Chapter 21: Changes (Please keep reading)

Chapter 21: Changes (Please keep reading~)

Accompanied by a barely audible sound, a dark shadow tumbled over the courtyard wall.

Chen Erya, who had been observing the courtyard through the room window, was startled by the shadow.

"Who is it!?"

The little girl's heart leaped into her throat.

It was the middle of the night, and her brother wasn't home. As a young girl, if a thief were to break in, what could she do?

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through her mind.

Just as she was preparing to hide and see if she could buy some time, she saw the face of the dark shadow clearly by the bright moonlight.

"Brother!"

The little girl cried out in pleasant surprise.

"It's so late, the little girl should be asleep by now," Chen Pingan thought as he stood in the courtyard. Children's bodies are still developing and they sleep more than adults; he had no intention of waking her. Who would have thought that after only a few steps, he would hear her calling for him?

The voice was full of joy; it was Chen Erya's voice.

A small figure rushed out of the room and threw herself into his arms.

"Nannann, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet!?"

"Waiting for brother to come back."

The little girl buried her head in Chen Pingan's chest, her voice sounding somewhat muffled.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Pingan sensed that her emotions were off.

"You scared me to death just now. When you climbed over the wall, I thought a thief had come."

Chen Erya pulled away from his embrace, her clear eyes staring straight at him.

Looking at the pitiable Chen Erya, Chen Pingan's heart nearly melted.

"Nannann, it was my lack of consideration," Chen Pingan said apologetically.

It was hard for him to imagine the mental turmoil the little girl had just gone through, thinking a thief had arrived.

"It's okay, I don't blame you, brother."

The little girl hugged Chen Pingan, unwilling to let go.

Ever since Old Man Chen died, it had just been the two of them, relying on each other for survival.

Placing his hand on Chen Erya's head, Chen Pingan remained silent for a long time.

"Nannann, don't worry. Brother will do his absolute best to give you the very best!"

"Brother, did everything go smoothly?"

"It went smoothly. It's fine, go to sleep peacefully. Brother is here."

"Mm, okay."

With Chen Pingan back, Chen Erya's heart completely relaxed. After chatting with him for a while, the little girl fell into a deep sleep. It was clear she was indeed exhausted.

Chen Erya was fast asleep, but Chen Pingan's work was not yet finished.

After achieving minor success with the Iron Cloth technique, his state had returned to perfection. There was still one more practice session of the Iron Cloth left to perform.

Walking into the small courtyard, Chen Pingan removed his upper garments and began to temper and hone his body.

Now that he had achieved minor success with the Iron Cloth, he no longer needed to bind himself with tight-fitting clothing. Every stroke of his palms was directly against his skin.

However, since his skin was now as tough as thin cowhide, the effect of tempering it using only his hands was much weaker than before.

Nevertheless, half an hour later, the familiar "+1 Experience" appeared again.

Name: Chen Pingan Realm: Blood Qi Level 1 (Perfection) Martial Arts: Iron Cloth (Minor Success) (1/40)

After completing one session, Chen Pingan realized he had not yet reached his limit. His skin, which used to turn bright red after tempering, showed no significant change this time.

"Could it be..."

A hint of excitement rose on Chen Pingan's face.

"Again!"

With that, he continued to rub and hone his body, practicing the Iron Cloth once more.

After another half hour, the "+1 Experience" surfaced again, and the experience points on the panel changed from 1 to 2.

After practicing twice in a row, Chen Pingan finally felt his entire body burning and his skin heating up.

"It seems that after achieving minor success with the Iron Cloth, I can sustain two consecutive practice sessions. This way, I can gain 4 experience points a day by practicing in the morning and evening. This speed is effectively doubled!"

An inexplicable joy filled Chen Pingan's face.

"To reach Great Success with the Iron Cloth, 40 experience points are required. This means... whereas it originally would have taken twenty days to reach Great Success, it will now only take ten days."

"Ten days..."

"Also, according to the manual, once the Iron Cloth reaches minor success, the practice can move to the next stage: rolling in sand and gravel to temper the body, polish the skin, and circulate the blood qi."

"Mm, I'll get some sand and gravel tomorrow to see if the new stage of practice yields more experience."

"..."

The doubling of his experience gain efficiency left Chen Pingan feeling incredibly excited. This meant that the gates to a higher realm of martial arts were slowly and steadily opening to him.

After a quick wipe-down of his body, Chen Pingan fell into a deep sleep amidst his excitement.

With his improved physical fitness and abundant blood qi, he could fall completely asleep in just a dozen breaths if he felt even slightly drowsy.

Most importantly, he maintained a certain level of alertness even while sleeping.

Early the next morning, Chen Pingan began his Iron Cloth practice as usual. On ordinary days, his schedule was quite tight between finishing his practice and rushing to his duties at the Zhenfu Division.

However, today was a rest day, so there was no issue.

After practicing the Iron Cloth twice in a row, the experience points on the panel changed from 2 to 4, and then Chen Pingan headed out.

The new stage of Iron Cloth practice required sand and gravel. Therefore, he went out to procure some.

There were plenty of such sand and gravel to be found all over the outskirts of the city. They would be ready to use after a few sifts.

However, gathering sand and gravel directly from outside the city would be time-consuming and laborious. Since he didn't know when Master Hu would arrive, Chen Pingan chose to simply spend money to buy it.

As luck would have it, Uncle Zhang from west of Pear Blossom Lane happened to be a sand laborer. His family should have quite a lot of such sand and gravel.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

Chen Pingan knocked on Uncle Zhang's door.

After a moment, the door opened, and a small child poked his head out.

"Who are you looking for?"

The child was not old, perhaps only four or five years old, with a round head that looked quite endearing.

"Is Auntie Zhang at home?" Chen Pingan asked with a smile.

"Grandma? She's in," the little child said in a milky voice, stepping aside.

"Who is it!?"

A voice called out from inside the house.

A rather stout elderly woman walked out from the inner room, just in time to see Chen Pingan as he was about to step through the door.

"I wondered who it was. It's just young Master Chen."

Among the many households in Pear Blossom Lane, Uncle Zhang's family lived quite well.

His son and daughter-in-law were hardworking, working in the kitchens of the city's restaurants, which was a decent, stable job.

He himself worked as a sand laborer to earn hard-earned money, while Auntie Zhang did needlework at home to supplement the household income.

With the whole family working together, their lives were quite prosperous.

(End of Chapter)