Then Let's Try It

[Name: Zhou Muzhi]

[Status: Curse (temporarily sealed)]

[Skill: Nine Heavens Profound Intent (time remaining: thirteen hours)]

[Deduction points: 5]

Zhou Muzhi set down the new Buddhist amulet after absorbing its points and nodded slightly in satisfaction.

Though he had only thirteen hours left before his time ran out, those five points were his source of confidence.

Zhou Muzhi rose from the square table.

He had expended rather too much mental and physical energy today and needed some sleep to replenish it.

Seeing the Fourth Young Master's movement, Xiaozi, who had been waiting nearby, immediately stripped off all her outer clothes.

Only white underpants and a lotus-patterned bellyband remained, revealing her shapely figure, her dazzlingly white skin more than the bellyband could cover.

As a bed-warming maid, she warmed his bed in winter and attended him in summer. That was customary.

Zhou Muzhi rubbed his temples. It was not that he did not want to, but his body had only recently recovered, and he had no thoughts of such things for now.

What mattered most now was learning martial arts and resolving the deadline hanging over his life.

"Put your clothes back on first. Remember to wake me tomorrow morning. Finding a master is what matters most."

Xiaozi's little face flushed crimson. She nodded and put her clothes back on. Before, when the mistress had been home, she had instructed her not to let the young master fool around, as his constitution had yet to fully develop.

In the past, when the young master had liked getting handsy, she had always remembered the mistress's words. This time, she had taken the initiative only to have the door shut in her face, leaving her feeling somewhat wronged.

Zhou Muzhi lay on the bed in his inner robe, and Xiaozi blew out the candle as she left.

The entire room fell completely quiet.

A long while later, faint snores accompanied long, steady breaths.

Early the next morning.

Zhou Muzhi woke with Xiaozi attending him.

Cleaning his teeth, washing his face, dressing, putting on his boots, combing his hair, and tying on his headcloth-she attended to everything in turn. With someone dedicated to serving him, he only had to keep his eyes half-closed.

If not for the glaring nine-hour countdown, this life would have been almost absurdly comfortable.

After finishing his rice porridge and side dishes, Zhou Muzhi made himself ready and headed out.

Outside the Zhou Residence.

A carriage waited before the two small lions, and Uncle Chen, the steward, stood beside it with incense in his hand.

Only when Zhou Muzhi appeared in a simple, fitted black outfit and a neatly tied headcloth did he approach.

"Fourth Young Master," Uncle Chen greeted him, then handed over what he held and continued, "This is what you requested, Young Master. This Half-Immortal Xu has limited skill at making incense. Something like last time's takes him a whole year to produce a single stick."

Zhou Muzhi calmly accepted the incense. He paid little heed to Half-Immortal Xu's obvious excuse and merely said,

"Maintain good relations with him. Don't concern yourself with anything else."

"Yes!"

Obtaining the incense was merely an added precaution.

Since the earlier candle had yielded something through deduction, that meant the incense in this man's possession was useful. With deduction points on hand as well, he could readily use it to save his life whenever needed.

Seeing Zhou Muzhi arrive, the driver had already jumped down from the carriage.

He set out the step stool.

Once the young master had stepped onto it and entered the carriage, he swiftly put it away, mounted the carriage, and drove off.

"Hyah!"

At his call, the wheels rolled over the uneven gravel ground, and the carriage moved toward the broad street.

Inside the carriage.

Zhou Buren sat on a side seat, holding a letter that looked like an envelope.

When he saw his fourth brother sit beside him, he smiled and handed over the envelope.

"I fulfilled your request, Fourth Brother. Here is the admission letter from Master Li Jingfei. You can study with him for three months to start."

Zhou Muzhi did not look at the envelope, but at his second brother.

His features were as masculine as ever, but weariness showed in his sharp eyes. Clearly, obtaining this admission letter had not been easy.

Accepting the envelope, Zhou Muzhi said solemnly, "I'll make something of my studies."

Though the martial path was now in decline, it remained a path forward, and for the people of this county town, it was still an exceptionally promising broad road.

Zhou Buren was deeply gratified. Whatever his fourth brother was thinking, this outward change was real. He sighed with feeling.

"If Father and Mother return and see how you've changed, Fourth Brother, they'll certainly be very pleased."

Hearing this, Zhou Muzhi scratched beneath his left ear with his left index finger.

It was a little embarrassing.

Still, his former self truly had been... even calling him a bastard would have been praise.

What made someone a local tyrant?

Doing some truly outrageous things.

It was only because the Zhou family had deep roots in Suming County. An ordinary person would have been ambushed and beaten while walking at night long ago.

Seeing his fourth brother look so embarrassed, Zhou Buren laughed heartily. This was a good thing. Feeling embarrassed meant he understood right from wrong.

"All right, I'll take you to Master Li's door, then send someone to pick you up this evening."

"All right."

Zhou Muzhi answered readily.

Their conversation over, his second brother, Zhou Buren, closed his eyes to doze.

Zhou Muzhi looked at the incense in his hand.

There were five sticks in total, pale purple and roughly the same size as the incense placed in a censer.

He looked at the panel's notification.

Then his brows drew together slightly before returning to normal.

[Sandalwood incense bearing a trace of true intent]

[Effect: calms the mind and nourishes the spirit, improving concentration.]

He examined all five in turn. Their effects were identical.

It was not that the incense was useless, only that its effects were of no use to him now.

From the look of things, that initial incense candle had been Half-Immortal Xu's signature specialty.

As he pondered, he looked again at the countdown on the panel.

The corner of his mouth tugged up slightly.

He was about to lose his life, so there was no need to maintain such false politeness with others. After becoming a disciple, he would have to visit Half-Immortal Xu's home.

A short while later, the carriage stopped.

They had evidently arrived. Holding the envelope, Zhou Muzhi said goodbye to his second brother and got out.

As he passed the driver, he instructed him, "Once you get back, have Lao Xu come find me."

The driver nodded to show he understood.

The carriage drove away from the street corner.

Looking ahead, he saw a small residence with a plaque hanging above it that read "Li Residence."

Beneath it stood vermilion wooden doors, their paint very fresh, with golden brass handles held in the mouths of round lion heads.

Zhou Muzhi's black boots trod up the steps to the vermilion doors, one step at a time. His fingers closed around the round lion-head brass knocker, and he knocked slowly.

A short while later.

The vermilion door slowly opened.

A child poked his head through the opening and looked at the visitor with innocent eyes, his childish voice enunciating every word with perfect clarity.

"May I ask what brings you here?"

Quite polite.

Zhou Muzhi would not look down on someone for being young. He bowed slightly, arranged his decent features into a spring-breeze smile, and offered the envelope.

"Zhou Muzhi of the Zhou family, here to seek instruction. Please inform Master Li."

The child opened the door fully, revealing his figure. He first returned the bow, then accepted the envelope and said, "Oh."

"Wait here, then. I'll go find my grandfather."

With that, the vermilion door closed, leaving Zhou Muzhi astonished.

What?

You're telling me the one answering the door is Li Jingfei's grandson?

Who has their grandson answer the door? Are there no servants in the house?

A little later, the door opened again, this time wide enough for Zhou Muzhi to enter.

"Follow me."

The child-or rather, Li Jingfei's grandson-closed the door after Zhou Muzhi entered, then went ahead to lead the way.

The Li Residence was not large. From front to back, it consisted of a few rooms in the front courtyard and private living quarters in the rear courtyard.

Zhou Muzhi saw Li Jingfei seated in a grand armchair in the front courtyard's main hall.

He looked somewhat aged, with numerous wrinkles, graying temples, and a lean, trim frame. What drew the eye was the old wineskin hanging at his waist.

The master looked Zhou Muzhi over a few times, then rose and approached.

Without speaking, he first circled Zhou Muzhi once, then reached out with both hands.

At once, Zhou Muzhi's body went numb, but the sensation quickly vanished.

Li Jingfei stepped back, his voice calm and unruffled.

"Leaving your aptitude aside for now, train for three months first. If I'm satisfied, I'll naturally accept you as my final disciple. If you don't measure up, go back where you came from!"

Apparently, the man had not discovered anything abnormal about his body.

Zhou Muzhi betrayed nothing on his face and saluted with cupped fists. "Understood!"

"Mm. Then let's try it."

With those words finished.

Li Jingfei directly began teaching the Body Condensation Method, so swiftly that one could not help marveling that he had no intention of holding anything back.

"My martial arts focus on leg techniques. The stages are more or less the same. Memorize the introductory section first, then we'll begin."

"All right!"

Zhou Muzhi immediately answered.