Chapter 20: Changfeng Number

  "This one will do." Yang Yue stopped in front of a two-story wine building.

  Yang Yun was also a bit hungry, and didn't stand on ceremony with her own brother, so they went in together, found a seat, and ordered a bunch of wine and meat.

  The host first brought out a plate of braised yellow beef, several cold dishes, and warmed up another pot of wine.

  The two men raised their wine cups and first drank three cups in one go.

  "Come on, Third Brother, I didn't know you had such a good capacity for wine before." Yang Yue's eyes lit up, and as a sailor, who doesn't love wine?

  On one side was food and drink, on the other side was conversation.

  "What's going on with Boss Wang?" Yang Yun asked.

  "It's also the unpredictable weather, I followed the old ship, Boss Wang took out his family property and borrowed money to buy a new ship. As a result, it didn't even take a year to recover the cost, and this time the ship and goods were lost at sea. Boss Wang still had to compensate the sailors, owed a lot of debt, and could only sell this ship."

  "Hasn't made a move yet?"

  "Boss Wang is asking for a high price, and several buyers are complaining that the ship is old, so they're working together to lower the price, and it's stuck here." He sighed, "Drinking, drinking, there's great risk at sea, and Boss Wang is still the richest family in the village. This one deal could bankrupt him, I don't know if his family can even keep their 200 mu of land."

  "Then you can't start work?"

  "Yes, the ship can't be sold and the creditors are watching us closely, not allowing us to set sail. We've been calculating our route every day. Luckily you came today, I was planning to return home in a couple of days, or else we would have missed each other."

  At this time, all the dishes and wine were served, and Yang Yun tore open his cheeks and ate a big mouthful.

  Yang Yue initially followed along drinking and eating, but after a while there was no movement.

  Yang Yun looked up and saw Yang Yue's chopsticks suspended in mid-air, her eyes wide open like bronze bells.

  Yang Yun rubbed his nose and looked at the nearly empty stack of plates, smiling somewhat awkwardly, "Recently, for some reason, my appetite has increased a lot."

  "It's a good thing we can eat," Yang Yue came to his senses and shouted: "Little two, cut another two catties of cooked beef, bring six large pancakes!"

  After a drink, Yang Yun took his second brother to the Fan family to recognize the door. Fan Jun gave face and chatted with Yang Yue for a while.

  Yang Yue walked away, looked around and saw no one, took out a small purse from his bosom and stuffed it into Yang Yun's hand.

  "Take it and buy two books, also buy some food to supplement your nutrition."

  Pinched a bit, it felt like several small pieces of scattered silver, the purse was a bit old and worn out, and some sweat stains could still be faintly seen, apparently it was something that Second Brother had hidden on his person.

  In her previous life, it was these silver-haired children who came to this county town for themselves. Yang Yun's eyes were slightly moistened.

  Handing over the silver, "Second brother, I won't be polite with you either. I'm not short of money now, so take this back home and let Mother keep it. Father and Mother have suffered too much all these years."

  From the moment they met at the dock, Yang Yue found that after a year, this little brother who used to be a bit timid was completely different.

  Fan Jun is considered a superior family in the county, but he is very polite to Xiao Di, and Yang Yue also sees it.

  He took a deep look at Yang Yun, and without saying much more, "Alright then, I'll head back first. Once the dock's matter is settled in two days, I'll come find you again."

  "Wait a minute." Yang Yun said.

  Yang Yue stopped in his tracks.

  Yang Yun also didn't speak, but instead gazed at Yang Yue under the soft light of the rising moon.

  "What?"

  "There's nothing, I just want to take a good look at you."

  He patted Yang Yue's shoulder again, "Second brother, take care."

  "Haha, okay."

  After Yang Yue left, Yang Yun rushed into the room and sat down cross-legged.

  Bathed in the moonlight pouring through the window, the true energy of the moon's splendor began to circulate naturally.

  Concentrate your mind and dive into the sea of consciousness, entering the Hall of Stillness and Truth.

  In the center of the vast hall, a golden figure suddenly appeared again, surrounded by several silver lights swirling around.

  "Must give Second Brother a good technique." Yang Yun thought, he had just used a kind of martial arts called Guan Se Zhen Mo.

  This extraordinary skill is used by the top martial artists to find their successors, compared with common methods such as feeling the bones and pulse, it is much more convenient and quick, and can fully demonstrate the style of a top martial artist.

  A master of the martial arts can only rely on feeling to judge whether a person's innate talent is exceptional or if they have practiced martial arts, whereas Yang Yun can carry out detailed reasoning and analysis in his mind.

  In the golden figure, there is a faint layer of white mist in the dantian and limbs, which should be some kind of low-level gongfa.

  "It must have been when Second Brother was running the seas and learned from someone, I reckon that if he started learning as soon as he began running the seas, it's been about two years now, and to be able to practice this low-level skill to such an extent is quite impressive."

  Looking back, if he hadn't interfered, Second Brother would have relied on this nameless skill that's been passed down among sailors to actually cultivate himself into a third-rate master and become a leader among the pirates, which is quite an achievement.

  Unlike the Moon Essence True Classic, this time it was selected from existing Gongfa, so the speed was extremely fast. In a short while, three suitable Gongfa flew out and floated in mid-air for Yang Yun to choose from.

  "Yi Jin Jing is good, easy to learn and practice, but the level is a bit low. However, it's easier to transition to advanced practices later on. Unfortunately, its transmission in the martial arts world can lead to trouble."

  "The Blood Blade Technique has too much killing intent and is easy to fall into the demonic path."

  "This Sea-Traveling Technique is not bad, after mastering it, one can traverse mountains and seas as if on flat ground. While cultivating the footwork, one's cultivation will also increase. This technique is just right for Second Brother to cultivate while on the boat."

  There are many exercises that require a quiet and stable environment, the advantage of this "Dai Hai Jue" is that it can be practiced at any time without meditation, just by stepping on a few specific steps, it's really a good choice for those who often travel by boat.

  After selecting the exercises, Yang Yun found paper and pen, copied out the first two layers of the "Dai Hai Jue" exercise, and then began to focus on cultivating the "Yue Hua Zhen Jing".

  Unexpectedly, today's moonlight true energy was exceptionally active. After cultivating for a short while, the Fengxi acupoint started to throb vigorously, and a stream of true energy surged in like water flowing into a canal. Instantly, it merged with the accumulated true energy in the acupoint, and a cool sensation spread from my ears to my entire face.

  "Could it be that Feng Xi Cave was actually so easy to open?" Yang Yun fell into deep thought.

  Today I met with my long-separated brother and felt happy, also drank a lot of wine. Generally speaking, it's not suitable to practice qigong at this time.

  But the Moon Flower Scripture actually broke through at this time, which is absolutely not a coincidence.

  "The moon has its cloudy and clear, full and crescent phases; people have their joys and sorrows, partings and reunions. I wonder how many more surprises this Moon Flower Scripture, which I blindly drummed up, can bring me?" Yang Yun thought to himself.

  He had known all along that the Moon Flower Scripture had a magical effect on the spiritual aspect, and now it seemed that emotional changes, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, could all be transformed into fuel for cultivating the Moon Flower Scripture.

  Wine can help Món Huà Zhēn Jīng break through, it seems that it's not a coincidence.

  "The essence of cultivation is to depart from the mundane, so all methods are about adhering to one's original heart. Even those demonic methods that emphasize following one's desires still require an unwavering heart; otherwise, one would sink into a sea of suffering and never attain transcendence. This Moon Flower Scripture is actually going against this principle, indulging in emotions and harming the spirit, using wine as a medium... yet somehow it works, and can even enhance cultivation - it's truly a miracle!" Yang Yun exclaimed.

  The path of cultivation, Yang Yun thought he had already fully grasped it, but unexpectedly, a vast new world slowly unfolded before his eyes.

  The Moon Essence True Classic currently only lays out the methods for the Qi Condensation stage, and it's hard to say what will happen afterwards. Perhaps this path of cultivation can reach the peak, or perhaps it will encounter an insurmountable wall halfway through.

  Yang Yun was somewhat excited and also a little thrilled, pondering for an entire evening.

  The night falls, and the sun rises.

  Yang Yun listened to the birds chirping outside the window, feeling great, but unfortunately his stomach started growling at this time. The food and drink from yesterday had already been converted into nutrients for his cultivation of the Jieyuan Jing.

  I thought of Xiao Zhen's steamed buns and couldn't help but salivate. I got up and went out the door.

  Just as I walked out of the Fan family gate, I saw a familiar figure lurking around.

  "Second brother? How did you end up here?"

  "I had something to discuss with you, but I was afraid of disturbing you too early, so I wanted to wait for a while here. I didn't expect you to come out so early." Yang Yue explained.

  "What's going on?"

  "No rush, haven't had breakfast yet, let's go."

  Found a porridge shop and ordered two bowls of plain congee, a basket of steamed buns, and some braised eggs.

  These things were soon in the bellies of the two, Yang Yun's Jieyuan Huajing only slightly turned, and the food eaten was transformed into a thread of essence, which settled at the wrist.

  "The buns here are far inferior to those sold by Xiao Zhen, I'll have to go buy a few more later." Yang Yun thought.

  Yang Yue finished breakfast and took out the pouch of money from yesterday.

  "Yesterday when we went out, the captain of Changfu ship was recruiting workers at the dock. His new ship had just been launched and lacked a dozen sailors, but they were going to set sail this afternoon, so you can take this money back home."

  "Changfu number? Is it going to Fucheng?" Yang Yun suddenly remembered something and hastily asked.

  "Yes, you know this boat?"

  How could he not know? In his past life memories, at this time Yang Yun had yet to arrive in the county town, but second brother Yang Yue had already returned home.

  This incident became a lifelong regret for Yang Yunquan's family.

  Yang Yue missed the opportunity to board the Shangfu No. due to his eagerness to return home, but this ship heading to Fucheng encountered a storm halfway and took shelter on a deserted island where an unnamed treasure was discovered, and everyone on the ship became rich, causing a sensation throughout the county.

  He slapped his forehead with force, "Damn it, how could I forget about Chang Fu Hao, this is not the best opportunity to make a fortune?" Yang Yun muttered to himself.

  Yang Yue did not hear clearly and asked: "What did you say?"

  "It doesn't matter, as long as it's Changfu Number." Yang Yun said with a hearty laugh. It seems that in his past life, Second Brother had refused the opportunity to go to Changfu Number because there was no one trustworthy in the county town, so he personally brought the money back home. But now, because he saw himself, he changed his mind, truly a difference of just one thought.

  "Second brother, I'll just ask Uncle Fan to send this money back. The trial is only a few months away, and I've been planning to go to Hai Tian Academy in Fu City for further study. Since the Longfeng ship is headed to Fu City, I might as well take it too, and there's someone to look after me on the way."

  Yang Yue thought that his younger brother's studies were a big deal, and he had also heard about the reputation of Hai Tian Academy in Fu City. This time when they met again, he found that his younger brother was like a different person, speaking and acting with confidence. However, after all, he was only sixteen years old and had never been on a long trip before, so it would be better for the two to travel together.

  "Cheng, the Changfu ship will set sail at 5 pm, you come to the dock early to find me."

  Jinghai is a subordinate county of Fengming Prefecture. Both cities are by the sea, and Wunan has many mountains, but it's actually more convenient to travel by sea.

  Most cargo ships traveling between two places usually carry some scattered passengers, just pay the fare and go, no need to worry about not being able to get on the ship.

  Yang Yun took out the notes on the "Dance of the Sea" that she had copied last night and handed them over.

  "What is this?"

  "I accidentally found this copied in the county school library, it seems to be a martial arts manual, take a look and see if it's useful?"

  Yang Yue was very interested and took it over to flip through it. "Huh? There's actually a formula like this, interesting... Ah, there's a character here that I don't recognize."

  "It's useful, just take it first, I'll tell you the unfamiliar words on the way."

  "That's settled," Yang Yue put the Sea-Skimming Manual into his bosom, "I'll leave first, remember, this afternoon at Shen time."