Chapter 8

A weak scholar?

Luo Qingzhou returned to the small courtyard. He clenched his fists while recalling Luo Yu’s thoughts he had overheard earlier.

Even if they were not brothers, Luo Yu need not be so vicious!

Swoosh!

He suddenly punched out.

The punch landed on the trunk of a plum blossom tree, causing the branches to shake and scratch his skin.

Luo Qingzhou suddenly recalled the Second Young Master’s punching moves in the martial arts arena.

He went over and closed the courtyard door.

Standing in the small courtyard, Luo Qingzhou closed his eyes and mentally replayed the few sets of actions.

Then, he spread his legs and stood in a horse stance. He opened his arms and tried to mimic how Luo Yu practiced his punches earlier.

Although it did not have the kind of aura or power Luo Yu had, it was still decent.

Luo Qingzhou refused to be a weak and powerless scholar!

After a few rounds, his entire body started to heat up.

At the same time, he was panting and his legs felt weak and trembly.

He had a weak physique and a feeble constitution.

This kind of boxing would not have any effect. At most, it could be considered a type of exercise to build muscles.

He still had to cultivate his inner force cultivation technique first so that he could undergo body tempering.

After ending his practice, it was still early.

He went into the house.

Luo Qingzhou sat down on the bed, closed his eyes, and started to meditate. Then, the acupoint diagram and the breathing technique appeared in his mind.

Soon, he entered the same state of cultivation that he was in yesterday when he sat by the brazier.

In the pitch-black underground, the seed began to take root and sprout. A green shoot broke through the soil to greet the dawn. After being exposed to weathering, it grew rapidly.

In the darkness.

A wisp of Qi flowed through his acupuncture points. It was akin to someone going on a long trek.

He crossed bridges and climbed slopes, crossing various mountain ridges.

He overcame all obstacles and navigated through twists and turns.

Time passed quietly.

Outside the window, the setting sun hid behind the mountains.

Night fell.

The moon rose.

Xiao Die returned from outside, holding newly-washed clothes.

While Luo Qingzhou was in a dreamlike state, he heard the sound of the door opening and footsteps outside.

He awoke from his doze and opened his eyes.

He had a warm sensation in his abdomen. The Qi was still flowing through his body.

“Young Master, are you not in the room?” Xiao Die called out.

She folded the clothes neatly and placed them in her room which was built next to Luo Qingzhou’s main room, before walking over.

Luo Qingzhou replied, “I’m here.”

Xiao Die entered the room and looked at him in the dim moonlight shining through the window. “Young Master, why are you sitting on the bed? Are you tired from studying? I’ll go get food for you. Wait for me.”

With that, she left in a hurry.

After Xiao Die left, Luo Qingzhou closed his eyes and sensed the airflow in his body before getting off the bed.

He left the room and arrived at the small courtyard.

The snow had stopped falling

However, the wind was still chilly, and the temperature was still very low.

Luo Qingzhou wore thin clothes and stood in the small courtyard. The biting cold nipped away at his exposed skin. It hurt a little, but the coldness only lingered on his skin for a moment before it was driven away by the heat in his body. It did not invade his body at all.

“This internal energy cultivation method is indeed amazing!”

Luo Qingzhou was inwardly impressed.

Then, he strode forward and started to practice the fist technique he had seen in the martial arts arena today.

The more he practiced, the better he became at it.

Although it was incomplete and only had a few moves, after a few rounds, he felt a warm and comfortable sensation spread throughout his body. He was no longer afraid of the cold wind.

When Luo Qingzhou retracted his fist, he saw an old elm tree with a thick trunk that was just in front of him. Immediately, he recalled the skin refining diagram that he had seen in the Plum Blossom Manual.

He had to refine the body before the skin.

Refining the skin required inner force, external force, and potions. All three factors were needed in order for him to yield twice the result with half the effort.

Luo Qingzhou felt that the heat was still circulating in his body. He immediately threw out a punch and hit the rough hard trunk of the old elm tree in front of him.

Bam!

There was a dull thud.

Luo Qingzhou suddenly felt a pain in the back of his hand.

However, under the protection of the hot current in his body, the pain quickly disappeared.

Luo Qingzhou glanced at the back of his hand. There were no injuries.

Bam!

He threw another punch, hitting the tree trunk again.

The pain still came and went quickly.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

He spread his legs and continued to swing his fists. He relied on the heat in his body and the hard tree trunk to temper the skin on the back of his hand.

After punching for a while, he suddenly turned around and hit the tree trunk with his elbows, shoulders, and back.

The thick old locust tree remained unmoved.

In no time, Luo Qingzhou was panting and drenched with sweat.

At the same time, the heat in his body receded.

The back of his hand, shoulders, back, and elbow joints all began to hurt.

He did not dare to practice anymore and stopped.

His physique was too weak, so he could not be overly anxious.

He could only cultivate step by step.

Not long after.

Xiao Die walked in with steamed buns and plain porridge. Her eyes were red-rimmed with crying.

Luo Qingzhou followed her into the house and saw her aggrieved expression. “Xiao Die, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you again?”

Xiao Die put down their dinner. With tears welling in her eyes, she said, “Young Master, even those maidservants and servants are laughing at you.”

Luo Qingzhou could not help but laugh. “You’re crying because of this?”

Xiao Die sobbed, “Even the servants in the kitchen are mocking you for marrying into the Qin family. They even said that you’re going to marry a fool.”

Luo Qingzhou smiled and went to wash his hands. He handed the other steamed bun in the bowl to Xiao Die and comforted, “You can’t control what others say. Let them say whatever they want. Ignore them. After all, we’ll be leaving this place soon.”

Xiao Die took the steamed bun and wiped her tears with her other hand. “Young Master, will we get bullied by the Qin family after we go there?”

As Luo Qingzhou ate the steamed bun, he was silent for a moment, before saying softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Xiao Die started to cry. She was deeply touched by his words. “Young Master, it’s you that I’m worried about!”

Xiao Die’s concern warmed his heart. Luo Qingzhou reached out and stroked her head lovingly. He said gently, “Do you think our situation will get any worse than it is now? Don’t worry, I’ll protect myself too.”

After dinner.

Xiao Die brought over warm water and washed Luo Qingzhou’s feet.

After his feet were immersed in the warm water, Xiao Die started to rub his feet gently. Luo Qingzhou enjoyed the feeling of her hands on his feet, and he suddenly chuckled.

Xiao Die raised her head and asked curiously, “Young Master, what are you laughing at?”

Luo Qingzhou looked at her gaunt but beautiful face and said with a smile, “Xiao Die, would you believe me if I said that I’m satisfied with how things are now?”

At least he had a pretty and obedient little girl serving him.

At least when he got married, there was no need for expensive betrothal gifts, houses, or cars.

At least he did not have to worry about having to provide for himself.

Things were much better than before.

The only drawback was having to lose his dignity.

However, in the previous world that he was from, people who were at the bottom of the social ladder had no dignity too.

The young maidservant gently rubbed his feet and toes as she stared at him in confusion. She muttered, “Young Master is so silly.”

After washing his feet.

They went to bed.

They slept in the same positions as before. Luo Qingzhou slept like how he usually did, while Xiao Die slept at the foot of the bed.

The moon was shining brightly through the window.

The two of them lay on the bed, neither of them sleepy.

After a while.

Xiao Die suddenly said shyly, “Young Master, you are getting married soon, I… I will teach you how to consummate your marriage, okay?”

As the little girl spoke, she even twisted her body shyly.

Luo Qingzhou’s hand accidentally touched her feet, and he suddenly recalled the thoughts of the three scholars he had met on the bridge today.

“Her figure is slender and supple, and her hands are delicate-looking. I presume that her feet are small and delicate too, and they must be fair and tender. If I can hold her feet and play with them, it would be a marvelous feeling…”

Luo Qingzhou was no saint.

Moreover, it was the prime of his youth.

It was not that he felt nothing, not the slightest stirring of desire, to have a young girl sleeping on the same bed as him.

This girl was his, to begin with.

Therefore, there was no need to be reserved in his behavior.

He grabbed the small and delicate foot with one hand and measured it with his other hand. Xiao Die’s feet were indeed exquisite and adorable.

Most importantly, her bones were naturally small, and she did not practice foot binding.

He held her foot in his palm. It was soft, almost as if it had no bones, and smooth. Holding her foot made his heart flutter.

However, Luo Qingzhou quickly came to his senses.

Now was not the time to act recklessly and take advantage of this little girl.

“Young… Young Master, why are you holding my foot?”

Xiao Die blushed, but she did not try to move her feet away.

She could feel a pleasant, tingling sensation in her feet, and her heart fluttered.

Luo Qingzhou held her delicate feet and gently kneaded them. “Xiao Die, I’m just pondering over something. If the eldest daughter of the Qin family is really a fool, do I still need to consummate my marriage with her after we get married?”

Xiao Die said, “Since you’re married to her, naturally, you have to consummate the marriage.”

Luo Qingzhou said, “But what if she goes crazy and bites me?”

Xiao Die immediately said shyly, “So Young Master, I-I will teach you how to consummate the marriage tonight, okay? As long as you are gentle during the consummation, Miss Qin won’t feel any pain. That way, she won’t go crazy.”

“Xiao Die, I’m talking to you about something serious. Can you not have such dirty thoughts?”

“Young Master, what do you mean by that?” Xiao Die asked in puzzlement.

“Go to sleep. I have to wake up early to study tomorrow morning,” Luo Qingzhou said.

“Young Master, I… consummate the marriage…” Xiao Die stuttered.

Luo Qingzhou’s snores got louder and more strident.

“Young Master… Young Master…”

Luo Qingzhou’s snores got louder and more strident.

Xiao Die started to sob.