Am I a Fledgling?

There were three secret letters in total, and they actually involved two translated texts: the Huangmei opera The Journey of Dongwa and the yuefu poem Eternal Joy.

Fortunately, the two wooden towers in Chunhe Garden housed a vast collection of books, including all the popular plays and scripts of the time.

Even so, Chen Yi still spent nearly an hour before he managed to decipher the contents of the three secret letters.

The first read: "[The Fledgling has married into the Xiao Manor. Keep a close watch!]"

The second was: "[The matter of the escaped marriage is suspicious. Find out who did it!]"

As for the last one, it was the secret letter Chen Yi had seen before Liu Si'er this morning:

"[You have been exposed. Find him and kill him! Also, someone else will take your place later. He will contact you when needed!]"

After reading them.

Chen Yi frowned slightly and thought to himself, "I'm the Fledgling?"

Fledgling, Eaglet.

The use of such codenames seemed to imply a meaning of letting him grow strong.

Was this intended to train him, or to use him to achieve some goal?

Moreover, judging by the contents of these three secret letters, the Hidden Guard didn't seem to bear him much ill will.

Especially that line, "The matter of the escaped marriage is suspicious."

Even the Xiao Family didn't know about this. Where did the Hidden Guard get their information? And how were they so certain that he hadn't fled the marriage himself, but had been framed?

The most crucial point was—what reason did they have, and in what capacity, to investigate this matter?

Thinking this far, Chen Yi shook his head.

The intelligence he had on hand was ultimately too little. He could only confirm that these "Hidden Guards," who had been hiding in the Xiao Manor for years, bore him no ill will in the short term.

Beyond that, these Hidden Guards were not in cahoots with the people who had previously caused him to flee the marriage.

Pei Guanli, who was beside him, noticed his unusual expression. She leaned over to look at the deciphered code on the blank paper, rubbed her rounded chin, and asked:

"Brother-in-law, who is this Fledgling? Has some girl married into the Xiao Manor recently?"

Chen Yi's face darkened. These "Hidden Guards" had a real problem with their wording. It seemed they couldn't find a script that included the character for "live-in son-in-law."

Pei Guanli didn't notice his expression. "And this escaped marriage thing, hmm... that's talking about you, right?"

"As for this last part about being exposed, haha... the only ones who know his identity are you and me... hmm?"

Pei Guanli caught on. Her smile vanished instantly. Baring two tiger-like fangs, she said fiercely, "Brother-in-law, he wants to kill us. Want me to go kill him now?"

Chen Yi raised a hand. "No rush."

Earlier, he had only thought the "Hidden Guard" was targeting the Xiao Family, and had planned to use this as a backup card, bringing it up when he met Lady Xiao Jinghong to trade for some benefits.

But now that he knew the Hidden Guard's three consecutive secret letters all involved him, he naturally had to change his plan.

At the very least, he had to wait until he figured out the Hidden Guard's true intentions before deciding.

Otherwise, if he made a wrong move, he might end up burying himself.

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 shadows and watch another group of people who think they're hiding in the shadows come to harm you?"

Pei Guanli's round face showed a hint of bewilderment. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she stared blankly at him.

It took her a long while to sort out his words. The corner of her full lips curled up. "I get it, brother-in-law."

"You want to wait for them to come and harm you, so you can catch them all in one net?"

"Let's just say you're half right."

Chen Yi wasn't a masochist. There was no way he would sit idly by and let others harm him.

And from the moment he deciphered the code and learned of the "Hidden Guard's" existence, the positions of hunter and prey had undergone a subtle shift.

Liu Si'er, Uncle Gui, and the others hiding in the Xiao Manor only knew they had been exposed. They didn't know who had discovered their identities.

That was Chen Yi's greatest advantage.

Pei Guanli's expression grew slightly excited. She shook her hands and feet, causing the pair of bells on her chest to jingle softly.

Interesting. Her brother-in-law was far too interesting.

She was right to follow him. There would definitely be even more interesting things to come.

"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 veteran of a hundred battles in the Dingyuan Army, who had passed through layers of selection to become a personal guard at the Xiao Manor. Word had it that his cultivation had already reached the Eighth Rank Realm a few years ago.

Even if he and Pei Guanli joined forces, they wouldn't be a match for Liu Si'er in a direct confrontation.

On top of that, besides the "Hidden Guard," there was still another group lurking in the shadows, the ones who had caused him to flee the marriage.

Thinking about this, a sense of urgency surged in Chen Yi's heart, nearly killing his interest in fishing.

He was just an idle son-in-law, gentle, respectful, and harmless—why would anyone hold such a grudge against him?

Before long.

Chen Yi quietly led Pei Guanli into the Purple Bamboo Grove, each finding a corner to stand in their stances.

Outside Chunhe Garden, though Liu Si'er and Wang Lixing stood guard, as long as they didn't enter, their cultivation at most the Eighth Rank Realm couldn't detect the Purple Bamboo Grove from such a distance.

This made it convenient for Chen Yi to quietly raise his cultivation.

Thus, while he used the Great Spear Stance Cultivation to condense Qi and open his Qi Sea in his Dantian, he also called up his panel to inspect it:

Name: Chen Yi

Cultivation Base: Ninth Rank · Middle

Way of Calligraphy: Major Accomplishment (0/1000)

Calligraphy: Wei Qing (Mastery), Running Script (Proficient)

Martial Dao Body: Minor Accomplishment (0/100)

Cultivation Technique: Great Spear Stance Cultivation [Mystic Grade] (Proficient)

Martial Dao Fist: Minor Accomplishment (0/100)

Fist Techniques: Collapse Mountain [Mystic Grade] (Proficient), Hundred Flower Palm [Mystic Grade] (Initial Glimpse)

Martial Dao Step: Minor Accomplishment (0/100)

Body Movement Technique: Playful Dragon Teases Phoenix [Mystic Grade] (Proficient), Meteor Butterfly Steps [Earth Rank] (Initial Glimpse)

Fortune: 43

Chen Yi carefully reviewed the current progress of each "Way," took mental note, and focused on cultivating his stance.

For now, aside from the Way of Calligraphy at Major Accomplishment, his Martial Dao Body, Fist, and Step were all at Minor Accomplishment, with each technique just entering Proficient—far from Perfected, so no need to waste Fortune yet.

As for breakthroughs, his cultivation base was advancing swiftly.

An hour later.

Chen Yi's body stood in the Great Spear Stance, eyes slightly closed, hands raised shoulder-high and extended forward as if gripping an invisible spear.

From the outside, nothing was visible, but in truth, his body was vibrating his bones, tendons, skin, and even his internal organs at an extremely subtle yet rapid frequency.

The Qi generated from his flesh and blood expanded his Dantian's Qi Sea to its limit, then slowly condensed and contracted into a fine thread, piercing upward through a tangible membrane.

Like a needle prick.

Chen Yi felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, heard a crisp "pop" in his ear, and sensed that thread of Qi break through his Dantian, rising all the way to vanish into the Shanzhong Acupoint.

[Cultivation Base advances, breakthrough to Ninth Rank, Upper Stage!]

As a flash of light passed, a profound insight into the Minor Accomplishment realm of the Martial Dao Body surfaced in Chen Yi's mind.

[The Martial Dao Ninth Rank Realm builds the foundation of physique and meridians: above, the Shanzhong Acupoint as the core, opening the main meridians of both hands; below, the Dantian as the core, opening the main meridians of both legs.]

[Thus, strength penetrates bones, tendons, skin, and organs, Qi flows through all four limbs, and with this foundation, one can continuously temper the physique until both seas are full.]

Chen Yi opened his eyes, slowly lowered his hands, calmed the Qi within him, and exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath.

Instantly, his body felt lighter, every part of him unobstructed, no longer plagued by the ravenous hunger that followed his previous training sessions.

"So that's it—after reaching the Upper Stage, the Qi condensed from bones, tendons, and skin is locked in the two Qi Seas, meaning no personal consumption at all."

Chen Yi understood, glanced at Pei Guanli, who had also finished her stance on the other side, and realized her earlier claims of hunger were all an act.

Tch, this tiger girl wasn't just fierce—she was greedy too.

Still, after a moment's thought, he took out some pastries he'd prepared earlier and shared them with Pei Guanli.

"Brother-in-law, thanks to your guidance, my Dantian's Qi Sea and, um..."

Pei Guanli's pretty face flushed as she tapped her chin against the bell, "The gaps in my body are almost fully trained through too. I feel like I'll break through to the Eighth Rank Realm soon."

Chen Yi ate his pastry, glanced at the sky, and casually offered his congratulations.

"Brother-in-law, are you about to break through too?"

"Take the 'about to' out."

Pei Guanli's smile froze: "Brother-in-law, you, you you... broke through? Ninth Rank, Upper Stage?"

Chen Yi shot her a look, "What's with the surprise? I'm still far from Ninth Rank · Perfected."

Pei Guanli stared at him blankly, "Heh, right, right."

Mountain Goddess, her brother-in-law wasn't human!

He'd gone from a mortal body to Ninth Rank, Upper Stage in less than a month!!