"Xu Yuan?"
Gazing at the familiar figure at the courtyard gate, Chu Mu's eyes flickered with contemplation, sinking into thought.
But soon after, a trace of realization dawned.
In his memories, compared to the stagnation of the original host's father, Xu Yuan's father had clearly enjoyed a far more promising career.
In just a few years at the Patrol Office, he had risen to the rank of squad leader, and before his martyrdom, there were even rumors of a promotion to platoon leader.
It was plain to see that Xu Yuan was reaping the benefits of his father's legacy. Otherwise, how could a newly recruited patrolman, with only a few days on the job, possibly be involved in matters as central to profit as this?
After observing for a moment and committing the general faces to memory, Chu Mu turned and left without hesitation.
On this dark, windy night, unarmed and alone, Chu Mu had no intention of testing human nature with his own safety.
"Is this… walking the night road too often… and running into a ghost?"
The whimsical thought struck Chu Mu, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The metaphor, it seemed, wasn't far off.
To the people of Qinghe County, his patrolman's uniform was likely no different from a ghost's visage.
Lost in idle thoughts, it wasn't long before Chu Mu returned to his small courtyard. Closing the gate behind him felt like sealing himself off from the world.
A lamp was lit, casting a faint glow across the dim courtyard.
Though it was already deep into the night, by Chu Mu's routine, it was clearly not yet time to rest.
Drawing his long saber, Chu Mu stepped out of his bedroom.
Standing still in the courtyard, he paused for a moment before swinging the blade.
Chop, slash, thrust…
He meticulously executed the saber techniques etched in his memory.
With the experience of that one "Spiritual Radiance" enhancement, Chu Mu was well aware of the current focus of his saber practice.
All other aspects of saber technique could be set aside for now.
The most critical task at hand was to gain control over the saber in his grip.
A long saber weighing several jin—if he couldn't control it properly, its weight alone would distort any technique he attempted.
A simple analogy: with one downward chop, the inertia from the weight and force was something he simply couldn't manage.
As for switching to a lighter saber… for someone with no foundation in martial arts, even wielding a tree branch wouldn't allow perfect control over strength. Changing weapons… held little significance.
The thought flickered briefly before Chu Mu fully immersed himself in the blade before him.
No linking of techniques—just simple chops, slashes, and thrusts…
Basic saber forms, repeated one move, one form at a time.
Monotonous… yet resolute.
Unknowingly, sweat began to bead on his skin.
His sleeves gradually soaked through, and droplets of sweat fell from his brow with each swing of the blade.
Time, too, slipped by bit by bit.
In his previous life, Chu Mu could hardly imagine persisting in such tedious practice.
Even now, he had no idea what these seemingly ordinary saber techniques might ultimately yield.
But the utter unfamiliarity of this era filled him with too much insecurity.
And every incremental increase in the skill values on the light screen panel brought him an inexplicable sense of security.
"Hoo…"
Chu Mu let out a long breath, lowering the saber. Sweat had even seeped through the hilt, dripping along the blade's edge.
[Name: Chu Mu.]
[Skills:
Basic Saber Technique (Beginner) 48/100]
[Spiritual Radiance Value: 15.2%]
The light screen panel materialized in his vision, and Chu Mu stared at the skill value following his saber technique.
After roughly half an hour of practice, the value had increased by three points.
Over these many days of training, Chu Mu had long since grasped the significance of the proficiency value.
This proficiency value wasn't like the panels in the web novels he'd read in his previous life—it was merely a reflection of his own skill level.
In plain terms, the extent to which he had mastered a skill would be reflected on this light screen panel.
The role of proficiency was simply to quantify his skill growth in numerical form.
But it was undeniably remarkable to see, in the most direct way, the returns on his efforts. That alone was nothing short of extraordinary.
After all, the greatest fear was effort without reward.
If everyone could see the results of their efforts so clearly, they'd probably all become relentless grinders.
After a moment of reflection, the light screen panel faded. Chu Mu glanced around the courtyard, set down his saber, and began to loosen up his body.
He didn't know any proper post-exercise relaxation techniques—just simple arm swings and self-massaging.
Whether it had any effect, Chu Mu wasn't sure. After all, exercise only caused a few days of soreness at the start. Once adapted, as long as he didn't overexert himself, a night's sleep would restore him almost completely.
After about ten minutes of stretching and a brief rest indoors, Chu Mu grabbed a bucket and clothes and returned to the courtyard.
A few buckets of cold water splashed over him, followed by a quick scrub and a change into clean clothes. Back in his bedroom, the flickering candlelight in the house finally went out.
Chu Mu fell into a deep sleep, and the night passed in the blink of an eye…
…
The next morning, with the sky still dim, Chu Mu was already up. As usual, he washed up, grabbed his saber, and headed to the courtyard.
A night's sleep had swept away the previous day's fatigue, and as he swung his saber, Chu Mu felt invigorated.
Each move and form carried a bit more force.
By the time the sun began to rise, Chu Mu finally lowered his saber.
Glancing at the light screen panel, he couldn't help but smile.
In just half an hour of practice, he had, astonishingly, gained five proficiency points this time.
"Not bad, not bad. Solid progress."
Chu Mu chuckled to himself. At this rate, his saber technique might break through to the next stage before long.
Sheathing the saber, he rubbed his empty stomach and quickly headed to his bedroom. After changing into his patrol armor, he hurried out the door.
In Chu Mu's impression, food in this era surely couldn't compare to his previous life. The sheer variety of seasonings alone would outshine anything this world had to offer.
But reality defied his expectations. Basic seasonings were almost all present, just under different names or forms due to the differences in this world.
And the variety of food was even more abundant, thanks to the low cost of grains.
For a simple breakfast, there were dozens of street vendors, each offering something different.
With a base price of one copper, even compared to grain prices, it was quite affordable.
Even a beggar on the street could likely afford it, not to mention the hundreds of patrolmen in Nanshan Town who went out early and returned late.
After devouring a large bowl of steaming rice noodles at a roadside stall, Chu Mu leisurely made his way to the Patrol Office.
If he remembered correctly, that fellow He Ergou had mentioned yesterday that today was payday.
"Pay at the start of the month—government jobs really are something…"
Chu Mu couldn't help but sigh, his steps quickening as he went…
…
*(End of Chapter)*