Chapter 9

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the afternoon, a piercing cicada chirped.

The golden rays of the sun shone on the Yuzhou River.

“I can’t believe I’m so haggard from the wine and lust…”

An Jing looked at his pale face in the bronze mirror and said, “From today onwards, no, from this moment onwards, abstinence!”

“What are you talking about?”

At this moment, Zhao Qingmei looked at An Jing, who was mumbling to herself in the mirror while holding a bowl of mung bean soup.

“I say, the weather is really hot and yet you are working so hard.”

“This is green bean soup that I just cooked, it’s still hot.”

“Madam, you’ve worked so hard.”

An Jing happily took over the green bean soup and forgot about what he just said.

“I added some of your Chinese medicine in it,” Zhao Qingmei said with a sly look in her eyes.

“Chinese medicine?” An Jing was stunned.

Could it be the Chinese medicine used to brew medicinal wine?

Zhao Qingmei pursed her lips and said, “I cooked this for you alone. There’s a huge pot at the back that’s placed at the entrance of the pharmacy. It can relieve the heat for the passersby.”

An Jing sighed in his heart. “Not only is my wife gentle and virtuous, but she’s also kind-hearted. Grandma Wang is right. To be able to marry such a woman, I must have been blessed for eight lifetimes.”

“Madam, the most famous opera troupe in Pear Garden is on stage today.” Tan Yun sleepily carried a pot of green bean porridge and walked out.

“Opera Troupe?”

An Jing was puzzled. He had never heard Zhao Qingmei mention that she liked to listen to opera songs.

Tan Yun immediately perked up. She looked at An Jing with her big eyes and said, “Young master, have you never heard of opera music?”

“I’ve heard it before. I used to listen to it all the time. I even know how to sing a few lines, listen to me…”

An Jing was also interested and cleared his throat.

Zhao Qingmei looked over with curiosity in her eyes.

“Young master, don’t force yourself.” Tan Yun clicked her tongue.

An Jing lifted his sleeves and walked forward unhurriedly.

“Yu Ji, do you have any regrets?”

His voice was sweet and pleasing to the ear, lingering in the air. An Jing turned his feet, his clothes swaying with the breeze as his eyes lit up.

“Your concubine will follow Your Majesty.”

“Life and death.”

“No regrets.”

…

The room fell silent.

Zhao Qingmei fell into a trance.

Especially when she said the last few words, she seemed to have seen that sorrowful woman looking at her king with unwavering determination. Then, with a slash of her sword, blood spurted out from her neck.

On the other hand, Tan Yun had goosebumps all over and was extremely shocked in her heart.

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

An Jing chuckled. “In the past, my hometown’s relatives all liked this style. I also learned a few words.”

“It’s… not bad, is it?”

Tan Yun came back to her senses and said with an uncertain gaze, “After all, he’s slightly inferior to the lead actor in the Pear Garden Drama.”

At this moment, Tan Yun felt very strange. Why did this young master sing even better than that entertainer?!

This shouldn’t be, shouldn’t be!

“Darling, when I return, sing me this whole song,” Zhao Qingmei said affectionately.

“Alright, you guys go first.” An Jing smiled.

After cleaning up, Zhao Qingmei and Tan Yun headed to the Pear Garden on the west side of the city, leaving An Jing alone in the medicine hall.

“Since I have nothing to do now, I might as well go next door to listen to some storytelling.”

An Jing picked up the tobacco pipe hanging on the wall, picked up the stool and went to the teahouse next door.

“Doctor An, we can only drink tea today. There are no more books to listen to,” said the tea shop assistant when he saw An Jing.

“What’s wrong?” An Jing asked in confusion.

“When I went to Mr. Zhou’s house this morning, I realized that Mr. Zhou was bedridden. He seemed to have caught a cold.” The shop assistant replied.

“That’s a shame.”

An Jing sighed and returned to the pharmacy.

“There seemed to be some changes in the Earth Book last night. I didn’t have time to check it out…”

An Jing thought of something. The Earth Book entered his mind.

Cultivation: Rank One

Fate: Lucky Star

Ability: Genius

Martial Skills: Sword Drawing Technique, Hidden Sword Technique, Sword Control Technique, Nine Character Sword Technique, Nine Heavens Movement Technique, Zenith Heaven Cultivation Technique, Qi Restraining Technique

Prompt 1: The host’s fate has yet to take root (after one year). When performing martial arts, no one is allowed to know the host’s identity. Otherwise, you will receive a black opportunity.

Prompt 2: There are people who can deduce the heavenly secrets in Yuzhou dungeons. You can obtain the yellow opportunity (the whereabouts of the Bodhi Bead) from them. >

…

“Dungeon? Where is the Bodhi Bead?”

An Jing frowned as he thought to himself. According to the description in the Earth Book, the opportunities from low to high were red, orange, yellow, azure, blue, indigo, and purple. A yellow opportunity was already considered a very good opportunity.

The azure opportunity he had obtained the last time allowed An Jing to directly condense a Man Flower, saving him decades of bitter cultivation.

Although he felt that the azure opportunity wasn’t that simple…

The yellow opportunity was a Bodhi Bead. According to past experience, the treasures given by the yellow opportunity were all top-notch.

Martial arts were divided into three grades and the advanced level of martial arts. They were respectively the Earth, Black Tortoise, True Martial, and Heaven levels.

The Sword Drawing Technique, the Hidden Sword Technique, and the Sword Control Technique combined to form the True Martial Level Sword Technique. The Zenith Heaven Cultivation Technique was also a True Martial Level Sword Technique.

A True Martial level was already considered an extremely high-level martial art. As long as it appeared in the martial world, there would be bloodshed.

As for the Sword Technique that An Jing had learned, the Zenith Heaven Heart Technique was obtained from the yellow opportunity.

This meant that the Bodhi Bead was at least a True Martial treasure. Perhaps it could help him increase his cultivation.

An Jing picked up the feather duster on the table and cleaned the dust on the counter.

Coincidentally, a cockroach crawled out from the corner.

An Jing put down the feather duster, feeling unhappy.

“With my strength, sneaking into the dungeon shouldn’t be too risky. However, Han Wenxin said that gold constables from the Black Clothes Guard appeared in Yuzhou City, which is quite a threat to me.”

“The gold constable’s cultivation is at Rank Two. If I accidentally kill him, it will definitely cause chaos and attract even more experts from the Black Clothes Guards. Therefore, I must not expose my identity when I go to the dungeon this time.”

“After all, I only have one year to completely take root here. At this critical juncture, I absolutely cannot make any mistakes.”

“To be able to marry such a beautiful and gentle wife and live such an ordinary and beautiful life, that’s a blessing accumulated from several lifetimes.”

“No matter what, I have to protect her well. So, I absolutely cannot expose my cultivation before my Fate takes root. However, the increase in strength is also crucial.”

“There are always some secrets that can only be found out by oneself and can’t be told to others. I feel much better after telling them today.”

Ever since the instructions from the Earth Book, he had never revealed his strength to anyone nor revealed his thoughts to anyone.

It was hard to keep a secret in one’s heart.

An Jing heaved a long sigh and felt much more relaxed. Then, he stomped the cockroach on the ground to death.

“I’m sorry, Cockroach. You know too much.”

…