Chen Ye took his hand off the door.
When he turned around, his face was already wreathed in smiles.
"Young Master just rewarded me with some silver, and I was about to go out and find a little fun."
"What matters most right now is to shut yourself away and practice. Don't lose sight of your priorities!" Zhang Tieyi's expression turned stern, his gaze sharp. "Once your skills are up to par, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy yourself."
As he spoke, his eyes lingered on Chen Ye's face for a moment.
"Also, remember your place. You're a servant of the Gao Household, and you must obey the Household's arrangements. Don't entertain any other ideas!"
Chen Ye's heart gave two sharp thumps.
The other man had lowered his voice at the end of that sentence, making it sound like a warning.
Had Zhang Tieyi noticed something?
He'd been transported here only seven or eight days ago. He rose before dawn and worked until dark every day, had met fewer than five people, and had probably said fewer than a hundred words in total.
He shouldn't have slipped up in that regard.
The problem was probably his attitude.
The previous owner of this body had been an honest, unassuming servant.
Chen Ye wasn't.
When dealing with people, he never put himself in an inferior position.
He must have let that show without realizing it, and someone had noticed.
The sudden sense of danger made Chen Ye decide it was best not to openly oppose him.
He lowered his eyes and nodded. "Yes, I understand."
Chen Ye turned around, feeling a chill at the back of his head as the hairs on his neck stood on end.
It was like someone was holding a needlepoint right behind his neck.
He didn't know whether Zhang Tieyi was watching him, but the feeling lasted for at least three breaths before slowly fading.
Zhang Tieyi's expression turned cold. He knocked on the tightly shut door and ordered the people outside, "Tell everyone to keep their distance. Don't hang around here and get in the way."
Back in his room, the calm vanished from Chen Ye's face, replaced by a look of icy coldness.
Would a Xie Family scion about to head to the capital be short of a servant who'd had less than a month of training?
Something was wrong.
He remembered Gao Yunheng saying that in a month, Lord Xie of the Inspection Bureau would be entering the capital, and that there must not be the slightest mishap.
"Not the slightest mishap."
Chen Ye lined up all the clues in his mind.
They could be linked together, but he still couldn't piece together the full picture.
There was one thing he could be sure of, though.
The Gao Family wasn't training him to become a capable bodyguard. They had some other purpose in mind.
Still, whatever the Gao Family's goal was, whatever they planned to make him do later, there was only one thing he could do now.
Practice.
Practice until he was strong enough that no one could take his life from him.
He stood up, intending to pawn some of his lifespan to improve his cultivation.
But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Chen Ye stopped again.
Not here.
Zhang Tieyi is nearby. A martial arts expert like him might notice the changes when I pawn my lifespan.
Chen Ye put the thought aside for the moment, deciding to first get a feel for the situation in this courtyard.
He'd wait until later, then find a suitable opportunity to improve his cultivation.
Chen Ye sat on the long bench and pondered for a while, then poured out all the silver from his money pouch and counted it.
Twenty taels.
More than ten times what the previous owner of his body had saved.
One tael of silver could buy back four days of lifespan.
Twenty taels meant eighty days.
Not a lot, but not nothing, either.
With a thought, Chen Ye chose to redeem his lifespan.
Thirteen taels of silver vanished from his hand without a trace.
[Current lifespan remaining: three years and fifty-two days]
He tucked the remaining seven taels of broken silver away again.
He had just pulled his lapels closed when someone knocked.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
Gao Qiaoniang's voice came through the door. "Guard Zhang asked me to tell you to get ready. It's time to practice."
"I'm coming." Chen Ye stood and straightened his lapels.
Before leaving, he glanced outside through the square window. The two guards who had been chatting earlier were gone.
He narrowed his eyes and stepped out.
Zhang Tieyi was already standing in the middle of the courtyard, his hands clasped behind his back.
The morning sun shone past him, stretching his nearly two-meter-tall frame into a dense black shadow that pressed down on everything around him.
Gao Qiaoniang stood to one side, holding a wooden tray.
A bright red pill sat on the tray, glistening and giving off a strong medicinal fragrance.
"Take this," Zhang Tieyi said.
Chen Ye stared at the pill of unknown origin, his heart full of resistance.
But as a servant, he had no right to question his master's arrangements, let alone refuse them.
He stepped forward, his face full of deference. "Thank you, Lord Xie, for the pill!"
With that, he took the pill and swallowed it.
The pill slid down his throat, and a strong, sickly-sweet taste spread through his mouth.
At the same time, the number on the Pawn Panel jumped without warning.
[Current lifespan remaining: three years and thirty days]
Chen Ye's heart jolted.
If he'd had any doubts before, he could now be almost certain.
These damned villains were trying to kill me!
A mere pill had cost him more than twenty days of life.
He kept his breathing steady.
So steady that even Zhang Tieyi, standing two paces away, didn't notice that his breathing had actually stopped for two beats.
Zhang Tieyi said, "This is a Blood Ginseng Pill. It can stimulate a martial artist's qi and blood, greatly benefiting their cultivation. After taking it, you'll feel heat throughout your body. If you practice then, you'll get twice the results with half the effort."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ye felt a scorching heat rise from his stomach. It was like he'd downed a bowl of strong liquor; his whole body grew hot and burning.
"Take your stance." Zhang Tieyi lifted his chin. "Next, I'll teach you the breathing method that goes with the Tiger-Capturing Fist."
Chen Ye followed his instructions and assumed the stance.
The heat rampaged through his veins, making his fingers begin to tremble.
"Martial cultivation is divided into four realms according to the changes in the physical body: Mortal Shedding, Dragon Elephant, Bridge Sea, and Xiantian."
Fighting the burning sensation inside him, Chen Ye did his best to remember what Zhang Tieyi was saying.
"Though there are only four realms, people's achievements at each level vary enormously. In the Mortal Shedding Realm, some shed their mortal form once and top out at two hundred jin of strength, while others shed it three times and master a thousand jin of force."
Zhang Tieyi watched Chen Ye as he continued.
By now, fine beads of sweat had appeared across Chen Ye's brow. The heat of the Blood Ginseng Pill felt like a nest of ants crawling over his muscles, but he still held his stance perfectly still.
"What about reaching Xiantian?" Chen Ye asked hoarsely. "Can one become immortal?"
"Immortality? I've never heard of it. Even those who reach Xiantian and rank among the sages cannot escape the cycle of life and death."
"What about extending one's lifespan? Can martial arts do that?"
"Of course." Zhang Tieyi's tone was calm. "Martial arts offer no shortage of cultivation methods and pills that nourish one's lifespan. They're highly sought after by the rich and powerful. The great Aristocratic Clans and sects of the capital, in particular, have many such methods."
Chen Ye memorized his words carefully.
He needed that.
Only by replenishing his lifespan could the Pawn System truly be useful.
"This breathing method and the Blood Ginseng Pill both nourish one's lifespan. They're extremely rare, worth a thousand gold." Zhang Tieyi changed tack and coaxed him. "You may pass them down to your family in the future, but you must never share them with outsiders."
Chen Ye's lips twitched.
If the number on the panel hadn't jumped just now, he might have believed him.
He put that thought away and let a grateful expression appear on his face. "Thank you, Lord Xie."
Zhang Tieyi was pleased with Chen Ye's reaction.
In his eyes, dealing with an ignorant servant was as easy as catching something in the palm of his hand.
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