"Kong Qiu!" Upon hearing this name, Su Tu's eyes contracted slightly.
He didn't expect Wang Sheng to actually be Kong Qiu, the person Tang Yangwu had said took the last student spot from him, and the instigator who made his brother provoke Tang Long to cause trouble for him.
He hadn't expected the other side to appear so easily before him. He originally thought there would be a sequence of events like in those novels where one wave of trouble follows another, but now it seems life indeed is not a novel.
Kong Qiu's face still had that always-smiling appearance, his eyes squinting so one couldn't see clearly, but now it gave off an unfathomable feeling, completely unfitting of the previously kind and warm-hearted chubby boy image.
"We shouldn't have any misunderstandings, right?" Su Tu said blandly, his expression puzzled as if he honestly didn't understand what the other was referring to.
Kong Qiu, seeing his expression, had a momentary pause in his smile before he spoke: "No need to play dumb with me, during the day you should have met with Tang Long and Tang Yangwu brothers."
"What they might have told you is that, because you became Old Zhou's last student, I was filled with jealousy, leading my brother to exploit Tang Long's feelings for Wang Nuannuan to cause you trouble."
"Am I right?"
Kong Qiu's voice was neither hot nor cold, as if the events of the day unfolded before his very eyes.
But Su Tu didn't have any emotional reaction to his words. Families qualified to practice the Martial Arts Dao naturally have unimaginable foundations, and their means and channels to gather information are many.
The fact that their conversation was known wasn't surprising at all.
He slightly raised his eyes, indicating for the other to continue speaking.
"But have you thought about why I would do so?"
"Simply out of jealousy, over a spot?"
"I come from the Kong Family, with my family's roots on the New Star, our Martial Arts handed down for a thousand years. Joining Old Zhou was just for his Visualization Collection Dao which aligns with me. Learning is naturally best, but if not learned, I naturally have mentors to follow. Why go through petty means for a student spot to provoke you?"
Kong Qiu spoke eloquently, his tone sincere.
"Are you suggesting the Tang family brothers staged all of this?" Su Tu spoke, his eyes teasing, as smart people, there was no need to lay things plain.
Following Kong Qiu's logic, he didn't care about the spot, naturally wouldn't target him, making Tang Yangwu brothers the masterminds behind this scheme, self-directed and self-acted.
"Smart, that's exactly what I mean."
"I'm just a regular person." Su Tu raised his eyes.
"No, no, if you were just a regular person, I wouldn't personally explain, nor would the Tang brothers stage all of this."
"They play this way, aiming for something. Su brother, you or maybe that so-called hidden family concealed in the Ancestor Star have such powerful family strength that my Kong Family cannot find any roots to trace, or your Martial Arts talent is unparalleled, growing to eventually become a Grandmaster figure.
No matter from which point, I wouldn't want to cross you, hence, I came."
Hearing Kong Qiu's words, Su Tu felt the other's thinking was unexpectedly far-reaching, his associative capacity comparable to those fat Zhuge-like strategists.
Kong Qiu clapped his hands, and soon another boy walked out from the alley holding a box.
"This is my younger brother, Kong Lun, let him tell you the incident of that day."
Kong Lun looked fair and clean, like a model student in appearance. But from his mouth came a completely different version.
That day, Tang Long had proactively called him out to meet, looking deeply troubled once they did.
Everyone in their circle knew of his crush on Wang Nuannuan, so Kong Lun gave a slight mention, and Tang Long seized the opportunity to perpetually lament that Wang Nuannuan had fancied an ordinary student. Kong Lun, annoyed by the constant talking, suggested beating up that student to vent, then left thereafter.
Listening to Kong Lun's recounting, Su Tu put on a surface expression of sudden realization but internally remained unperturbed.
"It was Tang Long who deliberately guided this fool into saying those words."
"I just hope to clear this misunderstanding with Su brother." Kong Qiu spoke earnestly, giving Kong Lun a glance, who immediately handed over the silver box.
"What do you mean by this?"
Su Tu glanced at the box, finding it identical to the one given by Tang Yangwu.
"A Compound Potion, what Tang Yangwu can offer, my Kong Family can offer as well, even better. Tang Yangwu wishes to befriend you, while I wish to be your brother, you and I hit it off quite well outside Old Zhou's!"
Kong Qiu's tone at this time resembled the one he had when they first met, carrying several hints of enthusiasm.
"Then it's better to accept than to refuse." Su Tu didn't hesitate, directly accepting the box.
"I've just finished practicing Basic Skill, needing replenishment urgently to return... " Su Tu gestured to eat, and Kong Qiu smiled in understanding.
Soon after, Su Tu left with the box.
"Brother, is it necessary to go through all this trouble?" Kong Lun didn't understand why his brother was making a fuss over just an ordinary person, just happening to know Martial Arts due to luck. Was it necessary to treat it so seriously?
Kong Qiu's smile faded slightly, his gaze fixed on the direction Su Tu left, softly speaking: "Quite necessary, you should remember little brother, a river's dam may collapse from an ant's nest, there's no useless play among aristocratic families.
This Su Tu must have hidden secrets unknown to us, driving the Tang Family to handle it this way. If we can make a friend, let's make a friend. The great wave is about to rise, who knows if today's nobody may become tomorrow's sun so great!
Just a box of potions, the Tang Family can afford it, so can we. If he sinks with the crowd, then so be it, but if he rises above, today's action averts a mysterious crisis."
Kong Lun looked at his brother with admiration, in the North Sea aristocratic families, who had perception and foresight like his brother!
"But, will he believe it?" Kong Lun spoke up.
"Whether he believes it or not doesn't matter, as long as he takes the stuff…"
Kong Qiu giggled, the implications profound, as for whether the Tang Family played this drama or he under jealousy had a lapse of judgment, who really cares?
....
Su Tu returned home, and once he stopped exercising, an immense hunger overwhelmed him. He quickly opened the box.
Inside were vials of potions,
but he didn't rush to drink them; instead, he followed the testing methods taught on the forum to check the potions.
Once ensuring it was safe, he poured one potion into his mouth.
The liquid entered his stomach and the next moment, warmth flowed from his abdomen, spreading throughout his body. The hunger instantly vanished, replaced by soothing comfort, as if an invisible hand massaged his meridians.
"Apple flavor, tastes decent."
Su Tu examined the potion bottle; the deficit in his body was replenished. Yesterday he ate a lot to barely fill half the deficit, yet this small potion could fully replenish it in a few seconds, surprising him somewhat.
As for Kong Qiu and Tang Yangwu's explanations, Su Tu didn't believe either, nor was he required to believe anyone.
Tang Yangwu sent him potions to forge ties, whereas Kong Qiu's potions aimed to keep him neutral, nothing more.
Su Tu held no interest in the disputes and schemes of aristocratic families, nor did he wish to think deeply about it.
He counted; the Tang Family's box contained thirty potions, while the Kong Family's had fifty.
"This potion is miraculous, if sent to disaster areas, wouldn't there be no more famines in the world?" Su Tu thought curiously, then opened the forum to search the trade page for the potion's price.
But upon seeing the numbers on the screen, Su Tu was slightly stunned.
"Is this how aristocratic families make friends...?"
The screen displayed a single Compound Potion, introducing its effects in detail, not only quickly replenishing bodily deficits but also soothing meridians, making the body recover rapidly.
One bottle priced at... 100,000 Federation Coins!!
Did you understand the concept of 100,000 Federation Coins!
By Su Tu's family's standards, their annual income only amounted to 700,000 Federation Coins, enough to buy only seven potions.
Including the one Su Tu drank, the Tang and Kong families sent him a total of 80 potions, equating to 8 million Federation Coins!
"Poor martial, rich literature", Su Tu had a concrete understanding of this phrase.
Ordinary people can't afford the Martial Arts Dao, one bottle a day means 100,000, and to replenish deficits, those family heirs likely consume countless potions, an unimaginable astronomical figure.
Not to mention, the other items on the trade page, where a one-hour lesson is priced at a million, 3 million for a half-hour guidance from a famous teacher, and 10 million as the starting bid for Pupil Technique.
"This isn't learning martial arts, it's just burning money..."
Staring at the prices on the page, Su Tu felt a temptation to sell all these Compound Potions.
Damn it, sell them, and it's an immediate 7.9 million, not exactly financial freedom, but it can be considered minor freedom, why even bother studying martial arts then!!