Untimely Death

"Aw, but it's so boring. I don't understand any of the business stuff when I eat with a bunch of old men, and I have to follow all those rules of etiquette at the table. I can't even eat my fill. It's no fun at all," Hongdou said, tugging at the waist of her dress and pouting. "These clothes are so uncomfortable, and my bra feels so stuffy. I want to wear pajamas and go whooshing around like the wind-"

"Your bra feels tight because your breasts have grown again. You need a bigger size. You didn't realize it because you haven't worn one in so long." Auntie Liu sighed at her reluctant expression. "Let's each take a step back. Be good and wear the dress to the party, and once we're there, you can do whatever you like. Leave all the negotiating to me. Just think of it as going out for a buffet."

Hongdou thought about it seriously. "I see... All right, but just this once."

"I promise, just this once this year." Auntie Liu had chosen her words carefully.

Hongdou clearly didn't notice the trap in her words. She happily took the dress and was about to change into it on the spot when Si Ming hurried back to his room. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, Auntie Liu's gaze would carve the character for "early" into his forehead.

Without a doubt, Auntie Liu considered Hongdou the first kind of person. Even Si Ming had heard that Hongdou had won a major international award. It was said that among the painters' disciples in America, quite a few highly respected masters wanted to take her as their pupil and poach her, but the Mohist School had firmly blocked them.

Although Hongdou seemed silly and as lacking in common sense as an elementary school student, she was a genuine genius. That was why Auntie Liu was willing to put effort into coaxing her without the slightest impatience. Her attitude toward Si Ming was as different as heaven and earth.

Talent was everything. That was Auntie Liu's guiding principle.

Si Ming had no intention of judging anyone else's beliefs. He strode up to the rooftop terrace, took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts, then unleashed the impulse he had suppressed for so long.

The images in his memory surfaced, and every movement Yan Jinghong had made appeared vividly before his eyes. Si Ming copied what he had seen, his body moving naturally in imitation.

On his first run through the practice, Si Ming was still somewhat unpracticed. He inevitably paused between moves, leaving obvious openings, but every move and stance was perfectly executed, almost as if he had traced the images in his memory, merely replacing Yan Jinghong with himself.

But on his second run, his moves became exceptionally smooth, as though he had practiced the Hundred Birds Frolics hundreds upon hundreds of times and knew it by heart. His breathing also grew rapid, as though he really had expended a great deal of physical strength.

By the third run, Si Ming's movements flowed like clouds and water. The figure of Yan Jinghong in his mind had already been replaced by his own. He no longer adhered rigidly to the forms, instead adjusting them to suit his own abilities and physical qualities. The entire Hundred Birds Frolics became better suited to him, as though it had been created especially for him.

The body-tempering effects of the Hundred Birds Frolics appeared at once. Si Ming's body grew noticeably lighter, and his steps became swift and light, as though he had sprouted a pair of wings and become a birdman, offsetting some of Earth's gravity. But soon, copious sweat seeped from his skin, leaving him looking as though he had been pulled from a pot of soup.

Pressing on into the fourth run, Si Ming's extraordinary progress continued unabated. His movements became rounded and powerful, his force released and reined in at will, alternating between overt and hidden, his form and intent reaching a wondrous level. Moreover, each time he completed a move, his body let out a bird's cry.

The sounds were so faint that one had to listen closely to hear them. They came from the vibration of the bones throughout his body, and different moves produced different birdsongs.

Sinews and bones rang in unison: Hundred Birds Spiritual Sounds!

This was a phenomenon that appeared only when the Hundred Birds Frolics had been brought to perfection. Without painstaking effort, an ordinary person would never reach such a level in a lifetime. Even for someone who practiced diligently day and night without cease, producing seven or eight different birdsongs was considered good. Yet Si Ming's body kept resonating and sounding without interruption. Every time he completed nine variations, a new birdsong invariably emerged, until all thirty-six had sounded.

If Yan Jinghong had seen this, his jaw might well have dropped, for he could produce only thirty birdsongs himself. Although his realm and cultivation far surpassed Si Ming's, some things had nothing to do with strength and depended solely on talent. Moreover, Yan Jinghong had learned his thirty birdsongs one by one through years of cultivation; they had not all appeared in one go.

Si Ming's case was unheard of. Not even the creator of the Hundred Birds Frolics had been capable of it.

After the fourth run, Si Ming's skin turned bright red. Great waves of heat escaped from his pores, gathering into a white mist, and his entire body had grown thinner. His already lean frame was now reduced to skin and bones, but his consciousness was immersed in the martial intent of the fist, and he remained completely unaware of the changes to his body.

The highest realm of the Hundred Birds Frolics was Hundred Birds Fall Silent, when the body no longer made a sound and vibrations remained entirely within it. Yan Jinghong had reached that realm through more than twenty years of diligent practice.

Just as Si Ming was about to begin his fifth run and enter the realm of Hundred Birds Fall Silent, his vision suddenly went black, and he collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Chapter 5: Untimely Death

Si Ming slowly opened his eyes. Looking up at the ceiling of his room, he once again felt dizzy and unable to control his body.

"Good thing it's not the ceiling of the infirmary. Otherwise, I'd have to wonder if I was about to start a life in another world from zero."

"You can still talk nonsense, so it looks like you're all right."

Yao Bilian sat in a chair beside him, her legs crossed and clad in black stockings. Their curves were especially alluring, and looking inward along the gap between them, the short skirt covering her ample backside invited even more flights of fancy, making one wonder whether a deep, boundless universe lay hidden beneath it.

Normally, Si Ming would have sneaked a few glances while pretending to be serious. Now, however, he felt no desire whatsoever. It was as though he had entered a sage's state, his heart a still lake without a ripple.

"What happened to me?"

"Obviously, you depleted your vital essence. You overdid your martial arts training. Your body was weaker than most people's to begin with. Once you used up too much energy training, your body's vital Qi couldn't keep up, so naturally you ended up like this. But what martial art did you practice? You looked fine yesterday, and you've lost so much weight in just one day. You haven't been practicing some evil art, have you?"

A trace of worry colored Yao Bilian's voice. She knew Si Ming had always been troubled, even felt inferior, because he couldn't cultivate internal arts. If someone tricked him into practicing an evil art, he might have trouble resisting the temptation, like someone suffering from a terminal illness who, even knowing the other party was most likely a swindler, couldn't help treating a dead horse as if it were alive.

Si Ming recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness. His heart tightened, and he had more or less guessed the truth, but he didn't understand where such extraordinary talent had come from.

In his previous life, he had been the sort who was hopeless at putting things into practice; even when doing a chemistry experiment, his hands would tremble for ages. He didn't believe for a moment that reincarnation could have given him supreme insight into martial arts. And judging from his memories, his predecessor hadn't seemed to be a martial arts prodigy either, or he wouldn't have developed an inferiority complex. This astonishing martial talent had come out of nowhere, and Si Ming couldn't make sense of it at all.

Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided not to bother. He would just treat it as a transmigrator's perk.

Si Ming didn't dwell on the question, nor did he intend to investigate it. He promptly came up with an excuse and glossed it over. "It wasn't an evil art. It was a martial art taught by Yan Jinghong, the Spirit Transformation expert the school invited. He sent his fist intent into our minds, so whenever we think back on it, we can remember his movements. It's much like a recording. I practiced while recalling his movements, and somehow I became completely absorbed. It felt especially effective, and I lost all sense of time. I don't know how many times I practiced it, and when I came to my senses, I had already passed out."

"Yan Jinghong? The one in the Heavenly Ultimate Mohist Hero Guard who goes by 'Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens'? Your school must have serious clout to invite an expert like that. Could it be that he went to your school for junior high and came back especially to repay his alma mater?"

All of Yao Bilian's doubts vanished. News of a Spirit Transformation expert visiting the school couldn't be kept under wraps, and a little asking around would confirm whether it was true. Si Ming couldn't possibly lie about something like that.

Since a Spirit Transformation expert was responsible, it was understandable that some unforeseen incident beyond imagination had occurred.

She took out a pitch-black pill and said to Si Ming, "Open your mouth and swallow this."

Si Ming obediently took it, then asked, "What is it?"

"A Six-Transformation Bear and Snake Pill. It's a powerful tonic made from the flesh and blood of demonic beasts. A thousand yuan a pill, more expensive than diamonds. Even a man who's lost his vigor can take one and raise a pillar to the heavens."

At that, Yao Bilian glanced at Si Ming's crotch, raised a hand and made a stroking motion. She stuck out her tongue and licked her lips. "Young men are full of vigor and energy, so it's only natural to have trouble controlling yourself. If you need it, I can help you work some of it off."

Officer, there's a female pervert over here!

Before Si Ming could call out, he felt a ball of fire burning in his abdomen, releasing vast amounts of energy that filled his limbs and bones and replenished his depleted vital Qi. His body gradually grew warm.

Although the Six-Transformation Bear and Snake Pill wasn't as miraculous as Korin's Senzu Beans, its effects were indeed remarkable. It was nothing like those health supplements and other things that specialized in swindling old people out of their burial savings.

"Thank you. Take the money out of next month's living allowance."

The government wasn't stingy about funding orphanages, and the benefits were far better than in the world of Si Ming's previous life. After all, in this world, population was a strategic resource. Moreover, ever since industrialization, the birth rate in every country had begun to fall. Thus, how to increase the population and raise the birth rate was a question every administration had to consider first.

Even an orphan was a necessary member of the population who could provide True Qi energy for the country after growing up, so the government was bound to provide protective policies. Guaranteeing every orphan eight years of compulsory education and waiving all tuition and miscellaneous fees were among the most basic measures. In addition, until the age of fifteen, each orphan received a monthly living allowance to cover daily expenses.

Of course, the living allowance wasn't given for free. It was an interest-free loan that had to be repaid in installments after the recipient came of age at eighteen, preventing certain people from exploiting the policy for personal gain.