chsdbacks Chapter 11: Silence
Chapter 11: Silence
Under the intense gaze of the crowd, Zhang Ping raised his head, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on the woman in the center.
The situation was dire, yet there seemed to be a glimmer of hope. Ultimately, it all depended on Chu Hanwei's decision.
"Director Chu, I am willing to accept any inspection from you."
These words surprised many people, and Mao Xiangrong's face darkened. Zhang Ping completely ignored his question.
Chu Hanwei's gaze lingered on the boy's face for a moment before she uttered only one word: "Okay."
Subsequently, Zhang Ping was personally taken to the Demon Extermination Division by Chu Hanwei.
After a series of special tests by the Demon Extermination Bureau, no trace of demonic energy was found on him. Chongxin and the others who had followed him finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had conducted some investigations beforehand, they were ultimately no match for the methods and authority of the Demon Extermination Bureau.
As an agency established by the imperial court to eliminate demons, the Demon Extermination Bureau has its own unique methods for detecting the presence of demons, and those who are infected have almost nowhere to hide.
Mao Xiangrong's face immediately turned extremely ugly. He glared fiercely at Mao Tianyu, forced a bow to Chu Hanwei, and then turned and left with a gloomy expression.
The Demon Extermination Bureau ultimately gave the Mao family some face and did not pursue the matter of Mao Tianyu's intelligence error. Moreover, Zhang Ping's situation was special, and even Chu Hanwei would not dare to make a definitive judgment based solely on her naked eyes.
Once the people from Tianxing Martial Arts School left, only the members of the Demon Extermination Division and Sitong Martial Arts School remained in the arena.
Knowing that this ordeal was finally over, Zhang Ping took a deep breath and solemnly bowed deeply to Chu Hanwei: "Thank you so much for your help today, Director Chu! I will remember this kindness and repay it in the future!"
He raised his eyes and looked at the woman, who was only seven or eight years older than him, yet already held the position of Director of the Demon Extermination Bureau. At the same time, the "generous treatment" received by the Tianxing Martial Arts School today was deeply imprinted in his heart. If one day…
Chu Hanwei shook her head slightly: "No need to thank me. If you're so inclined, you can eliminate a few more demons in the future." Officially, she was merely fulfilling her duties as director; privately, this assistance had indeed been a kindness to Zhang Ping. The reasons behind it might be difficult for others to understand.
Perhaps it was the impression from a brief encounter, or perhaps... she was simply disgusted by the ways of those powerful families and certain martial arts schools.
She changed the subject, her eyes filled with curiosity: "However, I'm quite curious, where does your strength come from?"
"Uh..." Zhang Ping froze.
"It's alright if you can't say."
"There's nothing I can't say," Zhang Ping said calmly, regaining his composure. "I was born with superhuman strength." He would have answered this question the same way no matter who asked. He was speaking to Chu Hanwei now, but also to Chongxin, who was listening intently nearby.
By the time we got back to Sitong Martial Arts School, the sun was already setting. All that commotion meant we'd even missed lunch.
"Thank you for your trouble, Master." Zhang Ping bowed deeply to Chongxin.
"Sigh, focus on your cultivation and become a martial artist as soon as possible; that's the right thing to do." Chongxin nodded, offered a few words of comfort, and then turned to leave.
What kind of innate superhuman strength was important to him at this moment? He believed he wouldn't covet the secrets of an apprentice. He would consider today's events as a way to build goodwill. However, the thought that Zhang Ping had actually crossed paths with Chu Hanwei brought a faint sense of regret to his mind.
If I hadn't been affected by that little thing that day, I would have taken him as my disciple directly... Shaking his head, it was futile to think about it now.
As for the An family… Chongxin continued walking, his expression indifferent. If they knew better than to cause trouble at the martial arts school, he wouldn't bother with them; if they attacked Zhang Ping outside, then that was just bad luck for the kid. All he could do was try to gain some benefits from it afterward.
After Chongxin's figure disappeared outside the courtyard gate, Zhang Ping straightened up, turned to Wang Li and sincerely thanked her, paid off the money for the horse's legs, and even gave her an extra hundred taels of silver as a token of gratitude.
Finally, only Zhang Ping remained. Carrying all the materials needed to brand the horse-leg animal pattern, he walked silently back to his residence, step by step.
From that day on, Zhang Ping seemed to fall into complete silence.
Aside from his daily, unwavering practice of the Mountain Stance and the Taiping Fist techniques taught by his senior brother, he rarely sparred with other martial arts school disciples. Occasionally, when someone came to challenge him, he would only display the strength of the early stage of the Skin Tempering Realm.
Most of the time, he was silently lifting weights or running laps around the huge training ground.
Zhang Ping's strange behavior caused a great deal of discussion in the martial arts school, but that didn't stop them from using the incident from that day as excellent fodder for conversation.
Some speculated that Zhang Ping was so terrified that he dared not reveal his "innate superhuman strength" again; others thought that he was provoked and desperately wanted to improve his cultivation, but he didn't know the right way and used his strength haphazardly.
Zhang Ping ignored the clamor and gossip from the outside world. He continued at his own pace, day after day.
Half a month has passed quietly.
"Sister Wang, I'm here to pick up my things!"
In the kitchen, Zhang Ping found Wang Li, who was engrossed in checking the accounts, and greeted her familiarly.
"Here it is, take it yourself." Wang Li said without looking up.
For the past two weeks, Zhang Ping had asked her to buy some strange and unusual things almost every other day—dog meat, rabbit legs, cat meat, cowhide, and all sorts of other things. Occasionally, he would ask for even more unusual items, such as various kinds of insects. Insects were harder to find in the city center; one had to go to the old market in the east of the city to find them.
The kitchen staff were already used to it and privately jokingly called Zhang Pingsheng a glutton.
"Okay, thank you, Sister Wang!" Zhang Ping said. He had bought a flying goose today.
This bird is very common around Lingchuan County. It is slow-moving and not very intelligent, but it has an exceptionally sharp pair of eyes that can see things clearly from a kilometer away. This allows it to survive in the treacherous wilderness and is one of the easiest things to catch in ordinary traps.
Carrying the flying goose back to his residence, Zhang Ping carefully used the tip of his knife to pry out the pair of crystal-clear eyeballs and examined them closely in his palm.
"What beautiful eyes..." he murmured to himself.
With a slight thought, an interface visible only to him quietly appeared before his eyes:
Zhang Ping
Age: 20
[Realm: None]
【烙印：驴鞭纹（78％）牛力纹（86％）马腿纹（39％）狗鼻纹（21％）牛皮纹（22％）】
[Donkey whip marks: Significantly increase the volume and strength of the lower limbs.]
[Strength lines: Increase physical strength and improve physical fitness.]
[Horse leg lines: Improve leg strength and increase flexibility.]
[Dog nose print: Enhances the sense of smell, enabling the ability to distinguish, remember, and track different scents.]
[Stretch marks: Improve skin suppleness and enhance resistance to impact.]
After half a month of intensive practice, Zhang Ping made particularly significant progress in the ox-manipulation beast pattern, reaching 86%, seemingly not far from perfection. He was eager to know what would happen when the imprinting progress reached its limit.
Besides focusing on horse leg patterns, he also branded dog nose patterns and cowhide patterns during this period. The animal parts he needed were all purchased by Sister Wang.
In addition, he had also bought rabbit and cat meat. The rabbit's speed and the cat's amazing reflexes made his mouth water. However, the "swiftness" that could be branded onto rabbit meat was far less than expected. Branding it with a certain kind of responsiveness seemed more worthwhile, but unfortunately, one of the key ingredients, "moonlight grass," was nowhere to be found.
As for the reaction speed of the branded cat, the required materials are even more outrageous, one of which is the main ingredient of a certain expensive secret medicine, which he simply cannot afford.
Half a month is not a long time. Due to limited materials and energy, only three new animal patterns were successfully imprinted in the end.
Knock knock knock!
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Li Fan's cheerful voice rang out from outside: "Brother Zhang, I've got what you wanted!"
Zhang Ping opened the door and saw Li Fan rushing in, plopping down on a stone bench in the yard, grabbing a water ladle, scooping up a full ladle of cold water, and gulping it down!
"Ha—! That feels good!" He let out a long breath and wiped the sweat dripping down his face. "This damn weather, the autumn heat is raging, even the dogs are panting in the shade, and even my body can't take it!" He complained as he tugged at his sweat-soaked clothes. Martial artists are also made of flesh and blood, and some who practice special techniques find this heat even more unbearable.