Seeing that her son still showed no remorse, Su Yuan added more force to her grip, striking Du Nanze with the stick and making him howl in pain.
“Mom, why are you being so unreasonable, hitting me as soon as you say so!”
Du Nanze dodged everywhere, recalling a dream where an old man held a stick, asking him every few minutes if he knew he was wrong. He stubbornly refused to admit fault and endured many beatings. Now that he had woken from the dream, he was still being severely beaten by his own mother.
“Unreasonable? I hate myself for spoiling you too much, turning you into this wretched mess!” Su Yuan, exhausted from the beating, sat down panting. “Do you know you almost lost your life?”
“What do you mean, lost my life?”
“You got drunk, dragged a brothel girl to someone’s grave to cause trouble, and after sobering up, not only did you not admit your mistake, but you also spoke harshly and boasted about it, letting everyone at the academy know. The tomb owner wasn’t happy and has latched onto you!”
“What?”
Du Nanze’s face changed, and he clicked his tongue, remembering what he had done that night and how he had been feeling dazed these past few days, constantly dreaming of an old man with a pale face and furious eyes asking him if he knew he was wrong.
Goosebumps rose all over his body, and he immediately said to his mother, “Mom, I know I was wrong. What should I do?”
Su Yuan sighed. Seeing that her son was finally scared and had admitted his mistake, she took him to the grave from that night.
They lit candles, placed offerings, burned a lot of paper money, and forced Du Nanze to kowtow several times. Only after he sincerely admitted his mistake did they return home.
That night, the tomb owner no longer entered Du Nanze’s dreams, proving that he had been forgiven.
Su Yuan no longer allowed her son to attend the academy and gave him some money to find work on his own.
After this ordeal, Du Nanze was truly frightened and dared not act recklessly again.
Meanwhile, Jing Wu and Shao Che first went to Ciyouyuan and donated half of today’s fortune-telling earnings. Then, they headed to the market, spending fifty coins to buy cinnabar and Talisman Paper. Shao Che also bought some ingredients before heading home.
They returned early today, and the sky hadn’t completely darkened yet.
Jing Wu put down her things and walked to the backyard, intending to meditate and convert today’s merit. Just then, she saw her two younger cousins trying to climb a tree, unsure of what they were doing. Curious, she walked over.
“What are you two doing?”
Shao Chengyang, up in the tree, turned around at the sound of her voice. Seeing it was his cousin, he smiled and said, “Sis, there’s a bird’s nest up here. We’re going to see if there are any eggs.”
Jing Wu glanced at the nest in the tree and laughed. “It’s the middle of winter. There probably aren’t any.”
Shao Chengyang and Shao Chengmin exchanged glances and decided to climb up and check for themselves.
Jing Wu didn’t stop them. She sat on a nearby stone, watching them climb the tree. She was also curious whether there were any eggs.
After a while, the two brothers suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Jing Wu looked up and saw Shao Chengyang holding a bird’s egg the size of a pinky finger, excitedly saying, “Sis, there really is an egg!”
She stood up in surprise. In the middle of winter, there actually was an egg.
Just as she was about to say something, she saw Shao Chengyang, overwhelmed with excitement, miss his footing and fall from the tree.
Instinctively, he protected the bird’s egg with both hands, tightly closing his eyes and silently praying that he would land on his buttocks to lessen the pain.
Jing Wu’s heart tightened at the sight. She immediately stood up, chanting the Flying Sky Spell under her breath. With a light tap of her toes, she soared forward, grabbed his collar, and safely set him down on the ground.
Shao Chengyang had tightly shut his eyes, bracing for the pain of impact, only to find that the expected pain never came. Instead, his feet touched the ground first. He opened his eyes in pleasant surprise.
“I’m fine.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was met with Jing Wu’s cold expression.
He scratched his head and quickly handed her the bird egg he had carefully protected, offering an ingratiating smile. “Sis, this is for you. Please don’t tell Mom and Dad…”
Jing Wu looked at the young, pleading face before her, took a deep breath, and asked, “Where is the Peace Talisman I gave you?”
Shao Chengyang didn’t understand why she was asking but took it out from his chest. “It’s right here.”
Seeing the Talisman Paper carefully wrapped in cloth, Jing Wu finally relaxed. “Keep the talisman safe, and be more careful next time.”
With the Peace Talisman on him, even if he encountered danger, it could save his life.
Shao Chengyang knew the matter was settled and his smile brightened even more. “Got it, thanks, Sis.”
Jing Wu turned her head to look at Shao Chengmin beside her, about to speak, when she noticed his eyes shining brightly as he gazed at her.
“Sister A Wu, I kept the talisman close to me.”
Jing Wu nodded, and he spoke again.
“Sis, can you teach me martial arts? I want to learn the move you just did, and more, so I can protect the whole family in the future.”
Jing Wu wasn’t surprised. After all, the first time she met him, she had seen from his physiognomy that he was destined to be a military star.
However, she wasn’t particularly skilled in martial arts herself. The moves she knew were all combined with magical techniques, and teaching them to him might not be something he could learn.
After careful thought, she figured the basics should be the same. It would be better to start by teaching him ordinary moves. Later, she could find a suitable master for him.
With this in mind, Jing Wu smiled and said, “Alright, meet me here tomorrow morning at mao hour.”
“Okay!” Shao Chengmin’s eyes sparkled as he looked at her, agreeing without hesitation.
Not long after, Aunt poked her head out and called the three of them back for dinner.
After dinner, Jing Wu sat cross-legged on her bed, sensing the merit within her transforming into cultivation.
With the increase in merit over the past few days, she had already reached the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment phase. If she helped five or six more people, her cultivation might break through and enter the Golden Core phase.
Seeing that the Spiritual Energy was abundant that night, she sat in meditation by the window, absorbing the energy.
The next day at mao hour, Jing Wu ended her meditation, washed up, went downstairs, and headed to the backyard to find Shao Chengmin.
The sky was still somewhat gray at this hour. As soon as she went downstairs, she saw Shao Chengyang and Shao Chengmin, the two brothers, waiting for her in the yard.
She blinked, looking at them.
“Sis, I want to learn too. Please teach me as well,” Shao Chengyang spoke up before she could say anything.
Jing Wu had no objections. Learning more might come in handy someday.
So, she led the two brothers on several laps around the yard to warm up, then had them practice horse stances.
It wasn’t until mao hour and three quarters, when the sun had risen, that the three of them, drenched in sweat, walked back into the house.
Aunt had already prepared breakfast. When she woke up earlier, she had seen the three of them exercising in the backyard.
She didn’t oppose physical exercise; in fact, she supported it, so she hadn’t disturbed them.
Jing Wu sat at the dining table. After finishing breakfast, she was about to return to the attic to continue absorbing Spiritual Energy when she saw Aunt giving Uncle a meaningful look.
Shao Che immediately took out a set of blue linen-padded clothes and handed them to her, smiling sheepishly.
“A Wu, these are the padded clothes your aunt made for you. The fabric isn’t very good, so please don’t mind.”