NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8
Chapter 8: The General Collections Library
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Since Lord Ye was back in the household, the entire Ye Manor had become very busy. However, the nanny who served Ye Sheng still carried out her duties faithfully and came with breakfast first thing in the morning.
“Why is breakfast so sumptuous today?” asked Ye Sheng with a frown when he saw what he had been given for breakfast.
Compared to the porridge and buns he normally got, this breakfast was luxurious. There was beef, lobsters, mutton, and more. Everything was here.
The nanny replied, “I have no idea. I just went to collect breakfast from the kitchen as usual, and this is what they gave me. They said that you had been punished and you needed supplements. All this fish and meat are good for replenishing your Qi and blood.”
Ye Sheng pondered this for a while before saying, “Please thank the kitchen for me.”
The nanny nodded quietly and said to Ye Sheng, “Young Master Twelve, do eat the food while it’s hot. Once the meat gets cold, it will no longer be as effective.”
Ye Sheng nodded and said, “I will.”
All this luxurious fish and meat was very likely to have been an arrangement made by Ye Qing and his mother, and this nanny was probably also one of theirs. But what were they trying to do by giving him such a sumptuous breakfast?
“First they gave me good ointment, and now there’s plenty of fish and meat. It looks like you can’t wait for me to get well?” Ye Sheng was thinking about a lot of things, but he didn’t show it and just concentrated on wolfing down all the food.
The beef, mutton, fish, and chicken all went into his stomach. His internal organs started working to absorb everything from these hearty foods, turning them all into energy and sending it flowing through his body.
Ye Sheng was now an Acquired Level First Stage martial artist who knew three techniques. Even though he was at a low level and wasn’t very powerful, he didn’t have any problems with the basic moving of Qi and blood at all.
After gobbling up the huge portion of meat, Ye Sheng quietly said, “I bet I’ll have three times this amount for lunch.”
Since Ye Qing and his mother were so anxious for him to get well, then he wasn’t going to disappoint them. The Qi in red meat was very effective in the wound-healing process, and he still had that ointment too. Perhaps he didn’t even need seven days to get well. Five days would maybe suffice.
The nanny looked at Ye Sheng with surprise. She hadn’t expected the frail and skinny Ye Sheng to be able to eat so much and even request three times the amount more. But she remembered what the Second Madam had instructed her, so she replied, “Yes, Young Master Twelve.”
She took away all the empty plates after Ye Sheng was finished eating and left his courtyard.
Ye Sheng watched her leave as he quietly stood up. He slowly did some exercises to make his Qi and blood circulate faster throughout his body. He especially targeted the wounded areas because good circulation in those areas could help him get well faster.
He continued doing these exercises until it was lunchtime. At that time, the nanny came back with a huge tray of food. It was filled with loads of meat. There were several different kinds of beef, mutton, fish, and chicken. There was enough for an ordinary person to eat for three days.
Ye Sheng didn’t say a word. He opened his mouth and started stuffing his face with the food.
The nanny was a little shocked to see this and took note of it, but she didn’t say anything.
After this huge meal of meat had gone down his stomach, Ye Sheng’s stomach was about to burst. He continued with his exercises until his stomach became warm and sent waves of warm energy throughout his entire body.
Ye Sheng kept moving his Qi and blood nonstop throughout the day, so by nighttime, the scabs on his wounds had become very solid already.
After this one day of using the ointment and eating so much meat, Ye Sheng’s wounds had healed by 30 percent. This was really fast.
Even so, Ye Sheng continued to pretend that he couldn’t walk properly and that the wounds still hurt because he didn’t want anybody to notice that anything was amiss.
At night, the nanny came with pretty much the same amount of food as at lunch. Ye Sheng ate everything once again, and she left his courtyard.
But she didn’t return to the kitchen this time. She went looking for Second Madam, Hu Mei.
“Second Madam, Young Master Twelve has eaten at least five different kinds of beef, three types of mutton, six or seven different fish recipes, and almost three whole chickens,” reported the nanny.
Hu Mei smiled coldly and said, “This little b*stard has probably never eaten so much good food in his entire life, and now he’s just desperately stuffing his face with it.”
Ye Qing was still lying on his bed and couldn’t get up. He’d suffered 100 strokes and was much more severely wounded than Ye Sheng. Besides, his body didn’t seem to be able to recover as quickly as Ye Sheng’s did, and he still couldn’t even stand up.
“Let him continue. Ye Manor can afford to feed him this much,” snorted Ye Qing.
Hu Mei waved her hand. “You may leave. Continue feeding this b*stard like this again tomorrow.”
The nanny nodded quietly and left the room.
After Ye Qing saw that nobody else was around, he laughed coldly and said, “Even death-row prisoners get one last sumptuous meal before they die so that they don’t end up being hungry ghosts. It’s not a bad deal for Ye Sheng. He can eat and drink all he wants over the next few days, then at least he won’t go hungry on his way to h*ll.”
…
The next day dawned to another crazy round of feasting. This time, Ye Sheng went a step further and asked for twice the amount that he’d had the day before. He polished everything off.
Ye Sheng didn’t just walk about, but even started jogging a little. He started practicing the three techniques he knew, Rolling Rocks Boxing Technique, Fallen Leaves Sword Technique, and Typhoon Steps. His control of these moves was getting pretty good.
At night, Ye Sheng quietly cultivated and finally reached Acquired Level First Stage Peak Phase.
He was just about to break through to Second Stage, so this was a really pleasant surprise to him.
But even so, Ye Sheng wasn’t able to feel truly happy about it. Ye Manor was simply too oppressive, and he didn’t dare to practice martial arts at all. He could only wait up till late at night to move his Qi and blood around and to refine his Qi.
“I have to get out of this cage.” The longer this went on, the more Ye Sheng wanted to leave the house. He suddenly started counting the days.
“It’ll be the 15th of the seventh month in five days, which is supposedly the time when the gates of h*ll open up. I can go and pay respects at my mother’s grave then. The Old Lady has already agreed to it.” Ye Sheng’s eyes lit up.
His mother was buried in Xishan, which was a huge mountain to the west of the capital city of Great Qin, Xianyang. There were many temples and shrines on Xishan, including Icy Mountain Temple.
“But during these next five days, I still have to keep a very low profile.” Ye Sheng was very vigilant because Lord Ye was still in the house. If he slipped up, the consequences would be too severe for him to even think about.
“I’ll go to the General Collections Library tomorrow and pretend to look like I’m very studious,” thought Ye Sheng to himself.
He was the one who had said that he wanted to study, so, at the very least, he had to look the part.
The next morning, Ye Sheng ate a sumptuous breakfast again. His entire body was feeling warm, and his wounds had started to itch, which was a sign that they were beginning to heal. He had to endure the itch, and he slowly hobbled toward the General Collections Library.
Many people in the house noticed Ye Sheng walking toward the library and looked at him strangely. Everyone knew that Ye Sheng had been punished with 50 strokes of the army paddle and couldn’t even walk properly at the moment. Why did he even bother coming out at all?
But then they watched Ye Sheng walk into the General Collections Library. Now, many of them realized that he was going to read some books.
But, of course, there were others who snorted and felt that Ye Sheng was just pretending to be studious and putting on an act.
Ye Sheng ignored all the rumors and nasty remarks. He had purposely hobbled along like this in front of everybody precisely so that they would talk about him. As long as people started talking about him, very soon, everyone in the manor would know that Ye Sheng had gone to the library to read despite being badly injured. He hoped that this could help to change Lord Ye’s mind and allow him to leave the house.
Regardless of whether this method would work out or not, Ye Sheng still wanted to give it a shot.
The General Collections Library of Ye Manor was very large and wasn’t too different from the libraries from Ye Sheng’s previous life. There were all sorts of books neatly shelved, including all sorts of ancient records, anecdotes, writings of scholars, and other literary works. One could find anything here.
There were very few people inside the General Collections Library. When they spotted Ye Sheng come in, a look of surprise flashed across their eyes.
“Cousin Twelve, you’re very hurt, so why did you come here?” asked a light, clear voice in surprise. It came from a young lady in a red dress who looked as pretty as a fairy.
Ye Sheng looked up at her and said, “Water Chestnut Flower, I’m so bored all by myself and have nobody to talk to, so I thought I’d come here to read and talk to these ancient people.”
The young lady in red was Ye Sheng’s cousin, the daughter of the Old Lady’s niece. Her parents had passed away when she was very young, so the Old Lady had taken her into the manor. She doted on the young lady very much and pampered her about as much as Ye Qing.
Water Chestnut Flower was her nickname, and Ye Sheng didn’t actually know her name at all, because they had never spoken more than ten sentences to each other before. Normally, they wouldn’t have a chance to interact at all. So after this simple exchange, Ye Sheng just nodded slightly and went back to reading the historical books again.