Practicing martial arts

The days that followed became extremely simple for Ye An.

He left home before dawn every day and returned after dark.

Willow Alley Cottage and Green Bamboo Martial Arts Hall formed a straight line between two points.

The more progress Azure Cloud Finger gained, the slower it became.

Ye An's natural talent was somewhat poor and his efficiency was low, but he could make up for it with time.

If others practiced for two double-hours, he practiced for four.

Comfort was for the dead; he, Ye An, was going to push hard!

That evening, the people in the practice yard had almost all left, and Ye An was still in the corner practicing Azure Cloud Finger against a stone slab.

The pit on the stone slab was already nearly half an inch deep.

Qian Duoduo walked over, squatted down beside him, and watched for a while.

"How many pokes do you do in a day?"

"About a thousand, I guess." Ye An did not know the exact number, but he could be certain of his heavy output.

"You drive yourself so hard, doesn't it hurt?"

Ye An raised his arm, revealing that his index and middle fingers were wrapped in cloth strips while a medicinal ointment's scent rushed straight into his nasal cavity.

"This ointment can heal injuries and effectively dull the pain, so it's enough."

Qian Duoduo took a look and bared his future gold teeth with a grimace. "Sigh, you should still slow down. Practicing like this is too bitter."

Footsteps came from behind.

"Still not leaving?"

It was Lin Shaoyun, though this time he did not sneer.

Over these past days, Lin Shaoyun noticed that Ye An did things just as he said he would.

He was not the kind of person to brag; Ye An's hard work had already caught his eye.

Lin Shaoyun's family background was passable, and he had an elder sister who had made a good marriage.

At that moment, he had changed into a clean cyan robe, and his hair was bound neatly.

"Practicing a bit longer."

Lin Shaoyun merely shook his head. "What's the use of practicing more? Qian Duoduo is right, you should slow down and reconsider."

Zhou Yuanlong and Sun Wanqing waited to the side, seeing Lin Shaoyun walk over.

"Second Senior Brother." Zhou Yuanlong smiled and went up to meet him. "My family got a few jars of good wine today, care to go try some?"

"No." Lin Shaoyun patted his sleeve. "I have things to do tonight."

"Then tomorrow? My father said he'd like to invite you to a meal, Second Senior Brother." Sun Wanqing took over the conversation, her voice very delicate.

Lin Shaoyun glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly. "We'll see."

The three of them walked out the martial hall's gates, heading along South Street toward Yongning Ward.

Zhou Yuanlong walked on the left while Sun Wanqing was on the right, the two of them sandwiching Lin Shaoyun in the middle.

"Second Senior Brother, is that third level of your Azure Cloud Finger almost mastered?" Zhou Yuanlong asked.

Lin Shaoyun did not answer the question, merely brushing it off. "What's the rush?"

"Second Senior Brother has great talent, unlike the rest of us." Sun Wanqing smiled as she spoke, obvious joy tinting her tone.

Lin Shaoyun said nothing, but his smile could no longer be masked at the corners of his mouth.

A few steps after the three walked out of the martial hall, Zhou Yuanlong looked back toward the martial hall and bantered, "That C-plus rank is still practicing."

"Let him practice then." Sun Wanqing let out a disdainful chuckle.

Lin Shaoyun did not pay much attention to their mockery, merely letting out a faint "Mn," acknowledging it just like that.

The next day.

When Ye An arrived at the martial hall, he found the atmosphere somewhat different.

Eldest Senior Brother Zhao Tieshan was not cultivating, but instead stood at the entrance, gazing out toward the street corner.

"What's wrong?" Ye An asked Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo leaned in, lowering his voice. "People from Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall are coming over."

"Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall?"

"Mn, Hall Master Han Bao is an old acquaintance of our hall master. It seems they're here today to discuss something." Qian Duoduo's eyes rolled. "I heard they're even bringing someone along—a newcomer from their martial hall."

Ye An gave a soft mn, and understanding that the matter was nothing major, he continued practicing Azure Cloud Finger.

The disciples in the courtyard were all whispering amongst themselves.

"For Hall Master Han to come personally, it certainly isn't a small matter."

"I heard their martial hall's newcomer is sixteen years old and at the Second Body Tempering!"

"B-mid bone structure, Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall struck gold."

"What's his name again?"

"It's called Ye Ning! Seems he's from the Willow Alley side of Anping County."

Ye An took everything in, yet the fingers poking the stone slab did not stop.

Before long, a carriage stopped at the martial hall's entrance.

The first to get down was a man in his forties with a tiger's back and bear's waist.

This was the hall master of Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall, Han Bao.

Following behind him was a youth.

Sixteen or seventeen years old, with a slender figure and a cold expression.

He wore black short-garments with the cuffs tightly bound, and a pair of thin-soled quick-boots on his feet, his footsteps light as he walked.

It was precisely Ye Ning.

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Ye An watched his second brother get down from the carriage, feeling somewhat dazed in his heart.

At home, Ye Ning wolfed down his food, spoke with a booming voice, and had an impatient temper.

Yet the Ye Ning before his eyes held his spine straight, his gaze steady, every step fully displaying the demeanor of a martial artist.

Like a true martial artist.

Han Bao brought Ye Ning into the back courtyard, where Su Yuanshan was already waiting.

The two hall masters met, cupped their fists at each other, and went into the room to talk.

Ye Ning stood guard at the entrance, standing as straight as a spear without the slightest movement.

Everyone in the courtyard was discussing it.

"Is that Ye Ning?"

"From Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall, B-mid bone structure. Hall Master Han said with his own mouth that he has a good chance of breaking through to Third Body Tempering before twenty."

"Tsk tsk, just that imposing aura makes it clear at a glance he's no ordinary person."

Zhou Yuanlong stood in the crowd, looking at Ye Ning with a trace of complexity flashing in his eyes.

Why did he not have his natural talent and comprehension?

Then, thinking of something, he turned his head to look at Ye An in the corner, the corner of his mouth curling down. "Sharing the same surname, how can the gap be so huge?"

Sun Wanqing also followed his gaze to glance at Ye An before a smile touched the corners of her mouth.

Ye An paid them no mind.

He simply continued cultivating Azure Cloud Finger; Ye An had only a single goal, and that was First Body Tempering.

How much time passed was unclear before the conversation in the back courtyard concluded.

When Han Bao came out, his expression was not too pleasant, while Su Yuanshan wore pretty much no expression.

Ye Ning followed behind Han Bao, walking toward the entrance.

As he passed the practice yard, his gaze swept over the disciples in the courtyard.

Zhao Tieshan, Lin Shaoyun, Su Qing, Qian Duoduo, Zhou Yuanlong, Sun Wanqing.

Then he stopped.

In the corner.

A lean youth stood before a bluestone slab, his right index and middle fingers wrapped in cloth strips, poking the slab with total and utter focus.

Every single strike used his full strength, his fingertips landing on the slab and producing dull, heavy thuds.

Ye Ning stood right there, watching for quite a long time.

Ye An had not noticed him.

All his attention was on this stone slab, and while dark stains seeped through the cloth strips at that moment, Ye An still did not stop.

Ye Ning's gaze shifted for a split second.

He nodded slightly.

Then he turned and followed Han Bao out of the martial hall's gates.

From beginning to end, he said nothing.

Ye An did not know his second brother had just been looking at him.

Returning home at dusk, the sky had already grown pitch black.

His eldest brother was reading in the room, and his father had not yet returned.

A bowl of porridge, two steamed buns, and a small dish of marinated meat were left on the table.

Ye An sat down, picked up the porridge bowl, and was just about to start eating.

The door curtain was lifted, and Ye Ning walked in.

He had changed into a clean set of clothes and carried a cloth bundle in his hand.

The two brothers stared at each other for a split second in the dim, yellowish lamplight.

Ye An thought his second brother would say something.

Taunting words, disdainful language, or cold-water-drenching accusations.

Anything would do.

Yet Ye Ning said nothing at all.

He placed the cloth bundle on the table; inside were two jars of ointment.

"Issued by the martial hall, couldn't use it all." His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.

Ye An glanced at these two jars of ointment.

Bone-Mending Ointment cost two taels of silver per jar, and Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall issued one jar to each disciple every month; the claim that he couldn't use it all was false.

Ye An did not expose the lie.

"Thank you, Second Brother."

Ye Ning looked at him and fell silent for a moment.

"Watch yourself."

With those words, he turned, lifted the door curtain, and entered the inner room.

Ye An sat beneath the lamp, gazing at the two jars of ointment on the table, and remained silent for a long time.

Ye An picked up a piece of marinated meat, put it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

The meat was very flavorful.

Ever since Ye Ning started practicing martial arts, the meat dishes at home were given with priority to his second brother because his second brother had good talent and was prime material for martial arts.

Ye An also knew that if he did not have his golden finger, practicing martial arts truly was a waste of money.

Ye An finished the remaining half-bowl of porridge and returned to his small cottage.

[Azure Cloud Finger: 37/100]

Sixty-three points left to go!

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