That night.
Lu Sui slept soundly, straight through until dawn.
When he opened his eyes and got up, he felt that the strand of Qi lodged three inches below his navel had actually grown considerably!
What had been roughly three fingers thick was now nearly four, like a little green snake growing stronger by the day.
At a thought, the Qi traveled through his limbs and bones, nimbly making several circuits.
"Hiss, did I... break through again?"
A faint tingling swept through Lu Sui, as though he were soaking in warm water. He almost let out a cry of pleasure.
Wherever that strand of Qi passed, his blood flowed faster and his muscles and bones warmed, filling him with a warm, swelling sensation.
He clenched his fists. His knuckles crackled softly, and his strength seemed to have increased considerably too.
"Sharper eyes and ears, lasting strength! It looks like, with me leading by example, the Turtle-Snake Stance hasn't slacked off at all. It's kept working hard."
Quite satisfied, Lu Sui closed his eyes to check the "logs" of his two martial arts.
[Seeing you swing your axe to shatter Baleful Intent and slay an evil thing, the Turtle-Snake Stance shared in your glory!]
[After you fell asleep, it kept watch through the night, regulating its breathing and completing thirty-six heavenly circuits. Your strength quietly grew...]
[Seeing you read through half a lifetime of Granny Ma's trials and tribulations, the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art scratched its ears and cheeks, exclaiming over how exciting it was!]
[Still hungry for more, it hoped you would observe more and listen more.]
[Thus, it granted your ears greater acuity, allowing you to distinguish breathing a hundred paces away; and your eyes greater clarity, allowing you to see in darkness...]
"The little turtle, the little snake, and that little monkey have all been putting in work."
Lu Sui nodded. Sure enough, under his capable leadership, these little fellows were gradually becoming more conscientious.
They all knew to share his burdens now!
"If my martial arts reach through heaven and earth someday, I won't keep that glory to myself. You'll all have a share."
As usual, Lu Sui casually painted them a grand pie in the sky.
By the time he had washed and eaten, the sun was three poles high.
It was a fine hour.
Lu Sui headed toward the outer courtyard with Xiaotang, passing through the covered galleries to the lingering cries of autumn insects.
"The summer heat's gone. It's slowly getting cold."
Lu Sui silently counted on his fingers. Nearly two months had passed since he had gone from a sickly wreck with barely half a breath left to entering Internal Nourishment.
If not for a mortal enemy watching hungrily from the shadows, he would have gone out for a stroll and some fresh air long ago.
"After this business with Granny Ma, I'll probably have to be even more careful."
Lu Sui felt a slight headache. As the old saying went, a thief could steal for a thousand days, but who could guard against thieves for a thousand days?
The Lu Family's enemy clearly only picked on soft persimmons to squeeze, singling him out.
I'll just keep developing and grinding it out. I refuse to believe I can't reach Fetus Embracing with cheats! You'd better never give me a chance to catch you!
Lu Sui gritted his teeth inwardly.
Otherwise, I'll make you suffer something fierce!
As Lu Sui was pondering this, Xiaotang, half a step behind him, hesitantly spoke.
"Young master... Granny Ma from the concubine's courtyard passed away last night."
"Mm."
Lu Sui continued walking without breaking stride.
"They said she had a heart attack and couldn't be saved. Someone took her home first thing this morning."
Xiaotang said quietly,
"But I heard her family suffered a disaster too..."
Lu Sui's expression remained unchanged as he said evenly,
"Have the accounts office buy a good coffin in my name. Lay her body in it and send it to the mortuary. Let it rest there a few days before burial."
Xiaotang lowered her head and acknowledged his order.
She had seen the young master hacking at the straw effigy with a peachwood axe last night.
Naturally, she knew why Granny Ma had died.
Lu Sui asked in an even tone,
"Xiaotang, is something on your mind? Do you think your young master went too far?"
If a maid serving at his side was not of one mind with him, it would be best to let her go sooner rather than later.
"Huh?"
Xiaotang froze for a moment, then hurriedly shook her head.
"No, young master!"
She twisted her handkerchief between her fingers and lightly bit her red lip.
"This maid was thinking... Granny Ma served in the concubine's courtyard.
"She had no quarrel with you, yet she made a straw effigy to harm you. Could someone have been directing her?
"If that person isn't found... this maid fears for your safety."
Lu Sui stopped and turned to look at Xiaotang.
This girl had a keen mind. She even knew to worry about household intrigue.
"Don't worry about me. Uncle Wen will handle it."
Lu Sui smiled.
More precisely, his bargain father could handle it properly.
He believed that, given Lu Yulin's temperament, learning of this incident would surely produce a splendid result.
In the eastern wing of the outer courtyard, the sun hung high.
Heiwa swung stone locks, diligently practicing.
Having recently thrown himself into grueling training and greatly increased his strength, he could now easily swing eighty jin with both hands, tossing it up and down for fun.
Catching sight of Lu Sui crossing the threshold, Heiwa hurriedly stopped and bowed.
"Eldest young master, here to see Master Dou again?"
For some reason, facing the Lu Family's sole heir now filled his heart with fear.
Last night, beneath the great pagoda tree, Lu Sui had raised his axe and furiously hacked at the straw effigy.
The scene had rolled around in his head for much of the night.
The eldest young master had looked just like the saber-wielding horse bandits of the Land Beyond the Pass, his brows full of killing intent.
Most importantly, after five strokes, his face had remained expressionless, seemingly oblivious to having taken Granny Ma's life.
He had truly exuded the ferocity of a baleful Taisui god, enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
Lu Sui said evenly,
"I troubled Uncle Wen for quite a while last night. I've come to apologize."
"I'll fetch him for you."
Heiwa darted to the main room's entrance and called through the curtain,
"Master Dou, the young master's come to see you."
"Please show the young master in."
Dou Xiaowen's voice came from inside, sounding rather listless.
Inside, Dou Xiaowen sat cross-legged on the heated brick bed.
His entire body was wrapped in a thick quilt, yet he was still shivering as though he were sleeping in an ice cellar.
Lu Sui froze at the sight.
Uncle Wen, what's happened to you?
"An embarrassing sight for you, eldest young master. It's an old ailment from practicing martial arts in my younger days."
Even Dou Xiaowen's breath carried a chill when he spoke. He was only a step away from spitting out ice chips.
"My Iron Cloth Shirt requires refining seven or eight vulnerable points, then going deeper into the organs, working from outside to inside until everything forms a seamless whole.
"While refining one of those points, I carelessly went astray. Every midmonth, my Qi and Blood turn icy and congeal, leaving my body almost like a stiff corpse."
Something like an enhanced version of cold malaria?
Lu Sui clicked his tongue.
He had never expected martial training to carry such risks. It seemed he would have to be more careful in the future...
No, wait. With the ancient temple recording my arts and the shrine enlightening them, there's no question of hidden dangers.
Then it's fine!
Lu Sui had always known how to seize every opportunity to farm goodwill. He immediately said,
"I think there's a fine piece of warming jade in my courtyard's storeroom. Xiaotang, fetch it for me at once."
Dou Xiaowen did not refuse. He picked up the strong liquor on the little table and gulped down two mouthfuls.
Only after recovering a little did he speak.
"Eldest young master, last night's trouble has barely passed. One person died in the inner residence, and two outside.
"How come you're acting as though nothing happened?"
Lu Sui picked up the fire tongs and stirred the charcoal in the copper brazier.
"Am I supposed to show kindness to someone trying to kill me? Using witchcraft to harm the innocent-ending up like that was retribution in this very life."
He paused and looked up at Dou Xiaowen.
"Besides, the whole family's together, so they won't be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs. That's a good thing."
He's becoming more and more like the master!
Now that's a member of the Lu Family!
Dou Xiaowen gave the eldest young master a deep look, shivered with cold, and spoke slowly.
"I've told the master about Granny Ma making the straw effigy. Duan Lao'er will clean things up. You can rest completely assured, eldest young master. There absolutely won't be a next time."
Lu Sui nodded. His bargain father had always been reliable.
Dou Xiaowen added,
"Oh, and the master also said that from now on, you can enter the Lu residence's storerooms, accounts office, and study whenever you like.
"Even if you go out for some fresh air, just take Master Chai along. There's no need to report it to him."
Has my credit score finally passed muster?
Lu Sui felt a little excited. For one thing, he no longer had to stay cooped up in the Lu residence and could see the world outside;
For another, this also meant he had gained Lu Yulin's approval.
He had been promoted from "trash" who only caused trouble and threw money around listening to opera to a "promising prospect" still worth salvaging and nurturing.
Major progress!
Lu Sui stirred the burning charcoal, making the room warmer.
"Thank you, Uncle Wen."
Dou Xiaowen pulled a hand out of the quilt, waved it twice, then took several more great gulps of liquor.
"Have you come to ask for martial arts this time, eldest young master, or inquire about something else?"
Lu Sui made no attempt to hide it and asked directly,
"I want to know about the Lu Family. Uncle Wen, Father never talks about these things, but as the Lu Family's sole heir, I ought to know something about them, right?"
Dou Xiaowen pondered, as though he had expected this.
"Eldest young master, the Land Beyond the Pass is uncanny. Know too much, or keep talking about a certain person or matter every day, and it's liable to 'come true.'
"So the master has his reasons for not telling you many things."
He's fooling a child!
Lu Sui was only half convinced.
If the Land Beyond the Pass was really that uncanny, then starting tomorrow, he would recite, "I'll get rich overnight," "I'll become the foremost martial artist," and "I'll marry eight peerless beauties."
Let's see just how well it works!
The strong liquor had suppressed some of the cold clinging to his bones, and Dou Xiaowen's speech grew smoother.
"How about this, eldest young master? Shall I tell you a story?"
Lu Sui blinked and assumed an attentive posture.
"Ever since the previous dynasty fell and the emperor hanged himself from a crooked-necked tree, our lands beyond the pass have been beyond the law."
Dou Xiaowen had something of a storyteller's delivery, his words clear, his voice strong, his cadence rising and falling.
For a moment, Lu Sui almost thought he was sitting in a teahouse.
"What does 'beyond the law' mean? It means we aren't bound by the imperial court, don't farm His Majesty's fields, and don't eat the government's grain.
"That's why there's no such thing as a government office in the Land Beyond the Pass. The great trades have always taken the lead in setting the rules. They're called the Five Great Trades Beyond the Pass, powers that reach to the very sky.
"Your father occupies the foremost seat in the Yongning Prefecture Merchant Guild."
A lawless land?
Lu Sui found that novel. It was his first time hearing such a description.
After taking this detour, Dou Xiaowen brought the conversation back around.
"But the Lu Family didn't only rise to wealth in your father's generation. That goes all the way back to your great-great-grandfather."
"Your great-great-grandfather was called Lu Ping'an. An ignorant countryman, all he wished for was for his children and grandchildren to live safe and sound."
"Back in those days, the Lu Family was still huddled in Mute Village, too poor to keep the pot boiling, so utterly bare that even a mouse climbing into the rice jar would lose its footing."
"Your great-great-grandfather had three older brothers. Seeing that they truly couldn't feed him, his parents gave him away to an old hunter with no children..."
Great-great-grandfather, Lu Ping'an?
Mute Village? The hometown my bargain-bin dad was planning to send me back to in a while?
Lu Sui silently committed it to memory.
"Your great-great-grandfather grew up like that until he was eighteen. Then the old hunter kicked the bucket, and in no time, the Lu Family came knocking-not to acknowledge their kin, but to divide up the inheritance."
Dou Xiaowen warmed to his tale. He took out his pipe, packed the bowl with tobacco, lit it, and took a fierce drag.
It felt as though a plate of fennel beans and a serving of peanuts would have made it all the more enjoyable.
"The old hunter was gone, but his things remained: plenty of hides, roe deer meat, cured sausages, medicinal liquor-all good stuff. Your great-great-grandfather had no one to rely on, so naturally, people set their sights on him. He just never expected the Lu Family to come first."
"Young master, don't think it absurd. In those days, everyone in the village lived in hardship and poverty. Never mind this little pile of goods-people would draw knives and fight to the death over a pair of cloth shoes with holes in them."
Lu Sui thought, So my great-great-grandfather actually took the "don't bully a youth for being poor" route?
"Your great-great-grandfather... let's call him Lu Ping'an from here on. He was young. How could he contend with those wolfish, tigerish elder brothers? All he got was a mountain-guarding dog that was nearly dead of old age, and then they forced him out to live or die on his own."
"Heh, young master, guess what? That actually led him straight into his destined rise-a chance at wealth and rank!"
Every stretch of Dou Xiaowen's tale seemed to come with a hook, drawing his listener in deeper.
Lu Sui asked eagerly:
"Keep going, Uncle Wen. How did my great-great-grandfather make his fortune?"
Dou Xiaowen was about to burst out laughing when that shivering chill suddenly surged up, leaving him trembling all over.
He rested for a full seven or eight breaths before continuing:
"For a commoner to rise, it's just a matter of coming into a windfall, doing a little business, and letting the profits roll into more profits, then more profits. That does it."
"Lu Ping'an had nowhere to go with his mountain-guarding dog, and with rain pouring down in buckets, he could only take shelter in a deserted mountain god temple."
"Then, just after nightfall, that old dog actually spoke. It told Lu Ping'an that it was about to die of old age and had no way to repay the hunter for raising it. It told him to wait until it stopped breathing, then skin it before burying it."
"After that, he was to offer the mountain god a stick of incense every day for seven times seven-forty-nine days."
"On the fiftieth day, he was to put on the dogskin and lie beneath the offering table. Whatever happened, he must not make a sound."
Huh?
Lu Sui's eyes widened. Hadn't the tone of this story shifted a little too fast?
How many episodes did I skip?
Dou Xiaowen, however, continued with an unchanged expression:
"Lu Ping'an did as he was told through his tears. He dug a hole, buried the dog, and washed the bloody dogskin clean."
"From then on, Lu Ping'an went out early and returned late, gathering medicinal herbs everywhere to scrape by. But no matter how hard things got, even when he couldn't afford food, he still bought incense sticks and offered one each morning and evening."
"He endured like that until the fiftieth day. Afraid he might miss the appointed hour, Lu Ping'an simply draped the dogskin over himself and lay down to sleep beneath the offering table."
Uncle Wen, you're telling this in such detail, it sounds like you were right there!
Lu Sui grumbled inwardly as he listened.
"Lu Ping'an slept soundly, and by the time he woke, it was already the third watch. Outside, he heard a great clamoring, with lights blazing everywhere, as though a group of friends had gathered there."
"Lu Ping'an pricked up his ears and listened closely. It took him quite a while to work out that the Lady of Lishan's birthday was approaching. All the wild gods within five hundred li were coming to celebrate, and they were stopping here to rest along the way."
"A few standouts among them insisted on comparing birthday gifts. The first said he was offering his mountain's greatest treasure, a ginseng king that had become a spirit. One whiff could prolong your life, one bite of a rootlet could restore your youth, and swallowing it whole could bring the dead back to life!"
"Another refused to concede, declaring that his gift was the true peerless rarity: the God of Wealth's Immortal Treasure-Gathering Basin. Put copper or iron inside, and it would turn into gold or silver overnight. Put in one tael, take out ten thousand. Whoever had it would enjoy wealth and rank without end!"
"The last fellow first dismissed the first gift as worthless. The Lady of Lishan had boundless magical power and was immortal-what use had she for resurrection? Then he disparaged the other one. How vulgar were gold, silver, and jewels? Even mountains of them would only sully the lady's divine eyes."
"The first two fellows immediately grew angry and asked with cold sneers, 'What are you offering, then?' That fellow smiled and said, 'I've procured a Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart to offer for the lady's amusement.'"
"'This heart comprehends yin and yang and discerns ghosts and gods. There is nothing in this world it does not know. With it, mountains can speak, waters can sing, all beasts bow in fear, and auspicious creatures acknowledge their master.'"
Was this a bragging contest?
Each one talked bigger than the last.
Lu Sui couldn't help smiling and asked obligingly:
"Uncle Wen, who won in the end?"
Dou Xiaowen shook his head:
"There was no result. None of the three wild gods could prevail over the others, so some onlookers egged them on to leave their 'birthday gifts' on the offering table and let the mountain god judge. They could each collect them the following night."
"Lu Ping'an lay beneath the table, not daring to breathe loudly. He stayed wide-eyed until dawn, when the noise outside gradually died away."
"He crawled out for a look, and lo and behold, there really were things on the offering table: a bright red stone with seven holes bored into it, a straw doll tied with red string, and a copper basin the size of a human face with a damaged rim."
"Lu Ping'an was at a complete loss and didn't dare touch anything. Who could have expected the mountain god's statue to step down from its pedestal? It said Lu Ping'an had freely given it thirty days of incense offerings and had done it a kindness."
"Not only would it acknowledge Lu Ping'an as its godson and grant him thirty years of life, it also told him to take the three treasures and enjoy a lifetime of glory and riches!"
"And so your great-great-grandfather, Lu Ping'an, replaced his heart with the Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart and understood all things. He led away the ginseng king and still had a full head of black hair at a hundred. With the Treasure-Gathering Basin making money breed money, he made his fortune everywhere."
Lu Sui was speechless for a moment:
"Uncle Wen, why does your story start with a tiger's head and end with a snake's tail? Where's all the exciting stuff in between?
"Like whether he thoroughly slapped those Lu Family members in the face, how he replaced his heart, what business he did, whether he encountered powerful enemies..."
Dou Xiaowen answered with perfect conviction:
"How would I know? When your great-great-grandfather was roaming the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains, I was still in my mother's womb!"
Lu Sui muttered inwardly, If you don't want to tell the truth, fine, but you're even making up stories to fool me.
There were so many demonic and evil calamities in the Land Beyond the Pass, yet he had never heard of mountain gods or wild gods.
If there really were a Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart that comprehended yin and yang, a ginseng king that could raise the dead, and a Treasure-Gathering Basin that made money breed money...
Would the grass on Great-Great-Grandfather's grave be several feet high?
He would have gone off seeking immortals and the Dao, cultivating eternal life long ago!