Chapter 25

Wei He didn't care about these things.

After he dedicated himself to opening a bun shop for his second sister, he returned to his rigorous martial arts training routine.

Before he knew it, winter had arrived.

The weather remained dry, with no sign of rain, and the ground was parched and cracked.

In the Wei family courtyard.

Wei He, bare-chested, stood with his fists guarding his head, facing a sandbag hanging from a large tree trunk, continuously punching it.

Each punch was like a heavy hammer, one after another, relentless, delivering thirty punches in one breath.

Each punch was not particularly fast but was exceptionally steady and powerful.

After a full burst of effort, deep fist marks were visible on the sandbag.

Wei He picked up a water bag nearby, slowly sipped some warm water, and swallowed it bit by bit.

During his rest, he glanced down at the realm-breaking bead pattern on his chest.

In the morning, there was still a tiny gap left, but now it was completely full.

"Finally full."

A weight lifted from Wei He's heart. He had been worried that the first realm-breaking bead would fill up, but the second one might not.

After all, with this accumulation speed, slow as a snail, it was really unbearable.

But now, it was finally full.

He tried to use the same method as before, using his mind to pierce the realm-breaking bead, like a balloon in his heart.

But it didn't work.

The realm-breaking bead remained unmoved.

"Sure enough... I must wait until my qi and blood are also completely full." Wei He sighed in his heart and stopped trying.

His qi and blood were only halfway through, and he felt that although his body was solid, it wasn't yet completely full.

In fact, at the normal speed, in the Huishan Fist Academy, 99% of the disciples and apprentices, no matter how fast they accumulated qi and blood, had to go through a slow and steady process.

He had broken through the leather stage at the beginning of the year, and it had only been half a year. How could he have polished himself to the top so quickly?

Only someone like Xiao Ran, with a naturally strong body and extraordinary talent, could break through quickly.

For the rest, the time to accumulate qi and blood was never less than a year and a half.

Thinking about this, Wei He suppressed his restlessness and calmed down.

"I've only been at it for half a year, and I've already accumulated more than half of my qi and blood. In fact, the speed is still quite fast. Compared to my talent, most people in the courtyard are at a similar stage."

Among his peers who broke through the leather stage together, some had slower qi and blood accumulation, and some were faster, but the differences were not significant.

This showed that his speed was normal.

Wei He was usually quiet and observant. Recalling and comparing, he felt reassured.

After finishing his daily practice, Wei He put on his clothes. Feeling unusually good, he decided to go out and check on his second sister's business.

The bun shop had been open for about ten days, and it was now morning, the best time for selling buns.

Leaving the house, Wei He walked along the riverside street toward the Huishan Fist Academy.

The Wei family bun shop was located between the Huishan Fist Academy and the Wei family courtyard, making it convenient to take care of.

At the bun shop, Wei Ying was busy moving around, selling buns and preparing new batches.

A long queue of people stood in front of the shop, waiting for their turn.

Wei Ying wore a simple mask, specially made by Wei He. Seeing her brother approach, she didn't have time to greet him, only nodding from a distance before continuing her work.

Wei He didn't rush, standing aside and waiting. He noticed that the people in the queue mostly held small pieces of dried meat or small bags of coarse grains, flour, or rice, and their clothing indicated they were mostly poor and ordinary civilians.

He sighed, knowing that his sister must have lowered the prices, otherwise, the business wouldn't be so good.

After all, buns made from coarse grain flour with a little bit of pickled meat could hardly taste good.

But since he wasn't lacking food at the Huishan Fist Academy, he didn't care how much money Wei Ying made, only feeling a bit sorry for her hard work.

Standing outside the shop, a few people in the queue, seeing Wei He's strong and indifferent appearance, became wary, fearing he might cut in line.

Wei He couldn't help but laugh, moving a bit further away and standing under a eave.

The weather had been hot, with no rain, and the river water had become murky and shallow.

As time passed, the sun grew brighter, and the heat waves rising from the ground made the air slightly distorted.

As the heat intensified, the queue gradually shortened, and Wei Ying became less busy.

Wei He went up to help with the last few customers. Earlier, with so many people, it was too busy, and he didn't know what to do, which might have delayed things.

Now, with some free time, Wei Ying could teach him how to help.

After the last few customers were served, Wei Ying wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. Despite the hard work, she looked satisfied.

"Finally done. We'll make more tonight." She turned around and saw Wei He washing his hands in the shop.

She also went over to wash her hands.

After washing his hands, Wei He shook them off and was about to leave.

"Here, use this to dry your hands, listen to me." Wei Ying quickly handed him a new gray cloth towel.

Wei He took it and looked at it. The towel was quite clean and new, seemingly newly bought.

He used it to carefully dry his hands.

"Didn't we have this before? Did you make a new one?" He knew his second sister liked to do handicrafts, and the old towels at home were made by sewing together pieces of old clothes.

"No, someone gave it to me. It smells nice, but I didn't want it, but they were so enthusiastic." Wei Ying replied.

"That's really generous." Wei He nodded, thinking. "Was it a woman who gave it to you?"

"Yes."

"Have you boiled it?"

"Yes, as you said."

"Alright." Wei He suddenly remembered Cheng Shaoyou's suggestion to find him a wife and thought of his second sister.

"Speaking of which, do you have any plans to find a good family and get married?" He asked softly.

"What? Just thinking about getting rid of your sister?" Wei Ying teased with a smile.

"Yes, otherwise, you can't take care of me forever, right?" Wei He laughed.

"Not yet, no rush. We'll see when the right person comes along." Wei Ying shook her head.

The two siblings chatted about their recent lives and the increasingly complicated situation outside.

Fortunately, the Huishan Fist Academy seemed to be independent of the many troubles, or rather, many martial artists' courtyards had a sense of detachment, with no lack of food or clothing, and all expenses were well-covered.

Wei He guessed that Old Zheng must have some business backing, otherwise, it wouldn't be possible.

In recent days, after becoming a formal disciple and entering the gate, he had learned more about the martial artists' disciples' circle.

In the outer city of Feiye, there were over a dozen neighborhoods, each with a well-known martial artist, whose status was unshakable.

However, most of these courtyards' martial artists were affected by recent price changes, except for a few, like Old Zheng's courtyard, which remained unaffected.

The two siblings chatted for a while, and Wei He no longer mentioned their parents and elder sister, nor did Wei Ying ask.

Not mentioning or asking didn't mean they weren't searching.

Wei He continued to inquire and search in his spare time, but despite spending a lot of money, he still found nothing, not even as much information as he got from his trip to Mingde Temple.

After staying for about an hour, Wei He helped his second sister mix the coarse grain flour and left the bun shop to continue his training at home.

Today was his rest day, so he had more free time to arrange.

Not long after Wei He left.

Two people slowly approached the bun shop.

They were a tall man and woman wearing gray and white clothes and wide-brimmed straw hats.

Both had a distinct aura that set them apart from ordinary people. If someone got close, they could smell the faint incense scent on their clothes.

Only those who frequently handled incense could leave such a lingering scent on their clothes.

The two looked up at the bun shop and walked to the entrance one after the other.

The first person lifted their face, revealing a kind middle-aged woman.

"Ying Ying, I've come to see you again." She greeted kindly.

"It's Sister Xu Chun? Why are you here? Come in and sit down, I'll finish up soon." Wei Ying was about to mix the yeast into the flour for fermentation but had to pause when she saw the visitors.

Xu Chun was a neighbor who lived nearby. Because her name also contained the character "Chun," and she had a kind personality, she and Wei Ying had become quite close after a few meetings.

Xu Chun and the other person sat down in the shop, looking at Wei Ying, who also sat down, and smiled. "Actually, Ying Ying, I came today because I saw you missing your family and feeling sad yesterday. I wanted to talk to you and comfort you."

"Sister, you're too kind..." Wei Ying was touched. Yesterday, she had just been daydreaming about the carving knife left by her parents during a break, but she didn't expect Xu Chun to notice.

"We're all neighbors, no need for such formalities." Xu Chun sighed.

"To be honest, it's common for family members to go missing. When my eldest son went missing, I felt just as you do, wanting to bang my head against the wall.

But over time, I met a benefactor who gave me something to寄托 (寄托 means寄托, a place to寄托 one's heart or mind, often translated as 'a place to寄托 one's heart' or 'a mental寄托'). It helped me feel less sad."

"A benefactor?" Wei Ying asked curiously, "What kind of benefactor?"

"This benefactor is the person behind me..." Xu Chun warmly invited the person behind her to come forward.

"Mengjin Female Cultivator. This is the Wei Ying I told you about before.

She is a good girl, gentle and kind. Every time I see her sad, my heart aches, just like when I think of my eldest son.

So, I asked you to come, hoping you could help her, just as you helped me before."

The second person stepped forward, revealing a thin, old woman with a red mole on her forehead.

She had a serious expression and extended her bony, claw-like arm to pull up the edge of her straw hat.

"Poor thing..." Mengjin Female Cultivator looked at Wei Ying and sighed. "Your face... no wonder... no wonder..."

She kept looking at Wei Ying and shaking her head.

"May I ask, Female Cultivator, what's wrong with my face?" Wei Ying felt a bit nervous under her gaze.

She was illiterate and hadn't learned much, only knowing some household chores and handicrafts. Being stared at like this made her nervous.

"Do you know that you are born with..." Mengjin Female Cultivator had a serious expression and slowly began to speak.

Suddenly, a tall shadow loomed over her at the entrance.

The shadow blocked the door, neither entering nor leaving, just standing there.