"Officers, I'm with the Celebration Hall!"
Deng Qing shouted urgently.
The two officers paused.
Just then, a man of about twenty came around the alley corner. He wore a faded black uniform, with a saber at his waist. By the way he carried himself, he looked like their leader.
The leader glanced at Deng Qing. "Where's your wooden token?"
"At my waist."
"Untie him. Let him get it."
"Boss, but... we're still short on men..."
The leader frowned and shot him a glare. The officer fell silent at once and undid the rope.
Deng Qing hurriedly pulled the wooden token from his waist and offered it with both hands.
The leader took a look and sneered. "You think an apprentice token lets you throw the Celebration Hall's name around?"
"My master taught me better. I wouldn't dare use the Celebration Hall's name to deceive anyone. Sir, did you train there too?"
Deng Qing's mind raced. "I have duties at the Celebration Hall, assigned by my master himself.
"If you don't believe me, senior brother, ask there tomorrow morning."
The leader paused. That's probably true. It would be far too easy to expose.
He said grimly, "Even so, the service levy was set by the county magistrate. Every household must provide a man. Either pay one tael and two mace to be exempted, or report for work."
Deng Qing cupped his hands. "Please give me some leeway, senior brother. I'll bring the money within a month."
"Boss, you can't..."
The leader glanced over, and the man instantly fell quiet.
"Fine. One month."
The leader tossed the token back into Deng Qing's arms. "One coin short, and we'll take you anyway."
Before Deng Qing could thank him again, he led his men away.
Still shaken, Deng Qing gripped the token and ran his fingers over it again and again. At last, the money he had risked his life to save over the past year hadn't gone down the drain.
Once he had steadied himself a little, he hurried home.
He pushed open a battered wooden door. A dilapidated courtyard lay before him. Deng Qing shut the door and, without stopping to rest, took his stance in the courtyard.
After all, he had only just acquired the panel. Whether he could activate it a second time still weighed on his mind.
Crouching Body, Reaching Claw, Sinking Shoulder...
Once, twice, three times...
An hour later, snow began to drift from the sky. He still didn't stop.
As he practiced, Deng Qing gradually sensed his punches settling into a more consistent form. The force behind them flowed more smoothly, too.
He had lost count of his repetitions when warmth flashed before his eyes and the clear radiance appeared again.
[Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted] [Realm: Mortal] [Tiger-Subduing Fist: 1% (Initiation)]
Deng Qing stared at the glowing screen, turning the words "Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted" over in his mind.
Taken literally, they meant effort would bring rewards.
And judging by what he saw, the panel seemed to apply only to martial arts.
He stared at "Initiation" behind the "1%." Any progress at all counts as Initiation? That's awfully simple and blunt!
Then he considered his boxing. After all that hard practice, both his force and his stances did seem to have improved considerably.
Could this panel let me practice martial arts without needing talent or a strong foundation?
At the thought, Deng Qing's blood surged. He kept training until he was utterly exhausted.
When he finished, he tried summoning it with his thoughts. This time, the clear radiance flashed again.
[Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted] [Realm: Mortal] [Tiger-Subduing Fist: 1% (Initiation)]
Deng Qing stared at the 1%, puzzled. He had been sure it would keep rising.
This probably isn't just a panel for grinding proficiency. Could I lack the blood and vitality needed to push it higher?
With that thought, he stopped practicing and went inside. He plugged the gaps that let in the wind with two lumps of wet mud, then slept for two hours wrapped in a ragged quilt amid a heap of straw.
At the first hint of dawn, he climbed out of the straw, wiped his face with snow outside, and hurried to the Celebration Hall.
By the time he arrived, its doors were open. Night dew clung to the stone steps, and dead leaves had piled up beside the hitching post on the left.
He found a broom and a rag. Without waiting for instructions, he fetched water and sprinkled the ground to settle the dust, then swept outward from the threshold bit by bit.
After sweeping, he wiped down the doorposts and stone lions. He even used a bamboo sliver to dig the grime from between the bricks.
When Fan Sheng came out, he saw Deng Qing crouched beside a stone lion, sleeves rolled up. He was so thin that his wrist bones jutted out, yet he worked with complete care.
Fan Sheng laughed. "Much better than Old Chen. When he sweeps, half the street eats dust."
"Morning, senior brother!"
Deng Qing greeted him at once.
Fan Sheng waved a hand. "Carry on."
Half an hour later, Deng Qing ate breakfast in the kitchen with a group of laborers.
Breakfast was baskets of mixed-grain flatbread and a pot of cabbage soup.
Tiny flecks of oil floated on the soup. The cabbage leaves had been cooked soft, and anyone lucky enough might fish out a thin slice of fatty meat.
Deng Qing ladled out a bowl and soaked his flatbread in it. Once it had absorbed the soup and turned to mush, he gulped it down without scraping his throat raw.
Three large bowls of steaming mush left him warm and comfortable all over.
After breakfast, the others dispersed. He stayed behind of his own accord to help in the kitchen.
When he was done and about to go out, he ran straight into the leader who had seized him the night before.
The man paused when he saw Deng Qing, then nodded and headed toward the main hall. Along the way, someone called him "Senior Brother Li."
Deng Qing asked around and learned that the man was Li Liang, a squad leader at the County Yamen and a Named Disciple of the Celebration Hall.
After that encounter, Li Liang never came looking for him again.
Deng Qing's days settled into a routine: eating, working, and practicing his boxing.
Before long, the fifth-day boxing lesson came around.
Though the appointed hour had not yet arrived, plenty of people already stood in the front courtyard.
Some chatted quietly; others warmed up. Deng Qing stood at the back. He was still terribly thin, but regular meals had driven the sickly look from his face.
Fan Sheng came out from beneath the corridor and told everyone to run through the first three moves of Tiger-Subduing Fist.
After watching, he called out several top students to demonstrate on the spot.
Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, and Wang Wei stood out most.
When they finished, Fan Sheng nodded appreciatively. "Your skin has already begun to swell with strength. Keep at it a few more days, and Skin Tempering First Layer won't be far off."
Delight immediately showed on Li Cheng's face.
Someone nearby couldn't help murmuring, "Already? It's only been ten days, hasn't it?"
Fan Sheng said, "Skin Tempering First Layer was never a difficult hurdle.
"Practice Tiger-Subduing Fist properly, keep up with your tonics, and add Medicinal Baths and massage. Reaching the threshold in ten days or two weeks is nothing unusual.
"Senior Brother Guo Songyang broke through to Skin Tempering First Layer in seven days back then."
A low murmur swept through the courtyard.
"Seven days?"
"That's far too fast."
Someone muttered, "How can you compare us? Senior Brother Guo comes from a wealthy family. They've got no shortage of medicinal wine, ginseng soup, or potent remedies to replenish his blood and vitality. With medicine pushing him along, of course he was fast."
Fan Sheng glanced at the man. "Having medicinal wine and tonics is an advantage he earned. Martial arts train the body. If the body is depleted, practicing your stances all day is like turning an empty millstone."
Everyone fell silent.
Fan Sheng said no more. He turned and walked into the courtyard. "Today, we'll continue Tiger-Subduing Fist.
"Last time was Crouching Body, Reaching Claw, and Sinking Shoulder. Today I'll teach you Leaping Body, Scissoring Wrist, and Twisting Spine."
With that, Fan Sheng took his stance, stamped a foot, and hurled himself forward.
His shoulders, back, waist, hips, and feet drove forward as one. He looked like a fierce tiger springing on its prey from a low crouch.
"Leaping Body means seizing the centerline.
"Scissoring Wrist isn't about wrenching the hand. It cuts off your opponent's ability to exert force.
"Twisting Spine sends the strength of your waist and back through the strike."
He linked the three moves together—leap, scissor, twist—swift and ruthless.
After Fan Sheng demonstrated them three times, everyone in the courtyard began trying them for themselves.
Deng Qing closed his eyes and ran through the three moves several times in his mind before moving.
He practiced for a while. Fan Sheng paid him particular attention, coming over now and then to offer pointers, and Deng Qing soon got the moves flowing smoothly.
Two hours later, the others dispersed.
Deng Qing found a corner and practiced the three new moves together with the three he had learned before.
Half an hour later, the clear radiance appeared.
[Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves, No Effort Is Wasted] [Realm: Mortal] [Tiger-Subduing Fist: 13% (Initiation)]