After three days, Zhang Ming’s first patrol came to an end. Returning at sunset, he headed straight for the pig pens. During his absence, the construction of the new chicken coop and the extension to the cowshed had been completed. The bandits no longer crowded the livestock yard, raising a ruckus. Only four former peasants were busy with the household chores.

  “Hey, brothers, I brought you something to chew on,” Zhang Ming said with a smile, lifting an entire string of rabbits in his hand. Two pheasants dangled behind his back.

  “Oh! That’s very generous of you, Brother Zhang!” Lin Bin ran up to him, taking the game from his hands. “We’ll skin them quickly and have a feast!”

  “I don’t see Lao Yu. Where does he keep disappearing to?”

  “That’s just how he is, here one moment, gone for weeks the next…” Lu Han shrugged, then took a rabbit from Lin Bin. “Give it here! You don’t know how to skin properly. You’ll ruin it all, and these can be turned in to the warehouse.”

  “Next time I’ll bring bigger game,” Zhang Ming promised.

  “Forget it. You treat us to meat after every hunt!” the generous Lin Bo said with a smile. “You need strength more than we do. Take some rice and sweet potatoes from Xiao Bai.” Then he added in a whisper, “Just don’t touch the chicken eggs. Those need to be handled wisely… you know what I mean.”

  “Mhm. Thanks, old Lin. Say, do you mind if I keep watch here tonight?”

  “Hm, we won’t get in trouble for putting you to work, will we? Tang Gui’s orders are strict.”

  “I won’t be shoveling manure, just standing in for a guard. Perfect for a warrior. I like it here. It’s peaceful.”

  “I get it. Stay then. Let me guess, you’re planning to train again?”

  “Heh, a little.”

  “Good.”

  After a hearty meal of rabbit meat, the peasants went off to their new house, leaving Zhang Ming to watch over the livestock yard. Once alone, he cooked a rich soup from the game, fried the mushrooms he had gathered during the hunt, and took out berries wrapped in leaves. While the lavish meal was cooking, Zhang Ming dragged a large barrel to the shed, the one he used for medicinal baths, filled it with hot water, and, just in case, brewed medicinal herbs. They had cost him one rabbit carcass.

  Night drew near. The noise and voices of people faded in the distance as the fortress fell asleep. By then, the game soup was ready, the mushrooms were fried, and the sweet potatoes, cut into large wedges, were covered with an appetizing crust. After making sure no one was around and that only the quiet grunting of pigs came from the pen, he descended into the hideout where the captives were kept.

  “Papa!” Xiao Mei rushed toward him again. “Why did it take so long?”

  “Come out, I’ve got something tasty for you,” he said, stroking her hair.

  “Yay!” The girl threw up her arms and ran for the exit.

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  “Wait. Wash up first,” Zhang Ming stopped her. “I’ve heated some water… before it cools.”

  Once they were done, all three were sitting amid the tall grass, drying off after the bath and enjoying hot rice soaked in rich meat broth. The girls ate slowly, while Xiao Mei squinted with pleasure and smiled broadly. Her mind diligently ignored reality, as if she were not living in a pit but back in her old home with her parents, behaving like an ordinary child. Zhang Ming could only hope that, with time, she would truly feel better.

  Placing his palm between Xiao Mei’s shoulder blades, he checked the flow of energy. Though the current inside her still surged like an overflowing river, it no longer harmed her body. On the contrary, over three days, it had repaired everything previously damaged. Zhang Ming had never seen or heard of anything like it.

  “You practiced?” he asked.

  “Mhm,” Xiao Mei nodded.

  “It’s boring down here, and your technique… from the scroll, it helps pass the time,” the eldest girl added.

  “So you trained constantly for all three days?”

  “Yes. Meditation calms the mind.”

  “That’s right,” the middle girl agreed. “It’s like a good sleep. Sometimes I felt as if I were floating above the ground. Running far, far away from here…” She suddenly covered her mouth and looked at Zhang Ming in alarm.

  “It’s all right. I understand.”

  “By the way, where did all the figurines from the sack go? I didn’t find a single one…”

  “They broke,” Xiao Mei admitted guiltily, lowering her spoon.

  “On their own? How did that happen?”

  “Well… I thought there might be candies in the others too, so they… kind of… broke on their own…”

  “But you felt bad after eating them! You still wanted more?”

  “But they’re sweet,” Xiao Mei looked at Zhang Ming in surprise, as if stating the most obvious thing in the world.

  “I see,” he rubbed his forehead. “Nothing to be done. Keep eating. I’ll take care of some things.”

  While the girls eagerly ate the meat, Zhang Ming carried the pots, woven mats, beds, and other belongings outside. Three days had passed, and in his opinion they at least needed airing out. He cleaned everything thoroughly, washed what needed washing, and laundered the bedding and dirty clothes in a basin. On a makeshift drying rack, he laid everything out, hoping the light mountain breeze would dry them before dawn. With his strength, the work was easy, and he finished quickly.

  “Full?” Zhang Ming asked, watching the girls wander through the tall grass beneath the stars.

  “Yes,” Xiao Mei nodded. “Is there any honey?”

  “Not now. Maybe I’ll get some later. Come with me to the pig pens.”

  “But what about…?” the eldest girl grew frightened. “Isn’t it dangerous?”

  “There’s no one there,” Zhang Ming shook his head. “The strongest people in the fortress despise coming here and breathing manure. It’s beneath their dignity. Though in a fortress with five hundred people, it never smells of roses anyway… but never mind. Don’t be afraid. Follow me.”

  “What do you want to do?” the middle girl, Cao Siwen, asked directly.

  “You’ll train. I want to check something. Notice this, we’re not going straight to the pig pens, but going around. That way we won’t trample a path, and from the outside the old shed will still look like it’s buried in wild growth.”

  “Mhm.”

  Between the large pigsty and the chicken coops, Zhang Ming asked the girls to perform the movement techniques from the scroll. The first time it wasn’t very smooth, but all three tried their best. When they finished, he checked the flow of Qi in each of them again. In just three days, their vitality had increased noticeably. Their bodies were rapidly adapting to the enormous amount of energy, as if they were being reborn into something else. The changes were happening far too quickly.

  This isn’t even fair, he thought. I’m happy for the girls, but it took me tremendous effort to reach the first stage… and here they are, about to break through on their own. It’s a little envy-inducing. Pills! Where could I find them? What kind of medicines were those, anyway? Not a single one left. What a waste.

  When the first rays of sunlight touched the roof of the pigsty, he carried everything back into the cellar and erased all traces. This time, the girls didn’t need his help, they climbed down quite nimbly on their own. Yawning, Zhang Ming returned to the pig pens and sat down to meditate, waiting for Lin Bo and the others to wake up. At the second stage of Body Tempering, he could easily go without sleep all night and feel no fatigue, but sometimes the desire to sleep came simply out of habit.