blueteamnovel Chapter 518 - 380 Hard to Come By_2
Chapter 518 - 380 Hard to Come By_2
Chapter 518: Chapter 380 Hard to Come By_2
Nearing the kitchen.
Little Zheng suddenly said, “Xiao Xi shouldn’t have been so eager to stand out. His Majesty’s question wasn’t difficult. How could no one have answered it?”
Little Round followed up, “It’s just that they didn’t dare, that’s all. There are only so many positions in the palace, one radish for each hole. If you win the Emperor’s praise, isn’t it because you want to knock someone else out of their spot?”
Zhou Yi remained silent, but his heart was in turmoil, like stormy waves crashing.
Perhaps influenced by Xiao Xi, or maybe due to the desires within his own heart, Zhou Yi also dreamed of power.
Wouldn’t it be glorious to return home with the reins of a department in hand, bringing honor to my ancestors?
Now, listening to Little Zheng and Little Round, it seemed as though Xiao Xi, having earned the Emperor’s praise, was intentionally given trial medicine by Eunuch Xu and then died from poisoning!
Little Zheng said solemnly, “The waters in this palace are too deep. We don’t aspire for great power in the future, just to keep our lives safe, to flatter the nobles, and to receive some rewards.”
Little Round nodded, “When we get old and leave the palace, we can also use the money to find a place to live, so we don’t end up homeless and begging on the streets.”
Zhou Yi remained silent, yet his face turned somewhat colder and more withdrawn, showing no sign of happiness, anger, sorrow, or joy, just like Little Zheng and Little Round walking ahead.@@@@
After breakfast, as usual, he went to the study.
The teacher continued to explain the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome, displaying more patience than when teaching literacy. He would provide detailed explanations where the eunuchs had questions.
Zhou Yi wrote down all his questions in a notebook, a method Xiao Xi had told him about that seemed to be something like ‘a good memory is not as practical as a bad pen.’
The handwriting was crooked, barely legible as words, indecipherable by anyone other than Zhou Yi.
Back in his room.
Zhou Yi flipped through the questions he had noted down, and indeed, he had forgotten most of what the teacher had explained during the lesson.
He recited them repeatedly and gained a little understanding.
He had acquired a rough understanding of the acupoints, meridians, and circulation of True Qi, but Zhou Yi had not attempted to practice cultivation.
After marking his territory, he entered the cubicle and sat cross-legged on the meditation mat.
Moments later, his mind calmed, Zhou Yi recalled the opening chapter of the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome, focused his breath, inhaled in reverse for twelve breaths, and directed thin wisps of breath through his meridians, finally accumulating in his Dantian.
When he completed a cycle, Zhou Yi slowly opened his eyes, sensing the True Qi in his Dantian.
“The teacher said that once the cycle is done, those with excellent aptitude will have ten strands of True Qi, the average will have five, and my three strands indicate a lower aptitude...”
“If the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome does indeed consume lifespan, then I’d have to sacrifice threefold just to match the eunuchs with excellent aptitudes!”
Zhou Yi frowned at the difficult choice before him.
One path was to live a shorter life but practice vigorously to secure a good assignment. The other was to live longer with shallow skills, relegated to patrolling the palace walls.
After much contemplation, Zhou Yi resumed his training.
“Patrolling won’t earn Silver. It leaves no chance to leave the palace, forever preventing me from seeing my parents again!”
Eunuchs, according to the law, were not allowed to leave the palace; however, certain powerful eunuchs managed to sneak out in their free time. As Xiao Xi mentioned, many eunuchs had homes in the capital where they kept wives and children that they had bought.
Zhou Yi didn’t care about a wife; all he wanted was to bring his parents to the capital so they would never have to starve again.
“Even if my lifespan is exhausted, it’s not bad as long as my parents can live well!”
Holding that thought, Zhou Yi spent the entire day practicing, accumulating over thirty strands of True Qi in his Dantian.
In the evening, he returned to his room, repeatedly reviewing the notebook where he had recorded his questions and recalling the Teacher’s techniques, striving to improve the efficiency of his Cultivation Technique.
Initially, it took a quarter of an hour to complete a cycle, but after half a month, it took only a fraction of the time, and it was halved again after half a year.
That day.
Upon rising in the morning.
Zhou Yi followed the two eunuchs, silently pondering the secrets of True Qi circulation.
Little Fang suddenly stopped, and Zhou Yi almost stumbled into him, only to hear him say, “Little Yi, haven’t you been focusing on your practice?”
Zhou Yi was momentarily taken aback, not understanding the reason behind the question.