7: Chapter 7 A gentleman should strive for self-improvement; shouldn't women do the same?

Zhao Fangcai, returning to the secret chamber, stumbled upon hearing the System notification sound, muttering to himself helplessly, "This is actually possible?"

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the Langhuan Jade Cave.

In the boudoir where Wang Yuyan resided, she was regulating her breathing, circulating her Internal Energy, and Cultivating her Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique.

Recalling the words Zhao Fangcai had spoken, and connecting them with the huge contrast in Madam Wang's attitude before and after, she couldn't help but feel a flood of emotion.

Should a gentleman strive for unceasing self-improvement, and should a lady not do the same?

"Cousin is only interested in martial arts knowledge; he loses interest as soon as national affairs come up. If I could be more outstanding than him, would he perhaps become a little more sober?"

Wang Yuyan pondered this in her heart.

Therefore, these past few days, she began to diligently focus on studying martial arts.

You Cao rushed in frantically and hurriedly said, "Young Miss, it's... it's not good!"

Wang Yuyan slowly exhaled a breath, ceased her practice, opened her eyes, and said, "What are you panicking about?"

You Cao said, "Young Master Zhao..."

She was panting, and after pausing for a while, she continued, "Young Master Zhao has left!"

"Hmm?"

Wang Yuyan froze.

She felt somewhat dazed.

Left?

She quickly stood up, lightly tapping her toes, and flew out of the boudoir like a drifting willow catkin. In the space of a few steps, she swept past the bookshelves in the stone cave and arrived at the secret chamber in an instant.

Inside the secret chamber, it was already empty.

Only on the four stone walls were there numerous holes punched out by fists.

The surrounding areas of the initial fist holes still showed cracks.

The further back they went, the smoother the fist holes became, some even deep enough to submerge a shoulder.

From this, it could be seen that Zhao Fangcai's Internal Energy was extremely profound; his fist force could penetrate the stone walls, crushing the stone into powder.

Wang Yuyan's gaze inadvertently swept over the area, and she discovered a letter on the stone table.

She quickly picked it up and opened it to examine.

The letter consisted of three pages.

The content of the first page was:

"The ten-day deadline has arrived. I thank Miss Wang for saving my life and taking me in. Fangcai is taking his leave now. There is no need to worry or miss me!"

"It's already been ten days?"

Wang Yuyan froze.

Time had actually passed so quickly?

Since finding a goal, she no longer felt bored and restless like before. With things to do every day, she instead felt time passing very swiftly.

She glanced at the last four characters again, let out a soft snort, and thought to herself, "Stinking bad person, who would worry about you or miss you? Where is your antidote?"

She continued reading the second page.

"I apologize for deceiving you. That so-called ten-day fatal elixir was something I fabricated. It is actually called the [innate pill], so there is no antidote at all!"

innate pill?

Wang Yuyan showed no surprise on her face. She let out a soft snort and thought to herself, "I guessed you were lying to me long ago, bad person!"

During her free time these past few days, she had flipped through quite a few books on Medicinal Pills and medical classics, but she couldn't find any record of the [ten-day fatal elixir].

She had also used her Internal Energy to check her body multiple times and never felt any discomfort.

She had vaguely harbored suspicions in her heart long ago.

She picked up the third page to read.

Her cheeks instantly flushed red. She spat, throwing the paper onto the table.

It turned out that this sheet of paper contained a sketch outlined in charcoal.

If it were an ordinary sketch, Wang Yuyan naturally wouldn't blush.

But what was drawn was the scene of Zhao Fangcai saving her.

It was the image of the two of them embracing while spinning.

The memory, which had been gradually blurring, reappeared clearly in her mind.

Wang Yuyan felt flustered, glanced at the sketch, and noted that the expressions and appearances of both her and Zhao Fangcai in the drawing were extremely lifelike.

She herself was also skilled in painting, but only in fine-line painting (Gongbi). This kind of highly textured realistic sketch was something she was seeing for the first time.

She hesitated for a moment, then picked up the drawing again to examine it closely. Next to the drawing, there was also a line of Su Shi's poetry.

"May we live long, and share the beauty of the moon a thousand miles apart!"

Wang Yuyan only felt her ears burning. She spat, thinking to herself, "You bad person, always bullying me. Who wants to share the moon's beauty with you?"

"Young Miss, did Young Master Zhao really leave?"

You Cao walked in and asked.

Wang Yuyan was startled, quickly put the letter away, turned back with a stern face, and said, "He left. Don't mention him again in the future!"

Inside Suzhou Prefecture.

The streets were crowded with carriages and pedestrians, noisy and bustling.

Zhao Fangcai walked on the street and found the inn where he had stayed before.

Before dawn arrived.

He had left Mandala Villa under the cover of night. During these ten days, he had consumed one innate pill every day to practice his fists.

Now, he had reached the Acquired Fetal Breathing Realm and successfully opened the Ren and Du Meridians, allowing him to absorb Origin Qi from heaven and earth.

The Ren and Du Meridians were the necessary path from the Acquired Realm to the Innate Realm. Once opened, it was equivalent to having one foot already stepping across the threshold of the Innate Realm.

This was a process of Internal Energy accumulation.

As long as one Cultivated a decent martial art and underwent long-term training to refine one's body internally, there was a chance to reach this stage.

However, whether the other foot could step across depended on individual opportunity, comprehension ability, and destined fortune; this belonged to the Realm of Concept improvement.

The Concept spoken of here meant having one's own understanding in martial arts, thereby forging one's own path.

For example, the Sword Intent possessed by those who practice the sword, or the Fist Intent demonstrated by those who practice the fist.

No matter what kind of martial art it was, with the blessing of Concept, its power would greatly increase.

"Who exactly wants to kill me?"

Zhao Fangcai's gaze deepened as he walked into the inn.

"Guest..."

The inn's servant was about to step forward to greet him, but upon looking up, he was so frightened he stepped back two paces and exclaimed, "Ah! Young Master Zhao?"

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Fangcai glanced at him.

The servant's face turned pale and he said, "You... didn't you drown after falling into the lake?"

"I was lucky and didn't die. The things I left here, you guys didn't throw them all away, did you?" Zhao Fangcai asked.

At that very moment.

The shop owner heard the commotion outside and came out. Seeing Zhao Fangcai, he was also startled.

However, the shop owner's life experience was ultimately richer than that of the young attendant.

He cupped his hands in a salute and said, "Young Master Zhao, items entrusted by customers are absolutely never discarded casually by this small shop."

"It's just that the things you entrusted here are indeed no longer in the shop!"

"Oh?"

The shop owner explained, "Seven days ago, your belongings were taken away by someone from your residence."

"Someone from my residence?"

Zhao Fangcai raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did they give a name?"

The shop owner replied, "It was a person around forty years old who claimed to be the steward of the Zhao Residence. Accompanying him were Clerk Gu from the Prefecture Office and Manor Master Lu from the city. With the guarantee of those two, this small shop allowed that Steward Zhao to take the items away."

What Zhao Fangcai left at the inn were only a few books and a few sets of spare clothes; there were no valuable items.

He came here to see if those who attempted to harm him had left any clues.

"Lu..."