Too hungry to hold out any longer, Li Cheng was the first to ask Deng Qing for food. He took out a small piece of silver and offered to buy some.
Deng Qing was no fool. Making money like that would be tantamount to cutting himself off from their little group.
He had not volunteered any food because he was waiting for them to ask, so the favor would be out in the open.
Now that Young Master Li had spoken, he went with the current and generously handed out the mixed-grain buns.
The three of them hastily cupped the buns in their hands and took great mouthfuls.
Once Deng Qing had filled his stomach, he began practicing the Violet Palace Method.
After completing one full cycle, he willed it, and Clear Radiance appeared.
[Heaven helps those who help themselves, no effort is wasted] [Realm: skin tempering first layer] [Tiger-Subduing Fist: 59% (minor mastery)] [Violet Palace Method: 1% (initiation)]
Unlike before, the words "minor mastery" were flickering softly, but Deng Qing was not particularly excited.
Those two words had begun flickering the day before yesterday.
From his past experience, Deng Qing knew that his Tiger-Subduing Fist was only one final step away from a breakthrough.
What he lacked was probably a powerful surge of qi-blood.
But trapped in the North Warehouse, with even their meals cut off, where could he find a potent supplement to send his qi-blood surging?
Another day dragged by, and Li Cheng and the other two finally could not sit still any longer.
Over the past two days, screams and uproar had risen outside by turns, making them increasingly uneasy.
"We can't keep waiting like this."
Li Cheng slapped the bed and rose. "We have to send someone out to investigate. If we wait for Celebration Hall to remember us, who knows what year of the monkey and month of the horse that'll be."
He glanced at Wang Wei and Zhou Tie before finally resting his eyes on Deng Qing. "Junior Brother Deng, you know the streets better than we do.
"How about this? Go out and have a look. You don't need to go far. Safety comes first.
"Of course, we won't ask you to risk yourself for nothing. The three of us will each put up one tael of silver."
Deng Qing was somewhat surprised.
He had expected Li Cheng either to give him a direct order or to make the minority submit to the majority. Instead, the young master had offered reasons first, then incentives.
Who said rich young masters were brainless? They were born knowing how to handle people.
Deng Qing's mind was as clear as a polished mirror. However pleasant Li Cheng's words sounded, it all came down to Deng Qing having the lowest birth and being the most suitable person to push out into danger.
Deng Qing did not answer immediately. Thoughts flashed through his mind as he weighed the risks of going outside.
At least, judging by the sounds, the streets had not yet descended into indiscriminate slaughter by armed troops.
If the troublemakers were merely displaced people and rioters, he felt his current abilities might well be enough to make the trip.
Besides, his progress in the Tiger-Subduing Fist had stalled, and Li Cheng's request had given him an opportunity.
After weighing everything, Deng Qing said, "I don't want silver. I want a Ginseng Pill."
His Tiger-Subduing Fist had been stuck at fifty-nine percent for three days.
Deng Qing had long wanted to send his qi-blood surging, and Li Cheng's Ginseng Pills were just the opportunity he needed.
Li Cheng's expression immediately darkened. "You're after my Ginseng Pills too?"
Deng Qing said, "I'll be staking my life out there. Naturally, the price has to be worthy of that life."
Li Cheng knitted his brows tightly, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Zhou Tie coughed. "Senior Brother Li, give him one. A Ginseng Pill is worth five taels of silver. Afterward, I'll contribute one tael and seven mace."
Wang Wei nodded as well. "I'll pay my share too."
Both knew that nothing good would come of remaining trapped here.
Li Cheng did not care about a single Ginseng Pill. What he disliked was the feeling of someone having him over a barrel.
But things had come to this, and he could not be bothered to keep arguing. "Very well."
As he spoke, he took a small porcelain bottle from inside his robe, tipped out a Ginseng Pill, and handed it to Deng Qing.
Deng Qing accepted the Ginseng Pill and swallowed it on the spot.
Li Cheng frowned. "At a time like this, couldn't you wait?"
Without explaining, Deng Qing returned to his bed and sat cross-legged.
He had seen Li Cheng take a Ginseng Pill and knew that once it reached his stomach, he had to begin practicing immediately.
Sure enough, soon after he swallowed the Ginseng Pill, a wave of heat exploded in his stomach.
Deng Qing dared not delay. He hastily circulated the Violet Palace Method, capturing that heat strand by strand and sending it through his limbs and every part of his body.
Before long, he forcibly subdued the rampaging heat and finally began slowly refining it into his body.
Deng Qing immediately swung himself off the bed, spread his feet, and assumed the Tiger-Subduing Fist stance.
Lowering Body, Reaching Claw, Sinking Shoulder.
Pouncing Body, Scissoring Wrist, Twisting Spine.
The instant he began moving through the forms, the skin membrane all over Deng Qing's body heated up, and his qi-blood surged.
He was only halfway through this round of Tiger-Subduing Fist when the qi-blood throughout his body seemed to be threaded together by a single line.
Without his noticing, dust at his feet rose on a fierce wind and swirled through the room without settling.
When he reached Tiger-Subduing Mountain Crusher, Deng Qing abruptly sank his shoulders and back. In an instant, from his soles to his spine and from his spine to his shoulders, all his sinews, muscles, and skin membrane drew taut.
Li Cheng and the others heard his sleeves snap, as though a fierce gust had lashed the air.
The next moment, his fist drove forward. Though it struck nothing, the swirling dust before him was forcibly pushed back half a foot.
In a flash, Deng Qing withdrew his stance. With a thought, Clear Radiance flickered before his eyes.
[Heaven helps those who help themselves, no effort is wasted] [Realm: skin tempering first layer] [Tiger-Subduing Fist: 60% (grand mastery)] [Violet Palace Method: 1% (initiation)]
Secretly delighted, Deng Qing slowly exhaled.
Li Cheng and the other two exchanged looks, astonishment on their faces. All they could tell was that Deng Qing's round of fist forms had been unusually heavy and fierce.
That final thrust in particular had carried tremendous force.
But their cultivation was too shallow for them to recognize that Deng Qing had brought his Tiger-Subduing Fist to grand mastery.
Deng Qing nodded to the three of them and returned to his bed. He removed his white robe, changed into his old clothes, mussed his hair, and smeared a couple of handfuls of dust over his face.
Once he was done, he checked his reflection in the washbasin.
The water reflected a youth with a dusty face and shabby clothes, looking every bit like a displaced person fleeing disaster through the streets.
Deng Qing cupped his hands to the three of them, opened the side door, and slipped out without a sound.
Watching Deng Qing leave, Zhou Tie asked quietly, "What do you two think of Senior Brother Deng?"
Wang Wei said, "He looks like an honest fellow, but there's a fierce streak in him when he practices his fists."
Zhou Tie shook his head. "A fierce streak is nothing unusual. Anyone who's clawed his way up from the bottom has some of that.
"What I find most frightening about him is that he can endure solitude."
Wang Wei froze for a moment.
Zhou Tie said quietly, "Over these past few days, all he's done besides eating and sleeping is practice.
"We feel like we're sitting on needles trapped here, but he seems to think he's found somewhere he can cultivate in peace."
Wang Wei nodded, then turned and asked, "What do you think, Senior Brother Li?"
Li Cheng said, "I've been observing Deng Qing all along. It's really strange. When he looks at us, he shows none of the respect or timidity people feel toward their betters.
"That alone is something I've never seen in other boys from poor families."
After discussing Deng Qing for a while, the three returned to talking about how to earn merit amid this turmoil.
While their discussion grew heated, Deng Qing had already slipped along the foot of the wall and onto the street.
The streets were even more chaotic than he had imagined. Every shop along the road was closed.
Some shops had been smashed open, and all manner of bloodstained objects lay scattered on the ground.
Deng Qing slipped into a narrow alley, pressed himself against the wall, and edged forward one step at a time.
After rounding two alley corners, he spotted a crowd of displaced people looting a grain shop in the distance.
Most wore ragged clothes, their faces marked by hunger.
Some knelt on the ground, scooping rice into their clothes. Others fought over half a sack of grain, grappling until their heads split and blood flowed.
Many rice sacks had been torn open, spilling gleaming white rice all over the ground.
A few displaced people, emaciated beyond recognition, even lay on the ground, scooping up the grains and stuffing them into their mouths.
Deng Qing scanned the scene and quickly sensed that something was wrong.
Several burly men stood among the crowd. Though they, too, wore ragged clothes and had dust smeared on their faces, they carried themselves with imposing confidence.
These burly men prowled only around the edges of the crowd, like vicious dogs guarding a flock of sheep.
Suddenly, a shop's door panels were smashed open, and more than a dozen shop hands charged out in formation, armed with blades and clubs.