Don't Mess with That Dragon-Chapter 567 - 017 Lin Han
In the early morning, the sky has not yet lightened.
Lin Han woke up from bed, tidied himself up, smoothed out his wrinkled clothes, put on the gray servant outfit hanging nearby, then picked up a gray piece of cloth, bent down to lift the worn wooden basin in the corner, and walked out of the room.
Upon exiting, the cool air invigorated him, his lungs felt clear and refreshed, and all lingering fatigue faded away at that moment.
One hand holding charcoal, the other holding the cloth.
Lin Han walked out the door, following a path to an ancient well.
This was an ancient well in the old town, usually in the early mornings, many washing women would be here cleaning clothes.
However, it was still too early at this time, and there was no one around.
Approaching the well, Lin Han filled the wooden basin with water and then wiped his face with the cloth.
"Refreshing!"
In less than a minute, he was done with his washing.
In this cool breeze, he felt utterly refreshed.
Returning to the Martial Arts Academy courtyard,
The sky was already somewhat light.
However, there was still some time before the academy gates would open.
He shook his damp hair, then in the courtyard, recalled the teachings of the Martial Arts Instructors, spread his legs, and adopted a somewhat proper horse stance.
After all, Lin Han slowly memorized bits and pieces of the techniques taught to apprentices by the Martial Arts Instructor during training sessions.
Without guidance,
He took advantage of the time cleaning, remembering them desperately and practicing on his own.
This was why Lin Han, despite being bullied and beaten by the wealthy apprentices of the academy, often appeared near the training grounds to clean.
Being bullied now was nothing.
To avoid being bullied in the future, he must become strong, stronger!
Maintaining the horse stance, he swung his right hand and began to shout "Hey, ha, hey" while swinging his arms.
There was some semblance of style, looking somewhat impressive.
These were some basic boxing and palm techniques Lin Han secretly learned while the Martial Arts Instructor was teaching the apprentices.
Not systematic,
With even some mistakes and omissions.
Yet, Lin Han was still enthusiastically practicing.
Lin Han is an orphan,
More than a decade ago, on a snowy night, an old widower working odd jobs at the academy went out and discovered an infant still in swaddling clothes in the snow. Since he found him on a cold snowy night and his last name was Lin, he named the infant Lin Han.
At that time, the baby Lin Han was already very weak, but the old widower only fed him some porridge when he returned home.
To his surprise, little Lin Han managed to survive.
However, due to postnatal deficiencies, Lin Han’s body was very frail despite surviving that night.
The old widower dragged Lin Han through childhood, and he grew up to be as small as a bean sprout.
But four years ago, the old widower passed away.
As for such an insignificant widower, the academy’s stance was to simply toss him into a mass grave; having taken him in earlier was perhaps mainly because he provided free labor, aside from food, without costing any silver coins for posthumous arrangements.
As for being thrown into the mass grave, whether eaten by wild dogs or devoured by other wild animals, that was not their concern.
To prevent the old widower’s corpse from being exposed to the wilderness, young Lin Han spent three days digging a pit near the mass grave with wood, finally burying the old widower’s body in the ground.
Set up a simple mound as a grave.
In the future, during Qingming Festival, he would go to pay respects, leaving a remembrance.
After the old widower’s death, the academy would not keep useless people, so Lin Han took over the cleaning work at the academy.
No one cared about this.
To the instructors and owner in the academy, whether it was the old widower or Lin Han, it was uncertain if they even remembered such a person’s existence.
The old widower was an old hand at the academy, but people there had forgotten his origins, merely accustomed to having such an old servant cleaning.
In any case, there was no need for wages, at most just for the cook to prepare a bit more food.
Why not?
Thus, Lin Han took over the old widower’s work and stayed at the academy.
The odd jobs were not easy.
Especially in a place like the academy.
When the old widower was still alive, Lin Han helped with the work.
But now, with the old widower gone, all the cleaning tasks at the academy fell on Lin Han.
Exhausting.
Despite the exhaustion, when he was not busy, Lin Han consciously memorized what the instructors taught.
Not understanding was fine; if not, then just rote memorization.
Thankfully, what the academy taught wasn’t some exclusive secret, mostly just foundational, hence the instructors didn’t deliberately avoid teaching Lin Han while instructing the apprentices.
In this way, he absorbed and memorized bit by bit.
After several years, Lin Han gained some understanding of Martial Arts.
"Ha!"
An hour passed.
In the secluded courtyard, Lin Han threw his last punch, exhaling a breath of white mist.
Sweating profusely, panting heavily.
By this time, the sky was already showing the first light.
The day was brightening.
The best plan for the day is in the morning.
This meant a day of laborious work was about to begin.
Slightly reluctant.
There was only this one hour for cultivation.
But Lin Han had to stop.
One reason was the academy’s work, the other was the issue of food.
For practicing martial arts, if not providing treasures and various Spirit Medicines, at least one must eat their fill to have the energy to build a foundation.
However, in the academy, Lin Han, being a dispensable servant, had no chance to eat well, a few coarse rice meals and two greens were the limit provided by the academy.
Therefore, Lin Han grew as thin as a bean sprout.
Nonetheless, while his exterior remained frail, his slender body, due to years of persistent training, harbored considerable hidden strength.
Years of martial arts practice had certainly been effective to some degree.
His power, at least, was not inferior to the average adult male.
"Phew, better get to work first."
Taking a deep breath, Lin Han collected his Heart Spirit.
Before the apprentices arrived, he had to help the kitchen prepare breakfast, then move the academy’s teaching materials to the training ground, waiting for the apprentices or instructors to arrive at the academy. After they finished breakfast, only then could he eat whatever was left of breakfast.
Once the instructors began teaching apprentices in the training ground, Lin Han started cleaning, mopping, and various tasks.
Very heavy workload.
If not for years of secretly learning and training, and the fact the academy’s kitchen may be lacking in grease but limited rice quantity was sufficient, he probably wouldn’t have been able to sustain for long.
He placed the worn basin back in the corner, hung the cloth back on the wall.
Locked the door,
and walked out.
What Lin Han didn’t see was the Stone Ring he picked up yesterday and placed inside the "Treasure Box," beneath some straw, which flickered with a wisp of cyan light.
Flickered and disappeared.
