Chapter 32: Little Thief

Pear Blossom Lane, the Chen Family Courtyard.

Listening to the steady breathing of Chen Erya beside him, Chen Pingan lay on the bed, thinking quietly.

The Scruffy Fish of the Green Fish Gang.

The bounty poster.

Official bailiff.

The monthly stipend from the Tiger Head Gang.

One event after another intertwined in Chen Pingan's mind.

After finishing his duties today, while he was halfway through eating with Chen Erya, Uncle Zhang had delivered the stones he requested.

Chen Pingan cleared the sand and gravel from the courtyard and, with Uncle Zhang's help, selected several more baskets of stones.

Turning sand and gravel into stones allowed Chen Pingan to increase the speed of his Iron Cloth technique training once again. Obtaining 1 point of cultivation experience now required significantly less time than before. Not only that, but tonight, Chen Pingan practiced the Iron Cloth technique four times in a row, successfully gaining 4 points of cultivation experience.

In this way, he gained 3 points of experience in the morning and 4 points at night, totaling 7 points of experience per day.

In another dozen or so days, he would be able to train the Iron Cloth technique to perfection!

Once the Iron Cloth technique reached perfection, he would have no other martial arts left to practice. His current cultivation progress, which could be described as advancing a thousand miles in a single day, would slow down or even stagnate.

"I must become an official bailiff of the Zhenfu Division before the Iron Cloth technique reaches perfection! Once I have the status of an official bailiff, I will naturally obtain the Thirteen Blades of the Public Office. That way, everything will be on the right track, and I can gradually reveal my cultivation!"

As Chen Pingan was lost in thought, a panel that only he could see surfaced in his field of vision.

Name: Chen Pingan Realm: Second Level of Blood and Qi Martial Arts: Iron Cloth (Great Success) (13/100)

Perhaps due to the matter of the Green Fish Gang remnants and the bounty poster, Chen Pingan felt a sense of unease after failing to find any trace of his target for two consecutive days.

Though he usually fell asleep easily, tonight he suffered from a long-awaited bout of insomnia. Various thoughts raced through his mind.

Outside the window, the bright moon was obscured by dark clouds, making the moonlight dim and the surroundings extremely dark.

A dark shadow silently flipped over the courtyard wall. The moment it landed, a sound so faint it was almost inaudible rang out.

Such a sound could not be detected by an ordinary person.

However, it could not hide from Chen Pingan, who had already reached the second level of Blood and Qi.

Inside the room, Chen Pingan's body jolted, and his expression changed abruptly.

There was someone in the courtyard!

His body tensed, slightly hunched. He focused all his attention on sensing the situation outside.

Although he did not use his eyes to look, the sound of the other party formed an incredibly clear trajectory in his ears.

The footsteps were light, entering the small kitchen almost silently.

"What are they doing in the kitchen? Could it be... stealing food?"

Then, an incredibly faint *creak*.

Chen Pingan knew the person had opened the kitchen cupboard door.

This was followed by the sound of several porcelain bowls clinking together.

Footsteps sounded again; the person left the kitchen and seemed to be walking toward them.

In this instant, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Chen Pingan's mind.

Who is it?

What are they doing here?

What is their purpose?

The footsteps grew closer and closer.

*Thump! Thump!*

Chen Pingan's heart rate accelerated.

He was already prepared to rise and counterattack.

One step! Two steps! Three steps!

Chen Pingan estimated the number of steps. In just a few more steps, he would spring up and subdue them in one move.

For some reason, at this moment, his heart gradually grew calm, as if he had entered a wondrous state of mind.

Chen Pingan counted silently, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.

But suddenly, the footsteps stopped. The person stood still for about three breaths of time, then turned and left.

At this moment, Chen Pingan's reaction was not to relax. The first thought that flashed through his mind was: *Chase!*

Using the dim moonlight, he glanced at Chen Erya beside him. He rose quietly, and just as he approached the door, the dark shadow had just flipped over the courtyard wall.

Chen Pingan stepped lightly and also climbed over the front wall. Seeing the dark shadow running not far ahead, his heart eased slightly, and he also leaped over the wall.

Having already entered the second level of Blood and Qi, he possessed extreme control over his body; every step he took was almost noiseless.

He maintained a certain distance, stealthily following the target.

After several turns and a jog of about fifteen minutes, the dark shadow suddenly flipped into a courtyard.

"Is this a hideout? Or something else..."

Watching the shadow enter the courtyard, Chen Pingan hesitated for a moment.

After waiting a short while, he approached the courtyard and leaped onto the wall.

Lying on the wall, he looked around and found that the courtyard was slightly larger than his own, but overgrown with weeds. The only sign of life was a pile of firewood not far away. He observed for a while but found no trace of the person.

"Did they go inside?" Chen Pingan guessed.

After confirming there was no one in the courtyard, he flipped down from the wall.

*Bang!*

Just as he landed and had not yet stabilized his stance, the nearby pile of firewood suddenly exploded outward as if struck. A dark shadow lunged from behind the woodpile.

The opponent was tall, standing a full head taller than him.

*Whoosh!*

A gust of wind rushed toward him as a fist the size of a sandbag approached his front.

"Not good!"

Warning signs blared incessantly in Chen Pingan's mind.

Before his thoughts could fully react, his body moved by instinct, swinging his hand up to block.

This was the practical application of the Iron Cloth technique, a realization derived from the memory of starlight entering his body.

*Thud!*

The opponent's fist collided heavily with Chen Pingan's arm.

The immense force forced Chen Pingan to take several steps back, and he felt his blood and qi churning violently.

"Second level of Blood and Qi!"

Chen Pingan was not feeling well, but the opponent was not faring much better. The opponent had thought this sneak attack would completely knock down the follower, but he hadn't expected to have hit a steel wall.

It was also at this moment that, through the hazy moonlight, Chen Pingan saw the opponent's face clearly.

A buzz cut, a square face, large ears, and a long, thin scar at the corner of the eye.

It was the Great Captain of the Green Fish Gang, Scruffy Fish!

A flash of excitement crossed Chen Pingan's face.

He had searched high and low only to stumble upon him like this!

Realizing he had hit a hard target, Scruffy Fish's first instinct was to run.

The opponent's martial realm was on par with his own, but since his injuries had not yet healed, he would be no match in a prolonged struggle. Furthermore, if the commotion grew too large and attracted the night patrol bailiffs of the Zhenfu Division, he would surely die!

"Where do you think you're going!"

Seeing Scruffy Fish about to flee, Chen Pingan would not allow it. He let out a loud shout and lunged toward him.

"Get lost!"

Scruffy Fish roared, throwing a whip kick toward Chen Pingan.

The kick brought a gust of wind to his face, packed with immense power.

If an ordinary person were hit solidly, they would be dead or severely injured.

But Chen Pingan ignored the danger. Without changing his stance, he spread his arms, intending to take the kick head-on and then grab the man.

The whip kick landed heavily against Chen Pingan's chest.

A cruel smile appeared on Scruffy Fish's face.

Even for a skilled martial artist at the second level of Blood and Qi, taking such a kick head-on would be agonizing.

It seemed the boy was still too young; in his haste to finish him here, he had actually given him an opportunity.

However, in the next instant, the smile on Scruffy Fish's face froze completely.

"How is this possible!?"

(End of Chapter)