Chapter 10: Attain Longevity, Keep Your Feet on the Ground
Outside the Servant Quarters.
Luo Fang paced back and forth, waiting anxiously.
“How strange, with Bi Hao’s current Martial Arts prowess, even in a real fight, securing that bodyguard position should be a sure thing.”
“Why do I feel so uneasy? Is it because of that suddenly appearing rogue kid, Li Xian?”
He pinched his chin, his brows slightly furrowed.
“Sigh, I’m overthinking it.”
“Once Bi Hao becomes a bodyguard, my nephew and I will team up, our position will be more stable. Hehe, as long as we don’t provoke Madam Zhuang’s Jianghu friends, life will be very comfortable.”
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on his face. After a moment, footsteps sounded, and someone walked towards him.
But they stopped several feet away, hiding behind a rockery, not approaching.
Luo Fang called out, “Nephew? Is that you?”
“Uncle Luo.”
Bi Hao’s voice sounded.
“Good nephew, why are you hiding? Hurry up and tell Uncle Luo how you won?”
“What was the format of this bodyguard recruitment competition? Also… did you gain Lord Pang’s appreciation?”
Luo Fang walked towards the sound. Before he even saw Bi Hao’s figure, all his questions had already spilled out.
“The recruitment competition… was… was a Arena format.” Bi Hao avoided the crucial points, feeling uneasy.
“Excellent!”
Luo Fang clapped his hands and laughed loudly, “An arena format is even more to your advantage. I was worried that if it was a competition of stamina or strength, your Martial Arts advantage might not have been fully displayed.”
“I’ve seen your Three Talents Boxing. It’s extremely solid. Hahahaha, did Commander Pang show any appreciation?”
“My nephew Bi Hao truly has the qualifications to be a bodyguard!”
As he spoke, he finally saw Bi Hao, who was covered in blood and looked disheveled.
He was stunned.
“Nephew Bi, you… you…”
“Uncle Luo, that Li Xian was too cunning. He desperately tore off my scalp.”
Bi Hao said weakly, his expression strange and his eyes darting away.
“I knew it. Those lowly beasts will fight to the death when faced with a chance to turn their lives around.” Luo Fang laughed, not taking it seriously. “He’s a bit disheveled, but it’s good that he won, it’s good that he won…”
“He didn’t win.” Bi Hao’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzzing wings.
“Didn’t…” Luo Fang’s expression stiffened, disbelieving. “Didn’t what?”
Bi Hao gave up, closed his eyes, and truthfully said, “Uncle Luo, actually I… I didn’t win. That Li Xian won.”
“Didn’t win!?”
Luo Fang took three quick steps forward, his gaze full of murderous intent. His usual warmth was completely gone.
“Say that again. Good nephew, don’t joke. This is no laughing matter.”
“Uncle Luo, truly… truly didn’t win.”
The moment his words fell, a slap had already landed on his face.
Immediately, his ears rang.
Before he could react, he was kicked in the abdomen, flying a zhang away.
Luo Fang said nothing, but slapped Bi Hao twenty times in a row. His cheeks swelled, and several teeth fell out.
“Useless trash!”
“You drank my precious soup, and you tell me you didn’t win!”
“You can’t even beat a Servant.”
“I really, damn it, want to kill you, you little bastard. Damn it, how could your mother give birth to such a useless thing?”
...
“Li Xian, lives in Lou Ping Alley, Qingning County?”
Pang Long walked ahead, recalling Li Xian’s information.
“Yes.” Li Xian nodded, his steps light, not making any extra noise.
Pang Long nodded lightly and said,
“You passed the bodyguard recruitment competition. From now on, you are no longer a Servant, but a regular bodyguard of Yihe Estate.”
“But there’s one thing I need to remind you. Although our bodyguards have better treatment and benefits than Servants, at the end of the day, we are still Madam Zhuang’s household Servants.”
“You need to be loyal and dedicated to your duty, and not be arrogant or overbearing. Can you do this?”
Li Xian said, “Of course I can.”
In his heart, he thought, these rules are good, but unfortunately, human hearts are complex. Few can even achieve the single point of “not being arrogant or overbearing.”
“The fight just now must have made you hungry. I’ll take you to Shizhai Restaurant in the main courtyard of the estate first, and slowly introduce you to the rules.”
Pang Long’s tone was gentle.
He seemed very interested in the thin Li Xian.
If he hadn’t misjudged, in the arena competition just now, Li Xian had first deliberately hidden his strength to make his opponent underestimate him, and then won at the last moment.
He had even fooled Pang Long at first, making him think he was just a Servant with brute force and ruthlessness.
They walked for over a li and arrived at a pavilion.
The plaque read: “Shizhai Restaurant.”
This building was exclusively for bodyguards, so many bodyguards passed by.
“Lord Pang.”
...
The bodyguards respectfully greeted him, and Pang Long nodded slightly.
After sitting down, Pang Long gently waved his hand and said, “Two portions of Grade D meals.”
“Lord Pang, you’re also eating ‘Grade D meals’?” the cook asked.
“Naturally.” Pang Long nodded.
Before long, two plates of food were brought to the table.
Li Xian’s mouth watered. There were three dishes and one soup: one meat dish and two vegetable dishes.
The meat dish was “Braised Pork Belly,” with three pieces, each about two fingers thick.
And it wasn’t lean meat, but fatty and lean pork belly. The surface glistened with oil.
Ordinary Servants wouldn’t get to eat this in their lifetime.
The two vegetable dishes were boiled bean sprouts and stir-fried shredded radish. Their appearance was ordinary, but they were seasoned generously with “oil” and “salt,” glistening with oil.
They provided a lot of strength!
They weren’t gourmet dishes.
But in this world, being able to eat a meal like this was already very rare.
“Eat, this is the normal meal for bodyguards.”
“bodyguards… bodyguards, to put it simply, are people who help Madam Zhuang look after the estate. If they don’t have some Martial Arts, they can’t guard the estate.”
“So, when you become a bodyguard, you won’t have to do the trivial tasks of a Servant anymore. But you also need to practice Martial Arts. Martial Artists cannot be sloppy when it comes to eating.”
Pang Long took his chopsticks and poured all the rice and meat dishes into the soup.
After stirring it, he slurped it from the side of the bowl, eating the soup, water, rice, dishes, and meat all at once.
In just a few breaths, he had eaten half of it.
Li Xian didn’t rush to eat, but instead asked, “Practicing Martial Arts?”
Pang Long didn’t answer. He “drank” his meal in one go. This eating style was truly unique, eating as if drinking water.
Amidst the whirlwind, there was also a hint of refinement. When the bowl was empty, it was as clean as new, not even needing to be rinsed.
Only then did he reply,
“Every newcomer is interested in practicing Martial Arts.”
“I have no obligation to answer your questions about the Martial Dao. But seeing as you’re new here, I’ll allow you to ask me three related questions.”
Pang Long added, “As long as it’s related to the Martial Dao, feel free to ask.”
Li Xian’s eyes lit up. This Commander Pang was different from Luo Fang and the others.
At least for now, he seemed very different, very principled.
“Three questions?”
Li Xian thought, since Pang Long said to ask freely, there was no need to be too constrained. He asked, “Can practicing Martial Arts increase Lifespan and grant longevity?”
Li Xian had just arrived in this world, and his current situation was dire. How could he dare to seek longevity?
He asked this question purely to quickly understand the outline of the Martial Dao.
Pang Long was stunned, looking at Li Xian in surprise. He wondered why such a question would come from a Servant’s mouth.
“This child is truly interesting. As a Servant, he can’t even eat his fill or dress warmly. After becoming a bodyguard, his first question is whether the Martial Dao can grant longevity?”
Pang Long said, “Of course it can.”
But he didn’t elaborate, instead observing Li Xian’s expression. Seeing that there was no fanaticism or excitement on his face, he then confirmed that Li Xian was not overly ambitious.
But purely curious.
Li Xian pondered for a moment, “Within ten li, can one find a path?”
Pang Long’s gaze was complex. This time, he neither said “yes” nor “no,” but replied, “It’s harder than ascending to heaven.”
“You have one last question left.”
After Li Xian asked two questions, he had a general outline of the Martial Dao in this world.
Extraordinary, mysterious… and that Madam Zhuang was someone who had grasped the essence of this Dao.
For the last question, Li Xian let his imagination run wild. He recalled the many stories and novels he had read in his previous life.
They all shared a commonality: gaining strength by absorbing some kind of energy from the air.
Whether it was Origin Qi, battle Qi, Spiritual Qi…
Could this world also be like that? Was there a similar substance in the air that Martial Artists could perceive and utilize through breathing exercises to grow stronger?
So he asked, “Is the so-called Martial Dao about sensing and utilizing some invisible force in the air?”
“Cough cough.” Pang Long looked at Li Xian strangely. “I don’t know where you got that idea.”
“But I can clearly answer you. Your idea… is too far-fetched. Air is just air. What mysterious power is there?”
As he spoke, he almost burst out laughing.
This kid was really interesting; his ideas were very different and quite unconventional.
Li Xian thought deeply, “Without Spiritual Qi or Origin Qi, where do extraordinary powers and longevity come from?”
He was extremely curious.
He also recalled the essence treasure that was being boiled up and down the estate some time ago.
Was this item related to the extraordinary?
Unfortunately, that level was too far from him for now.
In any case, he had already shed his Servant status, and his future days would be better!
You have to take one step at a time!