Chen Cheng was indeed lost in thought. He was thinking about the other IOU—the one for five taels of silver.
In his memory, the debtor's name was Jiang Rongxuan. He had also been a Prison Guard and was a sworn brother to Father Chen. Later, he quit his job and opened a small tavern in the Ruyi District. When his business struggled, he borrowed five taels of silver from Father Chen to stay afloat.
Jiang Rongxuan had a daughter, Jiang Yun, who was the same age as Chen Cheng. The two families had arranged a childhood betrothal, agreeing that their children would marry at fourteen.
Later, the Jiang Family's tavern business improved. Instead of repaying the loan, Jiang Rongxuan agreed with Father Chen that the five taels of silver would serve as the betrothal gift. Father Chen, of course, readily agreed.
However, the Jiang Family's business grew ever larger. They managed to establish connections with the great Zhou Family of the southern city, becoming a household of high status and wealth.
The year Chen Cheng turned fourteen, when the marriage contract was supposed to be fulfilled, Father Chen brought him to the Jiang Family's residence. Jiang Rongxuan always avoided them, and eventually had his Hospital Guards bar the gate, refusing Father Chen entry. It was obvious he intended to break the engagement.
As a humble Prison Guard, Father Chen naturally had no recourse. It was that very year he purchased Mu Xiaowan to be a child bride.
The matter was eventually dropped, leaving only the IOU.
The Jiang Family of today was no simple household; they employed several Hospital Martial Artists alone.
The Hospital Martial Artists of a great family were exceptionally strong; the current Chen Cheng couldn't handle even one of them.
'It seems I can't count on getting those five taels of silver for now.'
Chen Cheng sighed inwardly.
'If I had those five taels of silver, I could buy more meat. With good food and drink to nourish my body, my Cultivation of the Iron Armor Skill would surely be twice as effective with half the effort.'
'That Jiang Rongxuan is really something else. Breaking the engagement is one thing, but with such a massive family fortune, he can't even bear to part with five taels of silver. What a stingy, detestable bastard! I'll make sure that old dog learns just how treacherous the Jianghu can be!'
Chen Cheng clenched his fists, silently making a resolution.
"Brother Cheng, I've warmed the bed. Come to sleep now."
Mu Xiaowan murmured from under the covers.
"Mm."
Chen Cheng grunted in acknowledgment, blew out the oil lamp, and lifted the covers. A touch of warmth and smoothness met his hand.
He instinctively pulled his hand back, but Mu Xiaowan's small, warm hand caught his.
"Brother Cheng..." Mu Xiaowan's voice was a whisper, as faint as a mosquito's drone.
"Mm," Chen Cheng replied gently. "Just go to sleep."
"Brother Cheng, what if we had a child...?"
"You silly girl, what kind of nonsense are you thinking?" Chen Cheng gently pinched her cheek.
"How am I little? I'll be fourteen after the New Year! Chunhua from down the alley is only thirteen, and she's about to have her baby," Mu Xiaowan said.
The Great Yu Dynasty stipulated that a woman came of age at fifteen, but commoner girls often married earlier. As the proverb went, "Thirteen and fourteen are prime; eighteen and nineteen are past your time."
Chen Cheng and Mu Xiaowan weren't officially married, and nothing had happened between them. After awakening his Innate Wisdom and gaining memories from another world, he was even less inclined to have any such thoughts.
"Be good. Sleep."
The night passed peacefully.
The next day was Chen Cheng's day off from his duties at the Prison.
Chen Cheng rose at the crack of dawn. The snow had stopped, but drifts were everywhere, and the air had grown even colder.
After a quick wash-up, he rushed to the market to buy firewood.
As expected, the price of firewood had gone up again, costing a full twenty-five cents a bundle.
Even at that price, you had to scramble to buy any.
After a busy morning, Chen Cheng finally bought ten bundles of firewood and stacked them neatly outside the kitchen.
Widow Tian's courtyard gate remained tightly shut. Ma Liu and Er Lengzi had not returned.
Chen Cheng began his Cultivation of the Iron Armor Skill in his courtyard. Since reaching the Beginner Level of this Cultivation Technique, his strength had skyrocketed. Even with the added weights, he still had energy to spare. So, while cultivating the Iron Armor Skill, he also practiced with his Constable's Saber, wildly swinging and hacking, and going through the basic Scattering Hand Techniques he had learned from the other Prison Guards.
As the saying goes, even the greatest master fears a blade. At Chen Cheng's current level, the difference between being armed and unarmed was immense.
Even without a Saber Technique Manual, mastering some basic Scattering Hand Techniques was still a good thing.
At first, Mu Xiaowan worried that something would go wrong with Chen Cheng's martial arts practice. However, after seeing him swing his Constable's Saber for the better part of the day and remain as vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger, she no longer tried to dissuade him.
'Why would she ever try to stop her man from becoming stronger?'
Nearing noon, Chen Cheng suddenly stopped his Cultivation and went to the courtyard gate to look down the alley.
Ma Liu and Er Lengzi were at Widow Tian's gate, calling to be let in. Ma Liu was carrying a burlap sack on his shoulder, while Er Lengzi held two live hens. It looked like the pair had been out scrounging somewhere last night and had returned with a full haul.
Chen Cheng had been waiting for this, his eyes practically worn out from watching. He immediately grabbed his Constable's Saber, strode out of his courtyard, and headed straight for the two men.
"Well, look who it is! If it isn't Chen Er! It's almost time to eat, where are you off to in such a hurry?"
Ma Liu turned with a contemptuous smile. Chen Cheng once had an older brother who died young; Ma Liu called him Chen Er—"Chen the Second"—purely out of spite.
The old Chen Cheng had been honest and mild-mannered. Coupled with his frail constitution, he always gave scoundrels like Ma Liu a wide berth.
In Ma Liu's eyes, Chen Cheng was a total pushover, someone he could bully as he pleased. If Chen Cheng hadn't been a Prison Guard who carried a Constable's Saber, he would have been pushed around countless times already.
Chen Cheng came to a stop before them. He ignored Ma Liu, his gaze fixed on Er Lengzi. "Yesterday," he said in a cold voice, "were you the one who threw rocks at Xiaowan and called her a little jinx?"
"Wh-what do you want?" Er Lengzi knew he was in the wrong. Seeing Chen Cheng's menacing aura, he instinctively tried to hide behind Ma Liu.
But Chen Cheng wouldn't let him. He lashed out with a kick.
THUD!
It was a kick fueled by hatred. Chen Cheng used seventy percent of his strength, catching Er Lengzi square in the chest and sending him flying back to slam hard against the courtyard gate.
"Chen Er, you bastard, you've got some nerve!"
Ma Liu snapped to his senses. This Chen Er was clearly here for trouble.
He dropped his sack, brandished a wooden stick as if to strike, but hesitated, intimidated by the Constable's Saber in Chen Cheng's hand.
Just then, the gate opened. Seeing her son on the ground spitting up blood, Widow Tian immediately flew into a shrewish rage.
"Chen Er, you damn bastard! You dare hit my son?! I'll kill you!"
With that, Widow Tian lunged forward like a wildcat, clawing for Chen Cheng's face.
Chen Cheng sent another kick out, knocking her to the ground. She landed flat on her face, eating dirt.
"Murder! Everyone come look, Chen Er is a murderer! Ma Liu, you heartless bastard, are you just going to watch us be beaten to death?"
Having gotten the worst of it, Widow Tian didn't dare to attack again. Instead, she sat on the ground and began to wail at the top of her lungs.
"Chen Er! If you've got any guts, put down that Constable's Saber and let's go one-on-one!" Ma Liu snarled, still terrified of the blade in Chen Cheng's hand.
Chen Cheng hung the Constable's Saber back on his belt. "What, you want to have a go at me?"
"Hmph! I'm not just gonna have a go at you, I'm gonna beat you so bad you'll be looking for your teeth on the ground!"
Ma Liu snorted and swung the wooden club in his hands down at Chen Cheng's head.
A lowlife like him knew nothing of martial honor! He was determined to smash Chen Cheng's head open with a single blow and make an example of him.
But Chen Cheng was ready. He shot forward and swung his arm forcefully.
CRACK!
As their arms met, a crisp crack of bone echoed.
To cultivate his Iron Armor Skill, he had strapped iron plates to his arms as weights, making them no different from wearing Iron Arm Guards.
"AHHH!!!" Ma Liu let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Chen Cheng's right leg swept out, striking Ma Liu squarely on the shin.
CRACK!
There was another sharp crack of breaking bone.
Chen Cheng also had iron plates strapped to his legs as weights, just like wearing Iron Leg Guards.
A broken arm! A broken leg! Ma Liu writhed on the ground in agony!
Seeing Ma Liu get the worst of it, Widow Tian resumed her wailing.
"Murder! Chen Er is a murderer! Everyone, come and see! Chen Er is committing murder! Is there no law in this land?!"
Hearing the commotion, the neighbors came out of their homes to watch the spectacle, but none of them dared to make a sound.
The only sound in the entire alley was Widow Tian's wailing.
"What's going on?"
Just then, a few street patrol constables passed by the mouth of the alley, heard the commotion, and rushed over.