason, you went to Yaoshan County. Yes, the mountain bandit Takemi Seto is indeed there. But he couldn’t have been killed by you. I’ll ask you again, where did you get this token? And why did you suddenly go to Yaoshan County?”

Ye Jiaofang said, "After beheading the man, take his head to the magistrate of Yaoshan County, and he will naturally give me the token."

“You’re a fool,” the middle-aged man said coldly. “Even if the owner of this token is dead, and you happen to have obtained it, it’s not something you can keep. If I were you, I would never walk into a trap.”

Ye Jiaofang sighed and said, "What do I have to say for you to believe me?"

The middle-aged man said, "For example, if we go to Yaoshan County together, or for example..."

A startling light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and with a surge of inner energy, he struck Ye Jiaofang with a palm, choosing to attack on the spot!

Yes, the fastest, better, more intuitive, and more irrefutable way to verify something is, of course, to take action!

For martial artists, nothing demonstrates everything more than taking action.

Ye Jiaofang remained calm, gazing at the middle-aged man without moving.

In his world, time seemed to be slowed down, frame by frame, all clearly visible. The middle-aged man's lightning-fast attack was now as slow as if it had been sped up to 0.1x speed, like a tortoise crawling.

"At first, I didn't know why..."

Ye Jiaofang's voice reached the man's ears.

“From the moment I began cultivating my spiritual practice, the world began to slow down. At first, it wasn’t a big deal. But as I deepened my cultivation, the world became slower and slower, especially when I concentrated. I found that it would take a long time for the second hand on the clock to even tick.”

His voice was calm as he slowly extended his hand, his movements deliberate and weak. Yet, in this completely slow-motion world, it was the only movement that maintained a normal speed.

"Later..." Ye Jiaofang gazed into the distance and said, "It wasn't until I actually fought with someone that I understood."

He grabbed the middle-aged man's arm and, under the man's shocked gaze, exerted a little force, instantly pinning him to the ground!

Ye Jiao pressed down on the middle-aged man with one hand, looking down at him indifferently, and calmly said:

"It turns out, it's not that the world has slowed down, but that I've sped up."

Chapter 82 The Heart of Struggle (Part 7)

After a few minor setbacks, Ye Jiaofang finally got what he deserved: the shogunate would fund the construction of his dojo and cover its operating costs and miscellaneous expenses for the first two years. At the same time, he also received a bonus... that notorious bandit was truly a formidable figure; the shogunate had been troubled by him for a long time. But Ye Jiaofang's success wasn't solely due to killing that bandit.

The preparations for the dojo would take some time, but Ye Jiaofang wasn't in a hurry. He had originally planned to spend a few years earning enough to travel the world. But now, he had a new goal, and he wouldn't leave Yingman until he achieved it.

Ye Jiaofang is a person who is true to his own heart.

However, it seems that Kimura Kiyoi was unaware of this. She didn't know that Ye Jiaofang was about to have a dojo, and she often came to see him, trying to persuade him to return to the rice shop. Ye Jiaofang naturally wouldn't agree, and he wanted to talk to her about the dojo. But thinking about it, he realized that if he really told her, it would be quite a hassle, and proving it would take a long time. In the end, she might not even believe him. It would be better to wait until the dojo was completed before discussing the matter.

Meanwhile, Shinya was placed in solitary confinement.

Nominally, she is the chief priest of the Qiming Shrine, ranking second in rank within the shrine. However, her reality is not as glamorous as outsiders perceive. This time, she went out with Ye Jiao and mysteriously disappeared for seven days. Upon her return, she told a series of lies that were easily exposed, angering the chief priest. As expected, she was placed in solitary confinement.

Fortunately, Ye Jiaofang is no longer the Ye Jiaofang of the past.

He sneaked into the Qiming Shrine and found Shenya's room. She was essentially under house arrest in her bedroom. Two shrine maidens stood at the door, but Ye Jiao easily bypassed them and entered the room.

He laughed and said, "Are you surprised to see me?"

When Shenya saw him, she first smiled subconsciously, then put on a stern face and raised the small blackboard with an air of righteous indignation.

"Once you gain power, you become a criminal who illegally breaks into young girls' bedrooms, and you even have the nerve to ask them if they're happy?!"

"I'm leaving?"

"No... I'm so bored. Look, I can only play chess with myself."

Shen Ya stepped aside, revealing a chessboard on the table that was already in a state of near-incomplete play.

"I also have some knowledge of this art," Ye Jiaofang said. "Shall we exchange a few moves?"

"I hope you're durable enough that I can give you a handicap like a cannon or a horse."

"You're really confident..."

Ye Jiao chuckled and sat down, only to be quickly routed. Shen Ya wasn't exaggerating; she was a national-level chess player.

"sharp.."

Ye Jiaofang lost several matches in a row and was completely convinced of his defeat. Just as he was about to say something more, his expression suddenly became alert.

"Someone's coming, heading this way."

Before he could say anything more, and before Shen Ya could write anything, Ye Jiao quickly climbed out the window and left the place—he had no wicked sense of humor and naturally wouldn't choose to stay here to eavesdrop on anything that might be Shen Ya's secret.

But actually, he should have stayed here this time.

After waiting for a while, Ye Jiao returned there, only to find that Shen Ya had disappeared without a trace and he didn't know where she had gone. He was a little surprised, but he didn't care.

Much later, he learned that the abilities of the offspring of the Son of Man are not usually manifest. Only when disaster is imminent will the offspring of the Son of Man awaken their abilities. Even someone like Shenxin, who had decided to escape fate, was ultimately swept up by the tide of events and helplessly entered into the current of destiny. How much more so for those who never even considered escaping.

For the next three days, Ye Jiao went to the Great Heavenly God Mountain every day. But he still couldn't see Shen Ya, and a vague unease began to creep into his heart. Finally, on the third day, he felt he couldn't wait any longer and had to take action.

He pretended to be a normal resident who came to worship the goddess and entered the Qiming Shrine. After making some inquiries, he quickly learned that the shrine's chief priest and the deputy chief priest had disappeared together three days ago, which was no secret. But where they went was a secret. Ye Jiaofang asked them several times but couldn't get an answer. Moreover, it seemed that they didn't refuse to tell him, but genuinely didn't know.

Ye Jiaofang did not yet possess the decisiveness and ruthlessness of his later generations, and therefore did not take any further extreme but useful actions. He returned to the foot of the mountain empty-handed.

When he returned to his rented room, he found the middle-aged man he had fought with before waiting for him there.

"Do you have time?" the middle-aged man asked. "I'd like to talk to you."

Ye Jiaofang was inexplicably uneasy because he had failed to find Shen Ya today. At this moment, he was at his most impatient, so he coldly replied, "I don't have time."

The middle-aged man hadn't expected to be turned away before he even had a chance to speak. Trying to salvage the situation, he quickly said, "Why don't you hear me out first? This matter benefits the country and its people, and the general will generously reward those who participate. Moreover, with Ye Jun's strength, he will surely become famous throughout the world through this battle..."

"I regret to decline."

Ye Jiaofang had no interest in that at all. He coldly refused, took out his key, opened the door, and walked in on his own. The middle-aged man was unwilling to give up and wanted to follow, but after Ye Jiaofang went in, he slammed the door shut with his backhand. The iron door slammed against the door frame and almost hit the middle-aged man. Fortunately, he was also a martial artist and reacted quickly. Seeing Ye Jiaofang's action, he subconsciously took a step back, thus avoiding being disfigured.

"Ugh.."

Seeing that there was no hope, the middle-aged man sighed. He had been rejected several times today. Most of the time, the man would listen to what he had to say, then look troubled and change the subject. After repeating this process for a while, he would finally offer some reasons to refuse. This was normal; the matter was indeed too dangerous. But being rejected without even opening his mouth was a once-in-a-lifetime situation.

"Perhaps he already knew..."

The middle-aged man quickly came up with a plausible explanation; if that was the reason, everything made sense. After all, three days was enough time for the news to spread within the relevant circles, and it wasn't surprising that Ye Jiaofang, with his strength, had gained some connections recently. But saying this meant that this guy was the most disrespectful; even if others knew, they would at least let him finish speaking, but this person...

"They really don't give me any face."

He shook his head with a wry smile and left.

After leaving Ye Jiaofang's residence, the middle-aged man went to visit another martial arts master. However, upon arriving at the master's residence, he found that the master was not home. After inquiring with the master's wife, he learned that the master had gone out to visit a friend and was currently at a rice shop. The middle-aged man then rushed to the rice shop without stopping.

"I hope everything goes smoothly this time..."

He had this thought in his mind, but then he couldn't help but doubt the effectiveness of his actions.

"Even if I could persuade them all, what would be the point, facing a monster like that..."

Chapter Eighty-Three: The Heart of Struggle

The following day, Ye Jiaofang went to Mount Datianshen again to gather information.

His unease grew stronger, a kind of intuition he had never felt before practicing martial arts. Ye Jiaofang didn't know if this feeling was accurate. But this unease did affect him, and he began to consider using methods to forcibly extract information from others. However, he hesitated in the end, and thus spent the night on Mount Datianshen. On the same day, Kimura Kiyoshi waited at Ye Jiaofang's residence until eight o'clock in the evening, but returned empty-handed.

On the fifth day after Shenya disappeared, Ye Jiaofang, a law-abiding citizen, went through a fierce internal struggle and finally made up his mind. He disguised himself in a crude way, sneaked into the Qiming Shrine, and after several intimidation and threats, finally learned some information.

The chief priest and the deputy chief priest left with the people from the shogunate.

Shogunate...

Ye Jiaofang frowned sharply, recalling the middle-aged man who had come looking for him yesterday. His unease grew stronger. He rushed down the mountain, wanting to find the middle-aged man, but he stopped after taking a step.

He didn't have the middle-aged man's contact information, and didn't even know his name; he only knew that he was a member of the shogunate.

At this time, Ye Jiaofang was only an eighteen-year-old boy. He didn't have strong execution skills, and his thinking was often haphazard, doing whatever came to mind. This kind of thing wasn't actually difficult to handle. But now, Ye Jiaofang was practically like a headless fly because of it.

No one is born knowing everything. Counter-surveillance, controlling light and airflow are skills honed over a long period of time.

Ye Jiao descended the mountain and found the people of the shogunate, wanting to see the middle-aged man again. However, he didn't know the man's name or his position, only able to vaguely describe it. But he had found people working at the grassroots level of the shogunate, who had no idea about such secrets. Fortunately, Ye Jiao revealed his identity as the dojo master, and still received some respect. This news was reported up the chain of command, and after a morning and an afternoon, the middle-aged man finally came before Ye Jiao.

"I've changed my mind," Ye Jiaofang said. "Could you tell me the details of the matter? I think I might be of some use."

The middle-aged man's face was ashen. He looked at Ye Jiaofang, his lips moved a few times, and finally he only said in a low voice, "...Don't say anything, it's too late. You should be glad that you didn't agree to me back then."