Chapter 4

The lake breeze was chilly.

Luo Qingzhou looked at the wooden box and a shiver went through him.

He looked up again at the archway not far away.

Then he took a deep breath.

He braced himself and reached out to open the box.

There were no dismembered limbs or anything scary inside. There was only a book with a yellowed cover.

Luo Qingzhou froze for a bit before reaching out to take out the book.

Then, his eyes widened.

On the cover of the book were a few words: Sunflower Manual!

No, wait!

Luo Qingzhou held it closer to take a closer look. The first word was not “sunflower” but “plum blossom” instead.

Plum Blossom Manual?

Luo Qingzhou froze for a bit.

He did not know if this book was a cultivation manual, a poetry anthology, or a scholar’s notebook.

The moon’s light shone off the white snow, so it was bright enough for Luo Qingzhou to read the contents of the book.

He eagerly flipped open the book. The first page had a few lines written neatly. “I have spent a lifetime cultivating these three cultivation techniques. The first one is the body-tempering internal cultivation technique, ‘Budding Plum Blossom’. The second one is the body-tempering technique, ‘Supercilious Plum Blossom’. The last one is a fighting technique, ‘Fluttering Plum Blossoms’.”

The author of this book was called Plum Blossom Daoist.

“So this is a cultivation manual.”

Luo Qingzhou felt a little excited. He looked up at the archway again, continuing to hide in the flowering shrub and flip through the cultivation manual.

Even though the manual was thin, there were three cultivation techniques recorded in it!

Each page had a simple illustration and text explanation.

The drawings were simple but lifelike. They were clear, concise, and easy to understand.

At the same time, there were a few pages that had diagrams listing the various acupoints of the human body, including some hidden acupoints. Other pages had diagrams showing the anatomy of the human body, including bones, muscles, flesh, etc.

As Luo Qingzhou flipped through the pages, he had a superficial understanding of it.

He realized that he had a photographic memory. Luo Qingzhou wondered if that ability came with him when he transmigrated, or if it was an ability that the original host had.

He simply needed to read it once, and he would be able to memorize every word. With one glance, the diagrams would be imprinted in his mind.

Therefore, he flipped through the manual very quickly.

In a short period, he managed to read through the entire manual.

He looked up at the archway and quickly put the book back into the wooden box.

Then, he buried it again.

After doing all that, he left the place and returned to his courtyard.

Xiao Die had already returned and was lying on the bed in his room, warming the blanket for him. Seeing that he had entered the room, she hurriedly said, “Young Master, it’s cold outside, quickly get in bed. It’s warmer here.”

The master-servant duo frequently sat in bed and huddled together for warmth. They did not avoid coming into physical contact with one another.

After all, Xiao Die was his concubine-maidservant.

However, Luo Qingzhou had something on his mind tonight, so he did not go to bed immediately. He glanced at Xiao Die and said, “Cover yourself first. I’ll go sit by the door for a while. I need to think about something.”

The brazier was by the door.

The wood had been burned into charcoal. It was red and was most suitable to build a fire.

Luo Qingzhou sat down on a small stool just outside the door and closed his eyes. He recalled the diagrams and words that he had just seen.

As expected, everything he had read earlier was already imprinted in his mind.

After going over it once in his head, everything became much clearer.

It was recorded in the book that one had to cultivate his inner strength before practicing the body refinement techniques.

If he did not have internal energy circulating in his body, skin refinement might cause irreversible damage to him. In addition, it would not achieve any effect at all.

Luo Qingzhou first recited the internal cultivation technique called “Budding Plum Blossom” repeatedly in his heart.

He closed his eyes and looked inside.

He imagined himself becoming a wisp of Qi and entering the soil underground. It was pitch-black there.

Then, he imagined himself rolling into a ball and planting himself deep within the soil.

He was exposed to the raw elements of nature – sun, wind, rain, and lightning. Insects and earthworms passed him.

The wind pushed its way through the soil and landed beside him.

His body was completely drenched in the pouring rain.

It occurred repeatedly.

Another day passed. The sun was shining brightly and he begin to grow and make roots.

Day after day passed.

Then, it broke through the soil and started to grow rapidly.

Its branches and leaves flourished, and its buds began to form.

In the end, it turned into a bud that was about to bloom. After exposure to wind, rain, and sunlight, it gradually accumulated strength…

Unknowingly, Luo Qingzhou had entered a state of cultivation.

A surging current of air flowed through the acupoints marked on the book. After two days, the current gradually became smoother.

“Young Master… Young Master…”

An anxious voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

Luo Qingzhou awoke with a start and opened his eyes.

Xiao Die was squatting beside him and pushing his body with both hands. She was staring at him with anxiety and unease.

Seeing him open his eyes, Xiao Die finally heaved a sigh of relief. “Young Master, you scared me to death! Why are you sleeping here? You’ll catch a cold.”

Luo Qingzhou felt a warm sensation in his abdomen. He asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

Xiao Die replied, “It’s been almost four hours. I thought that you were thinking about the wedding, so I didn’t dare to disturb you. I just came over and realized that you had fallen asleep. I called you for a long time, but you didn’t wake up. Young Master, go inside the room now. I have already warmed your blanket.”

Luo Qingzhou was a little surprised.

He thought that only a short time had passed, but unexpectedly, four hours had passed already.

When he stood up, he immediately felt refreshed. He realized that he had superior sight and hearing.

This cultivation method was indeed powerful!

Despite only cultivating for a short while, it already had amazing effects. If he continued to cultivate this, in the future, how powerful would he be?

At that time, he might no longer be this weak and powerless scholar anymore.

He entered the house and looked at the books stacked on the table.

He casually took a book and walked over to a spot by the window. With the moonlight shining down on the book, Luo Qingzhou saw that the title of the book was “Hedgerow Notebook”.

He was about to read it to calm himself down, but Xiao Die said, “Young Master, you said before that reading at night is bad for your eyesight. It’s already pretty late, you should go to sleep.”

Hearing that, Luo Qingzhou had no other choice but to set the book down and walk over to the bed.

Xiao Die helped him take off his outer garment, pants, and shoes. Following that, she lifted a corner of the blanket and urged him to climb under the blanket.

Luo Qingzhou could do these by himself, but after interacting with her these three days, he knew that Xiao Die was a very stubborn and loyal girl who adhered strictly to her job duties.

“These are my duties. If you do everything by yourself, what is the point of my existence? If you have no use for me, I might as well kill myself.”

Three days ago, this was what Xiao Die had said when Luo Qingzhou wanted to remove his clothes by himself.

Therefore, Luo Qingzhou did not insist on doing things by himself anymore.

“Young Master, tonight… It’s very cold tonight, so can I sleep with you?” Xiao Die asked.

After Luo Qingzhou lay under the blanket, Xiao Die did not leave. She stood by the bed and blushed furiously as she said that.

Luo Qingzhou recalled hearing Xiao Die’s thoughts from earlier that day.

However, he did not reject her.

“Sure, you can sleep at the foot of the bed. That way, we’ll both be warmer at night,” Luo Qingzhou said.

He spoke in a very gentle tone.

Ever since his mother’s death, Xiao Die relied heavily on him. She had never despised him. Everything she did was for his sake, and he was her first priority. Xiao Die was loyal, dutiful, considerate, and gentle to him.

Thus, deep down, he had already treated her as his kin.

Xiao Die heard this and was overjoyed. Her face got even redder, and she immediately went to close the door. Following that, she took off her shoes and got into bed.

“I’ll sleep at the foot of the bed first and chat with Young Master for a while. Then, I’ll go over… and teach him how to consummate his marriage,”

Xiao Die thought.

Luo Qingzhou looked into her eyes. He noticed her shy expression and suddenly heard her thoughts.