NOVPUBWhite Tiger Hall!
Chen Jie got out of the carriage, intending to invite Su Yunjin as well, however, Si Xi said, "Fifth Master, White Tiger Hall is not convenient for family members to enter. She should rest in the carriage, I’ll watch over her, there won’t be any problems."
Hearing this, Chen Jie nodded.
He spoke to Su Yunjin, and his wife nodded, "Husband, go ahead, Ruirui and I will be fine."
Chen Jie nodded, alighted from the carriage, and Hu Zi followed him as they entered White Tiger Hall.
It was a large compound with three courtyards. The outer courtyard contained a training ground and many guild disciples. The second courtyard housed various administrative staff, such as the accounting room and intelligence office.
The last courtyard was the main hall of White Tiger Hall.
It was also Peng Shizhong’s residence.
Peng Shizhong had never married in his life, making his residence quite simple, yet it contained an inner training ground where he practiced daily.
"Eternal vigilance is required even for an Energy Transformation Master," as they say.
"Please halt."
When Chen Jie and Xiao Hu reached the entrance, Peng Shizhong’s personal guard stopped them in the third courtyard and asked, "Who is Chen Jiusi, Fifth Master Chen?"
Chen Jie replied, "I am Chen Jiusi."
Hearing this, the guard said, "Fifth Master, please come inside; as for this brother, please wait in the side room and have some tea."
Xiao Hu looked at Chen Jie.
Chen Jie nodded, "Hu Zi, wait here for me."
"Okay, Jiu Si."
After saying this, Chen Jie followed the guard into the inner courtyard. The decoration here was different from the outer courtyard, more unique and elegant.
"Fifth Master, please, the Hall Master and several heads of the household are waiting for you."
Chen Jie, upon hearing this, thought that these ’heads of the household’ must refer to Peng Shizhong’s four adoptive sons.
With this thought, he reached the entrance of the main hall and heard two men reporting to Peng Shizhong.
One of them was robust and chubby,
while the other was handsome, dressed as a scholar, and held a folding fan, appearing like a learned man.
They were reporting the work of the past two days to Peng Shizhong, who nodded lightly.
When they were nearly done, Peng Shizhong, seeing Chen Jiusi at the door, said, "Enough of these worries for now, Jiusi, come in."
Chen Jie entered directly.
Peng Shizhong stood up and introduced, "Let me introduce everyone. This is my newly accepted adoptive son, Chen Jiusi."
"Jiusi, let me introduce you. These four will be your adoptive brothers from now on. You should recognize these two; the eldest, Feng Xuan, and the second, Zheng Chuan."
Peng Shizhong then continued, "This plump one is your Third Brother, Lu Rong."
"Brother Five."
Lu Rong nodded slightly at Chen Jie, acknowledging him as ’Brother Five.’
Then Peng Shizhong said, "This is Fourth Brother, Deng Guangming."
"Brother Five."
Deng Guangming then cheerfully greeted Chen Jie with a clasped fist.
Chen Jie returned the greeting, "Fourth Brother."
After the introductions, Peng Shizhong said, "Good, now that you are all family, you should love and respect each other. Also, the day after tomorrow, I am hosting a banquet to formally recognize Fifth Brother; I need you all to put in extra effort!"
Hearing this, everyone clasped fists and responded, "Yes."
Then Peng Shizhong looked at Chen Jie and said, "Jiusi, familiarize yourself with the town these next two days. Three days from now, I will invite guests and announce widely that you are Peng Shizhong’s adoptive son."
Everyone responded, "Congratulations, Brother Five."
Even Zheng Chuan clasped his fist in acknowledgment.
Following that, Peng Shizhong said, "Alright, the eldest will handle the banquet arrangements, the third will assist, and as for the second and fourth, you mainly handle the corresponding guild affairs these next two days."
"Yes."
Everyone agreed and left. 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
Chen Jie also intended to leave, but Peng Shizhong said, "Jiusi, wait a moment."
Chen Jie paused, and Peng Shizhong waved his hand, and someone immediately brought over a set of keys, saying, "I have a small courtyard in the Big Vegetable Market. I bought it years ago and now I’m giving it to you as a temporary abode."
"Thank... "
Chen Jie hesitated, the banquet hadn’t occurred, and the relationship wasn’t officially confirmed yet.
However, Peng Shizhong clearly regarded him as an adoptive son; how should he address him?
Peng Shizhong smiled and said, "Call me adoptive father."
"Yes, adoptive father."
Chen Jie readily addressed Peng Shizhong as adoptive father.
Peng Shizhong then said, "Come, follow your adoptive father to the training ground; I want to see your strength."
Chen Jie was startled at this but still followed Peng Shizhong to the training ground, which was empty of outsiders, and guarded at the entrance.
Peng Shizhong commanded, "Attack!"
Chen Jie hurriedly said, "I dare not strike my adoptive father!"
Peng Shizhong replied, "Fear not, give me your strongest attack."
Chen Jie, thinking, displayed the Surging Wave Palm, but Peng Shizhong shook his head, "Not that, use the Water Manipulation Palm!"
"Huh?!"
Chen Jie was shocked, but Peng Shizhong chuckled, "Even going to hide it from your adoptive father?"
Chen Jie quickly said, "I dare not."
Peng Shizhong reassured, "No need to be so wary; I know this hand technique, the Water Manipulation Palm, and I also know half of it."
"Adoptive father knows it too?"
Peng Shizhong laughed, "The Water Manipulation Palm comes from the Chang Chun Skill. After Medicine King Valley was destroyed, this skill was dispersed throughout Jianghu. Later, a Jianghu guest named Gu Song once dominated Jianghu with this martial art. My master had interactions with Gu Song and they verified each other’s martial arts, exchanging half of the Water Manipulation Palm!"
"And as I inherited my master’s arsenal, naturally, I possess the related secret manuals. The day you fought in the arena, I recognized that you were using the Water Manipulation Palm. Although it’s similar to the Surging Wave Palm, anyone with a bit of knowledge could see the differences."
Hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Adoptive father, I’m ashamed, it’s just... my cultivation technique..."
