Ye Liuyun probably hasn't even realized yet that his reputation is gradually taking a weird turn.
But even if he knew, Ye Liuyun wouldn't really care that much.
You couldn't see the sky from inside the Imperial Prison; only candles could illuminate the darkness.
By the time he left the Imperial Prison, it was already late outside, so Ye Liuyun simply prepared to head back to the manor.
On the way home.
Ye Liuyun felt like his whole body was on fire, a vigorous, blazing yang energy running rampant through his meridians.
"No wonder!"
He finally understood why that Ying Jing* (TN: not replaced, unsure) couldn't control his lower body.
Luckily, Ye Liuyun was a martial artist. With his inner strength, he was able to suppress that rowdy and wild yang energy for now.
,,
As soon as he returned to the manor, Xing'Er came to greet him.
"Master, Madam has found a few cultivation technique manuals for you. They're in your study now."
He'd mentioned before about needing help finding some cultivation techniques, but hadn't expected things to happen so fast.
"Really? Let me go take a look!"
Just in time, too. He'd gotten quite a few Talent Entries lately, but the only cultivation technique he had was still the Wind-Slaying Saber Skill.
If Sheng Lanzhi didn't have any good ideas, Ye Liuyun had even been considering dropping a hint to Si Nan, seeing if the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a way to source some manuals.
Didn't expect that as soon as he returned, the manuals would be delivered to his door.
Ye Liuyun wasted no time and headed straight for his own courtyard.
Xing'Er quietly followed behind him.
They'd only walked a few steps when Ye Liuyun suddenly twitched his nose, sniffed, then turned to look at Xing'Er behind him.
"Master?"
Seeing Ye Liuyun's gaze, Xing'Er was completely puzzled.
"Nothing."
Shaking his head, Ye Liuyun continued forward, but spoke in a calm tone.
"Since your gui water has come, you should rest well. If Madam asks, tell her you're still working here with me."
Gui water in this era, of course, referred to a woman's menstrual period.
If it were before, Ye Liuyun definitely wouldn't have picked up on it. But with the newly acquired "Scent-Sensing Woman" Talent Entry, his nose was a little too sensitive now.
",,," After a long silence, Xing'Er finally answered softly, "Understood, Master."
She didn't ask how Ye Liuyun knew her body was acting differently.
In fact, ever since she was little, things like this had happened before, but even when her body wasn't well, she'd still quietly keep working, never daring to complain about pain.
Ye Liuyun just said whatever came to mind. There was no deeper meaning to it.
Inside the study.
Ye Liuyun gestured for Xing'Er to rest off to the side, while he began inspecting the cultivation technique manuals left on his desk.
He'd thought there'd only be one or two, but judging by the pile, there must've been at least ten. That was seriously efficient.
Ye Liuyun quietly examined the manuals, while Xing'Er quietly observed Ye Liuyun.
,,,
Pine Wood Saber Skill, Jade-Breaking Hand, Iron Armor Skill, Black Tiger Palm, and the rest.
Ye Liuyun went through them one by one.
Just going by their names, they sounded like pretty generic stuff; nothing rare or especially respected among cultivation techniques.
But then again, that was normal. The truly precious techniques would cause bloody chaos in the martial world if they got out. Sheng Lanzhi's father may have been a third grade high official once, but that was "once".
Managing to source these techniques was already good enough.
Ye Liuyun wasn't disappointed. Even if these were run-of-the-mill, they had to be at least a bit better than his Wind-Slaying Saber Skill.
He flipped through book after book.
Until reaching the last manual, when Ye Liuyun paused; the other books looked pretty new, but this final one had an old, elegant feel.
"Cangyang Force?"
At that moment, Xing'Er noticed Ye Liuyun's surprise.
Sitting in her chair, Xing'Er stood up and said,
"This Cangyang Force was gifted to the Patriarch by a sect elder during his tenure, an upper-grade cultivation technique sent in hope of winning favor."
The Patriarch Xing'Er referred to could only be Sheng Lanzhi's father.
However.
"Then why didn't he cultivate it himself?" If it's an upper-grade technique, why not use it?
"The Patriarch was obsessed with his official career, and had no interest in cultivation."
Xing'Er explained softly.
Ye Liuyun smiled in understanding. Another one obsessed with politics and neglecting cultivation, just like Ye Liufeng. No wonder they ended up together.
"So if it's an upper-grade technique, why didn't the other party retrieve it?"
Back when he was a third-grade high official, he was rich and powerful, so it wouldn't be odd for a major sect to want to curry favor.
But now that's not the case—why weren't they worried about the technique being leaked out?
Xing'Er shook her head at first, then replied,
"The Patriarch once said, this Cangyang Force may be of high quality, but it's also extremely difficult to learn—it requires a cultivator to possess exceptionally vigorous yang energy to even get started, otherwise its power simply cannot be utilized."
They'd clearly calculated that, which was why they could give it away so easily.
Xing'Er, as Sheng Lanzhi's most trusted maid, had heard a lot about things in the manor.
"So that's how it is!"
That explained everything.
But a cultivation technique that demands super high yang energy?
Didn't they know I have an Extreme Yang Physique?
Tch, lucky me—just got Extreme Yang Physique today, and immediately a matching technique falls into my hands.
Lucky?
Realizing that, Ye Liuyun suddenly remembered something; it seemed that aside from the newly acquired Extreme Yang Physique, his only purple-quality Talent Entry was Luck.
Sure enough, it's that Entry at work again.
It might seem useless most of the time, but luck really does work wonders at critical moments.
"Got it. You go sit down for a while, have someone bring you a cup of hot tea."
Having understood everything, Ye Liuyun gestured for Xing'Er to sit, and told someone to bring her tea.
As for Ye Liuyun himself, he focused on reading the Cangyang Force manual closely.
After finally getting an upper-grade technique, of course he had to start cultivating it.
Maybe when Sheng Lanzhi sent it over, it was just there to make up numbers; she probably never thought Ye Liuyun had the right talent to cultivate it.
,,
"Hoo!"
He let out a light breath and sat down on a stool, then followed the manual's instructions, starting the inner strength circulation through his body.
He'd originally thought he'd have to sit cross-legged, hands clasped, keeping his mind centered.
But after trying it, he found there was no need for all that; that posture just helped people enter meditation, but really, if you wanted, you could stand and cultivate inner strength all the same.
As his inner strength completed a circuit through his body, Ye Liuyun started to steam; this was the symptom of yang energy burning violently inside.
Xing'Er had felt worried at first.
But seeing Ye Liuyun looking completely normal—if anything, he seemed slightly to be enjoying the process—
she let it go.
She simply cupped her warm teacup, a smile playing at her lips, thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.
,,,,,,,