By the time he returned to the residence, it was nearly five in the afternoon.
Though Master Tan had been exceedingly warm and repeatedly urged Lu Sui to stay for a meal, he had politely declined every time.
Not long after he sat down, Xiaohuan and Xiaotang each carried a food box into the room.
"Young master, here is tonight's dinner."
With the five cartloads of goods recovered, the various shopkeepers were settling accounts and distributing profits, and Lu Yulin spent fewer and fewer days at home.
This made things much easier for Lu Sui. He no longer had to abide by those rules of etiquette, chewing slowly and meticulously without uttering a word.
Xiaotang set out the dishes one by one.
"Young master, Madam specially prepared a few medicinal dishes. Have a taste. If you find them agreeable, we can add them to the menu."
Lu Sui took a closer look. There was beef stewed with codonopsis and red dates to replenish Qi and nourish blood, a white fungus, lily bulb, and lotus seed soup to quell internal heat and relieve dryness, accompanied by a soup of eucommia bark, morinda root, and achyranthes root.
This was precisely why he had not eaten at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School.
The Lu Family's standard of meals was not something other places could match.
How could bone-strengthening soup or Qi-replenishing powder compare with richly nourishing medicinal dishes made with generous ingredients and hours of simmering?
Lu Sui shook his head.
"Xiaotang, next time you visit Madam's courtyard, thank her for me. Tell her she needn't see to everything herself and work so hard."
Lu Sui had already reached the "Strengthening Qi and Blood" stage, and his daily appetite had soared.
With diligent training, he needed five meals a day to ensure his Qi and Blood grew steadily.
Xiaotang replied softly.
"Yes, young master. Then let this servant prepare your medicinal meals from now on.
"Our courtyard has a kitchen too. We need only draw some silver from the countinghouse to buy ingredients and medicinal herbs."
Lu Sui nodded approvingly. Xiaotang thought everything through carefully. She had the makings of an excellent housekeeper.
Xiaohuan clasped both hands in a bow.
"Young master, young master! I want candied hawthorns. Could Sister Xiaotang buy some while she's at it...?"
Lu Sui gave a snort of laughter.
"How old are you now, still acting like a child? Careful you don't ruin your teeth."
Xiaohuan pouted, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Young master, have you forgotten? When you were bedridden, Xiaohuan massaged you day and night! Xiaohuan is a meritorious contributor who shed sweat and put in hard work!"
This girl's mind was sharpest whenever she was asking for food and drink.
Lu Sui smiled and looked at Xiaotang.
"All right, all right. Remember to have them pick out the sour hawthorns for her."
With that, he bent his head over his meal.
He spread the meltingly tender beef over the rice in his bowl, then swept it into his stomach like a gale scattering clouds.
Lu Sui ate with gusto, quickly polishing off a basin of rice. About sixty or seventy percent full, he drank another two bowls of achyranthes root soup to fill the gaps.
As for the lotus seed soup, he saved that as a drink to reward himself after training.
Lu Sui wiped his mouth and thought:
At the rate I eat, even an ordinary wealthy household probably couldn't afford to support me.
No wonder those martial arts miscellanies say great masters can devour ten oxen a day while training. Looking at things now, that might not be an exaggeration.
Fortunately, when the young master trained, meat and medicinal meals were supplied in abundance. There was no fear of going hungry!
After a short rest, Lu Sui sat at his desk with his eyes closed, picking up a book to keep up appearances.
A line of tiny, tadpole-like characters flickered into view before his eyes.
[Recorded: "Cicada-Chasing Steps" (Mortal)]
With a thought, Lu Sui arrived in the dim ancient temple.
Above the main shrine, the writing on the pitch-black wooden tablet blurred, only becoming clear after several breaths.
[Lu Sui] [Arts: "Turtle-Snake Stance" (Mortal · Perfection), "Incomplete Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art," "Cicada-Chasing Steps"] [Methods: "Incomplete Grand Shaman Ghost-Capturing Compendium"] [Talent: Hibernation]
Lu Sui turned his gaze to the stone wall on the right. The little six-eared monkey hung by its tail from the edge of the shrine, lively as could be.
The stick of green incense below had burned down by two-thirds. Its progress was not slow.
Lu Sui thought:
Once the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Great Art reaches perfection, I should be able to gain another talent.
The "last surviving bastard" surnamed Yu had vanished without a trace and had not come to rescue his lover, his senior sister.
The little six-eared monkey could only feed on "small melons." Without any juicy "big melons" to fill its belly, its development was naturally delayed.
Lu Sui approached the newly illuminated shrine. Flecks of radiance shimmered dazzlingly inside, as though something were taking shape.
[Cicada-Chasing Steps (Mortal)] [Aptitude: Middle grade] [Imprint: Light and nimble] [Appraisal: A body that can chase the wind, steps that can tread upon swallows; graceful as a startled swan goose, soundless and traceless] [Guidance: Chase the wind through gliding, tread upon swallows through twisting, startle the swan goose through lifting; Qi follows the steps, the steps touch no dust, like a cicada shedding its shell]
Lu Sui frowned in thought. By rights, the martial art on which Tan Jingzong had built his reputation should not be of too low a grade.
Why was it still merely mortal grade?
Could it be that only by combining Cicada-Chasing Steps, the Dragon-Roving Movement Technique, and Chaotic Cloud Hands would it transform into a completed art?
And advance into Seven-Transformation Shadowless Legs?
As he pondered, an afterimage shot out with a whoosh, flew several circles around Lu Sui, then landed steadily atop the shrine.
Looking closely, he saw that it was a little dusty-gray cicada.
Lu Sui chuckled.
"A turtle-snake, a six-eared monkey, a baby silkworm, and now a gray cicada. So I've become a beast tamer."
Lu Sui extended a finger and teased it a few times. The gray cicada hopped onto it, letting out a crisp, clear chirp.
"They say nine out of ten leg fighters are fierce. I'd like to see whether that's true."
A stick of white incense lit out of thin air, wisps of smoke billowing and swirling.
Lu Sui inhaled lightly, and a succession of images flashed through his mind.
All of them showed him practicing footwork day and night, iron plates strapped to his legs as he kicked wooden posts. After swallowing untold bitterness, he finally crossed the threshold!
Lu Sui mused aloud.
"My aptitude is this poor? Even practicing tirelessly, I'd need several months just to reach the threshold?"
Very soon, Lu Sui dismissed the thought.
"It must be an illusion! I clearly grasped the subtleties of Cicada-Chasing Steps in a single evening!"
The following day.
Like someone clocking in for class, Lu Sui arrived at the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School on time.
As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Fangfang standing prettily in the outer courtyard, greeting him.
"Good morning, Senior Brother Lu~"
The apprentices gathered in groups of three or five on the training grounds, admiring this unattainable senior sister from the inner courtyard from afar.
Two of them stood by the foot of a wall. One, skinny as a monkey and with triangular eyes, said with a laugh:
"Junior Brother Wei, Senior Sister Bai, that goddess of yours, certainly smiles happily at Senior Brother Lu."
The young man addressed as Junior Brother Wei replied sullenly.
"What does it have to do with me who Senior Sister Bai likes smiling at? I'm only a horse keeper. There's no need for me to worry about such things..."
With that, Junior Brother Wei resumed swinging his stone training weight, whipping it to and fro.
Seemingly bored by the response, the triangular-eyed youth also assumed his stance and began stance training, muttering:
"Ever since Senior Brother Lu came to the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School, Senior Sister Bai has become more diligent too."
Tsk, why does it feel like I'm getting closer and closer to being a 'villainous young master'?
Lu Sui withdrew his gaze from the training grounds. Thinking of the conversation he had caught by activating the Earthly Hearing Chapter, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"You're here so early too, Junior Sister Bai."
With both hands behind her back, Bai Fangfang drew very close to Lu Sui and said with a light laugh:
"Senior Brother Lu, surely you haven't taken me for some delicate young lady who can't withstand a breeze!
"I train very diligently. These hands can draw a great bow and tame a fiery horse!"
With that, she even held her fair, tender little hands before Lu Sui's eyes for him to examine closely.
Lu Sui feigned an utter lack of romantic understanding.
"Junior Sister Bai, doesn't our Hundred Victories Martial Arts School practice leg techniques? Why are you showing me your hands?"
Bai Fangfang froze for a moment, then followed Senior Brother Lu's gaze down to her dainty feet beneath her skirt.
Senior Brother Lu actually wants to see my legs too?
The roots of her ears seemed to catch fire, flushing red in an instant. Her embroidered shoes, like tiny golden lotuses, hastily drew back, and Bai Fangfang said in embarrassed annoyance:
"Senior Brother Lu, you... are far too rude! When we spar during training later, I won't hold back!"