Cultivation

Chen Ping'an's hands weren't particularly dexterous, but his handiwork was decent enough. "That'll do." He slipped the freshly made wooden stick into the door latch—just right, neither too tight nor too loose. "Wow, Big Brother is amazing!" Chen Er Ya clapped beside him, laying on the flattery. "All right, Big Brother is going to practice martial arts. Nannan, if you get sleepy later, you don't have to wait for me—just go to sleep first." "Okay," Chen Er Ya replied. Chen Ping'an took out his undergarments from inside the house. These undergarments had now become auxiliary tools for practicing Iron Shirt. They couldn't really be worn anymore, but they worked well enough for this. Once he had money in the future, he would definitely buy suitable soft cloth to practice Iron Shirt. The conditions for martial practice were truly too crude. Without the golden finger panel, Chen Ping'an wouldn't dare say with confidence that he could definitely succeed. He folded the undergarments properly, wrapped them around his chest and back, winding them several times, then began cultivating Iron Shirt. With the experience of two previous successes, this time he was well-practiced. He rubbed his body vigorously all over, then bent and extended his elbows and arms, making his chest heave in and out, repeating this over and over. Again and again, again and again. As he rubbed hard, Chen Ping'an felt his body gradually grow warm. Then, as the warmth lingered, his body began to ache faintly. Then as the rubbing continued, the pain intensified, becoming more and more obvious. Still, this pain was within his tolerable range. Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth and persevered. Then, the next moment. A "+1" text symbol crossed his line of sight. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: None Martial Art: Iron Shirt not yet entered (3/5) ... "Very good!" The several lines of text floating before him, especially the striking 3, filled Chen Ping'an with delight and made his blood boil. "Two points—just two more experience points, and he would meet the conditions to enter Iron Shirt." Chen Ping'an thought happily, then undid the undergarments wrapped around his chest and back. Before his eyes was nothing but redness. At this moment, his whole body felt numb—a complex sensation of numbness mixed with pain, pain mixed with itchiness. "Big Brother~" Chen Er Ya beside him obediently handed him a bowl of water. "Good little sister!" Chen Ping'an praised her, took it with one hand, and gulped it down. After finishing the water, he didn't sit on a wooden stool but walked a few steps and sat right on the threshold of the courtyard gate. They had eaten dinner early, and adding the cleanup time and the hour he had just practiced, it wasn't too late overall. Chen Ping'an wanted to try and see if he could complete two Iron Shirt practice sessions tonight. Sitting on the threshold, Chen Ping'an felt his whole body tingly and numb, as if little bugs were crawling all over. Compared to before, the pain had weakened considerably. He rested on the threshold for almost an hour before slowly getting up. After standing up, he didn't immediately start trying to practice Iron Shirt, but slightly adjusted his posture and relaxed his muscles. "Nannan, you go wash up first. Later when you're done, go straight to bed and sleep; no need to wait for Big Brother." Chen Ping'an glanced at Chen Er Ya beside him, hanging her head waiting for him, and instructed. "Mm, okay," Chen Er Ya replied. "Continue!" Chen Ping'an picked up his undergarments, wrapped them around his chest and back, wound them several times, and began cultivating Iron Shirt with practiced ease. His hands rubbed his body all over vigorously. At first it was fine; he could still endure it. But after just a little while, he felt the pain becoming unbearable. Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth wanting to persist, but the subsequent pain became more and more obvious. And it wasn't just the pain; he felt like his skin and flesh were about to split open completely. "Can't try again!" Chen Ping'an made a prompt decision and gave up this practice session. It wasn't that he couldn't endure this level of pain, but he worried that if his skin broke, it would affect the subsequent few days of Iron Shirt practice. It seemed that with his current constitution and level, it wasn't possible to practice Iron Shirt twice consecutively in a short time. The reason he had practiced twice in one day yesterday was that he practiced once in the morning, then rested well all afternoon, and only started the second session in the evening. Wake up early in the morning, practice once before going on duty, then wait until evening to practice the second time. If done this way, he should be able to practice Iron Shirt twice in one day. "Mm, rest early today, and try again early tomorrow morning!" After making up his mind, Chen Ping'an removed the wrapped undergarments. He fetched a basin of water and carefully wiped his body with a cloth. Speaking of water, his family's courtyard didn't have a well. Going out to the east for about one li, there was a small creek, and beside it was a well. Normally, to get water, they would draw it from there and store it in the water vat in the kitchen. "There's still half a vat of water, no rush to draw more." Chen Ping'an thought so. Chen Er Ya, though precocious, was still young, and drawing water, such physical labor, was still strenuous for her. Chen Ping'an could fill the water vat by running back and forth ten times. If it were Chen Er Ya, probably more than twenty trips. After washing his body, Chen Ping'an washed up and then went to rest and sleep. When he entered the room, Chen Er Ya hadn't slept yet. "Big Brother, you're done~" "Yeah." Chen Ping'an responded. Before bed, the siblings chatted for a while as usual. Chen Er Ya shared with Chen Ping'an the general situation of their household's food, clothing, and daily expenses. For example, although they rarely lit candles at home, they were almost running out and needed to buy one to keep on hand. There wasn't much salt left, and they needed to buy some tomorrow. Rice and oil were still plentiful, but they also needed to organize them tomorrow to prevent mice from eating them. Also, she had heard some interesting street gossip while buying vegetables today. All sorts of things, mostly daily life. Most of the time, Chen Ping'an just listened without interjecting. In between, he would simply share a bit of his daily routine while on duty. The siblings slept together, every night like this, and generally felt reassured in their hearts. ... "Huff, huff, huff~" Early one morning, Chen Ping'an began practicing in the small courtyard. Compared to last night, his physical condition was undoubtedly much better. His hands kept rubbing, roaming all over. His elbows and arms kept bending and extending, making his chest heave. Today, Chen Ping'an got up over an hour earlier than usual. He started practicing Iron Shirt before dawn. Chen Er Ya had still been sleeping, but she was eventually woken up by the noise of Chen Ping'an's practice. Seeing her brother working so hard early in the morning, she felt a pang of sympathy. But no matter how sympathetic, all she could do was cook a bowl of steaming hot congee for her brother.