Murder

Chu Huai Xu had indeed opened his second orifice.

He'd spent the entire morning laboring away at his cultivation.

His body was telling him that three cycles of circulating his energy in one day was the absolute limit. Anything more would be pushing it too far.

And that was with the extra point of Physique he'd gained.

Once his Cultivation Technique Experience Points finally reached the required amount, Chu Huai Xu spent a full five minutes psyching himself up before gritting his teeth and saying, "System, level me up!"

Even though he'd braced himself, the pain nearly made him pass out.

Clearly, of the three stages—"enduring pain," "getting used to pain," and "enjoying pain"—he was still at the most basic one.

The first breakthrough had felt like someone riding a motorcycle over him again and again.

The second time, he suspected there was a passenger on the back of that motorcycle—a fat pig, no less.

How could it hurt even more?

But though he had a Fox Face and the classic foxlike good looks, he was a wolf at heart. He was plenty ruthless with himself, too.

The more this stupid Cultivation Method put him through, the more his stubborn nature refused to give in.

"Bestow me a scripture! Give me the most painful one!"

I'll train this damn thing to death!

"Three sessions a day is the limit of my body, not the limit of my will."

"Go on, try to make the pain kill me!"

He really is just like me—a cultivation prodigy. Han Shuangjiang stood outside the room, thinking to herself.

After everything that had happened, even someone as clueless as her should have realized that she had an exceptional talent for cultivation.

The two of them sat down at the stone table outside, and Han Shuangjiang laid out her money-saving plan.

"You can cook?" Chu Huai Xu asked in surprise.

"A little," Han Shuangjiang replied modestly with a nod.

Hearing that, Fox Face—who wasn't picky about food or flavor—immediately hid the fact that he was an incredible cook.

The path of cultivation was already hard enough. He could at least slack off a little in his daily life.

Forget "a gorgeous foodie falls in love with me." Get out of here.

As for why Han Shuangjiang knew how to cook, she'd learned at the Brothel.

Some of the older girls would prepare a few dishes themselves before their patrons arrived, giving men who were unhappy at home a taste of warmth and comfort away from it.

"Cooking at home sounds good to me," Chu Huai Xu agreed at once.

A man and a woman going out to eat together was called a date.

Eating at home every day was called living together.

Han Shuangjiang was pleased that he'd agreed, but her tone remained as cold as ever, revealing not a hint of emotion. It was as if she spoke only through reason.

"I've worked it out. At the rate we're both cultivating, we should have enough silver."

"You sure about that?" Chu Huai Xu smiled.

Han Shuangjiang gave him a puzzled look but said nothing.

Fox Face began to explain. "You know that once Registered Disciples open all Nine Orifices, they can go to the Outer Sect's Scripture Pavilion and obtain a cultivation method for the First Realm."

The Cold-faced girl nodded slightly.

"Cultivation Methods and techniques are divided into Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow grades. You know that, too, right?"

She nodded again.

"Then do you know how to get a high-grade Cultivation Method?" Chu Huai Xu asked, looking at her.

Han Shuangjiang replied, "It's all in the Registered Disciple handbook."

She was telling him to get to the point.

The first floor of the Outer Sect's Scripture Pavilion was divided into four sections. The worst, Yellow Grade Cultivation Methods, were kept on the outermost side, while the Heaven Grade ones were at the very back.

Each section had a formation.

Registered Disciples only had to break through it by force to enter.

Simply put, it was a test.

"Those of us at the Aperture Opening Stage can't store Spiritual Power in our bodies. With every breakthrough, what we mainly strengthen is our bodies," Chu Huai Xu said, getting to the point.

"So those formations are for us to break through with brute force!"

"Someone like you, with the Profound Yin Physique and a top-grade Spiritual Fetus from birth, can absorb the Aperture Opening Pill's effects and strengthen your Physique. None of its effects will go to waste."

"So if you just cultivate normally, your body's various abilities will improve more than an ordinary person's."

"That's your advantage."

Chu Huai Xu clapped his hands, then spread them wide. "Now, here's the question."

"You were born with an advantage. Do you know how to throw a punch?"

"Like this? Or like this?" He threw a couple of punches through the air. "Which way hits hardest?"

Han Shuangjiang understood at once. "You mean we have to practice and learn."

"What else?" Chu Huai Xu smiled.

They needed to learn a few simple moves.

Grumpy girl, your big brother's taking you to learn some skills.

The aloof young woman wasn't stupid. She'd already figured it out and asked, "Will it cost silver?"

"What else?" Chu Huai Xu repeated.

Now Han Shuangjiang understood why cultivation emphasized wealth, the Way, companions, and a place to practice—in that order. Wealth came first for a reason.

But soon, she had another question.

"Then, in this situation, do people who take the Body Refining Path have an advantage?" she asked.

"Of course," Chu Huai Xu said.

Strictly speaking, the Heretical Cultivation Technique he practiced—the Sword Refining Art—was somewhat a combination of Internal and External Cultivation, and also resembled Body Tempering.

On top of that, he'd gained one point of Physique, making him much stronger than others.

But he was an exception.

Chu Huai Xu explained, "Do you know how slow Body Tempering is, or how grueling the process can be?"

"Thanks to the Profound Yin Spiritual Embryo you were born with, you can absorb the effects of the Aperture Opening Pill to their fullest. Just that alone gives you more of a boost than an average Body refiner could get from a year of hard training."

"If you put in the effort, you ought to get something in return, right?" Chu Huai Xu said. "Breaking through the formations in the Scripture Pavilion is that reward."

Han Shuangjiang was convinced.

But soon she was asking another question, like some girl who never ran out of them. "What if someone takes other pills or strengthens their body with a Medicinal Bath?"

"That's certainly a shortcut," Chu Huai Xu said with a nod.

"But there are two things you should know."

"First, the Aperture Opening Pill was created by the Dao Ancestor. It's the Spirit Pill best suited for tempering the body at this stage. No one can surpass the Dao Ancestor in pill-making."

"In that case, taking other pills or soaking in a Medicinal Bath during the Aperture Opening Stage can only do so much to improve your body."

"Of course, even if the results are limited, they'll still have some effect."

"So now I'll tell you the second thing."

He propped his cheek on one fist and tilted his head as he looked at her, asking a question that struck straight to the heart:

"Do you have any money?"

Han Shuangjiang fell silent—and this time, she was completely silent.

Neither pills nor Medicinal Baths were likely to be affordable for them in their current financial state.

After leaving the Joyful Sect, she'd been forced to wander from place to place, and the thorny problem of having no money had followed her everywhere.

She hadn't expected things to be the same even after she arrived at the Dao Sect.

Chu Huai Xu, however, took it in stride.

There was no such thing as absolute fairness in this world.

The rich had their own paths, while the talented could make up for what they lacked with their gifts.

The most pitiful were usually the mediocre.

And the mediocre made up the majority.

They spent their whole lives struggling, only to realize they were ordinary and learn to accept it.

A darling of heaven like Han Shuangjiang, with her Profound Yin Physique, wasn't merely someone the heavens had blessed with a meal. It was more like the heavens were chasing after her to feed her.

"Come on. Let's pay someone to teach us a few moves." Chu Huai Xu rose first. "The silver I have really won't last us long."

Han Shuangjiang followed behind him, feeling a little gloomy.

It wasn't just the poverty she couldn't shake. She also had the nagging feeling that he'd just lectured her.

But the Cold-faced girl soon adjusted her mood and muttered quietly to herself:

See? I told you we should buy our own groceries and cook!

As they walked, Chu Huai Xu led the way while Han Shuangjiang followed behind on her long, graceful legs. She had no trouble keeping up.

She'd been born with a particularly shapely figure, and naturally swayed alluringly as she walked.

"We don't need to learn much. Just pay for a move or two," Fox Face said.

He was pretty excited about learning skills. His ability to fight was about to improve by leaps and bounds.

He glanced back and asked curiously, "By the way, have you ever gotten into a fight?"

Han Shuangjiang looked at him and once again answered with silence.

A fight?

What kind of fighting could she have done at Red Sleeves Beckon? Pulled hair and slapped faces with the older girls?

The only person who'd ever beaten her was her "madam."

And after she went to the Joyful Sect, there was even less to say.

The most popular kind of fighting there was in bed. They fought until they were thoroughly spent.

Either the man gave in, or the woman collapsed.

Then Chu Huai Xu asked another question.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.

Han Shuangjiang looked at his back as he walked ahead and frowned, thoroughly exasperated. "Of course not. What, have you?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Chu Huai Xu stop three paces ahead of her.

It had all happened so suddenly that she hadn't stopped in time. A moment later, she was standing beside him.

Just as they came shoulder to shoulder, Chu Huai Xu turned to look at Han Shuangjiang.

The midday sun fell across his shoulders and his Fox Face.

"I have," he said.