First, practice the Great Spear Fist until you can crack stones with it!

Andrew Warren was full of ambition and struck out with a level-shoulder spear thrust.

Bang!

The air vibrated with a loud sound!

Chapter 4: Warming and Nourishing Formula

"Young master, it's time to eat!"

Mr. Grant walked over with his hands behind his back, smiling, and called out to Andrew Warren.

Andrew Warren slowly withdrew his fists, the warm current in his body dispersing and settling down.

He nodded at Mr. Grant, smiling, "Let's go, Mr. Grant."

Before eating, he practiced the Great Spear Fist three more times.

The gathered strength was becoming more powerful, and the muscles through which the force flowed were becoming more 'obedient', allowing him to mobilize more than a dozen muscles for a synchronized contraction.

There was still some distance from being able to mobilize over a hundred muscles at once.

But not far.

With continued training, he should be able to achieve it before the post assignment test.

The old and the young walked to the front yard. Andrew Warren brought out the table and stools and set them up, while Frank Grant shakily carried two plates of dishes to the table and brought a bowl of rice.

The two sat down to eat.

"Today I went to buy vegetables by the Weihe Bridge and happened to run into someone selling freshly caught carp. It was really cheap, so I bought one and brought it back."

Mr. Grant served rice to Andrew Warren, pointed at the dark, glossy braised carp on the table, and said to Andrew Warren, "Young master, try it. How does my braised carp taste?"

Andrew Warren happily picked up a piece of fish and tasted it, nodding repeatedly, "Not bad!

Really good, Mr. Grant, your cooking is getting better and better. Even the chefs at Fengle Restaurant can't compare to you!"

Fengle Restaurant was the top of the four great restaurants in Nanping.

The dishes were delicious and famous far and wide.

Hearing Andrew Warren compare his cooking to the chefs at Fengle Restaurant, Mr. Grant couldn't help but smile even more, rubbing his hands a bit shyly, "Oh, no, how could this old man compare to the chefs at Fengle Restaurant...

This braised carp was actually taught to me by you, young master."

Braised carp was Andrew Warren's favorite dish from his previous life.

The rich, savory flavor would come to him even in dreams at midnight.

So he taught Mr. Grant how to make it, at least to ease his homesickness a little.

"Young master, did you go to the yamen to learn boxing today?

The post assignment test is about to start. Are you confident you can stay at the Nanping yamen?"

Soon, Mr. Grant thought of another issue, holding his rice bowl and asking Andrew Warren worriedly.

After all, the Nanping yamen was the prefectural office. Being a constable here meant more work, but it wasn't as dangerous as working in the county or rural offices.

As a county yamen constable, you often had to go to villages and towns to investigate cases.

Some villages were dens of thieves; just entering could cost you dearly.

Even worse, some villages hidden deep in the mountains might have long been taken over by demons and monsters. If you accidentally wandered into such a place, you could lose your life!

Frank Grant had served the Wang family since the time of Andrew Warren's grandfather.

He had heard many terrifying and strange stories from Andrew Warren's grandfather and father about the hundreds of miles around.

Like villagers walking at night being tapped on the shoulder by a wolf demon, turning around only to have their heart ripped out, not realizing they were dead until they got home; or wildfires burning several mountains to ash while the village in the mountains remained untouched, and the laborers who stayed overnight to fight the fire were found the next day as bloodied bones covered in bite marks.

These terrifying tales were countless to Frank Grant.

Now, seeing the young master he regarded as his own about to walk the same path as his forebears,

How could he not be anxious?

He feared that Andrew Warren would end up assigned to a county yamen, and in a couple of years, the family would receive nothing but a box of bones.

Andrew Warren put down his chopsticks and looked up to meet Mr. Grant's deeply concerned gaze. His heart warmed, and he smiled, "Today, Master Cui taught us a new boxing technique, and I did pretty well.

If I work a bit harder these next two days, getting into the top ten in the assignment test shouldn't be a problem.

Top ten is enough to stay at the Nanping yamen."

"That's good, that's good."

Frank Grant nodded repeatedly, then seemed to remember something, quickly stood up, and said to Andrew Warren, "Young master, wait a moment."

With that, he hurried to his small bedroom and soon returned carrying a box with the red paint worn off, placing it on the table.

He took out a thin booklet from inside, handed it to Andrew Warren, and said, catching his breath, "The family used to have a few books, I think some were about boxing.

But the old master didn't like practicing, and once, after a quarrel at a brothel, he sold two or three of them in a fit of jealousy.

I sensed something was wrong and secretly kept this thin booklet.

Young master, see if this can help you?"

Curious, Andrew Warren took the booklet and saw the rough paper cover with three characters written on it: 'Warming and Nourishing Formula'.

Opening the first page, he saw a preface: If you want fists like iron, you must temper flesh like steel.

To temper flesh like steel, you must use the warming and nourishing formula.

...

Twenty characters, catchy and concise.

Andrew Warren didn't read further, closed the booklet, and nodded to Frank Grant, "Mr. Grant, this booklet is just what I need."

Whether it was useful or not, only trying would tell.

For now, he just wanted to reassure Mr. Grant.

Hearing this, Mr. Grant was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "As long as it's useful, as long as it's useful."