After finishing his meal, Bai Yunsheng picked up a few needles and sighed. A gentle breeze blew from the mountain, gently fluttering his hair and filling his chest with fresh air.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Yunsheng squeezed the needle between his fingers. His back was straight and his eyes were lifeless.
The two guards watched him silently, occasionally whispering to each other.
"It's strange to see a lazy person like Master Bai training!" The younger one whispered softly, looking at Bai Yunsheng uncertainly.
The older guard sighed.
"It's truly strange... Master Bai never trained, saying that he didn't want to get dirty. So what changed?"
While they were talking, Bai Yunsheng had already started training.
He held three needles between his fingers and concentrated, throwing the needles at the target in one smooth motion, as if he were shooting an arrow from a bow. However, unfortunately, he missed...
One needle clanged against a stone, the second one stuck into the fence, and only the third needle managed to touch the target, but even it only slightly scratched the edge of the target.
Bai Yunsheng did not curse or sigh. He just silently walked over to those needles and picked them up from the ground.
"Don't worry, Master Bai! The first pancake is always lumpy!" the young guard consoled him, but Bai Yunsheng did not respond.
As if nothing had happened, he stood up and threw the needles again. Again, he missed. However, even this could not elicit a reaction from Bai Yunsheng.
He just silently collected the needles and threw them at the target three at a time. Over and over again.
"Why does he always collect these needles?" We brought a lot of them on purpose! — the young guard asked his comrade in a whisper.
— How would I know? The fact that he decided to train is already incredibly surprising! And this is also training in combat skills! But why needles? Wouldn't it be better to use a sword or any other weapon for combat and training? — the older guard said thoughtfully.
Bai Yunsheng continued throwing needles at the target at this time.
"The best way to learn something is to repeat it many times. In some martial arts stories, the main/secondary character often swings the sword 1000 times to learn fencing. Sometimes even 10,000 times! So I will throw these needles until I can throw them even when I don't want to!" — Bai Yunsheng thought as he threw the needles at the target over and over again and collected them.
***
The hours flew by. The guards even started to get bored from repeating the same action. Throwing > collecting > throwing > collecting. He didn't stop even when his arms started to get tired and even when he felt like they might fall off.
Sometimes he would take short breaks to read a book on acupuncture. Then he would pick up a knife/cleaver and swing it around out of boredom for fun.
The guard who was younger than his comrade had already fallen asleep. The older guard also started to fall asleep.
"Maybe you should go rest?" Bai Yunsheng said in a quiet voice despite them and continued to throw needles at the target.
Swing. Not a second had passed before the needles hit the target.
Bai Yunsheng had started hitting the target a long time ago, but he continued to do so to improve his accuracy.
The guard shuddered and looked at him. And when the guard's calm and composed gaze met Bai Yunsheng's lifeless and empty eyes, he flinched for a moment, but quickly pulled himself together.
"What's wrong with his eyes? Where did the insolent and arrogant look that looks down on everyone and treats women like toys go?) — the guard thought in his head and clearing his throat, he regained his composure and shook his head.
— Sorry, but we can't leave you alone! — he refused in an even voice.
Bai Yunsheng sighed and stretched his legs.
— Okay... I guess we'll end it here... — he said and left the backyard. The guard woke up the second one and, having collected needles from the ground, a book on acupuncture and a knife, they also left.
***
After entering, Bai Yunsheng took a deep breath and headed to the living room. The maids of the estate did not look him in the eye. His lifeless and empty eyes sent shivers down their spines.
A couple of days ago, he could flirt with them and "accidentally" drop vulgarities. But now he doesn't even look at them, as if they didn't exist at all...
Approaching the door of the living room, Bai Yunsheng opened the door and walked inside. Sitting by the window with a cup of tea was her. His wife, Lei Jiangxue.
She sat on a chair calmly and distantly. A pleasant aroma emanated from the cup of tea in her hands. Her tiger lay on the floor next to her. It looked at Bai Yunsheng indifferently and continued to sleep.
She didn't look at him right away, calmly stirring her cup of tea. Her eye patch covered her left eye, and her right eye, blood-red, stared coldly into space.
Finally, she turned her gaze to him. She took a small sip of tea, tasting it and said coldly:
"You... You smell strange... Not like usual!" she said, looking at her husband.
Putting her cup of tea on the windowsill, she slowly walked towards him.
When she reached Bai Yunsheng, Lei Jiangxue slightly leaned down and inhaled his scent. Her nose was close to Bai Yunsheng's neck and her hand was on his chest.
"Sweat… Steel… And not a single scent of another woman?" she whispered softly and leaned closer to him.
A cold, ruby eye met her husband's lifeless eyes.
"I saw you training today… What came over you?" she continued, lightly squeezing his chest.
Bai Yunsheng didn't respond. He just stared at her silently with lifeless eyes.
"Have you finally decided to take hold of the right head and become a man? Or is this nothing more than a brief inspiration…" Lei Jiangxue said in a cold voice, raising her hand higher and holding his head, stroking his hair.
She tilted Bai Yunsheng's head and whispered softly into his ear.
— At least don't disappoint me this time… My useless but handsome husband…
After saying this, Lei Jiangxue stepped away from him and started to walk away. The white tiger woke up and lazily followed her, waving its tail as it walked.
Bai Yunsheng silently watched her and when Lei Jiangxue disappeared from sight, he took a deep breath.
He looked at the window where her tea was already frozen and walked over to the window.
Taking the cup in his hand, Bai Yunsheng inhaled its faint aroma. The tea emitted a faint scent of Lei Jiangxue and after a while, Bai Yunsheng took a sip. His lips touched exactly where his wife's lips had been.
The young man silently looked out the window. His melancholic gaze enjoyed the view, while he himself enjoyed the taste of the warm tea…
For the entire week, Bai Yunsheng tirelessly trained with needles. With each throw, his throwing speed and accuracy increased. During breaks, he occasionally read books on medicine and acupuncture to better understand where to throw the needle to quickly defeat the enemy.
He practiced throwing needles on his guards a couple of times. The poor warriors could do nothing but take hits and endure humiliation.
Bai Yunsheng also trained Xiao Ran. He taught her several breathing methods for better concentration, a technique for accumulating energy in her qi core, and he also taught her a couple of basic techniques from martial arts books.
One day, Bai Yunsheng got tired of his training and decided to take a walk around the city.
"Master, where are you going?" a girl with black hair and dark eyes, who had black fox ears and 4 black tails, asked in a quiet voice, peeking out from the corner. She was dressed in a light black and white outfit with flowers and a few decorations from Bai Yunsheng.
"I want to go for a walk..." Bai Yunsheng answered her indifferently. "Do you want to come with me?"
The girl thought for a moment and nodded, walking up to him.
With a sigh, Bai Yunsheng left Lei Jiangxue's residence and began to wander around Wujiang melancholically.
Xiao Ran caught up with him and walked quietly next to him, waving her tails.
As they walked through the city, many glances and whispers were directed at them.
"Look, it's Mr. Bai Yunsheng! Who is this girl?"
"I heard that Mr. Bai bought a demoness from the fox clan from the auction house a week ago. Apparently, it was her...
Xiao Ran's ears pressed against her head and she pressed herself against Bai Yunsheng, pressing her tails to her legs and trying to hide from prying eyes. And Bai Yunsheng himself said nothing. He just silently placed his hand on her head and continued walking.
They said different things about them, but most often they were rumors about his adventures in brothels.
- Hey, look! It's Mr. Bai! They say he can satisfy any woman!!!
- Yes, I know! He is also called the King of the Brothel!! - the women they passed whispered among themselves.
From such rumors, embarrassed and loving glances from women and envious glances from men were directed towards Bai Yunsheng.
All this greatly irritated Bai Yunsheng.
Passing by the stalls in the shopping district, Bai Yunsheng noticed a familiar head with black hair and expensive clothes.
There was no doubt about it, it was Li Yuhua.
"Hmm? What is she doing here?" Bai Yunsheng thought to himself as he looked at the painting of the novel's female protagonist scolding the snack vendor.
"That price for a piece of nothing!? Are you in your right mind?" she asked coldly, looking at the old man.
The man tried to deny it, but the girl did not listen to him.
Unable to overcome his curiosity, Bai Yunsheng decided to go over and find out what was going on. Xiao Ran followed him.
Approaching Li Yuhua and the snack vendor, Bai Yunsheng coughed lightly to attract their attention.
"What's going on here?" he asked in a low voice, looking at them.
Li Yuhua shuddered, but when she realized who it was, she sighed and frowned.
"This person is trying to foist his trash on me at an exorbitant price!" she replied in a cold voice of complete disdain, pointing at the clerk.
"That's not true! I sell my snacks at a very low price!" the clerk began to justify himself to them.
"Hmm… So much fuss over simple food…" Bai Yunsheng sighed inwardly and handed the clerk a bag of silver coins.
"I'll buy everything you have! You can keep the change…" Bai Yunsheng said in an indifferent voice. "Keep the change…"
Everyone was shocked by this action, but the clerk quickly came to his senses and wrapped up all his snacks, handing them to Bai Yunsheng.
Taking the food, he gave one of them to Xiao Ran and started eating the other half. The little fox happily started eating the treats.
"What are you doing?" Li Yuhua asked him in surprise, involuntarily licking her lips when she saw Xiao Ran wolfing down the snacks.
"What do you think I'm doing? Eating!" Bai Yunsheng said with a slight grin on his face, holding out a few sticks of snacks to her with his mouth full.
Li Yuhua hesitated for a moment, but unable to suppress her pride, she took the snacks and started eating.
Even from the first bite, Li Yuhua's taste buds caught the pleasant taste of the spices that were skillfully mixed, perfectly complementing each other's flavors. Every bite, every chew felt like she was eating not just one meal, but a perfect salad of all sorts of dishes. And yet, it was just even cubes of meat fried on a skewer and mixed with onions, peppers, and salt during cooking.
"How delicious!!!" Li Yuhua thought to herself, enjoying the food with a cute face.
Looking at her, Bai Yunsheng only chuckled inwardly, although outwardly his gaze remained detached, and his eyes were empty.
"Looking at this cute face, I can't help but remember how she was described in the novel..."
"Li Yuhua is the first disciple of the Jade Flower Zhang Yuming, in the future known as the Ice Princess of the Heavenly Sword. Always the perfect and exemplary rising star of the White Jade Sect. Despite her cold attitude and arrogant nature, the cold princess was not without flaws. She likes to eat simple street food and loves cute things."
"To think that I've actually witnessed this side of her!" Bai Yunsheng thought to himself and chuckled.
This didn't go unnoticed by Li Yuhua and she frowned. She looked at Bai Yunsheng with a menacing gaze and asked him with her mouth full.
"What's so funny?"
Bai Yunsheng just smiled and continued eating.
"Oh, nothing special..." He looked away and added in his mind, "She looks like a hamster with those cheeks!"
By taking a deep breath, Bai Yunsheng calmed down and realized something and frowned.
"Speaking of which, where is Zhou Yulong? Isn't he with you?" He asked while looking at her.
Li Yuhua raised one eyebrow, shrugged, and replied indifferently.
"I don't know, he said he was cultivating, so I'll have to be alone! Although, it's not like I care what he's doing there…" she replied in her cold voice, still eating her snacks.
Bai Yunsheng stroked Xiao Ran's head, who was still eating, and thought about it. The little girl enjoyed his touch.
"That's right! Today is the day when Zhou Yulong steals that thing in the story…" was spinning around in his head, and a faint smile lit up his face, and his empty and lifeless eyes looked up at the sky…
To be continued…