Chapter 10: Crack

It proved difficult to squander money. Despite his best efforts, He Lingchuan only managed to spend two hundred taels in a month. In this remote border region, a hundred taels was enough for an ordinary family of four to live comfortably for five or six years!

Ying Hongchan cleared her throat. "Lingchuan, I was just about to tell you. You've been spending too much this summer and autumn, and the household needs to economize. Starting next month, your expenses must be limited to eighty taels." She then glanced at her husband.

Before He Chunhua could respond, He Lingchuan exclaimed, "Eighty taels? That's gone after just two visits to Hongyan Tower!"

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

"He..." He Lingchuan protested, "He eats and drinks at home; what money does he need to spend? I have so many people following me. Besides, I need to maintain connections in the city, and that costs money. It's not just for my sake!"

Ying Hongchan sneered, "Those people flatter you, but their eyes are fixed on your father. Do such connections need to be maintained? Our family doesn't lack watchdogs." She didn't give He Lingchuan a chance to interject. "Times are unstable, and money and provisions must be used for proper purposes. Lingchuan, your father and I don't ask you to solve the family's worries, but please, cause fewer troubles."

These words were rather harsh. He Lingchuan immediately felt a blockage in his chest and a sense of displeasure. These were not his own emotions. In fact, every time the family ate together, he felt an "unpleasantness" emanating from deep within his mind, almost a subconscious physical reaction. The original body disliked such scenes intensely. Given He Chunhua's doting affection for him, this emotion was likely directed primarily at the head matriarch.

"Father," he said, turning straightforwardly to his father.

He Chunhua pondered for a moment before saying, "Your mother is right, but eighty taels... is still a bit too little. Let's make it two hundred taels."

He Lingchuan's face showed displeasure. "That's still too little! Three hundred taels!"

The mother and son argued for half the day, with He Chunhua playing the role of mediator, trying to smooth things over. In the end, Madam Ying stubbornly insisted, and the amount was fixed at one hundred eighty taels.

Ying Hongchan gave her husband a reproachful look. She had intended to significantly cut her eldest son's expenses, but his father couldn't bring himself to be firm. After all that arguing, they only managed to reduce it by twenty taels compared to last month! Truly, one doesn't know the cost of living until they manage a household.

He Yue blinked and remarked, "Over six hundred taels of silver saved each month... That could buy dozens of sets of fine armor, or several good warhorses, or recruit at least sixty men into the army."

No sooner had he finished speaking than He Lingchuan slammed the table, stood up, and declared, "I'm full!" Before striding out of the dining hall, he didn't forget to casually scoop a stewed pear from a brass basin and eat it as he walked. The pear had been stewed for over half an hour with rock sugar and Sichuan peppercorns. It was sweet, soft, and tender, and had the effect of clearing the mind and reducing internal heat, perfect for cooling down those who had just eaten lamb.

No one stopped him. As he was about to leave the garden, He Lingchuan glanced back. He saw the three still seated around the table, eating and conversing, seemingly enjoying themselves. He shrugged and hurried back to his own quarters.

To be fair, He Chunhua was truly quite good to his eldest son. He Lingchuan had exclusive use of the largest, quietest, and most beautiful courtyard on the east side. It featured black pines, white peach trees, winding streams, elevated pavilions, and even a small training ground. Although He Yue's residence was also on the east side, its area was only half that of his brother's.

The only servant in the courtyard came at the sound but He Lingchuan casually waved him away. He Lingchuan took off his upper garment and practiced martial arts under the moonlight for over half an hour, until he was drenched in sweat.

The original body was not skilled in literary arts, but had loved martial arts and never feared hardship since childhood, which was quite rare among sons of noble families. The He family ancestors had also produced military generals and possessed their own set of body-refining techniques, which He Chunhua had passed on to his eldest son.

As he reached the peak of his practice, his strong physique became enveloped in a faint white mist, though this was only noticeable under the moonlight. This was precisely the right moment. He Lingchuan quickly ceased his movements, sat down, and regulated his breathing. The white mist gradually reabsorbed through his mouth and nose, completing one cycle.

What he practiced was the He family's ancestral divine ability, known as the "Traction Technique." He Lingchuan used his body-refining technique to force his inner energy out of his body, allowing it to come into close contact with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, especially moonlight. He then retrieved it through regulated breathing, purifying it by removing impurities and retaining the essence. In this way, a cycle of movement and stillness, outward and inward flow, pulling and drawing, was completed. Of course, it was also possible to complete a full cycle solely using the "Traction Technique." However, starting with body refinement could expel accumulated coldness, impurities, and ailments from the body, and achieve a better purification effect for the inner energy.

After completing his breathing regulation, He Lingchuan felt even more refreshed and invigorated. He grabbed a white towel and went to bathe. The hot water had also been prepared by a servant, a simple and honest man in his thirties.

He Lingchuan sank into the hot water and let out a long sigh. He thought, 'It would be nice if someone could scrub my back right now. So comfortable.' As a transportation hub connecting north and south, Blackwater City naturally had bathhouses, known as "bath-markets." Besides communal bathing, back scrubbing and foot care were standard services. However, those were in public bathhouses; Young Master He couldn't enjoy back-scrubbing services from young women at home. This was because he had no maidservants—none in their teens, twenties, or even thirties. Absolutely none. To practice the He family's ancestral martial arts with half the effort and twice the result, ensuring lifelong benefits, one had to remain a virgin until the age of eighteen.

When He Lingchuan first began learning, he was ignorant and unaware of this restriction. Only when he grew up and saw his group of dissolute friends enjoying sensual pleasures did he question He Chunhua. His father, pounding his chest and stamping his feet, lamented how he had accidentally broken the rule in his youth, which led to his cultivation progressing as slowly as a snail in the latter half of his life. He claimed to have learned a painful lesson and insisted his son must never follow in his footsteps, and so on.

He Lingchuan was devoted to martial arts and naturally unwilling to give up halfway, so he endured it. Otherwise, there were plenty of local boys becoming fathers at seventeen; someone like him, nearly sixteen and still not betrothed, was actually rare. However, He Chunhua also didn't want to deliberately test his eldest son's willpower, so he didn't send any females to his courtyard.

He Lingchuan sat in the large wooden tub, thinking about the leopard demon from West Mountain, the East Arrival Prefecture guards caught by the Red-White Dao, and the miscellaneous items hidden within the leopard fangs. When would the East Arrival Prefecture discover their guards sent to Blackwater City had gone missing? How would they react? How would the Prefect respond?

After dinner, He Yue excused himself, and He Chunhua and his wife returned to freshen up. Only then did Ying Hongchan have the chance to scold her husband. "You spoil Lingchuan too much. He alone accounts for the lion's share of the household's monthly expenses! And look at his attitude, slamming the table and leaving! How arrogant!"

"It won't be like that next month," He Chunhua reassured her. "He just suffered a serious injury, and we've cut down his expenses, so it's understandable that he's displeased."

Madam Ying was about to say more, but He Chunhua changed the subject. "Have you noticed any changes in Lingchuan lately?"

"Lately?" Madam Ying thought carefully, then shook her head. "Aside from spending a little less, he doesn't seem to have changed."