There were three secret letters in all, yet they involved translated editions of the Huangmei opera Dongwan Travels and the Music Bureau poem Eternal Joy.
Fortunately, the two Wooden Towers in Chunhe Garden held a vast collection of books, including all the currently popular play scripts and storybooks.
Even so, it still took Chen Yi nearly an hour to decipher the contents of all three secret letters.
The first read: [The fledgling has married into Xiao Manor. Watch her closely!]
The second read: [There is something suspicious about the fleeing marriage. Find out who did it!]
The last one was the secret letter Chen Yi had seen before Liu Si'er that morning:
[You have been exposed. Find him and kill him! Also, someone else will take your place afterward. He will contact you when needed!]
After reading them all,
Chen Yi frowned slightly. Am I the fledgling?
Fledgling. Eaglet.
Such a codename seemed to carry the meaning of wanting him to grow strong.
Were they planning to nurture him, or use him to achieve some purpose?
Besides, judging from the contents of these three secret letters, the Hidden Guard did not seem to bear him much ill will.
Especially that line: "There is something else suspicious about the fleeing marriage."
Even the Xiao Family knew nothing about this matter. Where had the Hidden Guard learned of it? And how were they so certain that he had not fled the marriage himself, but had been framed by someone?
Most importantly—what reason did they have, and in what capacity were they investigating this matter?
Thinking of that, Chen Yi shook his head.
He ultimately had too little information. All he could determine was that this group of "Hidden Guards," who had concealed themselves in the Xiao Family for years, harbored no ill will toward him for the time being.
Beyond that, this group of Hidden Guards was not in league with those who had previously caused him to flee the marriage.
Seeing something strange in his expression, Pei Guanli leaned over to look at the decoded cipher on the blank paper. Rubbing her round chin, she asked,
"Brother-in-law, who is this fledgling? Has some young lady recently married into the Xiao Family?"
Chen Yi's face darkened. This bunch of "Hidden Guards" had chosen their wording terribly. They probably could not find a storybook containing the word "son-in-law."
Pei Guanli failed to notice his expression. "And this fleeing marriage matter... hmm... this is talking about you, isn't it, brother-in-law?"
"And this last part about being exposed, haha... the only people who know his identity are you and me... hmm?"
Pei Guanli finally caught on. Her smile vanished at once, and she bared her two little canine teeth as she said fiercely, "Brother-in-law, he wants to kill us. Should I go slaughter him right now?"
Chen Yi raised a hand. "No hurry."
Previously, he had only thought the Hidden Guard was targeting the Xiao Family. He had planned to use that as a trump card and, when he met Lady Xiao Jinghong, trade it for some benefits depending on the situation.
But now that he knew all three successive secret letters from the Hidden Guard involved him, that plan naturally had to change.
At the very least, he had to wait until he understood the Hidden Guard's true purpose before deciding what to do.
Otherwise, one misstep might bury him along with them.
Pei Guanli looked at the translation, then at him, and asked in confusion, "Why?"
Chen Yi thought for a moment. "Don't you think it's interesting to hide in the dark and watch another group, who thinks they're hiding in the dark, come harm you?"
A trace of bewilderment appeared on Pei Guanli's round face. Her eyes seemed veiled in mist as she stared blankly at him.
Only after a long while did she sort out what he meant. The corner of her full lips curled upward. "I understand, brother-in-law."
"You want to wait for them to come harm us, then catch them all in one net?"
"Let's say you got it right."
Chen Yi was not a masochist. He could not possibly sit back and watch others come harm him.
From the moment he deciphered the cipher and learned of the Hidden Guard's existence, the positions of hunter and prey had undergone a subtle reversal.
Liu Si'er, Uncle Gui, and the others hiding in Xiao Manor only knew they had been exposed. They did not yet know who had discovered their identities.
That was Chen Yi's greatest advantage.
Pei Guanli looked somewhat excited. As she shook her limbs, the pair of Bells before her chest trembled softly.
Interesting. Brother-in-law was far too interesting.
Sure enough, she had not been wrong to follow him. She would definitely encounter even more interesting things in the future.
"Brother-in-law, what do we do next?"
"Next... naturally, we first improve our cultivation bases and techniques."
Chen Yi knew Liu Si'er's strength well.
He was a battle-hardened veteran of the Dingyuan Army. Only after passing through layer upon layer of selection had he been able to come to Xiao Manor as a personal guard. It was said that his cultivation base had already reached the Eighth Rank Realm several years ago.
Even if Chen Yi joined forces with Pei Guanli, they would not be Liu Si'er's match in a head-on fight.
And besides the Hidden Guard, there was still another group lurking in the shadows—the people who had caused him to flee the marriage.
Thinking of that, urgency welled up in Chen Yi's heart, nearly robbing him of any interest in fishing.
He was merely an idle son-in-law, gentle and courteous, harmless to man and beast. Why were so many people keeping him in their sights?
Not long after,
Chen Yi quietly brought Pei Guanli into the Purple Bamboo Grove. They each found a corner and began practicing their stance.
Outside Chunhe Garden, Liu Si'er, Wang Lixing, and the others were on guard. But so long as they did not come inside, with cultivation bases no higher than the Eighth Rank Realm, they could not probe the Purple Bamboo Grove from so far away.
That made it convenient for Chen Yi to quietly improve his cultivation base.
Thus, while using the Great Spear Stance Cultivation to condense his Qi and open his Dantian Qi Sea, he summoned the panel to inspect it:
Name: Chen Yi Cultivation Base: Ninth Rank · Middle Way of Calligraphy: Major Accomplishment (0/1000) Calligraphy: Wei Qing (Proficient), Running Script (Skilled) Martial Dao Body: Minor accomplishment (0/100) Cultivation Technique: Great Spear Stance Cultivation [Mystic Grade] (Skilled) Martial Dao Fist: Minor accomplishment (0/100) Fist Techniques: Collapse Mountain [Mystic Grade] (Skilled), Hundred Flower Palm [Mystic Grade] (Initial Glimpse) Martial Dao Step: Minor accomplishment (0/100) Movement Technique: Dragon Roaming, Phoenix Playing [Mystic Grade] (Skilled), Meteor Butterfly Steps [Earth Rank] (Initial Glimpse) Fortune: 43
After carefully reviewing the current progress of each "path," Chen Yi had a clear grasp of things and focused on cultivating his stance.
Aside from the Way of Calligraphy having reached Major Accomplishment, his Martial Dao Body, Fist, and Step were all at minor accomplishment. Each technique had only just entered the Skilled level, still far from perfection, so there was no rush to spend Fortune.
If anything was about to make a breakthrough, it was his cultivation base, which was advancing rapidly.
An hour later,
Chen Yi stood in the Great Spear Stance, his eyes lightly closed and both arms raised forward at shoulder height, as though he were loosely gripping a great spear.
Nothing could be seen from the outside, but his body was in fact vibrating his muscles, bones, skin, flesh, and even his five organs and six bowels at an exceedingly faint yet rapid frequency.
The Qi generated from the blood and flesh within his body opened his Dantian Qi Sea to its limit, then slowly condensed and contracted into a fine thread, which pierced upward through that seemingly solid membrane.
It was like being pricked by a needle.
Chen Yi felt a stab of pain at the back of his head. A crisp pop sounded beside his ears, and he immediately sensed that thread of Qi break through the Dantian, travel all the way upward, and vanish into the Shanzhong Acupoint.
[Your cultivation base has advanced. Breakthrough to Ninth Rank · Upper!]
As light flashed, an abstruse passage concerning the Minor Accomplishment Realm of the Martial Dao Body surfaced in Chen Yi's mind.
[The Martial Dao Ninth Rank Realm establishes the foundation of the physique and meridians. Above, the Shanzhong Acupoint serves as the core to open the primary meridians of both arms; below, the Dantian serves as the core to open the primary meridians of both legs.]
[Only then can strength penetrate the muscles, bones, skin, and viscera, while Qi courses through the limbs. With this as a foundation, one may continually temper the physique until both Qi Seas are full.]
Chen Yi opened his eyes, slowly lowered his hands, calmed the Qi within his body, and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.
At once, his body felt light. He only felt utterly clear and unobstructed from head to toe, no longer gripped by unbearable hunger after cultivation as before.
"So that's how it is. Once I reach the Upper Stage, the Qi condensed by my muscles, bones, and skin is locked within the two Qi Seas, meaning there's no longer any consumption from my body."
Chen Yi came to an understanding. Looking over at Pei Guanli, who had also finished her stance training, he realized that all her previous talk of hunger had been an act.
Heh. This tiger girl was not only fierce—she was gluttonous, too.
Still, after thinking it over, he took out the pastries he had prepared earlier and shared them with Pei Guanli.
"Brother-in-law, thanks to your guidance, my Dantian Qi Sea and, um..."
With rosy cheeks, Pei Guanli tapped the bell with her chin. "The flaws in my body are nearly fully refined too. I feel that my cultivation base will soon break through to the Eighth Rank Realm."
Chen Yi ate a pastry, glanced at the sky, and casually offered his congratulations.
"Brother-in-law, you're about to break through too, aren't you?"
"Take out the word 'about.'"
Pei Guanli's smile froze. "Brother-in-law, you, you... you Broke through? Ninth Rank, Upper Stage?"
Chen Yi rolled his eyes at her. "What are you so surprised about? I'm still far from Ninth Rank · Perfected."
Pei Guanli stared blankly at him. "Hehe, y-yes."
Mountain Goddess above, brother-in-law wasn't human!
In less than a month, he had cultivated from an ordinary mortal body to the Ninth Rank, Upper Stage!!
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