Private Stash

Father Chen had been inside wiping down the oars when he heard the shout. He hurried out, supporting himself against the wall. The sight of his son flushed red and drenched in sweat threw him into a panic. "I'll go get Doctor Zhang right away!"

He was about to rush outside, but in his haste he forgot about his injured leg. After taking only one step, the pain made him bare his teeth, and he nearly fell.

"Dad, Mom, I'm fine!" Chen Yue abruptly opened his eyes, his voice hoarse.

He could feel the hot current inside him rapidly receding. The numb, itchy sensation over his skin was gradually fading as well, and his temperature returned to normal.

He quickly sat upright and deliberately moved his arms and legs, putting on an easy expression. "I got too absorbed in practicing the Wave-Turning Breathing Technique just now and failed to steady my breath. My blood and qi surged up, so I got feverish. I'll be fine after resting a while."

"Your blood and qi surged up?"

Wang was still worried. She reached out to touch his forehead again, and only after confirming that his temperature had truly gone down did she breathe a sigh of relief. Even so, she frowned and nagged, "You child, no matter what you practice, you can't push yourself so hard! Your father is still laid up. You can't let anything happen to you too."

Father Chen had recovered somewhat as well. Supporting himself against the wall, he sat down and said gravely, "A breathing technique is meant to nourish the body, not hasten death. You mustn't do this again."

Chen Yue hurriedly nodded in agreement. Saying that he was thirsty and wanted water, he changed the subject. Then he deliberately picked up a bran cake from the table and took a huge bite, proving that he was full of vigor.

Seeing that their son was truly unharmed and seemed even more spirited than before, Father Chen and Wang were half convinced, half doubtful. Still, they did not press him further, only repeatedly warning him not to force himself.

After the two left, Chen Yue impatiently summoned the panel. The values on it had already updated.

[Realm: Skin Refining Realm 1/300]

That afternoon and evening, Chen Yue used helping his mother carry water and going to the shore to check the tide as excuses to hide in deserted places and adapt to the strength within his body.

After returning home, Chen Yue quietly cultivated by the faint light of the kerosene lamp. Several hours later, the Skin Refining Realm progress on the panel had slowly risen to 2/200.

Though the fifth level of the Wave-Turning Breathing Technique was powerful, the Skin Refining Realm required even more blood and qi. After a whole day, he could probably only gain three or four points of progress.

The next day, before dawn had fully broken, Chen Yue was awakened by Father Chen's movements. When he pushed open the door, he saw his father carrying a fish basket toward the small boat. Though strips of cloth still wrapped his right leg, he could already walk normally.

"Your pearl-gathering skills have improved greatly lately. Today, we're going to North Bay Reef." Father Chen turned back with a smile.

When the small boat rowed out of Pearl Village, the sea had only just begun to pale like a fish's belly.

Standing at the stern, Chen Yue took a deep breath of the salty, fishy sea wind. The Wave-Turning Breathing Technique began circulating on instinct, and warmth from his dantian instantly spread through his limbs.

After reaching North Bay Reef, Father Chen had barely steadied the boat when Chen Yue tied the rope around himself and leaped into the sea.

Unlike before, his body in the Skin Refining Realm seemed plated with a thin layer of armor. The pressure and chill of the shallows could not touch him at all.

Chen Yue circulated the Wave-Turning Breathing Technique, darting through the water as nimbly as a fish. Even his underwater vision was several times clearer than before. He could see every pattern on the shells of the Pearl Mother Shells hidden in the gaps between the reefs.

Rocks that had once taken great effort to pry loose could now be pushed aside with one hand. When he encountered groupers lurking in the coral, a single punch could knock them unconscious.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Chen Yue surfaced with a net full of Pearl Mother Shells in hand. Two plump sea fish hung from the net as well.

"Dad, we can have meat today!" Chen Yue laughed as he flung the catch onto the boat, water droplets sliding down his firm arms.

Father Chen looked at the growing pile of Pearl Mother Shells in the hold, his clouded eyes filled with excitement. The oars in his hands moved with greater strength.

It was not until the sun slanted westward that father and son returned home loaded to the brim.

Among the pried-open Pearl Mother Shells were two medium-grade pearls, lustrous white and translucent, glowing with a gentle sheen beneath the setting sun. There were also seven low-grade pearls, enough to make the family comfortable for quite some time.

Half an hour later, Wang brought out steamed sea fish. Just as its fresh fragrance drifted through the air, a burst of angry, chaotic shouting suddenly erupted from deep within Pearl Village, mixed with the cries of women.

"What's going on?" Father Chen put down his chopsticks and went to the doorway to peer outside.

Chen Yue hurried after him. At the pearl-drying ground not far away, five or six Sea Shark Gang members were surrounding a middle-aged Pearl Household and beating him with fists and kicks.

The Pearl Household was curled up on the ground with both hands over his head. His coarse cloth jacket had been torn to shreds, his back was covered in bruises, and blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

His wife knelt beside him, clutching one man's leg as she begged bitterly, "Sirs, we really didn't hide any medium-grade pearls! We exchanged it for money to treat our child's illness! Please, stop hitting him!"

The little boy beside her was white with fear, trembling behind his mother.

"Didn't hide any?" The scar-faced leader planted a foot on the Pearl Household's chest and sneered. "Someone saw you sell a medium-grade pearl for medicine. Do you take the Sea Shark Gang for blind men?"

As he spoke, he kicked the Pearl Household in the waist again. The sound made everyone's bones ache. The man gave a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. His eyes gradually lost focus, and he looked about to pass out.

"Stop." Scarface waved a hand, then stepped on the Pearl Household's face as he looked over the watching Pearl Households. His voice was like a blade quenched in poison. "Remember this well! The good pearls in Pearl Village can only be handed over to the Sea Shark Gang! Whoever dares hide or sell them privately will end up like this!"

He spat, then ordered his men to search the medicine packet from the woman's arms before leaving with them amid a stream of curses.

The pearl-drying ground fell silent at once, leaving only the Pearl Household's faint groans and the crying of his wife and child.

The watching Pearl Households all hunched their necks, and no one dared step forward to help. They did not even dare speak loudly. After a hurried glance, they retreated into their homes, as though the tragedy they had just witnessed had never happened.

"What a sin..." Father Chen sighed heavily and turned back inside.

Wang's eyes had reddened as well. Lowering her head, she wiped away tears. "That was Old Zhou from the eastern end. His son's consumption had only just started improving. They were counting on that pearl to save his life..."

Chen Yue stood where he was, his fists clenched until they crackled. He lowered his head and looked at his own hands.

The power of the Skin Refining Realm allowed him to swing an iron anchor weighing dozens of jin with one hand, yet when faced with the Sea Shark Gang's violence just now, he could do nothing.

Without combat techniques, even with all this strength, he was no different from a strong man who only knew brute force. He could not protect the people he wanted to protect.

Chen Yue muttered, "I need to learn martial arts. I need real power to protect myself!"

At dinner.

"Dad, Mom, I want to go into the city tomorrow. I'll exchange this medium-grade pearl for money, buy some good herbs to treat Dad's leg injury, and see whether I can find a way to learn martial arts while I'm there."

"No!"

Father Chen immediately waved his hand. "The Sea Shark Gang men at Pearl Village's entrance specifically search Pearl Households going into the city! Medium-grade pearls are hard currency. If they see one, they'll definitely seize it. They'll even accuse you of hiding the Pearl Tax, and that'll make things even worse!"

Wang became anxious as well. "That's right, A-Yue. The money from low-grade pearls is enough to buy medicine. Don't risk a medium-grade pearl."

"The money from low-grade pearls can't buy good medicine for Dad's leg, and it isn't enough to learn martial arts." Chen Yue's tone was resolute. "I have a way to take it out."