Metamorphosis

Early in the morning, Liu Da swept the courtyard with a broom, the swish, swish, swish ringing without end.

The door creaked open, and Liu Yuanzhou walked out of the cave dwelling. Liu Da glanced at his son and said, "Sleep a little longer. It's still early, and there's nothing to do today." The sun had yet to leap over the mountaintop, and half the eastern sky had been dyed white.

Liu Yuanzhou stretched, drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out. At once, he felt refreshed and clear-headed.

"I'm not sleeping. I feel much better today, Dad. Let me sweep." As Liu Yuanzhou spoke, he walked over to take the broom from his father.

Liu Da pushed his son aside. "No need. Go back inside. There's a fire in the cave, so it's warmer." As he spoke, Liu Da wiped his mouth. In that short while, a layer of white frost had already formed on his upper-lip beard.

Liu Yuanzhou entered the central cave, where his mother, Zhang Shi, was cooking. The rich fragrance of meat rushed at him; meat was stewing in the pot. "Mom, we're eating meat today? What's the occasion?" Liu Yuanzhou asked curiously.

"The meat isn't for you. Your brother and sister-in-law went back to her family two days ago. Counting the days, they should be back today." Zhang Shi was chopping pickled cabbage. "Hurry onto the kang. The ground is cold. Are you feeling better?"

"I feel much better today, Mom. You're so biased." Liu Yuanzhou smiled and climbed onto the kang to sit.

"Let's see if you still dare drink in the future!" Zhang Shi snapped.

Four days had already passed since Liu Yuanbo's wedding. That night, he had drunk with Miss Qin until he was dead drunk and spent the night at Third Master's house. The next morning, he fell ill. His head felt as if it were splitting apart, and his whole body was limp and weak. He had been the same for the following days, not even practicing his daily stance work. All he wanted was to sleep.

His parents had been worried sick and called a physician to examine him. The physician could find nothing wrong, saying only that it might be an aftereffect of drunkenness and that a few days of rest would cure him. Only then did his parents feel relieved. They made him stay in bed every day and would not even let him leave the house.

Having not gone to Third Master's house for four straight days, Liu Yuanzhou missed Miss Qin quite a bit. After breakfast, he secretly tucked two Corn Breads into his clothes and ran toward Third Master's house as soon as he stepped outside.

"Where are you going now?" Seeing that he had barely recovered before trying to run off again, Zhang Shi immediately pulled a stern face and called after him.

"I'm going to talk to Hu Wa about something. Mom, I'm fine now. I'm completely better." Liu Yuanzhou stopped some distance away and jumped in place a few times for his mother to see, proving how healthy he was. Then he turned and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shaking her head helplessly, Zhang Shi turned and went back into the cave.

Liu Yuanzhou ran all the way to Third Master's house in one breath, panting slightly. Only then was he certain that he had truly recovered, and he finally let out a sigh of relief. Standing outside, Liu Yuanzhou called, "I'm coming in," then pushed open the door and entered.

The moment he entered the inner room where Miss Qin lived, Liu Yuanzhou was struck dumb. She was holding a roast chicken in her hand and gnawing on it. On the kang table sat another plate of meat and several White Flour Buns.

"Hehe, feeling better? Come, have some roast chicken and beef." Miss Qin smiled.

"Great. I was worried you'd been starving these past few days. Turns out you've been feasting on fish and meat every day." Liu Yuanzhou put on a disappointed expression.

"You really underestimate a martial artist." Miss Qin rolled her eyes at him, tore off a chicken leg, and took two bites. With her mouth full, she said vaguely, "If you want to eat, help yourself."

Liu Yuanzhou had long been drooling with hunger. He hurried over and sat down. Although he had just eaten breakfast, his family had only served porridge, pickled cabbage, and corn bread—clear soup and little water. How could that compare to rich meat and White Flour Buns?

He took out the corn bread and set it on the table, then grabbed a white-flour bun, stuffed it with a piece of beef, and took a huge bite. "Did you make this? It's delicious."

Miss Qin only smiled without answering. After they finished eating, Liu Yuanzhou cleaned up the dishes.

Once he was done, Liu Yuanzhou brewed a pot of hot tea and set it on the table. "Your injuries are all healed, right?"

"Thanks to you, they're healed." Miss Qin took a pleased sip of tea, set down her cup, and asked, "You haven't practiced your stance these past few days?"

"No. I felt like I had no strength at all. I couldn't even assume the posture for stance work. Sigh, I don't know what happened to me. I got sick for days just from getting drunk once." Liu Yuanzhou smiled bitterly.

"Stand a stance here for a while. Let me see whether your skills have declined."

Liu Yuanzhou did not dare delay. He loosened up his body where he stood, then assumed the posture of the Limitless Stance and began the breathing method. Once a breathing cycle ended, he emptied his mind, thinking of nothing. His thoughts gradually fell silent, until only the rhythm of his breathing pulsed in his awareness. Gradually, even the breathing vanished. His entire being entered a state both profound and mysterious, as though time had abruptly stopped at that instant, as though the world had returned to primordial chaos.

He did not know how long had passed when a sharp pain suddenly tore through his entire body, waking him from that wondrous state. He collapsed onto the ground, every inch of him aching beneath boundless exhaustion, sweat pouring from him like syrup. These were the symptoms of overexerting himself in stance training. Yet he paid them no mind. Panting heavily, he looked at Miss Qin and asked in a trembling voice, "I... did I just Enter Samadhi?"

The corners of Miss Qin's lips lifted. She nodded and said, "You stood for nearly seven breathing cycles. If that wasn't Entering Samadhi, what else could it be?"

Liu Yuanzhou fell backward with his face to the sky and burst into laughter. His face was covered in water; whether it was sweat or tears, no one could tell.

"Thank you, Miss Qin." Liu Yuanzhou spoke solemnly. By then, he had recovered from his exhaustion, and the two of them sat once more at the kang table to drink tea.

"What are you thanking me for? You turned disaster into blessing yourself. You got drunk once, and it opened your mind enough to Enter Samadhi. Sigh, how are all those people in the martial world who struggle bitterly supposed to bear that?" Miss Qin said with a smile.

"What disaster turning into blessing? How could there be something so good? I remember the pearl you showed me that night. It must have been what made me Enter Samadhi," Liu Yuanzhou said.

"Sigh, enough of this. If you truly want to thank me, then train hard. Strive to break through to the Ming Jin Realm soon and become a martial artist. Then my teaching you martial arts will not have been in vain." Miss Qin shook her head and sighed.

"Mm." Liu Yuanzhou nodded forcefully. He also knew that aside from saying thank you, there was nothing else he could do for Miss Qin right now. He could only bury this gratitude deep in his heart and repay her after he became a martial artist, after he became strong.

The two chatted for a while longer and drank some tea before Liu Yuanzhou left.

Only Miss Qin remained in the cave. She took a pearl from her bosom and saw that, at some unknown time, a crack had appeared on its surface. She gently stroked it with her thumb and could not help smiling bitterly. This was the subsidiary pearl of the Profound Nether Pearl, an important resource of her sect. It possessed the power of Spiritual Awakening. What did Spiritual Awakening mean? It awakened one's spiritual intelligence. Put simply, it improved a martial practitioner's aptitude. Naturally, it was only useful to ordinary people, but even so, it was a priceless treasure.

Each use of the subsidiary pearl would produce a crack. Once three cracks appeared, the pearl would shatter and lose its effect. As for why she carried such an item, that was a story for later and would not be mentioned for now.

In a fit of drunken impulse that night, she had used the Profound Nether Pearl on Liu Yuanzhou. She did not regret it, but she worried over how she would explain the matter to her sect. Liu Yuanzhou's involvement absolutely could not be mentioned. Looks like I can only pin everything on that dead Bage. Miss Qin shook her head. It's time to return to the sect. I wonder how Master and the others are doing? Looking around the place where she had lived for a full month, she could not help feeling a touch of melancholy and reluctance.

After leaving Third Master's house, Liu Yuanzhou headed straight for Liu Chuang's home. When he had fallen ill from drinking a few days ago, he had told his mother that he had been drinking with Liu Chuang that night. As a result, his mother bore quite a grudge against Liu Chuang. Liu Chuang had been a true friend and had not let the lie be exposed. Liu Yuanzhou had not gone to explain while he was sick, but now that he had recovered, he had to give Liu Chuang a reasonable explanation.

There was another reason as well. He was excited, happy, and desperately wanted to find someone with whom to share his joy.