For the next few days, Chen Yi continued to wake up bright and early, only to find all sorts of excuses to avoid his training.
Either he wasn't feeling well, wasn't in the mood, or had caught a slight cold.
It got to the point that even a straightforward man like Wang Lixing could see through his scheme. 'It's not that the Young Master-in-law has a problem, he just doesn't want to practice Martial Arts at all.'
There was nothing he could do.
After all, Wang Lixing was merely a Personal Guard in the Xiao Mansion. A live-in son-in-law like Chen Yi still outranked him. Besides, even if he didn't care about Chen Yi, he had to consider the Second Miss; otherwise, he'd have a hard time answering to her.
Left with no choice, he reported Chen Yi's behavior truthfully to Xiao Xuanshuo.
"Hmph. If he doesn't want to train, let him. The Xiao Family hasn't fallen so far that we need to rely on a live-in son-in-law who tried to run away from his own wedding to be our pillar!"
After receiving this reply, Wang Lixing no longer concerned himself with Chen Yi's Pile Skill training. He continued to wake Chen Yi up around two in the morning each day, but would leave Spring Lotus Garden before three, shaking his head with a sigh.
Naturally, Chen Yi was pleased to see this change.
However, every day after Wang Lixing left,
Chen Yi would continue to practice his Pile Skill in the bamboo forest for another two hours.
It took him five days for his Big Spear Pile Skill to break through to the Skilled Level. Along with it, his cultivation broke through the limits of a mortal body, reaching the Ninth Grade Realm:
Name: Chen Yi
Cultivation: Lower Ninth Grade
Calligraphy Dao: Great Success (0/1000)
Calligraphy: Wei Qing (Mastery)
Martial Arts·Body: Minor Success (0/100)
Cultivation Technique: Big Spear Pile Skill (Skilled)
Opportunity: 7
For every two hours Chen Yi practiced the [Big Spear Pile Skill] at the Proficient Level, his body would be enhanced from the outside in.
With each cultivation session, his tendons, bones, skin, and internal organs felt as if they were being struck by a hammer countless times, growing progressively stronger.
The most noticeable results were his increased strength and the new lightness in his body.
Even though Chen Yi hadn't tested it, in terms of raw power alone, he estimated he had already reached the strength of one bull, which was about 220 pounds.
According to the Profound Mysteries he comprehended from "Martial Arts·Body," physical strength was measured in "Power" and divided into three tiers: Bull, Elephant, and Dragon.
Each tier was progressively harder to achieve than the last.
Although Chen Yi had now reached the "strength of one bull," breaking through to Elephant Power required an indispensable combination of a suitable cultivation technique, innate talent, and sufficient food and medicinal resources.
'Under normal circumstances, practicing the [Big Spear Pile Skill] to an advanced stage allows one to reach the Elephant Power tier. At that point, the focus of cultivation shifts to the 'Qi Mechanism' until four Main Meridians are opened.'
'But if I can upgrade 'Martial Arts·Body' to Great Success, I'll be able to patch the flaws in the Pile Skill, just like how reaching the Great Success Realm in the Calligraphy Dao patched the flaws in the Wei Qing script.'
As he thought about this, Chen Yi checked his daily intelligence report:
[Yellow-level Top Grade: In the central courtyard of the Duke Dingyuan Xiao Family's mansion, a Hidden Guard's secret message is being passed within a flowerbed outside the Martial Arts Arena. A miniscule amount of Opportunity may be obtained.]
[Opportunity +1. Assessment: The person has yet to arrive, but the secret message has already been sent. One who is by nature fond of an easy life will surely be punished.]
After reading it, Chen Yi curled his lip.
Over the past two months, he had gotten a pretty good handle on the "Daily Intelligence's" typical bullshit.
For the first few dozen days, it had called him "indolent." After his trip to Jiaxing Garden, it labeled him a "pervert." Now that belittling him wasn't working, it had resorted to cursing him.
However, compared to the usual reports of arguments, fights, and elopements, today's intelligence actually caught his attention.
'A secret message from a Hidden Guard... Sounds like there's a spy hidden in the Xiao Family?'
Chen Yi had never heard of the "Hidden Guards," so he could only speculate based on common sense.
They were either spies from a nation neighboring the Wei Dynasty, or an enemy force with designs on the Xiao Family.
Beyond that, combining the memories in his mind with the "will surely be punished" assessment, another possibility surfaced in Chen Yi's thoughts:
'Could it be the same people who used those strange and devious methods to make me try and flee the wedding?'
If that was the case, they were truly relentless.
Chen Yi had originally thought he would be safe within the Xiao Family, since his "accident" on the wedding day had happened on the road from the inn to the Marquis's Mansion.
But now it seemed there were people with sinister intentions hidden within the Xiao Family as well.
What Chen Yi was more curious about, however, was whose path he had actually crossed to be targeted so relentlessly.
A rival for Xiao Jinghong's affection?
'Probably not. The Xiao Family was obviously looking for a live-in son-in-law. Anyone with a shred of ambition would never agree to that.'
An enemy nation, like the Barbarian Race or the Buddha Country to the west?
'That didn't make sense either. I'm just a small fry. Killing me would only make the Xiao Family lose face, which is hardly a devastating blow.'
After thinking it through, only one possibility remained—people within the Wei Dynasty who coveted the Xiao Family's power and position.
'If their plot had succeeded, I would have fled the marriage and then been killed, leaving no evidence. The Xiao Family's reputation would have been dragged through the mud.'
'And something like 'reputation' is useless in a war between nations. The only place it can be weaponized is within the Great Wei Imperial Court.'
'Countless lessons from history have taught me that the favorite trick of those Civil Servants is to seize on a minor issue and blow it way out of proportion. They can turn a crack the size of a sesame seed into a gaping hole.'
'These Hidden Guards… they could be Death Warriors raised by one of the great families.'
As he thought this, Chen Yi baited his hook and casually cast the line into the pond, a hint of ruthlessness flashing across his face.
'I'm already keeping such a low profile. If those people still won't let it go, they're going too far.'
He was still under house arrest this time, so he'd let this opportunity slide. But if he saw another secret message like this, he was determined to go and investigate, no matter what.
"Young Master, Young Master! You have a letter! It's from the Second Miss!"
Just then, Xiaodie came running in from outside with a joyful expression and placed the letter in her hand on the table.
Chen Yi set his simple fishing rod aside, wiped his hands, and walked over to pick up the letters. "Two of them?" he asked, glancing at them.
Xiaodie nodded. "One is from Jiangnan Prefecture. It looks like it's from your family, Young Master…"
Before she could finish, Xiaodie clapped both hands over her mouth.
She knew how the people of the Chen Family had treated her young master and was worried she would upset him by saying more.
Chen Yi just grunted, tearing open the letter from Jiangnan Prefecture. His brow furrowed slightly as he scanned it.
The signature on the letter was none other than that of his father Chen Xuanji's first wife, his nominal "mother," the matriarch of the Chen Family, Cui Yu.
[My son, Chen Yi: In this letter, I, as your mother, have but two things to tell you.
First, your brother Yunfan has achieved the highest honors in the imperial examination and will soon be heading to Shu State to take up an official post. He should visit you at the Xiao Family's home at that time.
Second, your father recently sent a letter from the Buddha Country, ordering you to behave yourself at the Xiao Family. I, too, hope that you will settle down and live quietly there. There is no need to speak of the imperial examinations again.
After all, the Xiao Family is not like the Chen Family….]
After reading the letter, Chen Yi's brow furrowed even tighter. "Cui Yu?"
The letter's contents seemed like casual family chatter, but every line dripped with a bizarre, condescending arrogance.
But he had already become a live-in son-in-law of the Xiao Family. Was it really necessary for her to keep hounding him like this?
She just had to write this letter to antagonize him.
'If my predecessor had seen this letter, he probably would have died of sheer anger at Cui Yu.'
'Good thing it's me. I won't stoop to your level. It would be best if we never saw or heard from each other again.'
Chen Yi then opened the second letter and began to read. As he did, his furrowed brow relaxed.
[Jinghong has heard of my husband's recent conduct at home. The punishment for attempting to flee the wedding is hereby lifted.
Additionally, Jinghong is still occupied with military affairs, and my return date is uncertain.
Do not worry about me.]
A smile spread across Chen Yi's face. He looked over at Xiaodie, who was dying to peek but remained obediently in her spot, and announced:
"As of today, your Young Master is no longer under house arrest!"
Comparisons really put things in perspective.
Compared to the passive-aggressive tone of the Chen Family's matriarch, his wife Xiao Jinghong's letter sounded far more calm and respectful.
'I wonder what military affairs she's referring to. I haven't heard of any recent wars, so it's probably just inspecting troops and overseeing their training.'