Late Bloomer

Zheng State, Qing Feng Prefecture.

Qingmu County.

Li Residence.

The night was deep.

At the third watch, Wei Tu timed his internal clock perfectly. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, rolled off the earthen kang, and felt his way through the dark to throw on an outer garment. He walked to the stables outside and lit a lamp to begin mixing feed for the horses.

The scent of hay and beans mingled with the sound of a chicken egg being crushed. The half-grown black horse in the stable let out a cheerful snort and nudged Wei Tu's coarse cloth tunic.

When will this horse-feeding chore ever end? To think I was once a modern man...

It's hard to get ahead.

Wei Tu sat on a bluestone outside the stable, fished a dry tobacco pipe from his waist, and stuffed a bit of sun-dried tobacco leaf into the brass bowl. He lit it with a piece of fire paper and took a few puffs.

As two thick plumes of smoke drifted from his nostrils, he leaned comfortably against the earthen wall, his eyes half-closed.

Back in the modern world, because his family had been strict since he was young, he had never touched tobacco or alcohol, let alone the dry tobacco the older generation smoked.

But now, he liked it.

For no other reason than this.

This stuff relieved fatigue.

After a smoke, most of the exhaustion in his body would dissipate.

After waiting a moment, Wei Tu saw that the black horse had finished its feed. He knocked the pipe against the soles of his soft-cloth shoes, brushed the dust off his backside, and prepared to wash up and sleep.

A horse won't grow fat without night grass.

The horses at the Li Residence had to be fed once at the third watch, so he never dared to sleep soundly before then.

If he ruined a good horse, he would definitely face the wrath of Master Li.

He drew a bucket of sweet, cool water from the well, drank a few mouthfuls to fill the gaps in his stomach, and then hoisted the bucket to pour it over his bare torso, enjoying the sensation of the chill seeping down to his very core.

Soon, strips of grime were rubbed from his skin and fell to the ground.

Have I really grown this old? I'm only seventeen, yet I look like a man in his thirties.

While squatting to wash his legs, Wei Tu caught his reflection in the muddy water of the wooden basin, illuminated by the stable lamp.

His face was dark, his forehead etched with wrinkles no youth his age should have, and combined with the white hairs at his temples, he looked quite aged.

Only through those clear, black-and-white eyes could one barely tell he was still a boy.

However, just then—

The face in the water basin shifted. Wei Tu's appearance grew even more aged, transforming from a weathered youth into a white-haired, wrinkled old man of sixty.

Seeing this, Wei Tu recoiled in shock. After a long while, he touched his own face and pulled up the wet hair hanging to his shoulders. Seeing it was still black, he finally set his heart at ease.

Did I see wrong?

Wei Tu was suspicious. He drew another basin of clear water and looked into it.

The image on the water's surface was exactly the same as his current appearance.

But after a few breaths, just like before, his face changed again.

The white-haired, wrinkled old man who resembled him appeared once more.

This time, Wei Tu did not retreat in fear, but instead carefully observed the "unusual" sight of himself in the water.

A few breaths later.

The water rippled.

A golden-purple light appeared between the brows of the wrinkled old man, shining brilliantly.

At the same time, a golden light began to flicker between Wei Tu's own brows.

A golden seal, engraved with the words "Late Bloomer," appeared abruptly in his mind.

"Late Bloomer" destiny?

Wei Tu was stunned.

In his past life, he had loved reading novels about immortals and strange phenomena since he was a child.

He knew that in traditional culture, there was such a thing as destiny.

A destiny, ordained by the heavens, determined a person's life—whether they would be rich or noble, poor or lowly.

The destiny that had appeared in his mind was golden-purple, undoubtedly the legendary supreme destiny.

It was just a pity that this destiny was "Late Bloomer," which didn't seem likely to improve his current impoverished situation much.

As if sensing Wei Tu's thoughts, the golden seal flared with light, transforming into two lines of text that floated in his mind.

"Destiny: Late Bloomer."

"Attribute: Unyielding, destined to achieve success."

"Perseverance leads to success..."

Wei Tu's mouth twitched.

"Success" was far too vague, and if he had to wait until he was seventy or eighty to become a Late Bloomer, it would be utterly useless.

By the time he was old, his teeth would be gone; even if he were renowned and wealthy enough to rival a nation, he wouldn't even be able to chew a piece of meat.

Let alone indulge in the pleasures of wine, women, and song.

Since I have a destiny, does that mean... there are legendary immortals? Those who live forever, roaming the Northern Sea by morning and the Cangwu Mountains by dusk?

Wei Tu felt a surge of secret excitement.

If this world allowed for the cultivation of immortality, then his Late Bloomer destiny would not be a useless trinket, but a supreme treasure.

"Although Qing Feng Prefecture has no immortals opening mountains to accept disciples, there are martial artists who open halls to teach the Martial Way..."

"These martial artists rely on the hot-blooded courage of youth to fight and kill, but once they age, hidden injuries emerge one after another, and they often die suddenly. Very few live to reach the age of sixty..."

"However, martial arts secret techniques are not all about combat and fighting techniques; there is no lack of health cultivation techniques that can prolong life."

"Those who practice health cultivation techniques and avoid reckless fighting often live to be seventy or eighty. True Person Miaoying, recorded in books, practiced a health cultivation technique and lived to be over a hundred."

Thinking of this, Wei Tu made up his mind to first find an opportunity to practice a health cultivation technique, then seek out an Immortal's Cave Dwelling to pursue immortality through discipleship.

With the blessing of the Late Bloomer destiny, as long as he practiced the health cultivation technique with perseverance, it would surely yield its intended effects in his later years.

Once his lifespan was extended.

Only then would his chances of attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal increase.

As for the combat methods of the Martial Way, the world was currently at peace, so they were of little use. Of course, if the opportunity arose, Wei Tu would not hesitate to learn them.

Previously, he had not practiced the Martial Way for three reasons, aside from the fact that poverty in scholarship, wealth in martial arts made it inaccessible.

First, the Martial Way was arduous; without the corresponding spiritual roots, it was difficult to achieve anything.

He chose to practice a health cultivation technique precisely because it was easy to pick up and had a low barrier to entry.

Second, the strength of the Martial Way was limited. A martial artist who could be a Ten-Man Enemy was already considered a powerful figure in the region.

A Hundred-Man Enemy or a Thousand-Man Enemy were figures of legend.

Third, martial artists lived life on the edge of a blade, and most were idle, shiftless people who rarely met a good end.

The martial artists in Qing Feng Prefecture were mostly swordsmen who carried Hengshan Sabers forged in Hengshan Town; they were farmers when they dismounted and bandits when they rode.

"Tomorrow, I will go find Second Aunt. She is a concubine of Master Huang, and the Huang Residence employs martial arts masters as guards. Perhaps they have a health cultivation technique in the house..."

Returning to the kang, Wei Tu suppressed the surprise of discovering his Golden Finger. After tossing and turning a few times, he finally fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.

Morning.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Wei Tu got up to feed the horses and picked up a broom to sweep the courtyard of the Li Residence.

When the masters were about to wake up,

He went to the kitchen to help the cook tend the fire and prepare the meal.

Feeding the horses and helping with odd jobs around the yard was his daily work.

In Year 15 of Qing'an, six years ago, his father Wei Bao had sold him to the Li Residence as a servant to work as a tenant slave.

Fortunately, after years of hard work, Wei Tu had learned horse-rearing skills from Old Liu, the stableman, and successfully promoted from a tenant slave to the new stableman of the Li Residence.

As for Old Liu, he had died of old age the year before.

While tenant slaves and stablemen were both servants, the former was bitter and exhausting work with no wages, and the masters worked them to death.

As a skilled worker, the stableman received monthly wages and ate from the same kitchen as the masters.

It was only the food that was a bit inferior.

The masters ate meat, while Wei Tu ate the soups and leftovers that contained a bit of grease.