In the boxing gym, cheers and jeers merged into a cacophony, drawing frequent glances from passersby.
Facing the crowd's acclaim, Lu Yao merely nodded in acknowledgment.
The entire fight had been ridiculously easy, like a king toying with a bronze player, so he wasn't too excited. He just marveled for a moment at the wonders of Spirit Refinement—
It allowed his frail body to toy with a grown man in his palm.
With an undistracted mind, Lu Yao continued to attempt standing stake practice while entering a meditative state.
Seeing this calm and composed demeanor, the other apprentices became increasingly uncertain about Lu Yao's background, and the Liao Family Sisters didn't seem inclined to share more with the crowd.
Frankly, these were all outsiders who spent money to learn some self-defense skills amidst the chaos of war.
Only the particularly outstanding, with innate talent and character, would be noticed by a master and taken as an apprentice, achieving a class leap.
~~~~~~~~
After morning practice, the apprentices all went to their jobs.
The trio sat down at the large square table in the back hall for a meal.
The sisters had changed into beautiful and comfortable Blue Star clothes and started—peeling crabs!
At that moment, each of them had only a small bowl of thin porridge with visible rice grains, but the main dish consisted of 30 large crabs, which covered the entire table.
Liao Ya picked up a crab as big as her face with a troubled look, "Why are we eating this again..."
Head chef Liao Qe replied helplessly, "Rice prices are too high, and meat and vegetables have risen even more. We can barely afford them. Anyway, breakfast isn't important, so let's make do."
Yunzhou was near the sea and connected to lakes, so crabs were actually worthless there.
The sisters weren't keen on these creatures and ate slowly with a frown. Liao Ya muttered, "I want to eat meat~"
In contrast to them, Lu Yao's appetite surged at the sight of such a lavish breakfast. A crab of that size would cost at least two or three hundred in Blue Star, and they were hard to come by.
Seeing him eat with such gusto, Liao Qe moved over to help.
Her slender fingers like tender scallions transformed into a pair of pliers, cracking the tough crab claw to extract the tender meat and teasingly fed it to Lu Yao.
This made it hard for Lu Yao to determine which was sweeter, the fair fingers or the crab meat.
Watching the two get a bit too close, Liao Ya frowned slightly. She wondered if she should remind her sister to maintain propriety, even between senior and junior disciples; a girl should be more reserved.
Because the girl fed him too much, Lu Yao felt unusually full. Looking at the nearly empty rice soup in his bowl, he asked, "Did you say prices have gone up a lot? Should we stock up more?"
Liao Qe shook her head, "The rice shops have already limited purchases. It's not possible to buy more; they say there's a shortage." She also seemed confused, "Strange, how can Yunzhou be short of grain?"
With its convenient water and land transport, and frequent trade, Yunzhou itself was a grain trade center. Such a situation was indeed puzzling.
Liao Ya muttered her answer, "They're all growing opium in the fields now, where would the grain come from! The Imperial Court lost the war and signed a treaty. Now opium isn't banned anymore, and it's more profitable than growing grains."
After speaking, she chewed and swallowed a whole crab resentfully, "A sick country, harming the people. All of Master Lin's efforts in opium destruction went in vain."
The Opium Wars, ah... Lu Yao sighed, and seeing Liao Qe's mood turning down, he changed the subject:
"Don't worry about the price hikes; we'll never be short of food. When I go home again, I'll bring some good stuff for you."
~~~~~~~~~
Master Liao, with his strong teeth, ate even the shells, and the table full of crabs disappeared swiftly.
As Lu Yao was helping Liao Qe clean up the table, a sullen Liao Ya suddenly stood up, staring in shock at her own body.
She drew imaginary circles with her hands over her abdomen, and a rumbling thunderous sound came from within, followed by a loud "hmmph" from her nose!
Lu Yao, who was in a meditative state, suddenly felt chills running down his spine, the hairs on his body standing on end—a natural reverence for powerful life.
Liao Qe was the first to react, her surprise mingled with joy, "Sister, you've made a breakthrough?"
Liao Ya nodded, her expression inscrutable, "In my moment of indignation, I suddenly entered the 'Five Organs Resonance' phase..."
"Five Organs Resonance" is the first stage of the Organ Refining Realm, with the next being "Six Entrails Harmonization".
Liao Ya turned to Lu Yao, bowing, "I haven't been in the Organ Refining Realm for even a year; thanks to the medicinal supplements you provided, I was able to break through so quickly."
Lu Yao hastily waved his hands, "Not at all, Sister. You immerse yourself in the quiet room and practice tirelessly every day—that determination is the key. I only offered some insignificant aid."
Liao Ya insisted, "No, how can martial training succeed without resources? The medicines you provided definitely played a major role!"
The two exchanged pleasantries but no matter what, a breakthrough was cause for celebration.
Everyone was beaming with joy, as the original atmosphere of sadness and anger had completely disappeared. Here, martial strength was the fundamental guarantee for everything.
~~~~~~~
Liao Ya retreated into the quiet room to stabilize her realm, while Lu Yao practiced "Changding" on one side and helped Liao Qe with managing the boxing gym on the other, which was essentially doing housework.
The boxing gym wasn't a large compound, but it still covered an area of more than 500 square meters, making daily cleaning a daunting task.
At the moment, Lu Yao was meticulously wiping a seven-foot "Great Lance." The lance was dark in color, adorned with a red tassel on the spearhead.
The lance's shaft was as thick as a duck egg, and the heavy material that seemed like wood but was like iron made it extremely heavy. Paired with a 30-centimeter long triangular spearhead, the sensation of coldness and deathliness was overwhelming.
Liao Qe explained, "This is Dad's weapon—the Overlord Lance, now passed on to my sister. Our Liao Family's Great Lance is also quite famous~"
Lu Yao clicked his tongue in amazement, "Clearly not something an ordinary person can wield."
"Hmm~ forged from iron-imbued wood, it weighs 120 jin. An ordinary person couldn't even swing it."
"It could literally smash someone to death..."
...
Watching Lu Yao work and practice Changding at the same time, Liao Qe spoke softly, "You're a rich young master, yet you still know how to do chores..."
Lu Yao laughed, "I'm not a patch on you, doing so much work every day and having to practice martial arts too. It's really not easy."
The young girl not only had to do housework but also had to look after the business of the boxing gym and practice boxing; she was indeed very busy.
Liao Qe, pleased with the compliment, said, "Sister needs to focus on practicing martial arts~"
The girl wrung out the towel and knelt down to wipe the floor.
Below her slender waist was a full and rounded shape that undulated with the movement of wiping the floor, which was quite enticing.
Lu Yao, who was somewhat weak, suddenly found himself full of vigor and continued to join in the labor.
Then he realized—in his excitement, he had inadvertently slipped out of the "Entering into Stillness" state, and his cultivation of Changding had failed again.
He couldn't help feeling annoyed at himself, "Entering into Stillness is easy; I can do it in the blink of an eye. But maintaining Changding is really too difficult... I unconsciously relax."
"Slacking off is the body's instinct. No wonder even Liao Ya hasn't been able to break through this stage for many years."
~~~~~~~
A man and a woman working together, makes the job less tiring.
Chatting and laughing, they finished the tedious cleaning work without even realizing it.
They finished much faster than usual, giving Liao Qe a lot more free time.
The girl excitedly took Lu Yao to see her treasures—a big box of picture books, essentially comic books.
Lu Yao also curiously flipped through them and saw that although the printing quality of these picture books was average, the artwork was exceptionally exquisite. The characters within were not only lifelike but also vividly portrayed.
"These are my two favorites. I'll lend them to you, but don't damage them," Liao Qe said, her face showing her reluctance.
If Lu Yao wasn't so important in her heart, she would definitely not have been willing to part with them.
Lu Yao took them and saw that one was "Journey to the West," the story was pretty much the same.
The other one was more interesting; it was called "Seven Heroes' Demon Slaying Chronicle"
It told of the last years of the previous dynasty, when the Jin Army invaded, burning, killing, and looting along the way, causing untold suffering. There were seven heroes who couldn't stand by and watch, they assassinated the Great Khan of the Jin Empire, Nurhaci, changing the course of history.
Lu Yao read with great interest; he could not only enjoy the story but also learn a lot about the customs and geography of the Otherworld.
Liao Qe, seeing that Lu Yao also liked the picture books, was delighted to regard him as a kindred spirit, eagerly leaning in to help explain the stories.
They read for a good while, only stopping when the sun was about to set.
~~~~~~~
At the same time, Han Fang, who had been humiliated, knelt in front of a dignified middle-aged man in another martial arts gym—
"Please, Master Zhu, help me take revenge!"
The middle-aged man smiled faintly, "Alright then."
Han Fang looked up in surprise, not expecting the other party to agree so readily!