The Petty Thief

Pear Blossom Alley, the Chen family's small courtyard. Listening to the steady breathing of Chen Er Ya beside him, Chen Ping'an lay in bed, lost in thought. Trash Fish of the Black Carp Gang. The bounty notice. A registered runner. The Tiger Head Gang's monthly dues. ... One matter after another intertwined in Chen Ping'an's mind. Today, halfway through dinner with Chen Er Ya after finishing his shift, Uncle Zhang had delivered the stones he asked for. Chen Ping'an cleared the sand and gravel from the courtyard and joined Uncle Zhang in carrying several baskets of stones inside. Replacing the sand and gravel with stones gave another boost to the speed of his Iron Shirt training. Earning a single point of cultivation experience now took noticeably less time than before. On top of that, Chen Ping'an had run through Iron Shirt four times in one breath tonight, successfully gaining four points of cultivation experience. At this rate—three points in the morning and four at night—he was gaining seven points of experience a day. In just a dozen more days, he would cultivate Iron Shirt to perfection! Once Iron Shirt reached perfection, he would have no other martial arts to practice. His current rapid progress would inevitably slow down, or even grind to a halt. "Before Iron Shirt reaches perfection, I must become a registered runner of the Suppression Office! With the status of a registered runner, I'll legitimately acquire the Thirteen Yamen Sabers. Then everything will be on track, and I can reveal my cultivation bit by bit!" As Chen Ping'an pondered, the panel visible only to him shimmered before his eyes. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and Blood Second Layer Martial Art: Iron Shirt Greater Mastery (13/100) ... Perhaps due to the Black Carp Gang fugitive and the bounty notice, Chen Ping'an felt unsettled after finding no trace of his quarry for two straight days. He usually fell asleep with ease, but tonight he suffered a rare bout of insomnia, all sorts of thoughts racing through his head. Outside the window, dark clouds obscured the bright moon, leaving the courtyard dim and murky. A dark silhouette silently scaled the courtyard wall. The moment it landed, an almost imperceptible sound broke the quiet. Such a faint noise would never be noticed by an ordinary person. Yet it could not slip past Chen Ping'an, who had already reached the qi and blood second layer. Inside the room, Chen Ping'an jolted, his expression hardening. Someone was in the courtyard! His body tensed, arching slightly. He focused all his senses on the scene outside. Though he did not look with his eyes, the intruder's sounds traced a crystal-clear path in his ears. The footsteps were light, slipping almost noiselessly into the small kitchen. *Why go to the kitchen? Could it be... looking for food to steal?* Then came an exceedingly faint creak. Chen Ping'an knew the person had opened the cupboard door. Next came the soft clink of porcelain bowls. Footsteps sounded again as the intruder left the kitchen and seemed to head straight toward their room. In that instant, a flurry of thoughts raced through Chen Ping'an's mind. Who was it? What were they doing here? What was their goal? ... The footsteps drew nearer and nearer. *Thump! Thump!* Chen Ping'an's heart quickened. He braced himself to leap up and strike back. One step! Two steps! Three steps! ... Chen Ping'an counted the strides. A few more, and he would roll out of bed to subdue the intruder in one fell swoop. For some reason, when the moment arrived, his heart gradually settled into calm, as if entering a wondrous state. Silently keeping count, he prepared to launch a decisive blow. Yet suddenly, the footsteps stopped. The intruder paused in place for about three breaths, then turned and walked away. Chen Ping'an did not relax in the slightest. The first thought flashing through his mind was: *Pursue!* By the faint moonlight, he glanced at Chen Er Ya beside him. Rising soundlessly, he reached the door just as the shadow vaulted back over the courtyard wall. Chen Ping'an stepped lightly, leaping onto the courtyard wall as well. Seeing the dark figure running not far ahead, he felt a brief wave of relief and slipped over the wall in pursuit. Having stepped into the qi and blood second layer, he possessed superb control over his body, rendering every stride nearly noiseless. Keeping a cautious distance, he shadowed the figure through the dark. Twisting and turning for just under a quarter of an hour, the shadow suddenly vaulted into another courtyard. *Is this their hideout? Or something else...?* Watching the figure enter, Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment. After waiting briefly, he approached the courtyard and vaulted onto the wall. Perched atop the wall, he surveyed his surroundings. The yard was somewhat larger than his own, but choked with overgrown weeds. The only sign of human presence was a woodpile nearby. He watched for a while, yet saw no sign of the figure. *Did he go inside?* Chen Ping'an guessed. Confirming no one was in the yard, he flipped down from the wall. *Thud!* The moment his feet touched the ground and before he could even steady his stance, the nearby woodpile seemed to explode. A dark figure lunged straight at him from behind the stacked timber. The man was imposing and tall, towering a full head above him. *Whoosh!* A gust of fierce wind swept toward him as a fist the size of a sandbag shot toward his chest. *Not good!* Alarm bells rang wildly in Chen Ping'an's mind. Before his thoughts could fully process the attack, his body reacted on pure instinct, raising an arm to block. This was the combat application of Iron Shirt, derived from the memories and insights absorbed when the starlight had entered his body. *Bang!* The fist slammed violently into Chen Ping'an's arm. A staggering force forced Chen Ping'an back several steps, his qi and blood churning violently inside him. "Qi and blood second layer!" Chen Ping'an was badly shaken, but his opponent was in no better shape. The man had expected this ambush to take down his pursuer completely, never imagining he would kick an iron plate. At that exact moment, Chen Ping'an caught sight of the man's face in the hazy moonlight. A crew cut, a square face, large ears, and a slender scar running from the corner of his eye. It was the Black Carp Gang's senior chief, Trash Fish! A flash of excitement lit up Chen Ping'an's face. You wear out iron shoes searching in vain, only to stumble upon your prize right here! Realizing he had struck an iron plate, Trash Fish's first instinct was to flee. His opponent's martial realm matched his own, but his own injuries had not yet healed. In a drawn-out fight, he would never prevail. What was worse, if the commotion grew too loud and drew the night patrol runners of the Suppression Office, he would be as good as dead! "Where do you think you're going?!" Seeing Trash Fish try to flee, Chen Ping'an had no intention of letting him go. With a thunderous shout, he pounced. "Get lost!" Trash Fish roared, whipping a ferocious roundhouse kick straight toward Chen Ping'an. The kick whipped up a gust of wind, packed with immense force. If it landed squarely on an ordinary person, it would leave them dead or crippled. Yet Chen Ping'an paid it no heed. Holding his stance firm, he spread his arms, intending to take the kick head-on and lock the man in a grapple. The whip-like kick slammed heavily into Chen Ping'an's chest. A cruel smirk crept onto Trash Fish's face. Taking such a kick head-on would severely injure even a skilled fighter of the qi and blood second layer. The kid was too young and impatient after all; his desperate bid to pin him down had only handed him an opening. Yet in the very next instant, the smile on Trash Fish's face froze completely. "How... how is this possible?!"