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

A short while later, Li Rong entered carrying a brocade box. Jia Cong gestured for him to present it to Madam Xing. Madam Xing gestured for Wang Shanbao's wife to accept it, then glared at Jia Cong and said in a deep voice, "Remember what you said today. Be good to your father and don't make me worry anymore."

"Your son will remember Mother's teachings," Jia Cong replied with his head bowed, his tone still respectful, but a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Madam Xing didn't press the matter further. She took the silver with Wang Shanbao's wife, gave a cold snort, and turned to leave. Only after the footsteps outside the courtyard gate had faded into the distance did Jia Cong slowly raise his head, gazing at the empty threshold. He knew that the twenty taels of silver were merely a temporary measure; Madam Xing would surely seek further opportunities to make things difficult. For now, the priority was to quell the storm before seeking out Sun Tai to inquire about the opening of his Qi Sea.

However, of the one hundred taels of silver he had just received, only half remained. Jia Cong, disregarding his heartache, hurriedly went to see Sun Tai.

Sun Tai was unaware that Madam Xing had been there, and as usual, he had Jia Cong demonstrate a set of boxing techniques first.

As Jia Cong's fists and feet moved, they seemed to carry a faint, yet powerful, wind. This amazed Sun Tai, who quickly raised his hand to signal him to stop.

"Third Master has made further progress; he's mastered it in just a few days?"

Jia Cong quickly straightened up, gesturing for the other party to inspect.

"Master Sun, the flow of energy in my dantian was previously blocked, but it was unexpectedly cleared up unintentionally."

Sun Tai stepped forward, placed his hand on his wrist to feel his pulse, then pressed it against his dantian, and immediately raised his eyebrows.

"Third Master is exceptionally talented. Ordinary people cannot achieve Qi return to its origin even within a year or two. It must be due to the martial merits accumulated by your ancestors and your extraordinary bone structure that you have been able to make such progress."

But Sun Tai immediately noticed something amiss, smiled slightly, withdrew his hand, and gestured for Jia Cong to pause the practice.

"Third Master, if it's not something to hear, have you tried anything intimate with men and women?"

Even though Jia Cong had lived two lives, he couldn't help but blush. Sun Tai had seen through his affair with Qin Keqing the night before, and he was speechless.

Sun Tai, being an experienced man, assumed that the man and the maid in the courtyard had already engaged in intimate relations, which was not unusual in wealthy families. He could only wave his hand and offer words of comfort.

"Third Master, there's no need to be embarrassed. It's normal for martial artists to be full of vigor and vitality. However, it's not advisable to be greedy for this matter, lest you deplete your vital energy."

"Yes, disciple will certainly remember."

While continuing to practice the techniques taught to him by Sun Tai, Jia Cong secretly began to ponder: Could it be that his ability to guide qi back to its origin was caused by matters between men and women?

The concept of yin and yang harmony has existed since ancient times; it was merely a principle of self-cultivation spoken of by Confucius. Unexpectedly, it can also be applied to martial arts.

After finishing his set of punches, Sun Tai stepped forward with a smile.

"Now that Third Master has guided his Qi back to its origin, I can now teach him the next step." After saying this, he demonstrated the method of controlling Qi to Jia Cong.

"The master of controlling energy is not brute force, but rather guiding energy through the fingers and palms, controlling it freely."

Sun Tai pointed to the bluestone chopping board next to him and said, "What I taught you before was to lay a solid foundation and improve blood circulation. Now that your dantian qi is flowing smoothly, you need to learn 'guiding force' and 'dissipating force'. When you encounter an enemy, you should not collide with their force, but instead guide their force into yourself and then dissipate it. Only in this way can you overcome the hard with the soft."

After saying that, he beckoned Jia Cong to come closer: "Try to channel your strength into your palm and gently press it against the edge of this table. Remember not to use too much force. Just slowly guide the heat from your dantian to your palm."

Jia Cong stepped forward as instructed, calmed his mind and recalled Sun Tai's posture just now. He slowly sank his breath into his dantian and then guided it upwards along his meridians. When his palm touched the cool stone surface, he actually felt a gentle force overflowing from his palm. The dust on the edge of the table rose slightly, but it no longer made his arm go numb from the brute force as before.

Sun Tai nodded in agreement: "That's exactly the point. Martial arts are like life. Being too forceful is easy to break. Remember, Third Master, the core of controlling force lies in 'following' rather than 'going against' it. Just as qi and blood need to flow along the meridians, strength also needs to be released in accordance with the momentum."

This second level of martial arts is already extremely difficult. Jia Cong practiced for more than an hour and could only make the bluestone slab tremble slightly.

Seeing that Jia Cong's hands were already slightly swollen, Sun Tai stepped forward at the opportune moment.

"Third Master, there's no need to rush. Learning martial arts is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Like water dripping on a stone, the key is to proceed step by step, rather than forcing it with brute force."

Jia Cong wiped the sweat from his forehead and stopped his attack.

"Yes, disciple will diligently cultivate every day without ceasing and dare not neglect it."

"The Cypress Dew given to Third Master previously must be taken daily without interruption."

Although Jia Cong couldn't figure out what Sun Tai's unique recipe was, fortunately, the Cypress Dew wasn't bad to drink.

After seeing Sun Tai off, he took a long, refreshing bath and changed into a royal blue silk short-sleeved shirt, feeling much more refreshed.

"It's time to go talk to the ancestor about Qin Keqing." Since he made a vow, a real man should keep it.

Jia Cong knew that the old lady loved lively operas and sweet, soft foods. In a fit of anger, he took out the gold pendant with a cat's-eye stone that Baoyu had given him a few days earlier and handed it to Li Rong.

"Find a shop outside carefully, but don't go to the ones we usually deal with in our mansion. Find a more secluded pawnshop, pawn it for silver. Remember, just say it's ordinary gold jewelry, don't reveal the cat's eye stone's true nature, lest it cause gossip."

Holding the jade pendant, Li Rong was so startled that he quickly pulled his clothes tighter: "Third Master, this is a rare item given by Second Master Bao. It's worth at least six or seven hundred taels of silver. Do you really want to pawn it?"

"Clang!" Jia Cong said decisively. Since he was just an unfavored young master and it was impossible for him to openly hang this jade pendant on his waist, he might as well take it out to do someone a favor!

"I understand, Third Master, please don't worry!" Seeing his resolute attitude, Li Rong could only carefully put the jade pendant away.

Jia Cong nodded and added, "Keep the redemption contract safe. If there's an opportunity in the future, you can redeem it again."

Li Rong made sure he understood everything before quickly leaving the courtyard and hurrying towards the street.

Just before dinner, Li Rong stumbled into the courtyard, carrying a bag of silver like a thief.

"Third Master, Third Master, everything is settled. It totals seven hundred and fifty taels of silver. Please count it!"

The gifts Jia Baoyu gave were certainly not ordinary. Not to mention the pure gold, the cat's-eye stone alone, a tribute from Siam, was no ordinary item.

During the day, the pawnshop owner held the jade pendant up to the sun and stared at it for a long time, saying, "A cat with living eyes, a rare find in the world."

Originally intending to lower the price, Li Rong, following Jia Cong's instructions, only said that it was an old item passed down from his ancestors and that he was in a hurry to make a living, but refused to reveal the details.

Finally, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and gave fifty taels more than he had expected, hoping that Jia Cong would not come to redeem the pawned item in the future, and that the treasure would fall into his hands.