After taking a mouthful of the plain porridge, Lu fan took the white fabric that Ning Zhao was holding out to him.
Lu Changkong's transfusion technique was recorded on this piece of fabric.
Lu Fan scanned through it and quietly compared it to the Daoist Transfusion Technique that was already in his possession. When he compared the two, the transfusion technique recorded by Lu Changkong seemed to be more powerful.
This actually surprised Lu Fan.
Lu Fan tucked the fabric away. He decided to collect the four remaining transfusion techniques and then develop them all at the same time.
"Has my father entered the capital already? Isn't he afraid that Tantai Xuan's North County troops will attack again if he goes to the capital at such a sensitive time?"
Lu Fan took a mouthful of one of the side dishes. The sourness of the dish filled his mouth slowly, with hints of sweetness coming through after a second. It was an excellent complement to the porridge.
"Young Master, you needn't worry. Master received news that after the North County troops failed in their attack on the city, they moved away to meet with the West County troops. They're refocusing their efforts on Drunken Dragon City in the west," Ning Zhao replied.
Lu Fan nodded. These were great powers in this world, but he didn't really understand a lot about them.
But if Lu Changkong could leave Beiluo City without worrying, then he was obviously confident in his understanding of the situation.
Of course, Lu Fan still wasn't fully confident in Lu Changkong. The memory of their defense of the city was still vivid in his mind.
His own father didn't always behave predictably.
Of course, even if a huge army came to attack, it would be impossible to take Beiluo City quickly. After all, Lu Changkong had assigned special teams to keep a close eye on the city's three major aristocratic families. Even if a strong fighter from the Sword Sect was able to keep the families together, he wouldn't dare to do anything rash.
And if a besieging army didn't have help from within the city, attacking Beiluo City would be quite difficult.
"I want to go out and get some sun. Sister Ning, go see if someone from the three families has brought the title deed over," Lu Fan said after he had eaten his breakfast and stretched himself lazily.
"Got it."
Ning Zhao bowed her head and left the room.
"Yi Yue, go find the best carpenter in the city. Use the dimensions of this box of chess pieces to make a new customized wheelchair with two hidden drawers in its sides," Lu Fan instructed Yi Yue.
Yi Yue looked curiously at the two boxes of chess pieces in Lu Fan's hands. There were black and white chess pieces inside these boxes.
After some thought, Lu Fan waved at Yi Yue again. She came closer, and Lu Fan whispered some instructions into her ears. Yi Yue's expression became grim, and after she had heard his full instructions, she quickly left the room.
After Yi Yue left, Lu Fan smiled and passed the Spirit Pressure Chessboard directly to Ni Yu.
"Ni, you'll be carrying this chessboard. Take good care of it."
Ni Yu took it from him and tied a rope around it. After she put on her back, the chessboard nearly reached her ankles, making her look somewhat clumsy and comical.
"Young Master, are you going to play chess?" Ni Yu's large eyes sparkled with terrible curiosity.
"That's right. You know how? Should we play a game?" Lu Fan's eyes lit up and he glanced at Ni Yu. Seeing her excitement, he smiled and said, "Let's go, let's go. We'll go to the courtyard and have a round."
Still carrying the chessboard, Ni Yu pushed Lu Fan out of the room.
...
Nie Changqing had his hands behind his back, and his butcher knife hung from his waist. Nie Shuang stood behind him, completely covered in perspiration.
The two of them walked over the meandering stone bridge of the garden and came to the front of Lu Fan's courtyard.
"Young Master Lu." Nie Changqing bowed slightly.
In the courtyard, Lu Fan and Ni Yu were playing chess.
Lu Fan picked up a white piece and squeezed it between his index and middle fingers, then put it down like a professional.
When he heard Nie Changqing greet him, Lu Fan waved his hands.
"Nie, you can just call me 'Young Master' like Sister Ning and the rest… Do you know how to play chess? After I'm done thrashing this little girl, I'll exchange a few moves with you." Lu Fan smiled faintly.
Nie Changqing was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face.
"It's been many years since I last played chess, and my skills may have gotten rusty. I hope you won't be angry with me, Young Master."
Then Nie Changqing turned around to look at Nie Shuang, and his face slowly became cold and stern.
"Shuang'er, do a half squat, properly this time. Hold it for two hours." Nie Changqing was very strict.
Nie Shuang pursed his lips and didn't argue. He turned his attention away from the chess game and did a half squat where he was.
Nie Chanqing had already dragged him out of bed early that morning to run ten laps around the garden. The boy's body and mind were already a little tired, but since he wanted to practice martial arts, going through hardship was inevitable.
Nobody became a martial arts practitioner overnight.
As Nie Shuang was doing his half squats, Nie Changqing placed his hands behind his back and walked over to where Lu Fan and Ni Yu were playing against each other.
Lu Fan, also known as Lu Ping'an, was the Young Master of Beiluo City, and a genius handpicked by the Imperial Advisor.
His literary talent surpassed that of most, so he had to be better at chess than others too.
Chess could train the mind and shape one's personality. Daoist practitioners didn't have to be excellent in the four aspects of zither, chess, literature, and art, but they had to be familiar with them.
Nie Changqing's gaze fell on the chessboard, and his breath caught in his chest.
The moment his gaze landed on the chessboard, Nie Changqing felt like a bright light shot out at him and flashed across his eyes.
It was as if the chessboard was glowing.
It was merely a chessboard, but he felt a pressure that made it difficult for him to breathe.
"This chessboard and these chess pieces… They are like something from another world!" He exclaimed in his heart. Then he shifted his gaze to look at the current chess game.
Great excitement and anticipation filled Nie Changqing's face, but as he watched, and watched…
The smile on his face slowly started to fade.
He looked at the extremely stern and serious-looking Lu Fan, then turned to Ni Yu, who was holding her chubby chin.
Both of them were in deep and serious thought, thinking hard about their next step.
Nie Changqing's lips twitched and his face cramped up.
He had thought that this was a showdown between professional-level players, but in the end…
This was a game between two players who were utterly incompetent.
There was no more suitable way to describe the way Lu Fan and Ni Yu were playing chess.
With his own modest skills, one look was enough to tell him that there were so many weaknesses on this chessboard.
Lu Fan held a chess piece with an extremely stern face, as if he was fighting through the battle of the century.
Nie Changqing looked for a while, then turned away because he just couldn't bear to look anymore.
Pak!
There was a soundless massacre on the chessboard.
There was a tapping sound as Ni Yu put her chess piece down, and a whole group of black chess pieces were wiped out shortly thereafter.
Lu Fan leaned against his wheelchair with a dark expression on his face.
Ni Yu pursed her lips, and her eyes had turned into crescent moons as she used her fingers to count the remaining pieces on the chessboard.
"Oh… Ni wins narrowly by two pieces." Ni Yu stood up, her face filled with great happiness and cheer.
"Since you've won, you can go over there and do a half squat. Yesterday you were happily declaring how you wanted to work hard and cultivate, so your training will be twice as hard as Nie Junior's training. Quickly, now," Lu Fan said, glancing at Ni Yu with a warm smile.
Ni Yu's face froze, and she couldn't keep a shiver from running through her small body.
Was the Young Master's heart only the size of a sesame seed?!
"Nie, come come come… Let's play a round!"
Now ignoring Ni Yu, Lu Fan turned to look at Nie Changqing with bright eyes.
"Young—Young Master… Let's not worry about that right now. My chess skills are… They're not too good," Nie Changqing said hesitantly.
"Don't be afraid to lose, come here."
Lu Fan's eyes shone even brighter as he started to remove the chess pieces from the chessboard and put them back into their boxes.
Nie Changqing had a fairly conflicted expression on his face. He sat across from Lu Fan and picked up a chess piece, his face looking like he was constipated, then finally put the piece down.
Ning Zhao walked in from outside the garden.
"Young Master, the heir to the aristocratic Chen family, Chen Beixun, would like to see you."
Lu Fan was holding a chess piece in his hand and frowning slightly. He gave an "oh" before continuing to consider the chess game in front of him.
Ning Zhao hesitated for a while, then continued, "The Chen's heir has brought the title deed from the Liu's and the Zhu's, as well as four thousand silver pieces."
Lu Fan's eyebrows relaxed.
"Have they agreed?" The corner of his lips twitched a little. After all, the Liu's and the Zhu's didn't have any reason to refuse. "They've come pretty quickly. Father has barely left, and Chen Beixun is already here. It looks like the transfer of this title deed might be a little problematic."
He placed the chess piece back into the box. Now that he was thinking about the title deed to Drunk Dust Court, he wasn't in the mood for chess. He looked a little regretfully at Nie Changqing.
"Nie, what a pity. Let's play chess another time," Lu Fan said, his voice filled with regret.
Nie Changqing, on the other hand, suppressed a long sigh of relief.
"Sister Ning, let them come in," Lu Fan said as he placed one hand under his chin, and put the other on the woolen throw that covered his legs.
Ning Zhao bowed her head, then turned and left.
But Lu Fan looked towards Nie Changqing, and the corner of his mouth curled upward slightly.
"Since we can't play chess, let's talk about something serious. Nie, didn't you say you want to learn Spirit Pressure yesterday? But if you want to learn Spirit Pressure, you're still missing a catalyst… And now, I want to give you that catalyst," Lu Fan said to Nie Changqing as he leaned against the wheelchair.
Nie Changqing was stunned.
Lu Fan reached out. He had originally intended to deploy Spirit Qi to Nie Changqing by holding the man's hand, the same way he had with Ning Zhao.
But then he thought about how Nie Changqing was a large and rough man, and how the man's palms were heavily calloused from butchering pigs.
Lu Fan's lips twitched a little.
In the end, he decided to use another method.
"Nie, sit cross-legged."
Lu Fan pointed to a spot in front of his wheelchair.
Nie Changqing didn't understand what Lu Fan was trying to do, but he followed the Young Master's instructions and sat down cross-legged in front of the wheelchair.
Lu Fan's expression became serious.
Light blue Spirit Qi started to flow around his body.
One wisp, two wisps, three wisps…
Wisps of Spirit Qi were densely interwoven around his body.
His hair floated up and his eyes shone brightly.
Lu Fan raised a hand and gently placed it on Nie Changqing's head, like a deity of sorts.
"Activate Access Spirit Qi Deployment."
"Target: Nie Changqing."
He shifted his consciousness.
Nie Changqing immediately felt his entire body shake as a warm flow went through the top of his head and down into his entire body.
His Qi and blood had dried up and been left in ruins for years, but now...
Now they recovered under the catalytic action of this warm flow.
His Qi and blood started to boil and blast within him.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Nie Changqing sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes like fire, and his hair flying straight up from his head.
Within his body, blasts were resonating, as if he had broken free from his shackles, as if he was a lion woken from deep slumber.
There were six blasts in a row, and the courtyard was covered with fallen leaves from the impact.
Just at that moment, Ning Zhao was leading Chen Beixun and the two heirs of the Liu's and the Zhu's into the courtyard.
As they entered, their ears resounded with the Blasting Resonance of Qi and blood that only a Grandmaster martial arts practitioner would have, and it made all of them tremble.
The Blasting Resonances were like terrifying booms of thunder in their ears!