Encounters

Over the next few days, Zhou Yan worked in the fields during the day and sneaked into the small grove behind the house to train at night.

His days split in two. During the day, he bent over in the fields pulling weeds, listened to his mother curse people in the yard, hauled water and chopped firewood, no different from before. At night, once the snoring started, he slipped out in the dark to practice his stake stance and fist techniques in the woods, returning only when his legs shook so badly he could no longer stand.

On the third night, his Stake Stance progress reached 7/100.

His legs still trembled. By the latter half, his knees went weak and his body swayed back and forth.

But he noticed something. Tremble though they did, he could hold on much longer than on the first day.

On the first day, he could not last even one incense stick's worth of time. Now, he could endure another half an incense stick.

On the fourth night, his Stake Stance progress jumped to 10/100.

After finishing his stance, he did not rush to rest.

He opened Mountain-Breaking Fist and practiced the first move, "Stele Splitter," for another half hour.

Again and again.

[Mountain-Breaking Fist Beginner: 15/100]

He threw a punch, and his fist tore through the air with a sharp crack.

It was completely different from the dull sound before.

It actually made a crisp sound!

Zhou Yan froze for a moment, then threw another punch.

He stood there for a while before testing a punch on a locust tree beside him, one as thick as a bowl.

He did not dare use his full strength. His fist struck the rough bark, and the bones in his hand tingled faintly.

The bark did not break, but several dead leaves rustled down from above, spinning in the moonlight.

He withdrew his fist and looked at his reddened knuckles.

It worked!!!

This fist technique had really given him something.

More importantly, he was not as tired from working during the day.

In the past, after hoeing the fields for a morning, he could barely straighten his back and had to lean on the hoe handle for a long while.

The little something he had gained from practicing the stake stance had seeped into the gaps between his bones without him noticing.

On the morning of the fifth day, Madam Liu rummaged through the salt jar in the kitchen for quite some time.

She scraped the bottom again and again, but could not scrape out more than a few grains.

She cursed a couple of times, pulled out several copper coins from her waist, and tossed them onto the stove.

"Go to the county seat and buy salt. Go early and come back early. Don't delay the work in the fields."

Zhou Yan closed his hand around the coins, his heart stirring slightly.

He had secretly hidden twenty taels of broken silver before, but he did not dare spend even a single copper coin of it in the village.

It would be different in the county seat. There were many people there, enough confusion for him to blend in.

He put away the coins and left as soon as dawn broke.

From Willow Village to Qingyun County, it took more than half an hour along the official road.

The road was dirt, with two deep ruts carved into it by wagon wheels.

Fields of crops stretched along both sides. The corn stalks stood waist-high, rustling loudly as the wind swept over them.

Now and then, mule carts passed him. The drivers cracked their whips without even glancing at the pedestrians by the roadside.

When the sun climbed halfway into the sky, the city wall appeared at the end of his sight.

It was built of blue bricks and stood some twenty feet high.

Zhou Yan followed the crowd into the city. The county seat was far livelier than the village.

Shops stood shoulder to shoulder, and the streets were packed with people.

But the first thing Zhou Yan noticed was not the shops.

It was a martial hall.

The martial hall faced the street, its gates wide open, orderly shouts ringing out from within.

A bluestone stele stood at the entrance, its surface worn smooth, with four large characters carved upon it.

White Cloud Martial Hall!

Zhou Yan slowed down, stood across the street, and looked inside.

In the courtyard, seven or eight boys in short training clothes were practicing stake stances.

Their legs were spread, knees slightly bent, hands loosely held before their chests, exactly like the illustration in the booklet.

A middle-aged man stood nearby in a gray short-sleeved shirt, his sleeves rolled to his elbows and a bamboo switch in his hand.

He slowly circled the boys, his gaze sharp as a blade.

One boy's stance tilted.

His knees buckled inward, and his waist collapsed with them.

The middle-aged man walked over and snapped the bamboo switch across his thigh.

"Your knees! Push them out!"

The boy grimaced in pain and hurriedly forced his knees outward. The other boys barely dared breathe, tightening their stances even further.

Zhou Yan watched for a few moments, and the taut string in his heart loosened slightly.

The posture was right. The stance he had worked out from the booklet was more or less the same as what the martial hall taught.

No one had guided him, but his comprehension was not bad. At least he had not gone down the wrong path.

He withdrew his gaze and continued onward.

After turning down two streets, he found a general store and bought the salt.

The shop assistant wrapped it in oiled paper, took the copper coins, and did not even look up.

Zhou Yan carried the packet of salt out, but did not hurry home.

The twenty taels of broken silver in his clothes still pressed against him.

As he walked along the street and passed a pharmacy, he slowed down.

Two wooden signs hung outside its entrance.

One read: Body-Tempering Decoction, three taels per packet. The other read: Qi Gathering Pill, five taels each, limited supply.

Body-Tempering Decoction!

Zhou Yan stood at the door and peered inside.

At the counter, a shop assistant was filling a prescription for a well-dressed middle-aged man.

The man handed over a prescription slip. The assistant accepted it with a fawning nod, turned around, and took several medicinal herbs from the medicine cabinet.

Then he took out a small porcelain bottle and carefully placed it on the counter.

"Your medicinal herbs are packed, sir. And three Qi Gathering Pills as well. Nineteen taels in total."

Without changing expression, the man took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the counter. He collected the medicine packet and porcelain bottle, then turned and left.

Zhou Yan stood at the entrance, his fingers tightening inside his sleeve before relaxing again.

Twenty taels of broken silver. One packet of Body-Tempering Decoction cost three taels. At that price, he could not afford many.

But supposedly, Body-Tempering Decoction could increase the cultivation progress of martial practitioners who had yet to enter the Body-Tempering Realm.

He hesitated for several moments.

Then he pushed open the pharmacy door.

The assistant looked him over. The eagerness on his face faded somewhat, but he did not drive him away.

"What would you like, sir?"

Zhou Yan pointed to the wooden sign outside. "That Body-Tempering Decoction... what is it for?"

The assistant looked him over from head to toe, then patiently explained, "Body Tempering is the first threshold of the martial path. You temper your tendons, bones, skin, and flesh, refining an ordinary person's physique once over. Only after completing Body Tempering can you enter Qi Gathering, and only after Qi Gathering can you be considered a true Martial Adept. This Body-Tempering Decoction is for soaking in. One packet in the bath, and every bone in your body feels like it's on fire. The next day, your training will yield twice the results with half the effort."

Body Tempering was the first stage, Qi Gathering the second. Only after passing Qi Gathering could one be considered a Martial Adept.

Yet many people remained stuck at those two stages their entire lives, never becoming Martial Adepts.

Zhou Yan fell silent for a few moments.

He had not even touched the door to the first stage yet.

"Give me two packets."

The assistant paused, likely not expecting this poor boy in straw sandals to actually pay.

But the moment he saw the silver, his expression changed at once.

"Certainly!"

He swiftly wrapped two packets of Body-Tempering Decoction and handed them over.

The oiled-paper packets were not large, but they had some weight in his hand. A bitter medicinal scent seeped through the paper, spicy and choking.

Zhou Yan tucked the medicine packets into his clothes.

He placed six taels of broken silver on the counter, and the assistant accepted them with a cheerful smile.

Fourteen taels remained in his clothes. He turned and walked out of the pharmacy, the door curtain swaying twice behind him.

He continued onward.

He found a tea stall by the roadside to rest his feet.

Calling it a tea stall was generous. It was merely several square tables beneath a canopy.

The roof was made from bamboo mats, yellowed by the sun.

A few wooden posts held it up, leaning crookedly.

Teapots and rough porcelain bowls sat on the tables, their rims chipped in places.

Zhou Yan ordered the cheapest bowl of cold tea for two copper coins.

He carried the bowl to a corner and sat with his back against a post.

The tea stall was noisy, filled with people from all walks of life.

There were peddlers carrying shoulder poles, their poles resting against table legs; laborers in short clothes reeking of sweat, gulping tea from their bowls; and several bookkeepers in long robes, sitting at tables farther inside and sipping tea at an unhurried pace.

Every table discussed its own affairs, the voices blending together.

At the neighboring table, two middle-aged men were chatting.

One was fat, the other thin. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to run small businesses. Their cloth garments had been washed pale, and the cuffs were frayed.

A plate of peanuts sat on the table, already half eaten.

"Have you heard? The young master of the Azure Cloud Gang has gone missing."

Zhou Yan's hand holding the tea bowl did not move in the slightest.

He took another sip without even lifting his eyelids.

"For days now, no one's seen him alive or found his corpse." The fat man lowered his voice and leaned forward. "Gang Leader Zhao Xiong has offered a reward of one hundred taels for clues. Anyone who provides information gets paid."

"One hundred taels!" The thin man smacked his lips. "Tsk, tsk. How much land could that buy?"

"Someone probably took him out." The fat man shelled a peanut and tossed it into his mouth. "The fight over the docks has been fierce lately. The Azure Cloud Gang, Black Tiger Hall, and the Sun Family in the south of the city are practically ready to beat each other's brains out over the rent on those warehouses at the docks. The young master led a shipment out of town a while back, got intercepted halfway, and vanished with it."

"Black Tiger Hall? Those people actually dared touch Zhao Xiong's son?"

"Who can say?" The fat man took a sip of tea. "Black Tiger Hall has County Clerk Liu behind them, while the Azure Cloud Gang has the county chamber of commerce as their backer. And the Sun Family goes without saying. They have been rooted in Qingyun County for three generations and keep several Qi Gathering experts. Dogs biting dogs, nothing but fur flying."

The thin man snorted. "They're just dogs biting each other anyway. That Zhao fellow has done plenty of wicked things over the years. Haven't enough dockworkers been whipped by his men? He deserved to die."

"Shh!"

The fat man hurriedly waved his hand and looked around. "Keep it down. Do you want to die? The Azure Cloud Gang has eyes and ears all over the streets."

"What's there to fear? Is it illegal for ordinary folk like us to gossip a little?"

Though he said that, the thin man still lowered his voice. The two leaned their heads together, and the rest of their conversation could no longer be heard.

Zhou Yan drank his cold tea expressionlessly.

Azure Cloud Gang, Black Tiger Hall, Sun Family.

The man in brocade had carried a stake stance manual and martial arts techniques with him.

That man had likely been the young master of the Azure Cloud Gang.

In other words, Zhou Yan had happened upon the scene of the Azure Cloud Gang young master's murder.

A reward of one hundred taels was certainly generous.

But Zhou Yan had no interest in it. In these troubled times, without strength, it was best to remain cautious.

He finished the cold tea in his bowl, put down two copper coins, and rose to leave.

By the time he left the tea stall, the sun had begun to tilt westward.

On the way back, Zhou Yan did not walk quickly.

Dust from the official road was churned up by passing mule carts, drifting through the sunlight.

As he walked, countless thoughts ran through his mind.

In martial practice, Body Tempering was the first threshold, Qi Gathering the second. Only after Qi Gathering could one be considered a true Martial Adept.

He had not even touched the threshold of Body Tempering yet, but with the system, all he needed was to train diligently.

Still, martial practice had never been a path for the poor.

That middle-aged man in the pharmacy had spent nineteen taels of silver without changing expression.

The boys at the martial hall had masters to teach them, bamboo switches watching over them, and hot medicinal baths to soak in.

He had nothing. No master, no money.

Others had their paths. He had his.

By the time he returned to the village, the sun was already tilting westward.

Zhou Yan handed the salt to Madam Liu.

Madam Liu took the oiled-paper packet, opened it for a look, then muttered a few more complaints about "why it took so long" and "you must have been loafing around on the road."

Zhou Yan did not explain. He picked up the water buckets and headed for the well.

That night, they ate as usual.

The family gathered in the courtyard. Madam Liu brought up something about Second Uncle's family again, and Second Brother chimed in with a couple of remarks.

Zhou Yan sat in a corner, holding his bowl and finishing it one mouthful at a time.

He waited until late at night.

Snoring rose from the main house, rumbling like muffled thunder, and Madam Liu's snores soon joined in.

Zhou Yan sat up, dressed in straw sandals in the dark, and took the oilcloth bundle and the packet of Body-Tempering Decoction from his robe.

He moved quietly, opened the door a crack, and squeezed out sideways.

The moonlight in the woods was bright. When he reached the clearing, he first opened the medicine packet.

Inside the oil paper was dark brown medicinal powder. Its smell was bitter and pungent, rushing straight up his nose, like burnt herbs mixed with chili peppers.

According to the shop clerk, it was meant for soaking baths.

But there was no bath barrel at home for him to take a medicinal bath in.

Forget a bath barrel—there was not even a decent wooden basin.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment, drew half a bucket of water from the well, and set it by his feet.

He poured the medicinal powder into it and stirred it evenly with a twig.

The water turned dark brown, with a thin layer of foam floating on the surface. Steam rose from it, making the pungent medicinal smell even stronger.

He took off his shirt, revealing thin shoulders and a sun-darkened back.

He soaked a cloth towel in the medicine water, lifted it out, wrung it half-dry, and rubbed it over his body.

His arms, shoulders, back, and thighs.

He rubbed down every part that was used in stance training and fist practice.

When the medicinal water touched his skin, it was cool at first.

Then it began to heat up fiercely.

It felt as though countless fine needles were pricking into his pores.

His skin visibly reddened and tightened, every pore opening wide.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth without making a sound.

He kept wiping until he had used up all the medicinal water in the bucket, wringing the cloth again and again until not another drop could be squeezed out.

The burning sensation lasted about the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Then the scorching heat slowly receded, turning into a warmth that seeped into his muscles and the gaps between his bones.

It was as if he had taken a hot bath, leaving every tendon and bone in his body much more comfortable.

He stood and rolled his shoulders.

His joints cracked twice.

Then he began his stance.

He spread his legs and bent his knees.

This time, his knees bent deeper than ever before.

A sore, swollen feeling surged through his thighs, but it was different from the stiffness before.

The dull ache in his lower back also softened, as if something were helping support it.

[Basic Stance Art Initiate: 13/100]

Keep going!

His legs began to tremble. Sweat dripped from his chin and struck the fallen leaves by his feet.

[Basic Stance Art Initiate: 15/100]

His knees went weak and his body swayed back and forth, but he still gritted his teeth and held on.

[Basic Stance Art Initiate: 18/100]

Suddenly, Zhou Yan stopped and crouched on the ground, gasping heavily.

He rested for half the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Then he stood, opened Mountain-Breaking Fist, twisted his waist, turned his hips, and threw a punch.

His fist cut through the air with a crisp snap, sharper and cleaner than it had been during the day.

Punch after punch, the knuckles of his right fist reddened again, but this time, they barely hurt.

[Mountain-Breaking Fist Initiate: 17/100]