novelapdf Chapter 21 If it can't be avoided, then don't avoid it.
Chapter 21 If it can't be avoided, then don't avoid it.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Lingxi stood at the entrance of the West Courtyard Martial Arts Hall. The morning light slid down from the roof ridge on the east side and fell on the bluestone steps, casting a thin layer of warm yellow light.
He didn't rush in; he just stood at the foot of the steps, waiting for the gatekeeper to go in and announce his arrival.
Two days is neither a long nor a short time.
He had mastered the art of concealing his strength, and the azure energy in his dantian was wrapped in an extremely thin barrier, with not a trace of energy leaking out.
His mastery of the Azure Edge Technique has also improved. Now, each activation consumes about 10% less spiritual energy than when he first learned it, while the azure light at his fingertips has become much more solid.
However, the spiritual energy recovers slowly; after a night of breathing exercises, it can only recover about 50%.
Before long, an old man with gray hair came out of the martial arts hall.
The old man had a hunched back and a serious expression.
He raised his eyelids and glanced at Chen Lingxi, his eyes cloudy. He said nothing, just waved to him, and then turned and walked into the hallway.
Chen Lingxi followed.
The martial arts hall remained unchanged, with seven or eight young disciples practicing their boxing, shouts rising and falling, and the wind from their punches stirring up dust.
As Chen Lingxi walked through the corridor, the sounds of fists gradually subsided.
Some people put down their boxing stances, wiped the sweat from their necks with a towel, but their eyes remained fixed on his retreating figure.
Someone nudged their companion with their elbow and gestured with their chin in his direction.
Some people even stopped what they were doing, crossed their arms, leaned against the pillars, and wore an undisguised sneer on their lips.
Chen Lingxi recognized all those gazes.
That day, Jiang Yuan examined Zheng Qingya's bones in front of everyone and said that his bone structure was far superior to that of everyone else in the courtyard. These disciples of the West Courtyard remembered him. Later, he heard from others that Zheng Qingya had been depressed about this for many days, practicing his boxing for an hour longer than others every day, as if he was holding back something to prove something.
"Is it because my mere servant's natural talent surpasses that of Zheng Qingya, the most outstanding student at the Martial Arts Academy, that they are not convinced?"
Chen Lingxi ignored those gazes.
Two days ago, he might have glanced at him sideways.
But now he only felt that these provocations were like watching someone throw a punch through a layer of fog, hazy and indistinct, and even the sound could not be clearly heard.
He had seen Lin Suri manipulate clouds and mist, and Lu Baizhong ride the thunder.
Having witnessed such beings, when I look at these young men shouting and struggling for their lives on the battlefield, I realize that they, like myself, are nothing more than frogs in a well.
The only difference was that he at least caught a glimpse of the light from the well opening, so he no longer held a grudge against them.
"I wonder how effective that medicinal bath will be."
Chen Lingxi came here precisely for the monthly medicinal bath that Lin Longyue had promised.
The medicinal bath room is located at the deepest part of the martial arts hall.
The room was small, with walls made of bluestone and a moisture-proof wooden lattice floor. In the center of the room stood a half-person-high cypress bathtub.
The bottom of the bucket was lined with a layer of fine linen cloth, on which were laid many kinds of medicinal herbs, which Chen Lingxi could not identify.
A small charcoal stove sat beneath the bathtub, its flames blazing, causing the medicinal soup inside to bubble and fizz.
The heat rose up, enveloping the entire room in a thick medicinal mist.
Without uttering a single unnecessary word, the old man pointed to the bath tub: "Get in, close your eyes and rest, use your qi and blood to guide the medicinal power throughout your body, and soak for an hour."
After saying that, without waiting for Chen Lingxi's reply, he hunched over and went out the door, closing the door behind him.
Chen Ling washed off her clothes and stepped into the bathtub through the wooden lattice.
He slowly sank his body down, rested the back of his head on the edge of the bucket, and closed his eyes.
The medicine penetrates extremely quickly!
A warm sensation spread from the soles of my feet all the way to the top of my head.
The fascia and muscles gradually softened, and it felt as if a warm current was slowly flowing through the bone marrow cavity.
Chen Lingxi used the Qi and blood circulation method of the Seven Forms of Ceasefire to guide the medicinal power to circulate throughout her body.
My blood and qi were already stronger than they were two days ago, and now, stimulated by the medicine, they circulated even faster, like a stream filled with spring rain, gurgling through my meridians.
"And it worked wonders again."
Chen Ling could feel his skin tightening, his muscles and bones getting slightly hot, and even his internal organs feeling like they were soaking in a pool of warm water, so comfortable that he almost groaned out loud.
Half an hour passed.
"what?"
Chen Lingxi suddenly opened her eyes: "The spiritual energy in my dantian seems to have changed as well?"
He could clearly sense the serpentine spiritual energy in his dantian trembling slightly.
With each tremor, a tiny wisp of spiritual energy was separated from the medicinal soup, seeping into the meridians through the pores of the body, and then flowing into the dantian, merging into that spiritual energy!
The spiritual energy has grown stronger!
Although it was extremely subtle, he was very sensitive to it because he refined his spiritual energy through breathing exercises every day.
"Just as I expected!"
He was secretly delighted.
"Since I ascended to the second floor of the Qi Circulation Platform, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that I draw in through breathing exercises has become increasingly insufficient. Even after breathing exercises every day and every night, the increase in spiritual energy is negligible."
"I never imagined that this medicinal bath could also enhance spiritual energy!"
He was surprised, but then he realized it wasn't strange at all.
Medicinal herbs are the essence of heaven and earth, exposed to the sun and rain, with roots rooted in the soil and leaves covered in dew; they are born from the gathering of spiritual energy.
It's not surprising that it contains a trace of spiritual energy.
"If I could soak in medicinal baths every day, wouldn't my Qi cultivation level increase even faster?"
He felt a surge of excitement, but then his brows furrowed again.
A single dose of a highly effective medicinal bath could easily cost several taels, or even ten taels, of silver.
Although he now receives a monthly allowance of ten taels, it would be a pipe dream to expect him to soak in it every day.
Let alone every day, even if he only went once every ten days, it would still cost several hundred taels of silver a year. His monthly allowance wasn't even enough to fill a gap between his teeth.
Moreover, if medicinal baths are this expensive, how much more expensive must real qi and blood elixirs and rare natural ingredients be?
He shook his head slightly, not wanting to think about it further: "We'll make other plans later. For now, let's focus on absorbing the medicinal power."
Another half hour passed, and the color of the medicinal soup gradually changed from dark brown to light brown, and the water temperature slowly cooled down.
Chen Lingxi stood up from the bathtub, dried herself, and put on her clothes.
He moved his limbs and felt that his joints were much more flexible, his skin was firm and warm, and his muscles contained an indescribable lightness and strength.
The spiritual energy in his dantian was also slightly thicker than before the bath, roughly equivalent to the effect of seven or eight days of daily breathing exercises.
He pushed open the door and went out. The old man was still in the hallway, wiping the dust off a row of sandbags with a burlap sack.
When Chen Ling came out of the shower, he only glanced at her without saying a word.
Chen Lingxi cupped his hands in greeting to him, then walked through the covered walkway and headed outside.
When the young martial arts practitioners in the corridor saw him come out, their eyes turned to him again.
Someone gestured at him with their lip, and someone whispered something, which made the people around him laugh.
Chen Lingxi continued walking without stopping, heading straight out of the martial arts hall.
Back in his room, he took out the ten taels of silver and placed it on the table, looking at it for a long time.
The broken silver glittered softly under the lamplight.
"It seems that cultivating qi and blood, and cultivating spiritual energy, are all inseparable from this silver."
He thought to himself that now that he had the Concealing Edge Technique, he could conceal his spiritual energy and blood.
"He may be hiding his value, but if he doesn't show it to Lin Longyue, he will be trapped in this small courtyard, using flower arranging as an excuse, but in reality, he will be unable to move an inch."
Even buying medicine outside the manor requires the steward's approval, let alone anything else.
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered Lin Longyue's words: "Do the things I asked you to do well, prove your worth, and put your other thoughts aside for now."
Only by demonstrating value can one be qualified.
He collected his thoughts, stopped thinking about it, got up and went to the courtyard to continue practicing the Green Edge Technique.
Under the moonlight, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and spiritual energy emerged from his dantian, flowing along the meridians of his right arm, compressing, condensing, and finally bursting out from his fingertips.
A bluish-green, sharp light shot out, slicing through the night wind with a hissing sound.
The green blade danced on the fingertip for a few breaths before slowly dissipating.
He urged him to do it again.
Nearly half of the spiritual energy in his dantian was consumed, but the azure light at his fingertips was even more solid than before.
He slowly closed his five fingers, dispelling the remaining glimmer of light, his eyes reflecting the moonlight, clear and serene.
Two days later, another massacre is about to occur.
We cannot slack off.
-
March 10th!
Chen Lingxi wore two identical indigo outfits, one inside the other. He pushed open the door to the side room, and the spring breeze, carrying willow catkins, blew all over his face.
The sky was a hazy blue, with low-hanging clouds. The willows on the street corner were covered with new leaves, their tender yellow tinged with green. When the wind blew, they rustled off the morning dew that covered their branches.
Chen Lingxi walked out of the side gate, and the alley outside was deserted.
He didn't walk towards the river.
After leaving the mansion, Chen Ling washed away the three-arched stone bridge, but he wouldn't go there today.
He turned onto another road.
Willow Street Lane.
The alley was called Willow Street, but now there is only one willow tree left, and two rows of crooked mud-brick houses with peeling paint that looks like they have scabies.
At the entrance of the alley, there was a pile of garbage half a person high, with rotten vegetable leaves, rags, and broken pottery shards mixed together. After being soaked by rain for several days, it emitted a sour and rotten smell.
Several greenbottle flies buzzed around.
Chen Lingxi gently placed a short indigo coat that she had taken off long ago aside and walked very quietly.
The soles of my shoes crunched softly on the broken tiles, the sound drowned out by the wind in the alley.
He walked close to the wall, his shadow stretched very faintly by the dim light of the sky.
As he approached the end of the alley, he heard a sound.
It's a conversation between two people.
One of them spoke in a rough, impatient voice.
"You're getting more and more disgusting, doing such things again."
Those women were only bought to clean and cook, yet you insisted on abusing and torturing them. Yesterday you beat one to death; of the three you bought, not one is left."
The other person had a higher-pitched voice and chuckled twice.
"Third brother, you don't understand. Those refugees are no longer considered human. My parents were sold here, and I paid the money, so they are mine. What's mine is mine to do as I please."
So what if it's dead? We can just buy another one tomorrow.
Anyway, those who practice martial arts always need someone to take care of their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
The third brother was silent for a moment, then seemed to spit out a mouthful of saliva.
"Don't let Consul Wang Kong see you. His parents were refugees. If you offend him, you'll be in deep trouble."
The sharp voice paused, then spoke again with a hint of disdain.
"Okay, okay, Third Brother, don't always use Consul Wang to pressure me. Besides, Consul Wang also likes flowers, doesn't he?"
The third brother said no more, but peeked out and looked towards the alley entrance.
"It's almost time, why haven't the Marquis's servants arrived yet?"
Before the words were finished, the sound of wind breaking abruptly arose.
Chen Lingxi leaped out from behind a half-collapsed earthen wall!
He leaped up!
The spring breeze blew into his sleeves, making them flutter loudly.
Before coming to Willow Street, he had thought a lot.
Having lain dormant in the Marquis's residence for over a year, he has come today with a firm resolve to kill!
Wang Kong wants to capture him today, and Zhao Yong wants to capture him too. Now that these two are guarding this place, they are the first obstacle.
Since we can't avoid it, then we won't avoid it!