A man's private business

Chen Shi'an returned to his room, but instead of immediately practicing the Blade-Drawing Technique, he set about making a new scabbard.

Why?

To reduce the noise.

When he drew the blade, it rubbed against the scabbard, making quite a racket.

Especially at night, when all was quiet, the sound of the Horizontal Saber leaving its sheath was particularly grating.

Hearing it once or twice was no great problem, but hearing it endlessly could drive someone mad.

Chen Shi'an had brought meat home for two reasons: to give Chen Tiantian some nourishment, and to get some lard to coat the inside of his scabbard, making it smoother and reducing both resistance and noise when he drew his blade.

He had also obtained a length of smooth-textured nanmu to make the new scabbard.

During his previous life as a soldier on the frontier, he had handled plenty of cold weapons. Making a scabbard was nothing he couldn't manage.

After nearly an hour, the new scabbard was finished.

He tested it, and the results were excellent. The noise of the Horizontal Saber leaving its sheath was greatly reduced. With wads of cloth stuffed into his ears, he could barely hear anything.

Thoroughly satisfied, Chen Shi'an resumed his grand blade-drawing endeavor.

Night had deepened. It was around nine in the evening, and the draw count on the Mysterious Stone Stele had finally reached seven hundred.

Chen Shi'an set himself a goal: before he went to sleep tonight, he would break through the thousand-draw mark.

Unfortunately, his body was too frail to withstand the strain. In the end, he climbed onto the bed, clamped the scabbard between his legs, and continued drawing the blade, alternating hands.

As the night grew colder, Su Qingrou prepared for bed. Remembering how thin Chen Shi'an's quilt was, she brought over her late husband's old padded coat.

Knock, knock, knock.

Su Qingrou tapped gently on the crude wooden door.

She knocked three times, but no one answered.

At that moment, Chen Shi'an had his ears plugged and was gritting his teeth as he drew his blade. He never heard her knocking.

Had her brother-in-law gone out carousing again at this hour?

Su Qingrou frowned and was about to leave when she faintly heard something moving inside. She leaned closer and peered through the crack in the door.

By the faint moonlight, she saw a figure lying on his side on the bed, his back to the door, one hand pumping up and down in a steady rhythm.

At the sight, Su Qingrou's pretty face flushed scarlet.

She was already the mother of a ten-year-old child. A man's private business was hardly unfamiliar to her.

Once she had calmed down a little, she sighed inwardly. My brother-in-law isn't that young anymore. Relying on his own two hands to solve the problem isn't a lasting solution.

Once the seven-week mourning rites are over, I'll have to visit the Fang family and settle his marriage to their young lady as soon as possible.

Then she slowed her steps and returned to her room, still carrying the old padded coat.

"Mother, why did you bring the coat back? Didn't he want it?" Chen Tiantian looked puzzled.

"He was asleep," Su Qingrou replied awkwardly.

"He's a night owl. He went to sleep this early?" Chen Tiantian clearly didn't believe it.

"It was your uncle's first day practicing with his saber. He must be tired," Su Qingrou added.

Chen Tiantian curled her lip. "With the way he practices, he has the nerve to say he's tired?"

"You're a child. Don't be so sharp-tongued. It's late. Go to bed." Unwilling to explain further, Su Qingrou put out the lamp and urged Chen Tiantian into bed.

At that moment, Chen Shi'an was enduring the aching soreness in his arms, laboriously drawing his blade and counting silently.

Naturally, he had no idea Su Qingrou had caught him at his "private business."

Time slipped slowly by. Around eleven that night, he finally completed one thousand draws.

Chen Shi'an let out a long breath, tossed aside the Horizontal Saber, and sprawled on the bed, utterly drained.

Suddenly, he felt a warm current rise in his lower abdomen and slowly spread throughout his body.

Wherever it passed, he felt warmth and a tingling itch.

About seven minutes later, the warmth vanished, and a smell like rotten eggs began wafting from his body.

Chen Shi'an sniffed, hurried out of bed, and pulled open the front of his clothes.

To his astonishment, a layer of foul-smelling black filth had seeped out onto his skin.

At the same time, he could distinctly feel his body becoming lighter and freer as those impurities were expelled.

Earlier, his arms had been unbearably sore from repeatedly drawing his blade. Now, not a trace of discomfort remained.

He experimentally clenched his fists and discovered, to his delight, that the strength in his hands had noticeably increased.

Although he was still a long way from his strength in his previous life, he was countless times stronger than the body's original owner, who hadn't even possessed the strength to truss a chicken.

Marrow-washing and bone-tempering?

Drawing my blade a thousand times comes with a benefit like this?

For martial artists, marrow-washing and bone-tempering was an extremely important step, like laying the foundations before building a house.

Marrow-washing and bone-tempering meant using medicines such as Marrow-Washing Pills, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, or cultivation methods to expel impurities from the body, leaving it unstained and free of filth. This brought it closer to the Heavenly Dao and made it easier to enter the Martial Dao.

However, whether they were Marrow-Washing Pills, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures capable of marrow-washing and bone-tempering, or the relevant cultivation methods, all were precious and expensive. They were far beyond the reach of someone like Chen Shi'an, who had neither backing nor strength.

Chen Shi'an's elder brother had possessed considerable talent for the Martial Dao, but because he had never undergone marrow-washing and bone-tempering, he had cultivated for decades without ever becoming a Ranked Martial Artist.

The body's original owner had once been forced to cultivate by his elder brother, so he knew a little about marrow-washing and bone-tempering.

Chen Shi'an found that although a thousand draws had granted him marrow-washing and bone-tempering, the effect seemed rather weak, falling well short of the examples his elder brother had described.

After a little thought, he concluded that his marrow-washing might not yet be complete. As his draw count increased, it would continue.

As for when the next round would occur, or how many draws it would take, he couldn't be certain.

For now, however, he wasn't in the mood to think about any of that.

He stank too badly. He needed a bath right away.

It was already winter, and the air was bitterly cold.

There was no hot water in the kitchen, and he couldn't wait to heat any.

So Chen Shi'an drew water straight from the well and took a cold winter bath.

Perhaps it was because marrow-washing and bone-tempering had greatly strengthened his constitution, or perhaps it was because he had kept up the habit of cold baths for years in his previous life.

Even though the well water was bone-chilling, he could just about bear it.

Just then, there was movement in one of the dark rooms off the courtyard-the room shared by Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian.

Su Qingrou had frequently suffered from insomnia over the past six months, and she had yet to fall asleep.

Suddenly hearing noises in the courtyard, she thought a thief had broken in. She hurriedly put on some clothes, got up, and crept to the window.

By the moonlight, she saw Chen Shi'an stripped completely naked, bathing beside the well.

Su Qingrou immediately covered her eyes, her pretty face glowing red, and hurriedly tiptoed back to bed.

Even after pulling the quilt over herself, her heart was still pounding.

A cold bath in the dead of winter!

Remembering what she had just seen, Su Qingrou couldn't help shivering.

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Then she murmured to herself, "No, I can't put this off any longer. My brother-in-law is at an age when his blood runs hot. There's too much fire in him. Once the seven-week mourning rites are over, I must settle his marriage right away."

"Otherwise, sooner or later, something will go badly wrong."

Chen Shi'an washed away the filth and felt refreshed in body and mind, without a trace of sleepiness.

So he picked up the Horizontal Saber and continued practicing his draws.

After one round of marrow-washing, his physical strength had increased noticeably.

When he picked up the ten-jin Horizontal Saber again, it no longer felt overly heavy. He could draw it considerably faster and keep going longer, doubling his efficiency outright.

Chen Shi'an's confidence soared, and he brimmed with enthusiasm, as though he could already see a bright future and sky-flooding riches beckoning to him...

The next day, sunlight streamed through the window lattice onto the bed before Chen Shi'an finally stirred awake.

He had been so excited that he had kept drawing his blade until around one in the morning before going to bed.

Sleeping late had been normal for the body's original owner, so Su Qingrou hadn't called him for breakfast.

When Chen Shi'an woke, Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian were busy cutting radish leaves in the courtyard.

"Mother, you still think he's changed? Look at him. Yesterday he said he was going to start practicing with his saber. What time is it now? And he's still sleeping in."

Chen Tiantian curled her lip toward Chen Shi'an's room. "With that attitude, he probably wouldn't get anywhere even if he practiced for a hundred years."

Just then, the door opened with a creak.

"Girl, talking about your uncle behind his back again?" Chen Shi'an walked slowly out of the room with the Horizontal Saber resting on his shoulder.

Su Qingrou quickly raised her head and examined him closely.

Seeing nothing wrong, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After his cold bath on a winter night, she had worried he might develop a fever.

Chen Tiantian put down the radish in her hand. "I don't need to talk behind your back. I'll say it to your face right now. If you're this lazy, you'll never master any saber technique."

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly. "Don't speak too soon. Just get ready to empty your uncle's footbath water."

Then he rubbed his stomach. "Sister-in-law, is there anything left to eat in the kitchen?"

Su Qingrou shook the water off her hands. "I've kept it warm for you on the stove. I'll fetch it now."

Before she could rise, Chen Shi'an waved her off. "Keep doing what you're doing. I'll get it myself."

Without waiting for her response, he strode into the kitchen.

Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised.

In the past, Chen Shi'an would certainly have planted himself in a seat like a lord and waited for Su Qingrou to deliver his meal into his hands.

Inside the kitchen, Chen Shi'an found a bowl of pumpkin porridge sitting in hot water in the pot to keep it warm.

He had drunk a large bowl of pumpkin soup last night, and now he was having pumpkin porridge for breakfast. Ever since transmigrating, he had been locked in battle with pumpkins.

Fortunately, a man who had come out of a frontier army camp could endure hardship better than most.

He polished off breakfast in a few mouthfuls and left the kitchen, intending to return to his saber practice.

Then he saw Su Qingrou struggling to move a large wicker basket filled with mud-covered white radishes.

Su Qingrou was having a hard time carrying it. Chen Tiantian was helping beside her, but it made little difference.

Chen Shi'an tucked the Horizontal Saber at his waist and hurried over. "Sister-in-law, leave heavy work like this to me."

Su Qingrou first froze, then shook her head repeatedly. "There's no need. You're not used to this sort of work. You won't be able to lift it..."

But before she could finish, she stood rooted to the spot.

Chen Shi'an lifted the basket in one motion, quickly carried it to the well, and set it down. "I'll leave washing the radishes to you. I need to make the most of my time and practice with my saber."

With that, he strode back to his room and closed the door.

In three days, the date he had agreed on with Zhao Desheng would arrive.

He had the money now, but canceling the deal probably wouldn't be so easy.

If he could undergo marrow-washing and bone-tempering a few more times over those three days and strengthen his body further, he would be better equipped to handle any trouble that arose.

Time was short. He couldn't afford to waste it.

Only after Chen Shi'an closed his door did Su Qingrou come to her senses, surprise and confusion still written across her face.

"Uncle really does seem a little different." Chen Tiantian walked over to her mother, looking puzzled.

Su Qingrou didn't answer. Her mind was full of questions.

Chen Shi'an had suddenly helped with the chores. In the past, that would have been as likely as the sun rising in the west.

And just yesterday, Chen Shi'an had tried to drag Su Qingrou out of the house, tugging for ages without succeeding.

With his meager strength, how could he lift a basket of radishes so easily?

Could he have only been putting on an act yesterday, without truly wanting to drive us out?

Why would he do that?

"Mother, what are you thinking about?"

When Su Qingrou still didn't respond, Chen Tiantian gently tugged her sleeve.

Su Qingrou shook her head, clearing the tangle of thoughts, and said softly, "Nothing. Let's hurry and wash and cut the radishes. While the sun is strong, we can dry them a little longer."

Chen Tiantian nodded obediently and was about to head to the well when she saw Chen Shi'an emerge from his room again.

"I nearly forgot about this."

Smiling broadly, Chen Shi'an pressed a handful of copper coins into Chen Tiantian's hand. "Girl, I borrowed eight wen from you. Double repayment makes sixteen, and I've added another four. Twenty wen altogether.

"That makes us square. If you keep badmouthing your uncle behind his back, I'll definitely spank you."

With that, he promptly turned and hurried back into his room.

Chen Tiantian stared wide-eyed, turning the twenty wen of copper coins over and over in her hands.

Her scoundrel of a gambling uncle had actually repaid her. She could barely believe her eyes. It felt like a dream.

"Mother, Uncle really paid me back, and he gave me more than double. This is enough to buy us several days' worth of rice." Once her shock passed, Chen Tiantian held the coins out to her mother, beaming with delight.

After her initial joy, Su Qingrou immediately frowned again. She looked toward Chen Shi'an's room and sighed.

"Money won at the gambling table will only be lost there in the end. To survive in the Stronghold, he needs an honest livelihood."

Chen Shi'an's guess had been correct. His marrow-washing and bone-tempering truly wasn't finished.

When his draw count reached two thousand, another warm current rose from his abdomen and surged through his limbs and bones, expelling the grime and impurities inside him. His physical strength and speed increased substantially once again.

What surprised him even more was that his formerly scrawny, flat body had actually begun developing some muscle.

He felt that even if his physical condition still fell short of his previous life, the gap was no longer large.

He reckoned that one more round of marrow-washing and bone-tempering would surely let him surpass his former self.

He was also fairly certain that his next marrow-washing and bone-tempering would come on his three-thousandth sword draw.

With his physical fitness vastly improved, he could draw his sword far more efficiently.

The first thousand sword draws, done in fits and starts, had taken a full twelve hours and left him half-dead with exhaustion.

The second thousand had taken just eight hours, and his body was nowhere near as exhausted as before.

The third thousand would take even less time...

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