Chapter 52: |
The next day.
Before dawn, Chen Mo got up early and left his room.
Every inch of space in Pig Cage village was exceptionally precious, so if you wanted to practice without being disturbed, you could only go to the rooftop on the fifth floor.
The neighbours of Pig Cage village had all gotten up as well. When people met, they all showed friendly smiles, although the place was full of dirt and poverty, for the residents living here, it was a rare pure land.
"Tong Zi is divided into three levels, each level of improvement will bring corresponding changes to the practitioner. The first level is the easiest to cultivate."
The sun had not yet risen and the air on the rooftop was slightly cool. Under the guidance of Xuan Zong, Chen Mo continuously practised postures that were closer to the standard movements of horse stance.
"Practicing Tong Zi emphasizes abandoning distracting thoughts between movement and stillness, using the firm willpower tempered by thousand trials, combined with the innate vitality in the human body to temper one's life. As the ancients often said when the purple qi comes from the east, the morning is the most energetic time for the human body. It is most suitable for self-temper in a static environment. In this process, we can use the power of the rising purple qi to better promote the development of the body's potential. You must carefully experience this and gradually use strong determination to overcome the pain in your body"
Chen Mo's legs couldn’t help but trembling. In this horse stance, trying to experience the so-called static of the Tong Zi and tempering oneself, was something that only few could endure.
Just a few minutes passed and he felt sweat drenching his back. It seemed that the next second would be his limit, he had to do his best to comprehend it, to use strong determination to overcome the pain in his body.
On one side was Xuan Zong's encouragement and on the other side was Chen Mo's determination. He couldn't bear to see Xuan Zong disappointed.
It felt like an hour had passed and Chen Mo finally couldn't hold on any longer. He sat on the ground gasping heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Feeling cold yet?"
Expecting Xuan Zong's reprimand, Chen Mo received his care instead.
Shaking his head Chen Mo said, "Not cold."
"Good, we'll continue tomorrow."
Xuan Zong led Chen Mo off the rooftop. The whole process took less than ten minutes. This was his first morning exercise.
The morning sun rose, shining brightly. At this moment, Chen Mo's heart seemed to brighten as well.
Last night, faced with such a harsh living environment, Chen Mo had indeed regretted it a little bit. He regretted why he didn't choose Xiao Ya at that time but chose to follow Xuan Zong here, to live in such a harsh environment. But at this moment, Chen Mo felt exceptionally fulfilled.
"Hello, how much for the steamed buns?"
"Five yuan each, 20 yuan for 5."
The crippled man was diligent, always wearing an almost obsequious smile. This was also the portrayal of the majority of people eking out a living in pig cage village.
The crippled wife was a mute, constantly busy. The two of them raised three children, even if they worked from morning to night, they could only barely make ends meet. Despite their young age, the whole family already had white hair.
"We'll take ten."
The hot steamed buns were quickly placed in front of Xuan Zong and Chen Mo. Chen Mo was starving, the buns in front of him were quite large, but he wolfed them down one after another.
Xuan Zong looked embarrassed and said, "Add five more."
The cripple brought five more buns and smilingly asked "You two look unfamiliar, newcomers?"
"Yes."
Xuan Zong asked "My brother and I are new here and haven't found a livelihood yet. It's not sustainable to rely on handouts. Do you know of any good places? We both have good strength, as long as it's a legitimate job that can feed both of us."
"That's easy, the dock always needs workers, as long as you're strong enough to carry goods, you can go there anytime."
"Thank you."
After gobbling down the buns, Xuan Zong took Chen Mo to the dock five kilometers away.
There were many dock workers here, almost all of them with muscles, long exposed to the sun their dark skin shining like black jade.
Everywhere was filled with a strong masculine scent, like a group of wild beasts that could go berserk at any moment. However, everyone behaved very reservedly, always wearing a flattering smile, like domesticated livestock.
Xuan Zong and Chen Mo were directed to where the Iron Shopkeeper was. He was a strict lean old man, followed by two burly henchmen.
Besides Xuan Zong and Chen Mo there were more than a dozen sturdy men who came early to apply for dock work. They had already lined up, so the two of them were not particularly outstanding among these people.
"There's a sack over there, carry it for a hundred steps, then go around the stone pillar and back, those who complete it can stay."
Chen Mo looked where the Iron Shopkeeper pointed and couldn't help but gasp. The sack seemed to be filled with sand, with its size it probably weighed no less than 120 kilograms.
After some gritting of teeth, the people in front started to perform. Those who passed the test were neither rewarded nor scorned. The Iron Shopkeeper was like a cold indifferent machine, noting down the names of those who passed.
"My wife is sick, we have no money for medicine and there are two hungry children at home, I must earn money, please!"
A skinny man who couldn’t pass the test suddenly knelt down with a thud.
"Go, get him out of here."
The Iron Shopkeeper with a cold expression instructed the two men behind him to drive away the crying man, he grumbled "What a thing, coming to me to cry poor."
Soon it was Xuan Zong and Chen Mo's turn. Xuan Zong naturally felt no pressure and smoothly completed the test.
It seemed that even though his physical functions were damaged due to the side effects of the potion he was still much stronger than the average person.
Chen Mo, on the other hand struggled a bit. Carrying the huge sack of sand, he barely managed to complete the Iron Shopkeeper's test. When he put down the sack, he felt like he was about to collapse, gasping for breath.
In the end, after the Iron Shopkeeper's selection only about one-third of the twenty or so people met his requirements.
"Three days trial, then one yuan per day. Those who agree, press your handprint here, those who disagree, get lost."
Everyone stepped forward and pressed their handprints.
"Potty!"
With the Iron Shopkeeper's shout, a tall man swiftly ran over.
"Shopkeeper."
The Iron Shopkeeper said casually, "Take these few people."
"Alright, you can rest assured."
After the Iron Shopkeeper left the man called Potty gradually became serious as he walked in front of the group.
"I'm the big brother of the Pier gang. You can call me brother Long from now on. The Pier gang has its rules, you should do more work, talk less, learn from the brothers here and if I see you not obeying orders or playing smart with me, hmph."
After issuing a warning, brother Long left with a cold smile.
"Goods are here!"
With a shout from afar the Pier gang's workers rushed forward. The weight of the goods was not heavy, each bag weighing about seventy to eighty kilogrmas. The cargo was quickly delivered to the trading company as requested.
During the break, Chen Mo would quietly practice his psychic bullet and the despicable mind shield skills to improve their proficiency, until he had spent all the energy in his body. Then, he would wait for his energy to slowly recover before continuing to practice.
The morning passed by like this.
Although the wages of the Pier gang workers were not high, they were still considered good for the lower-class residents of the Nightless City.
At least they could afford meat once in a while, otherwise they wouldn't have the strength for such hard work.
It was time for lunch. Except for a few who brought their own meals, the vast majority of workers headed to the nearby market. Among the most popular items with the workers were "water celery vegetables" and "eye catching dish."
"water celery vegetables" refers to dishes made with animal offal. These offal dishes became a rare meat supplement for dock workers because they were cheap. With a large amount of spicy condiments, the strong smell was masked, making it extremely appetizing.
As for "eye catching dish," they were pieces of meat taken out of a pot of boiling soup with chopsticks. These meats were often leftovers collected from various high-end restaurants and nightclubs. Every time you took a piece, you had to pay the boss one cent. Whether the meat was good or bad depended entirely on luck, hence the name "eye catching dish."
This was also considered one of the few entertainment options for dock workers. Seeing many workers leaving, Xuan Zong took Chen Mo to a deserted corner.
He pointed to the wide river surface, indicating for Chen Mo to go down.
"Midday is when the sun's energy is strongest. You can use the sun's energy to practice the Tong Zi and understand the power of movement. Your foundation is relatively weak. If you forcefully cultivate, you will become weak and may even experience some negative effects. So you can use the moisture here to shield off some of the sun's energy. So start swimming."
Chen Mo gritted his teeth and swam across the river without a word. However the river was swift and Chen Mo felt he had reached his limit halfway through.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Xuan Zong had to pull Chen Mo ashore. It seemed he had anticipated this and had been following behind Chen Mo, rescuing him when he felt Chen Mo was running out of energy.
"Continue tomorrow."
Chen Mo gasped heavily, feeling like he had just drunk his fill. However, when he followed Xuan Zong to the market and smelled the food, he couldn't help but salivate, his stomach rumbling.
A serving of "water celery vegetables" although despised by the Nightless City was still delicious to him. The sense of happiness made Chen Mo temporarily forget his fatigue and he let out a chuckle.
Afternoon passed and dragging their tired bodies, the two returned to Pig Cage village.
Evening was the time for Chen Mo to practice alone. To avoid attracting attention he did not practice basic psychic power. Instead he chose to train in basic boxing, basic palm techniques, basic finger techniques, basic footwork, basic jumping, basic body techniques, basic blocking, basic chopping, basic stabbing, and so on, as all-around exercise.
Chen Mo didn't expect to improve his proficiency in these basic skills much, he just saw it as a way to relax and unwind.
So it went on.
The two of them worked at the dock for three days in a row, completing the so-called trial period.
The fourth day finally came to an end. As the sunset approached, Xuan Zong and Chen Mo with towels draped over their shoulders and reeking of sweat approached the Iron Shopkeeper to collect their one yuan wage.
However at that moment, brother Long waved to them from not far away, signaling them to come over.
"Brother Long!"
"Brother Long."
"Mm."
In response to their greetings, brother Long casually acknowledged with a "Mm" and said "Pay the protection fee, one yuan per person per month."
"What!"
Chen Mo's face immediately darkened.
It wasn't that this one yuan was so precious to Chen Mo but after these days of hard work to earn it, he felt it was too much. The three-day trial period with the Iron Shopkeeper was one thing, but this bastard was now asking for a day's wages straight away?
"What are you saying!" brother Long shouted and was about to start with Chen Mo.
Xuan Zong seeing this hurried forward. "The kid doesn't know any better, these are meant to show respect to brother Long."
With that he snatched the yuan from Chen Mo's hand along with his own and handed them all to brother Long.
"Kid don't be ungrateful. I have a hundred ways to make you leave lying down!" After a fierce remark to Chen Mo, brother Long turned and left.
Xuan Zong looked at Chen Mo who almost exploded, patted his shoulder and comforted him "Endure for a while to calm the storm, take a step back to see the broad vision. Since you chose to follow me, you must learn to be humble with me, in a way this can also temper your character and be beneficial to your practice of the Tong Zi."
"I understand."
Chen Mo took a deep breath, trying hard to control his emotions.
"Heaven burdens me with a great task, so it must first torment my mind, exhaust my muscles and bones, starve my skin, deplete my body, disrupt my plans, thereby stirring my heart and enduring hardship, it enhances what I cannot do." Chen Mo's self-comforting words touched Xuan Zong slightly.
"It's rare to have such character."
Hearing this, Chen Mo couldn't help but shake his head. But Xuan Zong was right, since he had already decided to grow as safely and inconspicuously as possible through his traveler’s talent, he should consider the hardships he would encountere in this process as a kind of experience. The grievance at this moment was indeed not worth making a fuss over.
After all, even with this extra yuan, it was just enough for a few good meals, after realizing this Chen Mo suddenly felt much more relaxed.
This was probably what the ancients meant by "hiding in the city."
(End of chapter 52)
