This incident not only astounded the stall-keeper, but even the child himself could scarce believe his own strength. Once he regained his presence of mind, he knew he must flee, yet the opportune moment had already passed. A mob swarmed him, raining down a torrent of fists and kicks too numerous for the lad to withstand. He was forced to the earth, bearing their assault as they vented their rage upon him at will; he could do naught but cry out in excruciating pain. Yet he did not weep, nor did he plead for mercy, for he knew that lamentation and entreaty were of no avail against those who held no compassion in their hearts.
At that very moment, the previous Sect Master of the Divine Eagle Sect made his appearance.
The swarm of blows that had been thrashing the child's frame abruptly vanished. The orphan struggled to open his swollen eyes, only to see the pristine white back of a figure shielding him; beneath this shadow, the crowd that had rushed to harm him was suddenly dispersed.
Onlookers recounted in bewilderment how the man in white had suddenly soared through the air from the far side of the market, traversing the space to reach the mob. He glided through the thicket of fists and feet, yet not a single strike brushed against his body. Then, with a mere sweep of his left arm, the ten-odd men who had been assaulting the boy were sent hurtling in all directions.
To Chen Shuyuan, this was naught but a miracle! For the first time, the boy had beheld a peerless master of the martial world. In his innocence, he believed this was no mortal act, but a deity descending from the Heavens to grant him salvation. Only later did he learn that the move which scattered ten foes with a single wave of the hand was "The Eagle Spreads its Wings," one of the twenty-one stances of the "Thunderous Eagle Claw" technique.
When faced with such invincible might, the common folk of the marketplace fled in disarray; none dared show their face or utter a single word of inquiry or reproach. When the surroundings returned to solemn silence, the man in white reached out to support the wounded child and led him away from that marketplace forever.
This marked the first occasion upon which Chen Shuyuan encountered the previous Sect Master of the Divine Eagle Sect... a fateful meeting born entirely from a single 'Hu Bing' pastry.
At this thought, Master Chen reached out to take a piece of the Hu Bing. He gazed at it blankly for a moment before slowly tearing off a small morsel and placingมัน into his mouth to chew.
"This bean-filled Hu Bing is of a commendable flavor," Chen Shuyuan mused inwardly.
Naturally, its savor was far from ordinary, for it had been expertly crafted by the Head Chef surnamed Zhang—the man known as Zhang Gongwei-zhi (The Sage of Flavors of the Zhang Palace). This individual had once prepared offerings for the Emperor and the Imperial kinsmen within the Palace; however, he had unwittingly committed a transgression. While in a drunken stupor during a New Year banquet, he had dared to accost a court lady and was subsequently expelled from the Palace.
Though his conduct lacked propriety, his culinary expertise was truly that of a master. Every dish he prepared was meticulously refined; some even claimed, "If one might savor the handiwork of Zhang Gongwei-zhi, one could face death without the slightest regret!"
Yet, even such exquisite flavors did not bring Master Chen the same joy he felt when eating Hu Bing as a child. In those days, a single pastry was not merely a savoring of delicacies, but a lifeline that allowed him to survive but one more day, escaping the torment of a hollow stomach and the gnawing ache of starvation.
In his youth, Chen Shuyuan was like so many other children of the Song Dynasty—a destitute orphan whose home was shattered and family dispersed by the calamities of war.
Though the Great Song Dynasty was renowned for its illustrious splendor and cultural opulence, it had long neglected its military might. Lacking the prowess for war, the Empire suffered perpetual invasions from foreign tribes: be it the Western Xia from the northwest, the Jurchens (Nuzhen : 女真) of the Jin Dynasty from the northeast, or the Khitan (Qidan : 契丹) of the Liao, who relentlessly harassed the northern borders.
These incursions brought untold hardship upon the common folk. As the cost of grain soared and famine spread, the people were forced to flee their homes as destitute refugees. Worse still, the constant threat of foreign conquest led to continuous forced conscription to defend the borders; among the multitudes sent to the battlefield, many were those who would never again behold their ancestral hearths.
Chen Shuyuan's father, Chen Qingyi (陈欣怡), was among those fated never to return. He was no man of martial strength, but a frail scholar who had repeatedly tasted the bitterness of failure in the Imperial Examinations. Lacking both the profound knowledge to pass and the influential connections to secure a post as an Imperial Literatus, he remained a destitute student. He eked out a meager existence by writing for hire and selling his calligraphy in the marketplace, ever nursing the hope of one day attaining an official rank.
Despite his poverty, he possessed a resolute spirit; he immersed himself in the Classics to prepare for the examinations while simultaneously instructing his only son in the arts of letters. Surprisingly, while the father was slow of mind, the son was gifted with penetrating wisdom, mastering whatever was taught with remarkable speed.
Chen Shuyuan could read and write by the age of five or six. Though not yet a master of the brush, he became the supreme hope of his parents. Thus, from his youth, he grew conversant with characters, archaic scripts, and various styles of pictorial art. In later years, upon joining the Divine Eagle Sect, he had the fortune of following Sect Leader Lin, a man of great aesthetic refinement in calligraphy, through whom Shuyuan's learning advanced even further.
Having traversed the world and witnessed its multitude of experiences, he came to perceive clearly that characters were more than mere conduits of meaning; they mirrored the inner heart, harbored hidden philosophies, and could even manifest the very essence of one's martial power.
It was precisely because of this that he was intrigued upon first beholding the calligraphy of Head Steward Liang Jingtian, compelling him to engage in parley. The vast knowledge that granted him such penetrating wisdom had been meticulously fostered by his father from the very beginning. Yet his father did not live to see any of his son's illustrious success, for the authorities came to conscript him as a soldier to meet the onslaught of the Liao armies; with tears in his eyes, he embraced Chen Shuyuan before bidding a final farewell. A melancholy smile graced his face, and with moist eyes, he cast a lingering glance back before striding out of the house; this was the final image he ever beheld of his father.
For a destitute family, the loss of its pillar made their untold hardships multiply; his mother was forced to engage in the grueling labor of mending garments and even carrying water and washing clothes, all to secure enough income to sustain the lives of mother and son. But their survival was no easy feat, for they were burdened not only with providing for their daily needs but also with the heavy obligation to repay debts his father had incurred, borrowing from others to fund his many journeys for the Imperial Examinations. After enduring such a wretched existence with his mother for two or three more years, Chen Shuyuan—not yet twelve years of age—became a completely destitute orphan when his mother fell gravely ill and passed away.
His tragic tale seemed to have reached the very zenith of wretchedness, yet fate had not yet finished its torment. His ancestral home was seized by his uncle-in-law—the husband of his father's own elder sister.
Little Chen was expelled from his hearth, for his uncle-in-law claimed the property as repayment for the heavy debts his parents had left behind; thus, the lad was reduced to a wandering life. Destitute and wandering orphans were a common sight in an Empire in turmoil, where selfish hearts thrived amidst the calamities of war.
The child was forced to struggle for survival; begging and stealing were but the paltry means available to prolong his days and alleviate the gnawing torment of hunger from one sun to the next.
Though Little Chen was an emaciated orphan, even the more robust youths dared not lay a hand upon him in malice. This was because he possessed a mastery of one or two secret stances capable of sending an adversary of far greater bulk crashing to the earth. These martial techniques had been imparted to him by an elusive and mysterious Buddhist monk...
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