Chapter 581 - Jingshen Palm

“Cough… My memory is failing me. It’s all in the past… There’s no point in talking about it again… Besides, you’re now engaged to the Third Princess…” A flash of disappointment and apprehension streaked across his face as Weichi Song seemingly realized his faux pas belatedly. “You… won’t mind this, right?”

“Why would I? Besides, you’re not wrong after all… But there are certain things that can’t be salvaged once they happen…” The smile on Jiang Yucheng’s face stiffened even more, and it took him some effort to suppress his rising anger before he continued speaking. “Are you saying that you want to take back those items?”

With a bitter laugh, Weichi Song said, “I have no choice either. I lost almost all of the items that had to do with the late Crown Princess during that incident a year ago. On top of that, Chong Xu Cabinet is now unable to make ends meet… Those items are the only things I can use to reminisce about the times I spent with her.”

Irritation grew in Jiang Yucheng when he heard what the elderly man said. Still, he forced himself to wait patiently for the other to finish speaking before he said, “I can understand your feelings, Cabinet Master, but why don’t we do this instead? I’ll retrieve those items on your behalf and have them sent to Chong Xu Cabinet once they’re packed.”

An awkward look surfaced on Weichi Song’s face. “That works too, but those items are rather delicate and fragile. I don’t want to trouble anyone, so it’s better if I collect them myself!”

“Cabinet Master, it’s not that I refuse to pass you the key, but you should know that the late Crown Princess cared a lot about that place when she was still alive. It’s very important to both her and us, so we’ve been doing our best to maintain the place in its original condition, lest it gets destroyed,” explained Jiang Yucheng somewhat coldly with a stiff smile. “The best way for you to collect your items is with my help. Don’t worry about troubling me, and just feel free to tell me what those items are. I’ll definitely send them to you in the condition they are in.”

What Jiang Yucheng said might sound relatively polite, but it also carried tinges of irrefutable authority. The average person would give up just like that when they realized that he had no intention of handing the key over, but Weichi Song wasn’t the average person. Besides, he was here to find trouble with the other in the first place.

Thus, Weichi Song stubbornly insisted, “It’ll just take me a moment. I promise that I won’t damage anything in there.”

“Master Weichi—”

“What, are you doubting my ability? Or perhaps… my integrity?” Weichi Song cut in with a glare.

Jiang Yucheng already had a guilty conscience, so when he was faced with Weichi Song’s cynical scrutiny, he dared not meet the other’s eyes and could only shift his gaze away silently. “Since you’re so insistent about it, why don’t I go with you instead?”

He wants to keep an eye on me? Looking much more relaxed, Weichi Song answered, “Sure!”

Although Jiang Yucheng felt aggrieved, this was—unfortunately—the only way he could send Weichi Song away for now.

“I still have matters to settle, so I’ll take my leave now. I”ll see you tomorrow at Xin Li Garden,” Weichi Song told him.

Just as Jiang Yucheng was about to tell the elderly man that he wasn’t free the next day, the latter had already risen to his feet and was all ready to leave. “Oh right. Although you only suffered a minor injury, do spend more time on recuperation. After all, there are many things that need your attention now. You can’t afford to have anything happen to you, right?”

Feeling even guiltier than ever, Jiang Yucheng could only swallow his words and stand up to see Weichi Song out. It was only after the latter left the Jiang residence that his expression completely changed. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t have the time to find a better way to conceal my aura. I bet Weichi Song’s suspicion hasn’t been dispelled completely, so he’ll definitely continue to sound me out.

“Sun Qi.”

“Yes, Master?”

“I’m going into seclusion today, so nobody is allowed to disturb me!”

“Understood!”

…

As the night curtain fell, the moon shone brightly from above.

While sitting cross-legged in her room, Chu Liuyue’s eyes were closed in concentration. The force in her body was slowly but steadily circulating around, and her aura was gradually intensifying. As she recalled the Jingshen Finger technique, she stretched out her right hand and channeled her force toward her index finger.

When a small point of starlight appeared at her fingertip, a powerful suppression slowly spread across the room from above. She then began recalling the Jingshen Palm technique.

The entire collection of Ultimate Jingshen—which included Jingshen Finger, Jingshen Palm, and Jingshen Fist—was engraved on the four walls of the top floor of Tai Yan Academy’s library. The difficulty of the techniques increased corresponding to the skill level—with Jingshen Fist being the hardest. She had memorized the three techniques so well that she could almost recite them backward.

The first time she practiced Jingshen Finger, she had tried thousands of times before she finally succeeded. After that, whenever she had time, she would practice it over and over again. But now that she had finally mastered it, she could start learning Jingshen Palm.

In her mind, silver light slowly came together to form a blurry figure. She could vaguely make out that it was a man, but that was all to it.

When he raised his hand, a small point of starlight appeared on the tip of his index finger, which then split into several little stars and lightly landed on his other fingers. The silver light then enveloped his entire hand in a flash, and the man pushed his palm out with a twist of his wrist.

Tens of thousands of light points bloomed in the air.

Chu Liuyue opened her eyes and took a look at her right hand. Gathering all her concentration, she stared fixedly at the starlight on her fingertip and tried to disperse it. Alas, the starlight showed no reaction.

It seemed that she had expected this outcome, for she showed no signs of surprise or disappointment on her face. Instead, she continued practicing with more determination.

Back then, she had failed countless times before she finally succeeded in producing a point of starlight on her fingertip. Hence, it was only natural that things would be more difficult for her this time since splitting the starlight required even more concentration from her.

She circulated the force in her body and attempted it once more, but she was met with failure, failure, and more failures.

…

Moonlight spilled in from the window and elongated Chu Liuyue’s shadow as it shone on her still figure.

She had never once stopped staring at her own palm. If not for the constant flow of force around her, one would almost think that she was a statue.

Concentrated force would flow out from her dantian and spread to her four limbs with each attempt, strengthening and broadening her Yuan meridian in the process.

Time flew by, and the night was soon over.

When the morning sunlight shone into the room, Chu Liuyue finally managed to split the starlight into two, with one landing on her thumb. She now had two small but faint silver light points flickering on her hand.