This was Lu Xuan’s first time killing a man.
Strangely, he felt no fear. No nausea, no trembling, no sudden urge to vomit. His heart was beating steadily, and his hands remained firm.
What he felt instead was relief, more than a decade of repression... finally released.
Lu Xuan didn’t linger. He wiped the blood off his arm with the servant’s own clothes, then quickly searched the body.
Two silver pieces, a few dozen copper coins, and a dagger.
He pocketed the silver, took back the embroidery, folded it carefully, and tucked it into his sleeve.
Then he glanced once more at the corpse, then dragged it toward the dry well deeper in the alley. After disposing of the body and covering the well with its stone lid, he brushed the dust from his clothes and stepped back into the street.
He didn’t look back.
Back at the entrance of the escort agency, the escort warrior who had delivered the news earlier was still waiting near the entrance. When he saw Lu Xuan approaching alone, he immediately straightened.
"Is your wife all right?"
"She’s fine," Lu Xuan replied. "She went home."
The escort warrior nodded and didn’t ask further.
Lu Xuan sat in the gatehouse and took out the embroidery, placing it on the table.
Two cranes by the water... the piece Shen Yuyan had been working on for days. He looked at it for a long time.
When the sun began to set, he closed the gate and headed home.
Shen Yuyan was standing in front of the stove, preparing dinner, when she heard the door, she turned her head.
Her veil had already been removed, and the warm glow of the lamplight softened her features. Her eyes were still a little red from earlier, though she had clearly tried to compose herself.
"Husband, you’re back."
She tried to smile. It almost worked... if he hadn’t known better.
"Mm."
Lu Xuan walked over, took the embroidery from his sleeve, and placed it gently on the table.
Shen Yuyan froze.
"This..." Her voice was barely audible. "How is it in your hands?"
Lu Xuan didn’t answer immediately.
Shen Yuyan lowered her head and was silent for a while, she hadn’t wanted Lu Xuan to know about what happened at the market.
She was used to being bullied... had been since she was a child, and she was terrified that if Lu Xuan found out, he would do something reckless and get himself hurt.
Whatever she could endure, she tried her best to swallow.
Shen Yuyan looked up and forced a smile. "Dinner is almost ready. Go wash your hands."
Lu Xuan looked at her without speaking.
The redness around her eyes and the smile that didn’t quite reach them, the way she held herself together like she’d been doing it her entire life.
He turned and went to the well to wash his hands.
When he sat back down, he placed two silver pieces and a handful of copper coins on the table.
Shen Yuyan stared at them, confused.
"This..."
"I went to the Lu Family estate and demanded it. Lu Tianhe compensated me for the trouble."
She stared at him.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
She knew the Lu Family. She knew how they treated Lu Xuan, and she knew how little regard they had for her. The idea that Lu Xuan could walk into their estate, demand money, and leave with compensation seemed almost impossible.
How could they have agreed?
A dozen questions flashed through her mind.
But seeing that Lu Xuan had already picked up his bowl and started eating with his head down, clearly not wanting to say more... she swallowed her questions back.
Perhaps he had suffered too many insults while standing up for her, or perhaps he didn’t want to relive it.
She didn’t press.
Instead, she picked up a piece of egg with her hands and, after peeling it for him, placed it gently into Lu Xuan’s bowl.
"Husband... eat the egg."
Early the next morning, Lu Xuan opened his eyes.
Sunlight filtered through the window and fell across the floor beside the bed.
Shen Yuyan was still sleeping, not waking up early as usual. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her breathing was even, and one hand rested on his chest.
Lu Xuan didn’t move, afraid to wake her. These past few days had truly exhausted her.
Last night... three times. He looked at the ceiling. If this continued, even he wouldn’t be able to handle it.
It wasn’t that his body couldn’t take it... in the Martial Apprentice Realm, with True Energy protecting his body, he could go for three days and three nights without issue. Don’t doubt it.
It was the time that he couldn’t afford to waste. Tossing and turning all night meant less sleep, and less sleep meant slower growth in his cultivation. A simple logic, but such a difficult decision when you had a wife like a fairy. Follow the newest chapters on novelping(.)com.
Lu Xuan sighed and did some silent calculations in his heart. Three times a night, each time half an hour, meant an hour and a half gone.
Sleeping for four hours could increase a year’s worth of cultivation. An hour and a half gone, just like that, was equivalent to someone else’s half a year of hard cultivation.
A loss, a big loss.
No. I need to exercise some self-control.
Shen Yuyan moved slightly and opened her eyes to see him staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Husband, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
Lu Xuan’s frown softened into a smile.
He sat up carefully and began putting on his clothes. Shen Yuyan watched him for a moment before getting out of bed herself and heading to the stove.
Soon, the familiar sounds of her morning routine filled the courtyard.
Lu Xuan stepped outside, took a deep breath of the cool morning air, and called up the system panel.
[Ding! Sleep Cultivation Complete.]
[Five Animals Transformation Art Progress: 50%.]
[Mastered Forms: Deer Form (Perfection), Tiger Form (90%), Bear Form (40%), Crane Form (30%), Ape Form (5%).]
[Current Realm: Martial Apprentice Realm: Level Two.]
Five Animals Transformation Art... all five animals forms had been initiated.
The Deer Form had reached Perfection, allowing him to move with extraordinary speed and agility.
The Tiger Form was approaching Perfection as well, its explosive attacks growing more powerful with each advance.
The Bear Form had only just begun to take shape, but he could already feel its influence on his stability and physical strength.
The Crane Form remained incomplete, though he was beginning to understand its emphasis on balance and controlled movement.
As for the Ape Form, he had barely scratched the surface.
Rotating through the five forms was equivalent to cultivating five techniques simultaneously, with an efficiency five times that of others.
Coupled with automatic cultivation while sleeping...
Lu Xuan clenched his fists. Martial Apprentice Realm, Level Two.
A few more days of sleep, and he could reach the third, fourth, fifth level...
By then, the disciples of the Lu Family would be no match for him.