Novel Full Chapter 200: My name is Yan Chen
Chen Yan woke up in a simple, slightly old-fashioned room.
The air still carried the faint scent of cypress wood.
He was lying on a bed that wasn’t too hard but wasn’t too soft either;
overall, it was quite comfortable.
It was definitely much more comfortable than face-planting on the side of the road, at the very least.
The coarse cloth clothes he had been wearing were also gone, replaced by a more comfortable set of plain robes.
Then, with some effort, Chen Yan sat up on the bed. He clearly felt his current body was somewhat weak, but it wasn’t anything serious.
He briefly surveyed the room he was currently in, then swung his legs off the bed and started walking towards the door.
Chen Yan heard the sounds of wooden staffs clashing and shouts coming from outside the door, and then he pushed open the room’s door.
The moment he pushed the door open, the volume of the clashing staffs suddenly increased, and a cool breeze carrying the smell of sweat rushed towards Chen Yan’s face.
Scattered throughout the courtyard were eighteen hemp-wrapped wooden posts. Each post bore numerous marks of damage, some from sharp weapons, others from blunt ones.
Over twenty bare-chested youths, about the same age as Chen Yan, were sparring in the courtyard with white waxwood staffs. Staff shadows crisscrossed, sweat flying.
“Keep your feet steady, sink your waist!”
Standing to the side of the training area with his arms crossed was a tall, burly, middle-aged man with a full beard, roughly in his forties. He stood there, shouting at the youths in the courtyard, clearly playing the role of a drill instructor.
Then, the bearded middle-aged man’s eyes suddenly turned sharp. He gave a slight tap with his foot, and a white waxwood staff lying on the ground bounced into his hand. He then walked towards a particular youth in the courtyard.
He pushed aside the other youth who was sparring with that boy and stood before him, holding the staff.
“Come on, attack me.”
The tall, burly, bearded middle-aged man spoke to the youth in a low, serious tone.
The youth hesitated for a moment. Seeing a flicker of impatience cross the middle-aged man’s expression, he finally steeled himself, let out a loud shout, and swung the white waxwood staff in his hand towards the bearded man’s face.
The bearded middle-aged man simply lifted his staff and gave it a light flick, instantly deflecting the youth’s attack.
Then, he used the tip of his staff to tap the side of the youth’s leg, immediately sliding it down to the ankle and flicking it upward.
The youth instantly lost his balance, landing flat on his back with a heavy thud on the ground.
“I said, keep your feet steady, sink your waist!”
The drill instructor said sternly.
The fallen youth hurriedly scrambled to his feet. He didn’t say anything, just tried to pick up his staff.
But perhaps due to nervousness, in his flustered state, he accidentally kicked the white waxwood staff he had just dropped with the tip of his foot. The staff rolled away, heading directly towards where Chen Yan was currently standing.
The drill instructor’s gaze in the courtyard followed the rolling staff and landed right on Chen Yan standing by the door.
“Kid, you’re awake?”
The bearded middle-aged man spoke to Chen Yan.
Only now, hearing the bearded man’s voice, did Chen Yan finally remember who this bearded middle-aged man was.
It was the very person who had saved him not long ago when he had collapsed unconscious by the roadside.
“Thank you, Senior, for saving my life.”
Chen Yan instinctively bowed with hands clasped in salute. This was a habit he had developed over many years as a cultivator.
However, Chen Yan’s formal bow and salute made the bearded middle-aged man feel somewhat awkward and at a loss.
“Young master, you’re too polite! A rough fellow like me doesn’t deserve such a proper salute!”
The drill instructor first looked a bit embarrassed, then burst into hearty laughter:
“Come on, I’ll take you to see the Master and Steward Yin!”
Immediately after, this tall drill instructor casually tossed the white waxwood staff in his hand aside. Then, his eyes turned to the youth who looked the oldest and tallest among them:
“Xing Ziyu, I’ll be gone for a bit. You keep an eye on their practice. If I come back and find anyone slacking off, I’ll punish you alone!”
“Yes, Drill Instructor Zhang!”
The youth named Xing Ziyu answered loudly.
“Let’s go, young master.”
Drill Instructor Zhang waved towards Chen Yan. Chen Yan then followed behind him and left the courtyard.
Following behind Drill Instructor Zhang, Chen Yan passed through two arched gateways within the complex of buildings.
It was clearly evident that this wasn’t on a city street, but rather inside the estate of some wealthy family.
After passing through another not-too-long covered corridor, Drill Instructor Zhang finally brought Chen Yan to what appeared to be the main courtyard of the estate. He then stepped forward and knocked on the door of the main hall in the courtyard.
“Master, that young man has woken up.”
Drill Instructor Zhang said in a low voice.
“Hmm, let him in.”
A dignified and quite resonant voice came from inside.
Drill Instructor Zhang pushed open the main hall door. Sitting in the master’s seat inside the hall was an old man who looked to be around sixty years old. Standing beside him was another, taller and thinner old man who appeared even older than the one sitting in the master’s seat.
“Master, Steward Yin.”
Drill Instructor Zhang clasped his fists and saluted the two elders in the hall.
The elder in the master’s seat nodded slightly, then said slowly:
“Thank you for your trouble, Drill Instructor Zhang. You may go attend to your duties now.”
“Yes!”
Drill Instructor Zhang replied respectfully, then turned and left the main hall.
Now, only Chen Yan, wearing plain robes and still quite weak, and the two elders in the hall remained.
“Thank you, Master, Steward Yin, for saving my life.”
Chen Yan, following the example, imitated Drill Instructor Zhang’s earlier gesture and clasped his fists in salute towards the two elders in the hall.
From the moment he stepped out of the old room’s door and saw the posture of the disciples practicing martial arts in the courtyard, he had already realized that this household had nothing to do with cultivators;
it was purely a martial arts family.
Regardless, Chen Yan felt he should still try to gather more information.
Seeing the youth below the hall saluting them with clasped fists, both the Master sitting in the hall and Steward Yin behind him nodded slightly.
Then, the elder sitting in the master’s seat smiled and spoke:
“Young man, your manners are quite proper. What is your name?”
“… Yan Chen.”
Chen Yan hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to call himself this.
“I heard from Steward Yin that when he and Drill Instructor Zhang found you on the official road outside the city, you were unconscious on the street. What happened?”
The elder in the master’s seat asked.
“This junior remembers nothing.”
Chen Yan wore an expression of confusion and pain:
“The only thing this junior remembers is my own name. As for everything else… in fact, this junior doesn’t even know where I am right now.”