Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
On the 17th of the fourth lunar month at Deer Villa…
The sunlight was so radiant and enchanting that it was a bit too dazzling. The sounds of birds chirping and insects in Deer Villa made the whole area seem secluded and peaceful. The luxuriant pear tree in Eunuch Liu’s courtyard provided ample cool shade…
After Eunuch Liu had lunch, he proceeded to lie down on a lounging chair under the pear tree and took a nap. Meanwhile, he was served by two other eunuchs that fanned him at the side. Eunuch Liu’s nap was the same as usual — it lasted for about two hours. He only woke up when it was nearly quarter past two o’clock.
When the eunuchs saw Eunuch Liu waking up, they quickly passed a towel to him, served him a cup of hot tea, and gave him a bowl of lukewarm bird’s nest soup…
Eunuch Liu used the towel to wipe his face and he rinsed his mouth with the herbal tea. Finally, he picked up the porcelain bowl akin to white jade and took his sweet time to drink the warm bird’s nest soup.
“Hmm, the bird’s nest soup today is pretty good. It’s a bit different than the white gourd bird’s nest soup I used to have. The soup base is fresher, and the bird’s nest seems clear and transparent as well. Not bad, not bad. How did the chef stew this soup…” Eunuch Liu commented in a slightly high-pitched voice while he tasted the soup.
Little Chun immediately responded with a bow beside him. “The chef used tender chicken, good ham, and fresh mushrooms to concoct this soup. If Eunuch Liu likes it, we will ask the chef to prepare it the same way next time…”
“Then make it once every three days. If this excellent food is sampled too many times, it will become meaningless. Every three days. I still want to leave a desire for my taste buds…”
“As you wish, Eunuch Liu!”
After taking two more spoonfuls, Eunuch Liu slightly slowed down his hand movement as if he had thought of something, “Right, what day is it today…”
“17th. The 17th of the fourth lunar month…” Little Li quickly replied.
“It’s been a while since I last saw that newcomer Commandant Yan. It must have been a month already…”
“Hmm, Commandant Yan arrived on the 20th of last month. In the next three days, he will have been at Deer Villa for a full month…”
“What has Commandant Yan been doing these few days? How come I haven’t heard any news about him or seen him at all?” Eunuch Liu thoughtlessly asked as he continued to drink the soup.
“I heard that Commandant Yan has been leaving early and coming back late these days. He lingers in the mountain forest at the archery range every day. You can only spot him in his living quarters in the morning or late at night…”
“Oh?” Eunuch Liu halted the movement of his hand with an interested expression. “Has he not been leaving Deer Villa for the past few days?”
“I did ask the guard about that yesterday. Commandant Yan has never left Deer Villa this month. The servant tasked with delivering his meals was able to see him every day…”
“And?”
“I also heard that Commandant Yan requested two batches of customized stuff at the blacksmith’s workshop in Deer Villa, all of which were heavy ironware. The people at the blacksmith’s workshop said that these things are for Guard Yan’s cultivation…”
“Commandant Yan’s shoes have been wearing out really quickly these days. He would allegedly damage a pair of shoes nearly every day. A few days ago, Commandant Yan asked someone to send him twenty pairs of shoes in one go…”
“That’s right. Commandant Yan also took a sturdy ten picul bow from the storehouse…”
“The servant who delivers Commandant Yan’s meals said that he saw him basking in red light when he went to deliver food to him once. He thought that Commandant Yan was on fire but realized that wasn’t the case in the end…”
“Also, Commandant Yan’s meal portion seems to have doubled all of a sudden ever since he came to Deer Villa a month ago…”
Little Li and Little Chun took turns speaking as they complemented each other’s sentences. With just a few lines, they had relayed Yan Liqiang’s month of activities at Deer Villa — significant or minor — to Eunuch Liu in its entirety. Little Li and Little Chun were basically acting as Eunuch Liu’s eyes and ears in Deer Villa. Everything that happened within Deer Villa could hardly escape the attention of those two.
“Damaging a pair of shoes every day and taking a strong ten picul bow. His meal portion has doubled within a month…” As Eunuch Liu muttered, he suddenly raised his snow-white eyebrows and his eyes gleamed with realization. He then lightly put down the half-eaten bird’s nest soup and stood up, “The weather is nice today. I haven’t strolled around Deer Villa for a long time now. I am going to take a walk. You two don’t have to follow me…”
Little Chun and Little Li exchanged glances and lowered their heads at the same time, “Understood!”
When he was done speaking, Eunuch Liu leisurely left the courtyard by himself…
……
At the same time when Eunuch Liu left the courtyard, drops of hot sweat were dripping down from Yan Liqiang’s forehead in the forest where the Deer Villa archery range was. The beads of sweat rolled down one by one and landed on the soil beneath his feet…
Currently, the topless Yan Liqiang was motionless with his eyes closed. Within the shadows of the swaying trees in the forest, he was half-squatting, somewhat akin to that of the Horse Stance and somewhat different than that, as if he were a statue. On Yan Liqiang’s back were two heavy shackles binding the eight thick metal poles in their place like a bundle of firewood. At the same time, both his hands were fixed in the position of a basic spear technique while he wielded a metal pole that was more than eight meters long without making any movements. This metal pole consisted of the four similarly thick metal poles strapped together to make one extremely long pole.
Each metal pole weighed 350 jin. The total weight of the metal poles on Yan Liqiang’s back exceeded 2800 jin.
Meanwhile, Yan Liqiang’s ‘long spear’, which was made out of four connected metal poles, weighed 1400 jin…
However, at this moment, the force that Yan Liqiang had to endure with both of his hands had already far exceeded the weight he bore on his back. This was due to the fact that he was balancing the ‘long spear’ like how he held a normal spear — his hands at the end of the pole and on the pole were less than three feet apart. Under the law of the lever, the force that both of his hands endured by maintaining this posture with a large 1400 jin pole was certainly greater than the said weight…
Yan Liqiang had already possessed an extremely sturdy body before he began this cultivation. Because of the frequent training, Yan Liqiang’s original sturdy body had become that of a metal statue where the lines of his muscles were more apparent. Each protruding muscle was filled with the power akin to that of an explosive dynamite. His sweat would flow down the lines of his solid muscles like a stream through the mountain peaks, drenching the soil underneath him…
Yan Liqiang had maintained this position for more than two hours.
This position was the result of the trial and error Yan Liqiang experienced during the past few days. While maintaining this position, the muscles and nerves in every inch of his body, be it his legs or arms, would reach the optimal results of his training…
That weird squatting posture was to strengthen the effects of the Deft Lightness Jump technique which was also known as the ‘Cloud Dragon’s Ten Transformations’ technique…
The remarkably powerful long spear that he assembled was able to develop the strength of both his hands while refining his basic spear technique of ten years at the same time…
On the other hand, the load on his back had begun shifting the forces throughout his body…
This posture consumed most of his energy and exhausted him the swiftest. Coincidentally, the effectiveness of this posture also proved to be the strongest above all.
Yan Liqiang then closed his eyes…
Every cell in his body was roaring like steel tossed into a smelting furnace. Yan Liqiang’s spiritual world, on the other hand, was able to remain tranquil even in this state. In this peaceful state, Yan Liqiang had forgotten the feeling of fatigue and the excessive consumption of his energy. The surrounding Heaven and Earth had been integrated into his perception.
Suddenly…
Eyes shut, Yan Liqiang felt a burst of cold murderous air rushing toward him from behind.
Under the beguilement of the murderous intent, the giant eight-meter long spear that remained motionless in Yan Liqiang’s hand reflexively shifted, exchanging the position of the tip of the spear with the end. He exerted force on his feet and turned around, twisting his waist and strode forward before he lunged ahead. His silhouette shifted in a sudden motion as his spear thrust forward in the direction of the murderous air like an arrow leaving the string…
Yan Liqiang only felt the spear in his hand slightly shake as if something had clashed with it. However, he didn’t really care because the energy from the vibration was too insignificant to change the course of his attack…
A ‘bang’ rang out in the air. Yan Liqiang clashed with the silhouette that rushed toward him at a faster speed as he turned to face the unknown assailant. After breaking a pine tree with the thickness of a thigh, the silhouette ended up falling to the ground pathetically.
This person was wearing black headgear and a black night outfit in the middle of the day, which made him seem extremely suspicious.
Yan Liqiang could not understand how a person like him was able to enter Deer Villa. However, when he saw the person on the ground, he did not stop. Instead, he let out a roar and drifted ten meters away from his position like a lightning bolt. After that, he jumped three meters upward with an eight-meter-long metal pole that he had been using as a spear. He swung it up in an instant and with an overwhelming stance, he focused his pole and swung it hard toward the person on the ground.
“It’s me…” A sharp scream rang out from the person who had fallen to the ground.
When Yan Liqiang heard this voice, he quickly shifted his strength and slammed the eight-meter-long metal pole three feet away from the target…
With a ‘bang’, the ground was left with a giant pit. The surrounding area around the pit seemed to have shaken slightly. And the person on the ground was startled like a frightened monkey the moment the metal pole struck the ground. Without a care for grace or elegance, he rolled over like a lazy donkey and swiftly shifted to the side. After that, he bounced up from the ground like a startled monkey and scurried ten meters away from the commotion.
“Eunuch Liu…?” Yan Liqiang stopped and looked at the black-clothed man.
The man clad in black took off the black headgear and revealed an aged face. This man was indeed none other than Eunuch Liu himself. However, the current expression on his face as he looked at Yan Liqiang was akin to that of seeing a ghost. He looked like he had a hard time believing what had happened. There was a touch of shock and shame amidst the anger from his embarrassment…
Eunuch Liu wanted to say something when he opened his mouth, but as he did so, he felt a disturbance in his Qi and blood within his chest. He then proceeded to cough up a mouthful of blood…
