Petty Devils Are Hard to Handle

"Let's test my strength again!"

Jumping down from the wall, Chen Cheng came to the water vat in the courtyard and filled a wooden bucket with water.

The bucket itself weighed over ten jin; filled with water, it probably came to fifty or sixty jin.

"Up!"

With a soft shout, Chen Cheng lifted the bucket one-handed, then raised it to shoulder level before hoisting it above his head and holding it steady.

"I still have some strength left, but not much!"

After holding it up for a while, his arm began to ache and go numb. Chen Cheng set the bucket down, gaining a preliminary understanding of his own strength.

"My body was originally frail, and I was a little weaker than an ordinary grown man. But now that I've made an entry into the Iron Garment Art, I should be much stronger than an ordinary adult man—perhaps no weaker than a typical burly fellow.

That's only in terms of strength. My agility and speed are also far better than ordinary people's.

If I run into a strongman more powerful than me, even if I can't beat him, I can still outrun him!"

By the count, he had practiced the Iron Garment Art for only about half a month, yet its mere entry level was already so formidable!

What kind of power would it have at minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, or perfection?

"The future is promising! The future is promising!"

Chen Cheng was beside himself with delight!

"Time to eat."

Mu Xiaowan had finished cooking and stepped out of the kitchen. Seeing Chen Cheng standing proudly before the water vat, his heart full of lofty ambition, her heart skipped a beat and concern appeared on her face.

She remembered all too clearly how, not long ago, Brother Cheng had become obsessed with martial arts, practicing some martial cultivation technique day and night until he fell gravely ill and nearly could not be saved.

Only a few days had passed, yet Brother Cheng was acting like this again. Could his old affliction have returned?

"Brother Cheng, have you started practicing martial arts again? Your body has only just recovered a little. You absolutely mustn't cultivate recklessly again. If something goes wrong again, what am I supposed to do all alone?

If you want to practice martial arts, we can scrimp on food and daily expenses, save up silver slowly, and find a chance for you to take a master."

Mu Xiaowan had been bought by Father Chen three years ago as a child bride. Carefully taught by Father Chen, she was already very sensible despite her young age. Half a year ago, Father Chen had died of a serious illness. While Chen Cheng worked in the prison, she kept the household in perfect order.

When Chen Cheng had previously been injured and bedridden, she had bustled about caring for him with tireless devotion, never even loosening her clothes to rest.

Whenever the neighbors spoke of the Chen Family's child bride, every one of them praised her endlessly and secretly gave a thumbs-up.

"All right, I'll listen to you."

Not wanting her to worry, Chen Cheng smiled and agreed.

Mu Xiaowan broke into a smile and pulled Chen Cheng into the kitchen.

The Chen Family's kitchen was cramped and shabby. Aside from the stove, there was only a small wooden dining table and two low stools.

The meal had already been laid out on the table: two bowls of rice, a bowl of braised pork, a bowl of cabbage soup, and a small dish of pickled radish.

One bowl was filled to the brim with millet rice. The other contained millet mixed with brown rice and soybeans, and there was only a little over half a bowl.

"Brother Cheng, eat." Mu Xiaowan handed the bowl of millet rice to Chen Cheng.

She had always insisted that Chen Cheng eat the better food, saying that he worked hard and wore himself out at the prison, while she stayed at home and did not do much work.

Chen Cheng had spoken to her about it several times before, but she would not listen. She was stubborn to the bone, and if he spoke too harshly, she would instead feel wronged and merely lower her head to wipe away tears.

How could Chen Cheng bear that? He could only let her have her way.

Such a virtuous wife couldn't be found even with a lantern. Once I have money, I'll make sure she lives a good life.

With that thought, Chen Cheng accepted the bowl of rice with a smile. Then his gaze swept over the side of the stove, and his expression suddenly turned stern.

Beside the stove lay a large bundle of dry branches. Mu Xiaowan had secretly gone out of the city with the women from the alley to gather firewood behind his back again.

These days, war and chaos were everywhere. Even within the city, where runners from the City Guard Office patrolled to keep the peace, things were far from safe. Fights, theft, and robbery happened from time to time.

Outside the city, without officials to restrain them, villains became all the more lawless. Mountain bandits, horse bandits, and all kinds of desperate wanderers from the martial world often came and went. If Mu Xiaowan, a weak young woman, ran into bad men, the consequences were easy to imagine.

"Xiaowan, why didn't you listen to me again?"

Bang! The pottery bowl smashed onto the table, and several grains of millet rice even splashed out!

Brother Cheng was truly angry!

Mu Xiaowan shuddered and instinctively rose to her feet. Lowering her head, she explained in a small voice:

"Br... Brother Cheng, we were running out of firewood at home, and firewood is expensive now. I thought that if I went with Aunt Cuihua and the others to gather dry branches the woodcutters didn't want, it could help with the household expenses.

Don't worry. There were more than ten of us traveling together, and we only gathered wood in the forest by the city gate. Nothing will happen."

After Mu Xiaowan finished speaking, the kitchen abruptly fell silent.

The remaining charcoal in the stove gave off a faint red glow, with the occasional soft crackle of burning coals.

Brother Cheng was not saying anything. He must really be angry!

Mu Xiaowan lowered her little head even further.

After an unknown amount of time, she cautiously raised her head a little and secretly peeked at Chen Cheng. He still wore a stern expression, and she hurriedly lowered her head again.

"Forget it. Eat!"

With a soft sigh, Chen Cheng picked up his bowl again, gathered the scattered rice grains from the table back into it, then placed several pieces of braised pork into Mu Xiaowan's bowl.

They ate in silence.

Of the jin of pork she had just bought, Mu Xiaowan had cooked only half a jin. There were only a few pieces of braised pork in the bowl, yet now nearly half of them were in her bowl.

She wanted badly to put the braised pork back into Chen Cheng's bowl, but seeing that he was still angry, she did not dare. She could only eat in small, aggrieved bites.

Chen Cheng saw her awkward state, but he said nothing more.

Great Yu had stood for nearly a thousand years, and Linji Prefecture City was a great city that had existed for centuries, with a population of over a million. The surrounding forests had long since been cut bare.

The nearest forests with firewood were more than a dozen li outside the city. Most of those forests were controlled by the Firewood Gang and certain wealthy landowners, and even woodcutters had to pay a cut to chop firewood there.

Those who could not afford the cut could only go deeper into the distant mountains and ancient forests to chop wood.

In the past few years, cold disasters had struck year after year, and many poor people in the city froze to death every winter.

This year was even worse. Snow had fallen as soon as winter began, leaving everything bitterly cold and frozen. The price of firewood had long risen beyond what ordinary commoner households could afford.

Chen Cheng had originally planned to buy firewood after collecting his monthly pay.

After the two silently finished dinner, Mu Xiaowan busied herself clearing the bowls and chopsticks.

Chen Cheng suddenly spoke. "What happened to the bruise on your forehead? Tell me the truth!"

"It was Second Fool..." Mu Xiaowan did not dare hide it, so she told him every detail of how she had run into Ma Liu and Second Fool on the way home.

Afraid that Chen Cheng would blame her, she added:

"Brother Cheng, I'm usually very careful. This time... this time I was careless."

How could Chen Cheng blame Mu Xiaowan? If anyone deserved blame, it was Ma Liu and Second Fool, who had bullied her.

The King of Hell was easy to provoke, but petty devils were hard to deal with. Chen Cheng was one of the prison's petty devils, while thugs like Ma Liu were the petty devils of the slums.

"Does it still hurt?"

Chen Cheng gently caressed Mu Xiaowan's bruised forehead.

Mu Xiaowan only felt warmth fill her heart. She lightly caught Chen Cheng's hand and smiled. "It hurt terribly when I was hit, but it's much better now."

"It's good that it's better." Chen Cheng spoke softly. "Do you remember what I told you before?"

"What you told me before?" A flicker of confusion crossed Mu Xiaowan's heart. But when she saw Chen Cheng's bright eyes, like stars yet filled with deep resolve, she understood at once and nodded solemnly.

"Brother Cheng, I won't go gather firewood anymore. No... not only will I stop gathering firewood, I won't go out alone either."

"Good. That's more like it!"

Chen Cheng smiled and gently pinched her cheek before walking out of the kitchen.

For no reason at all, Mu Xiaowan felt delighted, and her movements as she cleared the dishes became lighter than usual.

Chen Cheng took his official saber, left his courtyard, and headed straight for Widow Tian's home.