It really works!
Jiang Heng remained outwardly calm, but his heart was filled with wild joy. However, the Qi contained within this calligraphy piece was far less potent than what he had absorbed from the plum blossom snow scene painting of that down-and-out scholar.
But this tiny wisp confirmed his conjecture, still making Jiang Heng very happy.
This is his Golden Finger!
Jiang Heng then continued to scan his surroundings, and sure enough, a few more calligraphy pieces and paintings showed faint warm currents of Qi flowing into his Dantian.
After he had looked at all the calligraphy and paintings displayed on the first floor, the number of pieces he absorbed wasn't many, but there were probably hundreds of them there. Among them, more than ten pieces contained Qi, and combined, they amounted to the same quantity he had absorbed from the plum blossom snow scene painting earlier.
Jiang Heng let out a long breath. This trip was truly worthwhile!
This was equivalent to discovering a shortcut to rapidly increase his strength. Thinking of this, Jiang Heng sat in a chair, a smile appearing on his lips...
Soon, the shopkeeper cautiously appeared before Jiang Heng, carrying a few calligraphy pieces and paintings.
The shopkeeper then carefully placed the calligraphy and paintings on the long table and spread them out, revealing one piece after another.
There were a total of four calligraphy pieces and three paintings. Since the table couldn't hold them all, some that didn't fit were hung on the walls for Jiang Heng to view.
"Young Master, these are calligraphy and paintings by some famous artists from Cang Prefecture. I wonder..."
Jiang Heng ignored the shopkeeper's fawning manner and focused on the calligraphy and paintings.
At first glance, he was stunned.
The first piece he saw was an ink wash painting of a small bridge over flowing water. However, from this painting, Jiang Heng felt an astonishing warm current of Qi, far more potent than that from the plum blossom snow scene painting, flow into his Dantian.
"Young Master!"
"Young Master?"
"Young Master!"
The shopkeeper saw that Jiang Heng was staring blankly at a painting without reacting and called out several times. It wasn't until Xiao Rou shook him that Jiang Heng snapped out of his shock.
"Is Young Master satisfied with these calligraphy and paintings?" He had naturally seen Jiang Heng's reaction just now, so at this moment, he was full of self-satisfaction, thinking that the price could perhaps be raised significantly this time.
Jiang Heng did not answer him directly but continued to look at the calligraphy and paintings, saying faintly, "This Young Master still needs to examine these calligraphy and paintings carefully. Don't rush; as long as this Young Master likes them, money is not an issue!"
Hearing Jiang Heng's words, the shopkeeper was even happier, thinking that this was another rich Young Master who was foolish and had money to spare.
After about half an hour, Jiang Heng finally let out a long breath. Although these seven pieces of calligraphy and paintings were all by famous artists, they were indeed as he had initially guessed. It wasn't that the more famous the artist or the higher the artistic skill, the more Qi they contained.
However, among these seven pieces, there were still a few that contained a considerable amount of Qi. But the first painting with such astonishing Qi was an exception; although the Qi in the other pieces was not weak, it was only about the same amount as the plum blossom snow scene painting.
However, for Jiang Heng, he was already very satisfied, having absorbed so much Qi in one go today.
"Has Young Master finished viewing?" the shopkeeper asked, rubbing his hands with a beaming smile.
"Alas!" Jiang Heng shook his head, his tone somewhat displeased. "You said these are works by famous artists, but I find them to be nothing special. Are you perhaps trying to fool me with fakes?"
Fakes?
The shopkeeper was a bit bewildered, then somewhat irate, saying, "Young Master, even if you don't buy, don't insult my humble shop. My shop operates with integrity, and these calligraphy and paintings were all acquired at high prices from contemporary famous artists in Cang Prefecture. How could they be fakes!"
"More words are useless. Farewell!" Jiang Heng didn't intend to stay long either. He cupped his hands and directly left the Art and Painting Studio with Xiao Rou.
Since he had already absorbed the Qi from these paintings, why would he buy them? His words were merely an excuse.
The shopkeeper watched Jiang Heng, who had already left, grinding his teeth in anger. What kind of person was that? Wasn't he just messing with him? He even spouted nonsense, claiming that the famous artists' works were fakes.
The somewhat angry shopkeeper's eyes fell on the calligraphy and paintings, and he began to examine these famous works carefully, muttering, "Fake? How could they be fake!"
Hmm?!
The shopkeeper squinted his eyes, not knowing if it was an illusion, but he always felt that the calligraphy and paintings now seemed a bit different from before.
However, he was not a man of refined tastes; he merely managed the shop for his employer. An amateur like him naturally couldn't discern much difference.
He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, but he always felt something was missing... "Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper!" A nearby servant called out softly.
"I'm not deaf! Out with it!" The shopkeeper, still angry, naturally had a fiery temper.
"Shopkeeper, that person just now seemed to be the Jiang Family's Second Young Master!" The servant stammered softly, scared.
"Jiang Family? Which Jiang Family?"
"Shopkeeper, it's... it's that..."
---
After returning to his mansion from the Art and Painting Studio, Jiang Heng began his intensive cultivation.
From his previous horse stance training, it was evident that the warm current of Qi in his body was extremely helpful for martial arts practice.
Without this nourishing warm current of Qi, practicing martial arts would be an extremely painful endeavor. But with this warm current, practicing martial arts became a very comfortable experience.
That feeling of sudden comfort and energy, when his legs were weak from training, was truly wonderful.
Generally, for martial artists, even with precious medicinal supplements, the body would still need a long time to digest, break down, and convert them into blood and Qi energy.
Without sufficient blood and Qi energy to nourish the muscles and bones, forcibly practicing Standing Meditation would not only fail to temper the muscles and bones but also easily leave hidden injuries.
This limited the time beginners could practice the horse stance.
Third Uncle had mentioned to Jiang Heng that for beginners practicing the horse stance, it was best not to exceed two incense sticks' worth of time per day, and it should be split between morning and evening, allowing time for blood and Qi to recover.
But in fact, Jiang Heng could completely restore his blood and Qi energy quickly through the warm current's nourishment!
This meant that as long as Jiang Heng was willing, he could practice the horse stance for twenty-four hours a day without stopping.
In this way, even if Jiang Heng's bones and muscles were already set, and training for one hour only increased his blood and Qi energy by one percent, he could still use a large amount of time to catch up with those young people who were in the prime age for tempering their muscles and bones!
In the following days, he stayed at home daily, practicing martial arts and conserving his energy.
During these past few days, the changes in his body were evident to Jiang Heng.
His body had gradually grown stronger since the first day he started practicing martial arts. In the following days, his arms, legs, chest, and back slowly developed firm muscles.
Xiao Rou, because she chatted daily with the servants who went out for purchases, often heard some rumors from outside through her.
For example, six days ago, river bandits appeared in Yutang Village in the city's outskirts. These river bandits killed eighteen fishermen in the river and were finally surrounded and killed by over thirty constables from the yamen.
Another example: three days ago, in the bustling market area of Hengjiang Village, south of the city, a person suddenly went mad and died violently ten breaths later, with the cause of death unknown.
Also, yesterday, ten merchants disappeared in an old mountain temple outside the city, and the authorities have yet to find any trace of them.
The more Jiang Heng listened, the more alarmed and uneasy he became. Although these messages, as told by Xiao Rou, did not involve any traces of demons or Ghosts, upon careful thought, Jiang Heng knew that there might be deliberate concealment by the authorities behind them.
"I hope there's still more time!"