Chapter 18: New Neighbors

Ye Xiaojie had always been shorter than her peers and had delicate, adorable features.

When she was little, many boys liked her and wanted to play with her.

But kids didn’t know how to express affection properly. When they liked a girl, they often pulled her hair or put caterpillars on her desk to scare her.

Her parents found out she was being bullied in kindergarten through the teacher and enrolled her in Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) classes so she could protect herself.

At first, Ye Xiaojie resisted, but over time, she grew to love martial arts. She studied all styles available in Xia Country and even dabbled in foreign boxing—though only superficially. Her best skill remained Sanda.

Perhaps due to her long-term martial arts training, Ye Xiaojie had a calm and steady temperament.

Instead of immediately teaching Xia Xiaoman how to fight, she first sparred with her once.

After the bout, she had a rough idea of how to train Xia Xiaoman.
“Your strengths are your raw power and strong stance. Weaknesses: no combat experience, low agility, and unstructured techniques.”

“It’s impossible to improve agility overnight, but I can teach you pressure point strikes.”

“There are 720 pressure points on the human body. Hitting the Zhangmen point under the ribs can instantly drain someone’s strength and make it painful to breathe. Hitting the temples causes dizziness and may lead to unconsciousness. Striking the Ermen point near the ears also induces fainting…”

Ye Xiaojie seriously taught Xia Xiaoman how to identify pressure points—what causes fainting, what weakens the body, and what intensifies pain.

Xia Xiaoman took it very seriously, even running back to grab a notebook and pen to take notes.

Midway through, Zhou Qiuyang also joined. Ye Xiaojie and Sun Qing took on the roles of instructors—Ye did the explaining, and Sun Qing acted as a live model, helping to point out the pressure points.

In just a few days, Xia Xiaoman gained a lot.

Every day, Ye Xiaojie would spend one hour teaching theory, two hours on physical conditioning, and the rest of the time drilling techniques.

In the final hour, she would have Xia Xiaoman and Zhou Qiuyang spar—real fights, not just light practice. Full contact.

Since she started training in Sanda, Xia Xiaoman hadn’t had a day without bruises.

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On the third day after moving to the Chenyang Community, the wind had calmed significantly and rainfall had reduced by more than half. Compared to the past few days, the weather now could be called mild and drizzly.

After a round of physical training, Zhou Qiuyang slumped against the wall to rest.
“The weather’s improved a lot. Should we head out?”

Xia Xiaoman wasn’t very interested. She had enough supplies in her space to last a while.

Sun Qing and Ye Xiaojie also didn’t feel like going out. The rain was light now, so the floodwaters would likely recede soon. It wasn’t urgent.

But since Zhou Qiuyang had always been the one staying behind while they ventured out, it didn’t feel right to deny his request now.

They eventually decided that Xia Xiaoman would stay home that afternoon while the others went out to see if they could find any rescue teams or gather information.

Alone at home with little to entertain herself, Xia Xiaoman repeatedly practiced the techniques Ye Xiaojie taught. She took short breaks every ten minutes before returning to practice.

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By 6 p.m., night had begun to fall, and Sun Qing and the others still hadn’t returned.

Worried, Xia Xiaoman stood on the balcony of 1302 scanning with binoculars but saw no sign of them.

As 8 p.m. approached, a faint light appeared on the street. She watched closely through the binoculars and finally confirmed it was them, then rushed downstairs to meet them.

Just in case, she tucked a hatchet and a watermelon knife into her waistband.

The water had receded by about half a floor. Originally at the ninth-floor level, it had dropped to about ten centimeters below the eighth floor.

When Xia Xiaoman reached the eighth floor, she heard Sun Qing’s hoarse voice:
“Careful—carry Lingling up first.”

In the beam of the flashlight, a man carried a five- or six-year-old girl onto the balcony.

Xia Xiaoman raised her brows. Had the neighbors grown soft-hearted? Why had they brought back two… no, three people?

After the girl, the man came back carrying a boy who looked exactly like her.

“Xiaoman, give us a hand!”

Pulled from her thoughts by Sun Qing’s voice, Xia Xiaoman stepped forward to help move supplies.

She frowned upon seeing their condition.
“What happened? Why are you all so beat up?”

Sun Qing had bandages on her shoulder and left arm, with blood seeping through. Her neck was bruised, clearly from strangulation—no wonder her voice was so hoarse.

Zhou Qiuyang’s back was also bandaged. He looked deathly pale, like he might faint any moment.

The least injured was Ye Xiaojie, who had a slash wound on her right leg. It hadn’t been bandaged—probably due to lack of supplies—and the rainwater had made the wound pale and soft.

Sun Qing forced a smile, “We ran into some robbers. If not for Coach, we might not have made it back.”

“Don’t talk so much. Your throat’s injured. Come on, I’ll help you up.”

The man, whom Sun Qing had referred to as “Coach,” lifted her onto the balcony railing. Xia Xiaoman supported her down into the unit. Then came Ye Xiaojie.

Zhou Qiuyang was too badly hurt to move on his own. The coach carried him inside carefully and gently laid him down.

“You must be Xia Xiaoman, right? Please take them upstairs. I’ll finish collecting the supplies,” the coach said, then turned and climbed out again.

Xia Xiaoman glanced at Sun Qing and the others. Ye Xiaojie explained,
“He’s mine and Ah Qing’s boxing coach—Wen Jianfeng. Those are his children, Wen Xu and Wen Ling.”

“Coach Wen is a decent guy. He won’t take off with our supplies. But if you’re worried, you can take the twins upstairs first.”
With both kids present, Wen Jianfeng wouldn’t leave them behind just to run off with some gear.

Xia Xiaoman wasn’t worried about the supplies being taken. They belonged to Sun Qing’s group, and if they trusted him, she wouldn’t make a fuss.

Sun Qing’s injuries didn’t prevent her from walking. Ye Xiaojie’s leg was hurt, but she could still limp.

Only Zhou Qiuyang couldn’t walk—he seemed dazed from blood loss and didn’t even have the strength to stand.

Without hesitation, Xia Xiaoman squatted down and lifted him onto her back. Then she turned to the twins, who stood hesitantly nearby.

“Alright, little ones. Let’s go.”

The twins looked to their father. After getting his nod, they happily trotted after Xia Xiaoman.