Yang Xi woke up early and began practicing martial arts in the courtyard. The opening form of Taiji, wild horse parts its mane, white crane spreads its wings, brush knee and twist step, play the pipa, reverse reeling forearms, left hold the sparrow's tail, right hold the sparrow's tail, single whip, cloud hands, high pat on horse, right kick, double peaks through the ears, turn and left kick, left lower-body independent, right lower-body independent, shuttle back and forth, needle at sea bottom, flash the arm, turn body to deflect, parry, and punch, and apparent closure—moves that he previously could not perform with such swiftness—felt vastly more familiar today as he executed them as smoothly as flowing water.
The Qi sensation in his Dantian was much stronger. Channeling his energy into a strike, with a single palm, "Damn," he snapped a parasol tree in the courtyard about fifteen centimeters in diameter. Yang Xi was utterly shocked. Since when had he become this strong? Could sleeping with Agnes for just one night have made him this powerful?
Standing on the balcony watching Yang Xi practice martial arts, Agnes was so shocked her jaw dropped open. "Darling, are you even human?" Agnes said in astonishment.
"I don't know either! I wasn't this strong before. It seems I had a breakthrough today," Yang Xi said. What Yang Xi did not know was that the level of his palm strike today had already reached the Qi Transformation stage of martial arts. Nowadays, there were hardly any people in Hua Country's martial arts circles who reached this realm—it was the ability to injure people from a distance. Apart from certain frauds, probably only Yang Xi was left, though perhaps there were a few hidden experts among the common folk, though they too must be exceptionally rare.
Unable to make sense of it, he simply stopped thinking about it. A breakthrough was a good thing anyway. The two had just come together, so naturally they were inseparable. "As long as I don't hold any wedding with Agnes or perform any rituals, it shouldn't harm her," Yang Xi thought with a twinge of guilt, feeling as though Agnes were his experimental subject. He could only pull the darling in his arms a little tighter out of guilt.
"Darling, let's be this way for now, without holding a wedding. If we are still in love after three years, then I'll marry you, how about that?" Yang Xi asked.
"Darling, I don't know why, but I agree, because I love you and I can't live without you," Agnes said passionately.
"Let's go out and have some fun," Yang Xi proposed. Throughout the entire day, the two left their footprints everywhere in the busiest shopping malls of Hua Country. To make up for the guilt in his heart, Yang Xi bought whatever Agnes liked or laid her eyes on.
"To hell with fate! No one is going to take my woman away. I must protect this woman well," Yang Xi thought to himself.
The two came to see Xue Wenlin and Jiang Qiu. "Uncle, Auntie, this is my girlfriend Agnes. Agnes, this is Uncle Xue and Auntie Jiang," Yang Xi introduced them to one another.
"Looks like that girl Su Qiuyun has no chance anymore!" Jiang Qiu said with a hint of regret.
"Auntie, that depends on fate. I just don't feel that way for now, and besides, I've been with Agnes for a few months and feel she suits me very well," Yang Xi explained.
The two of them, along with Xue Wenlin and his wife, had a hotpot meal at a Hua Country restaurant and drank several bottles of strong liquor. Xue Wenlin had a high tolerance for alcohol, and the two men drank to their heart's content.
Halfway through, Su Qiuyun also arrived. She first cast a resentful glance at Yang Xi, and then began chatting gracefully with Agnes. Yang Xi did not feel awkward at all, because from beginning to end he had never promised Su Qiuyun anything. Although she was indeed very beautiful, Yang Xi felt nothing for her.
The group drank until late into the night before reluctantly parting ways. Su Qiuyun was dead drunk, and Xue Wenlin was so drunk his tongue was tied. Yang Xi had no choice but to send Xue Wenlin and his wife home first, while Agnes helped Su Qiuyun back and settled her to sleep in Agnes's former room.
Yang Xi spent the whole night worrying about the drunk girl and hardly slept. After passionate moments with Agnes, he went to check on Su Qiuyun once more to make sure she was fine before finally falling asleep with peace of mind. Yang Xi's biological clock, honed over many years, was extremely punctual. Since this was the UTC+3 time zone, day was just breaking at six o'clock. Yang Xi got up to train his physical endurance: one hundred pull-ups, two thousand push-ups, one thousand one-armed push-ups... By now, the two women had also woken up one after the other, both admiring Yang Xi as he practiced martial arts in the courtyard.
Today, Yang Xi was practicing Baguazhang, with its agile and versatile footwork. One could see that Yang Xi's steps were steady, light, and effortlessly transitioned, maintaining bodily balance and stability during movement and turning. Drawing in the chest and pulling up the back, sinking the shoulders and dropping the elbows, loosening the waist and sitting the hips—his movement was natural and fluid, without the slightest hint of stiffness. With palms upturned, downturned, and vertical, shifting in a thousand miraculous ways, his force application was precise. With a final palm strike, he snapped the already broken tree trunk from yesterday right off.
Seeing this art-like martial art from upstairs, both women were utterly shocked. Previously, they had only seen those flashy routines on television, but now with a genuine master before their eyes, this lethal combat skill combined with the beauty of a dance left both women spellbound.