Miss Yu was currently lying in her bed with her face pressed over the pillow. There were tear stains on the silk bed sheet, but instead of a sorrowful expression, there was a smile on Miss Yu's face.
"I shone the brightest…" She muttered to herself as an embarrassed smile appeared on her face. Remembering her intimate action with Yi Chen, the embarrassed expression only intensified.
Turning around to look at the ceiling, she softly muttered with an expression filled with anticipation.
"Yi Chen…"
Night slowly deepened as she soon drifted into sleep.
Next Day.
Knock Knock
"Young master, it's morning."
An hour after sunrise, Yi Chen was roused awake by his maid's knocking. Glancing at the incense clock, he realised that it was seven in the morning.
"Come in!" Yi Chen said as he pushed himself up to sit on the bed's edge.
Hearing his words, the maid soon entered the quarter with a bowl filled with water in her hand and a plate carrying a few chew sticks.
A while later, Yi Chen wiped his wet face with a towel and thanked the maid.
"I'm only doing my duty, young master," the maid smiled and informed, "Master Ru has sent a man servant to guide you to the courtyard."
"Oh yes! I almost forgot," Yi Chen hurriedly got up just to see the maid taking out neatly folded white training robes from the cupboard.
"Young master, it's advisable that you change into these," the maid suggested.
"Yes, thank you!" Yi Chen hurriedly changed into the training robes and was guided to the courtyard by the man servant.
The courtyard was just behind the main quarters. It was covered in clayey soil and was 30 x 15 meters in dimension, a size similar to that of a modern basketball court.
In the courtyard, Master Ru was training with a sword in his hand. No robe was covering his upper body, which was covered in sweat. Sensing Yi Chen's arrival, he stopped swinging the sword and turned around.
"You're finally here, huh?" Master Ru asked with an energetic voice.
However, Yi Chen's eyes widened the very next moment as his eyes fell upon the countless old scars and wounds that had covered Master Ru's body.
'Freaking hell…did he wrestle with a bear or what?' Yi Chen couldn't help but think to himself.
"Haha, majestic, aren't they? These are the medals from all the battles I've gone through in this life," Master Ru snickered and continued, "Alright then, since today's your first day, let me first check your stamina. Do as many laps of this courtyard as possible. Get started then,"
"Yes, Father-in-law," Yi Chen nodded and started running around the courtyard.
With that said, Master Ru busied himself with striking down his sword over and over again, and meanwhile, Yi Chen continued on with his laps.
'G-god…I'm so weak?' Yi Chen thought to himself as he ran around the courtyard while struggling to breathe.
This was his twentieth round of the courtyard, which might seem impressive, but it wasn't. He had barely run around one kilometre and was out of breath!
As someone who could proudly run at least five kilometres in his former life, Yi Chen saw this as a great insult.
'No! I must cover at least two kilometres before giving up,' Yi Chen repeated to himself in his head as he kept running. This was a matter of pride!
However, this drive didn't go on forever, as by the thirty-fifth round, Yi Chen collapsed on the clayey ground.
His heavy breaths blew the dust near his face as he soon noticed two feet making their way towards him before stopping just a few centimetres away.
Looking down at Yi Chen's exhausted state, Master Ru couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Your condition is a lot worse than I thought," Master Ru muttered as he waved at a nearby servant.
Soon, two buckets filled with water were placed next to Yi Chen.
"The foundation of martial arts is your lower body. I can't teach you before your lower body is strengthened to an appropriate level," Master Ru said and pointed towards the two buckets, "Now that you've caught your breath, walk around the courtyard fifty times while holding these buckets in each of your hands.
The man servant will ensure that your bucket is always filled with water, so you don't need to worry about that."
'What the hell…' Before Yi Chen could even properly express his emotions on his face, Master Ru gave him another task.
"And also, once you're done with that, do another 35 rounds of the courtyard like before," turning towards the man servant, he said, "Don't let him leave the courtyard until he has finished all the tasks."
"Yes, Master Ru!" The man servant respectfully bowed while Yi Chen couldn't help but look towards Master Ru with a devastated expression.
"F-Father-in-law…please don't do this…I'll die," Yi Chen pleaded with a flicker of hope that Master Ru might change his mind in the last moment.
"Chen'er, while I was roaming the great lands in my younger days, there was a popular phrase among martial artists. It was like this: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Do your best, Chen'er, if you truly want to learn martial arts, that is,"
Master Ru said in an elderly tone, but Yi Chen could clearly see a sense of schadenfreude hidden in his gaze as he turned around.
'Now I truly understand how my master felt while making me go through all that torment when I was young,' Master Ru thought to himself as he left the courtyard.
'Father-in-law…to think that you would be this despicable,' Yi Chen cursed in his mind as he stood up while gritting his teeth.
His gaze fell on the two wooden buckets that were filled with water as a long sigh escaped his lungs.
Grabbing the two handles, he lifted the buckets and began walking around the courtyard with shaky legs.