Chapter Twenty: Tendon Transformation
The sun was setting in the west, the clouds on the horizon ablaze with fiery red. A cool breeze began to stir in the courtyard.
Chen Mu sat at the square table inside the house, gazing through the open door at the darkening sky in the distance. He picked up a piece of crispy pork belly and placed it in his mouth.
The contrast between the crispy exterior and tender interior, combined with the perfectly balanced savory and spicy flavors, made Chen Mu nod in approval.
And this was only first-level culinary skill.
In his previous life, people often said that good food should never be taken lightly, yet most ate simply to fill their stomachs.
Busy work consumed too much energy, and the fast pace of life left no room for other pursuits.
“I must seriously improve my cooking proficiency from now on,” Chen Mu thought.
Since he had crossed over to this world, what harm was there in spending some time refining his culinary skills?
With the Miao Art Studio helping him handle portrait commissions, income was assured.
Soon, he planned to hire Silver Boots as a runner to purchase a batch of medicinal herbs; that way, nothing would obstruct his martial arts training.
Reflecting on the hardships of his previous life and comparing them with his current ease, Chen Mu contentedly picked up a piece of cold mixed greens and chewed leisurely.
But just as he looked up, a shadow silently descended from the wall.
Silver Boots?
He had said he didn’t want others to know, yet this person sneaked in by scaling the wall?
Quite professional!
As Chen Mu rose to greet him, their eyes met.
Silver-white beard, eyes narrowed into slits, expressionless face...
Wasn’t this the assassin from Chen Family Village?!
Chen Mu froze as if paused by an invisible hand, halfway to his feet, his body stiffening in place.
Jie Jia: “...”
Fate, indeed!
“Ahem, how about we share the meal?” Chen Mu sat down slowly, feigning casualness.
“I’m afraid of being poisoned,” Jie Jia said indifferently without raising his eyelids.
“Sir, it seems your misunderstanding of me runs deep,” Chen Mu said helplessly, shaking his head.
Jie Jia’s eyes slowly shifted, fixating on Chen Mu’s sleeve.
A misunderstanding? What kind of hardened skin allows you to poison someone while calling it a misunderstanding?
“What do you want with Silver Boots?” Jie Jia asked expressionlessly.
Silver Boots?
Was this old assassin from the Xue family warehouse known as Silver Boots?
An assassin running errands?
Chen Mu’s gaze turned odd.
Is it really that hard to survive in the assassin trade?
“I want to buy a batch of medicinal herbs,” Chen Mu said, hoping the man wasn’t here to kill him.
“List,” Jie Jia said tersely.
“Here,” Chen Mu quickly produced the detailed list of herbs he had prepared in advance.
Besides the essential herbs for the Red Falcon Body Conditioning Technique, he had added quite a few others to confuse any onlookers.
“What’s the commission?” Chen Mu asked.
“Ten... twenty taels,” Jie Jia replied calmly, expressionless.
Chen Mu: “...”
Did you just say ten taels?!
This was blatant extortion! Outrageous!
Filled with righteous indignation, Chen Mu said, “Alright. Here’s the commission, and here’s half the payment for the goods. Please keep them.”
“Heh...” Jie Jia’s eyes flicked sideways at Chen Mu, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, then he snatched the silver coins from the table and vanished in a flash.
Chen Mu stared after him for a long moment before coming back to his senses.
Damn! I just wanted to find a runner, why did I end up hiring an assassin?!
But it seemed the man had no intention to kill him.
He appeared not as an assassin, but as Silver Boots from the Xue family warehouse.
Chen Mu felt a slight relief.
Besides, since he was an assassin, judging by that ghostly speed, his skills must be excellent.
Wasn’t Chen Mu trying to keep his herb purchases secret?
Now with this assassin Silver Boots handling the purchase, who would dare to pry?
So this was an unexpected blessing?
“Just a bit pricey!” Chen Mu thought.
Twenty taels of silver – the old man even dared to name his price!
Chen Mu’s heart ached painfully.
“Forget it, I’ll just consider it a payment for peace of mind,” he sighed helplessly, scooping up the snake venom-spiked food and burying it in a corner by the wall.
“Acted on impulse, wasted a whole table of good food.”
...
The year was 638 of the Great Liang era, December 23rd, the weather turning cold.
Like every day, Chen Mu rose at dawn’s first light.
Putting on a thickened coat, he opened the door and was met by a blast of cold air, reminiscent of late autumn in northern lands of his old world.
Having been in this realm for over seven months, with no phone or computer, early to bed and early to rise had become second nature.
Jumping from the westernmost courtyard to the easternmost, Chen Mu washed up and prepared breakfast.
Lighting the fire, boiling water, rinsing white wheat, picking and washing vegetables – everything proceeded methodically.
His culinary skill bonus made cooking smooth and effortless.
He chopped some leafy greens, mixed them with special grass seeds he had purchased, and poured the mixture into the chicken coop beneath the western wall.
Five hens clucked and scrambled for the feed, prompting Chen Mu to smile with satisfaction.
He had been raising chickens for over a month now, and they had supplied him with plenty of eggs.
...
Back at the stove, adding more firewood and estimating that the white wheat would take some time to cook, Chen Mu removed his slightly bulky coat.
“Just enough time to get some exercise.”
He spent a few minutes gently stretching his joints, then began to jump and run in small circuits around the courtyard.
His movements started slow and smooth, then gradually accelerated until he reached the speed of a hundred-meter dash.
Every time his toes touched the ground, he felt a powerful momentum threatening to propel him forward uncontrollably – the fierce inertia born of extreme speed.
But at the instant his toes landed, his muscles would tense sharply, unleashing a surge of force from his feet.
Whether moving with or against momentum, his body, though on the verge of losing control, always obeyed his will to accelerate, halt, or even suddenly change direction and move backward.
This was the Red Falcon Body Conditioning Technique—a martial art focused on agile movement and sprinting.
After fifteen minutes, the flurry of motion finally ceased.
Chen Mu drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled, completing one full breathing cycle of the technique.
Fine beads of sweat emerged on his forehead, while a pleasant, refreshing sensation spread through his limbs and bones.
Exercise stimulates the brain to release endorphins, producing a sense of joy.
...
In his previous life, he had heard of this but, as a sedentary couch potato, never experienced it.
Now he was experiencing it—and enjoying it immensely.
As he stretched slowly, a sudden realization washed over him.
Then, a torrential heat surged through every part of his body.
His muscles twitched involuntarily, as if tiny mice scurried beneath his skin.
A tingling, itching sensation spread throughout—some special tissue forming beneath his skin.
After a long moment, Chen Mu regained his composure.
Feeling the lingering sensation in his mind, he grinned broadly, “A breakthrough?!”
Skills progress:
Calligraphy: 1445/10000/Level 2;
Painting: 1353/10000/Level 2;
Throwing: 3316/10000/Level 2;
Red Falcon Body Conditioning Technique: 8/10000/Level 2;
Culinary Arts: 2642/10000/Level 1;
Rolling up his left sleeve, he pinched his skin.
A leathery, flexible texture greeted his fingers.
“Like wearing a layer of thin leather armor.”
He swung his fist through the air—the sound of rushing wind whistled.
“Strength has increased, too.”
Pushing off with his toes, a sudden burst of power exploded through his body, and his figure vanished in an instant.
The earth-toned courtyard wall seven or eight meters away rapidly enlarged.
In the next moment, his form abruptly halted, nearly pressed against the wall.
With another burst of force, he blinked back to his original position.
“Speed and reflexes are faster! At least two streets ahead of my former self!”
“Defense, strength, speed, reflexes—overall physical qualities have improved!”
“This is the body conditioning technique!”
At that moment, he no longer viewed that Captain Lu who could leap five or six meters as unattainable.
“It’s just about grinding proficiency,” Chen Mu thought.
Bending down, he picked up a pebble.
Whoosh!
Pfft!
A hole the size of a finger appeared in the mud wall.
Through the round hole, the street outside was visible.
“Did the Locust Stone’s power improve as well?”
“Good!”
At that moment, a fragrant aroma wafted to his nose—the white wheat rice was cooked.
“Having broken through to level two in the body conditioning technique, achieving ‘Muscle Tendon Change,’ I must reward myself.”
“Fried square pork, cold mixed vegetables, and some flavored cured meat. Delicious!”