Chapter 99: World Three [13]

As the sounds of firecrackers continuously rang out outside, a new year quietly arrived.

Jing Ke took out a red packet she had long prepared from her bosom and handed it to her little disciple, who was still holding the Oil-paper Umbrella in a daze.

“Little Disciple, Happy New Year. This is Your Master’s New Year’s money for you,” Jing Ke said with a smile.

“Thank you… thank you, Master,” Luo Yuezhu reached out to take it. Feeling the lingering warmth on the red packet at her fingertips, she couldn’t help but feel a sting in her nose, inexplicably wanting to cry.

“Alright, rest early. On the first day of the new year, Your Master allows you to slack off a little, but the Chen hour is the latest you can get up,” Jing Ke gently pinched her little disciple’s red nose.

“Master, it’s a new year. Could I make a small request?” Luo Yuezhu asked, her hand holding the red packet tightening.

“You may, speak,” Jing Ke readily agreed. Her little disciple’s first request of the new year—as her Master, she would naturally try her best to fulfill it.

“Master, could I… could I sleep with you tonight? Just tonight, just this one night,” Luo Yuezhu said. She wasn’t sure if her request was too much.

Except for last year when she slept alone, every Chinese New Year’s Eve, Luo Yuezhu had slept with her family. When she was little, she slept with her mother, and when she grew a bit older, she slept with her elder sister.

It was said that on the first day of the new year, if you could sleep with someone important, you could stay together with them for the whole year.

Last year, she hadn’t slept beside her mother, nor her elder sister, and that was why they couldn’t stay with her for the whole year.

If she couldn’t sleep with her Master this New Year’s Eve, would her Master also leave her due to some accident?

“Alright, but I don’t know if I snore. If I disturb you, you mustn’t dislike your Master,” Jing Ke agreed very readily.

Sleeping one night with a ten-year-old little radish head wasn’t something that would trouble Jing Ke. If she weren’t worried her little disciple might not be willing, Jing Ke would even be happy to let her little disciple sleep with her every night.

Of course, Jing Ke meant nothing else by it; she just felt that such close proximity made it easier to protect her little disciple.

Jing Ke’s talk of snoring was naturally a joke. After letting her freshly washed little disciple lie down on the inside, Jing Ke lay on the outer side of the bed, even considerately tucking in the blanket.

“Little Disciple, good night,” Jing Ke said.

“Good night, Master,” Luo Yuezhu said.

Sleeping in the same bed as her Master for the first time, Luo Yuezhu felt a bit nervous, but more than that, an indescribable sense of security.

Master was lying right beside her. She wasn’t alone. She was her Master’s bond, and likewise, her Master was her bond.

Thinking this, Luo Yuezhu, who had always maintained a healthy routine, gradually drifted into slumber.

Perhaps due to a habit formed earlier, not long after falling asleep, Luo Yuezhu proactively moved closer to Jing Ke, only stopping when she hugged her arm in her embrace.

Jing Ke faintly sensed the unease in her little disciple’s heart. She didn’t pull her arm away, just letting it be held as she too slowly entered dreamland.

–

New year, new atmosphere. After starting to learn the Internal Cultivation Method, the lively-seeming little disciple re-emerged.

Jing Ke’s teaching method was simple. First, she had the little disciple memorize the entire Internal Cultivation Method by heart. Once the little disciple could recite it fluently backwards, Jing Ke destroyed the copy she had written out from memory.

“Relax your body. I will guide the Inner Strength within you to circulate through your Meridians. Feel it carefully, and memorize the specific route,” Jing Ke said.

Under the guise of teaching, she began inserting small streams of her own Inner Strength into her little disciple’s Meridians, then personally guided her in refining and controlling it, turning it into the little disciple’s own Inner Strength.

Thus, the new year began with a new teaching model.

The neighbors all knew about Squire Luo’s family’s tragedy, so they didn’t come in groups to offer New Year’s greetings. They merely sent their Butlers to deliver some gifts to express their sentiments and maintain neighborly relations.

In a flash, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, another very lively day.

Luo Yuezhu, who had cultivated for a full half-month, was also given a night off at this special time. Accompanied by her Master, she went to see the Lantern Festival.

“Master, what do you think of this Mask?” Luo Yuezhu seemed infected by the joyful mood of the people on the street, the smile on her face becoming noticeable.

“Hmm? Is this a tiger?” Jing Ke raised an eyebrow. “Little Disciple, do you think Your Master is like a tiger, very fierce?”

“Of course not, Master, have you forgotten? Your zodiac sign is the tiger,” Luo Yuezhu blinked innocently. “I just wanted to pick a Mask matching your zodiac for you.”

Jing Ke smiled, accepting this explanation. While taking the Tiger Mask, she also picked up the Piglet Mask.

“I’m a tiger, so are you a little piglet?” Jing Ke asked, handing the Mask to Luo Yuezhu.

Luo Yuezhu not only didn’t get angry at this, but very happily took the Mask and directly put it on her face. “Yes, I’m a little piglet. After putting on the Mask, I’ll be lazy and stupid. Master must watch me carefully, or I might just wander off and get lost.”

Jing Ke couldn’t help but ruffle her little disciple’s head. “Alright, I will watch you carefully, my little piglet disciple.”

To prevent her little piglet disciple from wandering off the moment she let go, Jing Ke held her little disciple’s hand after speaking, and they walked shoulder to shoulder through the crowd.

Only when they were squeezed close together by the crowd did Jing Ke suddenly notice that her little disciple’s height seemed to have increased a bit. If at their first meeting, the little disciple was only about 1.4 meters tall, then now she was roughly 1.43 meters.

Her little disciple had grown taller. If she continued exercising daily, maybe she could grow to 1.8 meters like herself.

Jing Ke sighed inwardly, unconsciously slipping into the perspective of an elder.

Raising a little radish head that didn’t even reach her shoulder when they first met to be as tall as herself—just thinking about it felt very fulfilling!

–

The most distinctive feature of the Lantern Festival was the lantern riddle guessing activity. There were many ways to guess lantern riddles; some required composing poetry or matching couplets, while others were trivia quizzes mixing legends and customs.

The former was a blind spot for both master and disciple. Neither of them could compete with a bunch of literati and talented scholars in matching couplets. They could only settle for the next best thing, directly buying the Festive Lanterns they liked with money.

Continuing to walk forward hand in hand, an Acrobatics Troupe soon appeared in the master and disciple’s field of vision.

Jing Ke wasn’t very interested in these small acrobatic acts, but seeing her little disciple, still wearing the Piglet Mask, unable to resist stopping to watch, she also chose to halt, standing nearby to observe.

The people in the Acrobatics Troupe more or less knew some martial arts, especially the person performing the breaking of stone slabs on the chest, who practiced Hard Qigong. If this type of skill was cultivated to its extreme, it could make one truly impervious to blades and spears.

The little disciple watched very intently. Judging from her movements as if wanting to clap and cheer, she seemed quite satisfied.

When someone came to ask for tips, Jing Ke very generously tossed them a piece of broken silver, which made the eyes of the Acrobatics Troupe members light up, and they showered the two with a string of auspicious words.

However, the troupe members seemed to have mistaken Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu’s identities, treating them as a pair of sisters when offering their blessings.

A minor flaw didn’t obscure the overall excellence. The pleasant auspicious words satisfied Jing Ke greatly, and before leaving, she even tossed another piece of broken silver their way as a final reward.

Peace Offering City actually had a Curfew. According to the relevant laws, leaving one’s residence after the Hai Hour was forbidden.

However, this curfew could only restrain common citizens; it couldn’t restrain those martial artists with exceptional Lightness Skill.

Furthermore, on days like Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Lantern Festival, the curfew was temporarily lifted, making it convenient for the common folk to come out and celebrate the festivals, enjoying the festive atmosphere.

As time gradually passed, the originally bustling streets slowly became desolate.

Around the middle of the Hai Hour, only some small vendors still packing up their stalls and people accompanied by household servants remained on the streets.

Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu each held a Festive Lantern in their hands. The Masks they had been wearing had long been put away, taken back by Little Mu, whom they had sent ahead to prepare hot water.

“Shall we stroll a bit more, or head back?” After reaching the lake, Jing Ke stopped and asked.

“Master, it’s getting late. We should head back,” Luo Yuezhu said, glancing at the lake surface.

The lake seemed quite lively still, with many decorated pleasure boats and painted barges still moving across the water. The music playing inside could be faintly heard even from the lakeside.

“Alright, do you want to walk back, or shall Your Master carry you back?” Jing Ke asked.

“How will Master carry me back?” Luo Yuezhu retracted her attention from the painted barges and looked up at her Master.

“I can carry you on my back or in my arms, either is fine,” Jing Ke smiled and handed the Festive Lantern in her hand to her little disciple. “You have a bit of Inner Strength now; you can begin learning Lightness Skill.”

“Is it leaping onto roofs and vaulting over walls?” Luo Yuezhu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly took the lantern.

“More than that, you can even achieve Traceless on Water,” Jing Ke spread her arms open. “Shall Your Master carry you in my arms, or on my back?”

Luo Yuezhu blinked. Thinking that she would soon be eleven years old, she instinctively straightened her back. “Master, I’m not a child anymore. Carrying me on your back is fine.”

“Good, then climb on,” Jing Ke withdrew her hands, turning her back to her little disciple and bending her knees slightly.

Luo Yuezhu didn’t hesitate. Holding the two Festive Lanterns in one hand, she lay on her Master’s back and wrapped her now free arm around her Master’s neck.

How much weight could an almost eleven-year-old child possibly have? If not for the arm wrapped around her neck, Jing Ke would have felt like there was nothing on her back at all.

As a Master, she occasionally needed to demonstrate her strength before her disciple.

Therefore, even though the opposite shore wasn’t the correct direction for home, Jing Ke still chose to carry her little disciple across the lake, demonstrating what was meant by Traceless on Water.

Could stepping on the water’s surface truly leave no trace?

Luo Yuezhu had never seen it in reality before, so as her Master carried her across the lake, she instinctively looked back.

The moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was very round and bright, so Luo Yuezhu could clearly see whether there were ripples on the lake surface.

None. Her Master’s Lightness Skill was even more incredible than the ‘Traceless in Snow’ from the storybooks, leaving no trace whatsoever on the water’s surface.

Traceless on Water, to a certain extent, represented the pinnacle of Lightness Skill, signifying the ability to approach most targets silently.

The moonlight was bright and clear, so the silhouette gliding across the lake surface was exceptionally conspicuous.

Jing Ke, who habitually wore Profound Black clothes, was fine, as she could mostly blend into the night. But Luo Yuezhu, dressed in a plain white robe, was especially noticeable. At least, everyone whose gaze was on the lake surface at that moment spotted her presence.

“Traceless on Water… I didn’t expect Peace Offering City to harbor such a master,” a female Heroine dressed in green couldn’t help but say.

“There are many things you didn’t expect,” another lazy voice drifted over. Yin Honglian was seen lying extremely wantonly opposite the green-clothed Heroine, letting the singing girls around her peel and feed her grapes.

“You know her?” the green-clothed Heroine asked, frowning subconsciously.

“Come on, Ye Wenxin, there’s no need to pretend in front of me. Don’t tell me you don’t know who just passed by. As the Hall Master of the Vermilion Bird Hall, you were sent to this small place for her, weren’t you?” Yin Honglian said with a smile.

Although Ye Wenxin opposite her had sealed her Inner Strength using pressure points, Yin Honglian remained utterly unrestrained, as if certain the other wouldn’t do anything to her.

Ye Wenxin didn’t reply, but her gaze retracted from the window and fell upon Yin Honglian.

“I’ve already done as you said, bringing you to the painted barge for pleasure. Can you give me Junior Brother Yu’s antidote according to our agreement?” Ye Wenxin asked.

“This was only my first request. Didn’t I say before? You must agree to three requests of mine,” Yin Honglian said lazily.

“Fine, then may I ask, Left Protector, what is your second request?” Ye Wenxin asked patiently.

“Hehe, my request isn’t excessive either. Heroine Ye, I just want you to accompany me to Phoenix Cry Tower tomorrow. I’m on good terms with the Flower Queen there, and I’d like Heroine Ye to spend a night with me at Phoenix Cry Tower.”

Relying on the fact that the other party needed something from her, Yin Honglian showed no politeness in making demands. “Oh, and all expenses tomorrow still need to be paid by you.”

“Just one night?” Ye Wenxin asked.

“Yes, just one night,” Yin Honglian nodded. Deliberately making this kind of request was precisely to see how Ye Wenxin, who claimed to be righteous, would react.

“Fine, I agree to your second request. I hope the Left Protector remembers what she just said. After I agree to your three requests, you will give me the corresponding antidote,” Ye Wenxin emphasized.

“Okay, although I’m from the Devil Sect, I am a person of my word. What I’ve agreed to, I will definitely not go back on,” Yin Honglian said, smiling broadly.

“But I must remind Heroine Ye: unsealing my pressure points is not a request, but a prerequisite for completing the transaction,” Yin Honglian stated.

Ye Wenxin nodded. Since she could seal the other’s Inner Strength with pressure points once, she could do it a second time.

If Yin Honglian, after her pressure points were released, didn’t immediately flee and fell into her hands again, then she could only blame her own bad luck, not Ye Wenxin for failing to keep the agreement.

–

The feeling of flying all the way home was indeed quite nice—it would have been even better if she hadn’t nearly stumbled and fallen after landing due to weak legs.

Realizing her lower body stability was insufficient, Luo Yuezhu returned to her room at an extremely fast pace and secretly resolved that from tomorrow onwards, she would continue weighted Horse Stance Training to strengthen her foundation!

After relaxing for just one small night, starting from the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Luo Yuezhu threw herself back into the words ‘martial training’, almost to the point of forgetting to review the account books.

But by now, it didn’t really matter whether Luo Yuezhu reviewed them or not. The ten Shopkeepers in Peace Offering City all knew Jing Ke was a very formidable master.

As long as Jing Ke remained at the Luo family, staying by Luo Yuezhu’s side, they, as mere ordinary people, wouldn’t dare tamper with the accounts, much less try any tricks to make the shops their own.

By the time Luo Yuezhu realized this, it was already the third day of the second month, the day of her eleventh birthday.

The ten Shopkeepers had come early to deliver gifts and congratulate their little Boss on turning a year older. Not only that, the five Shopkeepers who had acquired shops outside Peace Offering City at ninety percent of the price had also set out early in the morning and arrived by noon with their gifts.

This treatment was something Luo Yuezhu couldn’t have imagined before. It was only when people took the initiative to flatter her that she dazedly realized something.

Half a year seemed to have caused a qualitative transformation in her. She was no longer the pitiable orphan girl seen in the eyes of most people.