Chapter 8

Wei He practiced the technique three times in a row, until his hands turned red and could no longer bear it, then he sighed and stepped aside for the next person.

"How's it going?" Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu asked, munching on some dried meat, which seemed to be dried rat, with a small rat leg in his mouth, looking rather disgusting.

"Alright." Wei He nodded.

"This skin-grinding technique requires perseverance, as it is quite painful. I might worry about others not being able to stick with it, but you won't have that problem," Cheng Shaojiu said with a smile.

As he spoke, he moved closer, his smile fading slightly.

"Chen Biao is dead. He was found dead in his yard a few days ago."

He lowered his voice, hinting at something.

In this era, death was a common occurrence. No one cared about the death of a small thug.

But this Chen Biao was different.

Cheng Shaojiu knew, and Wei He knew too.

"Oh." Wei He responded woodenly.

"His two henchmen are also dead." Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He's shoulder, his expression complex.

He had a new understanding of his junior brother Wei He's ruthlessness and decisiveness.

It was only a short while ago that he mentioned Chen Biao being injured, and now all three were dead. How could that be a coincidence?

He didn't believe for a moment that Wei He wasn't involved.

Recalling it, the speed and ruthlessness of Wei He's actions made him shiver.

Cheng Shaojiu had been in the Huishan Fist courtyard for a long time and had seen many young people, but Wei He's ruthlessness and action were something he had never seen before.

Fortunately, his family also had people with similar methods, so Cheng Shaojiu had no objections.

"This world..." he sighed.

Wei He remained silent, knowing that Cheng Shaojiu had guessed, but without evidence, no one could do anything to him.

"Let's not talk about this. The price of pork in the city has gone up again. We can't do without meat for our martial arts training. Although we can eat other meats besides pork, it just doesn't feel right, like this dried rat meat," Cheng Shaojiu quickly returned to his usual self, changing the subject.

Wei He listened, occasionally responding to show he was paying attention.

The two soon shifted their focus to other matters.

Before long, Senior Brother Zhao Hong led a few female disciples of Huishan Fist into the courtyard, his face expressionless.

"Master."

These female disciples were robust and broad-shouldered, except for one who was slender with a well-endowed chest and smooth skin, standing out even compared to Wei He's sister Wei Ying.

The men practicing skin-grinding were mostly drawn to this female disciple.

This woman had a subtle cleanliness that was uncommon among the poor.

Wei He also noticed them, and couldn't help but glance a few times at the most prominent female disciple.

"The women's courtyard has been dissolved, and they are all merging over here. They say there weren't enough people," Cheng Shaojiu whispered.

"Third Senior Brother, you're well-informed. Do you know the prettiest one?" a man nearby asked with a smile.

"Of course I do," Cheng Shaojiu nodded. "But don't get any ideas. Her name is Jiang Su, the second daughter of the famous Jiang family in the town, with considerable wealth and talent. I think only Xiao Ran is a bit better than her.

The most important thing is, her personality isn't very good." He shook his head, clearly not fond of Jiang Su.

Wei He listened silently, not responding.

He had been secretly searching for information about his elder sister and parents.

His elder sister's situation was troubling, as the Black Water Gang was gradually shrinking and becoming increasingly desolate, almost on the verge of dissolution.

As for his parents, the only information he had from Cheng Shaojiu was that they were missing.

Beyond that, there was no other way to find out.

So his mind was not on the opposite sex. His thoughts were focused on practicing martial arts and secretly searching for his family's whereabouts.

When he first arrived, his parents and elder sister had given him a lot of care and support.

He was a person who valued relationships over blood ties. He didn't care about blood, but he had to repay this kindness.

"Look, those who went to talk to her are back." Cheng Shaojiu said with a somewhat gloating smile. "Jiang Su is not in our circle. You'd better be clear about that."

Wei He looked over.

Sure enough, the few who had approached her were dismissed with a cold face.

Jiang Su looked around and started practicing skin-grinding alone in a corner. It was unclear why a girl would choose such a self-damaging technique like Huishan Fist.

Cheng Shaojiu and the other senior brothers gossiped for a while, but seeing there was nothing more to say, they dispersed.

Wei He didn't mind, rested for a while, and then continued his practice, starting the second round of skin-grinding.

In recent days, he had noticed that the last bit of black in his breakthrough bead was almost complete.

So he felt a sense of anticipation and practiced with great enthusiasm.

However, the last bit of black seemed to take longer the more he anticipated it.

Time flew by.

Day by day, the practice continued. The black in the breakthrough bead became denser, and the last bit of white became smaller.

The skin-grinding stage was also progressing.

According to Old Man Zheng's rules, skin-grinding was given a two-month period. If one couldn't succeed within two months, they would never succeed.

This meant that one's innate talent was insufficient, and further practice would be limited.

There were six others practicing skin-grinding with Wei He.

Including Wei He, there were seven in total.

Wei He practiced silently, without a word.

One morning, Third Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu was unusually quiet, which was out of character.

Wei He had just taken off his coat, ready to roll up his sleeves and start practicing, when he saw two of his fellow practitioners, dressed in complete clothes, carrying luggage, quietly leaving through the side door.

"They're not practicing...?" someone nearby asked in surprise.

"They're not practicing anymore. They won't practice anymore," Cheng Shaojiu said calmly.

The others understood and fell silent.

Only a new disciple who had just joined this month looked puzzled.

Not far away, Old Man Zheng was showing off, explaining the techniques of Huishan Fist to the newcomers.

He occasionally whipped them with a willow branch.

The new disciples could only endure, and some quickly brought snacks from the inner room.

Old Man Zheng, as usual, dragged out the explanation, just like when Wei He first joined.

Wei He remained silent, calculating the time he had left for skin-grinding.

He had half a month left. If he couldn't succeed by then, he would have to leave.

With this in mind, he silently rolled up his sleeves, walked to a wooden basin, and began his new day of skin-grinding.

Cheng Shaojiu, unusually quiet, also went to a corner to practice sparring.

The large courtyard was divided into three sections: one for newcomers, one for skin-grinding, and one for sparring, clearly marked with white lime lines.

Time continued to pass.

The two-month deadline was approaching.

Soon, two more people couldn't bear the psychological pressure and left early.

More new people joined the skin-grinding stage.

Wei He practiced silently, but his fists, which had rapidly turned red, still hadn't reached the level of cowhide.

Only by reaching the level of cowhide could one truly stay and continue practicing. Without this foundation, one couldn't learn Huishan Fist and would be useless.

Soon, there were only five days left.

At home.

In the afternoon, Wei He returned from the courtyard, sat on a stool to rest for a while, and was about to get up to eat.

The wooden door creaked open.

His sister Wei Ying quietly entered, holding a small gray package.

Even before she approached, a strong medicinal smell wafted from the package.

Wei Ying quickly closed the door and latched it.

"Xiao He, this is for you!" She walked over and handed the small package to her brother.

"Second Sister, what is this?" Wei He asked, taking the package and opening the gray cloth. Inside was another layer of gray cloth.

After unwrapping three layers, he found a yellow paper package. On the outside, in red ink, it read: Blood Nourishing Powder.

The three large characters were clearly visible.

"This is Blood Nourishing Powder!" Wei He was surprised. He often went to the pharmacy to buy money worm meat, so he was familiar with this formula.

It was a health supplement specifically for replenishing qi and blood, very effective but expensive.

"Don't worry, it's not stolen or bought," Wei Ying smiled, her rosy face showing a hint of shyness.

"I clean the medicinal herbs and storeroom every day. There are many small pieces and scraps. I collected them bit by bit for a long time to get this small package. Just don't mind that they are very small pieces."

Wei He listened carefully, opened the paper package, and looked inside.

Sure enough, it was full of tiny pieces, very small.

The largest was about the size of a fingernail, and the smallest were like grains of rice.

He knew how much time and effort Wei Ying must have spent to collect this package.

After a moment of silence, Wei He nodded seriously.

"I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely succeed!"

"Okay, I believe in you!" Wei Ying also nodded seriously.

They talked quietly for a while, and it was almost dark.

Wei He then got up to escort Wei Ying back to their rented room near Huishan Fist.

Back home, Wei He silently soaked the Blood Nourishing Powder in water and started boiling it.

While boiling, he pulled open his shirt and looked at the breakthrough bead.

The pattern had already turned completely black a few days ago.

A strange impulse made him feel like his chest was holding a balloon about to burst.

Just a light touch, and he could use the breakthrough bead.

But he had been holding back, determined to succeed in the skin-grinding test of Huishan Fist through his own efforts.

As the deadline approached, his hope grew smaller.

"Many times, we have to admit that there are real differences between people."

Wei He watched the burning stove, placed the medicine pot on it, and started boiling.

He knew that if he couldn't pass the skin-grinding test, he would have to leave Huishan Fist courtyard and could not advance further.