"Ten thousand taels! Gone!"
Xu Wuzhou was locked in a room of the Qin Family, feeling quite sorrowful. Ten thousand taels, promised by Qin Li, were now out of reach!
"Yu Feng! I'll remember this, you owe me ten thousand taels!"
However, looking at the tightly shut door, Xu Wuzhou also felt that being a live-in son-in-law was indeed tasteless.
His wife wouldn't let him touch her, he was confined at the slightest disagreement, and Qin Li watched him every day. Yet, he had no way out. This life was suffocating. A free life was the most precious.
Xu Wuzhou thought about secretly getting a small residence outside, where he could hide when needed and act more freely. Yes, buying a few young and beautiful maidservants to serve him would make life quite comfortable.
But he was too poor to afford a residence. More importantly, his strength was too weak. Without the Qin Family's protection, he would soon be killed.
"It seems I still need to improve my strength. Opening the Eight Meridians would allow me to face dangers," Xu Wuzhou muttered. "Hmm, let's set a small goal first: get myself a little home."
After a few days, Xu Wuzhou became familiar with this world and started making his own plans. As a Chinese, the instinct to have a home was ingrained in his bones.
"Click!" As Xu Wuzhou was thinking about these things, he saw the tightly closed door open, and Qin Qingmo walked in.
Xu Wuzhou was taken aback, not expecting her to come see him.
"After enduring humiliation for so long and finally gaining fame, why do you still act the same?" Qin Qingmo's tone carried disappointment.
"Do you care about that?" Xu Wuzhou asked Qin Qingmo, "Are you jealous because I went to the brothel?"
"I..." Qin Qingmo paused and then replied, "If you did it to see if I'd get jealous, it wasn't necessary. You've known me long enough to understand my feelings."
"So, you just don't like me. I've been pestering you all along, and you're tired of it. If it weren't for the marriage contract, you wouldn't want to see me, right?" Xu Wuzhou thought that if he were Qin Qingmo, he would have kicked someone like his former self to death long ago. The fact that Qin Qingmo could endure marrying him made Xu Wuzhou think she was a virtuous wife.
But to Qin Qingmo, his words sounded like sarcastic mockery. She explained, "I never thought that way. Since childhood, I knew I was to marry you. So, I tried hard to live with you, even marrying you was an effort to make it work, but..."
"But what?" Xu Wuzhou asked.
"But sometimes, emotions aren't something you can control with reason, and I can't force myself," Qin Qingmo's eyes dimmed.
Xu Wuzhou smiled, not angry. What good girl would like someone like him?
"They say young girls have dreams. What kind of man do you like?" Xu Wuzhou asked Qin Qingmo.
Qin Qingmo shook her head, "I've never had such dreams. Since childhood, I've tried hard to like you, to make my dream husband resemble you. But after despairing over you, I had no more dreams. If I had any dream left, it would be books; I only like reading." This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Xu Wuzhou suddenly felt a bit of heartache, gazing into Qin Qingmo's eyes. Her eyelashes were long, fluttering with a captivating charm.
"Perhaps your dream husband is someone scholarly, with extraordinary talent," Xu Wuzhou said.
Qin Qingmo shook her head, "I've married you, so whether I like you or not doesn't matter."
Xu Wuzhou looked at the stunning woman before him for a long time and suddenly said, "If I were to move out, would you come with me?"
"You're moving out?" Qin Qingmo was taken aback, thinking of many things, "Is it because people call you a parasite live-in son-in-law? You don't need to mind that."
"I just want a place of my own, nothing more," Xu Wuzhou replied.
Qin Qingmo was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Between us, I can't truly see myself as your wife."
Xu Wuzhou smiled, realizing Qin Qingmo was rejecting him. It was normal; who could like the old Xu Wuzhou? Though forced by family to marry him, it was only that.
"You have potential. If you visit the brothel less and do fewer foolish things, you'll achieve something," Qin Qingmo advised Xu Wuzhou after some thought.
"As a person, achievements don't matter. What's most important is happiness," Xu Wuzhou replied to Qin Qingmo.
Qin Qingmo pursed her lips, feeling that Xu Wuzhou's years of cold treatment and ridicule, his persistent pursuit of her, and her continued indifference were his words of frustration.
Perhaps he was truly disheartened, truly desperate, which is why he wanted to leave the Qin Family and be alone.
Qin Qingmo opened her mouth, wanting to say a lot, but in the end, no words came out: Was she completely disappointed in him, completely devoid of feelings, unable to force herself to accept him, and only wanted to be with books in the future?
No matter what she thought, Qin Qingmo had to admit one thing. Deep down, she really looked down on Xu Wuzhou, felt he wasn't worthy of her.
Even though she felt she shouldn't think that way, how could she not have any emotions about the things Xu Wuzhou did?
Qin Qingmo originally wanted to invite Xu Wuzhou to the literary gathering three days later, but she thought better of it. If Xu Wuzhou went, he would likely be ridiculed again. Why subject him to more mockery for her sake?
As for Qingci, she would explain to her.
"Father is angry right now, so don't provoke him. Stay here for a few days, and I'll come to get you out," Qin Qingmo explained to Xu Wuzhou.
Xu Wuzhou didn't mind. He had two thousand taels and over two thousand drops of blood-colored liquid, just enough to help him break through.
Opening the Eight Meridians, as long as he didn't provoke the Innate Realm in Lin'an City, he shouldn't need to fear anyone.
Looking at the woman before him, her skin was delicate and fair, her clothes outlining her high chest and slender waist. She stood with straight long legs, exuding a scholarly aura, a blend of sensuality and grace.
Beauty to a certain extent could easily evoke affection in a man. Moreover, the woman before him was his wife.
Xu Wuzhou gazed at her exquisite face and blurted out, "It's not good for us to live apart. Why not try living together first? Whether you like me or not doesn't matter; from now on, I'll try to become the kind of person you like." You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Seeing Xu Wuzhou's intense gaze, Qin Qingmo's face flushed. Remembering Xu Wuzhou's recent antics, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Such a lustful man must be coveting her body.
"It's getting late, you should rest," Qin Qingmo said, not daring to stay any longer.
Watching Qin Qingmo leave as if fleeing, Xu Wuzhou chuckled. Being regarded as a fierce beast by his own wife was truly speechless.
Watching Qin Qingmo's graceful figure, Xu Wuzhou muttered, "Such a beautiful wife, it's not right to live separately. Hmm, let's set another small goal: win over my wife."
Xu Wuzhou sat down and began cultivating. Regardless of the goal, strength was the priority. The blood-colored liquid began to merge into his body, impacting the blocked meridians.
Having done this twice before, Xu Wuzhou was quite adept. Waves of blood qi continuously impacted the meridians, clearing them bit by bit. Although it took dozens of attempts to clear a small section, the continuous effort accumulated terrifyingly, as if paving a path.
The Yang Qiao Meridian and Yin Qiao Meridian were already cleared, and Xu Wuzhou was now working on the Yang Wei Meridian.
Three hundred drops, the Yang Wei Meridian was cleared, and the blood qi surged like a flood, roaring through the Yang Qiao Meridian.
Six hundred drops, the Yin Wei Meridian was cleared, reaching the Fourth Postnatal Layer.
Nine hundred drops, the Belt Meridian was cleared, reaching the Fifth Postnatal Layer.
Twelve hundred drops, the Chong Meridian was cleared, reaching the Sixth Postnatal Layer.
At this point, it was as if six great rivers of vital energy and blood were boiling within him. Sitting cross-legged, his body emitted a series of rumbling sounds, like the beating of a giant drum.
Xu Wuzhou was enveloped in a layer of blood color, his blood qi almost bursting out of his body. The pressure from his aura shattered the wooden chair beside him.
Xu Wuzhou didn't stop, continuing to absorb the blood qi from the blood-colored liquid, starting to impact the final two meridians, the Ren Meridian.
The Ren and Du Meridians were the most important in the Postnatal Realm.
Opening the Ren Meridian, governing all the yin meridians in the body, signified stepping into the High-Rank Postnatal. It was not just a difference of one meridian; the improvement was far more terrifying than before.
But Xu Wuzhou also found that by mobilizing the blood qi of the six meridians, combined with the blood qi from the blood-colored liquid, he could impact the Ren Meridian.
The Ren Meridian was much more difficult than the other meridians. Even after hundreds of impacts, it was hard to clear even a small section. But Xu Wuzhou was patient, relentlessly using blood qi to impact it, regardless of the cost.
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