Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: Chapter 36 is Danger as well as Treasure r

Chapter 41: Chapter 36 is Danger as well as Treasure r

Translator: 549690339

“flow old are you anyway? Don’t talk like you’re an old man! I’ll be careful,” Ah Niu said.

Qin Niu took the roasted chicken leg out of a jar inside the house.

“Here!”

Er Dan took it, sniffed with his nose and his face showed surprise.

After unwrapping the greased paper, he was almost drooling.

“Can 1 borrow your kitchen knife?”

“Thinking of cutting it in half for me? I’ve already eaten, you have this one! Don’t take it outside, just eat it here and then go,” Qin Niu said.

Qin Niu was always cautious.

If Er Dan’s family found out, it would be easy to give himself away.

If Er Dan’s father mistakenly thought his son had stolen money to buy food, he would beat him to death without question.

“Understood!”

Er Dan agreed and, without being polite, began to bite into the roasted chicken leg with big bites.

Qin Niu was also feeling hungry, so he took out the four pancakes that Wang Wanyan had just brought over and ate them while they were still warm.

“Those were given to you by Miss Wang, right? It seems like she has a thing for you,” Er Dan said enviously.

Can’t you keep your mouth shut even when you’re eating?” Qin Niu glared at him.

“Heh, what’s there to be shy about? If it weren’t for her father blocking, I bet she would be willing to marry you,” Er Dan, energized by the food, said.

“Actually, I think Miss Wang has good taste. Brother Ah Niu is so smart, you’re bound to do well in the future, can’t be poor all your life. Do you know? The person 1 admire most in the village is you. Only Old Master Yan of the Yan Family can compare to you,” Er Dan added.

After hearing this, Qin Niu looked at him and laughed, “You’ve really improved your flattery! And to compare me to Old Master Yan, no less.”

H

I’m not just flattering you. Old Master Yan and you have a lot in common; both of you are careful with your words and actions, low-key in demeanor. When it’s time to take action, both are ruthless and decisive, no hesitation…” Er Dan had his own observations and thoughts.

This child was only eight years old, yet he had such a discerning eye and depth of thought; he was bound to be extraordinary in the future.

“You don’t know, today when I went to the Yan Family to tend the cows, 1 saw with my own eyes that a servant of the Yan Family was caught stealing a silver hairpin from one of the family’s women and Old Master Yan commanded someone to chop off both of his hands right then and there,” Er Dan spoke, still terrified from the incident.

Being a servant was different from being a laborer; they were purchased by their masters, without personal freedom.

Their very lives belonged to their masters.

Many wealthy families liked buying young girls, raising them until they were thirteen or fourteen and then either presenting them to high officials and nobles or having the master take advantage of them night after night.

In this world, the minimum age for a woman to marry was thirteen.

For men, it was sixteen.

Besides buying girls, smart and clever boys were also popular. Bought to serve as slaves, if they grew up and the master found them sufficiently loyal, they would be slowly cultivated to become trusted confidants.

Many stewards in the Yan Family were raised from childhood by the Yan Family, taught to read and write, and then, once they were older, tasked to manage some affairs of the Yan Family.

Such as overseeing farmland or forestry, managing household procurement, and so on.

For a servant to be disloyal to their master was a serious taboo.

Having only their hands chopped off was considered mercy.

“Brother All Niu, I’ve finished eating; I should head back now,” Er Dan said.

“Wash your hands and face; there’s water over there. Look at you, your mouth is all greasy,” Qin Niu told him.

“I’ve learned another trick from Brother Ah Niu, this is called ‘leaving no trace’, right?” Er Dan asked with a laugh, after washing his hands and mouth.

“All you do is talk; you can’t control your mouth, and it’ll get you into trouble sooner or later. Trouble comes from the mouth; do you understand?” Qin Niu said as he opened the door to send him off.

“Heh, I’ve learned another trick, trouble comes from the mouth, mind your own! See you tomorrow!”

Er Dan, having eaten a roasted chicken leg, left contentedly.

It was precisely because Qin Niu always kept his promises that Er Dan would spare no effort to do anything Qin Niu asked of him.

After sending Er Dan off, Qin Niu arranged the ‘mechanism’ outside again and then closed the door.

The bright moon was high in the sky, a perfect time for practicing the Everlasting Spring Technique.

After bathing, he sat on the stone slab in the backyard in just his shorts.

Remembering the matter of nurturing the sword, he brought over the Treasured Sword and opened the small jar of Ancient Banyan Tree Blood.

He carefully smeared a layer of it onto the blade of the sword.

The jar wasn’t large, and he used up nearly a third of it at once.

It was a pity that the Ancient Banyan Tree was so sinister that once you went in, you couldn’t come out; otherwise, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting more Banyan Tree Blood. He could collect it daily.

For now, he could only take one step at a time.

After applying the Banyan Tree Blood, Qin Niu could feel that the Treasured Sword was excited.

Although it could not make any sound, he could still feel it.

He placed the Treasured Sword on the ground in front of him, allowing it to absorb the Ancient Banyan Tree Blood on its own. As for himself, he closed his eyes, cast aside all distractions, and strived to calm his mind, beginning to cultivate the Everlasting Spring Technique.

He soon sensed trickles of cool energy entering his body, although it was much slower compared to cultivating under the Ancient Banyan Tree.

Cultivating in his own backyard had the advantage of safety.

He set a small goal for himself, to break through to the Twofold Mortal Realm as soon as possible.

This would greatly enhance his safety in the face of unforeseen situations.

The long night passed in the blink of an eye.

In the mountains, time does not exist; in cultivation, there are no years or days.

Cultivation could indeed make one stronger, but it also consumed a lot of time.

After one night, his cultivation level had increased significantly.

Cultivation: Mortal Onfold 74.3/100.

He had gained 2 points in his cultivation.

His lifespan had not changed for the time being, still at 51 years.

Cultivation Technique: Everlasting Spring Technique, first level 33.2/100.

The progress of the Everlasting Spring Technique was surprisingly rapid.

He discovered that the advancement of his cultivation technique seemed to be directly proportional to the energy absorbed during cultivation.

Thus, with such a significant improvement, it must have been due to cultivating under the Ancient Banyan Tree for six hours yesterday, which added 30.2.

Cultivating in his own backyard for one night only increased it by about 1.5.

Qin Niu couldn’t help but lick his dry lips, actually missing the astonishing speed of cultivation under the Ancient Banyan Tree.

The speed of cultivation there was twenty times faster than in the outside world, too enticing.

It was just that there was a possibility he might not be able to come out after entering, which made him hesitant to take the risk.

Termite swarms could save him once, but it did not mean they could be successful every time.

He looked at the Treasured Sword on the ground; the green tree blood smeared on it had completely disappeared without a trace. Picking it up, it looked no different from usual, showing no signs of change.

Gripping the Treasured Sword, he walked over to the pile of firewood.

He chopped down on a piece of dry wood as thick as a calf’s leg.

The sound of the sword’s whistling appeared once again.

Bang!

The Treasured Sword struck the dry wood fiercely.

The power of the Treasured Sword seemed to have become a bit stronger, but it was also possible that it was, due to his cultivation sharply rising last night; it was hard to be sure.

The fact that the Treasured Sword could absorb the Ancient Banyan Tree Blood showed that it must have some use.

Qin Niu returned to the well to fetch a bucket of water to wash himself. After a night of cultivation, his body seemed to have sweated quite a bit.

11

Eh, this little grass seems to have grown quite quickly!”

He was surprised to discover that the grass that had guided his cultivation had grown to three inches tall.

Moreover, its leaves were thick and lush green, full of vigorous life.

He recognized this grass; it was the common roadside foxtail grass.

According to his planting experience, it would take at least twenty to thirty days for foxtail grass to grow from sprouting to this height, and that could only happen in the summer with ample rainfall and high temperatures.

“Why has this foxtail grass grown so quickly?”

Qin Niu checked the surroundings but did not find any other weeds.

He vaguely surmised that the rapid growth of this foxtail grass might be related to him sitting beside it and cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique.

To verify this guess, he just needed to change his location for tonight’s cultivation.

After drying off and dressing, he continued to hide all his possessions including the Treasured Sword and the Everlasting Spring Technique inside the front of his shirt.

The corn in the field had already started growing. Apart from fertilizing, it basically did not require much attention.

Once the crops grew, the grass underneath would have difficulty sprouting up again.

Almost no weeding was necessary.

He had bought the Green Demon Beekeeping Manual two days ago and had yet to read or study it.

Today, as he was going to the mountains to check on the termites, he could find a place to learn the Green Demon Beekeeping Manual.

Perhaps he could glean some methods of cultivating termites from inside it.

If the termites he raised could be as powerful as the green bees cultivated by the Green Demon, that would be awesome.

He also had another idea: once the termites were raised to be more formidable, he could send a few into the range covered by the Ancient Banyan Tree’s canopy. If they could come out safely every time, Qin Niu would no longer have to worry about the issue of not being able to exit.

The termites could lead the way for him.

As long as he could freely enter and exit, that Ancient Banyan Tree could instead become a treasure for him. He would be able to experience the twenty-fold cultivation speed inside every day and also use its Banyan Tree Blood to nourish the sword.

Although exploiting the Ancient Banyan Tree like this seemed somewhat unscrupulous.

But on the path of cultivation, it is all about seizing every opportunity, willing to die for the Tao but never at the cost of impoverishing oneself.

To seek eternal life, one must have a ruthless heart..