xymnovel Chapter 1197 - 25: Debts of Joy (Part 1)
Chapter 1197 - 25: Debts of Joy (Part 1)
In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.Since that battle ten years ago, Daqi has maintained good relations with Nanlin and Beimo for a decade.
The sea is calm and the rivers clear, with peace across the land.
...
On this day, the weather was fine, the sun was shining brightly.
It was Young Master Su’s eighteenth birthday.
His birthday banquet wasn’t grand, just a family gathering for a lively meal.
Nowadays, the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion relocated right after Princess Fu Yun gave birth to a daughter and she completed her first month.
However, despite moving back, Marquis Dongxiang and Princess Fu Yun were still given a courtyard where they could occasionally return for a short stay.
Throughout the year, Su Chong would bring Princess Fu Yun and their children to stay at the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion for two to three months.
At the training ground.
Su Yang, now grown up, was sparring with the Ninth Prince and Young Master Shen, Shen Xing.
Two against one.
Barely a draw.
Young Master Zhao, Zhao Duan sat there munching fruit, spectating.
The four of them grew up together, not actual brothers, but closer than siblings in many ways.
The Ninth Prince and the others were frustrated.
They shared meals and accommodations, yet Su Yang’s martial arts left them trailing far behind.
To say their talent was inferior? It couldn’t be that far apart.
The conclusion was that the beatings Su Yang received since childhood were countless times theirs.
Punished to squat in a horse stance, penalized to run the training grounds, forced to stand upside down, strung up for a beating...
Among them, Su Yang was the first to get beaten, with the others either aiding and abetting or watching the fun from the sidelines; they were punished too, but mostly far less severely than Su Yang.
At the time, they felt fortunate; now there’s a sense of regret.
Though the punishment was harsh back then, its effects were remarkable.
Su Yang endured far more beatings than they did, and not only survived, but grew healthier and stronger.
The Ninth Prince and the rest lived in the Dongxiang Marquis Mansion until they were thirteen, then sent with Su Yang to study at Yuelu Academy, for about three months before the Mountain Master came to find Marquis Dongxiang, full of sorrow.
Yuelu Academy simply couldn’t teach them.
At Yuelu Academy, classes were divided into Outer, Inner, and Upper Dormitories; Su Yang and the others entered the Inner Dormitory, all with students their age.
Yeah.
They couldn’t surpass Su Yang and the others in academics; they were even worse in fights.
They knew all the lessons taught by teachers, yet skipped classes more than half the days in a month, and could answer everything when asked, infuriating the teacher into spanking their palms with a ruler.
After the spanking, when asked if he knew his faults, Su Yang, unfazed, replied, "Why not punish me for tomorrow too, I won’t be coming then."
Nearly giving the teacher a stroke with those words.
The teacher was a scholar, mindful of Su Yang being Marquis Dongxiang’s son, didn’t dare hit too hard.
Compared to Marquis Dongxiang’s strength, it was like a tickling.
For Su Yang, used to beatings since childhood, he took it lightly.
After Su Yang beat up those dissatisfied classmates, the Mountain Master had no choice but to move the four of them to the Inner Dormitory.
Not even a day in that dorm, he became the dominant figure within.
Mountain Master, "...."
In the Inner Dormitory was a student whose cousin was in the Outer Dormitory, two years older than Young Master Su; when his cousin was bullied, the elder couldn’t stand by.
The youngest in the Inner Dormitory was nearly fifteen, they were thirteen sharing the dorm, wasn’t this a humiliation?
Must teach them a lesson to show pride needs moderation.
Then——
They brought suffering upon themselves.
Beaten black and blue by Su Yang, if not afraid of being called old, Su Yang almost had them kneeling, calling him grandfather.
After three days in the Inner Dormitory, the teacher responsible suggested they were wasting time there, recommending their transfer to the Upper Dormitory.
Mountain Master considered, then agreed after days of struggle.
Students in the Upper Dormitory were all seventeen; Su Yang and the others mingling among them was truly... frustrating.
Though they read plenty of books, others had age advantage, they hardly understood the lessons.
They reached Inner Dormitory standards, but were below the Upper Dormitory level.
Additionally, Upper Dormitory students were focused on exams, aware of the consequences of offending Dongxiang Marquis Mansion, thus avoiding dealings with Young Master Su and the others.
The four continued skipping classes.
The teacher scolded them, Young Master Su retorted, "We don’t understand."
The teacher, "...."
Looking at Young Master Su and the others, shorter than other students.
The teacher sighed.
Not understanding was normal, understanding would mean they were prodigies.
No need to learn in Inner Dormitory, unable in Upper Dormitory.
Mountain Master couldn’t help but visit Marquis Dongxiang.
Marquis Dongxiang was surprised his son secretly read so many books.