Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

Jia Cong's eyes lit up. His efforts had finally paid off. The hard work these past few days had even given his hands, which he had never done before, calluses.

Sun Tai was only surprised by Jia Cong's rapid progress, but he did not know that he had lived two lives, and not only his memory, but also his physique was twice as good as the original, which made it easier for him to cultivate than ordinary men.

"Master Sun's teachings are excellent; can I now be considered a disciple?"

Sun Tai bent down to pick up the black iron cauldron from the table, tapped the cauldron with his knuckles, and said in a deep voice:

"You've already taken one foot in the door. The basic stance training is just the tip of the iceberg. Guiding and cultivating qi is the foundation of internal martial arts. Today, I'm just guiding you to understand the way of qi. You haven't truly mastered it yet."

As he spoke, he handed the cauldron back to Jia Cong, his gaze sweeping over the calluses on Jia Cong's palms, a hint of approval appearing in his eyes.

"Third Master is willing to work hard, which is much better than those ordinary young men who only want to play around. These calluses are proof of that. He must not slack off in the future."

Jia Cong accepted the cauldron with both hands, feeling the cool, heavy black iron, yet gaining more confidence than before. He cupped his hands and said:

"I understand, Master Sun. I will never neglect my daily morning and evening lessons."

Sun Tai then pointed to the celadon bottle: "Take half a mouthful of this Cypress Dew before practicing Qi each day. Do not be greedy. When the herbs have burned out, have a servant come to fetch it from me. Do not use other incense as a substitute, as it will disrupt your Qi and make it less pleasant."

The Rong family paid Sun Tai a generous salary, so he also taught Jia Cong some real skills. This Bai Zi Lu was a unique secret recipe of Sun Tai's school. It was said to be able to guide the qi of martial arts practitioners to gather and return to its origin, quickly clear the blockage in the dantian, and thus open the door to qi cultivation.

According to Sun Tai, one must master the third level of concentration and energy gathering before one can be considered to have truly entered the gate. Only then can one begin to choose weapons according to one's own preferences. In addition, from that point on, horsemanship should also be put on the agenda.

Before this, Jia Cong had mostly practiced martial arts, which was far from enough to qualify for an official position. War is not a martial arts novel, and even a man capable of defeating a hundred men cannot take on a squad of heavily armored cavalry single-handedly.

Jia Cong was not a superman, nor did he have a system. Every time he inhaled the secret herbs brought by Sun Tai and took the Cypress Dew, he always felt that there was a stagnant energy in his dantian that could not be dispersed, which made him feel somewhat discouraged.

He was somewhat discouraged, so he simply went to Jia Huan's residence and started gambling with him and a group of servants and maids.

Jia Huan had terrible luck and a terrible appetite; in no time at all, he had lost several hundred coins. Because Jia Cong was present, he couldn't make a scene, so he could only sullenly push the dice away, his cheeks puffed out, his fingertips furiously grinding the smooth dice together.

"I'm not playing anymore! This bastard is always working against me, it's such bad luck to lose!"

He was already of a wretched appearance, and this anger made his features appear even more contorted. The servant boy, Qian Huai, who was serving him, hurriedly stepped forward to collect the few remaining coins scattered on the table for him, not daring to say a word.

Jia Cong leaned against the table, twirling a copper coin between his fingers. Seeing his expression, a faint smile played on his lips. Without making a fuss, he simply gathered the several hundred coins he had won on the table and pushed them in front of him.

"It was just a joke, is it worth getting angry about? Take these back, and have the servant buy some fruit for us later."

Jia Huan glanced at the pile of copper coins, a mixture of embarrassment and greed flashing across his face, and feigned refusal:

"You won all of this, how can I accept it?" But he lingered, unwilling to retract his hand.

Seeing this, Jia Cong stuffed the money into his sleeve pocket and patted him on the shoulder: "We're just playing around anyway, why should we brothers be so calculating? I did see that your dice-throwing technique was quite good, but you were too hasty and lost because you couldn't keep your composure."

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan's displeasure lessened somewhat. He was usually looked down upon in the mansion; Bao Yu looked down on him, and Tan Chun scolded him for being unambitious. It was rare that Jia Cong, after learning martial arts, was still willing to play with him. For a moment, he stammered:

"What Cong-ge'er said is true... I have always been impatient."

Jia Cong smiled, stood up, and straightened his clothes. "I've just been idle. I see your Cymbidium orchids in your yard are quite well-maintained. How about you send me a couple later to make up for today's favor?"

He wasn't really trying to win money; he was just bored and looking for an excuse.

Jia Huan nodded eagerly, "Sure, sure, sure! I'll have someone move them to your yard right away, and I'll pick the one that's in the best bloom!"

With copper coins tucked in his sleeve and Jia Cong's words, his previous bad luck vanished, and even his brows and eyes relaxed a bit.

Jia Cong understood perfectly well that he should never spend the money of the poor. Seeing that the perfume workshop was doing well, he knew that Wang Xifeng and Grandmother Jia would definitely give him a share.

Caiyun had just entered carrying two cups of freshly brewed tea when she heard a hurried voice from outside.

"Is Third Master Cong here?"

He and Jia Huan lifted the curtain together, and seeing that it was Baoyu's attendant Mingyan, they could only clear their throats.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?"

Mingyan smiled ingratiatingly and pointed in the direction of Jiangyun Pavilion.

"Third Master, please forgive me. I am here on the orders of Second Master to invite you over for a chat."

Jia Cong glanced at the somewhat resentful Jia Huan, then slowly straightened his clothes.

"Since it's my second brother who's inviting me, there's no reason for me to refuse. I'll go with you right now."

Although Jia Huan was unhappy, he didn't dare to say anything, and could only kick the threshold in frustration.

"Alright, Cong-ge'er, go ahead and have fun with me another day..."

Along the way, Jia Cong tried to find out why Baoyu wanted to see him, but Mingyan only carefully led him out of the way by half a body length.

"Second Master is pressing us hard, so I dare not ask any more questions. Third Master will know when he arrives..."

Upon entering Jiangyun Pavilion, before the maid could even announce their arrival, Baoyu rushed out, his shoes not yet properly on, and grabbed Jia Cong's hand.

"Good brother, you've finally arrived! Come in quickly, you'll have to help me out today..."

Having just received the other party's treasure a few days ago, Jia Cong couldn't refuse, so he could only smile and help Baoyu steady himself.

"Why are you so flustered? You don't look like a proper master at all..."

Baoyu pulled him along while chattering on and on.

"Good brother, you don't know, but Madam just sent someone to tell you that my father invited several old gentlemen and Brother Zhen from the neighboring house to the newly built garden. It seems they want to check your studies, so they had no choice but to invite you here."

"No wonder Second Brother is in such a panic. Did Second Uncle send someone to deliver a message?"

"Not yet, but it's probably coming in the next couple of days."

Before the tea was even served, Jia Zheng's head servant arrived, standing at the courtyard gate and peering inside.

"Second Master, the Master wants you to go to the villa where he visits his family..."

"Oh no, oh no, it's really here..." Baoyu was momentarily flustered.

Jia Cong had no choice but to hold his shoulder down.

"What's there to be afraid of? We can't avoid it anyway. Let's go. We shouldn't keep Uncle and the elders waiting."

Xi Ren and Qing Wen, each carrying a robe and the other a pair of cloud-patterned brocade shoes, hurriedly came out from the inner room, their faces full of anxiety.