Three days later.
Duke Fu's Mansion.
Building A-2, the osmanthus tree in the courtyard bloomed, with light yellow petals fluttering down and a faint fragrance lingering in the air.
As autumn breeze blew refreshingly, Yu Xian, in his leisure time, imitated the ancient poetic spirit, adding fragrance with his red sleeves as he wielded his brush on the stone table under the tree.
Setting his brush down, Yulan, who was attending to him, read the words on the paper with some difficulty, pausing after each one.
"At this moment, the Creator expresses His feelings. I'm just an idle little immortal."
"How do you like the poem?"
Yu Xian confidently asked.
This was a sentence he came up with after pondering for a long time, although it only contains one phrase, it perfectly fits his current mood.
Being idle and carefree, like an immortal.
Especially after receiving a banknote of ten thousand taels of silver from the Sun Family Pharmacy, coupled with the previous gifts received, Yu Xian felt that with his current spending, living two years on his wealth wouldn't be a problem.
Zhou Bo, the man who valued loyalty, released the Sun Family Pharmacy's ship after speaking on their behalf, and collecting the evidence which had been elusive.
However, it was made clear that talking on their behalf next time would be pointless.
Yu Xian was a sensible person, since he had already taken the money, he consciously distanced himself from General Zhou.
Yu Xian quickly forgot the whole incident and instead eagerly anticipated Miss Butterfly's invitation when they parted at the Elegant Pavilion.
After all, Yu Xian, as a person, loved freeloading the most.
Thinking back on Miss Butterfly's grace that night and the exquisite skills she acquired under the guidance of a famous teacher, Yu Xian felt a sense of unfinished desire, stating that she was indeed a true professional, and he had learned a lot.
Upon hearing her master's question, Yulan lowered her head and pondered for a moment before saying with a shy expression:
"Sir, the poem is beautiful, but as for the calligraphy, I am ignorant and uneducated, I don't know which calligraphy master's style your handwriting resembles, it seems lively like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing, quite unique."
Yu Xian's smile suddenly stiffened, feeling like he was jabbed in the heart.
In his previous life, he couldn't even write well with a regular pen, his teachers often said his handwriting looked like scrawls made by a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing, or claws of a dog.
This life, he could read and write thanks to the inherited memories from traversing, otherwise, he would have been a semi-illiterate person.
As for brush calligraphy...
Writing legibly was already the result of his best effort to control.
But Yu Xian was a thick-skinned person anyway, facing outward while defecating in a thatched toilet.
He showed no embarrassment, standing with his hands behind his back, maintaining an indifferent air.
"This script was created by my teacher, Master Hutu. It values likeness in spirit rather than form. Ordinary people have never seen it, and can't even recognize the characters.
You are able to recognize them at a glance, which shows you have a clever mind."
"Really?"
Hearing her master's praise for her intelligence, Yulan couldn't help laughing, but she soon became regretful.
"Master must be teasing me. If not, why can't I feel the spiritual energy even after practicing the Eternal Youth Technique for so long? My legs go numb every day."
With a pout, Yulan spoke in a delicate tone.
Yu Xian calmly replied, "This is a slow process. First, learn to meditate, and not be distracted by external factors. If you can enter the Qi Cultivation Realm and feel something within three to five years, you are considered talented."
In the mundane world, with the scarcity of spiritual energy, it's extremely difficult to cultivate Qi. Yulan is not a genius, so it's almost impossible for her to enter the realm by her own ability.
He planned to let Yulan sharpen her mentality for two months, and familiarize herself with the cultivation techniques.
Once he makes a late-stage Qi Cultivation breakthrough, Yu Xian will use the power of the spirit stones and his spiritual sense to guide her, allowing her to comprehend spiritual energy.
After practicing for a few more years, she should be able to break into the first level of Qi Cultivation.
What he mainly wanted to see was whether Yulan's cultivation would enhance the effects of dual cultivation.
"But how did Sister Xiao Yi sense the spiritual energy?"
Now Yulan had more courage, she no longer simply accepted everything Yu Xian said and had her own opinions.
Chen Yi was the same age as her, and even though she started cultivating later, Yulan called her sister.
Mainly because Yulan felt Chen Yi was still the descendant of a prestigious family, despite the decline of the Chen family.
Unlike her, with a lowly background, even sold by her family to the Pharmacy, she was still lucky enough to have entered the Royal Mansion.
She had an innate sense of inferiority.
"As for her..." Yu Xian showed a thoughtful expression, "She's different from us."
There are people who are called geniuses.
They are born able to do what others cannot, achieving the peak and limit of others effortlessly, just like eating and drinking.
And Chen Yi is almost one of these geniuses.
Incredibly, this girl who had no control over her own body managed to sense the existence of spiritual energy within less than a month of coming into contact with the Eternal Youth Technique.
If he were willing to give her the two spirit stones in his possession, perhaps she could break through the Qi Cultivation Realm in less than two months.
But he wouldn't give them.
Chen Yi is indeed a genius, but for him, her talent has no value for now.
Could he really expect to send her into the Cultivation World, waiting for her to rise in power and take care of him?
It would be more practical to sleep with her a few more times instead.
Not to mention if her progress was cut short and his investment went down the drain, but what if she really advanced and became a high and mighty fairy?
Perhaps she would feel that he was not a benefactor but an embarrassment, an insult to her pure and untainted fairy title.
Of course, she might also be eternally grateful for this grace and repay him thousands of times in the future.
But he wouldn't gamble on human nature.
However, he wouldn't deliberately suppress Chen Yi either.
If she could break through on her own in the mundane world, he would even lend a hand, telling her about the existence of the Cultivation World and guiding her to pursue her future.
After all, they had slept together.
"Oh."
Yulan nodded, seeming to understand but not really, and didn't ask further. She wasn't a fool, and she could clearly sense that her master's mood had suddenly soured.
"Sigh, I suddenly don't feel like writing anymore."
Yu Xian sighed, and with a swipe of his palm on the rice paper, a transparent flame ignited it, turning it into a puff of ashes that was blown away by the wind, whirling down into the soil.
"Sir, did this maid say something wrong?"
Seeing this, Yulan couldn't help feeling a little nervous, even changing her address back to "maid.".
Yu Xian's mood meant the world to her.
He had given her too many dreams of a better life, and she had already deeply fallen in love with him.
"I've told you, you're my person now, not someone else's slave or servant, even to me, never call yourself a slave. If there's a next time, I'll…"}
Yu Xian pinched Yulan's chin, lifting it slightly, teasingly saying,
"face domestic discipline."
"Sir, you will always be my master."
Yulan boldly retorted, but her face flushed red with her eyes resembling water, her small hands nervously rubbing her dress, clearly knowing what "domestic discipline" meant.
"You little rascal, it seems I really need to punish you today."
Yu Xian couldn't help but be rougher with his movements upon hearing her talk back.
Just when the air was becoming restless and just a spark was about to ignite the tinder,
A clear and melodious voice sounded outside the courtyard.
"Is Tributor Yu at home? I am Ding Le from the Everjoy Sword Sect, I have come without invitation, hoping to meet Tributor Yu."
Yu Xian stopped his movements, feeling annoyed, "Damn, they know when to pick the right time, Ding Le, what a shitty name, it sounds like a loser."
"Ignore him, let's continue."
Yulan couldn't dare to continue, her eyes involuntarily glancing outside the courtyard.
Although they had done many outrageous things, they had always kept them behind closed doors, never under the eyes of others.
She adjusted her breathing and hurried to advise,"Sir, why don't I go and greet him?"
"No need."
Yu Xian withdrew his hand in disappointment and called out to the guest,
"Hey you, come on in."