Chapter 3

Translated by Oedon Edited by Phantom0408

“Fortunately…. it was not discovered.” Chen Biao was a shameless bastard; he wouldn’t hesitate to rob Wei He if he caught him holding so much money.

Wei He went around the city and arrived at Pingfang District near the inner city. [1]

In one of the district’s courtyards, there are frequent shouts from people in training, and on the gate of the courtyard hung a plaque, it read: Zheng’s Mountain Fist.

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

Wei He stepped forward and knocked on the gate.

After waiting for a while, the wooden gate was pulled open from the inside, revealing a fierce-looking face.

“Who is it? What are you doing here?”

“I came here to learn the fist technique,” Wei He said solemnly.

“Did you bring the money?” The face looked up and down at him.

“I brought it.”

“Come in.”

The wooden door opened wide, and Wei He strode in.

Inside the courtyard, a dozen bare-chested men are constantly practicing with stone locks.

Under the shade of a tree, a withered old man with a goatee was slowly sipping a cup of tea in a leisurely manner.

“Brat, why are you here? Have you saved enough money?” The withered old man looked at Wei He and spoke out.

“Old Man Zheng, I saved enough.” Wei He had been here quite a few times before, and because of his dedicated, sincere attitude, while also taking the initiative to help run a few errands, gave the withered old man a good impression of him.

Of course, while his impression is good, this place will only accept people who can pay the tuition fee, and since he couldn’t be accepted for free, he gave up. But now that he had enough money, Old Man Zheng was happy to accept him.

“If you have enough, that’s good. The only viable methods for poor people like you are fist and leg techniques, why? Because weapons are expensive, while palm, finger, and other techniques aren’t as lethal or as effective as fist technique,” Old Man Zheng said lightly, while pinching his beard.

“Learn the fist technique to change your life! Learn it well to have the chance to change your destiny!”

“This is what our Master always said!” The men on the side quickly clapped.

Without saying a word, Wei He quickly took out the money bag from his body, held it up with both hands, and then bowed toward Old Man Zheng.

….….….….

At dusk.

Wei He was wearing a brand-new grey training Magua, grey trousers, and a pair of cloth shoes with layered soles. The chest was also embroidered with a striking Zheng (郑) character. [2]

These clothes are the exclusive training uniforms for the apprentices and disciples of Old Man Zheng.

The last red light of the setting sun slowly disappeared at the entrance of the alley.

Wei He rushed toward his home with a calm face, but he was quite worried in his heart. His second sister Wei Ying was at home alone, and what he is worried about is Wei Ying getting into an accident.

Although he is not the original owner of this body and he didn’t have very deep feelings toward this body’s family, ultimately they are one family and have been together for quite a long time.

He quickly walked across a street and into a few alleys. Soon, he arrived at the alley in front of his house.

Just in time, at the entrance of the alley stood three figures hunched over while smoking cigarettes. One of them is tall, strong, with short hair, and a fierce-looking face. He is staring straight at Wei He’s home. No one knows how long he had been staring at it.

This figure is none other than Chen Biao.

The other two are also tall and strong, a glance can easily tell you that the food they ate is good and they are difficult to mess with.

The sound of Wei He’s approaching footsteps startled the three men who had been staring at his home. Chen Biao turned his head and saw Wei He in Zheng’s Clan training uniform. He was surprised and looked deeply at the character Zheng (郑).

He looked at Wei He while removing the cigarette from his mouth, then he immediately turned around and walked away without saying a word. The other two underlings also followed along and left, both of them saw the character Zheng (郑) on Wei He’s chest.

They recognized Wei He’s new identity. After all, Old Man Zheng’s Mountain Fist was not some obscure and weak force.

Wei He calmly watched the three leave. He was certainly no match for the three of them, but now that he had tiger skin , they dare not act rashly. [3]

It’s just that Chen Biao had already targeted his second sister Wei Ying a long time ago, and not only for a day or two, so Wei He is not sure how long he can deter the other party with his tiger skin .

As for Old Man Zheng, he had only accepted him because he was able to pay, so asking him for help is tantamount to a fool’s dream. Their relationship was just a deal, so he didn’t think about getting any help from him.

Since his big sister has not returned, Chen Biao and his two underlings will have some ideas without the deterrence of his big sister.

“So, I still have to work hard and rely on myself.” He walked quickly to his door and opened it using the keys, then walked inside. Wei Ying was huddled in a corner, not daring to move.

Seeing that it was him, she stood up with teary eyes and ran to him.

“Little He… I almost, almost thought, I wouldn’t see you anymore!” She cried out with a waaa.

“It’s okay, I’m back,” Wei He comforted.

“Chen Biao was kic-kicking at the door, no matter what, I still dare not make a sound!” Wei Ying recounted while crying.

Wei He didn’t say a word, but his eyes became softer.

“I know, don’t worry, I will take care of it. From tomorrow onwards, follow me to the Mountain Fist’s Sect, I already told my Master to let you help with some daily chores. However, in terms of wages…”

“I’ll go! I’m fine even with no wages! I really can’t stand staying here anymore, when you are away, Chen Biao will come here several times a day. I didn’t dare say this… before, I was afraid of making you worry… I didn’t dare…” Wei Ying explained while crying, feeling a little agitated.

She knew about Old Man Zheng’s Mountain Fist Sect, there are very few people who didn’t know about it. If her little brother was there and stands as her support, she will feel safe.

“It’s agreed then, we will go there tomorrow,” Wei He said seriously.

He is still thinking about Chen Biao and his underlings. It seems that his second sister was often frightened and harassed by them when he was away.

After comforting his sister, Wei He fetched a few buckets of water from the nearby stream and filled the water tank, then together with Wei Ying started preparing their luggage for tomorrow.

The sky slowly darkened, the moonlight rose and shone through the window.

Wei He lit the oil lamp and asked his second sister to finish sewing the rest of the clothes, then he carefully recalled everything he did to make sure there was nothing wrong, before blowing out the lamp and falling back to sleep.

As he slept, he was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by a rustling sound.

Opening his eyes, Wei He got up quietly and glanced at his second sister on the other bed, she was asleep.

He quietly walked to the window and propped it gently, then looked outside.

In the alley outside, a group of ordinary civilians dressed in different clothes with somewhat scary bright eyes lined up, following two tall, thin, men and women dressed in white, they quickly walked past the window.

“Reborn in bliss, reborn in bliss, reborn in bliss…”

These people are constantly muttering the same phrase from their mouths. Different accents and the repeating of the same phrase, converge together, forming a strange and inexplicable sense of irritability.

Wei He quietly closed the window, not daring to look again.

He recognized the people who passed by, many of whom were neighbors living nearby. He just didn’t expect that they all had this hidden side.

Uncle Zhao the blacksmith, Sister Feng who sells stuffed steamed buns, and Boss Xue from the pawnshop, all are inside the group while looking pious. Wei He is not sure what poison they consumed to become like this.

Wei He quietly moved away from the window and returned to the bed without saying a word.

The group moved away slowly and their voices gradually became inaudible, Wei He also slept in a daze afterward.

When it was almost dawn, he got up on time and woke up his second sister, the two then quickly went to Zheng’s Mountain Fist with their luggage and their remaining money.

As of now, he wasn’t trained in the way of Martial Arts yet, so he certainly wasn’t able to fight Chen Biao and his men. Furthermore, in this world, there are endless amounts of dangers. So this trip was meant for learning ways to protect himself.

Wei He attached great importance to this study.

Besides he also had the power of the Pojing Bead, coupled with the chaotic era he currently lived in, he naturally knew that learning Martial Arts was the greatest insurance at this time.

When the two went out, the weather outside was still a bit chilly and the sun had yet to fully rise.

Wei He took his second sister all the way around, using a slightly longer route to the courtyard of Zheng’s Mountain Fist.

Early in the morning, there were bursts of shouting and exercising from inside the courtyard.

Wei He knocked on the gate and reported his name.

“Coming.” Soon, the heavy wooden gate slowly opened and a pocky-faced man showed up.

He looked at Wei He, then turned his head and glanced at Wei Ying. Suddenly, his originally lazy expression quickly became enthusiastic.

“Come inside, Master is drinking tea right now. You are Junior Brother Wei He, right? Not bad, not bad. My name is Cheng Shaojiu, I’m ranked third here! You can call me Third Senior Brother.” The pocky-faced man introduced himself kindly, but his eyes kept drifting in Wei Ying’s direction unconsciously.

Wei He secretly laughed. These Martial Arts practitioners have an abundance of Qi and Blood, which caused them to have strong hormones. This phenomenon will always occur when they encounter beautiful women.

He didn’t care and entered the gate with his somewhat cautious and scared second sister.

“Third Senior Brother, I will go pay my respects to Master first, we can talk afterward,” he said sincerely.

“Ok!” Cheng Shaojiu responded with a smile.

As soon as Wei Ying entered the door, she gathered the attention of men who were training their strength, causing them to cast their sights on her.

Wei He led his second sister, and both soon arrived in front of his Master, Old Man Zheng, he then bowed.

“Master Zheng, I brought my sister here. You may arrange work for her,” Wei He said.

Old Man Zheng looked at Wei Ying, but there was no change in his eyes, only doing his job honestly.

He nodded. “Let’s talk about the wages first. You both said that you are fine with no wages right?”

“Yes, we said it ourselves,” Wei He quickly responded.

“That’s good, from tomorrow onwards you will be studying the fist techniques here while your sister is responsible for cleaning, cooking, and washing. However, the tuition fee that you paid is only enough for you to study for one year, and then you will have to renew it later, do you understand?” Old Man Zheng swept Wei He up and down with his small eyes and said coldly.

“This disciple understands.” Wei He nodded.

“Of course, if you have good aptitude and have learned everything I taught you, I will continue to teach you all that you need to know, as long as it is within a year.”

Old Man Zheng waved his hand and asked a middle-aged woman that he hired to show Wei Ying the way. Then he stood up and circled Wei He who was standing.

“Endure it.” As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand and pinched on a rib under Wei He’s armpit.

Hnn!

Wei He was numb all over and almost lost the feeling of half his body.

“Not bad,” Old Man Zheng said, nodding. “Your aptitude is neither good nor bad. Although you’re a little bit too old, you still can be trained to the early stage of Martial Arts.”

“Yes,” Wei He quickly responded, “it’s all up to Master.”

Old Man Zheng looked at him from head to toe, Wei He’s attitude was very good, and he also brought him free labor, so Old Man Zheng’s mood was very good.

“Never mind, you just started today. So I will ask you, what exactly is this Martial Arts training? Why are we more powerful than ordinary people and can fight?”

Wei He is instantly all ears. It seemed that because Wei He was literate, Old Man Zheng took a while to think, he then went back to the chair and sat down again, picked up his teacup, and then took a sip from it.

Some people from the side who also seemed to be newcomers gathered around—showing interest.

Old Man Zheng cleared his throat by coughing a few times and then opened his mouth.

“My mouth is a bit dry, go get me some refreshments.”

1. Pingfang means bungalow, so a district full of bungalows.

2. What he is wearing: https://bit.ly/3taZNwP it’s also known as Tang Suit and from what I know Tang Suit is the improved version of Magua, so while what I provided isn’t the same as what the protagonist is wearing, you can use it as a reference.

3. The full idiom is “A Sheep in a Tiger’s Skin”, meaning someone impressive in appearance, but weak inside. In this context, the protagonist is using Old Man Zheng’s influence (the tiger skin) as deterrence against Chen Biao and his two underlings.

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