The Shousui man’s dharma method was a treasure, one that usually wasn’t taught easily.
And this kind of personal notebook, painstakingly recorded through firsthand experiences, undoubtedly was a gem among treasures. How could it be casually stolen?
After all, this wasn’t some kind of get-rich-quick scheme from my past life!
Upon hearing these words from his Junior Sister, Hu Ma didn’t feel a stroke of good fortune coming his way. Instead, he became even more cautious.
With a slight smile, he suppressed his suspicion and said calmly, "Sis, don’t joke around. I’m learning from the Shopkeeper at my own pace."
Hu Ma is a straightforward man...
But that Sister He, seeing Hu Ma’s refusal, just smiled behind her hand and backed out of the room.
The foul odor in the room was carried away by the breeze, and Hu Ma pondered, a vague thought crossing his mind: Could this be some kind of loyalty test? They presented something to me, but if I took it, it would prove I had poor character?
Isn’t that a bit childish?
The old shopkeeper had already agreed to teach him the dharma method, so why would he pull such tricks?
Unable to deduce the rationale, he decided to put this matter aside for the time being. At night, he continued practicing silently.
Now, within his Lifebound Spirit Temple, he could see that the spot representing his left hand was already glowing with a golden light, indicating that it was at the right level and he had successfully completed refining life for it.
Of course, he hadn’t removed the bandage wrapped around it yet, fearing that the Shopkeeper might see it.
And it wasn’t just the left hand; even his right leg had begun to show faint golden streaks. That was due to his experimenting.
After refining his left hand, he needed to refine his right leg. The old shopkeeper currently only gave him these two dharma methods, and his expectation was for him to master these two parts by spring next year.
This, however, made Hu Ma realize a problem. Am I running out of things to practice too quickly?
At his current pace, he would soon finish refining his right leg. Then what? Just stop and wait?
After all, he hadn’t learned any other dharma methods from the Shopkeeper!
This way, his quick learning advantage would become meaningless.
The old shopkeeper said to finish in four months, and I managed it in forty days. But it’s pointless, as I have no new dharma methods to practice. I’ll just have to wait until after four months to learn other techniques.
However, Hu Ma quickly discovered that with the Shousui man’s path, while training different parts of the body, some aspects were similar while others were vastly different.
The subtle differences were worlds apart.
Having mastered the dharma method for refining the left hand, he could apply it to the right hand, experimenting slowly—it wasn’t entirely different.
With the Lifebound Divine Statue to illuminate his path, Hu Ma could make some adjustments himself.
By mastering the left hand’s refining life dharma method, he essentially had the method for refining the right hand, and it was the same for the legs.
But applying it to refine muscles, membranes, and internal organs would not work.
Moreover, there was the ever-present issue of Blood Food. His fast cultivation consumed stove fire astonishingly quickly.
Watching as my original Three Column Tao dwindled to two and a half columns, if this continues, will it soon drop to two columns, or even one column?
Though theoretically, as he refined more, his consumption of stove fire should slow down.
Yet, he still needed to obtain a batch of Blood Food...
...Thinking this way, Er Guotou’s past suggestion seems very necessary, perhaps?
Lost in thought, a cold gust of wind suddenly blew, startling Hu Ma from his sleep.
If it had been before, such a gust would have startled him. But now, with deeper cultivation, his courage grew, and he could sense there was no malice in the wind.
Opening his eyes, he saw Little Hongtang crouching by his bedside. She looked warily outside the window, slowly placing her red Wooden Sword beside him, and then hid behind him, staying silent.
Hu Ma understood, and he knew it wasn’t Zhou Datong.
Little Hongtang was smart!
She left the Wooden Sword so no one would notice her presence. If it were Zhou Datong, she wouldn’t bother.
As he slowly sat up, Hu Ma moved towards the window. The room was unlit, shrouded in darkness. Although there was a faint starlight outside, it was still oppressively dark. As he neared the paper-covered window, he smelled a faint stench and suddenly heard a soft snicker.
The sound was incredibly close, just one layer of window paper away.
Without the window paper, it would be like they were nose to nose, face to face.
Hu Ma was slightly startled inside, unable to speak before he heard that laughter drift away, followed by Sister Wu He’s voice fluttering over, "Brother Hu Ma, don’t be afraid, take a close look..."
Hu Ma sighed, opened the window, and saw two dark objects placed on the windowsill.
He didn’t rush to touch them. Instead, he turned back to find the Fire Stick, lit the oil lamp, and brought it over. Upon inspection, he saw a thin booklet on the windowsill.
It didn’t look very old, nor was there any text on the cover. Next to the booklet, however, was a bowl of a dark, viscous substance.
Looking at it, Hu Ma recognized it was Tai Sui... and it had been pan-fried!
What on earth is she up to?
Inwardly, Hu Ma felt a strange sensation he couldn’t quite place.
He set down the oil lamp, stood silently for a while, ensuring he detected no odors, then turned to look at Little Hongtang.
Little Hongtang squatted among the bedding with a blank, innocent look, and said, "Gone!"
Only then did Hu Ma relax. Using a cloth to handle it, he picked up the booklet and flipped through it, feeling startled.
This booklet surprisingly documented various dharma methods for Shousui men to practice, covering different parts from hands to feet. Nothing was left out! Not only did it have methods for practice, but also personal techniques.
Judging by the penmanship, it was vigorous and strong. Hu Ma had seen Shopkeeper Wu’s handwritten contracts, which bore resemblance to this notebook, though not entirely identical.
It also had some delicate and graceful parts.
This is suspicious...
The more he looked, the more shocked he became. Is this woman serious?
Did she truly steal the Shopkeeper’s notes and give them to me so I could achieve successful cultivation more quickly?
And some parts even seem to have been added by her!
Most crucially, apart from these notes, there was that bowl of stewed meat. Hu Ma had eaten it many times, courtesy of the Second Master. It was green Tai Sui.
Although this half bowl of green Tai Sui was nothing special to him, it was a treasure to the other staff, nearly a month’s worth of rations.
Why is she being so good to me?
Could it be because I look handsome?
...Let’s rule out the most probable option first!
Hu Ma considered himself not unintelligent, and with the experiences of his past life as a foundation, he still couldn’t figure out what her intentions were.
In the silence of the night, surrounded by solitude, as he looked at these notes, an eerie thought formed in his mind. Just when I lacked cultivation techniques, this dharma method has appeared right before me. So, should I look at it, or not?
With a slight resolve, Hu Ma opened the booklet and quickly browsed through it.
Little Hongtang had been sent out to keep watch on the roof.
Hu Ma had no idea how much truth was contained in these notes or how much might be false.
Yet he decided to memorize as much as possible, as quickly as possible.
When it comes time to cultivate, my Lifebound Divine Statue can verify everything, can’t it?
As for that bowl of green food, he didn’t touch it immediately.
He read until dawn broke, then put the booklet away, washed his face early, and organized chores for the staff in the outer courtyard. After they were busy, he found an unguarded moment and slipped into the inner courtyard.
The old shopkeeper was already up, slowly practicing forms in the yard. He wasn’t concerned about Hu Ma watching and didn’t call out to him, just finished practicing at a leisurely pace.
Then he took the towel handed to him by an old servant, wiping his face as he asked, "What brings you here?"
"Yesterday, my Junior Sister played a joke on me."
Hu Ma took out the booklet wrapped in cloth, handed it to the old shopkeeper, and said with a wry smile, "She gave me this, and a bowl of green food..."
The old shopkeeper looked at the booklet and wasn’t surprised at all, saying, "Did you read it?"
"I flipped through it once," Hu Ma said. "I thought it wasn’t quite proper, so I closed it again."
The old shopkeeper smiled upon hearing this, and then asked, "What about the bowl of green food?"
Hu Ma said, "I ate it."
"Oh, girls grow up and can’t be kept at home..."
The old shopkeeper laughed at this and said, "That was meant for my morning meal, to nourish myself, but she stole it to give to you, and the booklet too. But don’t worry. Since she gave it to you, you might as well read it."
"In theory, I should be overseeing your cultivation constantly, guiding you. But we’re busy here, and I don’t have the energy for that, so you might as well read it at your own leisure..."
"As for the green food..."
He paused, smiling at the old servant beside him, and said, "From now on, make sure he also gets a bowl every three days."
"So he doesn’t have to steal mine."
The old servant acknowledged and left. Hu Ma, however, felt a wave of surprise surge in his heart.
Hearing the old shopkeeper’s words, it seemed he was completely aware and approved too?
Far from feeling happy, he grew even more wary.
Why did the old shopkeeper casually say that ’girls grow up and can’t be kept at home’? What did he mean by that?
Anyone else in the Manor, upon hearing this, would probably be over the moon, but not Hu Ma.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and certainly no such good fortune, right?
Despite a strong sense of vigilance within, Hu Ma outwardly displayed surprise and delight, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Shopkeeper..."
Thankfully, in a previous life at university, he’d joined the theater club’s preparatory team, or he couldn’t have pulled off such a nuanced performance.
With the booklet in hand, Hu Ma received formal permission to read it.
According to the Shopkeeper, he had the freedom to try cultivating more, supported by green food.
Yet, Hu Ma couldn’t relax. Uncertain what to say, he maintained his vigilance. He noticed that every one of the Manor’s staff wanted to sneak more than a few glances at the Junior Sister, while Hu Ma, however, subconsciously wanted to avoid her.
Of course, it was only in his mind that he wanted to avoid her—he couldn’t make it too obvious. Every time he met his Junior Sister, he still greeted her with a smile.
Even when she mentioned something she wanted or craved, he’d make a point of getting it for her...
...Is this what life with a woman is like?
It’s truly exhausting! Spending time with Second Master and the guys is much more fun.