The techniques of the Shousui people were treasures, not something to be casually passed on to just anyone.
And the notes recorded through personal experimentation were undoubtedly even more precious.
How could they be easily stolen? This wasn’t like selling success manuals in his past life!
When Hu Ma heard the words of his junior sister, he didn’t feel like something good was coming his way.
Instead, he became even more cautious.
He slightly pursed his lips, suppressing the suspicion in his heart, and said calmly, “Sister, don’t joke around. I’ll learn slowly from the shopkeeper.”
“Brother Hu Ma is such an honest man…” The junior sister, seeing Hu Ma’s refusal, covered her mouth and chuckled before leaving the room.
The foul smell in the room had been blown away by the wind, and Hu Ma couldn’t help but wonder if this was some kind of loyalty test.
Was it a trap to see if he would take the bait and prove his lack of integrity? It seemed a bit childish, didn’t it? The old shopkeeper had already promised to teach him the techniques, so why bother with such tricks?
Unable to figure it out, Hu Ma decided to put the matter aside for now.
That night, he continued his cultivation in silence.
Now, within his life-bound spirit temple, he could see that his left hand was glowing with a golden light, indicating that the refinement of his left hand had been successful.
Of course, the bandages wrapped around it hadn’t been removed yet, as he was afraid the shopkeeper might notice.
Not only his left hand, but faint golden traces had also begun to appear on his right leg.
This was his attempt at refining it.
After finishing with the left hand, he moved on to the right leg.
The old shopkeeper had only given him these two techniques so far, and his expectation was that Hu Ma would master both by the start of spring next year.
This made Hu Ma realize a problem: it seemed like he would soon run out of things to practice.
Based on his current progress, his right leg would also be refined quickly.
What would he do then? Just stop and wait? After all, the shopkeeper hadn’t taught him any other techniques.
This meant that his advantage of fast cultivation would soon be rendered useless.
The old shopkeeper had said it would take four months to master these techniques, but Hu Ma had done it in just forty days.
However, without further techniques to learn, he would have to wait until the four months were up before he could learn anything new.
But Hu Ma soon discovered that the Shousui techniques for refining different parts of the body had some similarities, while others were vastly different.
The subtle differences were like night and day.
Having learned the technique for refining his left hand, he could apply it to his right hand with some adjustments, and the same went for his legs.
However, this approach didn’t work for refining muscles, membranes, or internal organs.
Then there was the ever-present issue of blood food.
His rapid cultivation speed meant an equally rapid consumption of furnace fire.
He noticed that his original three pillars of cultivation had already been reduced to two and a half.
If this continued, he would soon be down to two pillars, or even one.
Although, in theory, as he refined more parts of his body, his consumption of furnace fire should slow down.
But still, he needed to secure a batch of blood food.
Thinking about it, the proposal from his friend Erguotou might be worth considering after all.
“Brother Hu Ma…”
While deep in thought, a sudden cold breeze brushed against his face, jolting Hu Ma awake from his sleep.
In the past, such a breeze would have startled him, but now, with his deeper cultivation, he could sense that there was no malice in it.
Opening his eyes, he saw Xiao Hongtang crouching by his bedside.
She was cautiously looking out the window, slowly placing her red wooden sword beside him before hiding behind him, making no sound.
“Someone’s coming?” Hu Ma understood and knew it wasn’t Zhou Datong.
Xiao Hongtang was clever.
She had put down the sword to avoid drawing attention to herself.
If it had been Zhou Datong, she wouldn’t have bothered.
Slowly sitting up, Hu Ma quietly approached the window.
The room was pitch black, with no lights on, but there was a faint starlight outside.
As he neared the window, he caught a faint whiff of a foul smell.
Suddenly, he heard a soft giggle, so close that it seemed to be right on the other side of the window paper.
Without the paper, it would have been as if they were face to face.
“Is it that woman?” Hu Ma was slightly startled, but before he could say anything, the laughter faded away, and the voice of Wu He, the junior sister, floated in: “Brother Hu Ma, don’t be afraid. Take a closer look…”
Hu Ma exhaled sharply and opened the window.
On the windowsill, he saw two dark objects.
He didn’t rush to touch them.
Instead, he turned back, found a fire starter, lit an oil lamp, and brought it over.
On the windowsill, there was a thin booklet.
It didn’t look very old, and there was no writing on the cover.
Beside the booklet was a bowl of something dark and sticky.
Hu Ma recognized it immediately—it was a bowl of Tai Sui, and it had been fried!
“What is she up to?” Hu Ma felt a strange sense of unease.
He put down the oil lamp and stood silently for a moment, making sure there was no lingering smell, before turning to Xiao Hongtang.
Xiao Hongtang, still crouching in the bedding, said, “She’s gone!”
Only then did Hu Ma relax.
Using a cloth to protect his hand, he picked up the booklet and flipped through it.
He was shocked.
The booklet contained detailed records of the Shousui techniques for refining various parts of the body, from hands to feet, with no part left out.
Not only did it include the cultivation methods, but there were also personal tips and tricks.
The handwriting was strong and vigorous.
Hu Ma had seen the shopkeeper’s handwriting on invoices, and it matched the style of the notes, but not entirely.
Some parts were more delicate and refined.
“This is strange…” Hu Ma grew more and more surprised.
Was she serious? Had she really stolen the shopkeeper’s cultivation notes for him, hoping he would cultivate faster? Some parts even seemed to have been added by her.
Most importantly, aside from the notes, there was also that bowl of stew.
Hu Ma had eaten plenty of this at Second Uncle’s place—it was green Tai Sui.
Although he didn’t think much of this half bowl of green Tai Sui, he knew that for any ordinary disciple, this was a treasure, enough to last nearly a month.
Why was she being so nice to him? Was it because he was handsome? Hu Ma quickly dismissed that as the most likely reason.
Hu Ma wasn’t stupid, and with his past life’s experience, he could usually figure things out.
But this time, he couldn’t understand what she was after.
In the quiet of the night, with no one around, he looked at the notes and had a strange thought.
He was currently lacking cultivation techniques, and now they were right in front of him.
Should he read them or not?
Yes, he would read them.
With a determined heart, Hu Ma opened the booklet and began to quickly scan through it.
Xiao Hongtang was sent out to keep watch on the roof.
Hu Ma had no way of knowing if the contents of the booklet were true or false, or how much of it was accurate.
But he decided to memorize as much as he could.
After all, when it came time to cultivate, he could always verify it through his life-bound spirit statue, right?
As for the bowl of green Tai Sui, he didn’t touch it immediately.
…
By the time the eastern sky began to lighten, Hu Ma had finished reading the booklet.
He put it away, washed his face, and arranged the day’s tasks for the outer courtyard disciples.
Once they were all busy, he slipped into the inner courtyard unnoticed.
The old shopkeeper was already up, slowly practicing his forms in the courtyard.
He didn’t seem to mind Hu Ma watching and didn’t greet him, simply finishing his routine.
Then he took a towel from an old servant, wiped his face, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Yesterday, my junior sister played a joke on me,” Hu Ma said, handing over the cloth-wrapped booklet with a bitter smile. “She gave me this, along with a bowl of green Tai Sui…”
The old shopkeeper glanced at the booklet, showing no surprise. “Did you read it?”
“I skimmed through it,” Hu Ma admitted. “But it didn’t seem proper, so I closed it.”
The old shopkeeper chuckled and asked, “What about the bowl of green Tai Sui?”
“I ate it,” Hu Ma replied.
“Ah, daughters grow up and can’t be kept at home forever…” The old shopkeeper laughed. “That was supposed to be my breakfast, to nourish my body. But she stole it for you. And the booklet too. But don’t worry. Since she gave it to you, you can take a look. Normally, I should be guiding you step by step in your cultivation, but we’re busy here, and I don’t have the energy. So, I’ll let you figure it out on your own.”
“As for the green Tai Sui…” He paused, then turned to the old servant. “From now on, make him a bowl every three days. That way, he won’t have to steal mine.”
The old servant nodded and left, while Hu Ma was inwardly shocked.
From the shopkeeper’s tone, it seemed he was fully aware of what had happened and even approved of it.
Instead of feeling relieved, Hu Ma grew even more wary.
What did the shopkeeper mean by “daughters grow up and can’t be kept at home forever”? In any other household, hearing such words would make one overjoyed, but not Hu Ma.
Good things didn’t just fall from the sky.
What was the catch?
Despite his inner alarm, Hu Ma put on a face of surprise and gratitude, repeatedly thanking the shopkeeper.
Thankfully, he had been in the university’s drama club in his past life, or he wouldn’t have been able to act so convincingly.
With the shopkeeper’s permission, Hu Ma was now officially allowed to read the booklet.
In fact, the shopkeeper seemed to be giving him free rein to experiment with his cultivation, even providing him with green Tai Sui for nourishment.
But Hu Ma didn’t dare let his guard down.
He couldn’t voice his suspicions, so he kept his vigilance hidden.
While all the other disciples couldn’t help but sneak glances at the junior sister, Hu Ma found himself instinctively avoiding her.
Of course, he couldn’t make it too obvious.
Whenever he saw her, he still greeted her with a smile.
And if she mentioned wanting something to eat, he made sure to bring it to her.
…Was this what life with a woman was like? It was exhausting! He much preferred hanging out with Second Uncle and the other disciples.
(End of Chapter)