Shen Tang was influenced by this passage and vaguely felt that she had grasped something—what was called "literary heart and martial courage" seemed to be a privilege of a few.
If males possess literary heart and martial courage because rulers are male...
Following this logic—
If the one reaching the summit is female, would power also lean towards females?
Shen Tang shook her head secretly. She felt this line of thought didn't quite fit the worldview of fantasy—using magic to defeat magic; one must analyze and explore the fantasy world with a fantastical mindset.
A fantastical mindset...
Hmm—thinking like this, she had another line of thought. Didn't they say "men are yang, women are yin"?
Could it be that the qi of heaven and earth also has yin and yang aspects, and for some reason, there is only yang and no yin, or the yin attribute of the qi of heaven and earth cannot be tamed, so those women can feel it but cannot contain it.
Because their attributes are incompatible?
With this opening in her mind, Shen Tang formulated several hypotheses.
When she snapped out of her thoughts, the group had already caught sight of the secluded village hidden among the mountains. Even from this distance, they could vaguely see a few figures busy at work.
"Master, you've finally returned," Lin Feng jogged over.
She had been following Shen Tang around recently, engaging in various activities, so her physical activity had increased significantly. After this stretch of road, she wasn't even panting heavily.
She looked at Shen Tang as if she were looking at the apple of her eye.
Zhai Le greeted her with a bow, "Miss Lin, hello."
Lin Feng returned the courtesy, "Lord Zhai, greetings."
Qi Shan took charge of settling the newly purchased people, exchanged a few words, then went busy, and Zhai Le was taken care of by Shen Tang.
Shen Tang took him and locked him in a pigsty.
When has Zhai Le ever seen so many pig piglets gathered together to eat, drink, and sleep? He was naturally surprised and curious.
"These are all raised by Brother Shen?" Zhai Le asked.
Shen Tang: "Yes, when they grow up, you can eat roasted pork."
Zhai Le was an honest man who said bluntly, "Brother Shen invites me, I naturally keep my promise. But the pork smells and tastes bad. Brother Shen, can you raise sheep? I traveled through a small northwest country and got a recipe to remove the fishy smell."
Shen Tang had a look on his face that you didn't have a taste for.
"Ordinary pigs are naturally very fishy, but mine are different. Trust me, if you try it once, you'll definitely like it." Shen Tang showed off the appearance of pork, as if the pig farmer was promoting his own pigs, "I also have a unique skill here!"
Zhai Le curiously asked, "What unique skill?"
Shen Tang grabbed a piglet's front hoof with one hand and showed Zhai Le its chubby belly: "Castration!"
Zhai Le: "... Castration?"
Shen Tang explained, "Because pigs that aren't castrated secrete hormones, which affect the smell and make them unpleasant to eat. Once you cut off the source, the taste becomes really wonderful!"
Zhai Le: "..."
Although he didn't quite understand, Shen's confident and authoritative explanation made him believe there must be some profound reason behind it.
But he soon realized he believed too soon.
"Xiao Fang, you're here just in time! I've been raising these piglets for quite a few days now, ensuring they adapt to the environment and get enough exercise... How about scheduling the surgery for tomorrow? You're a man, you know more than I do. Shall we do it together?"
Zhai Le's mouth twitched slightly, "...How about not."
What did Shen mean by saying he knew more than him just because he was a man? Zhai Le felt slightly embarrassed. Wasn't Shen also a man himself?
If he wanted to understand, couldn't he just research and study on his own?
Zhai Le was afraid that Shen Tang would drag him into researching how to castrate pigs, but luckily he saw Gong Shu Wu returning with dozens of people, eagerly approaching under the pretext of martial arts fellowship. Shen Tang tried to hold back his little partner, but her sleeve was gently pulled by someone.
She looked down and saw Lin Feng, who had been silent for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Shen Tang asked.
Lin Feng hesitated, her small face showing hesitation.
Shen Tang thought, could she have been bullied?
Lin Feng looked around and, hesitatingly, approached Shen Tang's ear, whispering, "Lord, I... I..."
Shen Tang: "??? What's going on? Why so secretive?"
Perhaps influenced by Lin Feng, Shen Tang also glanced around stealthily, whispering softly, "It's safe here, tell me."
Lin Feng replied in the same low volume, "Lord... I..."
The two huddled in a corner of the small dilapidated house like secret agents.
Shen Tang stared intently at Lin Feng's mouth, patiently waiting for her to reveal her troubles. But Lin Feng hesitated again when the words were on her lips.
The sight of her hesitating and struggling to speak made Shen Tang increasingly curious and eager to help her express herself.
"Just tell me, come on, it's killing me..."
Lin Feng was very distressed, but finally she made up her mind.
She said, "Lord, look."
As she spoke, she spread out her tender white hand.
Shen Tang looked at it for a long time, puzzled, "Look at your palm lines?"
She couldn't understand palmistry either.
Lin Feng bit her lip, blushing awkwardly, and leaned closer to Shen Tang, offering her hand, "No, Lord, look again."
Shen Tang: "..."
Shen Tang was baffled. Could it be that this world had added some strange and fantastical elements? Was this like "The Emperor's New Clothes"? Or perhaps something akin to Lin Feng's palm reading?
But judging from Lin Feng's expression, she was clearly not joking.
She focused intently and leaned in closer to examine something.
Lin Feng adjusted her hand slightly.
"Look... from here..." she murmured.
Shen Tang squinted.
It wasn't until she felt her eyes starting to twitch that Shen Tang finally saw it. Lin Feng was sweating profusely, her face turning red, but above her palm, there floated an extremely, incredibly... incredibly fine strand of hair, faintly tinged with a light pink color.
Oh, it was Qi.
Shen Tang rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Goodness, she almost went blind just trying to see that.
Halfway through her sarcasm, she suddenly realized what she was looking at. Grabbing Lin Feng's hand, she examined the strand of "hair"—so fine and delicate, as if a candle flame flickering in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment, yet undeniably real.
"This... this is..." Shen Tang nearly bit her tongue in astonishment.
In contrast, Lin Feng remained remarkably calm, having already passed through the stages of shock and fear. She explained, "It's the Qi of Heaven and Earth."
She placed Shen Tang's hand on her lower abdomen, speaking dreamily, "Lord, it's... it's here."
Shen Tang: "..."
Lin Feng looked down, somewhat at a loss.
"Upon waking in the morning, I felt something was off with my body. No—more accurately, it was after that night spent with you, Lord. Since then, I've felt fatigued during the day, always feeling like I haven't slept enough..."
Shen Tang: "..."
Lin Feng continued, "Today, I discovered that it's actually here... but how could this be? After all, I am..."
Clang!
A loud noise echoed from outside.
Shen Tang and Lin Feng reacted like startled animals, their expressions a mix of terror, confusion, and disbelief, all directed towards Zhai Le, who seemed stunned as if struck by lightning. Inside and outside the house, the three of them froze in place like statues, staring at each other.
Finally, Shen Tang couldn't hold out any longer.
With a thud, she shifted from a crouching position to half-kneeling.
"It's nothing, just been crouching too long, my legs are numb..." she muttered, slowly rising with the support of the wall, gently refusing Lin Feng's offer to help.
Zhai Le glanced at Shen Tang, then at Lin Feng.
Finally, his mouth moved a few times.
His expression was like sleepwalking, "Brother Shen... congratulations?"
Was that the right thing to say?
But Shen Tang, younger than him and still single, was about to become a father?
Shen Tang: "..."