Xu Qi'an: Auntie, Would You Like Your Face Slapped with Gold or Silk?

Xu Qi'an?

If last time Linglong lost his temper without warning, Huaiqing had Xu Qi'an by his side, then this time, Xu Qi'an was not nearby.

The dragon's madness had another reason, but despite the numerous guards, it couldn't be subdued. Yet, it became docile in front of Xu Qi'an.

This question flashed through Wei Yuan's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

He had investigated Xu Qi'an's background; his resume was clean and unremarkable. To insist on linking him with Linglong was rather far-fetched.

Linglong's sudden calm can be explained by either "having vented his emotions" or "not wanting to harm Princess Lin'an."

I'm afraid His Majesty thinks the same way.

The emperor and his minister strolled slowly toward the palace, without using sedan chairs. Emperor Yuanjing suddenly said, "Prince Zhenbei, it's been quite a few years since you've returned to the capital."

Wei Yuan's eyes flashed, and he smiled, "It has been quite a few years."

Emperor Yuanjing nodded. "Summon him back next spring. I miss him too."

Xu Qi'an drove his carriage along the wide streets of the inner city, with two rows of armored soldiers in front and behind the carriage.

Wei Yuan was sitting in the carriage.

"Duke Wei, what's the deal with that spirit dragon? Such a dangerous beast, kept in the imperial city, aren't you afraid it will harm people?" Xu Qi'an probed.

Wei Yuan's gentle voice came from inside the carriage. "The spirit dragon is always docile and is not a member of the royal family. As long as you don't touch it, it won't attack."

"Are there no exceptions?" Xu Qi'an asked casually, trying to make his tone sound calm.

After a moment, Wei Yuan said quietly, "There are no exceptions."

Xu Qi'an fell silent.

After a long silence, Xu Qi'an continued, "Duke Wei, I've uncovered some things that have made the case even more perplexing. I'm a little unsure how to proceed."

"Explain."

"This humble servant went to Qinglong Temple today and learned a secret. There was a monk there, whose Dharma name was Heng Hui. Over a year ago, he fell in love with a female pilgrim who frequented the temple. So, he stole a magical Law Artifact from Qinglong Temple that could conceal one's aura and eloped with her," Xu Qi'an said.

"That female pilgrim was none other than Princess Pingyang, who had been missing for a long time."

Wei Yuan's deep voice came from inside the carriage. "Why didn't you mention this when you reported it earlier?"

Because he was thinking of first showing off to the Princess—no, I mean, building up her favor— Xu Qi'an felt a little embarrassed and made an excuse:

"Without clear and useful clues, I dare not mislead Duke Wei. It was only after meeting the Princess that I learned that Princess Pingyang's elopement might involve a struggle between nobles and civil officials."

"This humble servant is not yet certain whether Princess Pingyang and Monk Heng Hui are involved in the Sangbo case. Although Zhou Chixiong, a centurion of the Golden Guard, carries a magical Law Artifact that can conceal his aura, he has already fled the capital. Who knows if it is the Law Artifact from Qinglong Temple?"

Wei Yuan did not respond to this.

The carriage entered the Nightwatchers's office, Xu Qi'an took down a small wooden ladder to welcome Wei Yuan down.

Wei Yuan, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, glanced at him expressionlessly and said, "Come with me to the Haoqi Tower."

Was he about to get a scolding? Xu Qi'an reluctantly followed. The two entered Haoqi Tower one after the other. Wei Yuan instructed Xu Qi'an to brew tea, while he stood in the observation hall to enjoy the scenery.

Time passed by, minute by minute, until Xu Qi'an called out that the tea was ready.

It's really just boiling water and brewing tea; the process is very simple.

Wei Yuan walked to the table, glanced at it, and shook his head, saying, "The first cup should be poured out first. It can't be drunk directly; it's too bitter and will mask the sweetness of the tea."

Are you teaching me how to do things?

"This humble servant is a rough man with no experience." Xu Qi'an thought of Uncle Da's arrogant expression, while a servile smile, reminiscent of Stephen Chow, appeared on his face.

With a snap, Wei Yuan pulled a brocade box from his sleeve and said with a smile, "Open it and take a look."

Xu Qi'an opened the brocade box as instructed. Inside was a longan-sized, translucent orange-yellow pill, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted into his nostrils.

"This is Golden Core bestowed by His Majesty. It can strengthen the body and increase vital energy. The Imperial Preceptor spent several months refining it, and only one batch was produced. It's priceless." Wei Yuan closed the brocade box and tapped the surface with his finger. "It's yours now."

Xu Qi'an found it hard to believe.

"This thing is useless to me, and not very effective for high-level martial artists. After thinking it over, the person who most needs to improve their cultivation right now is you," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"Since I said I would mentor you, I certainly wouldn't do it without a reason."

"Duke Wei!" Xu Qi'an's joy and gratitude were heartfelt. A profound thought arose within him, and a wise saying flashed through his mind:

If you lick it until the very end, you'll find everything you could want.

"After you digest the Golden Core, your Qi should be able to fill your middle Dantian. At that time, you will need to learn visualization in advance to enhance your Primordial Spirit. In this way, your cultivation progress will be at least one-third faster than that of other martial artists of the same realm," Wei Yuan said.

This is the benefit of having a powerful organization backing you up and clinging to their coattails. If I were Rogue Cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm like my second uncle. Xu Qi'an was glad he made the right choice that day.

When they discovered that players number nine and six were playing Werewolf, they didn't take any risks but instead went to find Wei Yuan and spoke frankly.

Without this experience, he wouldn't have gained Wei Yuan's appreciation and trust so quickly.

If he hadn't gained Wei Yuan's trust, and only received his appreciation, he would probably have had to painstakingly accumulate merits, instead of having his Golden Core given away so easily.

"Duke Wei, the first level of the Spirit Refining Realm is Copper Skin and Iron Bones. How should one cultivate to achieve this?" Xu Qi'an inquired earnestly.

"When you reach the peak of the Spirit Refining Realm, your Qi and Blood and blood will merge with your Primordial Spirit. At this time, your body will undergo a complete transformation. During this transformation, you will use a stick to strike every part of your body, like a blacksmith forging iron, removing impurities and refining steel."

Tap every part of his body? Xu Qi'an was filled with doubts and concerns in front of Wei Yuan.

"That's an ancient method," Wei Yuan added with a chuckle, "Times have changed. Now, martial artists use medicinal baths to train their bodies."

Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief and continued to inquire, "When I was researching, I found that the description of the fifth-grade Transformation Force is roughly: to endow every part of the body with life, making it as easy to use as an arm, yet also independent."

This description is absurd. The body is a whole, and it has life itself. How can you claim to "give life to every part"?

Xu Qi'an found it both absurd and funny.

Wei Yuan scrutinized him, noticing the subtle change in his expression, shook his head, and said, "We'll discuss the specific cultivation methods when you reach a certain level. The more you know now, the more you'll overthink and add to your worries."

"Alright, take the pill here. I'll see if this Golden Core can help you fill your middle Dantian. Not everyone has this effect; I'm judging based on your aptitude. Whether it will work or not, we'll have to see."

Wei Yuan held a sliver of hope.

Xu Qi'an hummed in agreement, opened the brocade box, and took the Golden Core.

He chewed the pills hard and swallowed them. A few seconds later, his stomach began to burn, as if a ball of fire was burning inside.

The flames were scorching my stomach, pushing it beyond its limits.

Not daring to be negligent, Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged and practiced breathing exercises, circulating his internal energy and guiding the heat within his body.

Hoo hoo

Long, powerful breaths filled the spacious tea room, like the exhalation of a giant beast.

Wei Yuan squinted, quietly observing Xu Qi'an.

An hour later, Xu Qi'an felt the heat in his stomach subside, his energy flowed freely throughout his body, and he felt better than ever before.

Now, even if the opponent has a bronze gong Law Artifact protecting them, I can still kill a Silver Gong cultivator in the Spirit Refining Realm with a single strike. Xu Qi'an was delighted with his own changes.

"Indeed, you are a rare Martial Dao genius." Wei Yuan praised.

He stood up, took out a thin booklet and a scroll he had prepared beforehand from the bookshelf, and handed them to Xu Qi'an. "The booklet records the methods for visualization. Learn from it. This scroll is what you need to visualize."

Xu Qi'an unfurled the scroll, which depicted a giant with his head reaching the sky and his feet firmly planted on the ground, his expression and the texture of his muscles rendered in exquisite detail.

But what's most awe-inspiring is that arrogant aura that seems to reach for the heavens and tread upon the netherworld, as if nothing in the world can frighten him.

"The image you visualize will influence a martial artist's State of Mind. This spirit is what the painter imprints on the painting. I've been looking for a long time, and I think this image is most suitable for you." Wei Yuan didn't forget to impart his knowledge to him.

Xu Qi'an treasured the booklet and scroll, then tentatively asked, "Duke Wei, may I meditate with someone else? Hmm, he's my second uncle."

He felt that in front of Wei Yuan, honesty was all that mattered; he couldn't play any tricks, because he was destined not to be able to fool the cunning and almost demonic eunuch.

"You only need to return the scroll in three months. What you use it for or whom you give it to in the meantime is none of my concern," Wei Yuan said, then added.

"Any Dharma image is priceless. If it's damaged, you'll lose your salary for the rest of your life."

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an felt the scroll was burning hot.

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Nangong Qianrou entered with a gloomy face. Her gaze lingered on the visualization diagram in Xu Qi'an's hand for a moment. She leaned down to Wei Yuan's ear and whispered something.

"Understood." Wei Yuan exhaled, his face expressionless. "He hinted at it to me while we were playing chess. Our emperor can tolerate corrupt officials, but he cannot tolerate even the slightest challenge to his authority."

Three of his spies planted in the palace were eliminated.

Xu Qi'an lowered his head and acted as if he hadn't heard.

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Wait a little longer, the gold and silk that His Majesty bestows upon you will arrive soon."

At dusk, a palace servant delivered the gold and silk bestowed by Emperor Yuanjing. One thousand taels of gold, or about sixty catties, were packed in a large box.

Five hundred bolts of silk, each bolt measuring four zhang (approximately 10 meters), piled up to fill two horse-drawn carts.

It was almost time to end their shift, but the Nightwatchers in the yamen were still there, watching with surprise as the palace officials pulled their carriages into the yamen.

Upon receiving the report, Xu Qi'an happily came out to greet them. After the handover, the palace servants pulled the empty carriage away.

Xu Qi'an called on Song Tingfeng and others to help load the goods, moving the gold and silk onto the carriages borrowed from the yamen.

"Ningyan, you've struck it rich!" Song Tingfeng exclaimed with delight and envy, patting Xu Qi'an's shoulder forcefully.

"I don't care, you'll have to pay for the Imperial Academy of Music's expenses next month."

Xu Qi'an glanced at Lü Qing and said angrily, "Nonsense, I don't even go to brothels."

After saying that, he opened the box, took out four ingots of gold, and gave them to Li Yuchun, Min Shan, and Yang Feng respectively, saying, "Take these and distribute them among the brothers."

Then, he tossed another ingot to Lü Qing and said with a smile, "Officer Lü, don't refuse."

Lü Qing nodded.

"Martial arts practitioners are so straightforward!" Xu Qi'an laughed.

"Thank you, Lord Xu!" The twelve gong players and six yamen runners shouted with ecstatic joy.

The Nightwatchers from afar were filled with envy, wishing they could join Xu Qi'an's team. A gold ingot looked like it weighed five taels, which was equivalent to forty taels of silver. He casually gave away one hundred and sixty taels as a reward—what superior could be so generous?

"What are these reward coins for?" Li Yuchun asked.

"I saved Princess Lin'an in the capital, and it was a reward from His Majesty. Well, it's not convenient to talk about it," Xu Qi'an replied.

Was it not a reward given because of the progress in the Sangbo case?

Everyone was taken aback, suddenly feeling that the silver was too hot to handle and that they were unworthy of it. They had originally thought that His Majesty was rewarding Xu Qi'an because he was pleased with the progress of the Sangbo case.

Xu Qi'an waved his hand. "Thank you all for your hard work these past few days. I never mistreat my colleagues."

Lu Qing smiled, glanced at the constables and gong-bearers behind him, and noticed a subtle change in their expressions.

She smiled happily.

Xu Qi'an looked around and asked, "Where is Miss Caiwei?"

"Perhaps they've returned to the Bureau of Astronomy."

No, she must be out having a good time at some restaurant again, Xu Qi'an thought to herself.

After the ceremony, the guards escorted the rewards to the Xu Residence.

Xu Qi'an rode on horseback, he thought that with this gold, even if he left the capital in the future, his family would have enough silver to completely make up for the losses from the tax silver case.

Auntie can happily buy jewelry and wear new clothes again, Lingyin can often go to Cassia Moon Tower for meals, and Lingyue's dowry... well, Lingyue still young, there's no rush for her to get married.

If Erlang enters officialdom in the future, he won't lack money to grease palms. Even if his poor uncle is penniless, he won't have to spend all his money on household expenses and can go to the Imperial Academy of Music more often.

Auntie has probably never seen so much silk in her life. My hands are itching to touch her. Should I hit her face with silk or gold when we get home? Xu Qi'an is in a great mood.

PS: Thanks to "Teacher A" for the patronage; there will be an extra chapter tomorrow. Today's word count: 11,000