Wang Demao froze for a moment. What was wrong with His Highness? He had asked about the silver a few days ago, and now he was asking again?
Still, he answered obediently:
“To answer Your Highness, the storeroom has the one hundred taels the Eldest Prince sent last month, as well as Your Highness’s Monthly Allowance... This month’s hasn’t been collected yet. There’s some silver left over from last month. All told, it comes to one hundred and sixty-two taels and three mace.”
Zhao Fan nodded. A little over one hundred and sixty taels—ten taels more than he remembered. It was probably some miscellaneous surplus.
“I want to withdraw one hundred taels. Go get it for me.”
Wang Demao’s expression went through a remarkable series of changes. First shock, then distress at the expense, and finally hesitation, but as a servant, he had no reason to refuse when his master asked for money.
“Yes, Your Highness. Please wait a moment.”
He turned to leave, then stopped and asked cautiously,
“Your Highness, the residence’s expenses for this month haven’t been covered yet... Should I go to the Ministry of Revenue and collect next month’s Monthly Allowance in advance?”
Zhao Fan thought for a moment. “We’ll talk about it at the end of the month. Bring me the one hundred taels first.”
Wang Demao opened his mouth, but in the end he didn’t dare say anything more. He hurried off.
Before long, he returned carrying a gray cloth bundle. Inside were five twenty-tael silver ingots, not the finest quality, but full weight.
“Your Highness, the silver is here.”
Zhao Fan took the bundle and weighed it in his hand. It was indeed quite heavy.
He waved for Wang Demao and Xiao Shunzi to leave. Steward Wang looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he bowed and left the main hall.
Once the door was shut, Zhao Fan took a deep breath and silently recited in his mind: System, make the purchase now.
【Ding—the order has been created. Item: 《Sunflower Manual》, complete edition ×1. Seller’s gift: 《Nine Yang Divine Skill》, complete edition ×1.
Order total: 2.95 yuan（system fee: 100 taels of Silver）. Confirm payment?】
“Confirm.”
【Please select a payment method. Currently available: cash silver.】
“Cash silver.”
【Ding—payment successful. Your items are being delivered...】
【Host, please select a delivery location! Note: the location must be within one kilometer of the Host.】
Without hesitation, Zhao Fan pointed at the table beside him.
“Right here.”
The delivery time was practically zero.
At nearly the very same instant, the air in front of Zhao Fan rippled slightly, and two books appeared out of thin air on the tabletop.
《Sunflower Manual》.
《Nine Yang Divine Skill》.
The first was thin, with a dark yellow cover, like an old book dug out of a secondhand bookshop. Its pages were speckled with the brown stains of age.
The second was much thicker, with a blue cover and a white label. It looked proper and respectable, like a legitimate publication.
Zhao Fan picked up the 《Sunflower Manual》 first and flipped through it.
The writing was clear and the strokes neat; it wasn’t some shoddy photocopy.
It began with the general principles: “To practice this art, one must first castrate oneself.” Then came the internal cultivation methods, followed by illustrated techniques.
He flipped through a dozen or so pages.
Though he couldn’t quite understand the terminology about the circulation of meridians, the contents were detailed and well organized. There was no way it looked fake.
He then opened the 《Nine Yang Divine Skill》. This one was thicker, and the text was denser.
The first line of its general principles read: “Let him be strong; the breeze brushes the mountain ridge. Let him be fierce; the bright moon shines upon the great river.”
Zhao Fan stared at the sentence for a few seconds. He had seen it in web novels; in his previous life, he had read it who knew how many times.
But now, here and then, those two lines were written on paper in clear ink and forceful strokes. It looked entirely convincing.
“System,” he asked silently, “are both of these genuine?”
【《Sunflower Manual》: genuine. According to the System’s appraisal, this cultivation technique is complete, with twelve layers in total. Upon reaching mastery, one can enter the Grandmaster Realm.
Special attribute: those taught by the instructor will have their loyalty locked at one hundred percent, with no possibility of reversal.】
【《Nine Yang Divine Skill》: genuine. This cultivation technique is complete, with nine layers in total. Upon reaching mastery, one can enter the Grandmaster Realm.
Note: before reaching the Seventh Layer of this technique, one must not engage in sexual activity. One also cannot switch to another form of internal cultivation midway through training.】
Zhao Fan’s breathing suddenly grew heavy.
The Grandmaster Realm.
His Imperial Father, Zhao Tianyan, was in the Grandmaster Realm. At sixty, he looked barely over forty, and there were few in the world who could face him in a direct fight.
In other words, once mastered, this 《Nine Yang Divine Skill》 gifted by the System would bring him to that level.
And he wouldn’t even have to castrate himself.
He lowered his head to look at the 《Sunflower Manual》 in his hands, then at the 《Nine Yang Divine Skill》, and suddenly felt that this deal was almost too good to be true.
But he didn’t rush to start training.
The 《Nine Yang Divine Skill》 required time, seclusion, and a calm mind to study it slowly.
He hadn’t even figured out how many informants there were in the prince’s residence. If he rashly began cultivating and someone discovered him, it would cause immense trouble.
Among all the imperial princes, he was currently the weakest. He needed to keep a low profile.
The 《Sunflower Manual》 was different. He didn’t need to practice it himself.
“Xiao Shunzi!” Zhao Fan called toward the door.
Xiao Shunzi came in again and asked deferentially, “Your Highness, did you call for me?”
Zhao Fan said directly,
“Close the door.”
Xiao Shunzi did as instructed. Zhao Fan handed him the 《Sunflower Manual》.
“Take a look at this.”
Xiao Shunzi took it and glanced down at the cover. His whole body went rigid.
His lips trembled. He looked up, his eyes full of shock and doubt. “Y-Your Highness, this is...”
“A martial arts manual. I got my hands on it. Take it and practice.”
Xiao Shunzi’s hands began to shake.
He held the book as if it were a priceless treasure.
Several seconds passed before he managed to compose himself. “Your Highness, I’m only an Eunuch...”
“That’s exactly why I’m having you practice this.”
Zhao Fan said it as casually as if it were nothing, but Xiao Shunzi was dumbfounded.
Eunuchs were among the lowest of the low in this world. Forget martial arts—they weren’t even allowed a proper education.
Yet the Ninth Prince before him had given him a martial arts manual.
Xiao Shunzi dropped to his knees with a thud and struck his forehead against the brick floor with a loud crack.
“Your Highness! This life of mine belongs to you! From this day on, if Your Highness tells me to go east, I’ll never go west! If Your Highness tells me to die, I won’t go on living!”
Zhao Fan didn’t help him up or offer the usual pleasantries like “Get up.”
He simply said calmly, “All right, stop kowtowing. Get up and practice.”
Xiao Shunzi got to his feet, wiped away a tear, and opened the book.
Zhao Fan pulled over a chair and sat beside him, crossing his legs as he watched.
Honestly, he also wanted to see with his own eyes whether the things supplied by the System actually worked.
As his personal attendant, Xiao Shunzi could naturally read, and he seemed to have a rudimentary understanding of meridians as well.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and began circulating his energy according to the Cultivation Mantra in the book’s first section.
For the first few minutes, nothing happened. The young eunuch furrowed his brow, as if trying hard to sense something.
Zhao Fan wasn’t in a hurry. He watched quietly. Cultivation couldn’t happen that quickly.
Then, about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Xiao Shunzi’s complexion changed.
First it turned pale, then red, and then as red as if he’d gotten drunk.
His breathing grew long and heavy. With every breath, it was as if he were drawing something into his body.