Neither Xu Xing nor Haige were very talkative; they weren't conversationalists.
After Haige applied the medicine, he blew out the oil lamp.
The two lay down fully clothed on the kang bed.
Xu Xing wanted to ask Haige how he could control his knife with qi. However, he hesitated and ultimately decided against it.
In this life, his current self was acquainted with Haige, but he had never seen Haige practice martial arts, let alone accidentally witnessing Haige's astonishing knife strike that day… To break objects with qi probably involved some secret internal martial arts technique. This was far more precious than the Pile Skill taught by Master Ma. Asking Haige about his family's secret technique, even if Xu Xing harbored no covetous intentions, who knew if Master Ma would start to view him differently once the words were spoken? Always think thrice before acting.
He and Master Ma were merely fellow members of a sworn brotherhood… Master Ma, a Red Stick of Xiaoyi Hall, had taught him some martial arts to strengthen the Hall and increase the chances of successfully assassinating Governor Fang Yun a month later.
If my guess is correct, even if I master the Pile Skill and am taught the Guanxi Wuji Knife, I still won't reach Master Ma's level because Master Ma possesses inherited Internal Power… Besides, in just one month, no matter how talented I might be, I wouldn't make much progress cultivating Internal Power. Surviving the Certain Death looming over me is more important right now.
...
...
「Back to reality.」
He was still in Room No. D24 of the Sky Prison in Fengxi Country.
Peering through the half-foot wide window of his prison cell, Xu Xing looked outside and thought, The Sun Star is high in the sky… It's now a quarter past noon.
Having lived in Fengxi Country for nearly twenty years, he, like many people from ancient times, had developed an internal biological clock. A glance at the sun was enough to roughly tell the time of day. The margin of error was only between one to two quarters of an hour. Furthermore, by observing the shadows cast by sunlight within the prison cell, combined with the prison guards' daily roll call times, he could roughly determine the twelve two-hour periods of the day.
The time ratio is indeed one to five…
This morning, he had entered the Mirror World at approximately the second quarter of Chen hour. About two shichen (four hours) had passed in the real world, while an entire day had gone by in the Mirror World. This translated to a time ratio of roughly one to five.
So, what is the other 'me' doing right now? Xu Xing wondered.
His consciousness sank into the Bronze Ancient Mirror. A dynamic image slowly materialized on the Mirror Surface.
In the dim earthen house, he and Haige were sleeping side by side. However, their breathing was much faster than ordinary people's, as if a movie scene was being fast-forwarded. He didn't look away immediately, but continued to watch the Mirror Surface silently.
Time in the world on the Mirror Surface flowed much faster than in reality. As noon passed in the real world, the scene on the Mirror Surface shifted. It was now before dawn the next day, when the roosters crowed. 'Xu Xing,' following the established course of events, began practicing Pile Skill with Master Ma in the backyard. And he, Xu Xing in reality, was like a mere spectator.
It seems… even if my consciousness leaves the other 'me,' he will continue to live normally. Scientists in my past life talked about parallel universes. The Xu Xing in the mirror must be the 'me' from another parallel world. The only difference is that this 'me' is now under my control.
Xu Xing withdrew his gaze from the Mirror Surface, pondering. He then glanced at the Mirror Surface, which had reverted to displaying data like a panel.
[Mirror Master: Xu Xing.]
[Dao Fruit: None.]
[World: Late Qing Country (All Heavens).]
[Arrival: Soul.]
[Time Flow Rate: One to five.]
[Destiny: Death by Misfortune (Gray).]
The panel was concise and clear at a glance.
But… to open the next world, perhaps I will no longer descend as a soul upon 'my other self.' Instead, I might directly travel to another world in my Physical Body… Still, it's good to descend as a soul for now. If I suddenly disappeared from prison, it would definitely attract the attention of the prison guards, and it would be hard to explain then.
Xu Xing shook his head.
Footsteps echoed again from the passageway of the Sky Prison.
"Time to eat!"
"Scholar Su, Mr. Xu…"
Old Li, the prison guard, carried a food bucket. He first served Scholar Su a bowl of thin rice porridge. Then, he quickly walked over to Xu Xing and ladled out a bowl of thick porridge, almost like rice, before handing him a bowl of Braised Pork and two large white steamed buns.
"Your wife left a silver ingot when she departed this morning," Old Li quickly explained, seeing Xu Xing's sullen expression and his reluctance to accept the bowl.
Normally, the daily rations in the Sky Prison were just thin porridge and white cabbage. If a prisoner ate well, it usually meant it was their last meal before execution.
So that's why. Xu Xing breathed a sigh of relief and took the bowl.
My many 'gestures of goodwill' towards Zhao Yunniang last night weren't in vain after all. Han Sui wants me to die early, so he definitely wouldn't let me eat meat and nourish my body. This silver ingot must be from Zhao Yunniang's private savings.
It's often said that courtesans are heartless and actors faithless. But there's also the saying: 'A couple for a day, a hundred days of grace.' After a night of passion, Zhao Yunniang had developed some feelings for him after all.
After thanking the prison guard, Xu Xing began to eat. People are iron, food is steel; without it, one starves. Although there were leftovers from last night in the prison cell, he didn't dare touch them. They contained the aphrodisiac Musk Dragon Powder, and his already weak constitution couldn't endure another round of its effects.
However, just after Xu Xing had taken a few bites, he saw Scholar Su in the neighboring cell looking at him eagerly. He gave a knowing smile and walked over with the Braised Pork. He also gave Scholar Su one of the large white steamed buns.
Confucian teachings state: 'Never tire of fine grain, nor of meticulously prepared meat.' How could Scholar Su, a man of letters from a prestigious family, have ever endured the hardships of the Sky Prison, eating food worse than that of common folk?
Although… someone was keeping an eye on things and had spent silver for him. Yet, Scholar Su could only eat meat dishes like Braised Pork once every ten days. It wasn't that the Su family lacked money; rather, being imprisoned meant one had to maintain a certain image. Eating such a meal occasionally was considered human nature, and the Emperor would likely turn a blind eye if he heard of it. But feasting daily in the Sky Prison… that would be like deliberately provoking the Emperor!
The spies from the Night Patrol Department kept watch over the Sky Prison. Every move of the convicted officials was long recorded in their Book of Impermanence.
"I will repay your kindness for this meal someday." Accepting the steamed bun, Scholar Su spoke briefly and then began to eat with gusto. He had offended Xu Xing that morning, but Xu Xing now showed no resentment, repaying grievance with virtue. He committed this act of kindness to memory.
"Hmph!"
The convicted official in the adjacent cell to the right saw this and snorted coldly, then went back to sipping his watery porridge, so thin that chopsticks couldn't even stand upright in it.
It's not scarcity that breeds discontent, but inequality. Seeing Xu Xing fawning over Scholar Su while ignoring him, he naturally felt resentful.
"General Chang."
"This is for you…"
Xu Xing wasn't annoyed by this. He took the other steamed bun, filled it with some Braised Pork, and handed it to Chang Ji. Chang Ji was a Fifth-Rank Dingyuan General. He had been imprisoned for nearly three years after Emperor Chongming held him accountable for avoiding battle during the Tartar invasion in the seventeenth year of the Chongming reign.
If Xu Xing were truly on the verge of death, he wouldn't have bothered with Chang Ji at all. Unlike Scholar Su, Chang Ji had no hope of being reinstated to his former position. Chang Ji wasn't a renowned general, just an ordinary military officer. Scholar Su ranked among the top five in the Fengxi National Literary Society and was a literary friend of Ouyang Zai. With classmates from the same imperial examination year, kinsmen from the same region, and friends spread throughout the court and government, his release was merely a matter of time.
However, this didn't mean Chang Ji was useless to the current Xu Xing. Having reached the rank of Fifth-Rank Dingyuan General, Chang Ji was undoubtedly an elite talent in Fengxi Country. Xu Xing was currently navigating the Instance World and might need Chang Ji's help at some point.
Relationships are built slowly; one shouldn't wait until a crisis to ask for help. By then, it would be too late.
As for currying favor? It's common for subordinates to curry favor with superiors. If losing a little face can achieve what painstaking effort cannot, why not curry favor? When you're an official, don't worry about saving face!