James's Hobby

In 1845, Canada had only recently completed the unification of its upper and lower regions, serving as the largest overseas colony of the British Empire.

Edmonton, where the Howlett estate was located, was the largest city in the province of Alberta. Although to the British aristocrats across the ocean, a colonial landowner was by no means qualified to stand as their equal, there was no denying that in this region, the Howlett family were the most powerful, wealthy, and influential lords.

Midsummer in the Midwest was the hardest to endure. The towering, sprawling Rocky Mountains blocked the cold tundra climate from the north, and the cool breezes from the east lingered at the foot of the mountains, hesitant to move forward. There was enough ice in the manor's rooms to cool them down, and even the big beasts in the stables enjoyed such conditions.

However, the workers and slaves in the pastures and fields could only let their sweat become the sweet spring that watered the land.

Mr. Howlett believed they were naturally adapted to such an environment, calling it perfectly consistent with his usual rhetoric of being "strict but fair," for the vast majority of them were dark-skinned and thus ought to live under the sun—it was only natural.

James had just spent the last few days adapting to the daily life of the so-called aristocratic class. He already had a tutor who had begun teaching him writing and arithmetic, accompanied by instruction in aristocratic etiquette.

This teacher was someone Mr. Howlett had hired from London at a high salary, a bachelor of literature and history from Oxford who was also proficient in French and Latin.

Mr. Howlett could not allow his grandson, the future heir of the family, to grow up in this land devoid of civilization as a cowboy who only knew how to rope cattle and fire guns. The Howlett family was to become true British aristocrats, and James deserved the best education from a young age; for this, he paid a weekly salary of thirteen pounds.

Every day, little James had to study arithmetic for an hour with Mr. Daniel, an hour of English and history, and an hour each of French and Latin.

It was rare for Daniel to grant him a 15-minute break between each subject, which was mainly because James's learning progress and results had improved significantly over the past month.

Although he had always been an obedient child, it had to be said that this age was full of curiosity about the outside world, and books were never as cute as little ponies. It was only because the little maid Rose, who had always studied with him, had grades far better than James's that Mr. Daniel could not relax his lessons.

"Alright James, that's all for today. Very good, especially the arithmetic; I think in a few more weeks you'll be able to help Mr. Howlett with the accounts! Your French still needs strengthening; it is a very important language in England."

"Yes, Mr. Daniel, then I shall take my leave." After a polite, slight bow, the little maid Rose O'Hara also lifted the corner of her skirt slightly, performed a standard lady's curtsy, and followed James out.

"I heard that you can see fireflies by the granary tonight! Master James, would you like to go?" O'Hara, shaking her bright red hair, looked at James with anticipation. There were some freckles on the bridge of her nose, which were so conspicuous on her fair, glowing skin, making the little girl look even more charming.

"Sorry, O'Hara, I have to review the lessons Mr. Daniel left for me tonight; I cannot go with you." James was not moved by his little maid's cuteness and replied somewhat lazily.

"It's like this again... You still always call me O'Hara. Isn't calling someone by their surname something only strangers do!" Hearing the clearly aggrieved and indignant complaint from his side, James couldn't help but feel a headache as he comforted her: "Because O'Hara sounds cuter, and it suits you better."

"Really! Master James, do you think I'm cute?" A child's temper changed like the weather at sea; just a moment ago it was brewing a rainstorm, and now the sky was bright again.

"Yes, you are the cutest in the manor."

O'Hara giggled with satisfaction, completely forgetting about the fireflies at the granary, and after saying goodbye to James, she went to the servants' quarters for dinner.

Even though James had never had children in his previous life, he was truly troubled by this little tail that followed him every day. O'Hara's mother was the personal maid of Lady Elizabeth, James's mother.

Ever since his brother Tony, whom he had never met, died in infancy, the Howlett family had not employed any black servants. O'Hara and her mother had come to Canada from Northern Ireland to make a living; it was no easy feat for a widow to bring a young daughter on a two-month voyage to get here.

Many British commoners in difficult financial straits chose to come to the colonies to serve the wealthy and manor owners. Although life here was not as rich as back home, the income was substantial, and more importantly, they could, to some extent, experience the life of the upper class.

Fortunately, every day James used reading and studying as an excuse to secure a large amount of time to be alone in his room morning and night, and his rapid progress in grades proved that he was "not speaking falsely."

Everyone in the manor knew that Master James's greatest hobby now was studying hard in his room by himself; otherwise, he couldn't think of how to explain why a twelve or thirteen-year-old child would spend four or five hours alone every day instead of chasing ponies or climbing banyan trees like before.

James's true hobby was, of course, not reading and studying. The level of education in the 19th century was very limited, let alone in the colonial regions. Even a top student from Oxford who did not major in mathematics would find it difficult to compare their mathematical level in this era with that of a Chinese student with a solid foundation in basic education.

In his previous life, Bai Feng's English was average, but the accumulation of several thousand words was completely beyond the language level of a child. The only things that required some effort were French and Latin, which he had never been exposed to, but setting aside the distracted heart of a child, it was not difficult to learn two languages seriously.

After dinner, having dealt with the casual inquiries of his grandfather, father, and mother, James politely asked if he could return to his room to review his lessons. After Mr. Howlett nodded in approval, his face crinkled with gratification, he went upstairs and gently closed the door.

He stood still, closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a long breath. With his feet apart and knees slightly bent, he stood in the room in a rather strange posture, his hands hovering near his waist.

The balcony doors and windows were wide open, facing the bright and numerous moon and stars overhead. His body rose and fell rhythmically with his breathing. After a while, when his body felt slightly warm, he stepped firmly and lifted his shoulders. In an instant, he was only on the tips of his toes, stretching his body out flat. Accompanied by the orderly cracking of his joints, he twisted his spine and bent his waist.

He changed through more than a dozen movements in succession, and it was only after a full hour that he stood still and retracted his posture. He moved around a bit and fell onto the bed, his mind constantly calculating.

"It's been almost a month of standing in this foundation-building stance every day, doing a set of Baduanjin in the morning, tapping all the joints and acupoints on my body, and practicing the basic Yijin Gong at night. This body isn't as bad as I imagined; it should be no different from a healthy child. Why did I always get sick for no reason since I was little? Could it really just be a severe allergic constitution? Practicing martial arts like this might not necessarily be able to nurse it back to health..."

James lay blankly on the bed, planning how to conduct himself in such a strange world.

Perhaps it was because he had reached the realm of "seeing through" and "knowing heaven" in his mental and psychological cultivation when his martial arts reached perfection in his previous life, he was exceptionally adaptable to the miraculous event of time and space reversal and soul-transmigration.

Moreover, although his previous self had superb comprehension, he was born with a deficiency in blood and qi and very poor bone structure. In professional Western medical terms, he had congenital heart disease, kidney failure, and very thin and fragile bones from the womb.

A sickly body destined for an early death had managed to improve its constitution step by step by practicing internal martial arts, moving from Ming Jin to An Jin, and finally to the realm of perfection.

Even so, it was only comparable to the physical functions of an ordinary, robust person. If he exerted too much An Jin, his heart would be unable to bear the burden. It was precisely because he had forcibly exerted his strength to kill his martial uncle and avenge his master that he died young due to heart failure.

Now, although it looked like time had flowed back more than 170 years from his original world and he had arrived in the very backward British colonial Canada of the mid-19th century, at least his family background was excellent, and it looked like he would have no worries about food and clothing in this life. Although there were some problems with his body that he couldn't quite figure out, it was still much better than his previous life.

Knock, knock...

With two soft, muffled sounds, Elizabeth pushed open the door and asked softly: "Jamie, are you resting?"