Chapter 3: Chapter 1: Late Bloomer
Zheng Country, Qingfeng Prefecture.
Qingmu County.
The Li Mansion.
The night was deep.
At the third watch of the night, Wei Tu, following his internal clock, rubbed his drowsy eyes and rolled off the earthen kang. He fumbled for an outer robe in the dark, walked to the stables outside, and lit a lamp to start mixing feed for the horse.
The aroma of hay and beans mingled with the sound of eggs being cracked. Inside the stable, a half-grown black horse gave a cheerful snort and nudged Wei Tu’s coarse-cloth tunic.
’When will this horse-feeding job ever end? And to think I was a modern person...’
’It’s so hard to get ahead.’
Wei Tu sat on a bluestone slab outside the stable, pulled a dry pipe from his waist, and stuffed some sun-dried tobacco leaves into its brass bowl. He lit it with a piece of tinder paper and took a few sharp puffs.
As two plumes of thick smoke curled from his nostrils, he leaned back against the earthen wall in satisfaction, his eyes half-closed.
Back in the modern world, his family had been strict, so he never touched tobacco or alcohol, let alone the kind of dry pipes the older generation smoked.
But now, he liked to smoke.
For one simple reason.
The stuff relieved his fatigue.
After a smoke, most of his exhaustion would melt away.
After a short wait, Wei Tu saw the black horse had finished its feed. He knocked his pipe against the sole of his soft satin shoe a few times, dusted off his bottom, and prepared to wash up for bed.
A horse doesn’t get fat without a midnight snack of grass.
The horses of the Li Mansion had to be fed once at the third watch of the night, which was why he didn’t dare to fall into a deep sleep earlier.
If he ruined a good horse through neglect, he would definitely face the wrath of Master Li.
Wei Tu drew a bucket of cool, sweet water from the well. He drank a few mouthfuls to fill the empty corners of his stomach, then lifted the bucket and poured the rest over his bare torso, enjoying the refreshing chill that seeped all the way down to his tailbone.
Soon, rolls of grime were scrubbed from his body, falling to the ground.
’Am I already this old? I’m only seventeen, but I look like I’m in my thirties.’
Squatting down to wash his legs, Wei Tu caught a clear glimpse of his face in the muddy water of the wooden basin, illuminated by the stable’s lamp.
A dark, weathered face, a forehead lined with wrinkles unusual for his age, and white hairs at his temples all made him look quite old.
Only his clear, bright eyes, with their distinct blacks and whites, hinted that he was still a youth.
However, just then—
The face in the basin changed. Wei Tu’s appearance grew even older, transforming from a weathered youth into a truly hoary, wrinkled old man in his sixties.
Seeing this,
Wei Tu stumbled back a few steps in fright. After a long moment, he touched his own face. He pushed back his wet hair, which fell to his shoulders, and seeing that it was still black, he finally relaxed.
’Did I see that wrong?’
Suspicious, Wei Tu drew a fresh basin of water and looked at its surface.
The reflection was identical to his current appearance.
But after a moment, just like before, his reflection changed again.
The hoary, wrinkled old man who resembled him appeared once more.
This time, Wei Tu wasn’t frightened away. Instead, he carefully observed the "abnormality" in his reflection.
A few moments later.
The water’s surface rippled.
A purple-gold light, radiant and brilliant, appeared between the eyebrows of the hoary old man.
At the same time, a golden light began to flicker between Wei Tu’s own eyebrows.
A golden seal, engraved with the relief characters for "Late Bloomer," abruptly appeared in his mind.
’The "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart?’
Wei Tu was stunned.
In his previous life, he had loved reading xianxia and fantasy novels since he was a child.
He knew that traditional culture had the concept of a Destiny Chart.
An unseen Destiny Chart determined a person’s entire life—whether they would be rich or noble, poor or common.
And the Destiny Chart that had just appeared in his mind was purple-gold, undoubtedly a supreme-grade Destiny Chart of legend.
Unfortunately, it was the "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart, which didn’t seem likely to improve his current impoverished situation much.
As if sensing Wei Tu’s thoughts, the golden seal flared with light and transformed into two lines of text that floated in his mind.
「Destiny Chart: Late Bloomer.」
「Attribute: With perseverance, success is guaranteed.」
’With perseverance, success is guaranteed...’
Wei Tu’s mouth twitched.
’"Success is guaranteed" is far too vague. Besides, if I only become a "late bloomer" when I’m seventy or eighty, it’ll be completely useless.’
When he was old and his teeth had all fallen out, even if he became famous and fabulously wealthy, he still wouldn’t be able to eat meat.
Let alone enjoy the pleasures of wine, women, and song.
’If Destiny Charts exist, then... could the legendary Immortals also be real? The kind that live forever, roaming the North Sea in the morning and resting in Cangwu by evening.’
Wei Tu grew secretly excited.
If one could achieve dao through Cultivation in this world, then his "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart wouldn’t be useless, but a Supreme Treasure.
’Although Qingfeng Prefecture has no Immortals who open sects and accept disciples, there are Martial Artists who open schools and teach the path of Martial Arts...’
’These Martial Artists rely on youthful vigor to fight fiercely. But once they get old, hidden injuries surface, and they often die suddenly. Very few live to their sixties...’
’But Secret Martial Arts aren’t all about combat techniques. There are also Health Cultivation Techniques that can extend one’s life.’
’Those who practice Health Cultivation Techniques and avoid brawling often live to be seventy or eighty. Master Miaoying, who is recorded in books, practiced a Nourishing Body Skill and lived to be over a hundred years old.’
Thinking of this, Wei Tu made up his mind. He would first find an opportunity to practice a Health Cultivation Technique, and then he would search for an Immortal Cave Mansion to seek a master and pursue immortality.
With the blessing of his "Late Bloomer" Destiny Chart, as long as he persevered in practicing a Health Cultivation Technique, it would surely show its proper effect in his later years.
With a long life,
his chances of finding the Dao and becoming an Immortal would increase.
As for the combat methods of Martial Arts, the world was at peace right now, so they weren’t very useful. Of course, if the opportunity arose, Wei Tu wouldn’t hesitate to learn them.
He hadn’t pursued Martial Arts before for three reasons, besides the fact that literature is for the poor and martial arts are for the rich.
First, the path of Martial Arts is difficult. Without the right aptitude, it’s hard to achieve anything.
He was considering Health Cultivation Techniques because they were easy to start and the barrier to entry was low.
Second, the power of Martial Arts is limited. A martial practitioner who can match ten men is already considered a strong Martial Arts expert celebrated in their region.
As for matching a hundred or a thousand men, those were figures of legend.
Third, Martial Artists live by the blade. Most are idle wanderers who don’t hold proper jobs and rarely come to a good end.
The Martial Artists of Qingfeng Prefecture were mostly Blademen. They wielded Hengshan sabers forged in Hengshan Town; dismounted, they were farmers, but mounted, they were bandits.
’Tomorrow, I’ll go see Second Aunt first. She’s a concubine to Master Huang, and the Huang Mansion employs Martial Artists as Hospital Guards. They might have a Health Cultivation Technique there...’
Back on the kang, Wei Tu suppressed his excitement at discovering his "golden finger." After tossing and turning for a while, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
At the crack of dawn, Wei Tu got up to feed the horse and then took up a broom to sweep the courtyards of the Li Mansion.
When the master’s family was about to wake up, he went to the kitchen to help the cook start the fire and prepare breakfast.
Feeding the horse and helping with odd jobs around the courtyard—that was his daily work.
In the 15th year of Qing’an, six years ago, his father, Wei Bao, sold him to the Li Mansion as a servant, an indentured field hand.
Fortunately, after several years of hard work, Wei Tu learned the art of horse-rearing from the old Horse Groom, Old Liu, and was successfully promoted from an indentured field hand to the Li Mansion’s new Horse Groom.
As for Old Liu, he had died of old age before the new year.
An indentured field hand and a Horse Groom were both servants, but the former was a bitter, exhausting job with no pay. The masters worked them to death.
A Horse Groom, being a skilled worker, received a monthly wage and ate from the same kitchen as the masters.
The only difference was in the quality of the food.
While the masters ate meat, Wei Tu got the broths and gravies that had a hint of it.
