The dawn just broke, and the eastern sky was faintly white.
Liuu Town, West Street.
"Young Master, it's time to get up." The crisp voice of the girl sounded by his ear.
Chu Ming struggled to open his eyes and glanced at the maid waiting by the bedside.
"Little Shan, how do you manage to be so punctual every day?"
He had been in this world for ten days, woken up at 5 a.m., still not quite used to it, as in his past life, it was only 6 a.m. at this time.
At six, he was just about to sleep, how did he end up getting up?
He spent the whole night rushing to meet a deadline till dawn, extremely tired, hadn't laid down to sleep, and ended up falling here when he woke up again.
The original owner was originally the third young master of a wealthy merchant in the city, but as an illegitimate son born to a maid, he was ostracized everywhere.
A year ago, his mother passed away, and this third young master was driven out of the family by the official wife of the merchant, for being uneducated and tarnishing the family reputation.
The two major charges were not the false allegations imposed by that lady; the original owner was indeed like that.
He didn't read the Classic of Poetry or Military Skill, but loved travelogues and talking books.
He didn't practice martial arts to strengthen his body, but enjoyed going to brothels to listen to songs.
In Chu Ming's opinion, that was being uneducated and idly waiting to die.
The Great Qin Dynasty, with the Exotic Race eyeing covetously, demons and evil rampant.
Youths like the original owner, with ambition, would either take exams to earn a title and get some official post or put on armor to join the army and fight enemies in battle.
Even without great aspirations, at the age of sixteen, one should take on the responsibility of a small family.
It could only be said, the original owner was born blessed, just being lazy; even his wealthy merchant father despaired but wouldn't let him starve, with no need to worry too much about food and clothing.
But no matter how good the fate is, it can't withstand such recklessness; the original owner was so indulged in travelogues that meals were not taken properly, consequently becoming so weak that he couldn't even walk.
"Little Shan, why is there no meat in today's morning porridge?"
"Young Master..." The maid was somewhat uneasy, "The big madam hasn't sent this month's silver coins yet."
"Isn't there any reserve?"
"It was all spent by Young Master on buying travelogues and talking books..."
Serves him right to starve!
Chu Ming quickly downed the morning porridge, it was tasteless, but he really needed to eat, this body was too weak.
The little maid unwittingly swallowed her saliva, didn't the Young Master hate drinking plain porridge the most before?
"Is there more?"
"Gulp... There is, a little..."
Chu Ming looked at the maid in a flustered state, gently touched her hair, "Oh, you drink it."
"Ah? The Young Master won't drink more?"
"I'm full."
Chu Ming walked to the writing desk, sat cross-legged, and picked up a travelogue named "Sword Gourd Journey" to read.
The content of "Sword Gourd Journey" was somewhat akin to the novels he read in his past life, telling the tale of a swordsman traveling mountains and rivers seeking immortals with just one sword and one gourd.
Little Shan saw the Young Master started reading a travelogue right after eating, her slightly red face showing worry.
The Young Master's last serious illness was due to reading those travelogues.
But she was just a little maid, she couldn't manage what the Young Master did.
Chu Ming glanced at the departing maid, his face remained calm as he continued reading "Sword Gourd Journey."
Meanwhile, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Reading (Entry-level): Ten lines at a glance]
[Progress: 90/100]
"Almost there, if I read for another day today, the progress should be full."
The second day he arrived here, this panel-like thing appeared, without much thought, he knew what this was.
Simply put, it's a golden finger panel for grinding skills.
In ten days, he tried many things, like punching, wielding a knife or gun, but no other skills appeared.
He thought it might be related to the foundation laid by the original owner who read travelogues for years.
As for the other... better than flowery and flashy moves, without any rules, and his body was still weak, how could a skill appear.
Outside, the small courtyard.
Little Shan walked towards the kitchen with an empty bowl.
"The Young Master has finished drinking?" a slightly gray-haired but still upright elderly man asked.
"Ah... good morning, Housekeeper Fang, the Young Master drank it in a few gulps."
"Did he ask for more?"
"He did..." Little Shan recalled the Young Master's expression, hesitated, "But it seemed like he didn't..."
"You little girl, are you teasing Grandpa Fang?"
"No, Housekeeper Fang, Little Shan wouldn't dare."
"Call me Grandpa Fang!"
"Grandpa Fang, Little Shan feels the Young Master has changed."
"Oh, how has he changed?"
...
Inside the room, Chu Ming's eyes were as sharp as a hawk, swiftly scanning over the travelogue.
Twenty-something lines on a page, he could finish reading in two or three breaths.
Progress: 91...92...93...
By noon, when Chu Ming had read most of the travelogue, the text on the panel no longer showed moving numbers for progress.
[Reading (Minor Success): A photographic memory]
[Progress: 1/100]
Finally, he reached the next tier.
"From entry-level to minor success, ten lines at a glance become a photographic memory..."
Chu Ming slightly closed his eyes and recalled the content on "Sword Gourd Journey."
Ten lines at a glance, made reading fast, but also quick to forget, not much of the text was remembered, a bit like a cursory glance.
But with 'a photographic memory'...
He waited for about half an hour until he mainly forgot what he had just read, then picked up the travelogue again to read.
This time, not only did he read quickly, but it felt as if the contents were etched into his mind; after flipping through a dozen pages, he still clearly remembered all the previous contents and could even recite them.
"Ten lines at a glance plus a photographic memory, not to mention anything else; using it to read Classic of Poetry and Military Skills, and to earn a title, that's quite simple."
"It seems the increase in progress has slowed significantly, though."
He finished the entire "Sword Gourd Journey," and the progress of reading had just grown by two points, a vast difference from before.
He placed "Sword Gourd Journey" aside and picked up other travelogues to browse through.
The original owner didn't leave him much silver coins or wealth, but there were indeed many travelogues, over twenty books.
He rapidly skimmed through book after book, with the [Reading] progress inching forward slowly.
After revisiting all the travelogues, the progress barely reached '20'.
And thereafter, no matter how he read, the progress did not change.
The stories of more than twenty travelogues had all been firmly remembered by him. When he looked at the first page, he would automatically start reciting the next page's text, how could the progress possibly increase this way.
"Seems I need to read new books to make it happen..."
"But buying books needs money, and so does reinforcing the body..."
Chu Ming put down "Sword Gourd Journey" and walked out of the house, stretching his muscles in the courtyard.
Grinding skills, though seemingly simple, is actually quite taxing.
If it weren't for his patience surpassing that of ordinary people's, sitting for half a day in such a monotonous manner wouldn't be an easy chore, aside from the original owner.
After a few rounds, a sense of fatigue surged through him.
"Young Master, go back to rest." Housekeeper Fang, sitting under the eaves, said in a plain tone.
"Yeah."
Although somewhat unwilling to admit that this body was indeed quite weak, Chu Ming really couldn't hold on.
He returned to the house to rest, passed a silent night.
...
On the following morning, after breakfast, Chu Ming flipped through a few travelogues, and the [Reading] progress barely increased, remaining stagnant at '23', unmoved.
Having no choice, he began trying to punch, clap, and kick, awkwardly practicing some martial arts moves he remembered from his past life, hoping to grind out a skill akin to martial techniques.
However, after messing around for more than an hour, no martial arts skills emerged; instead, he was exhausted.
After a brief rest, he went to the courtyard, sat down, and continued reading travelogues.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door; Little Shan wiped her hands, and trotted over to open it.
"Little Shan, have you thought about the thing I mentioned last time?" A somewhat sharp voice sounded.
"Qin Gui!" Little Shan recoiled in fear, taking two steps back.
Hearing this, Housekeeper Fang came over, blocking the doorway with a cold expression.
Qin Gui, upon seeing Housekeeper Fang, showed a trace of fear on his face.
"Housekeeper Fang, no, uh, I'm just here to deliver the monthly salary." Qin Gui said, taking out silver coins from his pocket and handing them over.
Monthly salary?