The little six-eared monkey was remarkably spirited.
At times it climbed above the shrine and hung upside down by its tail; at others it pulled faces and cupped its ears, as though listening to something.
"The Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art has [Keen Observation] and [Sound Listening] as its marks. They do fit the form it took after enlightenment."
Lu Sui pondered.
The [Pointers] beneath this martial art read, "Delights in observing forms and expressions, delights in hearing secrets; whatever enters the eyes and ears is as sweet as honey."
"Doesn't seem all that respectable. Does this little monkey like peeping and eavesdropping?"
How was he supposed to "nurture" it?
I'm an upright gentleman!
Squeak, squeak~
The six-eared monkey seemed to hear Lu Sui's thoughts and squeaked twice.
Then it hooked its tail around the edge of the shrine, pulled down its eyelids with its furry hands, and stuck its tongue out as far as it could.
It actually made a face at him.
"You're quite a cheeky little monkey. You even know how to mock me."
Naturally, Lu Sui would not get angry with it. It would be working for him either way!
This martial art, rated "precious," was indeed more spirited than those rated "ordinary," vividly lifelike.
Setting aside his nurturing strategy for now, Lu Sui gazed at the stick of incense before the shrine.
Smoke swirled and drifted, unfolding the profound true essence of the martial art.
"The Heavenly Vision Fragment requires washing the eyes with a secret medicinal solution, once each morning and evening, for two months, then covering the eyes with thick cloth and avoiding light for ten days..."
"Only then can one attain 'Night Eyes.' Beyond that are two more levels, 'Spirit Eyes' and 'Heavenly Eyes'..."
Lu Sui marveled inwardly. As expected of a martial art rated precious, its difficulty had increased dramatically.
The sheer number of prerequisites alone was enough to give anyone a headache.
The time and effort it would require exceeded the Turtle-Snake Stance by far more than a few times.
"The Earthly Hearing Chapter is relatively complete. Its key principle is 'first block, then sharpen; first the faint, then the distant.' It doesn't require so many twists and turns..."
"However, practicing 'Earthly Hearing' often comes with risks. The first is 'phantom hearing.' A hundred sounds arise within the ears-one might hear friends and relatives calling, or crying, laughter, and whispers..."
"The second is 'ear-flooding.' When hearing first sharpens, one cannot control it, and ten thousand sounds flood in at once. Crawling insects sound like drums beating against the brain, and soft whispers like rolling thunder..."
Understanding flashed in Lu Sui's eyes. The "fellow" Uncle Wen had mentioned probably had not pierced his ears deaf because he failed to master Heavenly Sight.
"He couldn't endure the torment of 'phantom hearing.' Unable to bear it any longer, he mutilated himself to find peace."
After all, prolonged exposure to noise was like suffering torture.
With buzzing in one's ears, terror wearing down the spirit, and even sleep becoming impossible, a person could burn out like an exhausted lamp within three to five days.
"No wonder Uncle Wen kept the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art at the bottom of his chest and never practiced it himself."
Lu Sui shook his head.
This martial art had too many pitfalls. Without someone to explain its secrets, one would most likely step straight into one and end up deaf or blind.
His heart tightened slightly. The martial arts of the Land Beyond the Pass were a vast, bizarre assortment. Not every one was easy to practice...
Wait, I have the ancient temple to record them and the shrine to enlighten them. What am I worrying about?
Lu Sui immediately felt relieved and relaxed.
Then he turned toward the lively six-eared monkey and said softly:
"Just watch how I train you to serve me!"
The night was deep and quiet.
Lu Sui lay flat with his eyes closed, focusing his attention on himself.
The first thing he heard was his breathing.
Two streams of air seemed to pass up and down, in and out, their sound faint and almost nonexistent, steady as a stream, without fluctuation.
They entered through the tip of his nose, sank below his navel, then rose again in an unbroken flow.
"The four essentials of Turtle-Breathing Tuna: fine, even, deep, and long. Even without the diligent little turtle, I can do all four now.
"How can anyone say I'm not a martial arts prodigy!"
Never before had Lu Sui understood his own body as he did now. After listening to his breathing came his heartbeat.
He counted silently. By the time a little less than half a stick of incense had burned away, his heart had beaten only sixty or seventy times.
That worked out to roughly forty beats a minute.
"The heart is the Hall of Light, the organ that serves as sovereign. Slow but powerful, vigorous and firm-that means my Qi and Blood are abundant."
Lu Sui continued listening intently. Gradually, he grasped a trace of something profoundly subtle.
The sounds of the world had shapes of their own!
This perception spread outward, passing through the bed curtains and beyond the screen, drifting into the side room like a swirling breeze.
"There are two sets of breathing. One shallow, one long and steady."
A blurry figure appeared in Lu Sui's mind. Someone lay with all four limbs spread out, smacking her lips and mumbling indistinctly:
"Another bowl..."
It had to be that girl Xiaohuan.
The corner of Lu Sui's mouth twitched.
Even in her dreams, she was thinking about food.
Then she suddenly rolled over.
Her formerly shallow breathing became muffled, as though something were blocking it.
Lu Sui frowned slightly and concentrated harder, striving to catch more details.
Xiaohuan's entire face seemed buried in something exceedingly soft.
"Xiaotang? They're sleeping together."
Lu Sui sensed that the long, steady breathing was very close to Xiaohuan.
He amplified his hearing further, his ears trembling slightly.
The airflow from Xiaohuan's breathing seemed to strike between mountain peaks, bringing out a distinct shape.
Two full mounds were outlined, rising high and appearing in his mind.
"This is..."
Lu Sui made a brief guess and could not help freezing.
How had he never noticed that Xiaotang's figure was so astonishing, already showing something of the shape of heavy fruit on slender branches?
Several lines of tiny, tadpole-like text swiftly rose, flickering in and out.
[Seeing you gather your focus and listen to your own body, the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art pricked up its ears and listened along.] [Breathing could be heard, heartbeats counted, blood flow distinguished...] [Seeing you listen through a wall and gain some insight, the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art danced with unrestrained delight!] [A flash of inspiration revealed the principle that all things have sound, and every sound has form...]
Within the shrine, the six-eared monkey bounded up and down, squeaking wildly, seemingly extremely excited.
A short section of the incense stick had also burned away.
"Does this count as getting started?"
Lu Sui was somewhat uncertain. From the look of things, he only needed to keep honing the Earthly Hearing Chapter and become proficient in its use to improve steadily.
It did not seem as difficult as he had imagined?
Before he could consider it further, heavy exhaustion surged over him like a tide, engulfing his entire body.
"Using this martial art really takes a lot out of me."
Lu Sui's eyelids grew heavy, and he was dragged into sweet slumber.
Over the next few days, whenever he had something to do or nothing at all, Lu Sui closed his eyes to increase his proficiency in the Earthly Hearing Chapter.
From the whispered conversations of maids hiding in the side rooms, to the babble of older women in the inner courtyard, and finally the filthy, bawdy talk of the estate's martial guards.
"The young master's much sturdier now than he used to be!"
"When I handed him a sweat towel during the day, I saw the muscles on his arms. Every lump was so firm!"
"Sister Xiaotang's really blessed, getting to warm the young master's bed..."
These were the unmarried maidservants in the side rooms.
"The first madam's been gone for quite a few years now."
"Tell me, the second concubine's been here so long. Why hasn't there been any sign from her belly?"
"The eldest young master was so ill a while back. If anything had happened to him, wouldn't the Lu Family have been left without an heir?"
These were the old women wagging their tongues in the inner courtyard.
"...That Xiao Taohong at the Emerald Haze Residence, tsk, tsk. That little waist, that big ass-she could sit me to death!"
"Enough, enough. With that little monthly pay of yours, forget staying the night-could you even afford a pot of tea? And you're still dreaming!"
"Isn't the master going to escort the goods to Yongning Prefecture himself? Once I go along and save up a sum, I'll bed her sooner or later!"
These were the servants and errand boys in the outer courtyard.
There was no wall in the world that did not let the wind through. In the vast Lu estate, every sort of news was passed around, and every sort of thing was said.
Lu Sui listened by day and listened by night.
As time passed, he actually became somewhat enamored of the feeling.
Standing in a hidden place, spying on other people's secrets, seeing another side of them...
It was like stealing honey to eat-easy to get addicted.
[Seeing you listen to so many sounds, intoxicated and unable to extricate yourself, the Turtle-Snake Stance glared angrily and rebuked you!] [In practicing martial arts, one must conduct oneself uprightly. Use them for secret, underhanded purposes, and one risks Qi deviation...]
The tiny, tadpole-like words flickered into view, like a ladle of cold water poured over his head, bringing Lu Sui to his senses.
"I nearly got trapped. No wonder Buddhism speaks of the 'six dusts.' Sound is one of them.
"The more one hears, the heavier the dust of sound becomes, clouding the ears and soiling the heart.
"If this continues, the mind will dwell among sounds. I'll want to listen whenever I see someone, grow suspicious whenever something happens, and give rise to endless speculation and probing..."
With that thought, understanding dawned. Having thought it through, Lu Sui slowly exhaled.
Activating the Earthly Hearing Chapter and using Sound Listening was like scrolling through videos in his previous life. Whenever boredom struck, he instinctively wanted to open it to pass the time.
"Looks like I'll need to restrain myself from now on. I can't abuse it."
Lu Sui silently warned himself. He was not afraid of much else, but chiefly, wasting so much time would delay his progress in martial arts.
He was just about to rein in his breathing and disperse his perception when a stretch of indistinct muttering quietly reached his ears.
"Bodhisattva, protect me! I never meant to harm the eldest young master... It was all for my son. He's a filial boy..."
Lu Sui's brows drew tight.
Slowing his breathing and lightening his footsteps, he approached the source of the sound.
Following the method of "discerning form through sound," he captured and sifted through numerous details.
The person's steps were quick and short, heavy at the front and light at the back-bound feet.
A slightly hunched back, quite advanced in age.
Both hands held something, and she walked carefully, afraid of breaking it.
"An old woman? From my concubine mother's courtyard?"
Lu Sui narrowed his eyes. The muttering was not far away, yet it grew increasingly clear.
"Bodhisattva, protect me... Bodhisattva, protect me... If anyone's to blame, blame the eldest young master's frail fate. He can't enjoy such blessings..."
Lu Sui stopped and stood at the corner of the corridor.
Some twenty or thirty breaths later, an old woman rounded the corner carrying a tray with a lidded bowl on it.
Clatter!
The lidded bowl knocked against the tray, spilling a few drops of broth.
"E-eldest young master!"
The old woman's face instantly went white. As though frightened, she hurriedly bent at the waist:
"Y-you've found time today to leave your courtyard for a stroll?"
His expression unchanged, Lu Sui smiled and said:
"I stayed indoors too long and felt a little stifled, so I'm just wandering around. What's this?"
He looked at the lidded bowl.
"Ginseng soup the second concubine simmered to nourish your body."
The old woman spoke.
"Leave it in my room. I'll drink it when I get back."
"Yes, yes! Understood!"
As though granted a pardon, the old woman bowed and hurried into the courtyard.
"Poison in the ginseng soup? That shouldn't be."
The smile faded from Lu Sui's face, and a chill rose in his eyes.
"Everything I've eaten and drunk these past few days came from my concubine mother. If there really were a problem, there should have been some reaction..."
He closed his eyes again and locked onto the old woman.
Before long, he heard the soft sound of the tray being set on a table.
There were also warm greetings exchanged with Xiaotang and Xiaohuan.
Then came a rustling.
As though something had been stuffed beneath the bedding...
Night fell.
The candlelight was dim.
The bedchamber was silent. Lu Sui gazed at the straw doll he had found, its surface wound with crooked strands of hemp twine and a sheet of yellow ritual paper pasted to its chest.
The original body's birth date and hour-the eight birth characters-were written on it in vermilion ink.
Then there were eight fine needles, driven into its eyes, throat, heart, and four limbs.
"Sticking needles in a straw doll to curse me? This shouldn't be something martial arts can do..."
A chill rose in Lu Sui's heart.
Could disaster find me even while I sat at home?