Borrowed Sword

Chapter 32: The Person Who Shouldn't Have Appeared

The long-legged beauty living next door was indeed cultivating.

Just after completing one cycle of her technique, Han Shuangjiang once again heard Chu Huaixu’s heart-wrenching scream from next door.

He had broken through three acupoints in a row, and the pain had stacked.

If the pain from the first breakthrough was like a motorcycle running over the body, and the second was like a motorcycle with a passenger doing the same...

Then this time, going up three levels at once, it was about to become a taxi.

Han Shuangjiang immediately jumped up in alarm. Although she knew it was due to his cultivation method, she still subconsciously walked to the outside of his bamboo hut, wanting to check on him.

But when she reached the door, she hesitated.

A few seconds later, perhaps hearing the footsteps outside, a hoarse and weak voice came from inside the house.

"I—I’m fine... Hoo—It was a breakthrough in the technique..."

He wasn’t even wearing an outer robe, drenched in cold sweat, almost practicing naked on the meditation mat.

Chu Huaixu had a lean physique, the type that looked thin when clothed but muscular when bare, without overly bulky muscles.

Now his whole body was sweaty, and under the light, his muscle lines appeared even more defined.

He had discovered that after cultivating the 《Sword Refining Art》, his physical strength was steadily increasing—it truly felt like body training.

But it didn’t seem to be the path of a muscle-bound giant. His body hadn’t developed frightening, rigid muscles.

"Alright, as long as you’re okay." The girl’s voice came from outside the house, still cold as ever, not sounding concerned at all.

But for such a young girl to already have the tone of a mature woman was rather curious.

Han Shuangjiang returned to her own room and resumed cultivating.

She hadn’t expected Chu Huaixu to break through again so soon.

"Has he already opened the third acupoint?"

"I have to work even harder—I don’t want to be left behind," she thought to herself.

After hearing the sound of Han Shuangjiang’s footsteps fading away, Chu Huaixu finally lay flat on the ground and let out loud "Hssss—Hssss—!" sounds.

He had been holding it in to save face, thinking she probably couldn’t hear him anymore.

Even though he had mentally prepared before leveling up, just now everything went black, and he almost passed out again.

"Rather than level up one by one and suffer three times, might as well get all the pain over with in one go. Better short pain than prolonged pain." Chu Huaixu had pretty much given in at this point.

The result was that his whole body was still spasming uncontrollably.

He convulsed for quite a while before gradually adapting.

Chu Huaixu stood up and performed the first stance of 《Jiligulu Bagua Palm》.

Gusts of palm wind filled the room, far more fierce and domineering than before!

"Strong!" he exclaimed in amazement.

Although 《Sword Refining Art》 felt like some demonic technique and the cultivation process was brutal, its dual focus on internal and external strengthening made him feel nearly invincible during the Qi-Opening Stage.

"This kind of method really suits my overpowered body control," Chu Huaixu thought.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a deep regret.

"If only I had been this strong in the dungeon, how great that would have been."

"The sound of Liu Chengqi’s ribs cracking—so delightful." He still savored the memory a little.

At that thought, Chu Huaixu suddenly realized, "Has Han Shuangjiang still not fully mastered the 【Eight Wastelands Wandering Dragon】?"

"I’ll find time to teach her myself."

He opened his 【Character Panel】 to check his remaining experience points.

There were still 136 freely distributable experience points left, far from enough to open the sixth acupoint.

...

...

By nightfall, Chu Huaixu finally got to eat a meal personally cooked by Han Shuangjiang.

"Tastes great," he complimented.

Perhaps thinking that sounded too formal, he went on to praise each dish in detail.

"This way, her motivation to cook should be even higher," thought a man with extraordinary culinary talent who intended to stay hidden and never wash dishes.

Han Shuangjiang merely nodded slightly on the surface, but deep down, she couldn’t help feeling a bit happy to be recognized.

After the meal, Chu Huaixu just patted his butt and left.

The cold-faced Little Housekeeper showed no emotion and silently cleared away his bowl and chopsticks as well.

The two of them couldn’t be said to be living together, but it was somewhat like a shared rental situation.

Chu Huaixu watched her back as she cleaned the table—when Han Shuangjiang bent over, her full and perky hips stretched her dress taut, the width of her hips becoming even more prominent, lush and rounded.

Coupled with her long, straight, jade-like legs, if she wore a qipao or a stepmother-style dress, it would surely be a breathtaking sight.

But his mind didn’t waver—he simply cast an 【Information Probe】 in the direction of her butt.

"The third acupoint is already open?" Chu Huaixu ground his teeth in envy.

He figured Han Shuangjiang not only had full stats for her 【Spirit Embryo Attribute】 but probably had high 【Comprehension】 as well.

If it weren’t for the fact that a normal person needed some time to adapt after opening an acupoint, she might have broken through even faster!

World Protagonist—terrifying indeed.

After a turbulent day, both of them were exhausted and went to bed early.

The next day, light crept in from the east.

Han Shuangjiang got up early to cook porridge and kept herself busy.

After breakfast, Chu Huaixu volunteered to teach her the 【Eight Wastelands Wandering Dragon】.

Of course, he wouldn’t be as sleazy as Liu Chengqi, getting handsy in the name of teaching.

"This spot here does need to sink down a bit." He pointed to Han Shuangjiang’s slender waist.

Though his finger still had some distance, the girl felt her waist tickle and warm up.

Perhaps it was because the two were standing quite close.

"Here, let me show you again." Chu Huaixu began to demonstrate the move.

《Jiligulu Bagua Palm》 didn’t need to be learned in full.

After all, it was only for breaking the formation at the Scripture Pavilion and wouldn’t be used much in real combat.

Once they reached the First Realm, they would have to learn proper 【Techniques】. Mortal Martial Arts were too chicken-ribbed to be worth much time, and they’d reach the First Realm soon enough anyway.

It was clear Han Shuangjiang’s comprehension was truly high.

Chu Huaixu taught her a few times and corrected her posture, and she completely grasped it.

Also, a beauty performing palm strikes looked oddly pleasing to the eye.

He was starting to understand why, in some self-defense videos featuring girls online, netizens jokingly called the techniques “Pervert’s Delight Fist.”

Just then, a group of unexpected guests arrived at the bamboo hut.

Leading them was Liu Tianfeng, whose hair was half white.

Liu Chengqi and Liu Chenggong obediently followed behind, forcing smiles on their faces.

Behind them came a group of menial workers, each holding a gift box.

Honestly, these could’ve just been placed in storage rings, but for gift-giving, this presentation looked better.

Han Shuangjiang couldn’t help glancing at Chu Huaixu—she hadn’t expected him to guess correctly.

Steward Liu had already made up his mind. Since he believed in their background, he needed to build relations.

Apologies were apologies; gifts were gifts.

"Steward Liu, what brings you here?" Chu Huaixu asked knowingly, without even glancing at Liu Chengqi.

"Didn’t I say yesterday that I’d bring a small gift today for you, virtuous nephew? Naturally, I had to follow through." Liu Tianfeng smiled.

But seeing the two of them today, the old man felt something seemed different.

Sweeping his divine sense over them, Liu Tianfeng was startled—this time his expression shift was genuine.

"Virtuous nephew—and this young lady—you’ve broken through! Congratulations!"

It was one thing for Han Shuangjiang to open her third acupoint.

But this Chu Huaixu had broken through three acupoints overnight!

"How is that possible!"

"He clearly had a low-grade Spirit Embryo!" Waves of shock surged through Liu Tianfeng’s heart.

All his doubts disappeared at this moment.

If someone said this was just a regular registered disciple, he’d never believe it—not in a million years!

"You all, set the gifts down carefully." Liu Tianfeng began instructing the workers.

Afterward, he glanced at their bamboo huts and said, "If anything’s missing, just let me know."

"By the way, virtuous nephew, do you require a servant?" The steward began looking for more ways to curry favor.

Chu Huaixu definitely had no such thought. Having an extra person around would only make him uncomfortable.

He casually swept his gaze over the workers placing the gifts, about to decline.

But suddenly, his eyes froze, locking onto a short worker with his head lowered.

This person was probably not even 1.7 meters tall, with red lips, white teeth, and delicate features.

He lacked any masculine aura—a typical male with feminine looks.

"I want him!" Chu Huaixu suddenly pointed at him. Of all people, he was the most shocked to see this one.

"Why is he here?"

One of the four World Protagonists in 《Borrowed Sword》—Xu Ziqing!