Breaking Up Lovers

"When I was little, I was still young, and I hadn't practiced stake training enough..."

Pei Guanli's voice was barely audible.

If not for the quiet of the night, Chen Yi might have missed it entirely.

Glancing at the lower edge of the bell on her neck, he said, "You don't need to rush to open the Four Main Meridians anymore. First, expand your Qi Sea and Dantian, then patch up the gaps."

"Oh."

Pei Guanli seemed to notice his gaze and awkwardly raised a hand to fiddle with the bell on her neck.

Jingle, jingle.

The crisp sound of the bell echoed through the quiet Purple Bamboo Grove, speaking louder than silence.

Not long after.

Chen Yi finished pointing out everything in Pei Guanli's body movement technique, fists, and kicks, and said:

"That's all I can see. Try cultivating for a few days, and I believe you'll break through soon."

"Brother-in-law, I'll listen to you." Pei Guanli nodded vigorously, a hint of admiration flickering in her eyes as she looked at him.

Brother-in-law is really amazing.

He only watched me cultivate once and found so many problems, even pointing out how to fix them—better than Grandma and Brother.

Chen Yi checked the sky. "Let's stop here for today. Remember to stay hidden so you don't get caught."

Pei Guanli giggled and said, "Brother-in-law, don't worry. I'm very confident in my body movement technique."

"But if I really do get caught, I can just drug them. I guarantee they won't remember a thing."

Chen Yi asked thoughtfully, "Your knockout drugs aren't low-grade, are they?"

"Of course not. Grandma gave these to me for self-defense. Even ordinary Lower Three Ranks cultivators will pass out if they get a little on them."

Pei Guanli's eyes darted around. "Brother-in-law, do you want some? I brought a lot this time."

Chen Yi held out his hand. "Yes."

Knockout drugs that could take down Lower Three Ranks cultivators—why not take them? Consider it payment for guiding her stake training and techniques.

Then Pei Guanli excitedly pulled a handful of bottles and jars from the inner lining of her waist, explaining each one:

"This bottle is the knockout drug. Next to it is poison, made from five kinds of venom. Just a fingernail-sized amount can kill any cultivator below the Eighth Rank Realm."

"And this bottle is the strongest. It's a Gu worm Grandma raised. It makes your whole body itch and ache unbearably. Even a Sixth Rank cultivator can't resist once they're hit..."

The more Chen Yi listened, the stranger his expression grew. That night he managed to subdue this girl—he really had to thank her for going easy on him.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have even needed that bottle of Gu worms; a little knockout drug would have laid him flat.

Thinking this, Chen Yi only took the bottle of knockout drug and its corresponding antidote, letting Pei Guanli put the rest away.

"Brother-in-law, if you need anything, just say so. Don't be polite with me."

"Alright."

Leaving the Purple Bamboo Grove, the two quietly returned to their respective rooms.

Chen Yi didn't rest right away. He leaned by the window, looking at the two palm-sized bottles of knockout drug in his hands.

How did that girl hide so many bottles and jars in her waist without showing a trace on the outside?

After thinking it over, he could only chalk it up to her natural talent.

Chen Yi tucked the knockout drug and antidote into his sleeve, his mind replaying the fist and kick techniques and body movement technique Pei Guanli had just demonstrated.

After a moment's thought, he slowly began to practice them in his room.

The fist and kick techniques weren't hard. After just two repetitions, he found the knack—it was a palm technique focused on agility.

But that light body art took more effort. He spent a full half hour, until nearly Zi Shi, before he finally reached an Initial Glimpse.

[Successfully cultivated Palm Technique Flower Palm (Mystic Grade). Level: Initial Glimpse]

[Successfully cultivated Body Movement Technique Butterfly Steps (Earth Rank). Level: Initial Glimpse]

Chen Yi glanced at the information on the light screen, then stopped, slowly calming the restless Qi and force within his body.

"No separate 'Martial Path' appeared. That means fist and kick techniques probably all fall under Fist Dao. Hmm... I'll find a chance to learn a leg technique later."

Thinking this, he chuckled to himself.

Fist, palm, leg combined—Three-Part Return to Origin Qi, right?

Still, he'd learned Pei Guanli's techniques and body movement, and taken a bottle of her knockout drug. He'd find a way to repay her later.

Just then, the sound of a Night Watchman's drum came from outside the door.

Chen Yi turned his focus back to the panel, checking the newly refreshed intelligence content:

[Daily Intelligence Grade Middle Rank: At Noon Quarter, Third Place Scholar Li Huaigu parades through the streets and markets, stealing the spotlight. But when he returns home in high spirits, hoping to marry his beloved, his mother breaks up the lovers. A small fortune may be obtained.]

Oh? Chen Yi's eyes lit up. "Profound Grade Middle Rank?"

This was the highest-grade intelligence he'd seen in months, and without equal.

The two previous Profound Grade Low Rank opportunities had netted him a considerable harvest, so a Profound Grade Middle Rank fortune was surely even richer.

After a moment's thought.

Chen Yi looked out the window at the bright moon and silently mused, "It seems I'll have to go pay my respects to the Old Marquis tomorrow."

No words were exchanged through the night.

Half past the Yin hour, Chen Yi woke as usual, stretched his limbs, and washed up under Xiao Die's service before dressing neatly.

"Has anything noteworthy happened in the manor lately?"

"Son-in-law, have you forgotten?" Xiao Die said with a smile as she helped smooth the wrinkles from his clothes.

"A few days ago, the birthday poem you wrote for the Old Master has spread all over the manor. Many people are praising you for your poetic skill."

"Oh?"

Chen Yi was slow to catch on; these past few days he'd been oblivious to matters outside his own affairs.

He recalled Xiao Die mentioning it before, but he must have been preoccupied with other things and hadn't paid much attention.

"That's not all."

After tidying his lapels, Xiao Die rattled off what others had said.

Some said the Old Master was very pleased—that very day he ate a great deal with Elder Zhang, the Duke Grandfather, and Mr. Sun Fu, making the manor's physician beam with joy, remarking that the Old Master's increased appetite showed his pent-up worries had eased.

Then there were the several masters from the second branch, who personally copied the poem and took it to the yamen the next day to show off to their colleagues, to the point that many in Shuzhou City were singing it.

Even the top courtesan in Yanhuaxiang, south of the city, had set it to a tune in record time, drawing many talented scholars and scholars to patronize her establishment.

Chen Yi was speechless. "They've already made a song out of it?"

Xiao Die wrinkled her little nose and hummed in agreement. "Those people are so tactless. The Old Master's birthday hasn't arrived yet, and you haven't even presented the poem, but they've already started singing it."

Chen Yi chuckled lightly. "A poem is written to be known by the world. It doesn't matter if others copy it or sing it—consider it their way of wishing the Old Master a happy birthday."

Xiao Die nodded, her hair bun swaying as she smiled innocently. "You see things so clearly, Son-in-law. I never thought of that."

Chen Yi smiled and walked outside.

Given the Xiao Family's status in Shuzhou City, if they didn't want the poem sung, they had plenty of ways to stop it.

The fact that the birthday poem was now being sung throughout Shuzhou meant the Xiao Family didn't mind.

Or rather, someone in Xiao Manor had deliberately allowed it.

Either way, for him as the creator, it was nothing but beneficial.

After an hour of Stake Training.

Chen Yi washed up again, had Xiao Die wake Xiao Wuge, and ate Breakfast in the pavilion.

Remembering 'Today's Gossip,' he looked at Xiao Wuge and said, "The Old Master should be up by now. Come with me to pay my respects."

Last time, because Xiao Wuge had followed him to Yanhuaxiang south of the city, he'd been unable to hide his tracks and ended up confined to the manor.

This time, he needed to see the Old Master to try and lift the house arrest, so he had to drag Xiao Wuge—the root cause—along.

Xiao Wuge didn't even bother wiping his mouth, delighted. "Brother-in-law, you finally remembered to go see Grandfather."

"What? Has the Old Master been talking about me?"

"Yesterday, when Brother Heir Apparent came over, he said Grandfather and the Duke Grandfather have been talking about you these past two days... about the poem you wrote. They've been demanding meat at every meal."

Xiao Wuge couldn't help laughing as he recalled Zhang Heng's exact words—the runaway groom had made good.

Chen Yi chuckled wryly. He never imagined a single poem could restore the Old Master's spirits.

"Let's go. The last few times, the Old Master was still angry and wouldn't see me. I hope he doesn't shut me out this time."

"No, no... Grandfather will be more than happy to see you."