Thirteen Yamen Sabers

In the blink of an eye, he had gone from temporary runner to registered runner, and even after he got off duty, Chen Ping'an still felt as though he were living in a dream. Though he had pictured it many times, when the thing truly happened, he was still overjoyed. Back at his own small courtyard, Chen Er Ya was still busy in the kitchen. He called out a greeting, just as he did every day. But when the little girl saw Chen Ping'an appear in the kitchen wearing a saber, she froze. "Brother, this saber . . ." She remembered clearly that when Father Chen was still alive, she used to see him come home wearing his saber every day. But after her brother became a runner, she had never seen him come home wearing one. The little girl knew that only registered runners were allowed to wear a saber home. Now, could it be . . . The little girl's expression instantly turned to overwhelming surprise and delight. "Brother~ you've become a registered runner?!" "Mm." Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile. Once she got Chen Ping'an's confirmation, the little girl leapt up in joy, forgetting all about the wok she had been stir-frying. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Brother's a registered runner! Wonderful!" Seeing Chen Er Ya so happy, Chen Ping'an's mood grew extremely cheerful as well. It felt wonderful to have someone to share his joy with! "Brother, life's getting better little by little~" The little girl was thrilled, full of hope for the days ahead. "Yeah, life's getting better." Chen Ping'an dotingly patted Chen Er Ya's head. After becoming a registered runner, his monthly stipend had gone from eight qian of silver to one tael two qian! And as his years as a registered runner accumulated, this monthly stipend would keep climbing! But Chen Ping'an wasn't paying attention to that now—his next goal was to become a head runner! "Oh no, the food's going to burn!" White smoke rose from the wok, and Chen Er Ya wriggled free of Chen Ping'an's embrace at once, grabbing up the ladle to go on stir-frying. Chen Ping'an smiled knowingly. . . . After dinner, Chen Ping'an began to study the Thirteen Yamen Sabers that had been granted to him just that day. The Thirteen Yamen Sabers were the standard saber technique for the registered runners of the Suppression Office, and belonged among the lower-tier saber arts. But though it was a lower-tier art, if one could practice it to the point of sheer perfection, its power was exceedingly fearsome. Back in the day, Father Chen had wielded the Thirteen Yamen Sabers with such fierce might that, with his cultivation at the qi and blood second layer, perfected, he could fight even a qi and blood third layer opponent without losing. As Chen Ping'an leafed through the technique once, its contents were smoothly recorded by the golden finger panel. Right at hand happened to be the saber granted by the Suppression Office, and Chen Ping'an's hands were itching to try it, so he began practicing right away. As for that saber of his—though it was an ordinary weapon, it was still not something civilian tools like a firewood knife could compare to. A single stroke from it, and an ordinary man would likely be gravely wounded if not killed outright. Horizontal cleaves and vertical chops! Chen Ping'an planted himself in the center of the courtyard, saber in hand, and turned, delivering a single stroke. Whoosh! A fierce wind kicked up! With his qi and blood at the third layer, his strength was simply astonishing. Next, Chen Ping'an began to practice the Thirteen Yamen Sabers move by move. The Thirteen Yamen Sabers comprised thirteen forms in all, and each stroke had its own way of being applied in different situations. It stressed the manner of exerting force and the techniques of execution, as well as flexible application. In about an hour, Chen Ping'an practiced the entire Thirteen Yamen Sabers once through. +1 An experience symbol surfaced. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: qi and blood third layer Martial Arts: Iron Shirt (perfected), Flying Locust Stones (lesser mastery, 23/40), Thirteen Yamen Sabers (not yet entered, 1/5) . . . "Again!" A flicker of delight passed through Chen Ping'an's eyes. This progress was faster than he had imagined. He really was a genius of the martial path! After stepping into the qi and blood third layer, Chen Ping'an's qi and blood had greatly increased, and he practiced the Thirteen Yamen Sabers three times in a row. Throughout his saber practice, Chen Er Ya sat inside the room, chin propped on her hands, watching Chen Ping'an the whole time, her eyes full of admiration. "Ah, this courtyard is still too small!" When he had practiced Iron Shirt and Flying Locust Stones before, he hadn't noticed it, but now that he was practicing saber techniques, he felt rather hemmed in, unable to fully stretch out. This little courtyard could only be said to be barely adequate! "Keep working hard, and we'll move to a new home soon!" Having finished his saber practice, Chen Ping'an had no intention of stopping at all, and went on to continue practicing Flying Locust Stones. The way is long and hard; only relentless daily effort will carry one through! Compared with many others, he was undoubtedly fortunate. Every bit of his progress could be recorded, and in the end turn the commonplace into the miraculous. Swish! Swish! Swish! One Flying Locust Stone after another was hurled into the heap of rocks, striking with clattering sounds of impact. Normally he could practice Flying Locust Stones four times, but since the saber practice had drained a good deal of his stamina, this time Chen Ping'an managed only two sessions. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: qi and blood third layer Martial Arts: Iron Shirt (perfected), Flying Locust Stones (lesser mastery, 25/40), Thirteen Yamen Sabers (not yet entered, 3/5) . . . Looking at the golden finger panel floating in the void, Chen Ping'an felt quite settled at heart. At this rate, by tomorrow morning, his Thirteen Yamen Sabers would smoothly achieve entry! That night, Chen Er Ya was in high spirits for conversation, chatting with Chen Ping'an until very late. They talked about a great many things—about Father Chen and Mother Chen, about the days gone by, and they dreamed freely of the future. As they talked, Chen Ping'an could see tiny little stars twinkling one after another in Chen Er Ya's eyes. "Nannan, what kind of person do you want to become in the future?" Chen Ping'an couldn't help but ask Chen Er Ya this question. The little girl thought for a while before she answered Chen Ping'an's question. "I don't know what things will be like in the future. But before, when Father was still here, he taught me a good number of characters. I want to keep learning!" "Reading and writing! Now that's a good one, Nannan—your brother supports you!" This was the first time Chen Ping'an had learned of the dream hidden in Chen Er Ya's heart. As her older brother, he resolved to help the little girl make that dream come true. Only, he knew that learning to read a few characters was easy, but if she truly wanted to become accomplished at it, that would take tremendous effort. And the effort he would need to muster behind it was far, far beyond what his current standing as a mere registered runner could provide! "Faster—I have to be faster!" An urgency rose in Chen Ping'an's heart. . . . Early the next morning, Chen Ping'an practiced the Thirteen Yamen Sabers two times in a row. He had also smoothly accumulated enough experience, and as his mind focused, a great deal of starlight poured into the space between his brows, and the various techniques for wielding the Thirteen Yamen Sabers flooded into his mind. The Thirteen Yamen Sabers—entered! As the saber technique reached entry, the qi and blood throughout Chen Ping'an's body were pushed forward a little. If measured as a distance, it was roughly at a level just short of the middle stage of the qi and blood third layer. "Keep going! Keep going!" After finishing his saber practice, Chen Ping'an practiced Flying Locust Stones twice more. On the status panel, the experience after Flying Locust Stones also rose from 25 to 27. After all this, he wiped himself clean, ate breakfast, and hurried off to the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office. Today he was to receive a new assignment for his duties.