Chapter 29: This Won't Do! No One Respects Me

After a dozen minutes, the apprenticeship ceremony concluded. Chen Jie had officially become a disciple of the Liu Family Chuo Jiao school.

What left Chen Jie feeling slightly disgruntled was that Liu Qi and Liu Bamai, who had previously called him "Brother Chen," were now calling him "Junior Brother." Apprenticeship seniority was strictly ranked; although Chen Jie was three years older than Liu Qi, his seniority in the sect was much lower, making him the junior. Still, becoming the "Junior Brother" of the legendary "Ghost Foot Qi" did not seem like such a hard pill to swallow.

After the ceremony, the way the Thirteenth Aunt and the others looked at Chen Jie changed significantly; they seemed much more affectionate and natural.

"Very well! From today on, Junior Brother is a disciple of our Liu Family Chuo Jiao school!" Thirteenth Aunt led them to the training ground in the courtyard. "I imagine you must be curious about our Master, so let me tell you a bit about him."

Chen Jie followed silently, listening intently. Thirteenth Aunt sat on a stone bench by the training field and motioned for Chen Jie to sit as well, smiling as she spoke:

"The Liu Family Chuo Jiao school has been passed down for over three hundred years; we are the sixteenth generation. Master Liu Zhenfeng, known throughout Northern Hebei as the 'God of Wind Legs,' possessed a pair of iron legs that made him invincible in the region. His martial arts reached the realm of a 'Grandmaster of Marrow-Refining and Force-Transformation.' Had he not passed away, he would surely have broken through to the realm of a 'Grandmaster of Blood-Moving and Dan-Force' by now."

She sighed deeply as if remembering something painful. Chen Jie felt his blood boil. A Grandmaster of Force-Transformation! It seemed the Master he had just pledged himself to was truly formidable.

"Master once followed General Qi to guard Shandong, resisting the Japanese invaders and earning great military honors. Unfortunately, over a decade ago, due to a crisis involving our Ji family, the Liu family was implicated, and Master was ambushed and killed by the Japanese in Tianjin." Her expression turned grim. She looked at Chen Jie and said solemnly, "Junior Brother, the Japanese hold a blood feud with our Liu Family Chuo Jiao school! They are wolves with wild ambitions, colluding with the corrupt elements within the imperial court. One hundred and sixty-one members of my Ji family and eighty-three members of the Liu family all perished under their butcher’s blades."

"The Japanese!?" Chen Jie exclaimed in shock.

Thirteenth Aunt nodded, sighing, "Yes, the Japanese. That is all you need to know. I do not wish for you to seek revenge; I only wish for you to live in safety." She wiped the corners of her eyes and took a deep breath, steadying her emotions.

"Junior Brother, let us speak no more of unhappy things," she said, turning to him. "Let us talk of something pleasant. You brought so many silver dollars from home—do you have any plans for them? Although you have just joined the Liu Family Chuo Jiao school, you shall be the one making the decisions regarding the 'Ximen Carriage Firm' from now on!"

Chen Jie had entrusted all the silver dollars he brought to Liu Bamai for safekeeping. To earn someone's trust, one must first show them trust; this was Chen Jie’s principle in life. Thirteenth Aunt was deeply moved by his gesture. It was a profound display of confidence—in this world, murders for money were commonplace, and to be so trusted was rare. She could feel that Chen Jie did not treat her as an outsider. Furthermore, the gold necklace he had given her made her heart swell with emotions she could hardly describe.

Two thousand silver dollars was a significant sum, even for Chen Jie. If not for the sale of several wild ginseng roots, he would never have had such capital. The sack of coins weighed over a hundred pounds, leaving Thirteenth Aunt and the siblings truly stunned.

In truth, Chen Jie had once cared deeply about money. But now, with the ability and means to prosper, he was less obsessed with the coins themselves. He intended to use these two thousand silver dollars to establish a foothold in this world, and then use that wealth to generate more, endlessly. He wanted to be a wealthy man not only in this "other world" but also to become a respected, affluent person in his original world. Most importantly, he wanted to prove that he could live well in this world, free from any further humiliation or constraint.

***

That morning, instead of continuing his grueling martial arts practice, Chen Jie took Liu Qi out toward "Zhilin Garden." Although the "Ji Pharmacy" was larger and better stocked, Chen Jie had nearly emptied their supply of precious medicinal ingredients for his training supplements and medicinal baths the previous day. Moreover, he had instructed Zhilin Garden the week before to procure a batch of higher-quality wild ginseng, and he was now going to collect it.

Liu Qi walked beside him, looking quite excited. "Junior Brother, you told me last time that a true expert establishes prestige through martial power, maintaining a sense of deterrence so that no one dares to provoke them. How exactly should I do that? Teach me!"

Chen Jie smiled, not answering directly, but instead asking, "Liu Qi, every time you have a conflict with another faction, do you always resolve it by fighting on a dueling platform?"

Liu Qi was taken aback. "If we don't fight on a platform, what else can we do? The Jianghu has its rules; the best way to resolve a conflict is to step onto the ring!"

From the first day he arrived in this world, Chen Jie realized Liu Qi was a ruthless character. His method of settling disputes was simple and brutal. Most importantly, he fought alone and always won. He had to admit, Ghost Foot Qi had a very tenacious life.

Chen Jie was silent for a moment before looking up. "You have been in the capital for so long; surely you have some like-minded friends? On Ximen Street, there is more than one carriage firm, and there are countless martial arts schools and practitioners. Are there others who are highly skilled but, like you, are just scraping by with a group of underlings?"

Liu Qi nodded. "Nonsense, of course there are. There are five or six carriage firms on Ximen Street, and all kinds of forces are as numerous as ox hair. I have a passing acquaintance with a few, but nothing deep. They fear me, haha!" He laughed proudly.

"Fear you? Why?" Chen Jie asked, surprised.

Liu Qi patted his chest, boasting, "Because my skills are the greatest, and I can fight the best. I am 'Ghost Foot Qi,' and they all have to call me Brother Seven!"

Chen Jie shook his head helplessly. Fighting individually, like loose sand, meant there was no cohesion, and they could never achieve greatness. Once the "Taiping Firm" moved to subjugate them, Liu Qi would be reduced to nothing more than a common thug. It was clear that the other small factions on Ximen Street needed to be consolidated to build a true gang.

"Liu Qi," Chen Jie asked calmly, "do you know the phrase 'Unity is strength'?"

Liu Qi’s eyes brightened. "Junior Brother, you mean...?"

"How can one man alone achieve great things?" Chen Jie explained with a smile. "You are the head of the carriage drivers at the Ximen Carriage Firm; in the eyes of all those drivers, you are the boss! Why would a boss need to engage in bloody brawls every single day? Think about it: if you were severely injured one day, what would happen to Thirteenth Aunt and Bamai? You need to win over the other factions nearby. That way, your power will only grow. Many things won't require you to take action yourself; you can let your subordinates handle them. You are meant to be a boss, not a thug. Do you understand?"

Liu Qi’s eyes widened. "Be a boss? Win over other factions? But... that won't work! I've tried before; no one respects me!"