Under the Melon Patch, Beneath the Plum Tree

It would have been nice if Shen Yun could come live here.

During the day, he went to the martial arts school or pulled a rickshaw, leaving only his little sister at home. He could not rest easy.

If Shen Yun were here, the two women could shut the door, and if anything happened, they could look out for each other.

But the moment the thought surfaced, Lu Zhen snuffed it out.

He shook his head.

What kind of thing would that be?

Under the melon patch, beneath the plum tree—people's tongues were a fearful thing.

Pig Cage Alley lacked everything but idle men and gossipy women who loved to wag their tongues.

Shen Yun's husband had only just died. If she moved into the house of an unmarried man like him now, even if it was to seek refuge, there would be no explaining it away.

By then, those spit-flecked words could drown a person, and their pointing fingers could snap one's backbone.

"Ah."

Lu Zhen sighed.

This could not be rushed, nor was it easy to bring up.

He could only take one step at a time.

For now, the most important thing was still to improve his own abilities.

[Daily Settlement Panel activated]

Lu Zhen's eyes lit up sharply.

Yesterday, he had raised his "Daily Settlement Level" to Lv.2. Today was the first time he could enjoy the bonus.

The text slowly flickered, and the contents made his heart race.

[Today's settlement: practiced martial arts at the martial arts school for three hours, pulled a rickshaw for four hours, ran fifty li, imparted knowledge once.]

[Base rewards: silver dollars +11.5, profession experience +15, Physique experience +10, universal experience +5]

[Level bonus triggered: Daily Settlement Level Lv.2 (daily rewards additionally X2)]

[Final rewards: silver dollars +34.5, profession experience +45, Physique experience +30, universal experience +15!]

Seeing that "X2" and the final figures, Lu Zhen could not help clenching his fists.

It had doubled!

Everything had truly doubled!

Before, after working himself to the bone for a whole day, he earned barely over one silver dollar and a few points of experience.

Now, even doing the same work, his rewards were twice what they had been.

This was not merely a matter of money, but of the speed of growth.

One day was worth two days for others, perhaps even ten.

This was the foundation that would let him settle down and survive in this chaotic age.

The Panel changed accordingly, displaying his latest attributes.

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

Wealth: 41 silver dollars

Current Profession: Rickshaw Puller

Level: Daily Settlement Lv.2 (50/200)

Skills:

Pulling a Rickshaw Lv.2 (55/200)

Coiling Dragon Stake Lv.2 (55/200)

Iron Wire Fist Lv.2 (55/200)

Physique: Strong and Healthy Lv.2 (140/200)

Universal Experience: 25 points]

Lu Zhen rolled out of bed without waking his deeply sleeping little sister, then quietly made his way into the courtyard.

Last night's "double settlement" had not merely made the numbers on the Panel jump.

Streams of heat had seeped into his body, loosening the stiffness in his tendons and bones and filling the deficits in his muscles.

At this moment, Lu Zhen felt as if he had strength to burn throughout his body. Even the gaps between his bones seemed to brim with comfort.

"Let's test these Lv.2 skills."

Lu Zhen stood in the center of the courtyard, drew a deep breath, and sank his qi into his dantian.

He assumed a stance, his feet gripping the ground. It was precisely the opening posture of the Iron Wire Fist.

Back when it was Lv.1, his punches had been powerful, but it was dead strength—straight in and straight out. His arms had seemed like two wooden sticks stuck into his shoulders, and every turn carried a sense of stiffness.

But now, it was different.

Lu Zhen twisted his waist, and the great tendon along his back snapped taut.

Power rose from his heels, traveled up his legs, passed through his waist, surged into his spine, and finally ran through his arms.

Whoosh!

When he threw that punch, it actually brought forth a sharp rush of wind.

Most of that stiffness had vanished, replaced by smoothness.

It was like an iron chain covered in rust had been oiled. It was still heavy, but now it could turn.

Lu Zhen's gaze sharpened, and his movements did not stop.

His feet stepped the Seven Stars, his body weaving about, his arms like two thick iron whips cracking through the air.

The more he punched, the smoother it became. The more he punched, the faster he grew.

His blood and qi began to churn. His body, once chilled, now resembled a furnace, steaming with heat.

"Now!"

Lu Zhen gave a low cry in his heart, twisting all the strength in his body into a single rope.

He stomped down hard with his right foot, making the ground tremble faintly.

His right fist blasted out like a cannonball, piercing straight through the air ahead.

Crack!

A crisp explosion burst through the silent little courtyard.

The sound was short and forceful, like a whip cracking through the air, or dry firewood bursting in flames.

Lu Zhen withdrew his fist and stood still, looking at it as delight flashed in his eyes.

As the saying went, a thousand gold could not buy a single sound.

This was the threshold for martial artists.

Only after training the scattered strength of the whole body into one could a person punch with enough speed and explosive force for their skin and flesh to shake the air, producing that crisp sound.

Before, though he had been strong, it had been brute force. His punches only made whistling wind in the air—those were "dull punches."

Now, this crisp crack showed that he had improved considerably.

"But it's still not enough."

The delight in Lu Zhen's eyes quickly faded, and he frowned slightly.

He recalled the scene at the martial arts school when Senior Sister Xiong Yue had demonstrated.

When Senior Sister Xiong Yue punched, it had been like a string of firecrackers.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Three crisp sounds rang out in succession, each one clear to the ear, continuous and unbroken.

Moreover, Xiong Yue's sounds had been louder and more penetrating. She had trained her strength into the marrow of her bones; a casual wave of her hand was thunder exploding.

The martial arts school's rules were set in stone.

To become an Initiate Disciple, with food and lodging provided and money to earn, one had to train the Iron Wire Fist to the realm of Triple Resonance.

Only three resonances meant one had truly mastered this set of fists.

"I'm at Lv.2 now, yet I only have one resonance."

Lu Zhen calculated inwardly. "It seems that if I want to reach the entry standard of Triple Resonance, I'll need to raise this skill level further."

Even with the Panel, the path of martial arts was not one he could ascend to heaven in a single step.

After finishing his punches, Lu Zhen did not rest. He immediately took up the Coiling Dragon Stake again.

His feet spread apart, his knees bent slightly, and his back arched.

The instant he settled into the stance, the feeling changed again.

The Lv.2 Coiling Dragon Stake had taken his control over his body another step further.

Previously, holding the stance had been sheer stubborn endurance, relying entirely on his knees and muscles to brace against it. After standing for a while, his legs would shake like a sieve, and his waist and back would ache.

Now, he could feel his spine growing faintly warm, like a snake just waking from sleep and beginning to wriggle gently.

With every breath, his chest and abdomen rose and fell, vaguely coordinating with the movement in his back.

The heat rising from the soles of his feet climbed up his spine much faster than before.

The efficiency had increased.

Before, it took half an hour of standing to cultivate the faintest sensation of qi. Now, he could feel it after the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Lu Zhen closed his eyes and carefully experienced the changes in his body.

Sweat slid down his cheeks, but his body stood as steady as a boulder, no longer swaying as it had when he was a beginner.

The time it took for one incense stick to burn passed.

Lu Zhen slowly withdrew from the stance and exhaled a long breath of Turbid Qi. In the cold wind, it condensed into a white line that lingered for a long time.

"It still lacks the right heat."

Lu Zhen shook his head.

Though he was much stronger than before, he knew clearly that he was still far from Senior Sister Xiong Yue's realm of "a body like a roaming dragon, roots planted in the Nine Springs."

His "dragon" was still a lazy dragon that had not awakened.

His "roots" had not sunk deep enough, either.

Lv.2 had indeed remade him, but it had only turned him from a complete outsider into an apprentice with a slight foundation.

If he wanted to truly push open that great door, if he wanted to grip his own life in his hands in this chaotic age—

He still had to train.

He still had to grind.

Lu Zhen stood in the courtyard as the cold wind dried the sweat at his temples.

His gaze fixed on those "25 points of universal experience."

It was a difficult choice.

According to his original plan, all this experience should have been poured into Daily Settlement Level.

After all, it was a treasure basin.

The higher its level, the greater the daily multiplier would become.

As long as he endured these most difficult early days, whether silver dollars or experience, everything would snowball and grow larger and larger.

That was seeking wealth and honor amid danger—a plan for the long term.

Lu Zhen knew that this was the path that maximized his gains.

But.

Lu Zhen turned his head and looked at the darkness beyond the wall.

That was the world outside the alley.

Refugees swarmed like ants, gangs ran rampant, and human lives were cheap as grass.

First, the Black Snake Gang had driven Wu Laoliu to his death. Then there was that scoundrel He Gui, who wanted to seize the property of a household without an heir.

Even Lu Zhen himself, if not for the hide of these "Iron Arms" and the ruthlessness that had let him kill that night, would probably have long become a pile of dry bones in this chaotic age.

"No matter how much money I have, it's useless if I'm dead and can't spend it."

Lu Zhen withdrew his gaze, and the scales in his heart suddenly tipped.

For Daily Settlement to rise to Lv.3, it needed a full 200 points of experience.

If he put these 20 points into it, it would take at least another ten days or half a month before he saw any return.

In Pig Cage Alley, where people ate people, let alone ten days—even one night could turn the sky upside down.

Only strength firmly held in his hands was real.

He was currently in the Early Force Refining Realm.

With a swing of one arm, he possessed the strength of two or three hundred jin. That was enough to bully ordinary thugs.

But if he encountered a true martial artist, such as the Four Hall Masters of the Black Snake Gang—Mid Force Refining Realm experts with five hundred jin of force in a single arm—then his little bit of skill would not be enough.

Mid Force Refining Realm was a hurdle.

Once one crossed it, strength flowed through the entire body and the skin and flesh became tough. Ordinary clubs and staves could hardly wound them. Only then did one truly have the confidence to protect oneself.

"Only by keeping my life can I be qualified to talk about the future."

His thoughts cleared, and Lu Zhen hesitated no longer.

"Add points! Put them all into Physique!"

Buzz.

The Panel trembled faintly.

[Physique: Strong and Healthy Lv.2 (165/200)]

The progress bar surged forward by a great stretch, leaving only the final 35 points before the major threshold of 200.

"Soon."

Lu Zhen exhaled a breath of hot air, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

As long as he endured two more days and saved up two more days of experience—

He would be able to fill that progress bar to the brim.