Upon hearing that Chen Zhezhe had drunk alcohol, regulated his breath to neutralize the intoxication, and then knocked out a master with a single punch, Qin Xin clicked her tongue in amazement. "That's quite an interesting trick of yours, but don't ever do that again next time. A single misstep and you could easily drink yourself to death. Hmm..."
She propped her chin on one hand and muttered thoughtfully, "The other party is a Baji Quan master..."
Come to think of it, Chen Zhezhe seemed to have quite a few enemies!
Qin Xin leaped to her feet. "We're not sleeping tonight. Come with me!"
After listening to everything Chen Zhezhe recounted, Qin Xin pondered for a moment and concluded that he seemed to have stirred up quite a bit of trouble these past few days. Given his current condition—even though he had reached the Qi Refining Realm, he still didn't know how to use his power—if he ran into a true expert, he would simply be at their mercy and get beaten to a pulp.
He still needed to learn some skills to avoid getting hurt. Though she despised the guy, she was eating his food and living under his roof; if he got injured, it would spell trouble for her as well.
Consider it her doing him a favor, then!
"What?" Qin Xin sounded dead serious, but Chen Zhezhe completely misinterpreted her words.
Not sleeping for a single night...
Chen Zhezhe smiled so broadly he could hardly close his mouth. "I still think we should exercise some restraint. Hey! I have your health in mind, too! Doing that kind of thing not only disturbs the neighbors, but it's also bad for the body!"
"What are you talking about? Cultivation brings only benefits and no harm whatsoever! How could it possibly hurt your body?"
Annoyed that Chen Zhezhe was walking too slowly, Qin Xin grabbed his sleeve and gave it a hard tug. "Oh, why are you acting like a woman? Hurry up!"
Chen Zhezhe nearly choked to death on that remark. Just who was the woman here, anyway?
"Why do we have to be on the balcony?" Chen Zhezhe asked, looking up at the starry sky outside in confusion.
"Because when you cultivate, you might generate a lot of body heat. The balcony has great ventilation, and letting the breeze blow in will help dissipate that heat!"
What? She was going to teach him Taoist magic? The kind where you hold a peach-wood sword, scribble a talisman, and it bursts into flames?
"I'm not learning!" he refused resolutely.
"Suit yourself. Just wait to get beaten and humiliated the next time you get into a fight."
Giving him no chance to refuse, Qin Xin pushed open the balcony doors. Chen Zhezhe's apartment wasn't small by any means, and the balcony in particular was quite spacious.
Nights in Jiangcheng were still pleasantly cool, with a gentle breeze stirring the air. Qin Xin nodded in satisfaction.
Once all the preparations were done, Qin Xin instructed, "Just follow along with whatever I do. I'm going to teach you a few simple body-conditioning routines to help you build a foundation first!"
She was wearing the pajamas Chen Qi had left behind. She stood straight with her legs together, feet shoulder-width apart, chest out and head held high.
Qin Xin was naturally extremely beautiful. In the hazy moonlight, with the gentle breeze stirring her long hair and her pristine white clothes, she looked ethereal, not like a mortal at all.
Her posture made her chest—usually not very prominent—thrust high against the front of her clothes, leaving Chen Zhezhe momentarily dumbfounded...
She was certainly well-endowed. Even if she couldn't quite rival Jiang Xiaoqiao and Shen Tingting, it was still more than enough to hold her own against any competition.
"What are you staring for? Hurry up and copy me!" Qin Xin scolded playfully.
He hadn't wanted to cultivate in the first place, but under the present circumstances, Qin Xin's words seemed to carry a strange magic. Chen Zhezhe nodded, stepped behind her, and mimicked her posture.
Though Qin Xin had lost her magical powers, her senses remained incomparably sharp. Without turning her head, she had a complete grasp of his form. "Don't tense up so much. Relax, relax! Just imagine you're a piece of willow fluff drifting in the wind!"
Alright then!
Chen Zhezhe did as she said, but unfortunately, there was an absolute beauty standing right in front of him!
He simply couldn't keep his eyes under control.
"Idol, hurry up! I'm going to run through a set first. Just watch and remember as much as you can, and I'll break it down for you movement by movement afterward."
Qin Xin let out a soft cry, stepped forward, and threw a punch. Even though her True Essence was temporarily gone and she lacked much physical force, her movements were as smooth as flowing water and possessed an exquisite aesthetic. Chen Zhezhe's memory was passable enough; he watched her action by action. As Qin Xin picked up the pace, her body leaped and shifted lightly like a white civet cat bounding up and down.
It was a very pleasing sight to behold.
Pushing all other distractions from his mind, Chen Zhezhe started watching intently. At first, it just looked nice, but as he watched further, he realized that every single strike actually carried tremendous power, yet the movements were simple, clear, and relatively easy to learn.
Intentionally slowing her pace, Qin Xin explained as she moved, "This was created by the founder of our sect, Master Yuanhua, who synthesized the beginner techniques of various martial arts schools of that era and refined them. If you coordinate this with the mental cultivation method I taught you, they will complement each other. The more proficient you are with the mental technique, the greater its power will be, and the more familiar you are with the fist techniques, the more it will advance your mental cultivation."
"Isn't this just martial arts, then?" Chen Zhezhe asked.
"Yes, and no. Many of the movements are derived from various martial arts traditions, but they are integrated with our sect's Taoist mental arts. You could consider it an sublimation of them!" Having finished the routine, Qin Xin swept around in a tight little circle and landed right back where she had started.
"Alright, take a moment to digest the movements I just showed you. Ask me if you have any questions!"
Qin Xin made for a pretty good teacher, and she was actually quite patient.
Chen Zhezhe replayed Qin Xin's movements in his mind, and after a moment, he nodded. "Let's go!"
"First move: Youthful Without Ambition!"
Qin Xin bent forward at the waist, extended both hands, and suddenly flicked her wrists.
This move was relatively simple, and Chen Zhezhe picked it up easily. Without realizing it, Qin Xin began to explain, "This name was given by our founder. He came from a family of high-ranking officials in the Song Dynasty and was well-off, so he was a pampered wastrel in his youth. Later, after being enlightened by a master of the Way, he entered the path of martial arts."
"The next move is Famous Mountains and Great Rivers. In his youth, our founder was fond of wandering and traveled the length and breadth of the country. Seeing the devastation of common lives firsthand is what led to the third move, The Prodigal Returns."
Seeing how quickly Chen Zhezhe grasped the concepts, Qin Xin instantly swelled with confidence. She figured she wasn't half bad at teaching disciples; perhaps she should just take Chen Zhezhe on as her student—even if he was such an odious wretch. But if he became her disciple, wouldn't it be immensely fun to string him up and beat him every time she had nothing to do?
At this thought, Qin Xin's eyes darted around mischievously as she looked him up and down.
Chen Zhezhe felt a creeping chill down his spine. "The next move..."
"Uh... this move is called The Hidden Dragon Enters the Sea!" Caught in the middle of fantasizing about how to make Chen Zhezhe beg for mercy, Qin Xin felt a guilty conscience and didn't dare meet his eyes, hastily demonstrating the movement. "Our founder devoted himself to martial arts, vowing to restore the realm, and pursued the Tao for over a decade..."
Qin Xin stood straight, then bent the upper half of her body all the way down. Having trained since childhood, her flexibility was extraordinary; she could press her head flat against her shins, and then she suddenly flipped around. "These two moves are linked together. The next one is called Sword Pointing Beyond the Great Wall."
Qin Xin was wearing Chen Qi's old pajamas, which were very thin. Since Qin Xin wasn't as tall as Chen Qi, the clothes fit her rather loosely.
However, the bending posture she had just assumed pulled her trousers taut, making her round, perky buttocks stand out prominently. This pose created an extreme contrast between her slender waist and the full, youthful curves of her rear, complemented by her long legs. Was there anything more stimulating than this? Even more stimulating was the fact that Chen Zhezhe just happened to be standing directly behind Qin Xin, getting an eyeful of the view.
Especially since the pajama pants were somewhat translucent; through the thin fabric, the white shape underneath was faintly visible.
She hadn't used Chen Qi's undergarments, sticking to her own set instead.
Chen Zhezhe immediately felt a rush of heat in his nose, but unfortunately, Qin Xin moved too fast—it was just a flash and then it was gone.
Noticing Chen Zhezhe standing there in a daze, Qin Xin asked with a hint of puzzlement, "Did you see that clearly?"
"Saw it clearly, it's white—no, I mean, I didn't see it clearly, do it again!"
Puzzled, Qin Xin repeated her previous two consecutive moves...
"Do it again."
"Do it again."
"Do it ag— ah... what are you doing?"
Qin Xin might not have been as cunning as Chen Zhezhe, but she wasn't an idiot either—especially since her impression of Chen Zhezhe had sunk to the absolute bottom. When faced with something she couldn't fathom, she only needed to assume the most shameless possible explanation, and it was guaranteed to be the right one.
So, she figured it out instantly.
Chen Zhezhe felt his vision blur; Qin Xin was already standing right in front of him, executing the very first move: Youthful Without Ambition!
Without a second thought, Chen Zhezhe leaned backward to dodge, dropped his center of gravity, and swept out with a kick—the exact second move, Famous Mountains and Great Rivers, that Qin Xin had just taught him.
Qin Xin was utterly astounded. It seemed this bastard actually possessed genuine talent; he had managed to learn and apply a technique on the fly!
However, a disciple was still no match for a master, at least for now. Chen Zhezhe felt his vision swim. Without using any True Essence and relying purely on footwork, Qin Xin moved so fast he couldn't even catch her shadow.
Simultaneously, his shoulder was lightly tapped. Reacting on instinct, he whipped his head around—and his body went flying through the air once more.
That fall was a hard one. Fortunately, Qin Xin's movements were merely skillful and she didn't put much muscle behind it, acting just like a normal girl; otherwise, Chen Zhezhe would have been in for a world of hurt!
As Chen Zhezhe sprawled dizzily on the floor, a pair of dainty, delicate toes came into view right near his face.
"I've tolerated you for ages! Today I'm going to teach you a lesson and let you taste my wrath!" Bending over close to him, Qin Xin grabbed the collar of Chen Zhezhe's shirt with one hand.
However, Qin Xin had left the top two buttons of her pajama top unfastened. Bending over like that caused gravity to pull at her chest, fully displaying the scale of her assets.
The unruly mounds of flesh were perilously close to spilling out, and Chen Zhezhe's eyes nearly dropped right into her cleavage.
"Ah!" Qin Xin shrieked in alarm, letting go of Chen Zhezhe to fumble with her top button. But at that moment, she felt a chill at her ankle as a hand firmly clamped around it.
With a strong tug, Chen Zhezhe yelled, "Down you go!"
Had it been earlier, Qin Xin might have relied on her internal strength to steady herself, but unfortunately, none of her usual methods worked right now. With a startled cry, she tumbled down as well.
Chen Zhezhe rolled on the floor, catching Qin Xin underneath him.
Thud!
Even though Qin Xin wasn't particularly heavy, the force of the impact still made Chen Zhezhe roll his eyes back. It felt like his dinner was about to be squeezed right out of him.
Still, this little miss had just dared to lay hands on him, and that was something he simply couldn't let slide.
Wary of how formidable Qin Xin could be, Chen Zhezhe didn't dare lower his guard. All four limbs went to work, and even his fifth limb was eagerly preparing for action as his arms and legs wrapped tightly around her before she could react.
Feeling herself firmly trapped in Chen Zhezhe's embrace, Qin Xin panicked completely. None of the Taoist arts she had studied were working; right now, she was nothing more than an ordinary young girl.
The posture of the two of them was an exact replica of when they had first met.
"Weren't you going to teach me a lesson? Come on, do it! COME ON BABY!" Chen Zhezhe's arms pinned Qin Xin's hands inside his hold as she thrashed and struggled with all her might. "Do you dare let go of me? I'll teach you a lesson right this instant—"
Both of them were youths who had yet to experience the world. Chen Zhezhe, having been baptized by instructional adult films, understood a bit more than Qin Xin, but he was no seasoned veteran either.
With the two of them pressed this close, Chen Zhezhe could feel Qin Xin's chest rubbing back and forth against his own.
"Ah, what is this thing?! You bastard!" Qin Xin felt her strength draining away, while a creeping sense of panic took root in her heart.
Looking at Qin Xin's expression, Chen Zhezhe felt immensely proud. "Struggle all you want, little miss. The harder you struggle, the more I like it. Still dare to mess with me?"
"Bastard, I'm going to kill you!" Qin Xin fumed, redoubling her efforts.
Oh? This girl had quite the stubborn streak! With his hands free on the outside, Chen Zhezhe had a much wider range of motion.
He raised his hand, and brought it down—
*Slap!*
He gave Qin Xin a smack right on her rear end.