Chapter 76: The Visit

After sparring with Zhao Xiangyu several times, the total came to one hour.

Jiang Cheng was exhausted to the bone, drenched in sweat.

In contrast, Zhao Xiangyu only broke a thin sheen of sweat and still had the strength to train with the others.

"If I spar with Senior Brother Zhao for another hour or so, my Dual Staff will reach Mastery level."

Jiang Cheng thought to himself.

If it weren't for worrying about a night robbery, he would really like to come over and train tonight as well.

Fortunately, even at a Proficient level, facing a few Wild Wolf Gang members still gives him a fighting chance.

Besides, for safety, after leaving the Martial Arts Hall he will buy a pair of Iron Staffs; Wooden Sticks are still somewhat weak, so from now on he'll carry Iron Staffs whenever he's not training at the Hall.

"Jiang Shidi, want some water?"

A pleasant female voice sounded.

Sun Xiaoli walked over, holding two bottles of water, and offered one.

Jiang Cheng was startled.

"What are you standing there for? Take it."

Sun Xiaoli urged.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Sun."

Jiang Cheng felt a surprised sense of being favored, and after taking the water, drank a few sips.

"Jiang Shidi, have you ever joined the Martial Arts Hall before?" Sun Xiaoli opened her own bottle, took a sip, and asked curiously.

"No, why do you ask?" Jiang Cheng turned his head and gave her a glance.

"Well, Jiang Shidi, you're really impressive—training alone and still matching Senior Brother Zhao, unlike us; we get defeated by him after just a few rounds."

Sun Xiaoli looked somewhat helpless.

"Just practice more, that'll do."

Jiang Cheng let out a laugh.

After all, the progress of Sun Xiaoli and the others was quite reasonable.

If he didn't have the Proficient level panel, he might not even be able to beat Sun Xiaoli and the others.

"Practice more, okay? In the future, could Jiang Shidi spar with me more and also give me some pointers?" Sun Xiaoli said with a smile.

"Sure, Senior Brother Lin also mentioned it to me; we're all from the same Martial Arts Hall, so it's no big deal," Jiang Cheng said, drinking a few more sips, and a bottle was half gone in an instant.

"That's fine, I'll be counting on Jiang Shidi from now on."

The two chatted back and forth, and soon one or two more people walked over and joined the conversation.

When the crowd grew, Jiang Cheng basically stopped speaking and just listened quietly.

Finally, the last person was also exhausted, and the sparring ended there.

Zhao Xiangyu walked over, first scanning the group, then fixing his gaze on Jiang Cheng and praising without reservation: "Senior Brother Zeng was right; Jiang Shidi's Dual Sticks Distance Mastery is just one step away. If he reaches Mastery, I fear I won't be his match."

Hearing that, Sun Xiaoli cast admiring, envious glances.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you flatter me."

Jiang Cheng forced a smile, "Clearly it's Senior Brother Zhao who has been going easy on me."

"Heh, not really."

Zhao Xiangyu said something ambiguous, then reminded: "Jiang Shidi, your skill with weapons is high, but your fist‑and‑foot techniques must not be neglected. If your weapon gets knocked away in battle, that's trouble. Moreover, unless you keep a Short Staff in hand, hiding a Short Staff on your body will leave you no chance to draw it when facing some masters."

"Understood, Senior Brother Zhao, I won't neglect basic training," Jiang Cheng replied quickly.

"Understood, Senior Brother Zhao, I won't neglect practicing the basics." Jiang Cheng said hurriedly.

Zhao Xiangyu nodded in satisfaction.

He had previously worried that Jiang Cheng was getting a bit cocky. Now, seeing him, Jiang Cheng's character is still good; he hasn't become arrogant or dismissive just because he outperforms others.

"Go practice some postural drills; it'll help you relax. The others can stay; I'll tell you the issues that came up in the recent bout."

"Go practice some standing stance for a while; it'll help you relax a bit. The others stay behind, and I'll tell you about the problems that came up during the sparring just now."

Compared with the previous two days, business had recovered, and net profit was back to just over five hundred.

Jiang Cheng wasn't greedy, closed up in time, bought raw sweet potatoes, and hurried home.

Today was the second‑to‑last day of the month; tomorrow the Wild Wolf Gang would come to collect money.

It was easy to imagine that tonight would be anything but peaceful.

Sure enough, after a short walk he was stopped by two people; it was clear they were doing this for the first time, stumbling over their words, looking even more nervous than Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng was somewhat speechless; after he mentioned he was a Senior Member of the Martial Arts Hall, the two fled in fright.

If it weren't for the fact that those two had no profit, Jiang Cheng would have already drawn his Short Staff and dealt with them, instead of chatting.

When he got home, one or two dark shadows were still roaming nearby.

Their gazes flickered, watching his own house and the neighboring Chen Sao's house.

When they saw Jiang Cheng reach the doorway of one of the houses, they quietly slipped away.

Jiang Cheng unlocked the door, lit a candle, glanced inside, and saw the room just as he left it at noon, nodding.

Not bad; the twenty coins he spent still proved useful.

Tomorrow, after the Wild Wolf Gang comes, before closing up shop, he'll give each household ten more coins, at least until Grandma and Chen Sao return.

He reheated his noon meal, fried two eggs, and boiled a few sweet potatoes; because of his training, his appetite had grown, and he couldn't train on an empty stomach.

He heated up lunch, fried two eggs, and boiled a few sweet potatoes on the side. Because of his martial arts training, he felt his appetite had increased a lot; if he didn't eat his fill, he simply couldn't continue training.

The next day, dawn was just breaking.

Jiang Cheng was still in his dream when the sound of someone smashing the door outside jolted him awake.

Jiang Cheng was still in dreamland when the sound of a door being smashed outside woke him up.

"Everyone's up, time to pay the management fee! Did you hear that?"

"Up, get ready to pay the management fee!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The people outside quickly came to our door, smashing the door heavily while repeating the earlier words.

After shouting two or three times without waiting for Jiang Cheng to reply, they went to the neighboring Chen Sao's house to call out at the door.

Obviously, this was a preliminary notice to prevent the situation where, when they later knocked, the people inside were still sleeping and would waste time.

Jiang Cheng frowned, sat up from the bed, opened the door and saw that the surrounding households had also opened their doors, with many people standing on the road outside, creating a noisy scene.

Someone unaware might think today is New Year's Eve.

"So there are this many people around?"

Jiang Cheng muttered to himself, then turned to wash up and make breakfast.

He has a High-level Membership Card in hand, so his mood isn't as heavy as others', yet it isn't relaxed either.

Just like a couple of days ago on the street, even when he produced his High-level Membership Card, the other side deliberately gave him a hard time.

This time, there's no guarantee there won't be any trouble.

Nevertheless, there's no need to fear them; first, he has a Martial Arts Hall backing him, and second, he is currently alone with no concerns.

After more than half an hour, the Wild Wolf Gang arrived, led by a man about 1.6 meters tall, with a large tattooed arm and a stout build.

The man's name is Wei Bao, commonly called Brother Bao, also a Junior Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang, responsible for collecting the management fees in the area.

Behind him followed seven or eight subordinates—some holding paper and pens, some carrying bags, some wielding Iron Stick Watermelon Knives, and one pushing a three‑wheeled cart.

It was somewhat comical, yet no one found it funny.

(End of chapter)