Breaking Up Lovers

"When I was little, I was still so young... I hadn't mastered Stake Training either..."

Pei Guanli's voice was barely audible.

Had the night not been so quiet, Chen Yi would have almost missed it.

Glancing at the lower edge of the bell around her neck, he said, "You don't need to rush to open all Four Main Meridians. First open up your Dantian Qi Sea, then make up for the gaps."

"Oh."

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

Jingle, jingle.

The crisp ringing of the bell echoed through the tranquil Purple Bamboo Grove. Sound was better than silence.

Not long after.

Chen Yi finished pointing out the flaws in Pei Guanli's Body Movement Technique, fists, and kicks one by one, then said,

"That's all I can see. Try practicing for a few days. I believe you'll make a breakthrough soon."

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

Brother-in-law is amazing.

He only watched me practice once, yet he found so many problems and even showed me how to correct them. He's better than both Grandma and my brother.

Chen Yi looked at the sky. "We'll stop here for today. Remember to keep yourself hidden, lest anyone discovers you."

Pei Guanli said with a grin, "Don't worry, brother-in-law. I'm very confident in my Body Movement Technique."

"But if someone really does discover me, I can poison them. I guarantee they won't remember a thing."

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

"Of course not. Grandma gave them to me for self-defense. Even ordinary Lower Three Ranks cultivators will pass out after touching just a little."

Pei Guanli's eyes rolled twice. "Brother-in-law, do you want some? I brought quite a lot when I left home this time."

Chen Yi held out his hand. "Yes!"

A knockout drug capable of taking down Lower Three Ranks cultivators was too good to refuse. He would take it as payment for guiding her Stake Training and techniques.

Pei Guanli then excitedly pulled out a pile of bottles and jars from the lining at her waist and explained them one by one.

"This bottle is knockout drug. The one beside it is poison, made from five poisonous creatures. A piece no bigger than a fingernail is enough to kill cultivators below the Eighth Rank Realm."

"And this bottle is the strongest. It contains Gu worms raised by Grandma. They can make someone's entire body numb and itch unbearably. Once even a Sixth Rank Realm cultivator falls victim to it, they'll have a hard time resisting..."

The more Chen Yi listened, the stranger his expression became. That night, he truly had to thank the girl for showing mercy.

Otherwise, he would not even have needed that bottle of Gu worms. A little knockout drug would have left him flat on the ground.

After thinking it over, Chen Yi took only a bottle of knockout drug and its corresponding antidote, letting Pei Guanli put the rest away.

"Brother-in-law, if you ever need anything, just say so. Don't stand on ceremony with me."

"Alright."

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

Chen Yi was in no hurry to rest. Leaning by the window, he looked at the two palm-sized bottles of knockout drug in his hand.

How had that girl hidden so many bottles and jars at her waist without showing anything from the outside?

After turning it over and over in his mind, he could only chalk it up to her extraordinary gifts.

Chen Yi tucked the knockout drug and antidote into his sleeve, recalling the fist, kick, and Body Movement Technique Pei Guanli had displayed earlier.

After some thought, he slowly began practicing them inside his room.

The fist and kick techniques were not difficult. After going through them twice, he found the trick. It was a Palm Technique centered on nimbleness.

That set of Light Body Art took more effort. It consumed a full half hour, and only when midnight drew near did he achieve an Initial Glimpse.

[Successfully practiced Palm Technique · Hundred Flower Palm (Mystic Grade), Level: Initial Glimpse]

[Successfully practiced Body Movement Technique · Meteor Butterfly Steps (Earth Grade), Level: Initial Glimpse]

Chen Yi glanced at the information on the Light Screen, then stopped and slowly calmed the restless Qi and force within his body.

"There isn't a separate 'Martial Path · Palm.' It seems fist and kick techniques all fall under Fist Dao. Hmm... I'll find a chance to practice a leg technique too."

Thinking of it, he inexplicably laughed.

Fist, palm, and leg as one—Three-Part Return to Origin Qi, right?

Still, he had learned Pei Guanli's techniques and Body Movement Technique, and had taken a bottle of her knockout drug. He would have to find a way to repay her later.

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

Chen Yi focused his mind on the panel again and examined today's refreshed intelligence.

[Daily Intelligence · Profound Grade Middle Rank: At Noon Quarter, Third Place Scholar Li Huaigu will parade through the streets, unrivaled in splendor. Yet when he returns home in high spirits, intending to use this opportunity to marry his beloved, her mother will break up the lovers. A small amount of Fortune can be obtained.]

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

This was the highest-grade intelligence he had seen in recent months, without question.

The previous two pieces of Profound Grade Low Rank intelligence had brought him considerable gains. The Fortune from a Profound Grade Middle Rank piece would surely be even richer.

After pondering for a moment.

Chen Yi looked at the bright moon beyond the window and silently thought, It seems I need to pay Old Marquis a visit tomorrow.

The night passed without incident.

More than halfway through Tiger hour, Chen Yi woke as usual. After stretching his limbs, he washed up and dressed neatly under Xiao Die's care.

"Has anything worth mentioning happened in the manor lately?"

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

"The Birthday Ode you wrote for Old Master a few days ago has already spread throughout the manor. Lots of people have been praising Son-in-law's exceptional poetry."

"Is that so?"

Only then did Chen Yi realize it. These past few days, he had kept his ears shut to all matters outside his window.

Xiao Die had probably mentioned it earlier, but other matters must have distracted him from paying attention.

"That's not all."

After arranging his collar, Xiao Die immediately began repeating what those people had said.

Some said Old Master loved it so much that he ate a great deal with Duke Grandfather, Zhang Heng, and Mr. Sun Fu that very day. The manor's physician had been grinning from ear to ear, repeatedly saying that Old Master's increased appetite showed the pent-up gloom in his heart had been swept away.

Several masters from the Second Branch had even copied out the ode themselves, then taken it to the Yamen the next day to show off to their colleagues. As a result, many people throughout Shuzhou City were now singing it.

Even the leading courtesan of the willow-and-flower lanes in South of the City's Yanhuaxiang had arranged it into a tune in the shortest possible time, drawing many talented scholars and Scholars there to show their support.

Chen Yi said in astonishment, "There's already a tune for it?"

Xiao Die wrinkled her little nose and gave an affirmative hum. "Those people are so tactless. The master's birthday hasn't even arrived, and the son-in-law hasn't presented the ode yet, but they've already started singing it."

Chen Yi chuckled. "Once an ode is written, it is meant to be known by the world. It does no harm if others copy or sing it. Consider it their way of offering Old Master birthday wishes."

Xiao Die nodded, her hairpin-adorned bun swaying as she smiled sweetly. "Son-in-law really sees things clearly. Xiao Die never thought of that."

Chen Yi smiled and walked outside.

Given the Xiao Family's status in Shuzhou City, if they did not want people singing it, they had plenty of ways to prevent it.

Since the ode was being sung throughout Shuzhou, it meant the Xiao Family did not mind.

Or rather, the people in Xiao Manor had done it deliberately.

No matter which was the case, it was all benefit and no harm to him as the author.

After an hour of Stake Training.

Chen Yi washed and dressed again, had Xiao Die wake Xiao Wuge, and finished breakfast in the pavilion.

Remembering today's "gossip," he looked at Xiao Wuge and said, "Old Master should be up by now. Come with me to pay our respects."

The last time, Xiao Wuge had followed him to the willow-and-flower lanes in South of the City, leaving him unable to hide his tracks and earning him the punishment of being forbidden from leaving the mansion.

This time, he was going to ask Old Master to lift his confinement. No matter what, he had to bring along Xiao Wuge, the chief culprit.

Xiao Wuge did not even bother wiping his mouth as he said joyfully, "Brother-in-law, you finally remembered to visit Grandfather."

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

"Brother Heir Apparent said so when he came yesterday. Grandfather and Duke Grandfather have both been talking about you these past two days... about the ode you wrote. They've even been demanding meat at every meal."

Remembering Zhang Heng's exact words, Xiao Wuge could not help smiling—the runaway groom had made something of himself.

Chen Yi laughed in surprise. He had never imagined a single ode could restore Old Master's ambition.

"Let's go. Old Master was still angry the last few times, so he never had time to see me. Hopefully, he won't shut the door in my face this time."

"He won't, he won't... Grandfather is probably too happy for words."