The winter night was as cold as ice.
However, Xie An, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, didn't feel cold at all.
An extremely strong heat current spread throughout his body, traveling through his limbs and bones.
Fine beads of sweat flowed from his skin and pores, soaking the silk lining that clung tightly to his chest, becoming almost translucent and revealing well-defined, streamlined muscles.
Xie An couldn't be bothered to admire his own muscles, focusing all his attention on the Five Animal Frolics.
The essence of the Five Animal Frolics spontaneously surfaced and flickered in his mind.
“I have a technique called the Five Animal Frolics: the first is the tiger, the second is the deer, the third is the bear, the fourth is the ape, and the fifth is the bird.
It can eliminate diseases, benefit the hooves and feet, and serve as a form of guidance…”
Scenes from his past practice of the Five Animal Frolics also automatically flashed through his mind:
The fierce tiger descends the mountain, the bear's paw shakes the tree, the ape's arm skillfully climbs the mountain, the young deer wades through the stream, the flying bird darts through the forest…
That's right.
Xie An didn't actively try to recall these past events, but was automatically reminded by the Destiny.
During the stroke, nearing death, he began practicing the Five Animal Frolics with a glimmer of hope… Afterwards, he worried about not being able to open his eyes every day, afraid to fall asleep, diligently practicing until exhausted before closing his eyes…
All the past scenes spontaneously emerged in Xie An's mind.
It was as if… someone had treasured photos and videos of Xie An's past eight years and was replaying them in front of him.
Everything was so clear.
It evoked Xie An's distant memories, allowing his thoughts to fly back to the very beginning, retracing the mental journey of practicing the Five Animal Frolics.
The journey had been extremely difficult.
Watching, Xie An was moved by his past efforts and hardships, feeling extremely sorry for his past self.
Finally, the scene reached the day Xie An cultivated his inner Qi to the full level of the Five Animal Frolics.
Crack.
The scene abruptly stopped.
[Five Animal Frolics is advancing… ]
In an instant, Xie An felt his head being numbed by an invisible force.
In a daze, he seemed to see five transparent, gaseous, ferocious beasts.
Gaseous tiger, giant bear, great ape, young deer, flying bird.
The five great gaseous beasts continuously flashed in Xie An's mind, appearing alternately.
Sometimes the fierce tiger roared, the giant bear bellowed, the great ape shrieked, the flying bird soared, and the young deer waded through the stream.
It was as if they were about to explode Xie An's head.
Steady!
Xie An warned himself not to be attracted by these miraculous scenes, but to carefully observe the subtle details of the gaseous beasts.
The Destiny only gave him an opportunity, a stage.
But how far he could go still depended on Xie An's own efforts.
Huff!
Xie An took a deep breath, clearing his mind of distractions, and focused on the details of the five forms of beasts.
He quickly discovered the differences:
The reason why the gaseous tiger could condense into a gaseous form was because the Qi was circulating and flowing according to certain rules, thereby maintaining the tiger shape.
It also possessed the fierce and courageous power of a tiger, dominating the mountains and forests like a real tiger.
The same was true for the other deer, bear, ape, and bird…
The Five Animal Qi Circulation Technique… the key is Qi Circulation!
As Xie An continued to observe, the Qi circulation trajectory of the five animals became clearer and clearer.
He was shocked to discover that there were hundreds of nodes and checkpoints just in the Qi circulation trajectory of the tiger form.
It was difficult enough just to remember the Qi circulation trajectory of the tiger form.
Not to mention the Qi circulation trajectories of the other four beasts…
What a headache.
I'm already bad at math, and you're giving me something so complicated…
What's even more outrageous is that the Qi circulation trajectories of these five animals are flashing alternately in Xie An's mind, creating a dazzling display.
Are you even letting people watch…
This advancement isn't intelligent at all…
Just then, the gaseous tiger suddenly got "closer and closer", and finally, as if engraved, it was gradually engraved on Xie An's body.
Hiss!
Intense pain instantly swept through his body.
It felt like a real tiger was burrowing into his muscles and flesh, with each Qi circulation node that Xie An couldn't remember being imprinted on various positions in his body.
Each node imprinted felt like driving a nail into Xie An's flesh, bringing waves of piercing pain.
Fortunately, the pain didn't last long, similar to getting an injection, a quick prick and it was over.
However, the injections were too frequent…
After about a hundred injections, his entire body and limbs were covered, and the pain finally subsided.
The complete tiger-shaped Qi circulation diagram was imprinted on Xie An's body.
Hundreds of nodes, clearly perceptible, requiring no memory.
A smile finally appeared on the corner of Xie An's mouth.
This is very intelligent.
Otherwise, relying on my own memory… would be too difficult.
Following closely, the Qi circulation trajectories of the deer, bear, ape, and bird forms were successively engraved in Xie An's body.
After being poked with more than five hundred needles, all the stinging sensations finally disappeared.
Huff!
Xie An breathed a long sigh of relief, and subtitles appeared on the panel.
[Five Animal Frolics has successfully advanced to Five Animal Qi Circulation Technique.]
[Prompt: Each of the five animals has one hundred Qi circulation nodes, and the Five Animal Qi Circulation Technique can be mastered by completely opening them.]
[Current available Undying Qi: 200 strands.]
The prompt was extremely simple, without explicitly stating how to master it, showing progress, or describing what it would be like after mastering it.
It made Xie An a little unaccustomed.
Previously, the panel would show the progress bar of the health cultivation technique…
Could it be that I haven't started cultivating yet?
“Let's try it first.”
Xie An stood up, feeling the wet lining clinging to his body, sticky and uncomfortable.
He simply took off his shirt and threw it on the nearby chair, revealing his wheat-colored skin and streamlined muscles.
“I have a technique called the Five Animals, the first is the tiger…”
As he silently recited in his heart, a Qi tiger appeared in his mind.
Hundreds of Qi circulation nodes were connected by Qi circulation, forming a complete and mighty Qi tiger.
Without any flickering or interference from the other four animals, Xie An was able to focus on studying the tiger-shaped Qi circulation diagram.
“With a diagram in my mind, it's much easier to learn.”
Xie An urged the hot and cold Qi within his Purple Palace, following the tiger-shaped Qi circulation diagram and imitating it, starting to circulate it within his body.
He tried to connect the first two nodes with the hot and cold Qi, but failed repeatedly.
It looked simple, but it was actually quite difficult.
It was as if an ordinary person was threading a needle, requiring sharp eyes, steady hands, and a calm mind.
Only then could one thread the needle.
But Xie An always felt that when he was about to pass through the eye of the needle, his body would tremble.
Each time, he was just a little bit short.
After many failed attempts, Xie An also discovered the reason:
Connecting the nodes of the tiger-shaped Qi circulation diagram required subtle and precise control over the hot and cold Qi, and although Xie An's Jade Clarity Skill was of a high level, his control over the hot and cold Qi was not refined enough.
Repeated failures inevitably made people discouraged and even prone to irritability.
But Xie An's mentality was very calm, not impatient or irritable.
“Don't rush, if once doesn't work, then a hundred times, if a hundred times doesn't work, then a thousand times.
There will always be one time that it works.”
Xie An prepared for a protracted battle, trying again and again, summarizing experience after failure and making adjustments, continuing next time…
So it seemed, constantly looping.
Time passed little by little.
Unconsciously, two days and two nights had passed…
This day at dawn, the night was dark and the wind was high, and the snow was white.
A light cry of surprise came from the room.
“It's in!”
After two days and two nights of hard work, Xie An finally connected the two nodes.
Xie An's eyebrows stretched with joy, and his whole body slumped to the ground in exhaustion, his face full of smiles.
Bean-sized beads of sweat continued to flow down Xie An's wheat-colored skin, but Xie An couldn't be bothered to wipe them off, and didn't feel the slightest discomfort, only caring about the joy.
It was too difficult.
Whirr ~
As the two Qi circulation nodes were connected, the hot and cold Qi constantly flowed back and forth between the two nodes, circulating repeatedly.
A faint sound of a tiger's roar could be heard.
Although only two nodes were currently connected, it was already very difficult for Xie An.
At least he had found a second way to use the hot Qi.
Before this, the hot Qi cultivated from the health cultivation technique could only be used to nourish the body and enhance the five senses, speed, and strength of the physical body.
It couldn't be used like internal energy on martial skills to exert various wonderful effects.
Now it could be used to temper the tiger-shaped Qi skill, making Xie An very excited.
More importantly… the feeling of earnestly working hard on something and then getting positive feedback is really good.
The panel also changed accordingly.
[Tiger-shaped Qi Skill: 2 / 100]
“So that's how it is… The progress of the tiger-shaped Qi skill is based on the nodes.
Each time a node is connected, the progress increases by 1.
It's just that I've only connected two nodes, so I don't feel any difference in the tiger-shaped Qi skill.
I'll try connecting a few more nodes.”
Xie An stretched lazily, the focus passing, followed by incomparable fatigue.
Continuously threading needles for two days without rest, his whole body had been in a state of high tension, and he was already exhausted.
It felt like he could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes…
Xie An couldn't be bothered to take a bath, he directly lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next day, around noon.
Xie An was awakened by a crisp knock on the door.
He opened his sleepy eyes and was about to ask who it was.
But he was shocked to discover… that he could actually “see” Yu He standing outside the door.
He also saw Yu He wearing a light green silk dress, her eyes filled with hesitation, as if she didn't want to disturb Xie An, but had to.
At first, Xie An thought it was a hallucination caused by excessive needlework fatigue. He shook his head and refocused… it was still the same!
Huh?
What's going on?
Although Xie An's five senses were already very keen, he could "see" things behind him. Within a dozen meters, it was like having a God's-eye view. But that shouldn't work through a wall.
This place is about five or six meters away from the door.
He could see through the wall?
Too mysterious!
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Knock knock knock.
Yu He knocked on the door again, finally bringing Xie An back to his senses.
Xie An asked, "What is it?"
"I only asked the master for two days' leave last time. Do I need to continue the leave?"
Although Xie An is a Chief, he doesn't need to clock in. But if he goes out without official business, he still has to stroll around the Demon Suppression Division every day. If he doesn't go for days, he needs to ask for leave.
Although it's not a big deal for a top leader to ask for leave, too many times will be recorded.
"No need. I'll get up now."
Hearing that Xie An was going out, Yu He was very happy, "Then I'll make breakfast for you, master."
"Okay."
Xie An was indeed hungry.
Although his Qi and blood were strong, he would still be hungry if he didn't eat for two days. It is said that some martial arts masters can achieve Bigu (grain avoidance), not eating or drinking for years. I don't know if there are such masters in this world.
Anyway, Xie An is far from being able to do that.
Xie An got out of bed and stretched his body simply, shocked to find a layer of dirt and impurities on his skin, which didn't smell good.
"I'll take a shower first!"
…
"Master, what have you been doing hiding in your room for the past two days?"
Yu He stood by the Eight Immortals table, watching Xie An devour a table of meat like a starving ghost, and asked curiously.
Xie An chewed and mumbled, "I've been in seclusion for two days."
Soon, the plates on the table were about to be empty.
Chunlan immediately ran to the kitchen and added a large bowl of braised pork, "Master, eat slowly, I'll make more if it's not enough."
It turned out that Chunlan called Xie An Master Xie.
Now she gets along well with He Chunli, and the two already have the intention of getting married. In addition, He Chunli encouraged her, and Chunlan was also sensible, so she dropped the Xie and called him Master, following He Chunli.
Strictly speaking, Han Li and He Chunli should call Xie An master.
However, at that time, the three masters and apprentices were all servants of the Li Mansion, with no human rights to speak of, and were not considered "people" in the true sense. Formally accepting disciples would be against the etiquette of the Great Qian Dynasty, and Li Ru would not allow it either.
However, Li Ru's Li family pawnshop did need the inheritance of craftsmanship, so Xie An and his apprentices held a simple apprenticeship ceremony. Only Han Li and He Chunli were allowed to call Xie An Master, implying a teacher engaged in teaching and imparting knowledge.
Later, everyone got used to calling him that.
In addition, Xie An didn't pay special attention to this detail, so this title has been passed down to this day.
Xie An thought that he had to correct it next time.
"Chunlan, how are you and Little He getting along?"
Faced with Xie An's question, Chunlan's face turned red, she drooped her head, rubbed her little hands together, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, "Brother He is very good to me."
Xie An thought to himself that the women of this world are really reserved and implicit, and they are still so shy after getting along for so many years. If it were in the previous life…
But it adds a bit of flavor and gentleness.
"There are still more than two months until New Year's Eve. At that time, I will choose an auspicious day and let Han Li and He Chunli complete the apprenticeship ceremony. Then I will be the master of your marriage. What do you think?"
Chunlan's head drooped even lower, "I'll leave it all to you, master."
Xie An said, "Well, that's settled then. If Little He bullies you, come and tell me. I'll scold him."
Chunlan panicked, "Brother He won't be bad to me."
Xie An: "…"
After eating and drinking enough, Xie An returned to his room to change into his official robe, stuffed the Seven Treasures Exquisite Box and the Mirror into his inner pocket, and took the Ge cloth bag before leaving with the Demon Suppression Saber.
With strength, people's chests are much straighter.
Sweeping over the merchants coming and going on the street, and the vendors hawking their wares, he suddenly felt that the scene full of fireworks was so pleasant.
"Greetings, Chief."
"Chief…"
The surrounding neighbors all knew Xie An, and couldn't help but come over to say hello.
Xie An was not pretentious, nodded to them, and then quickly walked along the street.
The streets of the county are prosperous, with many wealthy merchants and nobles, and occasionally you can see carriages coming and going.
Xie An looked at the luxurious carriages passing by, and couldn't help but think: Now he is also a fifth-rank Chief, and he has to get a carriage for travel later.
Carriages are too cumbersome, and he has no family, so there is no need.
But a good horse must be obtained.
If you get a good horse, you have to hire a groom to take care of it… it's all a series of supporting facilities.
Fortunately, the family is wealthy…
…
"Ge cloth… it's rare in the county."
At the Demon Suppression Division office, Liu Chun took the Ge cloth bag given by Xie An, carefully kneaded and identified it, revealing a look of embarrassment.
Xie An said, "Captain Liu, you have been in the county for a long time, do you know where in the county this kind of bag is usually used?"
Liu Chun didn't know Xie An's intention, "This Ge cloth is very common in the countryside outside the city. Every summer, ordinary residents in the city also wear Ge cloth clothes to cool off. Chief Xie, you want to…"
Xie An said, "No need to find out who is using it, just determine a general range."
Liu Chun agreed readily, "Okay, I'm going to patrol the east of the city later, so I'll just ask a few familiar peddlers. They often carry goods and walk through the streets, so they must know better than me."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Saying goodbye to Liu Chun, Xie An passed by the Drill Ground, and still didn't see Chen Xi, so he went to the seventh floor of the main building.
According to the previous practice, Xie An would take a stroll around the seventh floor, drink tea with Chen Tie, chat about some affairs, and then leave.
But today, as soon as Xie An arrived at the seventh floor, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit heavy.
He saw Chen Tie sitting very seriously at the long table, wielding his pen, while Wei Haoran and Zhao Qing'er stood respectfully beside him, looking like they were waiting to receive orders.
Xie An instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he didn't show any strangeness, "Vice Chief Chen, has something happened?"
When everyone saw that it was Xie An, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Haoran said, "It turned out to be Chief Xie, I thought it was that kid."
Chen Tie also relaxed, smiling and welcoming Xie An to sit down at the tea table by the railing to make tea. Wei Haoran pulled out a chair and sat down, putting his legs on the table, full of comfort.
Zhao Qing'er glared at him, "You have no manners."
The fragrance of sandalwood and tea mixed together, making people comfortable and refreshing.
Chen Tie poured a cup of tea for Xie An, and then said, "Just last night, the Imperial Envoy and the Vice Chief sent by Nanzhou arrived. That Vice Chief is okay, but that Imperial Envoy has a very big temper. As soon as he arrived, he reprimanded us for being lazy and lax, and for not managing our subordinates well. He also punished a few of us to stand in the ice and snow outside all night. Therefore, everyone was cautious when they heard footsteps outside just now."
This plain sentence shocked Xie An greatly.
Punish Wei Haoran and the other three to stand in the snow all night?
Even if the Imperial Envoy from Nanzhou is higher in rank than the Chief, he doesn't have the guts to do that, right?
A daughter of a prince, a son of a duke, and a son of a great national craftsman.
Punish them as he pleases?
Xie An took a sip of tea, "What is the background of this Imperial Envoy?"
Chen Tie frowned, "I thought that the Imperial Envoy sent by Nanzhou would be an official from the Nanzhou Demon Suppression Division. Unexpectedly… it was Li Hao."
Xie An was stunned, "Li Hao?"
Chen Tie said, "The Heir Apparent of the Huainan Prince. He was already an eighth-level martial artist several years ago. According to rumors… Li Hao has now stepped into the ninth level of martial arts. Moreover, he has been apprenticed to He Nanfeng, a martial arts master, since he was a child, and the Huainan Prince attaches great importance to him. Many people believe that he will definitely break through to become a martial arts grandmaster in this life."
Xie An's face sank.
The Heir Apparent of the Huainan Prince!
Not just an ordinary son, but the Heir Apparent. If there are no accidents, he will be the designated next Huainan Prince.
This weight is indeed big enough.
But this temper seems to be very strong, and he wants to give everyone a show of strength as soon as he arrives.
Moreover, Li Hao seems to be punishing Chen Tie and the others, but in fact, he is pointing the sword at Xie An.
He reprimanded Chen Tie and the others for being lazy and lax, isn't Xie An also like that?
It's equivalent to Chen Tie and the others taking the blame for Xie An.
Xie An cupped his hands, "Everyone has been wronged."
Wei Haoran said, "Chief Xie, what are you talking about? I think this Li Hao is deliberately trying to give us a show of strength. Even if we are not lazy, he will find other reasons to annoy us."
Zhao Qing'er snorted coldly, "This Li Hao is just like his father. When the Huainan Prince entered the capital, dukes and ministers had to kneel to him, and even the Crown Prince had to perform the four-bow ceremony. My father is a dignified Prince Bao, but he also cupped his hands to him when he saw him. I just can't swallow this anger."
