Chapter 2: Chapter Two

As a new recruit whose death number was to be issued, Bai Lang had at first genuinely thought that having taken in so many little servants, the Changle Gang must be a super large gang — but looking around, no matter how you put it, there didn't seem to be that many people. Later, upon asking around, he learned that the number plates had been used since they began taking in servants over a dozen years ago, taking in new people every year, and his number was 1024. Still, it wasn't bad — at least now that this little beggar had been taken in, his chances of surviving had grown considerably.

Of course, first they had to line up to bathe, then each person was given two sets of coarse cloth clothes, and next came wheat rice, green vegetables, and tofu with no limit, and the soup, unbelievably, even had droplets of oil floating in it, tasting somewhat like meat. Those few children who appeared to come from wealthy families couldn't get used to it, but most of the little servants ate quite happily — in these times, many children actually couldn't get enough to eat. Bai Lang also ate his fill — he had long been hungry, and even though the dishes didn't taste great, the rice was too coarse, and the soup was salty, he still wolfed down a good amount.

Full and satisfied, it seemed there was nothing to do for the moment, and this first day was quite comfortable. Having just entered the Changle Gang, these children didn't know one another yet; they were all kids of seven, eight, or over ten years old, and for the moment it really wasn't easy to strike up conversation. The people here weren't all those taken in this time — this courtyard only had about a dozen or so children. Bai Lang didn't chat with them much, directly found a bunk, pulled back the blanket on it, and fell fast asleep — this day he had first been hit by the business of transmigrating, then had run a long stretch of road, and only now had he eaten his fill, so of course he had to sleep.

"Sleep, sleep, maybe after a nap I'll be back again." Bai Lang quickly drifted into dreamland. What he didn't know was that after he fell asleep, a pair of eyes that looked like a tattoo on his chest flashed for an instant. Of course — how could a transmigrator not have a golden finger?

A good night's dream, and the next day before the sky was even light, there came the sound of clang clang clang clang, followed by heavy footsteps striding into the room. The blankets of those groggy children were immediately flung off, and then came the crack-crack of rattan switches raining down. "Get up, you worms no better than pigs and dogs! Get up for me, now!" Amid the wailing, the children scrambled to their feet. "No crying! You brats are lucky to have been chosen by the gang! From today on, you rise at the fifth watch! Begin tempering your strength and cultivating martial arts! Strive to become useful to the gang as soon as possible!"

Bai Lang reacted fairly quickly, so he only took one rattan strike before getting up, and he didn't cry either — although it hurt a great deal, he still endured it. In his heart he wasn't much disappointed — although before sleep he had been hoping to go back, he also knew that was no longer possible, and after taking one strike he accepted his fate. As a modern person, Bai Lang accepted facts very quickly; he looked at this rough, burly man and knew this was the drill instructor who would teach them fist and foot work.

Taking in servants, especially little servants of this age, certainly wasn't to have them do chores — it was to take them in as future gang members — this point Bai Lang had understood when those big men were checking their bones and sinews at the recruitment site. People like them belonged to the gang's reserve force: they came in to first temper their strength and train their fists and feet, and might even be taught some methods of cultivating Qi, and then those with outstanding talent could probably be further cultivated into the backbone of the gang, while ordinary ones might just become the lower-rank members of the gang.

Bai Lang guessed as much too, and it seemed his guess wasn't bad. Because after these kids got dressed and went out, the sky outside was still dark, and these little ones were educated with the rattan switch into three rows — what was said next left Bai Lang a bit unable to understand: "Squat in horse stance, then imagine there's a stream of hot Qi in your dantian..." That part he understood, but visualization really was quite difficult — because someone peed themselves while visualizing... wasn't the dantian just the bladder?

"Ultimate Bladder Sword! I shoot! Damn, I scored!" This was what Bai Lang was thinking in his head, as he listened to the big drill instructor laughing while lashing that unlucky little devil with the rattan switch — to be honest, he felt no sympathy and wanted to laugh too. Someone actually did laugh out loud, and what they got in return was the rattan switch. With his mind wandering like this, any damn hot Qi was completely gone, and instead he felt a rather urgent need to pee. Yet he could only hold it in, and this kind of horse stance was practically torture — soon his legs and feet felt as if they weren't his own, yet this stance was extremely beneficial for the morning's business of relieving oneself.

"Damn, every last one of you busting to shit and piss! You little bastards are all useless wretches!" the big man cursed viciously, the rattan switch lashing fast and hard. "This Liu Heita really does have a vicious hand." Because Bai Lang had the mind of an adult, he controlled himself, gritted his teeth and endured, so he wasn't struck. But that was only at the very beginning — soon under Liu Heita's wild lashing, he too got a few strikes, and immediately Bai Lang's legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground — just like everyone else.

Only one person didn't fall — a boy who looked about ten years old, whose horse stance was extremely steady, and whose breathing still had a rhythm; even after taking several lashes he didn't falter. Liu Heita glanced at that child, then turned and, in harsh and severe tones, ordered everyone else to get up and continue holding the stance, while their breathing had to follow what he said, and finally they had to visualize the hot Qi in the dantian. This was truly difficult — Bai Lang couldn't feel any hot Qi at all, but perhaps because he had overdone the horse stance, his legs and feet were actually not as sore, weak, and aching.

There were still several children whose legs were sore and weak, constantly collapsing to the ground, then being forced back up by the rattan switch and scolding, and for a time the sound of low crying echoed through the courtyard. As time passed, Bai Lang could see a wisp of purple Qi and red light directly ahead — dawn had broken. "Swallow the Qi! Imagine that you are swallowing this round of the great sun's purple Qi into your belly! Visualize the sun in the sky rising at dawn and shining over the four directions!" Liu Heita roared.

"So this is Qi cultivation?" Bai Lang quickly did as Liu Heita said, but he only swallowed a mouthful of cold air and felt nothing else. He glanced furtively left and right, guessing the other children were the same; only that one fellow seemed thoroughly confident, and really did look as if he had swallowed a rising sun. That was probably the acting school, of course — this was Bai Lang's wild imagining, just to comfort himself. He certainly knew that if that fellow wasn't a genius, then he had already learned this in the past and had achieved something.

Actually, Bai Lang felt that he too ought to have some talent. After all, holding the horse stance until now, he felt he could accept it, and based on the wuxia novels he had read in the past, he just treated it like riding a real horse — going up and down with the horse's gallop, that was all — but he had truly never ridden a galloping horse, so this skill seemed to be his talent. Because it really was quite effective — his muscles trembled slightly, relieving fatigue quite well, and this was also the reason he had only collapsed once while holding the horse stance up to now.