Accompani ed by a barely audible sound, a dark figure flipped over the courtyard wall.
Chen Er'ya, who had been observing the courtyard from her room window, was startled by the dark figure.
"Who's there?!"
Xiao Yatou's heart leaped into her throat.
It was the middle of the night, and her brother was not home. As a young girl, what would she do if a thief came?
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Xiao Yatou's mind.
Just as she was about to hide and see if she could stall for time, she clearly saw the face of the dark figure under the bright moonlight.
"Brother!"
Xiao Yatou exclaimed in surprise.
"It's so late, Xiao Yatou must be asleep."
In the courtyard, Chen Ping'an thought so. Children were still developing and needed more sleep than adults, so he didn't intend to wake Xiao Yatou. Who would have thought that after just a few steps, he would hear her calling him?
The voice was full of surprise, it was Chen Er'ya Nannan's voice.
A small figure rushed out of the room and threw herself into his arms.
"Nannan, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?!"
"Waiting for Brother to come back."
Xiao Yatou buried her head in Chen Ping'an's chest, her voice muffled.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Ping'an noticed that Xiao Yatou's mood was off.
"You scared me to death just now, Brother. When you climbed over the wall, I thought a thief had come."
Chen Er'ya emerged from Chen Ping'an's embrace, her clear eyes staring straight at him.
Looking at the pitiable Chen Er'ya, Chen Ping'an's heart melted.
"Nannan, it was my oversight."
Chen Ping'an apologized.
He found it hard to imagine what kind of emotional journey Xiao Yatou had gone through when she thought a thief had come.
"It's okay, it's not Brother's fault."
Xiao Yatou hugged Chen Ping'an, unwilling to let go.
Since Old Chen's death, it had only been the two of them, siblings, relying on each other.
Chen Ping'an placed his hand on Chen Er'ya's head, remaining silent for a long time.
"Nannan, don't worry, Brother will do his best to give you the best!"
......
"Brother, did things go smoothly?"
"Smoothly. Don't worry, sleep peacefully, Brother is here."
"Mm, okay."
With Chen Ping'an's return, Chen Er'ya's heart completely relaxed. Chen Ping'an chatted with her for a while, and Xiao Yatou fell into a deep sleep. It was clear that she was extremely tired.
Chen Er'ya was sound asleep, but Chen Ping'an's work was not yet finished.
After Iron Cloth reached Minor Achievement, his state returned to Perfection. He still had one more Iron Cloth practice session he hadn't done.
Walking into the small courtyard, Chen Ping'an took off his upper clothing and began to temper and refine his body.
After Iron Cloth reached Minor Achievement, he no longer needed to bind himself with tight clothing. Every time he rubbed his palms, it was directly on his skin.
However, now his skin was as tough as thin oxhide, and the effect of him rubbing and tempering it with his bare hands was somewhat diminished compared to before.
Nevertheless, half an hour later, the familiar +1 experience value appeared again.
Name: Chen Ping'an
Realm: Qi Blood Level One Perfection
Cultivation Technique: Iron Cloth Minor Achievement (1/40)
......
After practicing once, Chen Ping'an found that he didn't seem to have reached his limit yet. His skin, which used to turn red after rubbing, now showed no significant change.
"Could it be..."
A hint of excitement appeared on Chen Ping'an's face.
"Again!"
With that, he continued to rub his hands and began practicing Iron Cloth.
Another half an hour passed, and the +1 experience value reappeared, and the experience value on the panel also changed from 1 to 2.
After practicing twice in a row, Chen Ping'an finally felt his whole body hot and his skin burning.
"It seems that after Iron Cloth reaches Minor Achievement, I can continuously endure two Iron Cloth practice sessions. In this way, I can gain 4 experience points a day, morning and evening. This speed has doubled!"
Chen Ping'an's face was filled with unexpected joy.
"If Iron Cloth wants to reach Major Achievement, it needs 40 experience points. In this way... it originally took twenty days for Iron Cloth to reach Major Achievement, but now it only takes ten days."
"Ten days..."
"Also, according to the Cultivation Technique records, after Iron Cloth reaches Minor Achievement, the practice can proceed to the next stage: rolling in sand and stones, tempering the body, polishing the skin, and unblocking the Qi and blood."
"Hmm, I'll go get some sand and stones tomorrow and see if the new stage of practice can yield more experience."
"......"
The doubled efficiency of gaining experience points filled Chen Ping'an with excitement. This meant that the door to a higher Realm of Martial Dao was slowly and leisurely opening up to him.
After simply wiping his body, Chen Ping'an fell into a deep sleep, filled with excitement.
As his physical fitness improved and his Qi and blood became abundant, he could fall asleep completely in almost ten breaths of time when he felt a certain level of drowsiness.
Most importantly, he maintained a certain level of alertness even in his sleep.
Early the next morning, Chen Ping'an began practicing Iron Cloth as usual. Normally, after finishing one Iron Cloth practice session, and then rushing to the Zhenfu Division for work, his time was quite tight.
However, today was a rest day, so it was fine.
After practicing Iron Cloth twice in a row, and the experience value on the panel changed from 2 to 4, Chen Ping'an went out.
The new stage of Iron Cloth practice required sand and stones. So he went out to get some.
There were many places outside the city with such sand and stones, found everywhere. He just needed to sift them a few times, and they would be ready to use.
However, getting sand and stones directly from outside the city would be time-consuming, laborious, and too troublesome. He also didn't know when Young Master Hu would come, so Chen Ping'an chose to buy them directly.
Coincidentally, Zhang Dabo, who lived west of Lihua Lane, happened to be a sand porter. He should have a lot of such sand and stones at his home.
Knock knock knock!
Chen Ping'an knocked on Zhang Dabo's door.
After a while, the door opened, and a small child peeked out.
"Who are you looking for?"
The child was not old, probably only four or five years old, and his round head looked somewhat endearing.
"Is Zhang Family Aunt home?"
Chen Ping'an asked with a smile.
"Grandma? She's here."
The little child said in a childish voice. With that, he moved aside.
"Who is it?!"
A voice came from inside the house.
A rather robust old woman walked out from the inner room and happened to see Chen Ping'an, who was about to step inside.
"Who do I see? It's Brother Chen."
Among the many families in Lihua Lane, Zhang Dabo's family lived quite well.
His son and daughter-in-law were quite capable, working as kitchen helpers in a restaurant in the city, which was a genuine stable job.
He himself was a sand porter, and could also earn some hard-earned money. And Zhang Family Aunt did some needlework at home, which supplemented the family income.
The family worked together, and their life was quite prosperous.