Chapter Two Hundred and One: Bestowing Cultivation Power (Please Subscribe, Please Vote)

After suddenly taking in two little maids, and especially since these two were not only lovely but also twins, Xiao Xie could not help feeling rather proud of himself. After all, even if they did nothing but stay by his side, they were still a pleasure to look at.

Xiao Xie led Murong Feng and Murong Huang into the inner courtyard of the bandits’ stronghold. There were still a number of the old, the weak, and women and children there. With little effort, he learned from them where Qingyun Stronghold kept its hidden treasure. It was in Zhang Fan’s bedroom, in an underground chamber beneath it. There, Xiao Xie obtained the riches Qingyun Stronghold had amassed over the years. He left behind some money for the old, the weak, and the women and children, then took the Murong sisters and departed. As for whether those people took the money and returned home or remained in the stronghold, that was no concern of his.

“I really do miss having storage space. It’s not very convenient without it,” Xiao Xie said as he looked at the several large chests of valuables.

Still, things were easier now that the bandits had robbed slavers; the wagons used to haul goods were still usable. Xiao Xie found the largest double-horse carriage, loaded the valuables onto it, and then descended the mountain together with the Murong sisters.

Driving the carriage all the way, Xiao Xie entered the nearest city by Mount Qingyun, Qingyun City. There was no helping it. Looking at how dainty Murong Feng and Murong Huang were, how could he have made them drive? So he had no choice but to do it himself.

No matter the age, money made many things far simpler. Xiao Xie first took Murong Feng and Murong Huang to buy new clothes. What he wore now was only coarse cloth; he hardly looked the part of a young noble. One might even have taken him for the sisters’ servant.

Once he had changed his appearance, Xiao Xie looked completely transformed. In his coarse clothes, his otherworldly bearing had still shone through, but he had lacked a certain air of refinement. Now he wore a white jade crown atop his head, a white robe made from the finest silk, a short flute at his waist carved from superb jade, and a folding fan of white jade in his hand. He looked every inch the elegant gentleman.

The Murong sisters were also changed into the finest silk garments. Murong Feng, by preference, chose a fiery red dress, while Murong Huang chose one of deep sea-blue. Though they were both still in long dresses, they now looked far more like noble young ladies than servants.

After buying their new attire, Xiao Xie took the sisters to a broker’s office and purchased a large private residence. He had no intention of suffering in some inn. Since the money had all been stolen anyway, he did not mind spending it in the least.

“So there’s only half left already. Money really does go quickly,” Xiao Xie said somewhat helplessly as he watched the funds shrink by half after buying the residence. Then he shrugged. “Never mind. If it’s not enough, I’ll just go rob more bandits.”

After securing the residence, Xiao Xie took the sisters out again to buy daily necessities and furnish the house. By the time everything was done, the sky had already darkened.

“Little Feng, Little Huang, come to my room for a moment,” Xiao Xie said to Murong Feng and Murong Huang.

At his words, the sisters froze slightly, then a blush rose to their delicate faces. They had been prepared for this, but when the moment truly arrived, they still felt nervous. After all, both of them were still untouched maidens.

Yet looking at Xiao Xie in his white robe, his bearing lofty and refined, both sisters felt nervousness alongside an inexplicable expectancy. To be favored by Lord Xiao was surely better than being handed over to some filthy man.

Murong Feng and Murong Huang followed in a daze behind Xiao Xie into his bedroom.

Xiao Xie pointed at the large bed and said to them, “Hurry up and sit there.”

The two sisters heard this and their faces turned crimson. They began slowly unfastening the long dresses they were wearing.

“Wait, why are you taking off your clothes?” Xiao Xie hurriedly stopped them when he saw what they were doing. Though he himself was not a lustful man, he could not quite be like the legendary gentleman who sat unshaken before temptation. In truth, he had always believed that that famous gentleman was not unmoved, but simply impotent. Otherwise, how could a normal man remain untouched with a beauty in his lap? Physical reactions were not governed by reason. If they were, why would men be called creatures ruled by their lower half?

“Isn’t Young Master going to have us serve you in bed?” Murong Feng asked shyly, her head lowered.

Xiao Xie slapped his forehead. He realized he had not made himself clear, and they had misunderstood him. Anyone would have in this situation, but seeing the sisters trying to undress just now reminded him of a joke.

In the world of martial heroes, inner force could pass through walls, could pass through great trees, yet could not pass through a woman’s clothes. When the male lead healed men, he could do so through their clothing, but when healing women, they had to be completely unclothed.

“I was planning to pass some inner force into you,” Xiao Xie said helplessly.

Realizing they had misunderstood him, Murong Feng and Murong Huang both lowered their heads in embarrassment, wishing there were a crack in the floor they could crawl into and never emerge from. It was too mortifying. Would their behavior just now make Young Master Xiao misunderstand them? What if he thought they were shameless women? What then?

“All right, stop standing there in a daze. Sit cross-legged on the bed,” Xiao Xie interrupted their wild thoughts.

“Young Master, if you pass your inner force to us, will it affect you?” Murong Huang asked worriedly.

“Young Master, please do not pass your inner force to us. If it harms your body, we would truly never be able to atone for it,” Murong Feng said earnestly. Xiao Xie had rescued them from a living hell. If he were to exhaust his own inner force for their sake, would they not be repaying kindness with ingratitude?

Seeing the sisters’ sincere, anxious expressions, Xiao Xie smiled warmly and waved a hand. “It’s fine. I have my own plans. Just focus carefully later on. Remember the route my inner force takes as it circulates through your bodies, and remember that sensation. It will help you cultivate on your own in the future. That is enough.”

Hearing Xiao Xie’s tone, which left no room for refusal, Murong Feng and Murong Huang could only obediently sit cross-legged on the bed and wait for him to bestow his power. In their hearts, they secretly resolved that once they had learned martial arts properly, they would protect the Young Master and repay his life-saving kindness.

Although Xiao Xie had only learned a few techniques, including the Dugu Nine Swords, he had memorized many martial arts manuals during his time in the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer. In particular, the Tianshan Plum-Flower Hand Folding technique had incorporated dozens of first-rate martial moves.

Xiao Xie placed both hands on the sisters’ backs and converted the Northern Drifting True Energy in his body into the inner force of the Tendon-Transforming Classic. When the inner force remained within him, it could be transformed at will, but once transferred into another’s body, it would take form and settle. So he needed an inner force suitable for them. The Tendon-Transforming Classic could improve one’s natural aptitude, and its cultivation speed was not slow either. Thus, he transferred twenty years’ worth of pure Tendon-Transforming Classic inner force to each of them.

After Murong Feng and Murong Huang had received the twenty years of pure inner force, Xiao Xie also taught them the accompanying movements of the Tendon-Transforming Classic. It was not that he did not wish to give them more, but if he transferred too much at once, they would not be able to control it. Twenty years was the most suitable amount.

“You’ve just washed your meridians and marrow, so you’re probably filthy all over. Go bathe first. Tomorrow I’ll find a sword art that suits you and have you begin cultivating it,” Xiao Xie said to Murong Feng and Murong Huang.

“Thank you, Young Master. Oh, it stinks!”

“Young Master, we’ll go bathe first. It’s too awful.”

After sniffing the odor on their bodies, Murong Feng and Murong Huang could not bear it and cried out in dismay. They hurriedly thanked Xiao Xie and rushed off to boil water for a bath.

The next morning, Xiao Xie handed over the transcribed Dugu Nine Swords as well as the Golden Wild Goose Skill to the sisters. He had seen the Golden Wild Goose Skill in the classics of the Mount Hua Sect while in the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer. It was that famous orthodoxy qinggong technique, the one that allowed a person in midair to step off one foot against the other and borrow force repeatedly, rising again and again through the air.

Because he had the Sky-Walking Art before, Xiao Xie had never bothered to learn qinggong. This time, however, he also studied the lightness skill he had once memorized. He learned two techniques: the Golden Wild Goose Skill and the Ladder-to-the-Clouds Step of Mount Wudang.

The Ladder-to-the-Clouds Step of Wudang was an extraordinary lightness skill, enabling one to rise and retreat as freely as one wished. It could even change direction in midair, making it perfect for showing off and striking a handsome pose.