When Chu Mu presented the Token, the bookstore owner, who had been speaking so eloquently, suddenly faltered. A moment later, his smile grew even brighter.
"So you're an officer from the Inspection Department! Forgive this old man, I was blind to your esteemed status…"
"How about this, Sir? The items you've chosen are originally eighteen silver. I'll give you a discount and make it fifteen silver. How does that sound?"
Chu Mu gave the bookstore owner a long, hard look. After a moment, his tense expression suddenly relaxed, and an equally brilliant smile bloomed on his face.
"In that case… I'll gladly accept."
With that, Chu Mu took out a few pieces of Paper Currency and placed them on the desk.
"You're a decisive man, Sir. Come back to my humble shop anytime, and I'll personally see to it that you get a ten percent discount."
Hearing this, a glint flashed in Chu Mu's eyes. He smiled, then changed the subject. "I have a young relative who's reached schooling age. Do you happen to know what the tuition is for the government academy?"
"The government academy?"
The bookstore owner paused, then said, "The government academy is quite expensive. The private school run by Chang the Scholar only costs forty silver a year for tuition. The government academy costs sixty silver."
"However, the instructor at the government academy is our county's own Wang Juren. He's a proper official, registered with the Court's Ministry of Personnel. If a position opens up, he could easily become a county magistrate. Forging a master-disciple relationship with someone like that… well, that's worth a lot more than a mere twenty silver."
Chu Mu nodded. He didn't press for more details, just exchanged a few more pleasantries before leaving the bookstore with the writing supplies he had purchased.
'Knowledge is priceless…'
Glancing back at the bookstore, Chu Mu couldn't help but shake his head. With the cost of education being so high, how could anyone just write it off with a simple phrase like 'knowledge is priceless'?
The thought was fleeting, and Chu Mu quickly pushed it aside.
'Matters concerning the state of the world have nothing to do with me.'
'And even if they did, I'd have to do everything I could to distance myself from them.'
'I'm just a nobody. And a nobody has to know his place.'
As far as self-awareness went, Chu Mu felt he had a pretty good handle on it.
'Then again,' he mused, 'this era really is fascinating.'
'On the one hand, food is dirt cheap. On the other, education is exorbitantly expensive. And it seems medical care is pricey, too.'
'And judging by the Paper Currency, the manufacturing technology of this era must have some remarkably advanced aspects.'
Lost in these rambling thoughts, Chu Mu soon found himself back at his little home.
He glanced at the "Spiritual Radiance Value" on the Light Curtain Panel. A few hours of strolling around town had raised it by about two percent. Standing in the courtyard, Chu Mu mulled it over for a moment before his gaze fell back upon the writing supplies in his hand.
After a moment, however, Chu Mu shook his head to himself. 'Spiritual Radiance Value is hard to come by. For now, whether it's studying or martial arts, my priority has to be accumulating more of it. As for the specifics… I'll have to wait until I get my official duties from the Inspection Department.'
'After all, this era is still a complete mystery to me.'
Recalling the scene from that night, when he was under the influence of Spiritual Radiance, Chu Mu's heart couldn't help but flutter.
'Only by standing on a higher plane can you truly understand your own insignificance.'
'That level of wisdom… it's just too captivating.'
Soon, Chu Mu reined in his excitement. 'Don't get cocky or impatient. Be careful in word and deed…'
'External aids are reliable, but I can't afford to slack off myself.'
After putting away the writing supplies, Chu Mu didn't remain idle. The previous owner of this body and his father had hardly been tidy individuals; both the bedroom and the small front yard could only be described as slovenly.
While Chu Mu wasn't a neat freak by any means, he figured a cleaner home would be a more comfortable one.
He especially liked this solitary house with its own little courtyard. In his previous life, he had drifted through cities for so long, and a place like this was something he had always yearned for.
He'd lost count of how many times he'd fantasized about it: earning enough money to go back to his hometown, find a house with a small yard, and live out a cozy, retired life.
Who could have guessed that a dream he couldn't achieve after more than a decade of mediocrity would just fall into his lap like this?
'This new life… it starts right here…'
Chu Mu picked up a broom and a bucket of water, his smile deepening as he gazed at the detached house with its private courtyard.
He busied himself all day, stopping only when darkness fell. Though he hadn't finished cleaning everything, the house already felt much more open.
Compared to before, it now had a much more breathable and tidy atmosphere.
After a short rest, he drank the medicinal decoction he had prepared earlier. He finished off the leftovers from lunch to fill his stomach, then carried a lounge chair into the courtyard and settled into it leisurely.
The autumn air was crisp and clear. Although it was nearly late autumn and a chill was beginning to set in, darkness had only just fallen. The lingering warmth of the day mixed with the cool night air, creating the perfect temperature.
The night was cloudless, and the sky was a deep, brilliant tapestry of countless stars.
Having spent his previous life cooped up in a shoebox apartment in the city, he realized it had been many years since he'd last seen such a dazzling night sky.
Looking at the resplendent starry sky, a strange thought struck him. 'Is this world also a planet? Does it have a universe?'
'This world has a sun and a moon.'
'The Big Dipper is clearly visible, too.'
'What is the connection between this world and the Earth of my past life?'
'Or is this all just an elaborate dream?'
'Am I dreaming of my past life, or am I dreaming of this present one?'
As his body and mind relaxed, all sorts of thoughts flickered through his mind.
He didn't know how long he'd been lost in his rambling thoughts before he finally came back to himself. After resting a moment longer, Chu Mu rose from the lounge chair.
He went inside to retrieve his Long Saber, then returned to the courtyard.
'Spiritual Radiance Value comes from single-minded focus. It's easy to focus, but achieving a state of true single-mindedness is clearly another matter entirely.'
'Most of the time, I achieve it without realizing it. It's much harder to do it intentionally.'
'Over the past few days, almost all the Spiritual Radiance Value I've gained has come from that unconscious state, not from any deliberate effort on my part.'
Fortunately, after mulling it over for the past few days, Chu Mu had worked out a little trick: first, he had to clear his mind of stray thoughts, and only then could he focus on a single task.
By letting his mind wander freely first, he could then calm himself and concentrate, achieving that state of single-minded focus.
Right now, Chu Mu's mind was filled with a single image: the memory of practicing with his saber that night while in the Spiritual Radiance state.
A solitary figure. A handful of sword forms.
The scene looped over and over in his mind.
After a long while, Chu Mu's half-closed eyes snapped open. The Long Saber in his hand rose in unison.
There was nothing flashy about it. Just a simple lift of the saber, a downward chop, a withdrawal, a swing, another withdrawal, an upward slash…
The basic Sword Forms, one after the other.
After only a few moments, however, Chu Mu stopped and stood still, pulling his saber back. It wasn't by choice; the aching soreness that spread through his body forced him to a halt.
With the knowledge from his past life, Chu Mu knew better than to push himself recklessly.
Stroking the blade, Chu Mu shook his head and sighed. "The difference is like night and day!" The gap between practicing this Sword Technique in his normal state versus the "Spiritual Radiance state" was simply immense.
To put it simply, after practicing for just a short while now, his progress was so minuscule he couldn't even detect it himself. But in the Spiritual Radiance state, the same amount of time yielded explosive, visible improvement.
'It seems no amount of sweat can ever bridge the gap between a genius and an ordinary person.'
Chu Mu pressed his lips together, an inexplicable sense of discouragement washing over him.
After a while, Chu Mu seemed to come to a realization. He let out a long breath, casually sheathed his Long Saber, and turned back toward his room.
"Even a genius must be diligent," he muttered as he walked, "and a slow bird… has to start flying sooner…"
His voice was quickly carried away and lost in the night wind…
…