"Young master..." Rubbing her sleepy eyes, little Qiao'er pushed the door open, carrying a large plate of crispy egg custard pastries that she placed on the table. "Your breakfast is here. The millet porridge is still simmering. There's no buns or steam bread today, only these egg custard pastries to eat."

"Egg custard pastries are sweets for the festival here huh," said Lusheng, slamming the window shut before turning to look at little Qiao'er.

In just a few months, this lass had become even more vivacious. Especially her small breasts, increasingly fuller and larger. The white lined dress she wore clearly wasn't low cut but was forcibly stretched taut by her until the garment bulged out. Glancing down diagonally from above, one could clearly see the white and tender outlines of two rounded shapes and a deep ravine...

"Aiya, young master is leering!" Little Qiao'er pouted, using both hands to cover her chest. "The brought over clothes, Qiao'er only just realized are all too small. My figure has been shooting up rapidly lately..."

Lusheng laughed. "I'll bring you to buy new clothes later."

Little Qiao'er's small face instantly wrinkled up.

"Best not. Things aren't like before at home. Young master's medicinal expenses alone are almost insufficient. So many places in need of money..."

Lusheng froze up, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed. For home finances to be so dire that even little Qiao'er understood thriftiness while he remained oblivious.

After Qiao'er's arrival, she resided in one of the rooms here as his personal maid. Anyway, sooner or later she would be sharing his bedchamber. If Lusheng was willing in the future, he could confer her a concubine's status which was already shooting high.

Qiao'er did not have good origins. Her father was a gambling addict who lost himself to debt, even staking his wife and daughter as gambling chips. He suffered a catastrophic defeat and little Qiao'er together with her mother nearly got sold off to a brothel. Luckily, kindhearted Second Madam Liu Cuiyu spent money to buy their freedom and clear their debts.

But even so, the torment little Qiao'er's mother endured left her bedridden by illness and she quickly perished not long later. Only Qiao'er was left behind at the Lu residence where she also regarded this place as home.

"Have to think up ways to earn money..." Lusheng started seriously treating this matter as a huge affair.

He turned around and saw Qiao'er take out another envelope from her bosom.

"Just now, a messenger came by to deliver this letter." Qiao'er placed the letter on the table.

Lusheng walked over, using his chopsticks to grab two pieces of egg custard pastry to eat while picking up the letter. It was marked as being from the Lu family on the envelope.

"It's a letter from home." He ripped it open and read through the contents.

The gist was his family had decided to move to Yanshan City so he needn't be worried. Everything was going smoothly over there and hoped for him to set his mind at ease to prepare for the exams.

Shaking his head, he tidied the letter after reading it into a drawer in his writing desk.

"Are today's medicinal doses prepared?" He asked little Qiao'er while rapidly finishing over half the twenty-odd palm-sized egg custard pastries on the plate.

"Already prepared, set inside the medicine box." Knowing it was almost time for Lusheng's daily cultivation training, little Qiao'er promptly responded. "Young master should go train now. The earlier you leave, the earlier your return."

"Mm."

Knock knock knock.

Suddenly, the door was lightly rapped on by someone.

"Who is it?" Little Qiao'er swiftly got up to open the door. Before long, sounds of her conversing with the outside visitor could be heard before the soft shutting of the door.

"Who was it?" Having finished breakfast, Lusheng stood to change clothes and prepare to train.

"It was the Song house's attendant. Came to deliver a letter." Qiao'er handed the envelope in her hands to Lusheng. "Young master, please take a look."

Receiving it, Lusheng saw it was addressed to 'Brother Lu please read' so he knew it was from Song Zhenguo. Among his friends surnamed Song on good relations, there was only Song Zhenguo alone.

Opening the envelope, the contents stated tomorrow was Incense Pouch Festival. He was going to free Yun'er from the flower boat and requested Lusheng to come along in celebration and bear witness. It emphasized he must definitely come at the end and that Song Zhenguo would treat him.

"Redeem her person?" Lusheng muttered. He had long seen Yun'er shared a special relationship beyond the norm with Song Zhenguo but did not expect him to harbor genuine feelings, even deciding to free Yun'er from indenture.

Moreover, he and Song Zhenguo were on good relations so there was no issue idly tagging along with nothing to do. There would even be someone footing the bill.

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After putting away the letter into the drawer and locking it, sword in hand, Lusheng prepared to head out. Returning to the room to change his clothes, he walked before the bronze mirror to glance at his current self.

Recently, he clearly sensed Black Tiger Jade Crane Skill within his body was gradually exhibiting its might. This transformed internal cultivation art was nurturing his physique little by little, strengthening him more and more.

Together with Heishi Skill's scorching stimulation, Lusheng currently felt his own five viscera and six bowels continuously purging impurities and toxins every moment.

These changes made him feel sometimes, even without training external skills, his physique's endurance, strength and power might not necessarily be weaker compared to external experts.

Lightly swinging the sword, minute vibrations rumbled through the air together with Black Tiger Jade Crane and Heishi Skills circulating. Lusheng lifted his sword-wielding right arm. Sometime unknown to him, his arm was already faintly covered in copious amounts of black reddish meridians and veins, appearing savage and twisted.

Having recently grown more muscular, if not for usually wearing loose robes, changing into tight garments could reveal his strong sturdy figure with symmetrical defined muscles more beautiful than ordinary scholars. Just one of Lusheng's arms was probably as thick as the thinner thighs of another man.

"I need a good sword."

Raising his sword, its surface reflected Lusheng's current visage. But also the minute cracks and distortions.

"This sword's also nearly ruined."

Suddenly, soft footsteps sounded from the doorway as if someone was trying to sneak into his bed chambers. Moreover, the tempo differed greatly from little Qiao'er's footsteps.

"Who is it!!"

Roar!!!

A tiger's roar.

Lusheng fiercely whipped his head around, eyes wide and round. As inner energy surged within his body, an extremely ferocious and vigorous baleful aura erupted out madly. Due to inner force churning and roiling, deafening roars resonated loudly in the air.

A lass at the doorway got badly frightened, sitting butt-first onto the floor. Turns out, it was Zheng Yu'er.

Her small face was deathly pale, badly shocked as both legs turned soft from fear, temporarily unable to get back up.

"Waa waa... Brother Lu, y-you're bullying me..."

Zheng Yu'er only wanted to secretly surprise Lusheng but instead, got frightened stiff herself. Tears instantly welled up at this moment.

"Waa waa..." Zheng Yu'er wept nonstop. Helplessly, Lusheng took the initiative to walk over and pull her up, consoling her for a spell.

"Just now, it was like seeing a huge black tiger pouncing towards Yu'er. Scared me to death!" Afterwards, Zheng Yu'er's small face remained ghastly pale.

"Don't secretly sneak up from behind me in future. Very dangerous," said Lusheng, reaching out a hand to rub Zheng Yu'er's head. "What did you rush over for? Where's your brother?"

"He's still at the academy. Tomorrow's Incense Pouch Festival so I was wondering if Brother Lu had any arrangements?" Quickly recovering her spirits, Zheng Yu'er rubbed her eyes and softly asked.

"Made drinking appointment with a friend."

"Ah?! So late again!!" Zheng Yu'er instantly cried out in immense disappointment. "Oh well, I better hurry and find another place fast. Don't want everything to be fully booked... I gotta go first, Brother Lu!" As if harboring other intentions, she hastily darted back out of the room, departing as quickly as she arrived.

At this time, little Qiao'er also dashed inside teary-eyed.

"Miss Yu'er ordered me not to say.... young master... I..."

"For any future guests, inform me in advance beforehand," Lusheng calmly commanded.

"Yes... yes...." Shocked by Lusheng's solemn tone, little Qiao'er swiftly lowered her head in agreement.

Giving her a glance, Lusheng exited the room sword in hand.

He felt his own baleful qi has been growing heavier recently. Being in prolonged peace and stability seemed detrimental towards cultivating Heishi Skill. From time to time, urges to wantonly kill and slaughter would well up that he had to forcefully restrain. Perhaps this was the sequelae from Heishi Skill.

On the second day, the streets were filled with the noisy hubbub from Incense Pouch Festival singing troupes. There were also acrobatic troupes, teams tossing embroidered balls, monkey trainers, Jianghu entertainers and so on.

All kinds of bustling activities crammed the roads. The closer one got to the city center, the livelier it became.

As usual, Lusheng finished reading doctrine books and scholarly works before cultivating inner energy together with sword and palm practice. Only by evening nightfall did he rush towards the location agreed upon with Song Zhenguo.

It was under a row of willow trees by the Songbai River banks.

Song Zhenguo had arrived early to wait there together with Chen Jiaorong.

"Brother Lu, Brother Yuesheng! Too slow, too slow!" Song Zhenguo guffawed loudly, striding forward to pat Lusheng's shoulder. "Jiaorong and I waited quite a while for you!"

Ever since Wang Ziquan's matter, he now saw through the true colors of many so-called friends so he completely cast aside and grew distant from all those he previously regarded well. Only two could be considered actual bosom friends now.

One was Chen Jiaorong, Chen Yunxi's elder brother.

The other was Lusheng.

Today, for Yun'er's redemption, asking Lusheng and Chen Jiaorong over was to stand witness for him and share in the celebration.

He originally intended on coming alone but after hesitating again and again, for such a huge event, if he failed to even notify his two best friends, remorse would certainly take hold.

So in the end, he still wrote them letters inviting their presence.

"Isn't today the major joyous event in Brother Song's life? A passionate night of pleasure awaits with no end. How unrestrained and delightful, heh heh. Yet you purposefully called us two over to watch enviously. Rather heartless!" Chen Jiaorong pointed at Song Zhenguo and laughed.

"With Brother Song occupied reveling by himself, how could he still remember us sworn friends?" Lusheng also jested with a smile.

"No more nonsense. Let's go, no more dallying. We're boarding first!" Song Zhenguo laughed. "Tonight, everyone has things to do!"

Chen Jiaorong's eyes instantly lit up as he pulled Lusheng along. The trio headed towards the flower boat not far away by the riverbanks.

The flower boat tranquilly floated before the pier with many patrons coming and going aboard. Very lively.

At the boat's side, inside a cabin window, Yun'er currently sat gazing fixedly out the window at Song Zhenguo and company with wide open eyes.

"How can this be??? How can this be!! Brother Song clearly promised me he wouldn't come today!!" Yun'er's complexion was deathly white as she tightly clutched the table's corner, uncaring that her teeth had just bitten through her lower lip drawing blood.

"How could things turn out like this?" For an instant, Yun'er felt somewhat despairing in her heart. She knew the master's targets were none other than Song Zhenguo. Thus, she secretly forewarned him ahead of time not to come to the flower boat today. Yet why did he still blissfully arrive anyway?

Yun'er felt her entire body turn soft and numb, unable to muster any strength. She wanted to charge out from this room to locate Song Zhenguo and urge him to swiftly leave. But she knew she was incapable of that.

"Tee hee hee..."

Suddenly, piercing female laughter sounded from elsewhere inside the room.

Yun'er hastily whipped around to look.

At some point, a woman completely dressed in white with long hair sat atop her own bed.

That woman's hair cascaded down like a waterfall, fully concealing her head and face without exposing the slightest bit. Her figure was slender as if a gust of wind could blow her over.