Changing Circumstances (Part 2)

"Fighting techniques are methods for knocking others down. The key lies in striking vital points—your movements must be fast, your force sufficient, and your aim precise."

In the courtyard, Old Man Zheng walked about with his hands behind his back among pairs of sparring men, muttering the essentials of Huishan Fist from time to time.

It was just past noon, and the cicadas in the trees were crying everywhere.

Yet even they could not drown out the shouts of the people in the Huishan Fist courtyard.

Wei He was standing face-to-face with Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu.

Old Man Zheng's words rang in his ears.

"Huishan Fist has basic defensive moves, offensive moves, and killing moves. For now, you'll practice the defensive moves first: blocking and evasion."

"Blocking is inferior to evasion, and evasion is inferior to striking first. Remember that. Before you make a move, think about how to deal with your enemy. Once you deal with them, there will be no need to defend or dodge."

"Defensive moves are the simplest, but they have countless variations. Raise both hands and clench your fists, lower your head and tuck in your chin. Keep one fist slightly higher than the other to shield your cheeks, and brace your elbows."

The more Wei He listened, the more familiar it sounded.

Once he followed the description and assumed the stance, he looked at Third Senior Brother opposite him.

He was instantly speechless.

Wasn't this the posture used by those fighters he had watched in free fighting matches in his previous life?

The body was hunched, the arms guarding the head, face, and chest. The difference was that Huishan Fist did not have that bouncing stance.

Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu set his posture and shot Wei He a provocative look.

"Try throwing a punch?"

He grinned.

Wei He ignored him and continued carefully adjusting his stance according to Old Man Zheng's instructions, grasping the meaning behind it.

This defensive move had five variations in total, each meant to handle one of five different kinds of attacks.

Soon came the evasive movements, mainly intended for opponents carrying weapons.

Which way to dodge, how to dodge most effectively, what to watch for after evading, how to counterattack, how to find the other party's weak points.

And so on and so forth. Old Man Zheng taught the newcomers a great heap of different routines.

They truly were routines.

Wei He and the others had to practice these Huishan Fist routines until they were so familiar that they became instinctive—so that whenever the need arose, they could unleash them like lightning by reflex.

Then achieve success in a single stroke.

"Master, I heard Huishan Fist has an Internal Cultivation Method. Will you teach it?" a short newcomer suddenly asked.

Old Man Zheng, who had been pacing around, halted. He viciously kicked the short fellow in the backside.

"Internal Cultivation Method? Only after you've tempered your body to the utmost will you be qualified to practice one. You heard some rumor and started shouting about it—what the hell do you know? That's for Force Cultivation!"

He shook his head, walked back to his high-backed chair with an eight-character gait, sat down, and said nothing more.

Wei Ying quickly brought over tea and pastries.

After discovering that Wei Ying was much more meticulous in her work, Old Man Zheng had reassigned her to serve in the courtyard.

Along with that, his attitude toward Wei He had improved quite a bit as well.

Wei He had worried that Second Sister might be bullied, but after asking around and observing carefully, he found that Old Man Zheng seemed to place little value on women, while being especially fond of money.

That set his mind at ease.

Over the entire day, Wei He and the others kept practicing all kinds of routines.

The defensive moves included blocking routines and evasion routines.

Then, on the second day, they began the offensive moves.

There was not even a trace of instruction in killing moves. Old Man Zheng had no intention of teaching them either.

Just the systems of offense and defense alone were enough to keep this group of poorly educated men practicing for a very, very long time.

Among them, Wei He's progress was in the lower-middle range. Of those who had entered alongside him, quite a few had paid their money but failed to persist, leaving early.

Others had better aptitude than him. They had already finished the offensive and defensive moves and begun tempering their fists and vital energy, far ahead of him.

He had originally thought life would continue like this forever—peaceful and quiet, free of illness and disaster.

But before long, Old Man Zheng of Huishan Fist and another martial arts master planned to hold a simple internal contest.

This internal contest was commonly called a fist match.

In Feiye City, it was a common activity between martial arts masters.

The rules were simple. The masters themselves did not take the field; instead, their disciples competed in skill. Many nearby wealthy merchants and rich households would be invited to watch.

The purpose was to display the martial arts masters' teaching ability.

"The ones we're matching fists with are from Bat Fist." As Third Senior Brother, Cheng Shaojiu had long since finished the offensive and defensive systems. He was now constantly tempering his fists' toughness and had reached the Ox Hide realm.

"Bat Fist?" Wei He asked quietly as he exchanged moves with him. "Have you fought them before?"

"Old rivals. We have a fist match every half year or so, with victories and defeats on both sides. It's basically a contest for reputation among the several surrounding towns." Cheng Shaojiu looked relaxed.

"Anyway, you won't be taking the field. What are you afraid of? Only a few of us will compete."

He tilted his head toward Senior Disciple Brother Zhao Hong in the distance.

"See? Senior Disciple Brother is already at the Stone Hide level. When his fists hit someone, it's like getting smashed by a huge boulder—their bones can crack in one blow.

"Then there's Second Sister Zheng Hongxiu, Master's granddaughter. Her fists are at the Stone Hide level too, but her inborn physique leaves her a little weaker, so she has less strength. Still, she's much stronger than I am."

"Second Sister seems to rarely come over here?" Wei He asked.

"Mm, rarely. She's always living in another courtyard, where it's all female disciples." Cheng Shaojiu nodded.

He knocked aside Wei He's incoming right hand, suddenly remembered something, and made a stopping gesture.

"Oh, right. There's news about the matter you asked me to look into. A group of stone carvers went outside the city last year and disappeared. No one knows whether they're dead or alive, and no bodies were found nearby."

".Is it common for people to disappear like that?" Wei He's expression did not change, but his gaze darkened slightly.

"Once in a while. It's chaos outside—bandits, mountain brigands, robbers, fierce beasts, poisonous insects, gangs. One careless moment, and a person is gone." Cheng Shaojiu sighed as he spoke.

Outside the city was something of a taboo subject. The towering walls of Feiye City shut out the turmoil and lurking dangers beyond.

The city was chaotic too, but at least there was still some way to survive. Outside the city was different; it was far, far more dangerous.

"Also, that Chen Biao you've had me keep an eye on—didn't he join the Horned Snake Gang recently? I heard from my cousin that yesterday, the Horned Snake Gang fought their Green Bamboo Gang over territory in Nanshan Town and got a lot of people beaten badly. That Chen Biao was among them. You can look into it."

Cheng Shaojiu's cousin belonged to the Green Bamboo Gang and was even a minor leader. Though he liked to brag, his sources were reliable.

"Nanshan Town? Thank you!" Wei He nodded solemnly.

To be honest, Cheng Shaojiu had helped him quite a bit lately. Although Wei He had repaid him by helping with his coursework, compared to Cheng Shaojiu's help, that small repayment was truly nothing.

"What are you thanking me for?" Cheng Shaojiu waved it off. "To be honest, I know exactly what I'm like. I like a little of this and a little of that, wanting to learn everything but never learning anything well. But I do have one good quality: I like making friends. If a friend is in trouble and I can help, there's no second word!"

He patted his chest.

"Of course, to be honest, I also judge the people I help. If someone's no fun, I can't be bothered with them." He smiled and cast a meaningful glance toward a corner.

There stood a dark, skinny youth whom Old Man Zheng had personally brought back last month as a trusted recruit.

His name was Xiao Ran.

That name alone was completely different in taste and class from everyone else's. Just hearing it gave off a scholarly air.

But that was not even the most important part. Xiao Ran's aptitude and comprehension far surpassed the rest of them.

He learned anything taught to him after one demonstration, and quickly became proficient when practicing.

Old Man Zheng treated him as a treasure he had found after searching heaven and earth. He often gave him private instruction and treated Xiao Ran entirely as a closed-door disciple.

It was completely different from how he treated ordinary disciples like them.

"Junior Brother Xiao Ran isn't like us." Wei He shook his head.

When he had first entered, he too had fantasized about being a genius. Unfortunately, reality had dealt him a heavy punch.

His aptitude was no different from Cheng Shaojiu's—utterly ordinary among the crowd.

"That kid Xiao Ran—I invited him to drink with us before, and he actually scolded me in public for not practicing my fists properly every day, wasting money and effort.

"I nearly slapped him right in front of everyone!" Cheng Shaojiu still felt angry when he recalled it.

"He's only fifteen, isn't he? Maybe he's just too young." Wei He tried to persuade him.

"Fifteen isn't that young! When I was fifteen, I was already betrothed!" Cheng Shaojiu snapped. "Forget it, let's not talk about him. Want to go have a drink together after practice?"

"No. I have something to do too." Wei He shook his head.

"You have something to do? As if I don't know you. Today isn't assignment collection day. Idle time is idle time—what could you possibly have to do? To be honest, what I despise most are those fake proper types. They say, 'I'm busy, I need to practice my fists,' but behind everyone's backs, they sneak out to drink at brothels.

"There are plenty of that sort in our courtyard."

Cheng Shaojiu began grumbling again.

"I really do have something to do." Wei He shook his head.

"Tell me, then. What is it? If it's something big, I can't do anything, but if it's small, I'll handle it for you!" Cheng Shaojiu promised with a broad wave of his hand.

"It's not much." Wei He smiled. "I just plan to take a stroll around Nanshan Town."

"Uh..." Cheng Shaojiu was instantly stunned.

He had only just given Wei He news about Nanshan Town, and this fellow was already going there. His purpose needed no explanation.

After all, Wei He had previously asked him to watch Chen Biao's movements. Now that Chen Biao had been injured, he was heading for Nanshan Town.

For the first time—truly the first time—he carefully looked Wei He over from head to toe.

Before this, he had always regarded Wei He as a little follower. Wei He was taciturn, tight-lipped, never gossiped recklessly, and never spoke ill of others behind their backs.

So whenever he wanted to complain about something, he would chat with Wei He.

All along, his impression of Wei He had been that he was quiet, tenacious, and law-abiding.

But just then.

Cheng Shaojiu suddenly found that his view of Junior Brother Wei had gained an inexplicable trace of something different.

For a while, neither spoke. They continued silently sparring and exchanging moves.

Cheng Shaojiu clearly now held a measure of wariness toward Wei He.

The harmless little junior brother had suddenly bared a hint of claws and fangs. He was not psychologically prepared for it and had yet to adjust.

As for Wei He, he had always been this silent.

Silently practicing, silently exchanging moves, silently and carefully experiencing how to exert force and how to respond.

Once the offensive and defensive practice was done, it would be time to temper their fists in earnest. Ox Hide, Stone Hide, Iron Hide—the three realms of Huishan Fist and the foundation of Huishan Fist's resounding reputation beyond its doors.

They were its foundation for standing firm.

The sky gradually darkened, and it was soon time to end practice again.

Cheng Shaojiu wiped his sweat with the towel around his neck and looked at Wei He, who was changing clothes.

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak, yet hesitated and stopped.

Though he had practiced Huishan Fist for a long time, this was the first time he had met someone like Wei He.

That ruthlessness hidden within silence was like a venomous snake in a dark corner—waiting quietly for its chance.

Then striking fiercely.

Most others merely lived on the surface, acting the moment they spoke.

Cheng Shaojiu hurriedly came back to himself, but in the brief moment he had lost focus, Wei He had already vanished from before his eyes.