Although the three-courtyard house Xia Chen newly bought was far from comparable to the Marquis's mansion, in the capital, it was considered a luxurious residence.
Its location in the inner city, close to Central Avenue, was excellent, and the courtyard, both in terms of landscape and rooms, was quite exquisite, which Xia Chen immediately took a liking to.
Therefore, just buying this courtyard cost three thousand taels of silver, a figure that would absolutely be astronomical for an ordinary family.
The purchasing power of silver in this era was quite strong; currently, Xia Chen's monthly salary was only fifty taels.
A year's total was only 600 taels.
"Rice is expensive in Chang'an, and it's hard to live in the capital!"
Standing under a peach blossom tree in the courtyard, Xia Chen sighed and said.
One does not know the cost of living until one manages a household; previously, living in the Marquis's mansion, he never had to worry about daily expenses, so he had no strong feelings about it.
But now that he had moved out, he truly understood the difficulty; food, clothing, housing, transportation, daily necessities, everything required money.
Over the past decade or so, the gifts from elders during festivals and holidays had only amounted to a little over two thousand taels in total; if Cui Mengrou hadn't tearfully forced three thousand taels of silver on him last night after learning he was leaving the Marquis's mansion, he probably wouldn't even have had enough money to buy this courtyard.
"Young Master!"
A gentle and charming voice came, and a graceful maid walked out from inside the house.
Yes, Bi Zhu was now Xia Chen's person.
Bi Zhu had always been Cui Mengrou's maid; originally, the plan was to transfer her to Xia Chen's courtyard to take care of his daily life once he reached the Eighth Rank, but Xia Chen had been busy with official duties for a while and wasn't used to having an extra person in his room, so the matter had been delayed.
Last night, when Cui Mengrou learned he was moving out of the Marquis's mansion, she tearfully insisted he take Bi Zhu with him to care for Xia Chen.
Xia Chen looked at his aunt, who was crying sadly, and could only accept Bi Zhu...
Thinking of these things, Xia Chen felt a warmth in his heart; although his birth parents didn't care about him, his uncle and aunt had treated him like their own son all these years, truly not treating him as an outsider.
"What do you think of this courtyard?"
Xia Chen looked at Bi Zhu and asked; Bi Zhu had a hint of shyness in her eyes, not daring to look directly at Xia Chen. The Madam had transferred her to the Third Young Master's room, saying she would serve as a maid, but in reality, it was to warm his bed.
In wealthy households, when a Young Master reached a certain age, several bed-warming maids would be arranged, and these maids would remain with him until he married.
After the Young Master married, these maids would automatically be upgraded to concubines.
It could be said that from now on, she truly belonged to Xia Chen.
"I still have over two thousand taels of silver here; from now on, the household affairs will be handled by you. In the next few days, take people to the West Market and buy some maids and servants. It's fine if they're young, but their family background must be clean!"
Xia Chen handed a stack of silver notes to Bi Zhu, but Bi Zhu, somewhat flustered, didn't dare to accept them.
"Young Master, I am merely a maid; how can I manage household affairs? These matters should be managed by the Madam, which is the Princess."
"Who knows when we'll get married? Are we just going to wait for her? We've just moved out; everything needs to be set up from scratch. By the time she comes, the food will be cold!"
Xia Chen pulled Bi Zhu's delicate and smooth hand, then shoved the silver notes into her hand.
"You're the only female in the house right now. If not you, then should Xia Qian manage it? It's settled then; you'll handle all the internal affairs of the house from now on. I don't have that much energy to manage household matters!"
Xia Chen said with a smile. Bi Zhu lowered her head slightly, not daring to look up at Xia Chen, feeling the warmth from his hand as he held hers, her eyes slightly hazy, like a flower bud about to bloom in spring.
Occasionally, she would look up, her starry eyes filled with shyness, a blush quietly creeping onto her snowy cheeks.
"Young Master is so kind..."
——————
Night!
The bright moon hung high!
Xia Chen stood in the courtyard; Xia Chen was practicing his saber!
His Moves were incredibly simple, consisting only of the most basic chops, slashes, thrusts, and cuts!
Repeating them over and over again.
It looked incredibly ordinary, but an expert seeing it here would exclaim in surprise.
Because Xia Chen's Saber Qi was incredibly condensed with each Saber, like a fine thread cutting through the Void Realm, slicing the air itself. It was incredibly subtle, and those with lower insight would not be able to discern the profoundness within.
Xia Chen's eyes were incredibly focused; no matter how busy he was with affairs during the day, as long as he returned to his courtyard, he would chop ten thousand Sabers every day!
This kind of persistence and diligent effort naturally yielded astonishing returns.
Within Xia Chen's line of sight, small characters kept rising on his System panel!
"Proficiency + 10"
"Proficiency + 10"
"Proficiency + 10"
...
"Saber Technique Skill Experience: 9830 / 10000"
As time passed, in the courtyard, a young man repeated his movements, unyielding.
Not long after, Xia Chen heard a ding-dong sound.
"Your Saber Technique has reached Perfection, and you are about to comprehend One-Forbidden Saber Intent. Do you wish to claim it?"
"Claim!"
"You have comprehended Pure Yang Saber Intent, Saber Intent Rank One-Forbidden!"
"Experience required for Two-Forbidden Saber Intent: 30000!"
"One-Forbidden Saber Intent: 0 / 30000"
Xia Chen no longer paid attention to the small characters on the System panel; his entire being seemed to be pulled into a strange world.
He became a five-year-old child, following his Master to practice Saber. The sun rose and set, spring came and went, regardless of the heat or cold, Xia Chen insisted on standing on a large rock on the cliff every day, enduring wind, rain, and sun. At eight, Xia Chen's Saber Technique reached Minor Achievement; at eleven, Major Achievement; at eighteen, Perfection.
After his Saber Technique reached Perfection, Xia Chen bid farewell to his Master and descended the mountain to gain experience, stepping into the Mortal World. He traveled eastward, learning from various Saber Masters, encountering bandits along the way and experiencing rebellious armies. Fighting his way through, at 20, he joined the army, starting as a mere foot soldier, honing his Saber Intent amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
At 22, Xia Chen felt a realization, left the army, and continued eastward. Finally, he saw the sea.
Standing on Jieshi, observing the vast sea!
Xia Chen sat on a rock by the sea cliff, just as he had practiced Saber on the mountain cliff as a child, repeating the basic Saber Moves.
That year, Xia Chen lived by fishing, watching the tides ebb and flow, and observing the sun rise and set. His entire being had shed its sharpness; the Evil Qi and killing intent he had forged in the army's mountains of corpses and seas of blood seemed to be washed away by the seawater, completely internalized and gone. He had transformed into an ordinary fisherman.
Later, Xia Chen put down the Saber in his hand, no longer obsessed with practicing Saber. He lived each day naturally, no longer forcing anything.
He became a true fisherman!
However, this fisherman had a hobby: he loved to sit on the rock every day and watch the sun, often sitting for an entire day...
On an ordinary afternoon, the sun set, completely sinking below the horizon, swallowed by the sea.
Just then, Xia Chen, who had been bored on the rock all day, suddenly smiled, and a divine light burst forth from his eyes, like a great sun slowly rising.
Dispelling the darkness of dawn!
He picked up the fishing spear beside him and casually made a stroke across the sea surface!
"This Saber is named 'Breaking Dawn'!"
Xia Chen's voice was incredibly soft, as if he were muttering to himself, yet it was also upright and Pure Yang Qi, awe-inspiring, as if a god-Buddha was declaring to the human world.
Immediately, the sea, which had gradually fallen into darkness, burst forth with brilliant light. Fishermen on some returning fishing boats widened their pupils. What did they see?
Another great sun rose slowly, its light illuminating the world, and the entire sea area was re-illuminated. The originally smooth and flat sea surface was cut open, revealing the gully at the bottom of the sea.
The entire process lasted for five or six breaths, and finally, the vast and boundless seawater poured back in, but on that part of the sea surface, a vast Pure Yang Qi remained!
Just one Saber, terrifying indeed!