Making Up for Shortcomings

After dinner, Miao Ruolan got to the point and told him that the hardest hurdle in this technique was producing true qi. It could not be taught; one could only calm one's mind and comprehend it alone.

She had started training as a child. Only after a full thirteen years had she accidentally triggered it on a spring night, catching that hazy, intangible sensation of qi and producing her first wisp of true qi.

Afterward, that wisp of true qi traveled through several of the body's main channels, slowly growing stronger.

She had not even been considered slow. She was three years faster than her father. It had taken him a full sixteen years to produce that first wisp of true qi, and midway through, he had even wondered whether their ancestors had been fooling them. That was why, when that disciple betrayed him back then, the old man had only felt depressed and had not beaten him up. He could understand the disappointment of working hard for five years and gaining nothing...

So, facing Lin Xiaosu, she voiced her true thoughts. He should not be in such a rush for success. In modern society, almost no one practiced martial arts, yet didn't everyone still live just fine? He could take it back and make a copy if he wanted. He only needed to return the original to her after some time.

At her reasonable suggestion, Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered. "There's no need to take it away. I've already read it."

He returned the book to her right there.

Miao Ruolan felt a little comforted, but also a little disappointed.

She was comforted because he knew when to retreat in the face of difficulty and was not blindly stubborn.

But she was disappointed because, in the end, she had not managed to help him.

Yet with his next sentence, Miao Ruolan had no idea what he meant...

Lin Xiaosu said, "Anyway, I've already memorized it. I'll give it a try..."

Then he sat cross-legged and did not move again.

Miao Ruolan cleared the dishes, washed the bowls, and even washed the bedsheets she had not had time to wash yesterday. Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already past four in the afternoon...

Her gaze drifted toward the backyard, and her thoughts began to wander.

Lin Xiaosu was sitting there in the backyard, still utterly motionless.

It was almost five. Wasn't he going home?

She truly did not mean to drive him away. She even hoped that he would not leave tonight. But if he really did stay, she was still a little afraid. She had never let a man stay overnight before, and the very idea was foreign to her. She was a little scared, a little shy, and a little conflicted...

Lin Xiaosu showed absolutely no intention of leaving.

Five o'clock passed. Then six o'clock...

Miao Ruolan finally let go of the knot in her heart.

It seemed he was set on staying the night.

The sky had gone dark.

In truth, Lin Xiaosu should have had the same misgivings she did.

Today was the first time a lone man and a lone woman had met. Could they really stay overnight together?

Normally, it would have been absolutely impossible.

But today was a special case.

Lin Xiaosu had completely forgotten the passage of time. He was single-mindedly wrestling with this technique.

Wasn't Humanity Orchidheart the strongest comprehension?

Didn't a technique require comprehension more than anything else?

If I can't even get started with one technique, then what the hell kind of comprehension am I talking about?

I have to defend the dignity of Humanity Orchidheart!

He was full of defiance, but unfortunately, this technique seemed tailor-made to deal with stubborn mules like him. An entire morning and an entire afternoon had passed, yet he had not even touched the edge of qi sensation...

Suddenly, Spirit Essence flashed through his mind.

It was as if a Silver Fish had stirred up ripples.

Lin Xiaosu saw a new direction.

That Silver Fish in his mind!

What was this Silver Fish?

A consciousness entity.

A consciousness entity itself was hazy and intangible, but after gaining Humanity Orchidheart, this formless consciousness entity seemed to have come alive and become something tangible.

Qi sensation could not arise at that point.

What if I pull this Silver Fish there and try it...

With a thought, the Silver Fish arrived at that mysterious Rejuvenation Origin Point...

After one circle, Lin Xiaosu's entire body jolted. He caught an invisible ripple spreading outward...

After two circles, a wisp of qi sensation was born.

After three circles, that wisp of qi sensation flowed downward from the origin point, and his Dantian began to throb with waves of stabbing pain.

The sensation of true qi stimulating his body became even clearer.

But the pain also grew sharper. That Silver Fish was like a plow in his hand, breaking new ground through soil that had never been cultivated...

At some point, Lin Xiaosu became drenched in sweat, beads as large as beans trembling on his forehead, ready to fall.

At last, a thunderous boom sounded within him. It was as if a gate sealed by dust for decades had opened. True qi turned into a babbling stream, flowing through his two main channels, the Twelve Regular Meridians, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians...

By the small gate of the backyard, Miao Ruolan stood holding a tray. She let out a soft cry, her face full of disbelief. The tray in her hands nearly tipped over, but she gripped it desperately, even deforming the stainless-steel tray.

Lin Xiaosu slowly opened his eyes, wearing the expression of someone who had carried a burden for hours and finally set it down—utterly relaxed and content.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and stared in shock at the layer of grime on his arm. Then he touched his backside and cursed inwardly, Fuck!

His clothes were slick and greasy, as though the impurities inside his body had all been expelled at once.

"You succeeded! You actually succeeded!" Miao Ruolan's face was flushed like rosy clouds, and the dishes on her tray clattered loudly...

"I need to take a shower..." Lin Xiaosu said.

"Go ahead!"

Lin Xiaosu spent a long time washing in the bathroom.

Miao Ruolan hung her father's clothes on the doorknob and stood in the yard for a long while.

Her chest rose and fell gently as she calmed the turmoil in her heart.

Once the Rejuvenation Technique was mastered, Tendon Tempering and Marrow Cleansing would occur, and impurities within the body would be expelled. She had never mentioned this to him.

Because in her understanding, even if he truly had a mind as still as water, even if he truly was a genius, it would take him several years before there was even the faintest possibility. It was far too early to speak of the effects of the technique.

But in only half a day, he had broken through directly.

He had crossed the hardest threshold—getting started!

Was this his miracle?

The technique's own miracle?

Or a miracle created by the two of them together?

The bathroom door opened, and Lin Xiaosu emerged wearing her father's pajamas. Miao Ruolan suddenly felt that the person walking toward her looked kind of handsome!

This was not an illusion.

It was a fact. Success in practicing the Rejuvenation Technique expelled impurities and optimized bodily functions; beauty enhancement was part of it by nature.

Why else did Miao Ruolan think she could persevere for thirteen years?

Her most fundamental purpose had been beauty.

Why had she failed?

In truth, it was all tears when she spoke of it. She had succeeded!

At first, she had been ugly. After mastering the Rejuvenation Technique, she had become ordinary. Wasn't that success?

She could not blame her mother for passing the worst parts of her face down to her, nor could she blame her ancestors' technique for lacking the effect of remaking one's body from the roots. She could only blame her starting point for being far too low. Even after raising her score by a huge margin, she was still below average...

"I think I made it!" Lin Xiaosu said with a faint smile.

"Not think!" Miao Ruolan gathered up the tumult in her heart and smiled brilliantly.

"I feel like I can create a spectacle too, just like you!"

"Just like me?" Miao Ruolan froze slightly. "You're talking nonsense again. What spectacle could I possibly create?"

Lin Xiaosu walked to the small table and picked up a pebble...

Whoosh!

The pebble shot out like lightning and embedded itself in the very center of the large flower opposite him, as though he had dotted its heart with a single brushstroke.

Miao Ruolan's eyes lit up. "You noticed long ago that the pebbles embedded in the stone were set using this method?"

"Yeah!"

"Is that your detective skill?"

Lin Xiaosu smiled. "That's why our detective agency definitely won't be short of business!"

"I... I already told you, I... I really don't know how to do detective work. If you partner with me, you'll just be supporting an idler."

"In your dreams. Do you really think you'll be idle? Opening a detective agency requires a mountain of paperwork. Just thinking about it gives me a headache!"

"Then why do you insist on opening one?"

"Because... because of money. In this society, without money, you can't take a single step. My brother still isn't married. Whenever my mom mentions the two of us getting married, she worries herself into circles. My dad works on construction sites outside, getting scorched black and sweating buckets every day. I plan to use my own two hands to free my dad from that life first."

"Then I need to free my dad too!" Miao Ruolan said. "And my brother. My mom said that if my brother wants to get a girlfriend, he can probably only go to Southeast Asia and smash money around to buy one."

"Did your brother master this Rejuvenation Technique?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"He's flighty and impatient in everything he does. How could he practice it? Back then, he said something that nearly angered my dad to death... He said that after practicing for ten years, he couldn't feel any qi sensation in his body except for farts... Luckily, he didn't succeed. If he had martial arts skills, with his temperament of throwing hands at the slightest disagreement, no amount of family savings would cover everyone's medical bills..."

After dinner, Miao Ruolan immediately grabbed the clothes he had changed out of and went to wash them.

Once she did that, Lin Xiaosu no longer had to agonize over whether to go home.

Going home in the middle of the night wearing her father's pajamas did not seem very appropriate either.

Staying here for one night did not seem like much of an issue. After all, the two of them were partners now. If nothing unexpected happened, they would also live together at the detective agency in the county town in the future.

He went to wash the dishes.

In the backyard, the solar lamp was lit, its soft light shining down. He washed dishes while Miao Ruolan washed clothes. It was rather harmonious.

They chatted casually, and gradually, a sense of familiarity grew between them.

Perhaps it was because they had both mastered the Rejuvenation Technique and become the same kind of people. Or perhaps Miao Ruolan herself was a particularly gentle and intelligent woman. In any case, Lin Xiaosu found talking with her exceptionally comfortable, and their topics grew more and more relaxed. By late at night, they truly felt like old friends who had worked together for many years.

That night, Lin Xiaosu slept in the guest room.

A gentle breeze came in through the Window. Beneath it, the water rippled faintly. Dogs barked a few times in the mountain village before quieting down. The sky was filled with stars, then covered by dark clouds...

He slept soundly. Perhaps this was the wonder of the Rejuvenation Technique: it could make one's state of mind extraordinarily peaceful.

If he were placed in a team like Changye and Number 88 again, then at least in terms of sleep, he could keep in sync with them. He, too, could sleep whenever he wanted.

What about combat ability?

Could he keep in sync with them there as well?

Lin Xiaosu did not know, but that was not important.

What mattered was that his greatest shortcoming was already being made up for, and there were signs that the future held promise.

Genetic experts had combat power that erupted suddenly; they reached their peak the moment they stepped off the operating table.

Ancient Martial Arts practitioners were different. Their cultivation could keep growing. That was the source of Lin Xiaosu's confidence...