Flower Stealing Master

Song Qingshu was utterly confused about why Wu Yunzhu was sneaking around. Shaking his head, he lamented that he was too old to keep up with the whims of young girls, and walked over to open the door.

“It’s you?” Seeing the young girl in purple at the doorway, Song Qingshu was a bit surprised. He had been debating whether to lie to Suo Etu about his daughter’s whereabouts or lie some more.

“Who else could it be?” Ah Zi’s eyes sparkled as she poked her head in and glanced around. “Master, are you perhaps waiting for another girl?”

“Ridiculous,” Song Qingshu’s face grew hot as he subtly blocked her view, coughing lightly. “What brings you here so late?”

Ah Zi closed the door stealthily and approached him, pulling out a booklet from her bosom with great care. She offered it up like a treasure. “Master, this is the Marrow Cleansing Scripture that I swapped out earlier.”

Casually flipping through the thin manual, Song Qingshu’s expression shifted. 

In his past life, there were frequent discussions online about how to reverse the Mongolian domination in the Southern Song Dynasty if one were transmigrated as Guo Jing. He had thought about distributing manuals like the ‘Nine Yin Scripture’ and ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’ as training materials for soldiers. Leading an army of masters proficient in supreme martial arts would surely crush the Mongols effortlessly.

However, now that he had actually transmigrated into a wuxia world, he realized the plan had significant issues. First was secrecy—if so many people learned these skills, it was inevitable some would leak the techniques to the Mongols. Then, the enemy would also possess these powers, negating the advantage. Second was discipline—an army’s effectiveness lies in obedience. Regular soldiers could be drilled, but if every soldier mastered martial arts, they’d become unruly. An undisciplined battlefield of rogue masters would fare worse than well-trained ordinary troops.

These problems, while vexing, weren’t the root issue. The core problem was that even if the manuals were handed out, the soldiers couldn’t learn them. Literacy was rare in this era, limited mostly to scholars pursuing civil service through imperial exams. Soldiers were mostly uneducated brutes, and asking them to learn top-tier martial arts was akin to asking a modern farmer to solve differential equations—it was impossible. Thus, while Song Qingshu had long considered distributing martial arts techniques, he never found a feasible solution.

But now, flipping through the illustrations in the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, he was struck by inspiration. With his current skills, the manual held little to no improvement for him. However, its illustrations offered a quick path for ordinary people to cultivate martial arts. The practitioner didn’t need to read or have a foundation in martial arts—following the illustrations alone could help them cultivate True Qi.

In the original story, You Tanzhi—a famously talentless individual—had mastered the Marrow Cleansing Scripture purely thanks to these diagrams.

Of course, practicing through the illustrations had its drawbacks. It made entry easy but rendered the true essence of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture forever out of reach. However, Song Qingshu wasn’t trying to cultivate martial arts masters—he just wanted soldiers who could utilize True Qi.

Imagining an army of thousands skilled in the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, Song Qingshu couldn’t help but grin like a fool.

“Master, master, what’s wrong with you?” Ah Zi’s concerned voice pulled him back.

Snapping out of it, Song Qingshu discreetly wiped his mouth. “Nothing.”

Seeing him return to normal, Ah Zi let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve been so obedient this time. Doesn’t Master have a reward for me?”

Looking at the playful girl before him, Song Qingshu found it hard to associate her with the cruel demoness she was rumored to be. He couldn’t help but marvel at how effective the Bewitching Technique was—it was better than any hypnosis seen in modern TV dramas.

“Master~” Ah Zi pouted when Song Qingshu drifted off again.

“Huh?” He snapped back, awkwardly replying, “What reward does Ah Zi want?”

“Um…” Ah Zi furrowed her brows, clearly troubled. “I can’t think of anything right now. How about I tell you later?”

“Fine.” Song Qingshu nodded, only to notice her walking toward the bed. Alarmed, he quickly blocked her path. “What… what are you doing?”

“You’re my master. Of course, I’m here to warm your bed!” Ah Zi said matter-of-factly, looking confused by his reaction.

“What?” Song Qingshu inwardly groaned. There was already a girl hiding in the bed. If these two met, he’d be in serious trouble. Despite his usual indifference to being labeled a lecher, this was a case of being wrongly accused—he hadn’t done anything, but it would appear otherwise to both women.

“Not tonight,” Song Qingshu said awkwardly, waving her off. “Esteemed Zhang is staying nearby; it wouldn’t look good.”

“I won’t make a sound.” The girl teasingly licked her lips with a playful flick of her tongue.

Song Qingshu’s heart skipped a beat. Truly a little enchantress—her seduction was shamelessly straightforward.

“It’s really inconvenient tonight. I just helped Miss Ren dispel her cold poison, and my True Qi is depleted. I need to meditate alone…” Song Qingshu sighed with feigned regret. In truth, he was cursing Wu Yunzhu for ruining his evening. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Fine,” Ah Zi pouted in disappointment but quickly brightened. “Then I’ll come tomorrow night to serve Master.” With that, she skipped toward the door.

“Ah Zi! Ah Zi, are you in there?” A knock suddenly came from the door, followed by You Tanzhi’s anxious and worried voice.

Frowning, Ah Zi tiptoed to whisper in Song Qingshu’s ear, “Master, I don’t want to see that annoying fool. Let me hide on the bed for a while.”

Before Song Qingshu could protest, she slipped into the bed canopy in a flash.

“Ah~!” Two simultaneous cries of shock erupted from within the canopy.

“Ah Zi, are you alright?” Alarmed, You Tanzhi didn’t wait for a reply and pushed the door open with his internal energy.

Song Qingshu’s face darkened instantly. “Who allowed you to enter?”

“I thought I heard Ah Zi’s voice,” You Tanzhi replied, ignoring Song Qingshu and searching the room. “Ah Zi, are you here?”

“She’s not here,” Song Qingshu said firmly, blocking his path.

“I clearly heard her!” Though wary of Song Qingshu’s martial prowess, jealousy flared as he remembered how Ah Zi always obeyed Song Qingshu. His tone grew harsher.

“You misheard.” Song Qingshu’s calm and resolute response made You Tanzhi falter. Given how much he dreamed of Ah Zi’s voice, he wasn’t sure if he had imagined it. “Then… I’ll look elsewhere,” he mumbled.

Song Qingshu nodded slightly, unwilling to waste energy on the pitiful man. He waved dismissively, only for a soft “Mm~” to suddenly escape from the canopy.

You Tanzhi’s expression changed drastically, and he rushed toward the bed.

Caught off guard, Song Qingshu failed to stop him as the canopy was pulled back. 

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This is chapter 3/12 sponsored by Someone. Thank you! (I wrote 10 chapters in the previous chapters by mistake, it’s 12 chapter. No harm done, but still, sorry.)

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Check out my other projects: Dual Cultivation with a Fox Demon, Ask the Mirror (recommended), and Immortal Divine Tribulation, The Way of Restraint (recommended)