As I walked through the main entrance, I noticed the intricate carvings and paintings on the wooden beams and columns, showcasing traditional Chinese designs. The first courtyard was spacious and well-maintained, with a small garden in the center and a few potted plants on the sides. I could see the second courtyard at the end of the first, with a wooden gate separating them.
Passing through the second courtyard, I noticed that it was larger than the first, with a more elaborate garden and a small pond. The wooden pavilion in the corner looked like a perfect spot for meditation or relaxation. The rooms surrounding the courtyard were well-lit and spacious, with large windows allowing for plenty of natural light. I could see myself hosting intimate gatherings or spending quality time with my family in this peaceful setting.
Finally, I reached the third courtyard, which was the largest of them all. It was the heart of the house, where the main hall and the bedrooms were located. The main hall was grand and impressive, with high ceilings and a beautifully painted screen. The bedrooms were spacious and airy, with large windows offering beautiful views of the garden.
As I continued my inspection, I noticed that the house was well-maintained, with minimal wear and tear. The wooden beams and columns were in excellent condition, and the roof tiles were recently replaced, according to our guide.
I could see myself living in this house, embracing the traditional Chinese architecture and enjoying the peace and tranquillity it offered. The price was reasonable, and the location was perfect, nestled in a quiet alleyway in the heart of the west city. The only issue I could find was it looked a bit haunted as it had fell in disrepair from beaning abandoned for too long but I loved it I knew I had found my dream home.
I Turned toward the Chen siblings and the man from Jangman hall surnamed Su the trio looked tired and exhausted, I couldn't blame them this was the Sixteenth house of Shangxing after all, it was quite difficult for them not to be worn out but they still did their best for me despite the fact that I didn't seem to care, Since I was super hyped to see a new city and not to mention a single circulation of Qi following the divine water sutra would Dissipate any fatigue what so ever.
"Well it seems like we found our new residence, how much is the price, Master Su." The man looked at me with a tired face before putting on a brave smile, giving a small bow
"This Humble one apologizes Master Lin but the asking price of eighty thousand low-grade spirit stones, but if young......."
"Fine," I said cutting off the man and throwing a space pouch prepared by Chen long toward the man containing forty thousand spirit stones
"This half, you will receive the other half after you deliver the house deed and contract of sale," I said smiling, the man stumbled and almost fell but caught the bag before he could fall onto the ground, he bowed again, thanked me profusely before bowing out of the door.
My group was silent until I cleared my throat
"You two pick a room you like, I'll go check on the rest of the rooms first" I ordered and walked down the hall to the first bedroom, the room with the most decoration.
As I stepped inside and shut the door behind me, I immediately began exploring the other rooms. As I continued my inspection of the interior, a loud bang suddenly rang out, causing me to jump.
My heart racing, I rushed toward the source of the noise.
Much to my relief I quickly discovered the culprit - poor Chen Hua stood there, looking guilty and ashamed beside what was left of the main door to a side room. The only thing still intact was the doorframe, which hung loosely off its hinges. The wood was rotten and crumbling, that caused the main door to crash down. A strange smell of dust and dirt wafted in on the gust of wind that blew through the newly created opening.
"Chen Hua? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I asked the poor girl, who was clearly distraught and blaming herself for the destruction of the property. She didn't answer me and instead began crying quietly, clutching onto my sleeves. I crouched down and put my arms around Chen Hua's waist pulling her into an awkward embrace, as I comforted her with gentle words. She started mumbling things incoherently, sounding like a baby bird trying to speak but the noises were muffled.
Behind me Chen Long made his entrance, panting heavily, he looked a tad worried but otherwise looked unharmed. I handed over the still-crying girl to him as I pointed toward the intact room, that I had chosen as my residence
"I'll show you to your room, and you can rest for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll hire someone to fix up the house," I instructed, waving goodnight to Chen Hua and Chen Long. "We'll stay here tonight and head to the market in the morning," I added, turning away from them.
I could hear Chen Hua protesting, worried about the extra expense, but I cut her off before she could say anything more. "We can afford it. Don't worry about the money," I assured her, although truthfully, the little girl seemed more concerned about finances than I was.
I didn't want to cause her any more distress, so I headed towards the open inner yard and sat down, and began running the Inner-self art, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on slowing down my breathing and my pulse. I imagined my inner self as a fish, a sturgeon, to be exact.
Its long, sleek body glimmered in the water as it swam effortlessly through the depths. I pictured a serene lake, surrounded by towering mountains and a lush forest. The water was crystal clear, and the sunlight danced on the surface, creating a dazzling display of light and shadow.
As I focused on my inner self fish, I felt my own body begin to relax. My mind drifted deeper and deeper, following the fish as it swam deeper and deeper into the lake. The more the fish swam down, the greater the pressure built upon its body. And the more pressure the fish endured, the greater the increase in my divine sense.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I could feel the pressure building within me, a physical sensation that accompanied the mental exercise. But I persisted, forcing myself to swim to the bottom of the lake. The fish and I were one, and we endured the pressure together. As we swam deeper and deeper, I felt my divine sense expanding and strengthening, like a muscle being flexed and strengthened. As I swam deeper and deeper, the darkness and pressure grew more intense, but I pushed forward, determined to reach the bottom
. With every stroke of my fins, the pressure grew more and more intense. I felt as though the weight of the entire world was bearing down on me, crushing me with its unyielding force. But still, I persisted, swimming downward with unshakable determination. As I descended further into the abyss, the darkness became absolute, a pitch-black void that swallowed me whole. But even in the midst of this darkness, I felt a sense of peace and serenity.
Finally, I reached my limit and I couldn't go any further at that point I began swimming in a circle enduring the pain and exhaustion brought on by the great strain imposed upon my body. I felt a sudden surge of energy coursing through my limbs, and soon everything went dark. And then, I was floating on the lake waters. As I slowly regained consciousness, the world around me gradually came into focus. The sun was high up in the sky, its bright rays casting long shadows across the ground.
I felt my head throb with exhaustion and fatigue, my body feeling heavy and weak. But I knew what to do. I closed my eyes and began reciting the divine water sutra, drawing in the pure and refreshing energy of the universe.
In just a few seconds, I felt a surge of energy course through my body, like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. My weariness vanished, replaced with a renewed sense of vitality and strength. As I opened my eyes, I let my spiritual sense expand and encompass my surroundings.
When I first began my spiritual practice, my divine sense could barely cover a small area of two meters around me. But now, after much diligent effort and training, I could sense an area of thirty yards around me. I could feel every blade of grass, every rock, and every insect that moved on the ground. I could even sense the presence of living and dead creatures in this place.
It was then that I realized the true power of my spiritual practice. With my divine sense, I could connect with the world on a deeper level, sensing the subtle energies and forces that flowed through all things. And with this connection, I knew that I could achieve great things and unlock the true potential of my inner self.
As I explored the House with my Divine sense I found every Nook and cranny in the House, every crevice, every hollow, every damage, and every crack. Every single corner of the House was thoroughly cleaned and maintained. I also inspected every room, every wall, every stairway, each nook, and every corner of the House, from top to bottom, inside and out. After spending almost three hours exploring, I finally stopped, exhausted, by this time the brother and sister were awake and diligently mediating,
Instead of disturbing them, I took out a paper and a spiritual brush that convert Qi to ink and began making down a list on what needed to be replaced and what needed to be fixed, by the time I was done I found we had a guest,
I put down my brush and approached the two men standing at the entrance before they could even knock on the door. Su, the man surnamed Su from the Jangman Hall, was accompanied by a large, fat man named Fu Song, the previous owner of the mansion. Without any pleasantries, I spoke directly to Su, "Surname Su, you have guts to come back." His face flushed red as he quickly bowed towards me, while the fat man smiled back and greeted me with a polite "Greetings Young Master Lin."
I then turned to face Fu Song and introduced him to Su, "This one is Fu Song of the Fu Clan, the previous owner of this mansion." He also bowed to me and apologized for disturbing me, but I put on my best mean face and addressed him, "You call this a house?" I raised my hand and pinched the frame of the wooden entrance, causing the rot and decay in the wood to easily turn to dust under my touch. The man frowned and turned slightly pale, stammering as he spoke, "You...ng Ma...st...er Lin." He began to explain, but I ignored him completely and turned my attention back to Su, who was now stammering and explaining his situation.
"I apologize, Young Master Lin," Su said. "I had wanted to disclose the full situation of the house, but you had already agreed to buy without properly inspecting the house." I listened to him carefully, trying to understand the situation. It seemed that I had been too hasty in my decision to buy the mansion without inspecting it properly, and now I was facing the consequences of my rashness.
I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me as I realized my mistake. I had been too eager to acquire the property and had not taken the time to thoroughly inspect it. "It's alright," I said, trying to mask my embarrassment with a forced smile.
The three of us looked at each other in embarrassment before the man surnamed Fu spoke up. "I'm willing to bring the price down to forty thousand spirit stones,"
Master Su looked surprised at the offer but quickly composed himself. "I believe that's a fair price given the state of the house," he said.
Master Fu, who had been anxiously looking at me spoke up again, "I can fix the place up in a day for an extra ten thousand spirit stones,"
I considered his offer and realized that it would be worth it to have the house fixed up quickly. "Deal," I said, extending my hand to Master Fu.
As I extended my hand for a handshake, the man looked at it with confusion before looking back at me. It then dawned on me that I was no longer in my previous world where handshakes were commonplace. Here, people bowed and clasped their fists in greeting. I quickly corrected my posture and bowed to the men, who reciprocated my gesture with smiles before leaving. I went back inside the house, where the siblings were engaged in a heated argument. I tuned them out and informed them of the recent visit from the Jangman Hall man surnamed Su and Fu Song of the Fu clan, who had come to repair the house.
An hour later, a team of craftsmen led by Master Fu arrived to begin repairing the house. I used my Divine sense to monitor the work, and I gave a list of repairs to Chen Long, instructing him to guide the workers. Meanwhile, Chen Hua went into curious mode and began following and harassing the workers with questions.
I sat down on a stone bench in the yard, watching the workers go about their business. It was a strange feeling to have so many people working on something for me. In my previous life, I had never had anyone working for me. But now, as a young master, it was my responsibility to oversee the repairs and ensure that they were done properly.
As the day wore on, I found myself lost in thought. The visit from the Jangman Hall man had reminded me that there were people out there who wished me harm. I needed to be careful and vigilant. But at the same time, I couldn't let fear control me. I needed to build up my own strength and cultivate my abilities, both martial and spiritual. And with the repairs to the house underway, I was one step closer to being able to focus on my own cultivation.