Chapter 21

"Moving?" Wei Ying was mending a torn silk garment when she heard Wei He mention buying a house. She paused, looked up, and was somewhat taken aback.

"Yes, I bought a house nearby. We don't have to go back to our hometown anymore," Wei He nodded seriously.

Wei Ying's room was only a few square meters, with just a bed and a table and chair. There was nothing else.

Even the window was sealed shut.

It was really just a place to sleep.

"But... where did we get so much money? Houses are so expensive..." Wei Ying said, somewhat disbelievingly.

"They're not expensive anymore now," Wei He replied after a moment of silence.

"......Is that so..." Wei Ying lowered her head, and the needle and thread in her hand stopped moving for a while.

But she quickly recovered and a smile appeared on her face.

"Then we can finally live together. I've always been worried about you since we've been separated.

Before, you didn't let me come over to clean, saying it was dangerous... But now, everyone in the neighborhood knows you're Master Zheng's disciple, and they all say you're very capable and hardworking!

If Father, Mother, and Eldest Sister knew this news..." Her voice trailed off when she mentioned her parents and eldest sister, but she paused and didn't dwell on it.

"When are we moving?" Wei Ying asked.

"Right now. It's lunch break, so I'll tell Senior Brother Cheng later," Wei He said.

"Okay, by the way, Master Zheng said to come see him when you return. He has something to tell you," Wei Ying suddenly said.

"Me? Just me?" Wei He was taken aback. He was just an ordinary disciple in the courtyard, with no outstanding performance, and Master Zheng usually didn't single him out.

"Not just you. A few others were called in for a talk before you returned," Wei Ying replied.

"Got it, I'll go after we move the things," Wei He nodded.

Wei Ying wanted to ask about what happened on the escort mission, but Wei He brushed it off with a few words.

Fortunately, the previous escort mission was quite safe, so Wei Ying didn't suspect anything.

Both of them came from poor families, so they were quick and efficient. Wei Ying didn't have much luggage, and many things were already available in Master Zheng's house.

In less than an hour, they had moved everything.

After moving, Wei He returned to the Huishan Fist courtyard. Before he entered, he saw Xiao Ran being picked up by a white carriage.

He shook his head inwardly but showed no change on his face as he continued to push the door open.

In the courtyard, several senior brothers were already practicing hard. They were all new disciples.

New disciples were usually very diligent when they first joined. Later, they would realize that simple hard work without proper rest was not effective, and they would form their own training habits.

Wei He wasn't very familiar with anyone, except for Li Jue.

He nodded to Li Jue from a distance as a greeting, then walked straight to the inner room.

The inner room was a rectangular space.

Master Zheng was half-reclining in a corner, sitting in a redwood chair with polished armrests. A senior brother was already waiting in front of him.

Wei He went over, and Master Zheng didn't say anything, just gestured to a spot.

Wei He walked over and stood still, waiting quietly.

After a while, two more disciples came in and stood on the side, waiting.

Finally, Senior Brother Zhao Hong came in.

"Everyone is here," Master Zheng said calmly. "Hong, give them a general idea. Since they've joined my school, they need to know what's going on. The situation in the city is getting worse, and everyone needs to be careful."

"Yes," Zhao Hong bowed respectfully.

Master Zheng then picked up a pickled chicken claw and started eating it slowly, seemingly ready to provide additional comments.

Zhao Hong cleared his throat and looked at the four senior brothers present.

"I've already mentioned this twice before. Today, I'm repeating it for those who haven't heard."

He paused, glanced at Master Zheng, and continued when he saw no indication to stop.

"Disciples who haven't officially joined our school are not considered part of Huishan Fist. They are apprentices. If they leave, no one will consider them part of our school.

But you are different. You are all official disciples, and you have all broken through the qi and blood barrier once. When you go out, you represent Huishan Fist.

So today, I will lay down some rules for you."

The four, including Wei He, all nodded, indicating they were listening carefully.

Zhao Hong nodded in satisfaction and continued, "In the city, there are many small gangs and sects that change every few days. You don't need to worry about them. What you need to be careful about are the three major gangs.

The three major gangs are the Mountain River Gang, the Blood Robe Gang, and the Tongcheng Gang. These three large gangs have many members, but you don't need to worry too much about the peripheral members. Just be cautious around the core members and don't provoke them. I'll tell you the identifying marks of the core members later.

Also, when you pass by houses with sick people, don't linger. Try to stay as far away as possible. The epidemic in the city is getting worse..."

He continued to explain the precautions regarding the epidemic.

Wei He listened quietly until the end. Zhao Hong described various symptoms of the epidemic in great detail.

Finally, Master Zheng couldn't help but interrupt.

"Enough, enough, get to the main point."

"Yes," Zhao Hong nodded quickly. "Feiyeh City has three gangs and two sects, but these are all in the outer city.

The inner city, where we are, is different. Most of the business and land is controlled by seven families, so it's generally called the Seven Family Alliance.

The Seven Family Alliance and the Hong Family Fort outside the city are the most dangerous forces you should avoid.

If you encounter members of the Seven Family Alliance or the Hong Family Fort, try to avoid them and don't provoke any conflicts."

The Seven Family Alliance... Wei He's heart stirred. He recalled that Chief Cheng Kai had mentioned the conflict between the Hong Family Fort and the city guard family during the escort mission.

It seemed that one of the Seven Family Alliance must be the city guard family.

After a long explanation, the others noticed that Senior Brother Zhao Hong, who usually didn't talk much, had a tendency to ramble.

Finally, Master Zheng couldn't bear it and told the four to go practice.

As Wei He left, he saw Senior Brother Zhao Hong being scolded by Master Zheng, which made him chuckle inwardly.

Back in his corner of the courtyard, Wei He saw Cheng Shaojiu already waiting.

They each set up their tools and prepared to start the leather grinding.

"I heard about the mission. You did a good job," Cheng Shaojiu said softly.

"It's nothing. Since I promised, it was my duty," Wei He shook his head.

He had been receiving the Cheng family's salary for a long time and had expected the dangers of the escort mission.

"Anyway, be careful when you go out," Cheng Shaojiu sighed. "Actually, I've always wanted to go on an escort mission, but my father doesn't allow it. What's the point of practicing martial arts every day if I can't use them?"

"..." Wei He was at a loss for words.

After a moment of silence, he recalled the monster they encountered in the darkness and spoke softly.

"Senior Brother, do you know what the black madman we encountered was?"

"Black madman is a general term for fierce beasts that hunt at night. I asked my father about the two who died, and he also didn't know. It seems to be a new type of beast that hasn't appeared before," Cheng Shaojiu shook his head.

Wei He was silent. He had thought the outside world wasn't as dangerous as he imagined, but the mission had already cost two lives.

Cheng Shaojiu lowered his head and started pounding the sand basin fiercely.

After a while, he suddenly looked up.

"How old are you, Xiao He?"

"Seventeen..." Wei He answered, not sure why he was asked.

"Seventeen... How about I introduce you to a good girl?" Cheng Shaojiu suddenly said.

"..." Wei He was a bit lost.

"Just listen to me. I guarantee I'll find you a very virtuous and gentle girl!" Cheng Shaojiu patted his chest.

Many people got married and had children at seventeen or eighteen, so it was about time for Wei He.

But he had been busy practicing and hadn't thought about it.

"..." Wei He was at a loss for words. It seemed that Senior Brother Cheng had a lot on his mind, which was not good for martial arts progress.

They both stopped talking and focused on their training.

After practicing for a while, Wei He wiped his sweat and checked the pattern on his breakthrough bead.

It had grown a bit more. After the half-month escort mission, it had progressed from half to almost three-quarters.

It had grown by about a quarter.

He remained calm and continued his hard training. According to the information in his mind, the breakthrough bead could only be used when he reached a certain threshold.

So he had to strengthen his qi and blood to the extreme.

When he reached the peak of the leather stage, he would be able to use the breakthrough bead to break through.

He focused his mind and continued grinding the leather.

Strengthening qi and blood alone was not enough; he also needed to expand his body's capacity to hold more qi and blood.

This was the purpose of the leather grinding practice.

However, his talent was limited, far inferior to a genius like Xiao Ran, so he could only accumulate progress bit by bit.

Time passed slowly.

Wei He and his second sister moved into the new house and invited Third Senior Brother and Li Jue over for a meal to familiarize them with the new place.

After that, nothing unusual happened.

He woke up early and practiced late every day, refining himself. Days passed like the water dripping from the bamboo tubes in the courtyard.

As for Cheng Shaojiu's offer to introduce him to a girl, Wei He didn't take it seriously.

He was too busy changing his life to think about such things.

Moreover, the current times were chaotic.

Prices on the street changed daily, and the influx of counterfeit silver coins made real silver less valuable.

Gradually, many shops and stalls stopped accepting silver and started using cloth, meat, and rice as a means of exchange.

With the rapid price increases, carrying large amounts of silver became cumbersome, and more people started to avoid it.

Recalling how Wei Ying had worked hard to earn just a few dozen silver coins, Wei He told her to accept only rice and meat in the future.

A month passed quickly.

"Almost there, almost there..." Wei He pulled his hands out of the warm sand and quickly immersed them in the medicine basin.

Feeling the cooling of his hands and the rapid harmonization of his heated qi and blood, he sensed a subtle strengthening.

Wei He felt a sense of comfort.

He could feel that his qi and blood had progressed further. He was now halfway through the leather stage.

This pace was neither good nor bad. Many around him were at the same speed.

Some were even faster.

Among the dozen or so leather disciples, his progress was average.