"It's Hui Niang."
Chen Qing was a little surprised.
Ms. Han quickly got up and pulled open the creaking cabin door.
Yang Huiniang stood outside, her little face red from the cold. Her pale gray, worn-out dress was plastered to her body by the river wind.
"Hui Niang!?"
Ms. Han stepped aside in surprise. "Quick, come in! It's cold outside."
Yang Huiniang's gaze quickly swept over the bowl of watery gruel on the table, a flash of heartache in her eyes.
She took a small cloth pouch from her robes and carefully opened it. "These are some mixed-grain beans I just made..."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly..." Ms. Han said, trying to refuse, but her eyes couldn't help but dart toward the beans.
"Aunt, please don't refuse." Yang Huiniang pushed the pouch toward Ms. Han.
Chen Qing noticed the calluses on her fingers. Life had been tight for his aunt's family these past few years, too.
Ms. Han bit her lip. "Alright, I'll put these mixed-grain beans away for now."
She clutched the cloth pouch and ducked into the inner cabin.
Yang Huiniang looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Ah Qing, what are your plans from now on?"
Chen Qing replied, "I'll take it one step at a time."
Yang Huiniang was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled a faded red pouch from her robes and pressed it into Chen Qing's hand.
"This is..."
Chen Qing asked, puzzled.
"It's my private savings from the last two years. It was originally meant for my Purchasing Dowry." Yang Huiniang's face flushed slightly.
Chen Qing was taken aback. "Cousin, I can't... This is yours..."
"What? Afraid you'll fail at your Martial Arts studies and won't be able to pay me back?"
Yang Huiniang blinked. "I'll be collecting interest, you know."
Feeling the warmth still lingering on the pouch, Chen Qing said earnestly, "I'll definitely pay you back, with interest."
"I was just kidding."
Yang Huiniang let out a little laugh and then stood up. "It's getting dark. I have to go back."
"I'll walk you."
Chen Qing followed her out of the black-awning boat.
They walked along the riverbank as the biting river wind howled.
The setting sun branded the silhouette of Mute Bay onto the muddy ground. Shards of pottery and fish scales vied for the last scraps of light in the sewage ditch.
The Yang Family lived in Baihua Lane, an alley as narrow as a shriveled intestine, twisted and crammed into the western corner of the Outer City.
The bluestone path had long since cracked, with weeds sprouting from the gaps. The earthen walls on either side of the alley were mottled and crumbling, and some families had used broken tiles to patch up drafty holes.
Compared to the rickety boats of Mute Bay, the brick-and-tile houses here at least offered shelter from the wind and rain.
They talked about their childhoods, and Yang Huiniang also shared some trivial stories from the clothier's shop.
Yang Huiniang looked at Chen Qing. "Cousin, you seem to have changed."
Chen Qing chuckled softly. "Have I?"
"But it's a good thing."
Yang Huiniang nodded. "You used to be a bit... dull."
'She had always thought her cousin was a bit withdrawn and would have a hard time finding a wife.'
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Yang Family's door.
Yang Huiniang said softly, "I'm heading in. You should get back soon, too."
Chen Qing nodded. "Okay."
Yang Huiniang turned and went home.
Chen Qing took a deep breath and hurried back toward Mute Bay. As the sky dimmed, the pedestrians on the road had become few and far between.
"After them! Don't let those Five Poison Gang bastards get away!"
Suddenly, a beastly roar echoed from the distance.
Immediately after, dozens of men, wielding sharp blades and radiating killing intent, came spilling out of an alley ahead, locked in battle.
In the dim light, the flash of blades glinted with a bone-chilling coldness.
CRASH! CLANG!
The faces of nearby residents instantly turned pale. They frantically slammed their doors and windows shut, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
'Not good!'
Chen Qing's heart tightened. He immediately ducked into the shadows of the nearest corner, holding his breath.
He lived by three principles.
'Don't cause trouble, don't fear trouble, and run when trouble finds you.'
Only when the shouts of battle and the clash of Weapons had completely faded deep into the alley did he cautiously peek out. Then he broke into a sprint, dashing toward the linked boats.
"HUFF... HUFF..."
Bursting into the cabin, Chen Qing bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air, his heart still pounding with fear.
'This world is too chaotic.'
'Especially after dark. It's terrifying.'
Chen Qing secretly warned himself that he had to be cautious, cautious, and more cautious.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his state, Ms. Han's face went white with fright. She rushed over, patting him down frantically. "Was it a robbery? A gang fight? Are you hurt anywhere? Let Mother see!"
Chen Qing waved his hand, steadying his breath. "Mother, I'm fine. I just... walked a little too fast."
"That's good."
Ms. Han's anxious heart finally settled. She turned and walked toward the inner cabin.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped, her expression unusually serious. "Ah Qing, you're a grown man now. No matter what you want to do, Mother will support you."
She paused, her voice filled with a tough resilience. "I'll start weaving more nets tomorrow. There's always... a way."
With that, she lowered her head and ducked into the inner cabin.
A warmth spread through Chen Qing's heart. He stood there silently for a long time before slowly sitting down.
The night deepened. Outside, the cold wind howled fiercely.
The cool, clear moonlight slanted into the cabin through the cracks in the boat's planks.
Chen Qing took out the pouch Yang Huiniang had given him. Five taels of broken silver and dozens of copper coins rolled out.
To learn martial arts, if you didn't have a family tradition to inherit, the only way was to become a disciple.
And becoming a disciple naturally required an apprenticeship fee.
Chen Qing muttered to himself, "With this money, I have a chance to study Martial Arts."
This was all money Yang Huiniang had painstakingly saved up.
The broken silver in the pouch was brighter than any moonlight he had ever seen.
「The next morning, the frost was heavy and the wind was cold.」
Chen Qing squatted by the stove, watching the rice bran gruel bubbling in the earthenware pot.
In the corner, Ms. Han was hunched over, her withered fingers flying between the threads of a fishing net.
"Mother, I'm heading out."
Chen Qing gulped down the thin gruel in his bowl and pulled his tattered, patch-covered coat tighter around himself.
Without looking up, Ms. Han said, "Be back early. I've saved the mixed-grain beans in the pot for you."
"Got it."
Chen Qing hopped off his family's boat, and the cold wind immediately sliced into his collar like a knife.
The stone-slab road was uneven, riddled with potholes of varying depths.
Garbage was everywhere, with mountains of waste giving off a nauseating stench.
Sewage flowed down the center of the street in black rivulets, emitting a pungent odor. Flies and mosquitoes buzzed over the heaps of trash.
People on the street hurried past. Some wore ragged clothes covered in patches; others were barefoot, their soles caked with mud.
These paupers in the shoreline shacks also had to pay the "Roof Water Money," and their lives were no better than the fishermen who scraped by on the water.
Chen Qing kept his head down and quickened his pace.
He had already made inquiries about learning martial arts.
On Changping Street, there was a Veteran Escort Master named Zhou Liang.
He had once traveled all over the country with an Escort Agency. Later, as he got older and was plagued by old injuries, he retired and now taught apprentices from his home.
The apprenticeship fee he charged was only twenty percent of what a Martial Arts Hall would.
Many disciples from poor families who wanted to practice martial arts came to this kind of Martial Arts Institute to find a master.
Chen Qing soon found his way to the Zhou Family Courtyard and stepped forward to knock on the door knocker.
"Who is it?" A powerful, resonant voice cut through the door.
"My name is Chen Qing. I've come to seek tutelage," Chen Qing said in a low voice.
The door creaked open a crack. A man as lean and hard as iron poked his head out, looked Chen Qing up and down, then stepped aside. "Come in. Master is inside."