A New Wave Rises

"Didn't we agree on one month?"

Deng Qing cupped his fists.

Li Liang's expression was extremely unpleasant. "You think I'm going back on my word? Things have gone chaotic in the northwest. Donghuang Cult's troops have broken through three counties in succession, their spearhead aimed straight at Qingzhou.

"The county yamen has been pressing for people every day these past few days—grain escorts, city repairs, military replacements. There's a shortage of hands everywhere.

"The higher-ups pressure the county magistrate, the county magistrate pressures the county commandant, and the county commandant pressures me. I've already pushed your name on the conscription list back again and again. This time, you can't blame me."

Deng Qing cupped his fists. "I know the immense favor Senior Brother has shown me. I will remember it in my heart."

Li Liang waved a hand. "Cut the useless crap. Money is what matters."

Deng Qing said, "Within three days, I will give Senior Brother an answer that satisfies you."

Li Liang stared at him for several breaths, then said heavily, "Don't even think about running. It's far more chaotic outside the city than within it.

"If you run, either the soldiers will catch you and drag you back to fill the ranks, or the rebel troops will catch you and turn you into two-legged sheep."

"I understand."

"Good."

With that, Li Liang turned and left.

At first light the next morning, Deng Qing went to Celebration Hall as usual.

After finishing his work, he circled around to the rear courtyard and found Fan Sheng.

Fan Sheng was watching several apprentices practice their fists beneath the corridor. Seeing Deng Qing approach, he went over to meet him as well. "You came at just the right time. I was about to look for you."

Deng Qing was startled. "What does Senior Brother need me for?"

Fan Sheng waved his hand. "No hurry. You speak first."

Deng Qing cupped his fists. "Senior Brother, I wanted to ask: how exactly does one break through to Skin Tempering First Layer?"

Fan Sheng was not surprised.

These days, that was what he had been asked about most often.

He glanced at Deng Qing, his tone gentler than usual. "Skin Tempering First Layer is not mysterious once it's laid bare.

"Use Tiger-Subduing Fist to cultivate your qi and blood, then use that qi and blood to batter the skin membrane. When the skin membrane produces strength, letting you withstand blows and strike hard, you have entered Skin Tempering First Layer."

Deng Qing nodded.

Fan Sheng continued, "The difficulty isn't the form—it's qi and blood. If your qi and blood are abundant, one charge breaks it open. If they are deficient, no matter how diligently you train the form, you'll only be grinding empty air."

As he spoke, he pointed westward. "Look at Li Cheng and the others. Their forms might not be any more exquisite than yours, but their families can keep up with supplements, meat, medicinal wine, and massage. Naturally, their progress is fast."

Deng Qing followed the direction of his finger.

Beside the wooden stakes, Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, Wang Wei, and the others had just finished their forms. Heat steamed from their bodies, and when the morning wind blew over their sweat, faint wisps of white vapor seemed to rise from their shoulders and backs.

Li Cheng in particular placed a palm on a wooden stake. The stake did not shake, but the hemp cloth wrapped around it snapped and trembled.

Deng Qing's heart stirred. "They... broke through?"

"They did."

Fan Sheng said, "They were tested three days ago."

Deng Qing clenched his fists and asked, "If I'm at the final step before breaking through, what should I do?"

"Use supplements to strengthen your qi and blood, then charge through."

"What if I have no supplements?"

"Then eat meat. To break through Skin Tempering First Layer, the fist is the spark, but qi and blood are the firewood. Without enough firewood, the flames cannot rise."

Deng Qing cupped his fists. "Thank you for Senior Brother's guidance."

Fan Sheng waved him off. "No need to thank me. You're diligent and even-tempered, but your luck is poor. What a pity."

Deng Qing froze, not knowing why Fan Sheng had suddenly begun judging him.

Fan Sheng sighed softly. "The higher-ups told me to inform you that starting tomorrow, you won't need to work at the front entrance anymore."

Deng Qing's heart sank sharply. "Senior Brother, was there something I did poorly?"

Fan Sheng shook his head. "Word has already spread through the hall that Li Liang intends to send you to answer the labor levy.

"The higher-ups have arranged for Steward Cai's nephew to come and take your position."

Deng Qing cursed inwardly. What kind of world was this? Even a lousy job with no money in it had people fighting over it.

Just then, Big Yellow, who had not eaten offal in a long time beneath the corridor, barked at him.

Deng Qing glared at Big Yellow and turned to leave.

As he passed the kitchen, Chef Zhao poked his head out. "Little Deng, where are you going?"

"Uncle Zhao, I'm heading back."

"You've finished all your work today. How can you work without eating?"

Warmth rose in Deng Qing's heart. Chef Zhao surely knew that he had been replaced as well.

He did not refuse and entered the kitchen. Steam billowed within, while cabbage soup rolled in the pot.

Chef Zhao gave him two coarse-grain cakes, then ladled him a large bowl of soup. When the ladle scraped the bottom of the pot, it actually scooped up three slices of fatty meat, which he dropped straight into Deng Qing's bowl.

Several laborers saw it, and their eyes nearly went straight.

Deng Qing did not stand on ceremony and began eating in great mouthfuls.

After he finished eating, he still wanted to clear the bowls and chopsticks, but Chef Zhao pulled him aside and told him to leave. "No matter how chaotic the world gets, people still need to eat. Where there are people eating pork, there will be offal.

"You brat can even eat intestines and lungs. I refuse to believe you can starve to death!"

At those words, Deng Qing froze. That was right—if he could not afford meat, then if he worked harder, could he not afford offal?

Celebration Hall might have stopped supplying offal, but Celebration Hall was hardly the only place in Everjoy County that slaughtered pigs.

The name Five Blessings Butcher Shop immediately sprang into his mind.

Five Blessings Butcher Shop was at South Ward Entrance.

There were many shops in Everjoy County that dealt in meat, but when it came to the most renowned, it had to be Five Blessings Butcher Shop.

Deng Qing had heard Chef Zhao mention in casual conversation that Five Blessings Butcher Shop's owner, Wu Yun, had also come from Celebration Hall in his early years. Relying on his strength and knife skills, he had opened this butcher shop.

When Celebration Hall did not slaughter pigs but needed meat, it usually bought from Five Blessings Butcher Shop as well.

By the time Deng Qing reached the southern ward, the puddles in the streets had frozen into thick ice. Pedestrians hunched their necks and crawled along slowly, their white breath pouring out as though steamer baskets had been opened.

Before Five Blessings Butcher Shop, the scene was bustling.

Several large pots had been set up outside the shop, white steam billowing upward in waves.

Some people sharpened knives, some washed chopping blocks, and some dragged half a pig carcass inside.

Deng Qing stood at the entrance and watched for a moment before stepping forward. "Sorry for the trouble, are you still hiring hands here?"

A clerk who was scraping pig bristles looked up at him, then waved him away. "No. Go, go, go."

Deng Qing headed toward the courtyard beside it, but the instant he reached the entrance, chaos erupted inside.

"Hold it down!"

"The rope's loose!"

"Move!"

A fat pig had broken free of its restraints and came charging out of the rear courtyard with grunts.

The pig was plump and powerful, its body covered in water. With one kick of its four hooves, it knocked over a wooden bucket and rushed straight toward the shop entrance.

Several clerks scattered aside. Deng Qing stood right by the door, and as the pig charged before him, he barely had time to think. His feet gripped the ground, his arms closed in, and he shot forward like lightning, fiercely locking the pig's neck and forelegs in his hold.

With a bang, Deng Qing was shoved half a step backward by that brute force, his soles scraping two tracks into the ground.

He clung to it in a death grip without letting go. His shoulders and back sank, his waist and hips dropped, and his entire body became like a great stone crashing down. He forcibly pinned the fat pig to the ground.

The pig struggled a few times, its grunts gradually weakening, while several clerks stared at him wide-eyed.

At that moment, a burly man emerged from the rear courtyard.

He was around thirty, tall and broad, with a face full of hard flesh. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and he still held a boning knife in his hand.

He ordered someone to drag the pig away, then spotted the wooden badge at Deng Qing's waist. "Someone from Celebration Hall?"

Deng Qing hurriedly cupped his fists. "Celebration Hall apprentice Deng Qing greets Senior Brother Wu."

Wu Yun nodded. "You looking for me?"

Deng Qing answered honestly, "I don't have the strength to practice, and I can't afford meat. I came to look for some pig offal."

"How much do you want?"

"I have no money."

The pleasant look on Wu Yun's face vanished at once. "No money, yet you want to buy offal? Don't give me that fellow disciple, fellow senior brother nonsense.

"If we really talked that way, half the people in Everjoy County could claim some connection to Celebration Hall."