[Added cultivation technique: Copper Bone Skill.]
Chen Yi obtained the cultivation technique from Li Baihu and immediately infused ten years of True Qi into it.
[You have newly acquired Copper Bone Skill and began cultivating it instantly.]
[Over three years, you focused on toughening your skin and refining your tendons and bones. Both methods are forms of hard training, requiring exposure to the elements and relentless day-and-night practice.]
[After five years, your daily effort gradually bore minor achievements.]
[Ten years have passed. Not only have you tempered your skin and strengthened your bones, but you've also progressed to organ refinement and marrow cleansing. However, this cultivation technique is not top-tier and can go no further. Your Copper Bone Skill has been mastered. Even without armor, your body possesses a steel-like resilience, rendering ordinary metals incapable of piercing your flesh.]
[Copper Bone Skill (Skilled Practitioner)]
[Remaining True Qi: Forty years.]
"It seems the limits of Copper Bone Skill are reached here."
Chen Yi didn't harbor strong expectations for this cultivation technique.
As a defensive method easily obtained during early periods, its grade was inherently limited, merely a mid-tier technique.
Still, despite its limitations, the practical utility of Copper Bone Skill remained significant.
Against ordinary martial artists, as long as he avoided attacks to vulnerable areas such as the neck, the technique could be cleverly utilized to shatter the opponent's weapons with his iron-like physique.
Now then…
Chen Yi turned around and glanced at the sundial in the West Factory practice grounds. It was now the hour of Si—roughly nine o'clock in the morning.
"Judging by the time, Min Ning should be planning to visit her sister in about half an hour."
As a second-playthrough player, Chen Yi had thoroughly studied the movements of various characters, especially the plot trajectories of the female leads.
The considerable time spent observing and deducing during the game was now proving useful.
"In that case… I should go meet Min Ming before she arrives."
.........…
Baihua Building, located in the northern district of the Great Yu capital city, was connected to other areas via lakes and waterways. It was mostly home to restaurants, teahouses, and entertainment venues. During the Lantern Festival, the river would be brimming with decorated boats, and the air would be filled with music and celebration.
However, it was currently late autumn, and morning hours meant fewer pedestrians on the roads.
Dressed in official robes, Chen Yi strolled into Baihua Building. A madam promptly recognized him, approached, and asked:
"Chen Baihu, are you here to listen to music? But at this hour of the day… few of the girls are awake."
Chen Yi asked with a meaningful tone:
"Is Min Ming awake?"
The madam, failing to pick up on the implication, thought for a moment and nodded slightly before replying:
"Alright, I'll inform Min Ming. Please wait in the hall for now."
Sitting in the hall, where staff naturally delivered tea, Chen Yi didn't drink but instead reflected on Min Ming and the forces she was aligned with.
Baihua Building was founded by Li Jisheng, a silk merchant from the southern regions. His enterprises flourished with notable wealth, partly due to connections with influential officials in the weaving bureau.
Li Jisheng maintained a low profile after arriving in the capital city, traveling discreetly without using carriages, rarely personally visiting his establishments, and appearing to manage them passively. In truth, he was secretly running an intelligence network across the city for a certain organization.
Chen Yi was well aware of this organization—Wuyong Building. Named after the profound concept "a hidden dragon should not be used," many arrangements in the capital were deeply entangled with this network.
Min Ming, meanwhile, was one of Wuyong Building's key agents planted in Baihua Building.
Before long, the madam hurriedly descended the stairs, visibly flustered, and spoke:
"Chen Baihu, Min Ming was drinking heavily last night, and she's indisposed this morning. To avoid spoiling your enjoyment, I fear…"
Chen Yi sneered coldly:
"She refuses to see me?"
The madam's complexion paled, taken aback by Chen Yi's bluntness.
"Then pass her a message for me."
The madam asked hesitantly:
"What message?"
Chen Yi replied:
"Min Ming, you wouldn't want Min Ning to resign and return home, would you?"
......…
Ascending the mahogany stairs, Chen Yi arrived at the second floor, entering an inner chamber as he had planned.
Inside, a woman dressed in a green skirt sat holding a jade zither, her fair hands gently stroking the instrument. Her ample chest stretched the fabric of her clothing slightly, exuding a captivating allure.
"Min Ming, you've finally decided to see me?"
Chen Yi casually sat cross-legged and gazed aside.
[Negative Emotion: 60]
Over the past couple of days, her feelings seemed to have settled somewhat.
"Baihu Sir… what is your intention?"
Min Ming's voice was chilly, her liquid-like eyes fluctuating between clarity and darkness.
"Why trouble a helpless, dependent woman like me?"
Burning with resentment from their previous encounter, she loathed this man—for seizing her True Qi using a secret technique, publicly humiliating her beauty and dignity, then resorting to threats involving Min Ning to force this meeting. As the pieces fell into place, Min Ming couldn't help but feel anxious and restless.
"You're no more drunk than I am, Min Ming.
In this brothel, anyone might be found intoxicated, but not you."
Chen Yi remarked while smiling.
Min Ming composed herself slightly, asking:
"Baihu Sir, what do you wish to discuss?"
Chen Yi uttered three words:
"Wuyong Building."
Min Ming froze abruptly, her hands ceasing their movement on the zither. Her fingertips stiffened, her chest heaving noticeably beneath her garments.
"You are…"
Before Min Ming could finish, Chen Yi smirked and interrupted:
"Don't ask me how I know.
The West Factory always knows things others wish to keep hidden."
Min Ming's face turned grim, her fingers grasping the zither strings tightly, her thoughts unsettled.
Her gaze flickered with traces of killing intent. Baihua Building, as a Wuyong Building asset, harbored more than one spy and numerous skilled combatants. If she cried for help, this West Factory Baihu, no matter his martial arts prowess, could not withstand their collective onslaught.
Suddenly, a faint sound stirred outside the door.
"Min Qianhu, your sister is still entertaining guests; don't go upstairs!"
Hearing the madam's voice, Min Ming's pupils contracted, the murderous aura in her eyes vanishing instantly.
Chen Yi heard it too.
But he didn't just hear.
He also knew… Min Ning had a particular weakness.
"Baihu Sir, surely you didn't come here without any specific demands?"
Min Ming, uncertain of Chen Yi's intentions, spoke softly.
Chen Yi didn't immediately reply directly. Instead, he shared seemingly irrelevant details:
"Min Ning, styled Yue Chi, took her father's place in service. At fifteen years old, she joined the Jinyi Guards, later being transferred to the West Factory. After five years of tireless effort, she rose from a mere flagbearer to inherit a Qianhu position.
She has a penchant for chivalry and justice, which has made her the subject of ostracism among the West and East Factory agents. Yet her unwavering integrity keeps her standing firm.
Her solitary flaw is having a spy for a sister."
The more Chen Yi spoke, the more unsettled Min Ming became. She maintained a façade of calm, though her tightly gripping fingers left red marks on the zither strings.
"Tell me, if this matter were to reach the Eastern Factory, could Min Qianhu remain in her post within the two factories and one guard unit?"
Chen Yi asked in a sincere tone.
Min Ming shuddered.
As a spy, she was painfully aware of the nature of people within the Eastern Factory.
"What… exactly is it you want?"
Her trembling voice betrayed her distress as she clung desperately to the broken strings:
"Since Baihu has no romantic interest in me, then what, pray tell, is Baihu seeking?"
Chen Yi's voice remained calm, his face graced with a gentle smile, as he asked:
"Min Ming,
would you agree to become my concubine?"
Snap.
The zither strings broke under her grip.
And outside the door, Chen Yi faintly heard the sound of knuckles cracking and tightening.
Chen Yi couldn't resist chuckling and shook his head.
Min Ning, oh Min Ning…
Your fatal flaw,
is being prone to eavesdropping and letting your emotions disrupt your judgment.