Chapter 2

Translated by Oedon Edited by Phantom0408

Wei He was not only here to receive the queue haired kid’s homework but also another three kids’, the ones that came to him for his service.

The reason he was able to do this is because of his previous life’s talent; he was able to imitate different styles of handwriting, and kids’ handwriting was the easiest to imitate.

After receiving the piles of paper, he rolled them up and hid them inside his clothes, he then got up and quickly walked back in the direction of his home.

When he was passing through Stonebridge Street by the riverside, a small noise came from the tall grass, among them were the cries of women mingled with the roars of men, and also the sound of sticks beating hard on the human body.

Wei He paused, then immediately quickened his pace. The Lecture Hall was located inside the safe inner city where there are guards who patrol there at all times, while his home and Stonebridge street was inside the slums, where there are seldom and if not, no guards at all, and thus it was extremely chaotic.

When he got home, Wei He used the charcoal sticks he had prepared and finished the kids’ homework one by one, then he dusted off the charcoal and rolled up the paper again, while Wei Ying used the stored vegetables to make a dish and a soup. The two then sat at the table, waiting for the rest of the family to return.

It was getting dark, and Wei Chun still didn’t come back, there was no news from their parents’ side either. Both of Wei He’s parents were craftsmen who specialized in carving stone statues.

Recently, they had been carving Buddha statues for Mingde Temple outside the city. [1]

“Mom and Dad may have to spend a night at the temple again,” Wei Ying whispered. “Just, why isn’t Big Sister back yet?” Wei Chun usually came home on time every day.

“….”

Wei He didn’t speak, he looked up at the window. The sun had set and was no longer to be seen. The wind blowing in is also quite cold, and there was a vague smell of other people’s cooking.

“Big Sister always comes back at this time.” Wei Ying looked at her brother and murmured in a low voice as if she was speaking to Wei He, and yet, she also seemed to be talking to herself.

“I’ll go check, don’t go anywhere and just stay at home.” Wei He stood up. He felt that something was wrong and his mind was restless.

“Don’t be gone for too long, and return earlier,” Wei Ying urged.

“Mm.”

Wei He put on a jacket, although it was full of patches, it could at least keep him warm. Pushing open the wooden door, he saw at a glance three tall and strong men standing at the entrance of an alley to the right, wearing gray shirts, with dark skin, and exposed arms that were full of muscle.

Wei He knew them. They are the neighborhood’s famous gangster: Chen Biao, and his two underlings. Chen Biao doesn’t work as a guard and is idle all day long, no one knows where he gets the money to live and keeps his body strong. But Wei He heard a rumor that Chen Biao is connected with a Bandit Gang, and is often helping them abduct people to sell.

They will abduct children, unmarried women, and even men; as long as they were handsome they weren’t spared.

None of that mattered, the problem was that Chen Biao had seen Wei He’s second sister Wei Ying before, and after that, he often wandered near his home.

Later, he also clashed with his big sister, Wei Chun, and this caused him to be slightly restrained.

Wei Chun is part of the Blackwater Gang, although she isn’t a high-level member of the gang, that didn’t mean that she was weak and an easy target to bully by some random gangster.

After that, Chen Biao would often take advantage of Wei Chun’s absence before wandering around his home.

Wei He glanced over from afar, just in time to lock eyes with the short-haired and strong Chen Biao.

With a weird light flashing in his two small eyes, Chen Biao smiled at Wei He, he then turned his head and talked to his two underlings.

Wei He’s heart tightened, he knew this guy was waiting to see if his big sister would come back.

The reason why Wei Chun came back home on time every day is because of this guy.

The members of the gangs have tons of trouble, who knows what accident may happen to them someday? So Chen Biao definitely has some bad thoughts.

‘Trouble.’ Wei He quickened his pace while walking out of the alley, he then walked toward a branch of the Blackwater Gang where his elder sister was, with much familiarity.

His eldest sister Wei Chun was different compared to the rest of the siblings. She was born with a big, sturdy, and strong physique, all of these combined with a bad temper allowed her to have some fame within the Blackwater Gang’s branch.

Inside the branch’s dwelling place, a compound.

A few men are exercising with a stone lock, while a man with a queue hairstyle is standing at the side while yawning. [2]

“Wei Chun? She took a mission this morning, she said that this mission will allow her to earn enough money for her family to go to the inner city, while also saving enough for her little brother to learn a fist technique. It should be a very important mission, why are you asking? Did she not tell you?”

“No.” Wei He shook his head, his heart sank.

“About that mission, there are many people who tried to take it but the branch leader only picked a dozen or so competent people, and your sister was among them, so no need to be anxious,” the man said with a smile.

“Then, do you know when they will come back?” Wei He asked.

“I do not know, this is a very important mission so it might take some time, you don’t need to worry. Well, I’m still training here, you can go back first and wait, and I’ll be the first to inform you about your sister when they come back.” The man waved his hand, sending him away.

He knew that this was all he could ask, the other party could no longer tell him anything, no matter how much he asked. He turned and walked slowly out of the gate.

Standing at the gate of the compound, he turned his head and looked at the hanging plaque with the words Blackwater Gang’s branch written on it.

‘The Blackwater Gang is just a small gang, there are dozens if not hundreds of gangs in the outer city. Where can they find a mission that could make so much money?’

Wei He’s heart was heavy, he had a bad feeling. He was not the same as the other commoners who were ignorant and uneducated, he knew that there must be a problem.

But now that the person was gone, what can he as a 16 years old boy, do? Aside from being able to read and write, what can he do?

When he got home, Wei He didn’t see Chen Biao in the alley, but when he opened the door he saw the pale, panicked, and scared face of Wei Ying, his second sister.

Seeing him back, Wei Ying was relieved as if she had put down some heavy burden all of a sudden.

“Little He…. What about Big Sister? Where is she?”

“Did Chen Biao come?” Wei He asked in a deep voice.

“He came, but I hid and didn’t make a sound. H-h-he thought there was no one, so he left,” Wei Ying stuttered, obviously scared.

Wei He saw a dusty yellow footprint on the door of the house, so he knew that there must have been quite a big commotion.

“Big Sister went on an important mission, she cannot return for the time being. Let’s eat first.”

He tried to stay calm, now that only he and his second sister were left. If he was panicked and scared then his timid second sister will even be more scared.

“Mm,” Wei Ying answered in a low voice. The two then closed the door and the window, then sat down silently, while taking advantage of the crack on the windows where a faint beam of light could shine through, to eat slowly using chopsticks.

The dishes were fried tofu with carrot and tofu soup with cabbage, the rice was bran rice with a lot of corn added. There was no meat. Meat was just too expensive for commoners like them.

The only reason his eldest sister Wei Chun was able to grow so big and strong is that she simply ate more compared to the rest of the family.

The Wei family, being able to eat this kind of food was already considered good compared to others, even though it was a bit oily.

After eating, Wei Ying went to clean the dishes, while Wei He spread out the homework on the table and started working. Only when he was about to write did he dare use the oil lamp, lighting it up using a flint, he then writes with the light on.

The next day, Wei He went to deliver the kids’ homework, and also get the money from the other three kids.

Only after he did that did he finally have enough money to learn the Mountain Fist.

Wei Chun still didn’t come back. There was still no news, even from the parents’ side. No news from his father Wei Tang or his mother.

Wei Ying did not dare go out to find up a job. she could only stay at home all day long while waiting for Wei He to come in and out to bring back some news.

Wei He went to the branch’s compound to see the man again, but that man who promised to inform him when his sister returned had disappeared, perhaps unwilling to talk to him again; he was blocked outside of the gate.

Another three days had passed. There was no news from either his parents or Wei Chun.

At the entrance of the alley right to the house, Chen Biao and his two underlings appeared more and more frequently. The time they simply wandered near Wei’s home was getting longer and longer.

Wei He’s heart had sunk. He knew that the worst-case scenario that he had imagined in his mind might have happened. So he knew that he must find a way out as soon as possible.

In this world, it was very common for people to suddenly disappear, whether they would encounter a robbery, a beast, or suddenly falling ill on the road. There are too many factors that can make people suddenly disappear.

On the morning of the fourth day, before dawn.

Wei He took a forearm wide wooden stick and the money, and then quietly went outside.

“Hide well at home, and don’t go outside or make any noise.”

“Okay.” Wei Ying nodded vigorously, seemingly able to know that her little brother was acting quite unusual today. Now that her big sister and parents were absent from home. She and her little brother could only depend on each other, so she will try not to drag her little brother down.

By the dim light of day, Wei He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm himself down.

“I originally planned to save for some food expenses before going, but now it seems there is no other way…” He could feel his heart pounding, what he was carrying was the money he had saved up for more than two months.

Success or failure will be decided in this confrontation!

He carefully hid the money bag inside the inner layer of his clothes, then he blocked it with his hand and gripped a wooden stick; this was all of his savings, so there is absolutely no room for failure.

Wei He then quickly walked towards the entrance of the alley, then through Stonebridge Street.

At Stonebridge Street, there were already many farmers on the road carrying vegetables and fruits to sell, and also the rich, well-dressed people sitting in carriages who seem to be going out for a walk.

The poor peasants in simple clothes along with the gentlemen and ladies in silk formed a very striking contrast by being together on the same road.

Not far away, he soon saw Chen Biao and his two underlings standing by the roadside while bragging. The three of them communicated with low voices, while constantly looking at the women and men passing by. When they see the good-looking or pretty ones, they will stare at the other party deeply.

They seemed to be planning to abduct people.

Wei He’s heart tightened. He had all his savings in his arms now, so he must not fail. The more

nervous his heart is, the more he will act suspiciously.

All the way forward, he quickly walked to the part of the road where Chen Biao and his two underlings were next to each other.

If he hadn’t been seen by Chen Biao before, in fact, a detour would be the best thing to make, but since he was seen, suddenly taking a detour would look very suspicious, so it may cause trouble instead.

So, the more natural he acts this time, the safer! Wei He walked with a steady pace and was about to walk past the three of them.

“Wait.” Chen Biao suddenly reached out with one hand, just in time to stop him. “Ah, yes Little He, why are you going into the inner city again? Going to the inner city every day, while not working in our city, did you climb up to a big family?” Chen Biao laughed grimly.

His voice is a bit shrill, and he doesn’t have the aura of a tall and strong man at all, but rather like a rooster.

“What do you want? My big sister helped me find a job there,” Wei He said indifferently with the same attitude as usual.

“Hey, your big sister, right? Ah, she is one of the members of the Blackwater Gang. Ok, ok, I won’t stop you.” Chen Biao laughed a few times and withdrew his hand.

Wei He continued to move forward.

“Wait.” Chen Biao is up to something again. He swept his two small eyes over Wei He’s clothes and caught a glimpse of the slightly bulging jacket pocket.

“Little brother, your clothes seem to be a little bulging today…. Are you hiding something?”

“I work on a construction site every day, so I’m sometimes hungry at work, because of that I want to bring some dry cakes to work. Why? Can’t I?” Wei He pulled his clothes apart, and took a piece of dry cake from the inside, then shook it.

“Of course you can.” Chen Biao smiled and withdrew his hand, no longer saying anything.

“Alright go, remember to give my greetings to your second sister, I’ve liked her for a long time.”

“…” Wei He didn’t say a word, he quickly left with a cold face; only after he had walked for more than a mile did he feel relieved.

1. Mingde means Highest or Illustrious Virtue

2. First time I had heard of this, but stone locks is kind of a dumbbell used by ancient Chinese people to exercise, the -> link <- for how it looks , I can’t find the wiki for it ;-;

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