Before dawn, the eastern sky had only begun to glow with a faint fish-belly white. Yet Ye Qingxuan's room was no longer silent.
He sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, eyes tightly shut, his upper body bare. After a night's rest, his crimson left arm no longer burned as fiercely as it had the previous night. Instead, a deep ache and itch now lay buried beneath the flesh.
Following the old method, he pressed his right hand, wrapped in a cloth bundle, against his left shoulder. Lowering his waist into a horse stance, he circulated his qi to his dantian and began the dull, painful rubbing once more.
Sweat soon seeped from his brow and slid down his lean cheeks. His teeth were clenched hard. Every time the cloth bundle ground over his skin, it brought a searing pain that seeped through the flesh and reached straight into his sinews and bones.
But his movements never stopped. Inch by inch, he remained steadfast.
The lessons from doing it twice the previous night had taught him that going too far was as bad as falling short. His body was still frail, like a lump of pottery clay that had not yet been fired through. It had to be simmered slowly over a gentle flame; haste was out of the question.
Once in the morning and once at night, accumulating two Merit points each day—this was the safest method available to him for now.
When the cloth bundle rubbed from his shoulder to his wrist for the third time, the muscles in his arm were already trembling uncontrollably, and his strength was nearly exhausted.
At that moment, the scroll in his mind unfurled on its own. A point of light appeared at his thought and sank into the area representing Indestructible Vajra Body.
[Merit: +1]
A warm current surged from his sea of consciousness, washing over his aching left arm. The searing pain quickly receded, transforming into a pleasantly numbing comfort that spread through his entire body.
He opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air.
[Martial Art: Indestructible Vajra Body] [Realm: Not Yet Initiated (Progress: Zero Inches)] [Merit: 4/5]
Four-fifths!
He was only one point away from completion.
Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist, feeling the surge of new strength beneath his flesh. It was solid, tangible growth—the foundation on which he would establish himself in this turbid world.
He put on his clothes. Ye Caiwei had also risen and was starting a fire in the kitchen.
"Brother, we're having steamed egg custard today." The little girl's face glowed red in the firelight.
"You eat it. Your brother will eat at the yamen." Ye Qingxuan rubbed her head. "Remember, don't hold back. You need to eat until you're fair and plump. Then your brother will be happy when he comes home."
Without waiting for his sister to answer, he grabbed a cold steamed bun from the table, stuffed it into his mouth, and strode out through the courtyard gate.
Time could not be wasted.
By the time he reached the Fengtian Division yamen, the rear courtyard was already teeming with voices.
Something seemed different today. The long wooden tables in the courtyard had been moved aside, and all the constables, whether regular or temporary, stood assembled in formation.
Two men stood beneath the corridor eaves.
One was tall and thin with a stern face: Chief Constable Li, one of the chief constables. The other was slightly plump and smiling broadly. He was the other Chief Constable Yan. The newly appointed Chief Constable Zhang was the only one missing.
Wei Datong edged up beside Ye Qingxuan and lowered his voice. "See that? Chief Constable Zhang didn't come today. I heard he drank too much at Drunken Immortal Tower last night and couldn't even get out of bed."
The moment he finished speaking, Chief Constable Li gave a heavy cough from beneath the eaves, and the courtyard immediately fell silent.
"Today's street patrols proceed as usual. There's just one matter I need to remind everyone about." Chief Constable Li's gaze flashed like lightning as it swept over the crowd. "The city has been unsettled lately, with the various gangs constantly rubbing against one another. Keep your eyes open when patrolling, and don't get involved lightly. If trouble arises, return to the yamen and report it first. Do not act on your own authority."
After he finished speaking, Chief Constable Yan began calling out names and assigning teams.
"...Ye Qingxuan, Wei Datong, Xiong Tiezhu, White Stone Alley."
At the words "White Stone Alley," the skin on Wei Datong's face twitched.
The three of them collected their waist badges and short sabers before leaving the yamen. Wei Datong seemed uneasy the entire way and spoke little.
Xiong Tiezhu carried his thick-backed saber over one shoulder and asked in his booming voice, "What's wrong with White Stone Alley?"
"What's wrong?" Wei Datong glanced left and right. Seeing no one nearby, he leaned over and said, "White Stone Alley is the Fierce Tiger Hall's lair! Our creditor, Hall Master Duan Tianbao—his Headquarters is right there."
At that, Ye Qingxuan did not slow his steps, but his gaze turned toward the alley.
Unlike the bustling Pear Blossom Alley, White Stone Alley exuded a chilling air. The alley was broad, its courtyard walls exceptionally tall, all built of gray brick and black tile, with their gates tightly shut. Few pedestrians walked the streets, and those who did hurried along without daring to linger. From time to time, they saw several bare-chested, tattooed men leaning in groups of three or five against the walls, sizing up passersby with unfriendly eyes.
Their constable uniforms had been a tiger's skin in Pear Blossom Alley. Here, however, they were not quite enough.
When those men saw them, they merely cast lazy glances their way, showing not the slightest intention of moving aside.
"See that large three-courtyard residence?" Wei Datong jerked his chin toward a compound deep in the alley, its black-lacquered gate flanked by two stone lions. "That's the Fierce Tiger Hall Headquarters. Duan Tianbao is inside."
He sighed. "Those people and our Fengtian Division have always kept to their own sides of the well and the river. On the surface, they follow the 'rules': they don't cause deaths or disrupt the market. As for us, we're happy to enjoy the peace. As long as they deliver their 'tribute' to the chief constables on time, White Stone Alley remains their territory."
"The officials and bandits are one family." Wei Datong summed it up at last, his voice full of self-mockery.
Ye Qingxuan's gaze settled on the imposing gate of the Headquarters.
The enormous debt of fourteen taels of silver had come from there.
He thought of his father.
If his father were still alive, then with his status as a regular constable and his friendship with people like Hong Qingshan, he might only need to seek out one of the chief constables, offer a few taels as a favor, and exchange some polite words. This debt could then have been reduced from a major matter to a minor one, and from a minor matter to nothing at all. No matter how fierce a dragon crossing the river Duan Tianbao was, he would still have to show the Fengtian Division some respect.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
Now, he was merely an unregistered temporary constable, a man of little consequence. He did not even have the qualifications to meet a chief constable.
In this turbid world, once the shelter of power was gone, all that remained was the naked law of the strong and the weak.
He silently withdrew his gaze and tightened his grip on the short saber at his waist.
Begging others was inferior to relying on himself.
The afternoon patrol passed without incident. The Fierce Tiger Hall's people did not come to harass them, but the scrutinizing gazes that followed them felt like thorns pricking his back.
When it was time to end their shift, the three returned to the yamen and handed in their waist badges. Ye Qingxuan was eager to return home. He politely declined Wei Datong's invitation to drink and went straight back to the Southern District.
Dinner was radish and meat soup. Ye Caiwei had indeed listened to him and eaten the steamed egg custard. Her little cheeks glowed with a healthy luster.
After dinner, Ye Qingxuan watched his sister earnestly mend his old clothes by lamplight. The urgency in his heart grew even stronger.
He coaxed his sister into bed early, then secured the newly made door latch and returned to the outer room.
He removed his shirt and sat cross-legged, his mind more focused than ever before.
Tonight was the moment of truth.
He wrapped the cloth bundle, drew a deep breath, pressed his palm heavily against his left arm, and began that night's cultivation.
Pain.
A pain more intense than any he had ever felt burst from his flesh.
He could clearly sense that his skin had grown much tougher after this repeated rubbing. Correspondingly, however, it now took greater force to stimulate the qi and blood beneath the skin, and he had to endure even deeper pain.
Sweat poured down like rain, quickly soaking through the bedboard beneath him.
His body trembled, and his teeth chattered loudly.
But there was only one thought in his mind—he was only one point away!
Just as his vision went black and he was nearly about to faint, the scroll finally unfurled in his mind with a thunderous roar!
[Merit: +1]
The familiar point of light brightened and sank into the scroll.
The next moment, the cold line of text changed.
[Martial Art: Indestructible Vajra Body] [Realm: Not Yet Initiated (Progress: Zero Inches)] [Merit: 5/5]
His Merit was full!
Ye Qingxuan felt his entire body tremble. This time, the warm current did not merely wash away his fatigue and pain as it usually did.
Instead, it seemed to transform into a fuse, instantly igniting all the qi and blood he had accumulated over three days!
Buzz!
A roar thundered in his mind. On the scroll, the characters "5/5" in the Indestructible Vajra Body section suddenly burst into ten thousand rays of golden light.
"Merit complete, the heavenly secrets stirred, the Realm made whole!"
A line of large characters shone with dazzling brilliance!
Ye Qingxuan's breathing halted at that moment.
The qi and blood within his body surged like a flood released from its gates, roaring and galloping toward his four limbs and hundreds of bones!
His heartbeat pounded like war drums, each beat heavier than the last, leaving his chest numb.
The anticipation and excitement he had suppressed for so long were drawn to their absolute limit at this moment.
The Indestructible Vajra Body was finally about to be initiated!
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