Chapter 70 Mountain Home Hearth 70

Chapter 70: Hearth and Home

"Damn Xu Xing! I'll curse his ancestors for eighteen generations!"

"I'm utterly fed up! That bastard must be blind!"

"He did it on purpose! He absolutely did it on purpose!"

"My handsome face! Damn it, it hurts like hell! Qin Rongshi, quick, take a look! Am I disfigured?"

...

Xie Baozhu ranted incessantly. He had a large bump on his forehead and a scrape on his left cheek. Fuming, he turned to glare at Qin Rongshi, only to see him tightly furrowing his brows, clutching his right ankle, with cold sweat already beading on his forehead from the pain.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened to your foot?"

Xie Baozhu was startled, forgetting his own injuries in his panic, and hurriedly went to check on Qin Rongshi's foot.

A physical disability would prevent one from participating in the imperial examinations and becoming an official. He was genuinely worried that Qin Rongshi might have crippled his leg from the fall.

Qin Rongshi took a deep breath and tried to rotate his ankle, which only intensified the pain.

"Hisss... It's probably a sprain."

Xie Baozhu cried out in alarm, "For heaven's sake! Don't move it recklessly!"

Just then, the Riding and Archery Master arrived with the other students. The Master was a martial arts instructor hired by Luming Academy from a local martial arts school, appearing to be around thirty-five years old.

He was new to the academy this year and was encountering such a situation for the first time, leaving him somewhat flustered.

After all, the students at the academy were all delicate scholars, each precious, and not at all like the sturdy fighters he used to wrestle and spar with at the martial arts school. If something serious happened, he would be held responsible.

"What happened? What happened? Why did the horse spook so suddenly?"

The Master had been cornered earlier by a few students insisting he teach them archery techniques. He was preoccupied with those students and didn't notice the commotion in the riding field until the loud sound of the horse crashing through the fence caught his attention.

Xie Baozhu glared fiercely into the crowd, searching for Xu Xing.

At that moment, Li Anyuan stepped forward, raising his hand and saying, "It was fellow student Xu who shot an arrow in front of fellow student Qin's horse! The horse got scared and bolted! Luckily, fellow student Xie reacted quickly and immediately chased after him on horseback, otherwise something terrible could have happened!"

The crowd was confused by Li Anyuan's repeated references to "fellow student," but Xie Baozhu followed his gaze and spotted Xu Xing.

He stormed over, grabbed Xu Xing, threw him to the ground, and angrily shouted, "Xu Xing! You did this on purpose, didn't you! I saw you sulking this morning—you’ve had it in for Qin Rongshi for a while, haven’t you!"

Xu Xing was quite the actor—tears came on command, as if a switch had been flipped. They streamed down his face, and he cried pitifully, with snot and tears all over his face.

He knelt beside Qin Rongshi, weeping profusely, and said, "Fellow student Qin, I truly didn't mean it! I was practicing shooting while riding, and I was so nervous I didn't see you on the field! I'm sorry, truly sorry! Where are you hurt?! Is it serious?"

"You mustn't be seriously injured! Otherwise... otherwise, I could never atone for this! This... what should we do?! If the injury is too severe, will you have to withdraw from school to recuperate? That would surely delay your studies, and my fault would be even greater!"

Qin Rongshi frowned deeply, looking up at Xu Xing with an icy glare that made Xu Xing shiver all over.

The Riding and Archery Master was getting a headache from all the noise. He frowned tightly, crouched beside Qin Rongshi's foot, and gently felt around and massaged his ankle while asking him a few questions in a low voice.

"Does it hurt here? How about here?"

"Can you move it?"

"Alright, alright, try to lift it, but don't force it."

...

Coming from a martial arts background, he had learned fighting skills since childhood and had seen plenty of injuries—just as knowledgeable as a doctor at a medical clinic.

The Master breathed a sigh of relief and patted Qin Rongshi's shoulder, saying, "Fortunately, it's just a sprain, not serious. Rest it for a couple of weeks, and it'll heal. You're young—it'll recover fully."

Xu Xing paused for a moment, a flicker of disappointment flashing in his eyes, but he kept his head down, so no one noticed the change. He quickly resumed his remorseful expression.

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness! It's lucky it's not serious! Otherwise, I really... Fellow student Qin, can you walk? Let me carry you back to the dorm to rest?"

As he spoke, he reached out to help Qin Rongshi—using his right hand, the very one Xie Baozhu had whipped. Xie Baozhu hadn't held back, even adding some personal resentment to the strike, leaving the back of Xu Xing's hand torn and bleeding profusely.

Xie Baozhu stepped forward and shoved him away, saying bluntly, "Get lost! Cut the fake concern!"

His anger was fierce, and his expression was menacing, making Xu Xing—with his tear-streaked, snotty face—seem somewhat pitiful and wronged. Even some students who were friendly with Xu Xing began whispering in support of him.

"Fellow student Xu already said he didn't mean it, fellow student Xie, don't be so harsh! Besides... he didn't do it on purpose, but you definitely whipped him intentionally."

Xie Baozhu glared at them and snapped, "You get lost too!"

As another argument seemed about to break out, the Riding and Archery Master quickly interjected, "Alright, alright, everyone calm down. Since student Xie doesn't trust anyone else, why don't you personally take student Qin back to the dorm to rest? His injury needs to be seen by a doctor. Which student is willing to make the trip?"

Li Anyuan immediately raised his hand. Though his movement was quick, his voice was timid: "I-I'll go!"

The Master was pleased to have a volunteer and nodded, handing him the instructor's wooden pass and telling him to hurry back.

Students weren't allowed to leave the academy outside of dismissal or rest days unless they had an instructor's pass.

Li Anyuan nodded, tucked the pass away, and ran off.

The Riding and Archery Master and Xie Baozhu helped Qin Rongshi back to the dorm. Xu Xing stood still for a moment, then followed behind them, looking nervous and scared.

He kept muttering along the way:

"Fellow student Qin, you have to believe me, I really didn't mean it!"

"This is all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

Xie Baozhu was already annoyed with him, and his incessant chatter only made it worse. He turned around and yelled, "Xu, enough already! If you keep blabbering, I'll punch you!"

Xu Xing shrunk back, glancing fearfully at Xie Baozhu.

Xie Baozhu's face was still injured—the bump on his forehead was turning bruised, and the cut on his left cheek was slowly trickling blood. With his dark expression, he looked quite intimidating.

Especially since Xie Baozhu had a naturally large build and was tall and sturdy. Though only seventeen, he was already about as tall as the Riding and Archery Master, looking like he could punch Xu Xing hard enough to bloody his nose.

Xu Xing shut his mouth, too afraid to say another word, worried Xie Baozhu might actually hit him in his rage.

Back at the dorm, the Riding and Archery Master became the one doing the lecturing:

"Student Xu, you must be more careful in the future! That was so dangerous!"

"It's lucky nothing worse happened this time, otherwise... otherwise..."

The Master didn't want to say it too bluntly—it was too grim and inauspicious to say.

But after all his years in martial arts, he had seen instances where riders fell off a horse and broke their leg, or where a spooked horse bucked off its rider and then stepped on them, crushing their internal organs, and the person couldn't be saved.

So in his view, Qin Rongshi was lucky to have only sprained his ankle!

Those less lucky might have gotten seriously injured...

While he was sighing, some instructors from the academy had already been informed and rushed over, including even Dean Lin from Three Pines Academy.

Two instructors arrived—Master Qian and Master He, who taught Classical Interpretation and Policy Questions respectively to Class A of Three Pines Academy.

Master Qian was the oldest instructor at the academy; even the deans showed him respect. He was strict and rigid, yet treated all students fairly, regardless of their academic performance or family background.

Master He was more of a talker and had a good rapport with the students even outside the classroom, often joking with them and calling their relationship "both mentor and friend."

However, Master He was not as amiable as he appeared.

He loved money and had secretly accepted gifts from students. Xie Baozhu, despite coming from a wealthy family, never gave him any gifts, which displeased Master He, who felt the student didn't know how things were done.

Thus, Master He held a poor impression of this student.

But what were the rules? The rules of Luming Academy forbade instructors from accepting gifts privately. He had always done so discreetly and, fortunately, had never been caught or reported by any student.

It was also worth mentioning that Xu Xing was his star student.

Master He taught Policy Questions, and Xu Xing was the best student in Class A for this subject. Even though Xu Xing never gave him gifts, Master He still favored him the most, taking pride in him.

Speaking of Policy Questions, it wasn’t something one could master just by reading books. It tested one's knowledge of politics, economics, culture, military affairs, and more. Qin Rongshi was a bit weak in this area, and Old Scholar Liu, who had taught him before, wasn't well-versed enough and couldn’t teach him much on Policy Questions.

This was precisely why Qin Rongshi had only ranked fourth in the previous exam—his performance in Policy Questions had dragged him down.

Dean Lin entered the dormitory and asked anxiously, "How is the injury? Is it serious?"

Qin Rongshi sat on the bed, attempting to stand and bow, but Dean Lin quickly pressed him back down.

Sitting upright, he nodded slightly and replied calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Dean and esteemed instructors. My injury is not serious. Riding and Archery Master Zhang has already sent a fellow student down the mountain to fetch a physician."

The Riding and Archery Master, surnamed Zhang, Dean Lin frowned and glanced at him, asking, "What exactly happened? How did things end up like this?!"

Ultimately, it was his negligence. The Riding and Archery Master was too ashamed to speak, his face flushed red, unsure how to respond.

No matter how he explained it, it boiled down to his failure to take good care of the students. If he blamed it on Xu Xing’s arrow startling Qin Rongshi’s horse, it would seem like he was shirking responsibility.

He was at a loss for words.

Xie Baozhu, however, had no such qualms and immediately started laying into Xu Xing.

"It was all Xu Xing’s fault! He shot an arrow near Qin Rongshi’s horse, which caused it to panic and bolt!"

The instructors all turned to look at Xu Xing, who was startled and began crying again.

"Instructor, I didn’t mean to! I didn’t see fellow student Qin at the time, or I would never have shot the arrow! It was truly an accident... Fellow student Qin, say something! We’ve lived under the same roof for nearly two months and never had any disagreements. Why would I deliberately harm you?"

Xie Baozhu jumped up in anger, pointing at Xu Xing and shouting, "No disagreements? Who was the one making a sour face this morning? Do you think everyone else is blind? Just because Master Qian praised Qin Rongshi a couple of times, you got upset and deliberately tried to harm him!"

Unexpectedly hearing his name mentioned, Master Qian, who had been stroking his beard with a wrinkled, orange-peel-like face while anxiously staring at Qin Rongshi’s leg, suddenly heard Xie Baozhu say "Master Qian."

The old gentleman widened his eyes in surprise and pointed at himself.

Xu Xing cried pitifully. He had already cried outside and was now crying again, his eyes red and swollen like two peach pits embedded in his face.

"Fellow student Xie! How can you accuse me falsely like this!"

"This morning, I was indeed in low spirits, but it was only because, compared to fellow student Qin, I realized how lacking my studies were! I felt ashamed, as if I had let down my instructors and my parents! For you to say such things—it’s like a dagger to my heart!"

"Besides, even if I were dissatisfied, why would I go to such extremes? This method is too risky—if discovered, such misconduct could lead to the stripping of my scholarly status, barring me from the imperial exams for life! It would be like a Pyrrhic victory!"

"Fellow student Xie, you’re slandering me! Ruining my reputation! If word gets out and people believe it, how can I continue my studies or take the imperial exams?"

His words sounded so reasonable that even the dean and the two instructors found them convincing.

Indeed, Xu Xing had a good shot at becoming a scholar. There was no need for him to take such a gamble!

Xie Baozhu was furious. Seeing the instructors’ expressions, he could tell they believed Xu Xing’s lies, which only made him angrier.

"Puh-lease! According to you, Qin Rongshi only injured his foot, but you’re the one having your reputation ruined!"

Xie Baozhu was large and loud, especially when agitated, like a noisy, clamoring goose. His voice filled the entire room.

Master He, his head aching from the noise, waved his hand impatiently and said, "Enough! Stop arguing! Fellow student Qin hasn’t even spoken. Xie Baozhu, who asked you to play the hero?"

"Qin Rongshi, you speak!"

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