The Checkpoints (Part Two)

Wei He practiced Huishan Fist three times in one breath, stopping only when his hands turned blazing red and could no longer bear the strain. He let out a sigh and stepped aside for the next person.

"How is it?" Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu ate strips of meat on the sidelines. It looked like some kind of dried rat meat, and he chewed on a thin rat leg with a somewhat sickening appearance.

"Not bad," Wei He nodded.

"This skin grinding relies entirely on perseverance. After all, the process of grinding is quite painful. I might worry about others failing to hold on, but you don't have that problem," Cheng Shaojiu said with a smile.

As he spoke, he moved closer, the smile on his face fading slightly.

"Chen Biao is dead. He was found dead in his own courtyard a few days ago."

He lowered his voice, his words heavy with implication.

In this era, dead people were quite common. Nobody cared if a petty hoodlum died.

Yet this Chen Biao was different.

Cheng Shaojiu knew, and Wei He knew.

"Oh," Wei He responded dully.

"His two lackeys died with him as well," Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He's shoulder, his expression somewhat complex.

He gained a whole new understanding of the ruthless efficiency harbored by the junior brother before him.

He had just mentioned Chen Biao's injuries a short while ago, and now all three of them were dead—how could there be such a coincidence?

To say Wei He wasn't the one who did it was something he simply refused to believe.

Reflecting on it carefully, the speed of this Junior Brother Wei's actions and the ruthlessness of his methods sent a chill down his spine.

Cheng Shaojiu had been in this Huishan Fist Academy for a long time and had seen his share of young people of all sorts, but this was his first time witnessing such fierce resolve coupled with sheer execution.

Fortunately, people in his own family employed similar methods, so Cheng Shaojiu held no different view of the matter.

"Such is this world," he sighed.

Wei He remained silent. He knew Cheng Shaojiu had guessed the truth, but without evidence for such matters, no one could do a thing to him.

"Let's not talk about that. Pork in the city has gone up in price again recently, and those of us practicing martial arts can't go without meat. Although we can eat other meats besides pork, eating things like this dried rat meat always feels somewhat unsatisfying."

Cheng Shaojiu quickly returned to his normal state and brought up another topic.

Wei He listened, simply listening, occasionally offering a response to show he had not drifted off.

The two quickly shifted their attention elsewhere.

Yet they had barely spoken a few words before Senior Disciple Brother Zhao Hong walked into the courtyard with a deadpan expression, leading several female disciples dressed in Huishan Fist attire.

"Master."

These female disciples were thick-waisted and broad-shouldered, save for one who possessed some grace, a slim figure, a full bosom, and delicate skin.

By comparison, even Wei He's second sister, Wei Ying, who stood on the sidelines, was eclipsed.

Most of the men practicing skin grinding in the courtyard had their gazes drawn to this female disciple.

There was faintly an aura of cleanliness about this woman that ordinary poor people lacked.

Wei He also noticed these people, unable to help himself from taking a few extra glances at the most striking female disciple.

"The Women's Academy disbanded, and they've all been merged over here. They said the numbers weren't enough," Cheng Shaojiu whispered from the side.

"Third Senior Brother, you're well-informed. Do you know that prettiest junior sister?" another man stepped close and asked with a smile.

"Naturally I do," Cheng Shaojiu nodded. "Though you lot shouldn't harbor any ideas about her. Her name is Jiang Su, and she's the well-known second daughter of the Jiang Family in town. Her family wealth is considerable, and her own talent is among the very best over at the Women's Academy. I'd say only Xiao Ran is a cut above her.

"The most crucial thing is that this junior sister doesn't have a very pleasant temper." At this, he shook his head, clearly unimpressed with Jiang Su.

Wei He listened in silence from the side, offering no remarks.

He had consistently been covertly seeking and investigating the situation of his eldest sister and his parents.

As for the eldest sister's side, the trouble now was that even the entire Blackwater Gang was slowly dwindling in numbers, growing increasingly desolate and on the verge of collapse.

As for his parents, the only news he had obtained was from Cheng Shaojiu—specifically, confirmed news of their disappearance.

Aside from that, there was no other way forward.

Thus, his mind was not rooted in the realm of romance at all. What he thought of day in and day out was simply cultivating his martial arts well, securing a foothold of capital, and then secretly searching for the whereabouts of his relatives.

No matter what, his parents and eldest sister had bestowed upon him no small amount of care and support when he had first arrived.

He was a person who recognized bonds not by blood, but by sentiment. He did not care about blood ties, but this debt of affection, he had to repay.

"Look, the ones who went to strike up a conversation are all coming back," Cheng Shaojiu said with a smiling, schadenfreude-filled tone. "This Junior Sister Jiang is simply not in our circle. You'd all do well to wake up."

Hearing this, Wei He looked over.

Sure enough, the several senior and junior brothers who had swarmed around were all rebuffed with cold expressions by the newly arrived Junior Sister Jiang Su.

Jiang Su looked left and right, then walked alone to a corner and began her skin grinding. He couldn't fathom why a young girl would choose a martial art like Huishan Fist that damaged one's skin.

Cheng Shaojiu gossiped with a few other senior brothers for a while, and seeing nothing further of interest, they naturally dispersed.

Wei He thought nothing of it. After resting for a brief spell, he stepped forward to take his turn, beginning his second round of skin grinding.

During these days, he had already sensed that the final speck of blackness on the Boundary-Breaking Pearl at his chest was about to complete itself.

Because of this, a surge of anticipation arose in his heart, and practicing his martial arts gave him considerable drive.

Yet the more he anticipated this very last bit of blackness, the slower it felt.

Time flew by.

Days of grueling practice slowly passed. The blackness on the Boundary-Breaking Pearl grew increasingly dense, and that final scrap of blankness shrank steadily smaller.

Meanwhile, the stage of skin grinding gradually began to deepen.

According to Old Man Zheng's rules, only two months of time were allotted for skin grinding; if one still failed to successfully grind the skin and achieve entry after two months, further success would be impossible.

This indicated that the individual's aptitude was simply inadequate, and no amount of continued practice would yield limited achievements.

There were six senior and junior brothers practicing skin grinding alongside Wei He.

With Wei He included, that made seven.

Wei He practiced doggedly and in silence, uttering not a word nor a sound.

Suddenly, one morning.

Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu was unusually quiet, with very few words. It felt somewhat abnormal.

Wei He had just stripped off his outer garment, preparing to roll up his sleeves and begin practicing, when he saw two of the disciples who usually practiced skin grinding alongside them. Dressed in full attire and carrying luggage, they slipped quietly out through the side door.

"Why aren't they practicing at this hour?" one person nearby asked in surprise.

"They aren't practicing. They won't be practicing ever again," Cheng Shaojiu said flatly.

The few people around understood and fell silent.

Only a junior brother who had entered the academy that very month wore a look of utter incomprehension.

Not far away, Old Man Zheng had once again begun to show off, explaining the movement system of Huishan Fist to the newcomers.

From time to time, he would lash out with a willow switch.

The newly arrived lads could only endure it, and someone hurried to the inner room to fetch snacks to present to him.

Old Zheng was as fond of playing for time and dragging out the rhythm as ever, a scene identical to when Wei He had first entered the academy.

Wei He remained silent, calculating the time he had spent on his skin grinding.

There was half a month left; if he still didn't succeed, there was nothing more he could do. He would simply have to leave in dejection.

With this thought, he silently rolled up his sleeves, walked over to a wooden basin, and began another day of skin grinding.

For once, Cheng Shaojiu didn't talk much on the sidelines, instead wandering off by himself to a corner to begin practical combat sparring with someone.

The spacious courtyard was divided into three sections: one for newcomers, one for skin grinding, and one for practical combat sparring. The ground between them was marked off with white lime lines, creating clear boundaries.

Time continued to pass day by day.

The two-month deadline drew ever closer.

Soon, two more individuals cracked under this psychological pressure and departed prematurely.

At the same time, new people joined the skin-grinding phase.

Wei He labored on in silence, but the red color on his twin fists continued to fade away rapidly, failing utterly to reach the texture of ox hide.

Only upon reaching ox hide could one truly remain to continue practicing subsequent techniques; otherwise, without this foundational layer, the Huishan Fist could not be mastered, and staying behind served no purpose.

Swiftly, only five days remained before the deadline.

In his own home.

In the afternoon, Wei He returned from the courtyard, sat down on a stool to rest for a short while, and was just about to get up to eat.

With a soft click, the wooden door was gently pushed open.

Second Sister Wei Ying walked in stealthily, holding a small package in her hand—a small gray package.

Before she even drew close, a thick medicinal odor drifted out from the package.

Wei Ying hurriedly reached back to close the door and dropped the latch.

"Xiao He, take this!" she approached and handed the small package in her hand to her younger brother.

"Second Sister, what is this?" Wei He asked in confusion as he took it, opening the gray cloth wrap to reveal another layer of gray cloth inside.

After unbinding three layers of cloth consecutively, the innermost layer revealed a yellow paper package. On the exterior of the paper package, three characters were written in red ink: Blood Nourishing Powder.

The three large characters were clearly visible.

"This is Blood Nourishing Powder!" Wei He started in surprise. He frequently went to the apothecary to buy money worm meat, so he was quite familiar with this formula.

This was a restorative prescription specially used to replenish vital energy and blood; its efficacy was excellent, but the price was exorbitant.

"Don't worry, it wasn't stolen, nor was it bought," Wei Ying smiled, a hint of bashful expression blooming across her flushed face.

"Every day when I tidy up the medicine stores and warehouses for Old Zheng, there are a lot of fragments and dregs left over. I gathered them bit by bit, and it took a long time to pool together a small package like this. Don't mind that it's too broken up."

Hearing this, Wei He carefully opened the paper package and peeked inside from an opening.

Sure enough, it was filled with tiny, broken fragments, extremely fine and shattered.

The largest were only the size of a fingernail, while the smallest were mere grains of rice.

He had no idea how much time and effort Wei He's second sister must have spent to collect this paper package.

After a moment of silence, Wei He nodded earnestly.

"I know. Don't worry, I will definitely pass!"

"Mn, I believe in you!" Wei Ying also nodded solemnly.

The two spoke softly for a while longer until the sky grew dark.

Only then did Wei He stand up to escort Wei Ying back to the rented lodging near the Huishan Fist Academy.

Returning to his own home, Wei He silently soaked the Blood Nourishing Powder in water and immediately began to simmer it.

As he brewed it, he pulled open the front of his shirt and glanced at the Boundary-Breaking Pearl.

The pattern there had completely blackened a few days ago.

An inexplicable urge made him feel as though a balloon on the verge of bursting was hung inside his chest.

With just a gentle poke, the balloon could be ruptured, allowing him to use the Boundary-Breaking Pearl.

Yet he had continuously endured. He intended to rely on his own efforts to break through and achieve entry into the skin-grinding stage of Huishan Fist.

Yet as the deadline drew ever closer, the hope in his heart grew smaller and smaller.

"Most of the time, one still has to admit that gaps truly exist between people."

Wei He watched the burning stove hearth, placing the medicine pot upon it to boil.

He knew that if he failed the skin grinding, he would have to leave the Huishan Fist Academy, with no way to progress any further in the future.