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With a barely audible sound, a dark figure vaulted down from the courtyard wall. Chen Er Ya, who had been watching the courtyard through the bedroom window all along, jumped in fright. "Who is it?!" The little girl's heart leaped into her throat. In the dead of night, her brother was not here. A young girl on her own—what was she to do if a thief had broken in? In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind. Just as she was preparing to hide and see if she could stall to buy some time, the bright moonlight allowed her to clearly see the face of the dark figure. "Big Brother!" The little girl cried out in pleasant surprise. "It's so late, the little girl should be asleep by now." In the courtyard, Chen Ping'an had been thinking just that. A child was still growing and needed more sleep than an adult; he had not intended to wake her. Who would have thought that after taking only a few steps, he would hear her call for him? The voice was filled with delight; it was Chen Er Ya—Nannan's voice. A small figure dashed out of the room and threw herself straight into his arms. "Nannan, it's so late. Why aren't you asleep yet?!" "Waiting for Big Brother to come back." The little girl buried her head in Chen Ping'an's chest, her voice muffled. "What happened?" Chen Ping'an noticed that something was amiss with her mood. "You scared me to death just now! When you climbed over the wall, Big Brother, I thought a thief was breaking in." Chen Er Ya pulled back from Chen Ping'an's chest, her clear eyes staring straight at him. Looking at the endearing, pitiful Chen Er Ya, Chen Ping'an felt his heart melt. "Nannan, I didn't think it through," Chen Ping'an apologized. He could hardly imagine what terror the little girl had just gone through, thinking that a thief had come. "It's okay, I don't blame you, Big Brother." The little girl hugged Chen Ping'an, unwilling to let go. Ever since Old Chen died, only the two siblings remained, depending on each other to survive. Resting his hand on Chen Er Ya's head, Chen Ping'an remained silent for a long time. "Nannan, don't worry. Big Brother will do everything he can to give you the very best!" ... "Big Brother, did things go smoothly?" "Smoothly. Nothing to worry about. Sleep peacefully—Big Brother is here." "Mm, okay." With Chen Ping'an back, Chen Er Ya's mind finally relaxed completely. Chen Ping'an chatted with her for a short while, and the little girl fell fast asleep. It was clear that she was utterly exhausted. Chen Er Ya had drifted off into a deep sleep, but Chen Ping'an's tasks were not yet finished. After reaching lesser mastery in Iron Shirt, his condition had returned to its peak. He still had one session of Iron Shirt practice left for the day that he had not performed. Stepping out into the small courtyard, Chen Ping'an stripped off his upper garments and began tempering and rubbing down his body. Now that Iron Shirt had reached lesser mastery, he no longer needed to bind himself with an undergarment. Every rub of his palms was applied directly against bare skin. However, because his skin was now as tough as thin oxhide, tempering it with bare hands alone yielded a slightly weaker effect than before. Even so, half a shichen later, the familiar +1 experience notification appeared once again. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and blood first layer, perfected Martial Art: Iron Shirt lesser mastery (1/40) ... After finishing a session, Chen Ping'an discovered that he did not seem to have reached his limit yet. The skin that would normally turn completely crimson after rubbing showed no significant change at this moment. "Could it be...?" A flicker of excitement surfaced on Chen Ping'an's face. "Again!" With that, he continued rubbing with his hands, resuming his practice of Iron Shirt. Another half-shichen passed, and the +1 experience surfaced again, the value on the panel shifting from 1 to 2. Only after practicing twice in a row did Chen Ping'an feel his entire body grow hot and his skin burn. "It seems that after reaching lesser mastery in Iron Shirt, I can already endure two consecutive training sessions. In that case, morning and evening, I can gain four experience points a day. That effectively doubles the speed!" Chen Ping'an's face was filled with immense joy. "Reaching greater mastery in Iron Shirt requires forty experience points. If that's the case... what originally would have taken twenty days to achieve greater mastery now only takes ten days. "Ten days... "Also, according to the manual, once Iron Shirt reaches lesser mastery, practice can advance to the next stage: rolling in sand and gravel to temper the body, polish the skin, and course the qi and blood. "Right, tomorrow I'll fetch some sand and gravel to see if this new stage of training can yield even more experience." ... Doubling the efficiency of gaining experience points thrilled Chen Ping'an to no end. It meant that the doors to higher realms of martial arts were slowly opening wide before him. After giving his body a quick wipe-down, Chen Ping'an fell into a deep sleep amidst his excitement. With his improved physical constitution and abundant qi and blood, whenever he felt sleepy, it took barely a dozen breaths for him to fall sound asleep. Most importantly, even in slumber, he retained a measure of vigilance. Early the next morning, Chen Ping'an began practicing Iron Shirt as usual. On regular days, finishing a single session before rushing to the Suppression Office to go on duty made for a rather tight schedule. Today, however, was his day off, so it didn't matter. After completing two consecutive Iron Shirt sessions and seeing the experience points on the panel rise from 2 to 4, Chen Ping'an headed out. The new stage of Iron Shirt practice required sand and gravel, so he went out to bring some back. There were plenty of places outside the city with such gravel everywhere. It only needed a few rounds of sifting before it could be used directly. However, hauling sand and gravel all the way from outside the city took time and effort, far too much hassle. Besides, not knowing when Little Tiger might arrive, Chen Ping'an chose to simply spend money to buy it. As luck would have it, Uncle Zhang, who lived to the west in Pear Blossom Alley, happened to work as a sand-hauler laborer. His family was sure to have plenty of such gravel. Thud, thud, thud! Chen Ping'an knocked on the door of Uncle Zhang's home. Before long, the door opened, and a toddler poked his head out. "Who're you looking for?" The child was quite young, about four or five years old, and his round little head looked rather endearing. "Is Aunt Zhang home?" Chen Ping'an asked with a smile. "Grandma? She's here," the toddler replied in a childish, milky voice, stepping aside as he spoke. "Who is it?!" A voice called out from inside the house. A rather sturdy old woman emerged from the inner room and caught sight of Chen Ping'an just as he was about to step through the doorway. "I was wondering who it was! Turns out it's the Chen lad." Among the many households in Pear Blossom Alley, Uncle Zhang's family lived reasonably well. Their son and daughter-in-law were capable and hardworking, helping out in the kitchen of a city restaurant—a proper, steady job. Uncle Zhang himself worked as a sand-hauling laborer, earning honest money through hard labor, while Aunt Zhang did needlework at home to supplement the household income. With the whole family pulling together, their life was thriving.