While that was happening and in another part of the city…
Zhuo Feng was the owner of the Pleasure Paradise, a chain of famous brothels in the pleasure street. Young Masters of many big and small families would frequently come to visit, making him form many connections over the years.
That aside, inside his office in the main brothel, he was gazing at his brother.
Zhuo Feng was tall, slender, and fairly handsome; on the other hand, his brother was small, a bit on the fat side, and average looking. With a mustache, he just looked hideous and ugly. At times, he even wondered how they could be brothers.
"So, what is it that you want?" Nonetheless, he treated his brother fairly well. Mostly because their mother had asked him to do so.
Standing in front of him, the mustached-man Xuehua and Yueshi met during the previous day trembled. He had always been afraid of his younger brother, so he gulped dry. However, the fear soon turned into rage as he remembered why he had come.
Pulling his sleeve, he showed his wrist to his brother, revealing purple marks left by a strong grip. After that, he told everything that happened during the previous day, all the while distorting the truth and adding fake details.
"You want me to take revenge for you, is that it?" Zhuo Feng clearly felt unsatisfied with his older brother, thinking his actions may offend the shadow guards.
"No, no, no!" Flustered, he shook his head. "How can I ask you that?"
Seeing his reaction, Zhuo Feng laughed, thinking he was not a complete idiot.
"I already have everything planned out. I just want your help keeping the guards' attention away." Zhuo Feng face-palmed, thinking he celebrated too early.
Seeing this, the man with a mustache frowned.
"Think about it, brother. They offended me right in front of the brothel! What would others think if we do not act? What would those young masters of big families think?" Fortunately, he knew exactly how to make his brother act.
Seeing the sharp glow in his brother's eyes, he concluded he made the right move.
A few minutes later his younger brother nodded. Had it been in another place and had other people not seen the scene, then he'd just leave it alone. However, if someone offended and humiliated his brother right in front of his place and he did nothing, the big customers would think little of him.
'Don't blame me. This is the fate of those that are weak.' Looking through the window, he sighed. This was a dog eat dog world; even if he didn't want to do it, there were things he had to do.
At the same time, back at the Rong siblings' home, Yueshi was sitting cross-legged and meditating.
Every breath of his would cause minute changes in his surroundings, it was as if the world was breathing alongside him.
After the torment of the previous night, he could now perfectly feel the flow of qi inside his body as it strengthened his body and brought it to new heights. However, he was aware that it would take a while for him to trod the first step.
There was, though, something bothering him. Paying close attention to the way the energy circulated inside his body, he noticed a peculiar pattern. 'It is as if it has a life of its own…' the mere thought made him irked for some reason.
He had heard that, without a proper cultivation manual, one's qi simply coursed through one's body without any set path. That not only decreased the efficiency but could also lead to certain dangers.
Yet…
While sighing with a troubled face, he shook his head. It did not seem to affect him negatively, so he decided to ignore it for now.
For one, since he had been reckless enough to start cultivating, a little bit more of danger did not mean anything.
Moreover, his instincts told him it was not something bad. He could see that as the qi flowed inside of him it seemed like the brush of a master artist - forming the image of an almighty dragon roaring toward the heavens.
'It can also be that man's doing...' The old man's image flashed past his mind, making him grit his teeth.
Well, complaining and being angry would not lead him anywhere. That being so, it was better to focus on what he had to do.
As he continued to draw in the qi and circulate it through his body, he suddenly felt a warm sensation in his belly. It was as if a mass of energy had concentrated itself there, spreading a cozy, but odd, sensation across his body.
Yueshi tried to dispel it, but it was to no avail. In the end, his only choice was to stop cultivating for a moment.
Yet, to his surprise, the warmth did not fade away; he frowned and tilted his head, confused about what was going on.
Once again, he hadn't heard about anything similar while probing around.
'Well, it's not like I can do something about it.' Ignoring the warmth in his navel area, he closed his eyes and decided to ignore everything else.
—--
The day eventually turned into evening, and the hours ticked by fast, and Xuehua, after leaving her job, walked home with unsteady steps.
Her mind was a bit hazy and in the clouds, and despite all her efforts, she could not focus properly on what was going on.
Everything was just a blurry mess of strange shapes and different colors. Thankfully, she managed to follow the exact same road she always traveled to return home.
'Hm? What is going on?' In the rare moments of clarity, she shook her head, trying to get her act back together. Unfortunately, her efforts brought no results.
Instead, things only got worse at every turn in the road.
Her chest was beating fast and her heart seemed on fire; her mouth was dry and her body oddly light, as if she weighed the same as a cloud.
It was a funny feeling, to be honest. Her mind could not think properly by this point and it was out of pure sheer willpower that she continued to trudge step after step.
At one point she felt a chill come from her spine and course through her entire existence, making her breath becoming heavier as a foreign feeling started to bubble inside of her.
With her mind wandering through a mixture of reality and illusion - an odd, jubilant euphoria seemed to take over her conscience.
Meanwhile, back at home…
Yueshi was deeply immersed in the pleasant feeling that cultivation brought him.
By now, a fire seemed to have been lit inside of him as the qi inside of his body went through certain changes. Before, it was an ethereal flow of energy; now, it had changed to a perceptible blue-colored energy stream.
Although he was a little bit concerned about it, he did not delve into it. The speed at which the qi flowed inside of him was getting faster and faster, and he would not complain about it.
Soon, however, he noticed some oddities.
Not only did his body feel extremely hot, but he was also perspiring a lot. Moreover, he felt energetic and mighty – as if he could move the world.
Other than that, there was a certain confidence that sprung from the depths of his soul, as if the Gods were whispering in his ears – telling him he could conquer the Heavens and the earth.
Creak…
It was the resounding and not all too familiar creaking of the front door that brought him back to himself.
Then, there was a reverberating bang of something crashing down, making him get up in a startle. He felt dizzy for a second, but he hurriedly waltzed out of the room.
When he saw what was going on, his eyes sprang wide in shock. Right now, Xuehua was lying on the cold, wooden ground while trembling and trying to get up – to no success.
He immediately ran toward her and held her firmly, helping her get back on her feet.
He could feel her breasts press against his arm, yet, he spared it no thoughts. Right now, he was not in the right state of mind to be bashful about that. Instead, his gaze was filled with endless worry and fear as he looked right into her eyes.
"What happened?" He tried asking her in a desperate tone.
Xuehua, however, didn't answer. Yueshi then saw her dilated pupils waver before she closed her eyes, almost making him have a stroke. Bringing his hand to her forehead, he noted her body was boiling - so much that it almost burned his hand.
"What the fuck is going on?" Without a choice, he picked her up in his arms and slowly made way toward their room.
With her body pressed against his, his mind faltered, even if just slightly. 'This is the closest we have been since I arrived here', he noted. Then, with a shake of his head, he threw those thoughts out of the window. It was not the time for that.
After he laid her in the bed, he watched her carefully for a while.
Her chest was moving up and down and she showed signs of having a hard time breathing, in addition to that, her face was flushed red and her body drenched in sweat.
What was even more shocking and surprising was never, even when he moved a few steps backs, he could feel the intense, raging heart being emanated by her frail body.
With a worried frown, he walked toward the kitchen. Once there, he drenched a clean cloth in water and returned to put it on her head. Yet, seconds later, the piece of cloth had been dried by the heat.
'What should I do?' He felt lost and anxious. Biting his lip he found a bucket and filled it with water, then, he sat by her side.
He watched as her expression crumbled in a mixture of pain and confusion, and continued to drench the cloth and place it on her forehead. It did not matter if it dried in a few seconds, he just had to drench it again and again – a thousand times, or a hundred thousand times, it did not matter.
'As long as she gets better, I can do anything.' For the first time in what seemed a lifetime, he desperately prayed.
He did not believe in Gods, he never believed. However, right now, he wished some sort of higher being could hear his pleas and grant his wishes.
To make the situation even worse, this world was a cruel one. Not many people – with skills – were willing to do good things for the sake of doing it. Only those sparse ascetics and monks did so.
The rest of the world would never make a move without being given a reward. Therefore, as much as he wanted to go out and bring a doctor, or at least buy some medicine, he could not. They were so poor those choices were not choices at all.
Because of that, he was very limited in what he could do.
First, he gently and carefully disrobed her to the waist and then proceeded to wipe her body, hoping to cool her down. All the while, he did not spare a single glance toward her chest, which was, thankfully, wrapped by bandages.
Perhaps they did not have bras here.
Unfortunately, his actions seemed to have no effect at all, and things were already becoming dreary – for him, that is. He had the sensation that at any moment now the sheets would be burnt into ashes.
'No, you can't fall into despair!' He reminded himself, clenching his fists. With that in mind, he decided to cultivate for a moment, hoping it would help clear his mind and give him some sort of answer to this riddle.
Alas, he knew that was too much to ask for.
Instead, his cultivation and the flow of energy inside of his body would soon bring another result – an unimaginable one.
As he focused on his cultivation in the hopes of soothing his soul and heart, the qi inside of him turned completely azure blue. However, with his mind wandering Yueshi failed to notice that.
Right now, even while cultivating, he could only think about his new sister.
Without Yueshi noticing, the energy inside him started to flow as if by itself through his meridians.
As it flowed through many channels, it eventually reached the most outer layer of the human body – the skin. Then, through the millions upon millions of pores in his body, it was released into the atmosphere.
However, it did not disperse immediately. Instead, as if it could move on its own, it went toward the unconscious Xuehua and entered her body the same way qi was absorbed by all cultivators.
Seconds ticked by and, eventually, changes took place.