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墨書 Inktalez
"To practice this skill, one must first enter a dream!"
Everyone else had rushed to attend the ceremony held by Han Wangfu, leaving the surroundings quiet.
Lu Chen, as a servant, had suddenly "collapsed" in front of the Princess. At this moment, he took the opportunity to relax amidst his busy schedule, lying on the bed reading. Before he knew it, he actually fell asleep.
He even had a dream. In a daze, he lost track of time. In the dream, he found himself being chased by Korean Princess Chu Yuzhu. Although he knew deep down that it was mostly a dream, he couldn't help but run forward, reaching the edge of a cliff. Without much hesitation, he jumped down.
Lu Chen's body jolted; it felt exactly like falling off a cliff in his dream.
Suddenly, he realized that his body was floating and couldn't touch the ground; walking felt like gliding. The surroundings gradually became clearer; he was still in the room, and Flesh was quietly lying on the bed.
"Have I really become a Yin Spirit? Disembodied?" Lu Chen thought with slight surprise.
Just as he wanted to move, he found it difficult to control his body; walking was extremely challenging. His feet felt as if something was tripping him up, making it very strenuous. After much effort, he managed to adapt slightly and could move a little.
Moreover, as a Yin Spirit, his feet didn't touch the ground; he was completely gliding along.
According to the Lesser Yin Classic, Yin Spirits possess many abilities that ordinary people cannot achieve, such as "hearing three thousand steps away and seeing five thousand steps away at night."
This meant that after disembodiment, a Yin Spirit could hear sounds from three thousand steps away and see objects five thousand steps away at night; all five senses would be exceptionally sharp.
Lu Chen wanted to sneak out to try it out. He awkwardly moved his feet and reached for the door handle but immediately missed. He quickly realized that according to the Lesser Yin Classic, a Yin Spirit is just a mass of void; it can go wherever it wants!
Thinking of this, Lu Chen closed his eyes and charged toward the wooden door. In that instant, he felt as if two wooden boards had clamped him. When he opened his eyes again, he was already outside in the courtyard.
Listening to the snoring of other servants sleeping in the courtyard, it was dark and windy—a perfect time for action.
Han Wangfu covers an area of sixty to seventy acres, with countless pavilions and towers.
Lu Chen glided slowly, taking a full half-hour to reach the front courtyard. The front courtyard is the main residence, home to the core figures of Han Wangfu, so the guards are much stricter, with patrolling guards carrying torches walking back and forth.
However, at this moment, Lu Chen was not afraid at all, swaggering through the various courtyards as if he were in an uninhabited realm.
After walking for a while, Lu Chen stopped in front of a courtyard. The rooms inside were still lit, and he could hear women talking.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen floated into the courtyard.
At this point, he could clearly hear the conversation inside. He heard an elderly woman's voice say, "Sister, how did you win the prince's favor? Can you teach me?"
There was a tone of pleading in her words. This woman was from the second house of Han Wangfu and was over forty years old. With age catching up to her and lacking charm, it was inevitable that she would fall out of favor.
She was also unfortunate compared to King Han's legitimate wife, who at least had a daughter. She had no such luck; with no children to rely on and being over forty, her needs were great. Yet she dared not seek affection outside her marriage, naturally harboring a belly full of resentment mixed with love and hate.
"Sister, don’t envy me. We are both unfortunate souls. Those who have been wronged can’t bear children themselves; it all depends on us. Many have not come to me and probably went to that wretched Hong'er instead." Hong'er was one of King Han Chumang's newly taken concubines.
Lu Chen floated out of the courtyard and took another round before arriving beneath a pavilion. This pavilion was more luxurious than any courtyard he had seen before, with maidservants on duty and it being a two-story building.
"Fragrant Serenity Pavilion," there was a plaque above the pavilion.
This place clearly did not belong to ordinary people; it might be Princess Xiangyi's private quarters. Since that was the case, Lu Chen found it necessary to explore inside.
He floated directly up to the second floor, where an enticing fragrance wafted towards him. Lu Chen inhaled deeply, ignoring the two maidservants who were dozing off as he passed through the door. The interior of Princess Xiangyi's bedroom immediately came into view.
Princess Xiangyi, who had once bullied him, was now quietly lying on her side in bed, breathing evenly. Her fragrant shoulders peeked out from under the quilt, exuding a hint of springtime allure.
Lu Chen watched as Princess Xiangyi removed her intimate garments and placed them aside, chuckling to himself. If he could do something to those clothes, like putting in some ants or chili peppers, that would be true revenge, a great satisfaction.
However, Lu Chen was currently just an ordinary ghost, very weak, afraid of the wind, and unable to wander freely. According to the Lesser Yin Classic, "Qi cultivates Yang, while the method cultivates Yin," meaning that a Yin Spirit must be strengthened with spells to perform abilities like remote rituals to obtain items. But right now, his Yin Spirit was still very weak, barely at the entry level, making it impossible for him to conduct any rituals.
Excitedly rubbing his hands together, Lu Chen chuckled and turned to leave; he certainly wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal the Princess's undergarments.
After exiting the Fragrant Serenity Pavilion, Lu Chen slowly wandered around again but found nothing of interest. He prepared to take a shortcut back to his room, but Han Wangfu was too vast; retracing his steps would be too cumbersome.
Finding the direction of the backyard, Lu Chen passed through several walls and arrived outside the Han Wangfu Mansion in a desolate area.
The surroundings were quiet, occasionally interrupted by the sound of insects chirping.
As Lu Chen floated as a Yin Spirit and glided towards a secluded field, he faintly heard shouting nearby; it seemed someone was practicing martial arts.
Lu Chen focused his attention and listened carefully, realizing the sounds were coming from a dark forest in the distance. Since it was still early before dawn, he decided to check it out.
With his mind made up, Lu Chen crossed the field and waded through water as he floated toward the dense forest.
A moment later, Lu Chen hid behind a tree large enough for two people to embrace and peeked out. Indeed, someone was practicing martial arts ahead.
"It's Huang Jiao!"
Seeing this made Lu Chen immediately surprised; this person was the Second Leader of the Han Prince's Guard. He hadn’t expected him to come here at night to train. But thinking about it, it made sense—this person was already so formidable that if he practiced inside the residence, it would create quite a commotion and risk being spied on. Thus, he dared only to practice in the forest late at night.
Lu Chen watched as Huang Jiao removed his upper garment, revealing solid muscles. His robust body spun continuously as he advanced with a "snake-like" footwork. In an instant, he unleashed seventy or eighty punches with fierce wind pressure that shook the surrounding leaves down from the trees.
"What incredible speed! When will I reach such a level?" Lu Chen murmured to himself, unable to resist mimicking Huang Jiao's movements.
"I'll first memorize his techniques, then slowly practice them later."
After learning a dozen moves, Lu Chen suddenly stopped and muttered, "What a pity, there are only the techniques but no mental methods or formulas."
No matter how good the techniques are, they must be accompanied by mental methods and formulas; otherwise, one could easily go astray.
Lu Chen felt that Huang Jiao's Fist Technique was very profound, difficult, yet powerful. When executed, it seemed to carry a hint of star energy. What kind of fist was this?
He saw Huang Jiao practicing across from him, pausing lightly with a thoughtful expression on his face before walking over to a tree to rummage through something.
"He must be looking at the mental methods and formulas for this set of punches. I need to go take a look," Lu Chen thought gleefully as he cautiously floated behind Huang Jiao.
He saw Huang Jiao open a black cloth bundle, revealing a waxy yellow bound book inside.
"Crazy Serpent Seven Star Classic." So this Fist Technique was called Furious Serpent Seven Stars Classic. No wonder it moved in serpentine curves; it even contained star energy.
Huang Jiao turned a page, and Lu Chen quickly memorized what was on the page behind him, jotting down all the mental methods and formulas. Then he practiced exactly how Huang Jiao did.
In the middle of his practice, while Lu Chen had not yet finished learning, Huang Jiao suddenly became alert, constantly glancing around as if he had noticed some signs.
If someone is being watched for an extended period, they will eventually sense it and start looking around. This is because human eyes emit an invisible form of energy.
In this way, ghosts also possess this energy, albeit weaker than that of ordinary people, which is why Huang Jiao now sensed that someone was watching him.
Lu Chen hid behind a large tree and quickly crouched down before floating away.
Returning to his room, it was almost dawn. Lu Chen returned to his body and organized the formulas and techniques of the Crazy Serpent Seven Star Classic that he had secretly observed. After washing up, he headed out.
He had to report to the Chu Family training ground, or he would be expelled and miss out on his monthly allowance. Although he had narrowly escaped a disaster yesterday, he still had to go today. If he had truly died yesterday, it would have been just that—dead is dead. At most, they would drag him out and dig a hole to bury him; the Chu Family wouldn’t make a big fuss over a mere servant.
"Isn't that Lu Chen? Didn't we hear he was killed by the Princess yesterday?"
The other training servants around began to discuss among themselves. Lu Chen heard them and disdainfully glanced their way, thinking how pitiful they were—mere mortals who only knew how to take a beating and couldn’t even pretend to be dead.
He walked alone to the center of the training ground and picked up a stick to practice with. He was practicing ordinary routines, not the Crazy Serpent Seven Star Classic he had secretly learned last night.
Although his practice was quite ordinary, he needed to show potential so that the higher-ups would take notice and not kick him out.
"Lu Chen, are you alright now?"
At that moment, a girl around fifteen or sixteen years old entered the training ground accompanied by several servants. It was Chu Yuzhu.
Lu Chen hurried over and knelt down, saying, "Princess, your prowess is unmatched! I was knocked out by you yesterday and only regained my senses after a while."
Aside from that one time yesterday, there had been many occasions in the past when Lu Chen had truly been knocked unconscious by the Princess. Ever since he learned how to feign death, his overall rate of being knocked out had increased significantly compared to ordinary people.
"Haha, you’re really tough! Come here and practice with me," Chu Yuzhu beckoned with a smile.
Lu Chen dared not refuse and could only brace himself as he stepped forward. When he was five steps away from Chu Yuzhu, she suddenly struck out, her grip like an eagle's claw as she seized Lu Chen's shoulder and pressed down hard, delivering punches all over his body.
Lu Chen didn’t dare fight back or struggle; under everyone’s gaze, he could only let Chu Yuzhu do as she pleased. Her punches were not as powerful as those from experts like Huang Jiao, but they still hurt quite a bit. Her Qigong level was probably at the first stage of Qi Training and Qi Explosion.
Qi Training and Qi Explosion is an introductory level of Qigong. Practicing Qi means holding one breath in the lungs and then jumping into a river to catch live fish, testing endurance and willpower. Exploding Qi tests explosive power—taking a deep breath and then forcefully blowing it out can instantly open a tightly shut door; this is known as blowing open doors with explosive Qi and is one of the methods for beginners in Qigong.
Soon, after finishing her set of moves—pushing, pulling, chopping, and hammering—Chu Yuzhu wore a look of satisfaction on her face.
Lu Chen felt cold sweat dripping down his face, dizzy and lightheaded, with a wave of discomfort rising in his chest. Although Chu Yuzhu had some strength, he was not to the point of being knocked unconscious.
Feeling that it was about time, he immediately lay on the ground, pretending to be on the verge of death, and hoarsely said, "Princess, you are invincible and awe-inspiring. I admire you... cough cough, I'm about to die. Please, Princess, stop hitting me."
Lu Chen first made sure to show that he was not weak, then slowly allowed himself to be defeated by Chu Yuzhu, finally praising her and flattering her. This was Lu Chen's specialty; girls of Chu Yuzhu's age were very easily swayed by him.
Sure enough, Chu Yuzhu nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Good, very good. Lu Chen has unlimited potential. This Princess has rewards for you. Someone, bring a jar of Bruise Ointment to Lu Chen's room and give him two taels of silver for supplements."
The Princess's personal maid took out two taels of silver from her bosom and tossed it in front of Lu Chen.
Two taels of silver was a significant amount; an ordinary servant in Han Wangfu earned only one tael and eight coins a month. A training partner who endured a month of beatings would only earn two taels and five coins.
"Thank you, Princess!"
Lu Chen crawled on the ground, picking up the silver from the gravel and placing it in his bosom. His head was almost touching the ground, so he could only see the soles of Chu Yuzhu's shoes.
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