Chapter 64

When Jiang Ping first put his arm around Li Qian's shoulders, the young girl's body stiffened slightly, clearly showing her nervousness. However, upon hearing Jiang Ping say he would visit Fudan University to see her, the girl's heart was instantly overwhelmed with immense happiness. She knew that by saying this, Jiang Ping was essentially acknowledging that their relationship had progressed to a new level.

Feeling elated, Li Qian made a bold move, tiptoeing to give Jiang Ping a quick peck on the cheek. Although it was just a light kiss, the soft touch of her lips still left Jiang Ping deeply moved. He couldn't help but touch the spot on his cheek where Li Qian had kissed him, while looking at the young girl beside him with a smile.

This was Li Qian's first time being so intimate with a boy, and she was already feeling uneasy. Jiang Ping's gaze made her even more embarrassed. Fortunately, they were already very close to Li Qian's home. She gave Jiang Ping a shy glance and then ran home.

Watching Li Qian's slender figure disappear into the building, Jiang Ping pushed his bicycle back, sighing to himself, "Being young... is really great!"

Although Jiang Ping and Li Qian's relationship had progressed, this didn't change his original plans. While the purity of a young girl's first love was very appealing, it wasn't the most important thing for Jiang Ping. What he was most concerned about was how to earn enough money for his sister's medical treatment when she fell ill.

Fortunately, after the college entrance exam, Jiang Ping was completely free. Based on the estimated scores, he had performed exceptionally well, even to the point of being described as "superbly outstanding." His parents, Jiang Jianhua and his wife, were very pleased and gave their son the utmost freedom. As long as Jiang Ping returned home to sleep every night, they didn't care where he was or what he was doing during the day.

This was great for Jiang Ping, as it meant he could finally spend his days crafting the set of Hainan rosewood furniture. In the days following the completion of his college application, Jiang Ping spent every day at the courtyard in Huahua Alley. In just a few days, he had already drawn detailed design plans for the pair of armchairs.

Since Ming Dynasty rosewood furniture was the most famous, the pair of armchairs Jiang Ping wanted to craft had a typical Ming style. From the design plans, the proportions of each part of the armchairs were extremely harmonious and balanced, with every line being both strong and flexible, exuding a simple, elegant, and grand beauty.

If an expert saw Jiang Ping's design plans, they would be greatly amazed. The plans perfectly captured the essence of Ming-style furniture, suitable for use as illustrations in the most authoritative textbooks. Only an extremely experienced expert could draw such intricate plans. For Jiang Ping, a young man just eighteen years old, this was truly remarkable.

Of course, drawing the plans was far from enough for Jiang Ping. He still needed to turn the two pieces of Hainan rosewood into actual furniture according to the plans. This might be an impossible task for others, but for Jiang Ping, it was just a bit more troublesome and required more effort, but not a big deal.

After completing the design plans, Jiang Ping let out a sigh of relief and carefully put them away. The two pieces of rosewood were very rare and crucial for earning money for his sister's medical treatment, so he couldn't afford to be careless. That's why he had spent several days drawing the plans.

After putting away the plans, Jiang Ping went to the corner of the room farthest from the window. There, a peculiar-looking contraption was set up, resembling a bulky machine from the steam age. However, this "machine" was made of wood, with rough joints and an unpainted surface, clearly indicating it was hastily made.

Indeed, this peculiar-looking machine was crafted by Jiang Ping during the breaks while drawing the plans, using the outer white wood stripped from the Hainan rosewood.

Despite its odd appearance, the machine's purpose was even more astonishing. Jiang Ping pressed the switch beside it, and the electric motor hummed to life, causing several wooden boards to start flapping back and forth.

Jiang Ping took off his shirt, took a deep breath, and then resolutely walked up to the machine, allowing the wooden boards to strike his body heavily. Even this didn't seem to satisfy him, as he kept turning his body to let the boards hit every part of him, including his forehead and temples.

Jiang Ping wasn't doing this because he was a masochist. This was actually one of the training methods recorded in the Xuan Kong Jue. The saying "to hit others, one must first learn to take a hit" means that by constantly striking the body, one can increase their resistance to blows and withstand heavier attacks. This is a crucial skill in combat, especially when two evenly matched opponents are facing off, as the one who can take more hits is more likely to win.

In his previous life, when Jiang Ping first started practicing the Xuan Kong Jue, Xiang Sheng was responsible for hitting him. However, in this life, Jiang Ping hadn't met this mentor and friend yet, so he had to find a way to solve the problem himself. He couldn't ask others to hit him, so he used his creativity to build this peculiar-looking machine to replace Xiang Sheng's role.

After a few trials, Jiang Ping found that the machine, despite its odd appearance, worked quite well. He had already decided that for a long time to come, improving his resistance to blows would rely on this machine.

After nearly an hour of training on the machine, his entire body was red from the strikes. Jiang Ping then fetched a basin of cold water to wash his body, slightly alleviating the burning sensation from the hits. After dressing, he left the small courtyard.

The sun was high in the sky, and it was the hottest part of the day. Jiang Ping planned to eat something at a nearby restaurant and then return to start working on the pair of rosewood armchairs according to the plans.

In recent days, Jiang Ping had been busy at the courtyard, eating a quick lunch outside. The restaurant owner had already gotten to know Jiang Ping and greeted him with a smile when he arrived on time. Soon, the food Jiang Ping ordered was brought to him.

With a lot of work recently, Jiang Ping's appetite had increased, and he quickly finished the large bowl of food. Feeling satisfied, Jiang Ping left the restaurant. Just as he was about to ride his bicycle away, he suddenly felt a sense of danger, a threat to his safety!

This was an indescribable feeling, but Jiang Ping truly and clearly felt the danger. In his previous life as a thief, Jiang Ping had a keen sense that had helped him escape many crises. He knew his instincts were never wrong.

So, Jiang Ping quickly turned to look behind him, but found no one there!

===分割线===

Here's the third update for today. I'm still seeking recommendations and support. Thank you all for your continued support of Haibao!