Chapter 115: Service Identity

Hearing that person mock Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan glanced towards Yan Liqiang and the two of them exchanged a look. Gu Zexuan almost immediately knew that this person was the one who Yan Liqiang had mentioned previously who wasn’t easy to deal with.

“Hahahaha…” Yan Liqiang hadn’t even opened his mouth before Gu Zexuan started laughing loudly. He winked at Yan Liqiang, deliberately asking in a loud voice, “Senior Martial Brother Yan, could this person be the external disciple with the surname Niu or Ma [1], who recommended you to Tianqiao Peak for menial labor?”

“Yes, that’s right!” Yan Liqiang nodded his head.

“What did you say, did you just call him Senior Martial Brother Yan?” Ma Liang gaped, watching Gu Zexuan and Yan Liqiang’s double act. He looked like he was in disbelief as if he had heard wrong, Gu Zexuan was clearly older than Yan Liqiang and they were all external disciples. Was Gu Zexuan unaware of the Divine Sword Sect’s rules, and that’s why he was randomly using the Senior Martial Brother honorific?

Gu Zexuan basically ignored Ma Liang, merely glancing at him disdainfully before he turned his head around and smiled in an exaggeratedly goofy manner towards Yan Liqiang. “I hope that Senior Martial Brother Yan won’t lower himself to this asshole’s level. Without this asshole’s recommendation, how else would Senior Martial Brother Yan be given recognition by Hall Master Su and become the Divine Sword Sect’s youngest servant within Gray Hall? Assholes always seem to scheme and think they’re smarter than everyone else, but they never know to expect the unexpected. Your prospects will be boundless in the Divine Sword Sect, Senior Martial Brother Yan, so you can slowly plan your revenge on this type of asshole. Let’s just see if you can’t ruin him…”

Yan Liqiang suppressed his laughter, not expecting Gu Zexuan’s acting skills to be so good, merely watching how Gu Zexuan was humiliating Ma Liang in front of him.

“Who are you cursing…” Ma Liang, who was standing to the side, got mad as Gu Zexuan called him an asshole to his face. He couldn’t suppress his fury and instead, rushed directly over, fist heading straight towards Gu Zexuan.

Before Ma Liang could even rush over, there was someone else who was even faster from Yan Liqiang’s side. They stepped out without a sound, like a bullet, slamming up against Ma Liang with their fist.

Thud… thud… thud…

Three muted thuds sounded and Ma Liang grunted, taking three steps back directly, his expression changed immediately. Zhao Huipeng, on the other hand, stood tall and unmoving, merely glaring coldly at Ma Liang. Looking at it now, his short and stout figure was as firm and unyielding as a stone wall.

Ya Liqiang was also slightly surprised. He was just about to make a move, but he never expected for Zhao Huipeng to already make a move a step ahead of him. He never thought that the usually inarticulate and introverted Zhao Huipeng would have such a raging fire of a temper within. Looking at the way that Zhao Huipeng had just rushed out, it definitely wasn’t a spur of the moment reaction, but rather, the move was planned in advance.

Yan Liqiang glanced briefly at and then through Ma Liang, who was standing in place, gaping with a disbelieving expression. He didn’t speak at all, instead, he headed straight towards the direction of the Gray Hall and entered. Gu Zexuan laughed coldly at Ma Liang once and after swearing by calling him an asshole once more, he also followed Yan Liqiang inside. Zhao Huipeng also turned to follow as well.

Watching Zhao Huipeng walk up, Yan Liqiang asked quietly. “Huipeng, what style of boxing are you practicing? Those moves before were really too strong…”

Zhao Huipeng scratched his head, an embarrassed expression written across his face. “I’m practicing Cannon Fist…”

“Oh, no wonder…”

“Hehe, you might think that Huipeng normally doesn’t get angry, but his temper is quite violent…” Gu Zexuan said, giggling.

…

Ma Liang stood outside the entrance to the Gray Hall, frozen in place for a few seconds. After he watched Yan Liqiang and the others walk inside, he clenched his teeth, shaking out his slightly painful hand and also followed them in — until now, he was still unwilling to believe that Gu Zexuan spoke the truth. When he was still at the Commandment Courtyard, he had fallen for Yan Liqiang’s lie before, fooled by Yan Liqiang’s one barely described sentence. He had always thought that Yan Liqiang was full of tricks, and was unwilling to easily believe anything he said.

Even if Yan Liqiang was merely acting with someone before, the fact that Yan Liqiang suddenly had two extra helpers by his side, made his heart uneasy. He wasn’t too clear on what exactly Gu Zexuan was actually capable of, but the silent youth who had rushed out before had actually made Ma Liang a little fearful.

…

The Gray Hall was within the Divine Sword Sect’s Dimo Valley, the entirety of the Gray Hall was just one large yard. Inside the yard there was a circle of tall lofts, each loft was functional, surrounding the large yard. There were external disciples, all dressed in gray, walking in and out of the Gray Hall. Occasionally there was one or two people wearing black that appeared and the external disciples wearing gray would all politely clear the way, standing to the side, waiting until those black-clad disciples passed before resuming their movement. You could see how strict the segregation of the Divine Sword Sect’s ranks was and how important the rules were from this.

Ma Liang had come to the Gray Hall today because his Senior Martial Brother Huo had gotten someone to request his presence, he didn’t know what it was for. As he entered the Gray Hall, Yan Liqiang and the other two were walking in front of him, and after walking for a little while, Ma Liang saw Senior Martial Brother Huo come out from within a loft from over there. He strode down the stairs, walking towards Ma Liang with a warm and welcoming smile.

Senior Martial Brother Huo’s warmth made Ma Liang feel flattered. Just as Ma Liang was about to hurry forward, he suddenly saw that Senior Martial Brother Huo had already stopped in front of Yan Liqiang’s group, grasping Yan Liqiang’s hands in excitement.

“Hahaha, Junior Martial Brother Yan, I have been waiting for your arrival for ages. This morning, we here at the Gray Hall received the official document from Tianqiao Peak. Hearty congratulations on Hall Master Su personally requesting Junior Martial Brother Yan into service with Tiaoqiao Hall. When our attendant heard this, they specifically requested for me to wait here for Junior Martial Brother Yan to do your paperwork when you arrive…”

Even though he wasn’t standing in front of Senior Martial Brother Huo, the smile on Senior Martial Brother Huo’s face and the words that he spoke were all seen and heard by Ma Liang. They were just like a lightning storm in clear skies, striking him so hard that his mind buzzed loudly and his vision blurred with static. Ma Liang almost couldn’t even keep his balance, screaming internally — how was it possible, how was it possible, how was it possible? It was just a job cleaning toilets, how was it possible that it had managed to attract the attention of Tianqiao Hall’s Hall Master and end up being promoted to Tianqiao Hall’s servant……

“How gracious of you, Senior Martial Brother Huo. It’s just a little thing, how could we trouble you to personally come and welcome us. I don’t deserve this honor…”

“Come, let us speak inside…”

“Please, Senior Martial Brother Huo first…”

In Ma Liang’s eyes, Yan Liqiang and his Senior Martial Brother Huo were both smiling brilliantly, each of them even more polite than the other. They were like birth brothers who hadn’t seen each other in years, each of them clasping their hands together, entering the loft.

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As he walked up the steps, Senior Martial Brother Huo had glanced back towards Ma Liang casually. That one glance caused Ma Liang’s heart to sink like a stone, the look was extremely freezing cold.

…

Inside the loft, Servant Huo seemingly used the fastest speed possible to help Yan Liqiang complete his paperwork. Afterward, servant Huo was all smiles as he held out a platter in front of Yan Liqiang — on top, there was a black belt and a pretty bronze waist tag. The waist tag had the image of Tianqiao Peak imprinted in the middle and beneath the tag there were bunches of bright red silk strands, making it look quite beautiful.

The Divine Sword Sect’s external disciples all wore gray – but the lower, middle and upper classes were denoted by different color belts. The ones with gray belts represented lower class disciples, the ones who wore brown belts were middle class disciples and finally, the ones with black belts were upper class external disciples.

And that bronze waist tag was the physical sign of their representation of the authority of servant disciples.

Yan Liqiang changed to the black belt and then tied the waist tag to the side of the belt. The red silk strands on the waist tag fluttered and all of a sudden, he looked completely different. Or at least, in the eyes of servant Huo, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng, Yan Liqiang suddenly felt like a different person.

“Good, good, Junior Martial Brother Yan, you indeed to seem much more extraordinary once you put on this belt. From today onwards, Junior Martial Brother Yan, you’re the youngest Gray Hall servant of the Divine Sword Sect. Congratulations…” Servant Huo stood to one side, complimenting him endlessly and loudly, completely disregarding the strange looks that Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were directing at him.

“Thank you for your assistance, Senior Martial Brother Huo!” Yan Liqiang held his hands together politely towards Servant Huo. There wasn’t even a hint of arrogance, it was as if he had completely forgotten the unhappy feelings from his first meeting with Servant Huo.

“No need for such words, this was just part of the job!” Servant Huo said seriously. He suddenly paused before changing the subject, looking at Yan Liqiang with narrowed eyes. “As Junior Martial Brother Yan goes into service today with Tianqiao Peak, we should definitely celebrate. It was fate that Junior Martial Brother and I met as soon as you entered into the Divine Sword Sect. If Junior Martial Brother Yan doesn’t object, tonight I’ll host a banquet in your honor at Dihui Valley’s Meteor Tower and introduce a few friends to you as well. I don’t know if Junior Martial Brother Yan is amenable to the idea?”

“If Senior Martial Brother Huo is hosting, then I’ll definitely be there…” Yan Liqiang said, smiling.

Servant Huo’s squinted eyes immediately opened, and he suddenly looked happier, laughing loudly. “Then that’s set, I’ll see Junior Martial Brother Yan there tonight…”

“Okay! There’s just one thing I want to trouble Senior Martial Brother Huo with.”

“Please speak!”

Yan Liqiang looked towards Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng. “If I’m to serve on Tianqiao Peak, then I’m still short of two helpers. If I could trouble Senior Martial Brother Huo to help do the paperwork for the two of them as well, so they can transfer their menial labor tasks to Tianqiao Peak…”

“It will be merely a small matter, just a small matter indeed…”

…

After finishing all the paperwork for himself and both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng as well, as Yan Liqiang was exiting the loft, servant Huo was still politely guiding them out. Ma Liang, who had been in the yard previously, was long gone, hiding himself away somewhere, not even able to show his face.

“Senior Martial Brother Huo, there’s no need to see me off!”

“Alright, then I’ll see you tonight. See you later…” Servant Huo was full of smiles.

…

Walking through Gray Hall, there were countless people who were quietly checking out the black belt tied around Yan Liqiang’s waist and that servant waist tag. Each of the looks was of astonishment and envy. As Yan Liqiang walked past, he gathered an entire swathe of attention.

Exiting the Gray Hall, seeing that there were much fewer people on the road, Zhao Huipeng, who had been fuming silently this entire time, finally spoke out, “Yan… Senior Martial Brother Yan, since that man named Huo is so hateful, why were you still so polite to him and why did you accept his invitation at night?”

“He was only hateful before. Huipeng, did you see how cute servant Huo was today? Anyway, the nicer I am to him today, the more he won’t dare to look down on me and the more he’ll fear me. On the other hand, if I had been arrogant and high handed today, he would actually feel more secure and safe…” Yan Liqiang smiled slightly, looking at Zhao Huipeng. He saw that Zhao Huipeng was still not quite understanding so he helpfully explained, patiently, “Tonight is Huo Bin’s apology banquet, if I don’t go, then from today onwards, we can only be enemies until the bitter end, standing against each other. At this moment, our status within the Divine Sword Sect isn’t firmly set yet, we haven’t learned any real skills and we also don’t have any reliable supporters so it’s really not a good idea for us to be enemies with those internal disciples. Speaking of which, any resentment we have with servant Huo isn’t exactly a huge thing; in the end, it’s merely some trivial matters that made us suffer a little bit of indignity. In this world, there’s really no step we can cross over. If he’s willing to swallow his pride, then why shouldn’t we give him some dignity and see how he apologizes tonight. Then in the future, we’ll all be friendly and polite and it will all be okay so it’ll be easy to just have a chat when we’re face to face. It might turn out that we might be able to use each other as well, there’s no need to be quite so absolute in this…”

“Isn’t it just one inner disciple, him? How did it become ‘disciples’?” Zhao Huipeng scratched his head, wondering.

“Just then, Servant Huo already showed his hand, didn’t you hear, Huipeng?”

“What hand?”

Yan Liqiang could only patiently explain it through.

“Ah, that Huo guy is a tricky one, he had words within words, how can there be so many different meanings…”

“Then what did you expect…”

“Senior Martial Brother Yan, are you really only fourteen?” Gu Zexuan sighed. “All these interpersonal rules, you’re like an old hand at it all. I’m really quite impressed…”

Yan Liqiang smiled, Gu Zexuan’s ‘Senior Martial Brother’ suddenly sounded much more earnest than before…