Within the red-walled pavilion, Qian Yuzhe, who was bent over practicing calligraphy, frowned.
"You're a scholar. Why bother with martial arts? Such a brute's craft, what use could it possibly have?"
Sitting nearby, Qian Yuchuan, who had been all smiles, immediately became displeased upon hearing this. "Hey, who are you calling names?"
"Heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so a gentleman should constantly strive to strengthen himself. This applies to learning as much as it does to one's physique. I, Qi, will soon reach the age of twenty. In the future, I must take a wife and sire children. Without a robust physique, if I encounter villains, how will I protect my family? It's not as if I can just pick up a brush, write a scathing essay, and expect that to stop them, can I?"
Having prepared his response the previous night, Qi Xiu calmly stated his reasons when Qian Yuzhe asked.
Big brother, don't you even realize why I'm practicing martial arts? How many people in your family have died already?
After hearing this, Qian Yuzhe nodded. "There's truth in what you say. It's rare for you to have such determination. In that case, I'll have to trouble Second Brother with this."
"I'm grateful for the inconvenience, Second Young Master." Qi Xiu bowed to Qian Yuchuan.
"It's a trivial matter, a trivial matter. How about this: come find me at my private courtyard after class." With a casual wave of his hand, Qian Yuchuan got up, passed Qi Xiu, and muttered softly, "Come over a bit earlier; I have something to discuss with you too."
Qi Xiu was taken aback when he heard this.
"Understood, Second Young Master."
After Qian Yuchuan left, the small pavilion became quiet again.
Qian Yuzhe held the white paper, his expression focused as he meticulously traced the calligraphy strokes according to Qi Xiu's guidance.
The two were silent for a while.
Qi Xiu spoke softly, "Third Young Master, has anything unusual occurred at your esteemed residence recently?"
"Nothing. Why do you suddenly ask?" Qian Yuzhe answered casually while comparing the characters.
Nothing yet? Your family's ghost was still prowling around outside last night. It almost made it to my house.
Rolling his eyes internally, Qi Xiu pursed his lips.
Having witnessed that strange silhouette enter the alley last night, he hadn't slept at all. Yet, as the night passed, nothing seemed to have happened. It was as if what he had seen yesterday was merely an illusion. But the clearly faded "Suppress" Character served as a reminder of the eerie figure's real existence.
Seeing that Qi Xiu asked only one question and then fell silent, Qian Yuzhe's expression subtly changed as he glanced covertly at his calligraphy teacher.
He knows?
The morning passed quickly.
After pointing out several mistakes in Qian Yuzhe's calligraphy and proposing corrections, Qi Xiu excused himself and headed to Qian Yuchuan's private courtyard.
The private courtyards of the two brothers, Qian Yuchuan and Qian Yuzhe, were not close to each other. One was to the south, the other to the north.
After traversing several corridors, walking down a long, stone-paved path, and asking several house servants for directions, Qi Xiu finally found the Second Young Master's private courtyard.
Compared to Qian Yuzhe's quiet and elegant red-walled courtyard, Qian Yuchuan's courtyard seemed much plainer.
Firstly, the courtyard was a full size larger, with white walls and green tiles. There were no rockeries, water pavilions, nor any flowers or trees. The neatly paved stone floor was arrayed with numerous martial arts training implements: stone locks, wooden posts, sabers, swords, and long spears. There were even dozens of plum blossom stakes embedded in the ground.
Just as Qi Xiu stepped into this courtyard, which resembled a martial arts training ground, he heard a series of crisp clattering sounds coming from a rooftop.
Looking up, he saw two figures on the roof of the left side-room, moving with swift agility, leaping like old apes in a forest. With every breath, fists and feet met in a flurry of dull THUDS.
After a vigorous and powerful exchange, the figures tapped lightly with their feet and sprang five or six meters away. In the blink of an eye, enveloped in a fierce gust of wind, they arrived in front of Qi Xiu.
"Hahaha, Mr. Qi, you've come early!" Qian Yuchuan, dressed in tight, short martial attire, his muscles bulging and exuding an intense, oppressive aura, laughed heartily as he spoke.
Such a heavy body, yet he can execute such light and swift movements! The martial arts of this world are truly no mere show.
Having witnessed Qian Yuchuan's movements just then, Qi Xiu was quite shocked. Qian Yuchuan was tall and burly, muscular and robust, weighing at least over two hundred pounds. With such a heavy body, he was yet as nimble as a monkey, effortlessly leaping five or six meters, onto rooftops and back to the ground.
Could this be the legendary... Qinggong?
"Second Young Master." Qi Xiu slightly raised his hand in greeting.
"No need for such formalities. This is my martial sister, Gong Yan. This is my younger brother's calligraphy teacher, Qi Xiu, Mr. Qi."
The person who had just been sparring with Qian Yuchuan was the same woman who had been with him yesterday. Gong Yan was tall, her well-rounded, firm legs drawing the eye. She exuded an imposing aura, entirely different from that of ordinary women.
"Miss Gong, it's an honor."
"Senior Brother, you attend to your matters. I'm going for a walk." Seemingly indifferent to Qi Xiu, Gong Yan raised her hand and left directly.
"Don't mind her. That girl's just got that temper. Aside from us fellow disciples, she looks at everyone with that same dead-fish expression." Laughing, Qian Yuchuan put an arm around Qi Xiu's shoulder and led him into the house.
"You've come at just the right time. I've been wanting to talk to you about something for a while now, but Third Brother kept saying you were busy and wouldn't give me a chance. I've finally managed to catch you today."
Qian Yuchuan's bedroom contained several liquor jars as tall as a person. Upon entering, the strong smell of alcohol was so pungent it made Qi Xiu's nose tingle.
Is this young master part wine cask? How can he drink so much?
Looking at the several huge wine jars, Qi Xiu's eyebrows raised slightly.
Qian Yuchuan, carrying a scroll made from some sort of beast hide from the inner room, excitedly pushed aside the teacups and teapot on the table. He spread out the entire scroll.
"Look at this. Do you recognize the characters written on it?"
Characters? Qi Xiu's gaze fell on the beast-hide scroll. On the deep brown and dark red hide, hundreds of wild cursive characters were written with an extremely unrestrained and flamboyant flair.
This calligraphy style... it's comparable to Monk Huai's!
Almost the moment he saw the characters on the hide, Qi Xiu's eyes were deeply drawn in.
"Frigid Waterfall... Genuine Skill..."
No sooner had he uttered these four words than Qian Yuchuan, as if struck by lightning, suddenly grabbed Qi Xiu's arm and repeatedly asked, "What did you say? Say it again, say it again!"
"HISS!" His arms felt as if they were about to be snapped. Qi Xiu sucked in a sharp breath and cried out in pain.
"Sorry, sorry, I lost my composure." Quickly releasing Qi Xiu, Qian Yuchuan asked cautiously, "Did you just say the words 'genuine skill'?"
Rubbing his sore arm, Qi Xiu nodded. "Yes, these four words, 'Frigid Waterfall Genuine Skill,' are written at the start of this beast-hide scroll."
Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Qian Yuchuan grinned from ear to ear and laughed heartily. "Good, good, good! All the hard work this time wasn't in vain!"
After laughing heartily, Qian Yuchuan rolled up the beast-hide scroll from the table and took it back into the inner room. He came out holding a stack of booklets with yellowing edges and cracked pages.
"I really owe you one this time. These are some relatively basic martial arts manuals, perfect for strengthening your muscles and bones. Take them back and look through them. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to come and ask me anytime."
Stuffing the booklets into Qi Xiu's arms, Qian Yuchuan spoke generously.
"Swallow Flight"
"Sun Observing Spirit Enhancement Skill"
"Black Sand Palm"
Receiving these three secret manuals so easily left Qi Xiu momentarily stunned.
He's giving all of these to me? That beast-hide scroll from before... Frigid Waterfall Genuine Skill... must also be a martial arts manual. Judging by the Second Young Master's reaction, it's probably a high-level one at that.
After generously gifting the manuals, Qian Yuchuan then jovially saw Qi Xiu out of the courtyard.
After watching the scholar disappear at the end of the lane, the open and hearty smile on the Qian Family's Second Young Master's face slowly faded.
"Senior Brother just gave him three secret manuals like that?" Gong Yan emerged from behind a nearby rockery, staring in the direction Qi Xiu had left.
"They're just a few third-rate manuals. At most, practicing them to the peak will only get him to Tempering Power, and that would take a dozen years or so of effort. This kid is still useful to us. Give him a little something sweet, and he'll be easier to handle later," Qian Yuchuan said emotionlessly.
"I don't know if it's my imagination, but I always feel there's a particularly repulsive air about that frail scholar." Pressing her vivid red lips together, Gong Yan felt a pair of large hands encircle her slender and powerful waist.
"No matter. Once this is over, we'll just kill him."
"Mmm."
「At the Qi Family's small courtyard.」
Resting his chin on his hands, Qi Xiu eyed the three secret manuals on the table, his gaze flickering, his mind elsewhere.
He had already obtained the materials to practice martial arts. Yet at this moment, his thoughts weren't on them at all.
Qian Yuchuan's beast-hide scroll must be something very precious. And judging by his secretive behavior, plus how he hurriedly sent me away afterward... That item... it's probably something that can't see the light of day. TSK. Although I helped him identify the characters on the scroll, I now also know this secret. Could it... bring trouble upon myself...?
His brows slowly knitted. As a poor scholar with no real power, being caught up in such a secret affair made Qi Xiu feel a surge of unease.
His gaze returned to the three secret manuals in front of him.
I absolutely must get started on practicing martial arts. Previously, I was plagued by poverty. Now that I'm finally a bit better off, I've gotten mixed up in this messy business. This feeling of being at the mercy of others is truly awful.
Heaving a short sigh, Qi Xiu briefly flipped through the three secret manuals. They didn't contain much content; each was only about twenty to thirty pages.
"`Swallow Flight` is a movement technique, characterized by bold and sweeping maneuvers. It excels in dodging and leaping and allows for continuous changes in direction and posture within a small area."
"`Black Sand Palm` is an external cultivation technique for training the hands. Mastered to its peak, one can shatter bricks and crush stones, possessing astonishing palm power."
"As for the last one, `Sun Observing Spirit Enhancement Skill`, it was rather peculiar. Practicing this Cultivation Technique required one to gaze directly at Taiyang at dawn and noon each day. With the aid of secret elixirs, one would absorb the vital essence of Taiyang through the eyes to strengthen one's spirit. It could significantly improve eyesight; at its peak, one could even harm opponents with their gaze."
The first two are relatively normal, but this last one is quite outlandish, isn't it? Staring at Taiyang every day to train eyesight? He'd be lucky not to go blind.
Having roughly understood the contents of the three secret manuals, Qi Xiu planned to start practicing them the next day.
I can put calligraphy aside for now. Through sporadic practice recently, my proficiency has reached 75%. However, to break through to the Second Realm, even with focused effort, it would likely take half a month. Besides, even if my calligraphy breaks through to the Second Realm, it won't provide any direct combat strength. For now, I'll focus primarily on martial arts. At least, I'll have some means of self-protection.