"When I was little, I was still small, stake training wasn't reached yet either..."
Pei Guanli's voice was inaudible.
If not for the quiet nighttime at this moment, Chen Yi almost would not have heard.
Glancing at the lower edge of the bell on her neck, he said, "You don't need to rush to open up the four main meridians anymore; first open up the Dantian Qi Sea and then make up for the omissions."
"Oh."
Pei Guanli seemed to notice his gaze, uncomfortably raising her hand to flick the bell on her neck.
Jingle, jingle.
The crisp bell sound echoed within the quiet Purple Bamboo Grove, sounding better than silence.
Not long passed.
Chen Yi one by one finished pointing out Pei Guanli's body movement technique and fist and foot techniques, saying:
"What I can see is just this much; try to cultivate for a few days, I believe very soon you can have a breakthrough."
"Brother-in-law, I'll listen to you." Pei Guanli nodded fiercely, the gaze she looked at him with faintly revealing a trace of reverence.
Brother-in-law is truly amazing.
He only watched me cultivate once, and he discovered so many problems, and even pointed out the correction methods, better than Grandma and Big Brother both.
Chen Yi looked at the sky, "Let's stop here for today; remember to conceal yourself well, lest you be discovered by people."
Pei Guanli said with a giggle, "Brother-in-law, rest assured, I have a lot of confidence in my body movement technique."
"However, if I really am discovered by people, I can still poison them, guaranteeing that they won't remember anything."
Chen Yi asked thoughtfully, "Your poisons are not of a low grade, right?"
"Of course, this is what Grandma gave me for self-protection; ordinary Lower Three Ranks cultivators upon touching even a little bit will pass out."
Pei Guanli rolled her eyes twice, "Brother-in-law, do you want them? I brought quite a few when I came out this time."
Chen Yi stretched out his hand, "I want them!"
Knockout drugs capable of knocking down Lower Three Ranks cultivators shouldn't be refused for nothing, treating it as the remuneration for his guidance on stake training and techniques.
Then Pei Guanli excitedly fished out a handful of bottles and jars from the lining of her waistband, explaining them one by one:
"This bottle is the knockout drug, the one next to it is poison, extracted from five kinds of venomous creatures, and only needing the size of a fingernail is enough to cause cultivators below the Eighth Rank Realm to kick the bucket."
"There's also this bottle which is the most formidable; they are Gu worms cultivated by Grandma, capable of causing a person's whole body to itch unbearably, and once a Sixth Rank Realm cultivator is hit, they find it hard to resist..."
The more Chen Yi listened, the more eccentric his gaze became; being able to hold down this lass that night truly required thanking her for showing mercy.
Otherwise, that bottle of Gu worms wouldn't even be needed, and a tiny bit of knockout drug would have laid him flat.
Thinking this, Chen Yi only took the bottle of knockout drug and the corresponding antidote, letting Pei Guanli take all the others back.
"Brother-in-law, if you have needs just speak, no need to be polite with me."
"Good."
Leaving the Purple Bamboo Grove, the two of them quietly returned to their respective side chambers.
Chen Yi didn't rush to rest, leaning against the window and looking at those two palm-sized bottles of knockout drug in his hand.
How did that lass hide so many bottles and jars in her waistband without a single thing showing on the outside at all?
Thinking this over and over, he could only attribute it to her being uniquely gifted.
Chen Yi stored the knockout drug and antidote in his sleeve opening, recalling in his mind the fist and foot techniques and body movement technique Pei Guanli had displayed just then.
Thinking about it, he then slowly practiced them inside the side chamber.
The fist and foot techniques weren't difficult; after only practicing them twice, he found the knack, which was a palm technique dominated by dexterity.
As for that set of light body movement technique, it took some effort, consuming a full half hour, until near the midnight quarter that he got an Initial Glimpse.
[Successfully cultivated palm technique · Hundred Flower Palm (Mystic Grade), level: Initial Glimpse]
[Successfully cultivated body movement technique · Meteor Butterfly Steps (Earth Rank), level: Initial Glimpse]
Chen Yi glanced at the information on the Light Screen, then stopped, slowly calming the surging Qi and physical force within his body.
"Without a separate appearance of 'Martial Path · Palm', it seems fist and foot techniques should all belong to Fist Dao, hmm... I'll have a chance to go practice a leg technique again."
Thinking this, he inexplicably felt amused.
Fists, palms, and legs integrated into one-Three-Part Return to Origin Qi, is that it?
However, he learned Pei Guanli's techniques and body movement technique, and also took a bottle of knockout drug from her; he would think of a way to repay her in the future.
Just at this time, the drum-beating sound of the Night Watchman came from outside the door.
Chen Yi once again placed his mind on the panel, checking the intelligence content refreshed for today:
[Daily Intelligence · Profound Grade Middle Rank: At noon quarter, Third Place Scholar Li Huaigu roams the streets and tours the markets with peerless flair, but when he returns home full of smug satisfaction, wishing to take the opportunity to marry his sweetheart, he instead suffers his mother breaking up the lovers. Can obtain a small amount of Fortune.]
Oh? Chen Yi's eyes lit up, "Profound Grade Middle Rank?"
This was the intelligence with the highest grade he had seen in these past few months, and there was not one besides it.
The previous two Profound Grade Low Rank ones allowed him to reap rich rewards, so he figured the Fortune of the Profound Grade Middle Rank would be even more bountiful.
Pondering for a moment.
Chen Yi looked at the bright moon outside the window, silently thinking: "It seems there is a necessity to go pay respects to the Old Marquis tomorrow."
The night passed without incident.
Past the second watch of Yin, Chen Yi woke up as usual, stretched his muscles and bones, and washed up and dressed neatly under Xiao Die's attendance.
"Are there any matters worth mentioning in the mansion recently?"
"Son-in-law, did you forget?" Xiao Die, while helping him tidy up the wrinkles of his clothing, said with a smile:
"A few days ago, that birthday ode you wrote for the Old Master already spread in the mansion, and many people are praising Son-in-law's exceptional poetry."
"Is that so?"
Chen Yi came to the realization rather belatedly; these past few days he turned a deaf ear to matters outside the window.
Come to think of it, Xiao Die had mentioned it before; he probably didn't pay much attention because of other matters.
"Not just that."
Xiao Die tidied his lapels and then all at once imitated the words of those people.
There were those who said the Old Master liked it very much, eating a lot of food that day together with Elder Zhang the Duke and Mr. Sun Fu, making the physician in the mansion beam with joy and continuously saying the Old Master's greatly increased appetite showed the stagnant blocked up Qi had relaxed and smoothed out.
There were also several masters of the Second Branch who personally copied this ode, taking it to the Yamen the very next day to show off to their colleagues, to the extent that many people within Shuzhou City were singing and chanting it.
Even the top courtesans of the Yanhuaxiang South of the City arranged a tune in the shortest time possible, causing many talented scholars and Confucian literati to go patronize them.
Chen Yi said in speechless astonishment, "The tune even came out?"
Xiao Die wrinkled her small nose, uttered an "en", and said, "Those people are so devoid of tact; the Old Master's birthday hasn't arrived yet, and Son-in-law hasn't sent the ode over, yet they actually went ahead and sang the tune first."
Chen Yi smiled lightly and said, "Once an ode is written, it is meant to be known by the people of the world; others copying or singing and chanting it doesn't matter, just treat it as them celebrating the Old Master's birthday."
Xiao Die nodded, her hair bun shaking, and smiled with pure loveliness, "Son-in-law still thinks things through; Xiao Die didn't think of these at all."
Chen Yi smiled and walked outside.
With the Xiao Family's status and position in Shuzhou City, if they didn't want people to sing and chant it, there were plenty of ways.
Now that Shuzhou could sing and chant that birthday ode, it showed the Xiao Family didn't mind.
Or rather, the people inside the Xiao Manor did it intentionally.
No matter which kind of situation it was, for him, the creator, it was completely beneficial without a single harm.
An hour of stake training passed.
Chen Yi washed up once more, had Xiao Die wake up Xiao Wuge, and finished breakfast in the pavilion.
Remembering "eating melons today", he looked at Xiao Wuge and said, "The Old Master should be up, accompany me to go pay a morning greeting."
Last time because Xiao Wuge followed him to take a trip to Yanhuaxiang South of the City, it caused him to be unable to conceal his tracks and incur the punishment of not being allowed to leave the mansion.
This time he wanted to go find the Old Master to try and lift the confinement, so no matter what he had to drag along this culprit Xiao Wuge.
Xiao Wuge couldn't bother to wipe his mouth, and happily said, "Brother-in-law, you finally remembered to go find Grandfather."
"What? The Old Master has been chattering about me?"
"Brother Heir Apparent said it when he came yesterday; Grandfather and Duke Grandfather have been chattering about you these past two days... about the ode you wrote, and even want meat every meal."
Xiao Wuge thought of Zhang Heng's exact words, a smile unable to be held back on his face-the runaway groom has amounted to something.
Chen Yi couldn't help laughing, how could he have ever thought the Old Master would care so much about that line "Xiao Yuan is old yet can he still eat?".
"Let's go, the previous few times the Old Master was still in a fit of anger and I never had the leisure time to see him; hopefully this time he won't shut the door on me."
"Won't, won't... Grandfather will be too happy to have time."
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