Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Ping's life was monotonous yet fulfilling, revolving around two points: eating, drinking, and relieving himself. He spent all his time practicing boxing and stance training.

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Chen Ping stood in the courtyard, his feet slightly apart, his hands clasped together, his whole body as still as an old tree stump rooted in the ground.

With each breath, his chest rose and fell rhythmically, each exhale long and deep.

I don't know how long I stood there, but suddenly a warm current rose from the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of my foot, traveled up along the meridians of my legs, and finally gathered in my Dantian, turning into a warm feeling that flowed throughout my body.

Chen Ping opened his eyes, and a light screen flashed in front of his retina:

[Skill: Stabilizing Water Stance (Minor Success)]

Current progress: 1/500

[Effects: Improves blood circulation, promotes tissue regeneration and wound healing, and enhances vitality]

It became.

Chen Ping slowly finished his stance and stretched his somewhat stiff limbs.

The feeling of that warm current flowing through my body was very clear, like injecting living water into a dry riverbed. The soreness that had accumulated from the high-intensity boxing practice was mostly dissipated under the wash of this warm current.

Next up is "Crushing Stone Force".

One punch, two punches, three punches...

The twelve forms of boxing were executed with fluid grace, each punch accompanied by a crisp, piercing sound.

[Stone Crushing Force, Proficiency +1]

Current progress: Minor success 248/500

Chen Ping stopped and stood still, looking at his arms covered in sweat.

The muscle lines are not exaggerated, without those knotted lumps of flesh, but rather tight and smooth, conforming to the bones, full of an explosive beauty.

When you squeeze it tightly, the skin feels taut like a drumhead, with a faint bronze sheen.

The hard work over the past two weeks has yielded remarkable results.

"Hey Chen, time to eat!"

Liu Laoguo's loud voice came from next door.

Chen Ping responded, took a cold shower, changed into dry clothes, and went over.

On the dining table were two bowls of brown rice, a plate of green vegetables, and a dish of salted fish.

Gouwa was wolfing down his food from his bowl, while Liu Laoguo, with a pipe in his mouth, squinted at Chen Ping, who had just entered the room.

"sit."

Chen Ping sat down and picked up his bowl, but before he could even pick up his chopsticks, he heard Liu Laoguo click his tongue.

"Are you made of iron?"

Old Liu tapped his pipe, his tone tinged with emotion: "It's been half a month, and I haven't seen you stop. I've seen many martial arts practitioners before, but they either practice sporadically or complain about the hardship after only a few days. I've never seen anyone as reckless as you."

Chen Ping picked up a piece of salted fish and put it in his mouth: "If you want to live, you have to fight for your life."

"That's true." Old Liu exhaled a smoke ring. "But you're quite resilient. Come here, let me feel you."

Chen Ping put down his chopsticks and went over.

Old Liu reached out and pinched Chen Ping's forearm, then massaged his shoulders and back.

Those rough, large hands were like iron clamps, incredibly strong.

A moment later, Old Liu released his grip, his eyes looking somewhat strange.

"We're almost there."

Chen Ping was taken aback: "What threshold?"

"Skin Refining Realm".

Old Liu sat back down, picked up his wine glass and took a sip: "Your skin is tight, your blood and qi are abundant, and it has a rebounding force when pressed. Your hard work over the past two weeks has paid off. In another month or so, you should be able to truly enter the Skin Refining Realm."

At this point, he glanced at Chen Ping and his tone became more serious: "Your natural talent is even better than I thought, especially that 'Water Stabilizing Stance'. Ordinary people might not even be able to get the basics down after practicing for half a year, but you've mastered it in half a month. You're just blessed by God."

Chen Ping nodded without saying anything and continued to eat his rice.

After the meal, Chen Ping helped clear the dishes.

Just as he was about to go back to continue practicing his boxing, there was a sudden knock on the courtyard gate.

"Knock knock knock".

The knocking was very soft.

"Who is it?" Gouwa, with half a salted fish in his mouth, ran to open the door.

A middle-aged man was standing outside the door.

He was in his forties, wearing a faded blue cloth long gown with several patches, but it was very clean.

He was thin, with high cheekbones and sunken eyes, clearly indicating long-term malnutrition.

But he stood very straight.

That kind of straightness doesn't resemble the uprightness of a warrior, but rather the unyielding nature of a bamboo stalk.

"Excuse me, is Master Chen Ping here?" The man bowed, his voice hoarse but clear.

Gouwa turned around and called out, "Brother Chen, he's looking for you!"

Chen Ping put down the rag in his hand and walked to the door.

Upon seeing Chen Ping, the man immediately bowed deeply, bending at a ninety-degree angle.

"My name is Li Wenxiu. I greet you, Master Chen."

Chen Ping glanced at him, not letting him get up: "I don't know you. What do you want?"

Li Wenxiu straightened up, looking somewhat flustered, but her eyes were firm: "I... would like to ask Master Chen for a favor, to go to the pharmacy and buy some fever-reducing medicine."

"Buying medicine?"

Chen Ping frowned: "There are pharmacies everywhere. If you have money, just go buy it yourself. Why are you asking me?"

"The pharmacy won't sell to me." Li Wenxiu gave a bitter smile, her voice filled with helplessness, "because I live in Huishuichang."

Chen Ping's eyes flickered slightly.

Li Wenxiu continued, "Madam Rouge Tiger has declared that the people of Huishui Village are worthless and unworthy of medicine. Anyone who dares to sell medicine to them is going against her. I've searched every pharmacy in the city, but no one dares to sell to them."

After saying that, he took out a dusty cloth bag from his pocket, held it in both hands and handed it to Chen Ping as if it were his own life.

"Mr. Chen, here's the money for the medicine."

The cloth bag was opened, revealing a large string of worn-out copper coins, interspersed with a small piece of silver the size of a fingernail.

Chen Ping glanced at it.

This bag of money, when added up, is probably only seven or eight hundred coins, at most less than one tael of silver.

But Chen Ping knew very well the significance of this money.

At the dock, a strong laborer could carry heavy loads all day, working himself to exhaustion, and only earn twenty or thirty coins.

This one or two taels of silver is equivalent to a laborer's hard-earned money for a whole month without eating or drinking.

For people living in muddy cesspools like the greywater field, this is probably all the savings they've accumulated over half a lifetime, or even their last savings.

"Are you a scholar?" Chen Ping asked suddenly, without taking the money.

Li Wenxiu was taken aback, then straightened his chest. Although he looked somewhat down on his luck, his tone revealed an arrogance ingrained in his bones: "I am a scholar from Anyu Prefecture. I used to run a school in the county, but later... later I ended up here."

"Anyu Prefecture?" Chen Ping raised an eyebrow. "That's in the north, thousands of miles away. Since you're a scholar, even if you're from out of town, it wouldn't be difficult for you to find a job as an accountant in the city. Why are you hiding in that muddy ditch?"

Upon hearing this, the arrogance in Li Wenxiu's eyes instantly crumbled, replaced by deep bitterness and fear:

"Master Chen, you may not know this... There was a disaster over there, and I fled all the way here. Not only did I lose all my money, but I also lost my travel permit and registration certificate."

He sighed, his voice trembling: "Now I'm an unregistered person without an identity. If I go to the city and the government finds out, I'll be conscripted into the army and forced into hard labor. This greywater factory is dirty and chaotic, but it's the only place where they don't check identities. I... have nowhere to go."

Chen Ping narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Li Wenxiu.

Migrants, unregistered residents.

That reason is actually quite valid.

Although Chen Ping did not have a proper travel permit issued by the government, he joined the Green Robe Society and his name was recorded on the gang's roster.

In the area around Qingkou Wharf, the government usually accepted the gang roster as proof of their livelihood in order to save trouble. The constables were too lazy to check these sweaty, miserable people.

But Li Wenxiu was different.

His accent told me he was from out of town in the north, and he had the appearance of a delicate, scholarly young man.

Without travel documents, such a person is considered a criminal on the move by the authorities; if arrested, he will be severely punished, if not killed.

"If it's so difficult, why did you even bother coming to me?" Chen Ping looked at him. "Aren't you afraid of being spotted by the patrolling guards looking like that?"

"I'm terrified. I'm scared to death with every step I take."

Li Wenxiu took a deep breath, her voice trembling but firm: "But... that student can't wait any longer."

"That's an adopted child, an orphan. He was beaten up three days ago and has a persistent high fever. I could hide like a rat for the rest of my life, but that child is innocent. If I don't come out to beg for medicine, he will surely die."

Chen Ping looked at the poor, pedantic scholar in front of him.

Despite being terrified of the authorities, he dared to risk his entire fortune and being arrested to beg a gang member for help for a stray child he had picked up.

interesting.

"I have another question."

Chen Ping didn't reach for the money. Instead, he crossed his arms and coldly looked at Li Wenxiu: "I'm not the only Red Flower Stick in the Green Robe Society. Rouge Tiger has spoken. Helping you is tantamount to slapping her in the face. What makes you think I would offend her for such a small amount of money?"

Li Wenxiu was silent for a moment, then raised her head and looked directly into Chen Ping's eyes.

"Because I have seen you before."

"Have you seen me before?"

"Half a month ago, on the day you first donned the red belt, you went to the edge of the greywater field." Li Wenxiu's voice was soft but firm. "I was also in the crowd at the time, hiding in the shadows."

He paused, as if recalling that scene: "The other gang members looked at us like we were maggots in a sewer, their eyes full of disgust and contempt, wishing they could stay as far away as possible, but you were different..."

Li Wenxiu pointed to her eyes: "When you looked at those starving corpses lying by the roadside, and those children who were barely clothed, there was no disgust in your eyes."

"At that moment, I saw a hint of reluctance in your eyes."

Li Wenxiu smiled bitterly: "On this cannibalistic dock, that reluctance is the only thing I can gamble on."

Chen Ping fell silent.

He looked into Li Wenxiu's bloodshot yet unusually clear eyes.

Unexpectedly, the slight emotion I unintentionally revealed back then was noticed by someone and became my lifeline.

Chen Ping didn't stand on ceremony. He reached out and grabbed the cloth bag, weighing it in his hand.

"I'll take the money."

Seeing that Chen Ping had accepted the money, Li Wenxiu's tense body finally relaxed, a hint of wild joy flashing in her eyes. She even kowtowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Master Chen! Thank you, Master Chen!"

"Don't thank me yet."

Chen Ping coldly interrupted him, stuffing the money pouch into his pocket: "I don't know you, and I don't believe you. These days, there are plenty of people who use children to set up scams and cheat others."

He didn't make any unnecessary movements; his dark eyes were fixed on Li Wenxiu, his gaze sharp as knives.

"Lead the way. I need to see the child first. If I find out you're lying, or that it's someone else's child..."

Chen Ping's voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling undertone: "You know the consequences yourself."

Li Wenxiu felt a chill run down her spine under that gaze, as if a cold sweat had shot from her feet to the top of her head. She nodded frantically, "I would never dare to lie! The child is at the greywater field, in the shack where I live! Master Chen, please come with me!"

"Let's go."

Chen Ping turned and went into the house, took a red cloth strip from the wall, and casually tied it around his waist.

Old Liu leaned against the door frame, puffing on his cigarette, watching the two figures disappear into the alleyway, and exhaled a thick smoke ring.

"This kid..."

The old man shook his head, but a smile appeared at the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

"That's interesting."