Chapter 42 The Early Bird Gets the Worm!
Chapter 42 The Early Bird Gets the Worm!
Wakefulness crept into Su Chan at dawn. It was a slow kind of wakefulness, one that made her want to stretch out every single muscle in her body. So, she did. Feeling refreshed after the stretch, she opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was Li Yundong's face. She frowned when she noticed the dark circles around his eyes, which were closed. His head, which was slowly drooping, quickly shot back up when it reached its lowest point. Li Yundong gasped and opened his eyes.
"Oh, you're finally awake. Thank the Lord Almighty..." Li Yundong said, shaking his head a few times. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Now hurry up and get off me! F*ck, I'm stiff all over!"
Su Chan sat up, then clambered to the edge of the bed. Her eyes followed Li Yundong's every movement as he sat up with a groan, then stood up to stretch his body a few times. She sprang to her feet and hurried over to Li Yundong's side. "Aww, you poor thing," she said, kneading Li Yundong's shoulders to loosen the tight knots there. "When are we heading out to look for a house?"
Li Yundong waved a few times, then pried Su Chan's hands away from his shoulders. After that, he let his body fall sideways onto the bed. "Don't disturb me please," he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. "Let me sleep and don't wake me even if its the end of the world."
He was already snoring a second later.
Su Chan tilted her head to the side and stood next to the bed, watching him with a puzzled expression on her face. This doesn't make sense... Someone who absorbed the Jindan's Qi shouldn't be this tired even if they went a whole day without any sleep...
Clueless as ever, Su Chan had no idea that while she was sleeping like a log, Li Yundong's manhood was as stiff as a log. So what if his essence, Qi, and blood had been enhanced to otherworldly levels by the Renyuan Jindan. Would any of those enhancements even matter if only one body part got to reap the benefits? Surely not.
Alas, the mysterious workings of the male anatomy eluded Su Chan and, after minutes of fruitless pondering, she gave up and went into the bathroom to begin her morning routine.
Ten minutes later, Su Chan emerged from the bathroom, fully refreshed. She'd expected Li Yundong to be awake by then, so she was a bit disappointed when she saw that he was still asleep. She pouted, then kneeled beside the bed to watch him sleep. After fifteen minutes of utter boredom, Su Chan couldn't take it anymore.
"Heeeeyyy...." Su Chan said, nudging Li Yundong's shoulder. "Wakey-wakey..."
When Li Yundong didn't respond, Su Chan tried poking his cheek. "Come on! Wake up... Time for us to go find a house... Let's find a new house!"
Li Yundong groaned. "For the love of the Almighty... I just fell asleep, dammit!" Li Yundong exhaled in frustration. "Just let me sleep for a while longer."
Su Chan rocked Li Yundong's shoulder back and forth. "No, no, no..." she whined. "How long is a while?"
"A while is a while..."
"No! The sun is already up! So rise and shine!"
The room was silent except for the sound of Li Yundong's snoring.
Su Chan gaped at Li Yundong's sleeping form, looking utterly affronted. Then...
Hehehe... An evil grin formed on Su Chan's face.
She pinched Li Yundong's nose without letting go, then burst into giggles.
One... Two... Three... Four... Five...
"Argh!!!!" Li Yundong sat up on the bed, scratching his head in frustration. "Are you trying to murder me, you ungrateful minx!"
Last night, Su Chan had decided that she would help Li Yundong in his path to become a great Cultivator, and Cultivation begins in the mornings! Su Chan twisted Li Yundong's nose harshly. "Come on! It's daybreak! The hour of the rabbit! You should be up and about, feeding on Mother Nature’s Qi! Not lazing around in bed!"
Li Yundong grunted, then slapped Su Chan's hand away from his nose. Nature's Qi? As if he gave a f*ck. He lay back down and buried his face into the pillow. "Feeding on nature's Qi? Please. I prefer Yin feeding, thank you very much."
Su Chan flushed. "Get! Up!" she said, smacking Li Yundong's thigh. Li Yundong slumbered on. Annoyed, she ripped the pillow from under Li Yundong's head, then bonked Li Yundong's head with it. "Get up! Now!"
Her only response was Li Yundong's snoring.
"Arrgh!" Su Chan growled, tossing the pillow right onto Li Yundong's face. Then, she glared at him for a moment.
Fine! Su Chan thought. You made me do this! Don't say I didn't warn you! She reached up and pull out a strand of her hair. Then, she channeled her Qi into the strand, causing it to become stiff and rigid like a needle.
Take this! Su Chan jabbed the needle-like strand of her hair into Li Yundong's Baihui.
Li Yundong yelped and leaped off the bed. "What is the matter with you!?" he yelled, glaring at Su Chan with both hands covering the top of his head.
Yay!!!! Su Chan thought, grinning at Li Yundong. Then, she pounced and grabbed Li Yundong's hand. "Are you awake now?" she asked, her eyes sparkling brightly.
Well, Su Chan didn't really have to ask, since she knew what she was doing. The Baihui's position is above all other acupoints in the human body. It is also the acupoint where all the Yang Qi in the human body converges. Sufficient stimulation of the Baihui would mobilize the Qi of the entire human body, bringing instant reinvigoration.
Li Yundong rubbed his face with his palm. Huh, he thought. I don't think I feel so tired now. Weird. He lowered his hand and looked at Su Chan's strangely. Must be one of her medical tricks again. He sighed, then said, "Fine, you win. Let me go wash up, then we'll be off."
When he tried to get up, however, Su Chan shook her head at him and pushed him back onto the bed. Then, she ran to the window and drew the curtains open. Sunlight streamed in, giving every surface in the room a soft luster. Su Chan stood in front of the window, glancing around the room. Li Yundong stared at her in confusion.
"What are you looking for?" he asked.
She didn't answer, but ran towards the bed and pulled Li Yundong to his feet instead.
Su Chan got him to sit down cross-legged on the carpet. "I'm giving you a massage!" Su Chan said in a cheery tone.
"Sure," Li Yundong said, closing his eyes. Who was he to deny an "orgasmic" massage given by a beautiful woman? Please. He effing deserved it after the torture he'd been through last night.
Su Chan performed the Butterfly Flower Gathering technique again.
As far as Su Chan could tell, the best time for Li Yundong to Cultivate was during the hour of the rat — the time between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. (T/N: This is a common 12-hour system used in ancient China and Japan; the day is divided into 12 intervals and each interval is assigned to a Chinese zodiac)
Back in the mountains, Su Chan had memorized the classic medical text, "The Illustrated Wings of the Classified Canon," and there was a line in it that stuck out to her: the Yang's reign begins at the hour of the rat.
In other words, the hour of the rat is the time period where Mother Nature’s Yin Qi dwindles and its Yang Qi starts to thrive.
As such, the hour of the rat marks the most effective time period for any form of Cultivation training. Cultivators who practice Xiao Zhoutian during this time period would typically feel invigorated for the rest of the day.
The real goal, however, is to reach a stage where an effective Xiao Zhoutian can be performed at any time of the day, not just during the hour of the rat. A Cultivator who reaches such a stage is said to have mastered the foundations of Xiao Zhoutian training. In other words, they are ready to begin their Da Zhoutian training.
All meridians inside the human body can be classified into two types — standard and extraordinary. Specifically, there are twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians inside the human body. In a way, these meridians are like muscles; they become strong through constant activation. And the way these meridians are activated is by having Qi flow through them, which is precisely what Xiao Zhoutian and Da Zhoutian are meant to do. Xiao Zhoutian is taught first because it trains only two of the eight extraordinary meridians, namely the Ren and Du meridians. The remaining meridians can only be trained through Da Zhoutian.
The activation of these meridians grants a Cultivator two abilities. The first is the ability to amass and gather Qi at any part of their body, otherwise known as Qining (fifth stage of the Lianqi phase/ 5th dan 2nd phase of Cultivation). Think of the human body as a piece of land, and the meridians as roads and highways. To access every part of a piece of land, it is necessary to build roads and highways that link together different regions of the land. The second ability is the ability to summon and control one's Qi at will.
By giving Li Yundong a massage, Su Chan was trying to mobilize his Qi, which was essentially the same as Cultivating. Admittedly, the time wasn't ideal since it was the hour of the rabbit, not the rat. Then again, she figured it wouldn't be too bad since nature's Yang Qi is the most vigorous during the hour of the rabbit.
So began Li Yundong's journey to greatness.
***
Is this a new trick? Li Yundong thought. Feels kinda different...
Different was definitely an understatement. Last time, the pleasure was limited to his skin, muscles, and meridians. This time, however, it felt as though there was a cauldron inside his lower abdomen, where liquid pleasure brewed. Then, he heard something, two sounds rang out in unison. The first was the sound of howling wind. The second one was a bit peculiar, like the cries of a... condor?
Then, the brewing pleasure finally reached its boiling point. A moment later, it erupted from the imaginary cauldron in his lower abdomen like a geyser, sending jets of liquid pleasure from his lower body straight into his head.
While Li Yundong was wallowing in euphoria, Su Chan was tense and vigilant. In fact, she hadn't so much as blinked ever since she began the massage.
This was the moment she'd been waiting for, the moment where the Jindan's Qi would diverge from his Ren and Du meridians and venture into other meridians. In other words, they were now about to cross the bridge between Xiao Zhoutian and Da Zhoutian.
A lot of Cultivators failed during this stage of Cultivation. They couldn't make the transition from Xiao Zhoutian to Da Zhoutian and, as a result, forever remained a "Qigong master" rather than a true Cultivator.
Su Chan would see to it that the same didn't happen to Li Yundong, and she believed she could do it. Her mastery of the Butterfly Flower Gathering massage technique, coupled with the Renyuan Jindan's Qi coursing through Li Yundong's body, would enable Li Yundong to bridge the gap between Xiao Zhoutian and Da Zhoutian. She was sure of it.
First, she had to gather Li Yundong's powerful Qi at his Baihui. Come on, come on... Su Chan thought, guiding Li Yundong's Qi flow with her fingers. Yes! Li Yundong's Qi was now gathered at his Baihui. Time for the next step... Su Chan took a breath. Now, she had to guide his Qi into his other meridians. Here we go—
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Housekeeping!"
Su Chan jumped, causing her fingers to leave the top of Li Yundong's head.
Having lost the guidance from Su Chan's fingers, Li Yundong's Qi gushed from the top of his head back to the rest of his body through the Ren and Du meridians. Li Yundong's body shuddered in pleasure, and he released a long, erotic moan.
Poor cleaning lady at the door thought she had just overheard a man and a woman going at it like bunnies inside the room. So early in the morning, no less! How shameless!
The cleaning lady blushed.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Housekeeping!"
Su Chan pouted and glared at the door. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! We were so close! This was why it was best to do this during the hour of the rat: one, they would unlikely be interrupted; two, the Yang Qi inside Li Yundong's body would be purer, which would substantially reduce the amount of time required to bridge the gap.
Once again, Su Chan was reminded of the wisdom that her master had once imparted on her. In the world of Cultivation, the early bird gets the worm!
Not just early in one's lifetime, but early in the day as well!
Li Yundong's lazy voice interrupted Su Chan's musings: "Ahh... With your massage skills, we definitely won't starve to death even if we are broke..."
Su Chan laughed and smacked Li Yundong's head. "You're pathetic! Now get up! Let's go find a house!"
Li Yundong waved lazily. "Well, come on then. Let's go find our new home!"
Our new home.
She liked the sound of that.