Chapter 38 - The Four Spirits Body Refinement

Du Yehu was a butcher’s son, and because he always had plenty to eat, he was plump and sturdy from a young age, often chasing after seven or eight children of his age to fight, known as the Little Overlord of Du Family Town.

For this reason, old Du beat him up every other day, making him tougher with each beating.

His name had cost old Du a full two pounds of offal, which he traded with an old monk.

In Zhuang Country, the Taoist Sect was the state religion, and Buddhism naturally didn’t fare well.

The old monk tended the only dilapidated temple within a hundred miles, going hungry and full by turns.

He regarded pig offal as a cat views fish, his eyes gleaming with gold, like the Buddha himself had manifested.

At that time, Du Yehu would cling to those two pounds of offal and not let go, for he was greedy too.

Although as a butcher’s son, he was no stranger to meat, the scraps were never enough to sate him.

Crying and shouting, he said he didn’t need any great name, he just wanted to eat the pig offal; he could just be called Pillar, or even Pig Offal if need be.

Old Du, unable to save face, picked him up and gave him a thorough beating, beating him until he himself was tired, while little Du was still holding onto those two pounds of offal.

The old monk then suggested that they could split it fifty-fifty, each having a share, and remarked that the boy had a defiant and unruly nature, so the name Wild Tiger suited him well.

With an official name, Du Yehu still spent his days up to no good.

Since getting to know the old monk, he followed him around every day.

The old monk dabbled in everything, telling fortunes, praying for rain, exorcising evil spirits, a whole array of deceits.

But Du Yehu only learned how to drink from him.

Old Du worried that his son might accidentally take up the monastic life, so he would occasionally take his pig-slaughtering knife and check on him at the dilapidated temple.

Fortunately, not too long after, the old monk left.

He left without a sound, without even a goodbye.

Later, that dilapidated temple was torn down and changed into a land temple.

Not long after that, old Du ran into trouble.

The whole affair started over something trivial – a constable from the town felt shortchanged with the meat he had bought and scolded old Du for giving short weight.

Normally, compensating two ounces of meat would have settled the matter, but old Du was stubborn and, lifting his pig-slaughtering knife, slammed it onto the cutting board, indicating that anyone was free to weigh it elsewhere and that if they wanted an advantage, there was no chance.

The constable, his pride wounded, impulsively stabbed old Du with a knife, and he died on the spot.

Mrs.

Du ran to the government office to file a complaint.

The case was straightforward, with both testimonies and evidence, but as it happened, the constable’s brother-in-law was the lord of the small government office in Du Family Town.

After a little manipulation, the case was twisted into old Du, the butcher, wielding a knife and acting violently, leaving the constable no choice but to fight back, resulting in an accidental death.

The punishment was a six-month salary deduction.

Poor old Du, although he had slaughtered pigs all his life, how could he have the courage to kill a man?

Mrs.

Du couldn’t swallow this injustice and killed herself by running into the government office walls.

On that day, Du Yehu was leading a group of children catching fish in the river at the neighboring town and returned to find his home gone.

He then grabbed the knife with which old Du had slaughtered pigs, charged into the government office in broad daylight, and in front of everyone, chopped the constable and his brother-in-law to death on the hall floor.

He was only thirteen years old that year.

The case later alarmed the City Lord’s mansion, and after an investigation, the old City Lord granted Du Yehu a special pardon, clearing him of all charges, and even exceptionally accepted him into the Taoist Academy.

This is Du Yehu’s story.

He was stubborn from the start, and once he made up his mind, no one could change it.

There was no way around it, both his father and mother were just as stubborn.

…

“The Cultivation Technique…

you should have given it to you by now, right?” Jiang Wang thought for a moment, then asked.

Du Yehu took out a small booklet from his bosom and casually tossed it onto the table in front of Jiang Wang, “Here, a partial copy of the White Tiger Body Refinement Technique, supposedly a standard version in the military.”

Such a technique should not be disclosed to outsiders, but Du Yehu had complete trust that Jiang Wang wouldn’t harm him.

Jiang Wang picked up the Soldier Home Cultivation Technique, casually flipped through it, and without saying much, stood up and said, “I need to step out for a bit, you guys wait for me.”

Leaving Zhao Rucheng to chat with Du Yehu, Jiang Wang got up and left, finding an empty room at random, entered it, and locked it from the inside.

Then he activated the Taixu key and entered into the Taixu Illusion Realm.

He called forth the Yandao Platform and began deducting the incomplete scripture from it.

The sundial’s merit decreased continuously, stopping only when it reached 190.

Pushing through this cultivation technique had consumed a total of 3400 points of merit, almost twice that of the Purple Qi Eastward Sword Technique!

It was also the current limit of the Yandao Platform.

Of course, this was also because, although this cultivation technique was incomplete, it was nonetheless a Soldier Home practice technique, a true transcendent cultivation technique.

It was far superior to the foundation of the Purple Qi Eastward sword technique, and naturally, its potential was much higher.

After completing the deduction, Jiang Wang took a look at the newly revised cultivation technique and found that it not only completed the incomplete parts of the White Tiger Body Refinement technique but also underwent expansion and evolution.

Now it was divided into Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion, and Black Tortoise four parts, with the final fusion of the four spirits making its power incomparable to that of the past.

Jiang Wang exited the Taixu Illusion Realm and picked up the cultivation technique to leave.

As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw a beautifully dressed woman in red standing at the entrance.

Her eyebrows and eyes were like paint, and her gazes were tender, a fleeting glance carrying an endless allure.

With affection in her eyes and her red lips slightly parting, she appeared as though she wanted to say something.

“Excuse me,” Jiang Wang said as he walked past her.

It wasn’t that Jiang Wang was truly insensitive to charm, but he had just come out of the Taixu Illusion Realm and was feeling a sense of panic as if his secret had almost been discovered.

No matter how beautiful the woman was, he wasn’t able to appreciate her beauty at the moment.

Drinking really causes trouble, Jiang Wang silently warned himself.

He had actually entered the Taixu Illusion Realm right in the middle of the bustling and dubious Third Fragrance House; he had been somewhat forgetful of his surroundings.

Jiang Wang hurried back to Zhao Rucheng’s private room and waited quietly for a bit, making sure no one had followed him before he finally relaxed and sat back down in his original seat.

He returned the White Tiger Body Refinement technique to Du Yehu, while the newly deduced Four Spirits Body Refinement technique only existed within the Taixu Illusion Realm and needed to be copied separately.

“When are you leaving?” Jiang Wang asked.

“Early tomorrow morning,” Du Yehu replied.

“Tomorrow we’ll send you off—”

“Knock, knock, knock~” The sound of knocking came at an inappropriate time.

“Come in,” Zhao Rucheng said offhandedly.

The person who entered was the madam of the Third Fragrance House, a flamboyantly dressed woman caked with makeup.

“Aiyo, our young master Zhao is becoming more and more handsome,” the woman teased, extending her hand as if to touch Zhao Rucheng’s face, exhibiting a very familiar demeanor.

Zhao Rucheng moved back and purposely glanced at the half-exposed flesh on her chest, “Don’t come too close; I get dizzy around breasts.”

The madam gave a forced, coquettish laugh, “You naughty thing~ You didn’t have this issue before~”

“Before, the Third Fragrance House didn’t put on such airs either!”

The madam’s eyebrows furrowed: “Has my establishment been any less attentive in service?

Perhaps those worthless girls were rude to the honored guest just now?”

Zhao Rucheng watched her with apparent interest, “What do you think?

After spending so much silver today, you still refuse to let Miao Yu come to see me.

The Third Fragrance House is renowned far and wide; do you really only have these sorts of schemes to string along your patrons?”

The Third Fragrance House was indeed a well-known pleasure establishment in every corner of the land, with branches in all the countries.

The owner, shrouded in mystery, had a reputation that reached the ears of heroes far and wide, acclaimed as the most beautiful under the heavens.

Every man that had seen her had willingly become her most loyal subject.

This included powerful military officers, noblemen of prestigious houses, and even, as the rumors had it, rulers of nations and leaders of sects, all smitten with her.

The foundations of the Third Fragrance House were undoubtedly fearsome.

The small branch located in Fenglin City might not have a transcendent figure overseeing it, but the mere name ‘Third Fragrance House’ was enough to make it the most high-toned place of pleasure in the city.

It was precisely because of the background of the Third Fragrance House that the madam was so confident.

But this background also meant she couldn’t afford to stain the reputation of the Third Fragrance House, and her face quickly grew ugly.

“Is it possible…” At this moment, a soothing voice continued the conversation as a woman in a bright red gown entered gracefully.

Red was a color not easily worn well as it could fall into vulgarity, but on her, it seemed just right—rather, she was the best embodiment of the word ‘gorgeous’, undiminished by it.

She entered the room and with her captivating eyes took a turn around the room, finally fixing a shy and smiling gaze on Zhao Rucheng.

“Could it be not that mother is stopping me from seeing you, but rather that I don’t want to see you?”

She was naturally Miao Yu.