Expert? Brother Chu? (Seeking follows, seeking votes)

Drinking is prohibited while on duty at the Criminal Defense Division.

"Hou Wuchun, that lad, is built like an ox; you can tell just by looking at him that he eats well. Young Master Chu Ming, eat a bit faster. Once you're done, I'll teach you the Tiger Python Force. I guarantee you'll be able to eat an extra bowl of rice tonight."

Half an incense stick later.

"Brother Chu, why aren't you finished yet?"

Having rested his stomach, Hou Wuchun sat on a rock, watching Chu Ming unhurriedly fill his third bowl of rice.

"I'm hungry." Chu Ming pressed the rice down into the bowl and began to eat right there.

"Heh, not bad, that's exactly how you should eat." Shao Pengshu picked up some firewood and gestured toward the iron pot. "Want me to heat up some more?"

"Sure."

"...Are you actually going to eat it?" Shao Pengshu's expression shifted slightly. He had only been joking; there was only enough left in the pot for one more bowl.

Could that scrawny little body of this young master really handle four bowls?

Chu Ming looked up at Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong. "If you two officers aren't eating anymore, you can heat up a smaller portion."

"...Tan Hong, heat up some more."

A moment later.

"Brother Chu, my mother's cooking is delicious, but you can't just keep eating like this."

Hou Wuchun was getting a bit anxious, as Chu Ming was currently working on his sixth bowl.

"Young Master Chu Ming, I was just talking nonsense. It's not like you have to eat a lot to be a real man..."

Shao Pengshu held his own cold, empty bowl, his gaze fixed on Chu Ming, unable to look away.

He didn't know why, but even though he was already full, watching Chu Ming eat mouthful by mouthful, slow and steady, made him feel hungry all over again.

He couldn't fathom how that small frame could manage a sixth... no, a seventh bowl.

Tan Hong stared at the scraped-clean iron pot, feeling a bit of regret for having heated up the leftovers. "Young Master Chu Ming... if you can't finish it, you can leave some."

"Young Master Chu Ming, you aren't just eating to stall for time so you don't have to practice the Tiger Python Force, are you?"

Shao Pengshu's mind raced; his years of investigative experience in the Criminal Defense Division led him to this crucial point.

"..." Chu Ming didn't speak, continuing to eat.

Seven bowls of rice really wasn't much, because the bowls Shao Pengshu had prepared were tiny—only half the size of the ones Xiao Shan used. Seven bowls barely filled his stomach.

As for practicing the Tiger Python Force, he truly had no intention of doing so.

Hou Wuchun, sitting on the large rock, heard the mention of the Tiger Python Force and his eyes suddenly darted around. He trotted over to Shao Pengshu. "Officer Shao, why don't you give me some pointers?"

"You?" Shao Pengshu's eyes flashed. "Come, show me what you've got."

What better way to teach than to demonstrate by improving the lad Hou in front of this young master!

Hou Wuchun was overjoyed. He stepped back a few paces, stood in an open area, took his stance, and began the movements.

"Hmm, not bad. Your horse stance is very steady; you must practice it often. Continue." Shao Pengshu evaluated.

"The second and third movements are also quite standard, but... your force is too light."

He walked over to Hou Wuchun and dropped into a horse stance himself. "Watch closely, this is how you should exert your power."

However, Hou Wuchun acted as if he hadn't heard a word, continuing with his own routine.

Chu Ming raised his eyes to look, his hand pausing mid-scoop, a strange look flickering across his brow.

Hou Wuchun was performing the Tiger Python Force, yet it wasn't quite the same.

That set of Tiger Python Force was something Hou Wuchun had traded silver for just a few days ago.

"Lad Hou, the movements you're doing now are deviating quite seriously... hm?"

Shao Pengshu was just about to correct Hou Wuchun's form, but when he saw the increasingly fluid movements that followed, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.

That level of fluidity—how did it feel even more profound than the Tiger Python Force itself?

This kid, Hou...

"Officer Shao, Hou's Tiger Python Force..."

Tan Hong's face was also filled with shock; he too had noticed that the Tiger Python Force Hou Wuchun was demonstrating was something extraordinary.

"Just watch."

Shao Pengshu stopped holding his horse stance and simply watched in silence.

The further along Hou Wuchun went, the stiffer his movements became, yet Tan Hong and Shao Pengshu grew even more shocked.

The two of them even began to mimic the movements, seemingly having gained some insight.

Because Hou Wuchun was moving slowly, the two men grew anxious, and their own movements could only slow down in tandem.

Chu Ming ate his meal, watching the three of them standing in a line.

Hmm, quite harmonious. They looked exactly like three old grandpas practicing Tai Chi in the park back in his previous life.

A moment later, just as Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong were becoming mesmerized, Hou Wuchun kicked his leg out and suddenly stopped.

"Do it, why aren't you doing it anymore?" Shao Pengshu urged.

Hou Wuchun looked at the two men, then at Chu Ming, his face slowly turning red: "I haven't memorized the rest yet..."

"You haven't memorized it?"

Shao Pengshu immediately felt incredibly frustrated. This set of movements had given him many insights; he felt that if he could keep watching, it might even resolve many of the questions he had regarding his Body Forging Technique.

Getting stuck at this moment was like running out of wine halfway through a drink, or having no rice left after only a few bites of a meal.

It was like the music suddenly stopping while listening to tunes at a brothel.

"Um, wait a moment, my lords, I'll look at it now."

Hou Wuchun ran to the carriage behind them and rummaged through it, pulling out a book with a blue cover. The cover looked brand new, as if it had only been bound recently.

He held the book carefully in his hands and opened it with great reverence.

Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong leaned in, watching eagerly.

The book opened to reveal a mere three pages.

Three pages?!

"Why are there only three pages?!"

Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong widened their eyes, the breath they had been holding instantly deflating.

Three pages, and you bound it into a book?!

No, how could a technique more advanced than the Tiger Python Force be only three pages long?!

Hou Wuchun scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile: "It was only one page originally, but I was afraid of losing it, so I copied it onto three pages."

Three pages it is, then.

Shao Pengshu's eyes gleamed as he stared at the booklet: "Let me see it."

"That won't do. This is something I took a beating... no, this is something I spent tw—" Hou Wuchun's eyes darted around, "twenty taels of silver to buy."

"Twenty taels?" The two chief constables' expressions shifted slightly.

"Too expensive?" Hou Wuchun tucked the book behind his back, "Fifteen taels would work too."

Expensive?

Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong exchanged a look.

A technique more advanced than the Tiger Python Force, even if it didn't have many movements, was definitely not something that could be bought for twenty taels.

Shao Pengshu reached into his robes and pulled out ten taels of silver fragments: "Kid Hou, this is all there is. Take it if you want, and let me see the technique. If you think it's too little... heh heh, once we get to the Criminal Defense Division..."

"Deal!" Hou Wuchun handed the book directly to Shao Pengshu and stuffed the ten taels into his pocket.

"You're a sensible lad."

"Thank you for the praise, my lord." Hou Wuchun turned and ran back to the carriage, pulling out another similar-looking book.

Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong watched, stunned for a moment: "What are you holding?"

"The technique."

"The same one?"

"Of course it's the same. If you don't believe me, see for yourselves, my lords." Hou Wuchun obediently opened it and added:

"I was afraid of losing it, so I bound a few extra copies. If you lords need more, the second one is also ten taels."

"..."

The two men took a shallow breath and began to flip through the technique.

Three pages of paper were read quickly, in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

After finishing, Shao Pengshu and Tan Hong practiced the movements once.

"Lord Shao, I feel that the blood energy refining within my veins has strengthened. Although it is very subtle, if there were more..." Tan Hong said excitedly.

Shao Pengshu's eyes flickered, equally unable to hide his excitement.

It was too little, not enough!

With a solemn expression, he looked at Hou Wuchun, who was still practicing the movements: "Kid Hou, which master taught you this technique? Could you copy some more of it?"

A master?

Hou Wuchun looked toward the front carriage, where Chu Ming had already finished his meal and was sitting inside reading a book.