The Martial Saint of the Defiled World

"What the hell is that noise?"

Hongpu let out a strange cry and stared wide-eyed at the dark warehouse.

The noise in the warehouse was brief, then silence fell.

"I guess the goods weren't packed securely."

Jiang Shaosheng slowly released the white wax stick and said in a low voice.

Despite saying that, neither of them dared to relax their guard any longer.

Jiang Shaosheng stood up and instructed Hong Pu, "Get up and walk around. The longer you sit, the sleepier you get, and your mind goes blank."

Hong Pu let out a soft "oh," and wobbled to his feet, leaning on the table, his steps unsteady.

Jiang Shaosheng shoved the white wax stick back into his hand: "Take this and patrol around. I'll go check the warehouse doors and windows."

Hong Pu, carrying a stick, stumbled along the base of the wall, his eyes wide open.

Jiang Shaosheng then went to the warehouse window and inspected the window latches and bolts one by one.

The windows were all tightly closed, and the latches were all locked securely. From the outside, everything appeared normal, with no sign of anything amiss.

He held his breath, pressed his ear close to the middle door, and listened carefully.

I listened for a while, but there was nothing.

He relaxed a little, and remembering Zhao Laokutou's meaningful instructions before he left, he suppressed the idea of ​​further investigation and sat back down.

As midnight approached, the moon rose to its zenith, at the moment when its light was at its brightest.

"Knock knock knock!"

There was a knock on the courtyard gate.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly still night.

Jiang Shaosheng and Hong Pu simultaneously turned their heads to look at the courtyard gate warily, exchanging a glance.

"Is this a food delivery?"

Hong Pu whispered a guess, his hand already reaching for the gong mallet.

Jiang Shaosheng nodded, signaling him to calm down.

He quietly walked to the door and asked in a low voice through the door panel, "Who's outside?"

There was a moment of silence outside the door, then an old voice came from outside.

"Grandma Feng who delivers midnight snacks."

Jiang Shaosheng glanced back at Hong Pu, who was holding a gong mallet, ready to strike it at any moment.

"Pass it in through the window."

Jiang Shaosheng opened the small window.

A face appeared behind the window.

The oil lamp's light was already dim, and with the moonlight shining obliquely, that face was positioned precisely at the boundary between light and shadow, making it appear particularly eerie.

Deep, ravine-like wrinkles crisscross the dough, almost covering the entire sheet.

His eyelids drooped, and his eyeballs were almost invisible.

His mouth turned down, with two deep lines of bitterness etched on it, and his cheeks were sunken from thinness.

A dark red birthmark on the left temple looked like a dried scab in the dim light.

Hong Pu couldn't help but gasp, instinctively taking half a step back, almost dropping the gong mallet from his hand.

Jiang Shaosheng's heart skipped a beat.

The impact of this face has been amplified more than tenfold at this moment.

The face behind the window seemed to sense their reaction; its lips moved, revealing an expression that was hard to decipher—whether it was a smile or something else entirely.

"Were you scared? This old woman was born ugly and disliked by everyone. I usually don't show myself during the day, for fear of frightening people. Manager Qian took pity on me and gave me a job, delivering meals at night, so I can make a living."

As she spoke, she handed in a heavy, double-layered bamboo food box through the window.

Jiang Shaosheng calmed himself down and reached out to take it.

"Thank you, Mother-in-law, you've worked so hard."

Granny Feng seemed to lift her droopy eyelids slightly, and said slowly, "Eat it while it's hot. The night is still long, and you'll have the strength to keep watch if you're full."

After saying that, without waiting for a response, he turned around, hunched over, and disappeared into the darkness all by himself.

Jiang Shaosheng closed the window and returned to the table with the food box.

Hong Pu finally breathed a sigh of relief, plopped back down on the stool, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"My goodness, this old lady is so terrifying. If you bumped into her outside at night, she would scare your soul away."

As Jiang Shaosheng opened the food box, he sighed softly, "He's just a pitiful person after all. Don't overthink it. Let's see what delicious food he sent."

The food box was opened, and a delicious aroma wafted out.

The top layer consists of two large bowls of noodles.

Jiang Shaosheng estimated in his mind that this bowl must be twice the size of his own bowl.

The noodle soup was clear with oil droplets floating on top, and there were three or four slices of cured meat in the two bowls.

The bottom layer was a small dish of side dishes, with cowpeas mixed with pickled vegetables and two white steamed buns.

"Wow! It looks pretty good."

Hongpu's attention was immediately drawn to the food. He rubbed his hands together and took the chopsticks with a big smile.

The two of them began to eat by the light of the oil lamp.

The noodles are chewy, the cured pork is savory, the pickled cowpeas are crisp and refreshing, and the steamed buns are delicious with the hot soup.

The hot food filled my stomach and dispelled the chill.

Hongpu ate with gusto, and after a few bites, he became quite talkative again:

"I must say, this food is really good. It seems Manager Qian is quite generous when it comes to food; he's a truly honest employer."

Jiang Shaosheng wholeheartedly agreed; being able to have such a meal in the middle of the night improved his mood considerably.

Hongpu patted his gradually rounding belly, staring idly at the flickering lamplight on the table. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Hey, Shaosheng."

"Um?"

"I remember you used to practice your kung fu in the backyard of Yongshou Hall every day from dawn till dusk. You were really good at it, with those loud and clear movements."

As he spoke, Hong Pu moved his round face closer.

"Anyway, this night is long and boring to just sit around doing nothing. Teach me a few skills so I can learn some self-defense techniques!"

Jiang Shaosheng glanced at him, somewhat surprised.

"Why did you suddenly think of this? In the past, when I had free time, I would teach you a few stretching exercises, but you always complained that they were tiring or boring, and you would run away faster than a rabbit."

Hong Pu chuckled twice.

"The past is the past, the present is the present! Back then, I thought learning that stuff was useless and exhausting. But now, look at me, I've finally figured it out!"

Jiang Shaosheng pondered for a moment and nodded: "Alright, learning some martial arts to strengthen the body might really come in handy at a crucial moment."

He knew that Hong Pu was outgoing, strong but lacked discipline and had limited patience. Expecting him to systematically learn the complex routines and inner essence of Bajiquan was nothing short of wishful thinking.

Considering the cutthroat nature of this world, Jiang Shaosheng quickly came up with a plan.

I don't teach any complicated techniques, only the most basic, simple, and practical life-saving tricks that you can quickly learn.

The core principle can be summarized in nine words: three moves to save your life, and one force to overcome ten techniques.

It involves utilizing Hongpu's existing strength advantage to teach him the most effective way to exert force and the simplest countermeasures.

"If you want to learn, that's fine. But let me make this clear first: I'm not teaching fancy tricks, I'm teaching real self-defense and survival skills. You have to listen, you have to practice, and you can't give up halfway. Can you do that?"

Jiang Shaosheng said solemnly.

"No problem! I'll definitely study hard!"

When Hong Pu heard that he was really going to teach, he immediately perked up. He first patted his chest to guarantee it, then leaned the white wax stick against the table, rubbed his hands together, and went to the open space in the yard.

"Come, come, Shaosheng, let's teach you something impressive first! Like in the opera, is it 'Black Tiger Pulls Out the Heart' or 'White Crane Spreads Its Wings'?"

Jiang Shaosheng shook his head at his clumsy appearance.

"Hongpu, to build a house, you must first lay a foundation; to learn martial arts, you must first master the basics. If you try to run before you can walk, you'll either fall down or end up with a mere showy display of skill, which will be utterly useless in a real fight."

"Standing on a pedestal? Isn't that just standing there?"

Hong Pu was completely baffled.

"The standing posture that the child is telling you is not the same as the standing posture you are talking about."

Jiang Shaosheng said no more and walked to the center of the courtyard.

"Come on, let me demonstrate first, watch carefully."