Chapter 33 - 33 33 The Sworn Brotherhood

Words : 1596 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 The Sworn Brotherhood Chapter 33: Chapter 33 The Sworn Brotherhood “Brother! Are you saying this room will all be mine in the future?” Zheng Shan asked Zheng Fa, dazedly, her mouth grinning from ear to ear as if she couldn’t believe the arrangement Zheng Fa had just made. “What? Afraid of sleeping alone?” Zheng Fa said with a smile. “I’m not!” Little Sister hurriedly said. Their new home at the Zhao Family’s was really not big, but compared to the mud brick house they used to live in, it was much more spacious. There was a small courtyard as one entered, with a small room on each side, which Zheng Fa planned to use as the kitchen and the firewood room. There were a total of four rooms in the main house, not counting the central living room. With the remaining three rooms, Zheng Fa intended to give one to each of the three family members. This made Zheng Shan extremely happy. She grabbed Zheng Fa’s index finger and looked towards her own room. She even nodded, as if it was a serious matter, “My new room is so pretty!” Zheng Fa glanced inside. The room was empty, with nothing but a layer of dust covering the floor. He had no clue where the little sister saw the prettiness. “Your sister is still young. It’s better to use this room as a study for you,” Mrs. Zheng said hesitantly after a while. “You are now the Seventh Young Master’s Attendant Student. Studying is important. Your sister can just sleep with me.” Upon hearing this, Zheng Shan lowered her head, not saying a word, her mouth puckered up, looking quite aggrieved. Zheng Fa knew that it had always been slightly uncomfortable for Zheng Shan to sleep with Mrs. Zheng: ever since their father died, Mrs. Zheng had been overworking herself, couldn’t stay up late, and was a light sleeper; whereas Zheng Shan had a lot of energy, went to bed late, but was also thoughtful, knowing to care for her mother. Every time after Mrs. Zheng fell asleep, the little one did not dare to move, afraid of waking her mother. For the lively and active her, this was indeed a bit torturous. That was also why, before moving into the new home, Zheng Shan’s greatest wish was to have her own bed. “She might be young now, but she’s going to grow up eventually. Since we have an extra room, let her sleep there. It’ll save the trouble of moving her later,” he said to his mother. Little sister’s head shot up quickly, as she grinned sheepishly at Zheng Fa. He saw Mrs. Zheng was about to speak again and continued, “I have to study, be it in Mr. Shen’s classroom or in the Seventh Young Master’s study, I can study. When I come home, can’t I just study in the living room?” “Well... I’ve seen Manager Wang’s home. After Wang Gui started school, they set up a study room, saying that a scholar should have a dedicated room for books.” Zheng Fa waved his hand with a laugh: “A poor student has many... uh, I mean, books are of no use sitting on a shelf, they need to be placed in the mind.” “But...” “Mother, he’s even studying in the Yanyu Building, he studied so much he lost his father’s manager position. If we’re going to learn, we should learn something good.” “That’s right!” Thank heavens for Wang Gui, making Mrs. Zheng very persuadable... Zheng Shan cheered with both hands raised above her head: “Mom! I want to decorate my own room!” “Then you’ll have to clean it yourself,” Mrs. Zheng said with a smile, seeing her daughter so happy. “I’ll sweep myself! I’ll sweep Brother’s room, and Mom’s room too!” Mother and daughter happily huddled together, whispering about how to arrange the furniture that Housekeeper Gao had sent. Zheng Fa took a look at the sun and said to the two, “Mother, you guys discuss first, I need to go to Mr. Xu for martial arts training.” Mrs. Zheng waved her hand without even looking at him, immersed in the joy of decorating the new house, giving him a sense of being out of favor. ... In the training field’s room, Mr. Xu stroked the several thick books in front of him and sighed deeply. His rough face was unexpectedly filled with delicate worries. His young apprentice, who was also his nephew, came over and saw his uncle’s expression, couldn’t help but ask concernedly: “Uncle, what’s wrong?” “Alas, the lady sent over ‘Spiritual Crane Body’; this is for me to teach to that lad Zheng Fa.” “Spiritual Crane Body!” Mr. Xu’s nephew exclaimed as he looked towards the book in Mr. Xu’s hands, and indeed, the cover was inscribed with the bold words ‘Spiritual Crane Body’. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it: “Uncle, may I take a look?” “You wish for death? I’ve served the Zhao Family for twenty years before the lady took notice and allowed me to learn the Spiritual Crane Body, but it’s a pity...” “Uncle, it took you twenty years just to get this chance,” Mr. Xu’s nephew lowered his voice slightly, “That’s a bit too partial...” “Shut up, you’re getting bolder and bolder. How dare you talk about the lady like that?” Mr. Xu slapped his nephew on the head. Mr. Xu’s nephew, rubbing his head and grimacing, said, “I’m just feeling indignant on your behalf, seeing you sigh, uncle!” Mr. Xu’s expression softened quite a bit as he said, “It’s not about that. Remember how I wanted to take Zheng Fa as my disciple?” “Now you can’t!” Mr. Xu’s nephew had an epiphany. “Yes, the boy has now caught the lady’s eye; how could I, with my status, even attempt? How would the lady view me?” Mr. Xu nodded and added, “But I should have spoken to Zheng Fa about taking him as an apprentice earlier.” “Had you spoken earlier, he would now be my junior brother!” His nephew understood. “Even if I couldn’t take him as a disciple, speaking earlier could have built good karma!” Mr. Xu seemed regretful, not noticing his nephew’s eyes darting around as he quietly walked towards the edge of the training ground. ... As Zheng Fa approached the entrance of the training ground, he saw a young man squatting there as if waiting for someone. The man looked somewhat familiar, possibly one of the people who had been standing beside Mr. Xu last time. He halted his steps, gave a slight bow to the man, and was about to enter. Then he saw the man jump up, eyes shining with joy, and enthusiastically said, “Mr. Zheng!” “Hm?” Zheng Fa stopped, puzzled, “And you are?” “We’ve met before! Mr. Xu is my uncle.” “Xu, do you need something from me?” “Nothing important!” The other man stepped forward and warmly gripped Zheng Fa’s arm, “Last time we only met briefly, but I felt a connection with Mr. Zheng right away, and this coincidence of meeting here feels like fate!” Zheng Fa glanced at the shallow pits the man had made squatting on the ground and slightly leaned his head back to avoid the enthusiastic man’s spit: “Indeed, it’s a fortunate meeting!” “How about this, let’s become sworn brothers!” Before he could finish, Zheng Fa stared as the man pulled out an incense burner from where he had been squatting, placed three sticks of incense in it, and three streams of blue smoke began to rise gently. “Isn’t this a bit hasty?” “They say some friendships are fated, and the moment I saw Mr. Zheng, I felt exactly that.” The man was so enthusiastic, and it was hard to slap a smiling face. Zheng Fa tactfully said, “Well... becoming sworn brothers isn’t necessary. Perhaps we could just call each other ‘brother’ in daily life?” “Then...” Seeing his unwillingness, Mr. Xu’s nephew seemed to realize it was not good to force it and reluctantly nodded, earnestly saying, “But you must remember, in my heart, I already think of you as a brother, Brother Zheng!” “Xu, I have something to attend to. I must go!” Zheng Fa responded before dashing off. The other man still stood there, calling out, “Let’s talk another day about our fraternal bond!” ... Zheng Fa entered the training ground and found Mr. Xu’s room. He saw Mr. Xu standing with his back turned, hands behind him, his tiger-like eyes brimming with tears and his face full of deep emotion, as if he was gazing at an old friend. “Instructor?” He asked tentatively. “Zheng, do you know what day is today?” “What day is it?” “When I was a child, I had a birth brother whom I was very close to, but unfortunately, he died young. Today is his death anniversary...” Zheng Fa softly said, “Instructor, please accept my condolences.” Mr. Xu wiped his face and said, “I won’t hide it from you, the first time I saw you, I felt you resembled my late brother.” “...” “Let’s become sworn brothers then!” “Wait a second, this... sounds eerily familiar.” Zheng Fa glanced at the incense table behind Mr. Xu and frowned.

Chapter 33 - 33 33 The Sworn Brotherhood

Comments (0)