The two old and battered wooden doors, tightly secured from the inside, creaked as Chen Mu knocked and announced his return with the words "I'm back." Only then did he hear sounds of movement and a delighted voice from within the house.
Gudong gudong.
It sounded like the pitter-patter of bare feet scurrying across the ground, growing closer, until the wooden bolt slid open.
"Brother!"
A little girl appeared in the doorway, wearing a rough cotton jacket, her small stature reaching only to Chen Mu's chest. She stood barefoot on the ground, craning her neck to look up at Chen Mu, her face breaking into a naively charming smile.
Chen Yue was already fourteen years old this year. For most girls her age, it would be time to blossom, but she had always been slightly malnourished, leaving her thin and frail, and her skin was a bit sallow, not quite like that of a fourteen-year-old maiden.
In these tough times, it was clearly impossible for an ordinary family to raise a singular beauty. However, Chen Mu thought, if they could become wealthier and provide better nourishment for her, it was likely she'd grow into a pure and lovely lotus flower emerging from the water. But for now, she would have to endure hardship alongside him.
"Why are you running around barefoot again?"
With indulgent affection, Chen Mu tousled the little girl's hair. He had not had a sister in his previous life, so having a naive, obedient, and endearing sister here was his only solace in this chaotic and cold city.
Chen Yue replied with a giggling smile, looking up, "I'll put shoes on when I go out. If I wear them too much at home, they'll wear out, and that would be such a waste."
Chen Mu picked up Chen Yue and placed her on the kang, a traditional heated bed, in their home's inner room. He reached out and touched her small feet, which felt icy to the touch. He couldn't help but chastise her, "Winter is coming. What if you get frostbite? If shoes wear out, we can mend them."
He knew all too well the reason Chen Yue was reluctant to wear her shoes. Her previous pair was completely worn out, and as her feet had also grown, they no longer fit. So Chen Mu had bought her a new pair. The joy she found in them was such that she treated them like treasured possessions, too precious to wear, especially since she wasn't going out anyway.
"Alright, fine," she replied with some hesitation.
Indeed, if she got frostbite, they would have to buy medicine, which would be yet another expense.
Chen Mu handed her a steamed bun and sternly instructed her to wash her hands before eating. But as the little girl was about to run off barefoot to wash up, he decided to bring the basin to her instead.
After washing her hands and feet, Chen Yue, her cheeks flushed, took the steamed bun eagerly and began to eat, looking at Chen Mu with adoration. He hadn't always been so kind to her. It was only after he fell seriously ill that he began to treat her increasingly well. No matter how he treated her, he was her only brother, and she naturally preferred her life now. Even though she was confined to the house and could not go out, even though she was eating only the plainest white steamed buns, she was still happy.
"It's been a long time since I've taken you out, hasn't it?" Chen Mu said, watching Chen Yue and then musing aloud.
Ever since he arrived in this world and discovered the chaos and danger outside, he had strictly forbidden Chen Yue from running out and even threatened to disown her if she dared, which once terrified her into crying for half a day until he finally calmed her down.
"Four months," Chen Yue said with her mouth full of steamed bun, counting on her fingers.
Chen Mu gave a gentle smile and said, "Alright, in a little while, I'll take you out to have some fun."
To confine a little girl of her age to the house was something he found difficult to bear. He could take her out, provided he smeared their faces with mud, tousled their hair, dressed in ragged clothes, and carried her on his back, preferably alongside a few familiar peers like Liu San and Li Liu. That was how he had managed to take her out the last time.
Although there was still a bit of risk, it was very different from being locked up at home, a feeling not dissimilar to imprisonment.
"Really?"
Chen Yue's face brightened with delight as she heard Chen Mu's words.
But after the initial joy, she looked at Chen Mu warily and hesitated, "Wouldn't it... wouldn't it cause trouble for you, brother, if you let me go out to play?"
Chen Mu ruffled her hair but didn't answer, instead saying, "Once you finish eating, stay inside the house, I'm going to the firewood room."
"Okay," Chen Yue nodded obediently.
...
The firewood room was spacious.
Since there was barely any dry firewood, the place was mostly empty with only a few scattered pieces. Firewood was gradually becoming more expensive as a group of woodcutters had reportedly vanished in the mountains to the west of the city, frightening the other woodcutters away from venturing there.
Now, only those bold enough to take advantage of the rising price of wood and eager to make a quick profit would venture out of the city to chop and carry wood back. As a result, the supply decreased, and ordinary households were economizing wherever possible.
Chen Mu carefully took out a small booklet he had found from his pocket.
The cover of the booklet was quite worn, and only the words "… Wind Blade Technique" could be made out. Chen Mu scrutinized the illegible character at the beginning for a while and concluded that it ought to be "Raging," making the incomplete title "Raging Wind Blade Technique."
"A Blade Technique..." Chen Mu looked at the manual in his hands and fell into deep thought.
The idea that someone could obtain a secret fighting technique manual and, with solitary practice, become a martial master was entirely nonexistent in this world. Such old manuals were not valued highly even if taken to the market.
The reason was simple: to learn any form of martial arts, whether it involved fists, palms, legs, fingers, or weapons like swords, spears, staffs, or clubs, one needed guidance from a genuine martial practitioner. Attempting to train oneself based on a manual alone could lead to injuries with no one to take responsibility.
As a constable,
Chen Mu had indeed practiced some blade technique at the City Defense Division.
However, the head instructor at the division only taught the basics of chopping and slashing and did not impart any advanced techniques. Therefore, having practiced for two and a half years since arriving in this world, Chen Mu was at most competent against ordinary folks who did not know proper weaponry skills.
Chen Mu had once asked Liu Song, Li Tie, and others for clarification, and the answers were all the same: it was not hard to come by some Blade Technique secret manual, nor was it expensive. You could buy one for around a dozen silver coins at a pawnshop. But to rely on a manual alone, learning only the fixed patterns and sequences illustrated within and expecting to master the art was nothing but a fool's dream.
One must go to a martial arts school in the Inner City and receive guidance from a martial master to learn the proper ways of channeling strength and the right stances.
But the problem is…
The fees charged by martial arts schools are extraordinarily expensive.
One could easily spend dozens or hundreds of silvers, not to mention the extra cost of medicinal powders for bruises and injuries.
The saying goes, "The rich pursue martial arts while the poor pursue letters." Even Liu Song and Li Tie, who had a decent family wealth, couldn't afford to train in martial arts in the Inner City, let alone him, who currently did not even have two silvers to his name.
"Sell it at the pawnshop, maybe? Could probably get two or three silvers for it, it'd be like unexpected windfall."
Chen Mu pondered in his heart.
Yet he felt somewhat reluctant.
In such chaotic times, intelligence and wit mean nothing; using them often endangers one's life instead. Living cautiously is the key to survival. But with no money to his name and no societal influence, he saw almost no hope of rising above his lowly status.
If he could master a blade technique and possess the strength of arms, the situation would be entirely different. Not to mention that local gentry and the powerful would hire him as a Protector, even the gangs would respect him. Just in the City Defense Division alone, there was a chance to catch the eye of the superiors and rise up from a lowly servant to Head Constable.
The roles of Head Constable and servant were different. Strictly speaking, servants were not even considered officials; they were merely employed by the government for routine patrols. But a Head Constable was another concept entirely.
Head Constables, promoted by the Prefecture Chief of various City Defense Divisions, belonged to the official class, even considered as 'Ninth Grade' minor officials, worlds apart from commoners and different in status from servants. Even some of the weaker gangs would need to offer some silvers to curry favor, hoping to avoid troubles with them.
"Still, I should give it a try."
Chen Mu thought it over and then opened the booklet in front of him.
After all, practicing a martial art like a blade technique, if not mastered, would at worst result in sprained muscles, which could heal with a few days of rest without causing any serious trouble. If it really didn't work out, he could always copy down the contents and sell it to the pawnshop for some silver.
——The Raging Wind Blade Technique belongs to one of the eight lines of Qian Heaven Kun Earth, specifically the Xun Wind category. The movements may seem chaotic, but the intent is not; with a thousand winds passing, ensnaring sinews and scraping bones, if cultivated to Perfection, one could develop a strand of 'Chaotic Wind' Blade Momentum.
The first page of the Secret Manual had no illustrations, only this description.
Chen Mu flipped to the next page thoughtfully. On it, a silhouette holding a knife in a standing position leapt off the yellowed paper, guided by a dotted line that seemed to zigzag upward from below. The small script at the bottom described it as 'Chaotic Wind First Form'.
Chen Mu scrutinized it for a moment then stood up, withdrawing his Servant's Knife and swung it according to the depicted motions.
Having practiced random hacking and slashing for two years, his execution of the stance was decent, yet it felt very odd to him. The force he exerted was even less than during his regular straightforward hacking and slashing.
"Just as Li Tie and the others said, relying solely on a manual will at best yield the right posture, but as to how to properly exert force or change and adapt, without a martial master's direct guidance, the difficulty is far too great."
Chen Mu sighed inwardly.
Though the challenge was formidable, having resolved to try, he wasn't about to give up immediately at the start. He continued flipping through the booklet and saw that the following three pages each detailed subsequent modifications of the 'Chaotic Wind First Form.' There were three in total, involving different diagonal slices, horizontal cuts, and vertical chops in response to various defensive methods of the opponent.
After memorizing each variation, Chen Mu began practicing them. After a short while, he managed to perform the movements at a basic level. He only had a slight sense of how to exert force and wasn't clear if it contradicted the proper techniques.
Thus, he bumbled through the first stance and its three variations halfheartedly for half a day. Afterwards, he vaguely felt that it might be less effective than his usual slashing and chopping, random as it was. If he were to use these half-baked moves in a fight, not only would he likely gain no advantage, but he might also suffer a severe loss at his opponent's hands.
"It must be the issue of exertion and direction of force. A single page of instructions truly doesn't provide much information."
Chen Mu thought to himself.
This round of practice confirmed that he was clearly not a martial arts prodigy who could instantly understand all the key points of a technique just from a few diagrams, much less practice it out of thin air.
If the rest of the techniques were also half-baked like this one, even if he reluctantly mastered them, their effectiveness would not differ much from common hacking and slashing. Perhaps the Blade Technique was only good for buying a couple of silvers' worth of meat.
"Brother, here's some water."
Just as Chen Mu stopped practicing and sighed, a voice came from the side.
Chen Yue approached quietly in a pair of clean floral shoes, holding a coarse pottery jug filled with clear water in her hands.
She looked up with an adorable expression, "It's boiled."
Chen Mu smiled gently, took the jug from her, and drank a few sips. He had cautioned Chen Yue a few times that they must not drink carelessly; the water had to be boiled before it was safe. In this primitive world, one's lifespan had a direct correlation with what they consumed.
After taking a few sips from the jug and handing it back, he patted the little girl's head.
"Are you practicing martial arts, brother?"
Chen Yue, seeing the booklet on the stove and the illustrated moves on it, asked curiously.
"Mhm."
Chen Mu nodded.
He had thought it might be an opportunity to change his fate, but now it seemed a bit optimistic. To truly master martial arts, perhaps he'd still need to gradually save up some silvers, gather a substantial amount, and then seek apprenticeship at a martial arts school in the Inner City.
However.
Just as Chen Mu was about to put the booklet away, he suddenly froze.
In his vision, a few floating characters had appeared out of nowhere, and they remained there as he blinked in surprise, hovering before his eyes.
[Martial Skill: Raging Wind Blade Technique (Uninitiated)]
[Experience: 2 points]
After confirming that this was not a hallucination, Chen Mu's face eventually broke out in a smile.