Simply Trading

Which was why he had been careful to avoid giving anyone an excuse to think that he was up to any truly nefarious scheme!

Even his little deal with Lingxi earlier would only give everyone who learned of it the impression that he was simply out to gratify his hormone-driven l.u.s.t. Something that most of the Elders would be more than familiar with, given their recent complaints about the Inner Court male disciples and their inappropriate behavior near the Rear Gardens.

Qin Feng smiled as he considered his earlier moves on Lingxi, and her reaction to the same. She certainly didn"t sound like she was going to refuse him, if he wished to take things a little further. And it seemed clear that she would try to convince this Sister Zhenqing to agree to his suggestion.

But how would the two of them handle Sister Xuan Mei and her suspicions, if they do become his lovers? Would he have to find a way to make her a collaborator as well? Or at the least, someone who would be willing to keep the relationship a secret from the rest of the Rear Gardens?

That would probably be the only way to hide the whole thing from Elder Xuan, wouldn"t it? If he thought that Qin Feng was merely ... infatuated with the lovely disciple Lingxi ... That would make things easier to handle, wouldn"t it?

Especially if his own daughter was playing matchmaker.

Then he shook his head, as he slipped into the secret chamber that he had dug out above his well-pond. He would worry about all of that later. For now, he had to concentrate on his cultivation, and not on the mess that was taking place in the Rear Gardens. After all, hadn"t he wasted close to three days on the women already?

It didn"t take him more than three steps, to reach his hidden cave from the entrance into the well-like structure. And he quickly shifted his puppet to sit before that single entry, so that he could take up a position deeper within the same.

Anyone trying to get in and disturb his cultivation would have to get past that soulless thing. And he would certainly be warned, once a fight broke out. But that would be his last line of defense.

The interior of the cave was small - barely large enough for one person to fit in there, given the fact that there was a large covered bathtub sitting in the center of the s.p.a.ce. That had occupied almost all of the room, and he took care not to disturb it, as he reached around it, to a small chest that was half-buried in the wall of the chamber.

Qin Feng grinned as he reached into the chest that he had buried there, and pulled out a small clay bottle from the same. From the herbal fragrance that filled the air the moment that he opened it, it was clear that the medicine had not spoiled during his three day absence. Which was just as well, since he didn"t have too much time to waste, hunting down more of the ingredients.

Of course, there was always a chance that he would come across more of the herbs that he needed, when he actually got to play in the Forest. He certainly wasn"t going to miss this unusual chance!

He stripped and sat down on the lid covering his bathtub then, pouring out the thick, pungent fluid from the jar into his hands and spreading it over his torso and his back. It was sticky and resembled honey, although no one would mistake its heavy, bitter medicinal taste for that golden delight.

Once he was done, he removed the lid and looked into the barrel-like tub, shaking his head as he noted how the level of the mixture within had gone down during the three days that he was away. And quickly stepped back to the pond with a bucket, to refill it.

It didn"t take him too long, although maneuvering around his man-sized puppet was a little more tedious than it looked. And it had taken him three trips to fill it to the level that he thought was suitable. And just in time, too.

The mixture that he had spread on his chest was starting to sting as he sat down in the bathtub. It was not his first time doing something as stupid as this, but this was the first occasion where he felt a distinct need to cultivate faster, to catch up. All that time that he had been playing those games with Lingyuan and her cronies would be nothing more than wasted, if this didn"t work.

And he certainly did not wish that to happen. Still, the medicinal paste that he had used before had worked back then. So there was little chance that it would fail now.

Wasn"t it?

Qin Feng shivered a little, as the cold medicinal bathwater covered him up to his collar-bones, chilling him slightly. Then he started to Breathe, and to circulate his qi. That was enough to warm him up, so that he didn"t feel the cold any longer. And started to drag in the medicinal effects from the water into his body.

He lost sense of time, as he concentrated on moving his zhenqi then. And all of the troubles of the Heaven Sword School fell to the side, as his mind focused its entirety on his Breathing, and the Jade Tree Foundation Art.

Then, all at once, he heard a series of sharp crackling sounds in his ear, as though brittle paper-like barriers with his body were being shattered. Then came a thin pulse, that seemed to uncoil itself within his dantian, and burst into his limbs, flowing straight through his central meridians!

The rest of his body seemed to react to that immediately, as the thin pulse flowed up and down the track, enriching the zhenqi that was spreading out around the same!

Qin Feng almost jumped up the moment that he sensed that take place.

What was this? Had he succeeded? Was he in the Foundation Realm already? Just like that? Wasn"t that too quick?

Then he grinned, as he shook his head. Why was he so surprised? Hadn"t he been bemoaning the fact that he had been bathing in these medicines for almost half a year? How can it be too quick? He should be cursing the fact that it had taken so long!

Qin Feng laughed as he stood up in the wooden tub, looking down at his own body. It seemed to have grown st.u.r.dier, in just four hours! The muscles and tendons seemed more defined, and he could sense his own meridians now, pulsating as he Breathed!

It was true! He has succeeded!

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