The Weight of a Martial Artist

After putting on the disciple's uniform, Jiang Che returned to the front courtyard.

The apprentices practicing their punches all stopped in unison and crowded around to congratulate him:

"Senior Brother Jiang!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Che looked at them and noticed that, besides envy, there was now a hint of awe on their faces.

He suddenly remembered the time when he had been unable to break through for so long.

The sneering faces of certain people behind his back.

Jiang Che suddenly found it all utterly dull.

After casually responding with a few words, he quickly left the Martial Arts Hall.

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Che headed south.

He wanted to hurry home and tell his younger sister the good news.

After turning into a small alley.

A burst of shouting and beating suddenly came from ahead.

Several bare-chested thugs were surrounding an old farmer selling vegetables.

His vegetable basket had been kicked over, wild greens scattered all over the ground.

Jiang Che frowned and walked straight over.

"Old sir, how much are these wild greens?" he asked.

"Sell them to you..." The leading thug raised his head with a curse.

When he saw Jiang Che's uniform clearly, he instantly froze, his face turning pale in a flash.

"A formal disciple of White Cloud Martial Hall?!"

He hurriedly backed up two steps, piling a fawning smile onto his face.

"You buy them! Please, buy them!"

As he spoke, he hastily called on his companions to pick up the wild greens and place them back in the basket, then they fled with their tails between their legs.

For thugs, the most important skill was knowing how to read people.

They had to judge who they could provoke and who they could not.

A Martial Artist? That was an iron-hard opponent they absolutely could not touch!

Not to mention a Martial Artist from White Cloud Martial Hall!

Though the Martial Arts Hall was not large.

Its formal disciples were each more ruthless than the last when it came to beating people up!

"So this is the weight of a Martial Artist..."

Jiang Che watched their panicked retreating backs, lost in thought.

He had not even needed to make a move. Just one set of clothes was enough to make those people fearfully retreat.

"Thank you, young hero! Thank you, young hero!"

The old farmer thanked him repeatedly and insisted on giving him two jin of wild greens.

Jiang Che nodded and did not refuse.

Two jin of wild greens were nothing much. There was no harm in accepting them.

After entering Rag Alley.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Suddenly, he heard a violent fit of coughing.

He looked toward the sound.

An old man sitting at his doorway was covering his mouth and coughing violently.

After coughing, a wad of bloody phlegm was clearly visible in the old man's palm.

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat.

"Could that be tuberculosis?"

He quickly moved farther away.

In this world with underdeveloped medicine, tuberculosis was a terminal illness!

And it was contagious!

This man lived not far from his home. Jiang Che suspected his sister might even have mended clothes for him!

What if she had been infected...

Jiang Che immediately felt worried.

He had not gone far.

When Jiang Che saw several half-grown boys dressed like beggars going door to door begging for food.

Whenever they came across homes with courtyard walls.

They even climbed up to peer inside.

Judging by the direction they had come from, they had probably already knocked on his door.

Jiang Che's heart tightened, and he hurried home.

Do not be fooled by the young age of those half-grown boys.

Once they turned vicious, they were not the least bit soft-hearted!

After arriving home.

Jiang Che found the door barred.

He knocked on it.

"Linger, it's me!"

"Creak—"

The door opened.

Jiang Ling's little head poked out.

"Brother?"

Seeing that his sister was fine, Jiang Che let out a breath of relief.

When Jiang Ling saw Jiang Che dressed in a white fitted uniform, her face filled with shock.

"Brother, your clothes?"

She opened the door and stepped outside, looking him up and down as if she were examining some rare animal.

"The disciple uniform of White Cloud Martial Hall." Jiang Che smiled. "I'm a formal Martial Artist now!"

"A Martial Artist? Brother, you really became a Martial Artist?!"

Jiang Ling could scarcely believe her eyes.

Smiling, Jiang Che rubbed her hair and deliberately messed up her bun.

"Silly girl, why would I lie to you?"

Jiang Ling shook free, puffing out her cheeks. "I told you not to touch my hair. I'm not a child anymore!"

"By the way, did anyone knock on the door just now?" Jiang Che suddenly remembered those beggars and stopped joking.

Jiang Ling's face immediately showed some fear as she said:

"Yes... Someone kept knocking just now! I didn't dare make a sound, and they left later."

Jiang Che nodded.

"You did the right thing! If someone knocks from now on, never open the door. Wait until I return!"

These days, beggars could turn into thieves or bandits at any moment.

If Jiang Ling, a little girl, opened the door, the consequences would be unthinkable!

"Mm, I know! You've taught me all that before!"

"Also, Linger, have you felt unwell lately? Any coughing or anything?"

Jiang Che thought of the coughing old man.

Jiang Ling shook her head. "No! Brother, why are you asking?"

Jiang Che examined her carefully and found that aside from being somewhat thin and weak, she seemed to be in good spirits. He finally relaxed.

"Listen to me. If you see people who are coughing like that in the future, don't go near them, or you'll catch consumption!" Jiang Che warned seriously.

"I'll remember, Brother. Don't worry." Jiang Ling nodded.

Jiang Che sighed in relief, then suddenly thought of something and raised his brows.

"Oh, right. Brother has something good for you!"

"What good thing?" Jiang Ling asked curiously.

"Come inside first!"

With that, the two entered the house.

After barring the door.

Jiang Che smiled and slipped his hand into the hidden pocket inside his clothes.

After feeling around for something, he pulled out his hand and opened it.

Besides copper coins, there were several pieces of broken silver.

"So much money!"

Jiang Ling's face was filled with shock.

"Yeah. We have money now, so you don't need to take on any more sewing work."

Jiang Che looked seriously at the pile of clothes on the table waiting to be mended.

Besides that old man, who knew whether anyone else nearby had some contagious disease.

In a place this dirty and chaotic, no one could say for sure.

As long as she kept doing this work, even if she was usually careful, contact was unavoidable.

If she got infected, that would be terrible.

Besides, the work was exhausting and earned barely any money.

The juice was not worth the squeeze.

"But..." Jiang Ling hesitated.

"But what? Formal disciples of White Cloud Martial Hall earn money easily! You work yourself to the bone mending clothes—how much can you possibly earn?"

Jiang Che smiled and stuffed the silver into his sister's hands.

"You can keep this silver for me!"

Of course, Jiang Che did not give all the silver to his sister.

He planned to give her enough for the household's monthly expenses from now on.

If a little girl had too much money, it could instead invite trouble.

Jiang Ling held the silver in her hands, her eyes shining.

"This is the first time I've held so much money!"

She then touched Jiang Che's Martial Arts Hall uniform and said happily:

"Oh, right, Brother, these clothes look so good on you, like a great hero!

"If Father and Mother knew, they would definitely be so happy..."

As she spoke, her voice suddenly fell.

Jiang Che was silent for a moment. "In a few days, I'll find a chance to follow an escort agency to Hengsha City and look for them."

Jiang Ling was somewhat worried. "It's so chaotic outside..."

"Don't worry. The escort agency will have experienced people leading the way. Nothing will happen," Jiang Che reassured her.

The night grew late.

Jiang Ling had already fallen asleep.

She was still mumbling:

"Roast chicken... So delicious..."

Jiang Che smiled and closed his eyes as well.

Suddenly, a rustling sound arose.

Jiang Che opened his eyes and saw a rat run across the wall.

He looked at the dilapidated house and remembered the spacious apartment he had lived in during his previous life.

Compared to that place, this one was cramped and decrepit.

And far too unsafe.

Jiang Che could not help thinking of everything that had happened lately.

Brother Blade of the Thunderbolt Gang, the Green-Eyed Monster at night, and today's beggars and coughing old man...

It was far too dangerous for his sister to stay home alone.

"We need to move," Jiang Che thought.

They had to move somewhere safe!

The Inner City was the safest, but it was the territory of aristocratic families. He was not even qualified to enter.

Though he was a Martial Artist and had a bit of standing in the Outer City.

In the eyes of the Inner City's aristocratic heirs, he was no different from an ordinary commoner!

As for the Outer City.

Gangs ran rampant in the North District and South District, while robberies were frequent in the prosperous West District.

After thinking it over, the East District was still the most suitable.

White Cloud Martial Hall was there. No one would dare act recklessly, and his master and senior brothers could watch over them as well.

"We'll move to the East District."

Jiang Che quietly made up his mind.