Chapter 7: Chapter 89 Fissure

Chapter 7: Chapters 8-9: The Fissure

It turns out that squandering money is also a technical skill. He Lingchuan put his heart and soul into spending, yet he only managed to burn through two hundred taels in a month.

In this frontier region, one hundred taels would be enough for an average family of four to live comfortably for five or six years!

Ying Hongchan gave a light cough. "Lingchuan, I was just about to speak with you. We’ve been spending too much during the summer and autumn, and the household needs to tighten its belt. Starting next month, your expenses must be kept under eighty taels." She glanced at her husband after saying this.

Before He Chunhua could express his stance, He Lingchuan had already cried out, "Eighty taels? That’ll be gone after two trips to the Hongyan Pavilion!"

Ying Hongchan’s expression darkened slightly. "Your younger brother doesn't even spend twenty taels a month."

"Him..." He Lingchuan retorted, unconvinced. "He eats and drinks at home, what could he possibly spend money on? I have so many people under me, and I have to grease the wheels of all the connections in the city. That costs money, and it’s not just for my own sake!"

"What kind of connections?" Ying Hongchan gave a cold laugh. "Those people fawn over you, but their eyes are all fixed on your father. Do those relationships even need maintaining? Our family isn't short of guard dogs."

She didn't give He Lingchuan a chance to interject. "The times are turbulent; money and grain must be used for proper purposes. Lingchuan, your father and I don't ask you to solve the family's worries, but at least stop adding to the chaos."

That was a bit harsh. He Lingchuan felt a blockage in his chest, followed by a sense of dissatisfaction.

These weren't his own emotions.

In fact, every time the family ate together, he could feel a sense of "unpleasantness" emanating from deep within his mind; it was almost a subconscious physical reaction.

The original owner really disliked such scenes. Given that He Chunhua treated him with great care, this emotion was likely directed primarily at the lady of the house.

"Father," he turned to his father quite decisively.

He Chunhua pondered for a moment before saying, "Your mother is right, but eighty taels..." It was still a bit low. "Let's set it at two hundred taels."

One hundred taels would have been enough, and it would save him the exhaustion of trying to spend it. He Lingchuan looked displeased. "That’s still too little! Three hundred!"

The mother and son argued for a long time, with He Chunhua acting as a mediator on the side. In the end, Madam Ying put her foot down, and it was settled at one hundred and eighty taels.

Ying Hongchan gave her husband a reproachful look. She wanted to cut back on her eldest son's spending, but her husband couldn't bring himself to be firm. After all that arguing, they had only reduced it by twenty taels from the previous month!

Truly, one doesn't know the price of firewood and rice until they manage a household.

"Saving over six hundred taels of silver every month," He Yue blinked, "could buy dozens of sets of fine armor, or several excellent warhorses. It would be enough to recruit at least sixty men into the army."

No sooner had he finished speaking than He Lingchuan slapped the table and stood up. "I'm full!"

Before striding out of the dining hall, he didn't forget to fish a stewed pear out of the brass basin, eating it as he walked.

The pear had been stewed with rock sugar and Sichuan peppercorns for over an hour; it was sweet, tender, and soft, with the effect of clearing the heart and reducing internal heat—perfect for cooling down someone who had just eaten mutton.

No one stopped him.

As he was about to walk out of the garden, He Lingchuan looked back and saw the three of them still sitting around the table, eating and discussing, looking like a harmonious family.

He shrugged and walked quickly back to his own quarters.

In all fairness, He Chunhua was truly good to this eldest son. He Lingchuan occupied the largest, quietest, and most beautiful courtyard on the east side, complete with black pines, white peaches, winding streams, pavilions, and even a small martial arts practice field.

Although He Yue’s residence was also on the east side, it was only half the size of his brother’s.

The only servant in the courtyard came over upon hearing him, but was waved away with a casual gesture.

He Lingchuan took off his shirt and practiced his punches under the moonlight for over an hour, until he felt invigorated.

The original owner wasn't gifted in literature, but he had loved martial arts since childhood and didn't fear hardship—a rarity among the children of noble families. The He family had produced military generals in the past and possessed their own body-tempering techniques, which He Chunhua had passed on to his eldest son.

When he practiced to the peak, his robust physique would be shrouded in a faint white mist, though it was only visible under the moonlight.

This was just right. He Lingchuan quickly withdrew his fists, sat down, and began to regulate his breathing.

The white mist was gradually reabsorbed through his nose and mouth.

This completed one cycle.

What he practiced was the He family’s ancestral supernatural ability, known as the "Traction Technique."

He Lingchuan used the body-tempering technique to force his internal energy out of his body, allowing it to come into close contact with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth—especially moonlight—and then retrieved it through breathing, removing the impurities and keeping the essence.

In this way, through movement and stillness, exhaling and inhaling, pulling and guiding, the cycle was complete.

Of course, one could complete a cycle using the "Traction Technique" alone, but starting with body-tempering helped expel the cold, grime, and illness accumulated in the body, making the purification of internal energy much more effective.

After finishing his breathing exercises, He Lingchuan felt even more refreshed. He grabbed a white towel and went to bathe.

The hot water had been prepared by a servant—a man in his thirties, honest and simple.

He Lingchuan soaked in the hot water and let out a long sigh. It would be perfect if someone were here to scrub his back; that would be comfortable.

As a transportation hub for north-south traffic, Blackwater City naturally had bathhouses, known as "bathing shops." Besides communal soaking, back-scrubbing and foot-pedicuring were standard services. However, that was in the bathhouse; Young Master He couldn't enjoy back-scrubbing services from young girls in his own home.

Because he had no maidservants.

Teenage, twenty-something, or even thirty- or forty-year-old maids... he had none at all.

To get twice the result with half the effort and benefit for life from the He family’s martial arts, one had to maintain their virginity.

When He Lingchuan first started learning, he was ignorant and didn't know the drawbacks. It wasn't until he grew up and saw his friends enjoying the pleasures of life that he questioned He Chunhua. The result was his father beating his chest and stamping his feet in regret.

He Lingchuan was obsessed with the martial path, so he wasn't willing to give up halfway, and thus he endured it.

However, He Chunhua didn't want to deliberately test his eldest son's willpower, so he didn't place any females in his courtyard.

He Lingchuan sat in the large wooden tub, thinking about the leopard demon of West Mountain, the East Arrival Mansion guards caught by the Red and White Dao, and the miscellaneous items hidden in the leopard's teeth.

When would the East Arrival Mansion discover that the guards sent to Blackwater City had lost contact?

How would they react?

And how would the Prefect respond?

Subconsciously, he touched the necklace on his chest again. He suddenly tore it off and threw it with force toward the distant garden.

The necklace traced a parabola in the air and flew over the wall.

A few breaths later, he felt something strange on his chest. He looked down—

The necklace had returned on its own, resting securely around his neck.

Sure enough, no matter how many times he threw it, this thing would always return on its own.

He had examined it many times; although it looked very similar, it wasn't made of jade, but rather felt a bit like ivory.

After all, the composition of ivory and bone is very similar.

The day he fell off the cliff, he heard the leopard roar a new term

Divine Bone.

Could this necklace pendant that refused to leave him be a Divine Bone?

...

After the meal, He Yue took his leave, and He Chunhua and his wife went to wash up.

Only then did Ying Hongchan have the chance to lecture her husband: "You are too indulgent with Lingchuan. He alone takes the lion's share of the monthly household expenses! And look at his attitude, slamming the table and leaving!" How arrogant!

"It won't be like that next month," He Chunhua comforted her. "He just suffered a serious injury, and we cut his allowance, so it's natural for him to be displeased."

Madam Ying wanted to say more, but He Chunhua had already changed the subject: "Have you noticed any changes in Lingchuan lately?"

"Lately?" Madam Ying thought carefully, then shook her head. "Other than spending less money, he doesn't seem to have changed at all."