The water tank was just the first step of the entire project, and it was the simplest one. Afterward, there were many more steps, which gave Chen Mu a headache just thinking about them.

For instance, to bring in the pipes connecting to the rainwater downpipe, they would need to create an opening in the door, and it had to be at a considerable height.

The storage room door was an ordinary wooden door, about 4.5 centimeters thick.

Making a hole in it was clearly not an easy task.

It was already late in the day.

The people who had been busy all day were exhausted, especially Chen Mu. The physical labor and mental strain had taken a toll on him, and he had gone to bed early after dinner.

The next day.

Chen Mu, who still got up early, saw that He Ying had already returned from exercising outside the door, even earlier than him.

The sun was already up.

However, there was still a lingering coolness in the air from the night. The airflow was faster near the gap under the door, and the breeze on his face made him instantly awake.

Chen Mu went out to take another look at the position of the rainwater pipe, while He Ying went somewhere for exercise, her clothes slightly damp, and her face seemed to have been washed with water.

"Where did you go?" asked Chen Mu.

"Just across the cement road, I found a dewdrop on a blade of grass and washed my face with it. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring it back. Could you make a water bucket for me next time? I'll fetch some water in the morning and at least let everyone wash their faces," He Ying replied.

"Be careful when you're alone out there. One of our classmates was killed by a centipede near this gate," Chen Mu couldn't help but remind her.

"I'm used to wandering around outside, and besides, I'm very fast. The centipede might not catch up with me," He Ying said with a smile.

"Be careful, okay?" Chen Mu couldn't help but smile at her confident and somewhat boastful demeanor. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked, "By the way, have you ever assessed your abilities?"

"Assessed? What do you mean?"

"Well... for example, how much weight can you reduce yourself to right now?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"Isn't that normal? There's no scale around now, so how would I know how much weight I've lost? I just have this feeling."

"Fair enough, I assumed too much," Chen Mu chuckled.

"Moreover, the limit of weight reduction isn't important to me because it depends on the duration of the effect."

"The more weight you lose, the shorter the duration, right?"

"Yes," He Ying nodded. "The most impressive time was when I jumped directly onto a step."

"Amazing."

Chen Mu couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.

The outdoor steps were about twenty to thirty centimeters high. This kind of jump would be equivalent to the height of seven or eight floors for people of the past.

"What's so amazing?" He Ying was somewhat helpless. "I did jump up, but it completely drained my mental strength, and I fainted right away. It worried my friends below, and it took me over an hour to wake up. Luckily, there were no ants or similar things around; otherwise, that time I might have been carried away."

"How did you get down then?" Chen Mu curiously asked.

"I just jumped down. After becoming lighter, I'm not that afraid of falling from a height."Chen Mu nodded.

After all, with the reduction in size, the impact of falling was significantly reduced, not to mention He Ying's abilities that made it feel almost like legendary lightness skill.

"However, how do you know it's your body that has become lighter and not some other change, like increased leg strength?"

"What are you talking about?"

He Ying glanced at her own thigh, looking somewhat displeased.

Chen Mu couldn't figure out what was wrong with his question, but the other party replied decisively, "I have tried it; I've become lighter."

"How did you test it?"

"I found something to step on, and you'll know when you try it, right?"

"That makes sense." Chen Mu nodded and asked again, "During our last confrontation, how much of your ability did you use?"

"About fifty to sixty percent."

"Even at fifty to sixty percent, your abilities were already so impressive." Chen Mu couldn't help but marvel.

"Of course." He Ying seemed a bit dissatisfied as she continued, "If I hadn't been unfamiliar with your abilities and caught off guard, I might not have lost."

"True, your abilities are well-suited for combat." Chen Mu agreed with a smile.

"Why don't you argue back?" He Ying seemed even more displeased.

"You're right. Why should I argue?"

"How about we have another match then?"

"Is it necessary?" Chen Mu was taken aback.

"Just consider it practice. It'll help us be better prepared if we encounter strong opponents in the future."

Chen Mu pondered for a moment and thought the proposal wasn't bad.

"Right here?"

"Let's go a bit further inside, just in case we encounter centipedes or something."

"Alright."

As they conversed, they walked back indoors and stopped near the newly built water tank from yesterday.

"Here should be fine."

"Sure."

"I'm coming."

After saying this, He Ying twirled her slender sword and thrust it straight towards Chen Mu. Since it was just a practice, her sword was not drawn, so even if she accidentally hit him, it wouldn't cause any harm.

Chen Mu was already prepared, but he was still startled by her speed. He immediately opened his shield, moved forward instead of retreating, and charged towards He Ying.

The distance between the two was only a few body lengths. As their sword and shield clashed, a loud sound rang out.

He Ying had anticipated that Chen Mu would use the shield.

Thinking that he would step back and defend first, waiting for her attack to exhaust her, and then counterattack, she didn't expect Chen Mu to immediately meet her head-on without any hesitation.

If the shield had collided with her, the now feather-light He Ying would undoubtedly have been sent flying.The iron shield slightly obstructed Chen Mu's vision, but he could clearly feel the contact between the shield and her short sword.

But in the next moment, he realized something was wrong.

His shield charge did not have the expected effect.

Originally, Chen Mu thought that even if he couldn't knock her down, he could at least force her to dodge and then counterattack, making his move more effective. However, reality proved otherwise. He Ying used the tip of her sword, still in its sheath, to point it at the shield, and then she gracefully moved backward with the impact of Chen Mu's charge, appearing as light and agile as a dancing butterfly.

By the time Chen Mu noticed this, his charge had reached its end.

He Ying smiled faintly.

Seeing that her opponent's speed had slowed down, she was about to withdraw her sword for another thrust.

But then she realized that Chen Mu's shield had disappeared, replaced by a long stick. Despite the end of his forward momentum, he lowered his body, and the stick swept towards her lower leg.

He Ying remembered the scene from their first encounter and dared not use the same jumping maneuver to evade as before. Instead, she retreated with extreme caution.

Chen Mu's lowered body seemed like a spring, and he suddenly shot forward. Although he was far from matching her speed, the long stick in his hand suddenly extended, heading straight towards her.

In mid-air, He Ying's face changed dramatically.

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