Wei Hong's meaning was clear.
Wei Tu understood immediately.
His second aunt was warning him to choose his words carefully. She was willing to help with small favors, but big requests were out of the question.
"This time, I came to ask Second Aunt for help in learning some martial arts from Huang Manor's guards to strengthen my body."
After a brief pause, Wei Tu spoke with a calm tone.
"Learning martial arts?" Wei Hong frowned. "Since ancient times, it's been said that the poor study literature, while the rich train in martial arts. You're already past the best age—there's no future for you in this."
She had hoped that if Wei Tu was asking for a favor, it would be something more practical, such as finding a decent job in Huang Manor.
However, upon thinking further, she realized that Wei Tu had already been sold to Li Manor. That thought stopped her from making the suggestion.
Having a strong maternal family gave her more confidence in her marriage. Unfortunately, the Wei family was too weak to be of any use to her.
"Just a health preservation technique to strengthen my body—that's all."
Wei Tu softened his request.
Compared to exclusive martial arts techniques, health preservation techniques were widely shared among martial instructors and weren't considered valuable.
"Since you insist, I'll speak with Instructor Ruan and have him teach you something."
Seeing that Wei Tu was determined, Wei Hong sighed and agreed.
After speaking, she had no interest in chatting further. She glanced at the maid beside her, casually found an excuse, and stood up to leave.
"Second Aunt, the gift…"
Seeing that Wei Hong was about to walk out the door, Wei Tu quickly reminded her.
"Qing He, take the gift."
Without turning back, Wei Hong gave the order to the maid, then continued walking down the corridor.
It wasn't until after a moment of silence in the side chamber that Wei Tu understood—
By not taking the gift herself, Wei Hong was subtly telling him not to come looking for her again.
Their family ties ended here.
That afternoon, a maid named Cui Liu arrived at the side chamber and led Wei Tu to another courtyard in the front residence.
As soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he saw a burly man with a saber at his waist, teaching two young noble boys.
One of the boys was around thirteen or fourteen, while the other was only seven or eight.
Judging by the scene, Wei Tu guessed—
This burly man must be Instructor Ruan, the one Wei Hong had mentioned.
"You're Wei Tu?"
Instructor Ruan glanced at him, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, though his tone remained neutral.
"Yes, Instructor Ruan."
Wei Tu clasped his fists and bowed.
Unlike common household servants, guards and martial instructors were considered respected retainers in noble families.
"Second Madam asked me to teach you a health preservation technique. I happen to have a method I acquired in my younger days—Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation. Here, take it."
Instructor Ruan pulled a yellowed manual from his sleeve and tossed it to Wei Tu.
"Memorize the moves. In seven days, return the manual to the gatekeeper and have it sent back to me."
His words were short and direct.
After that, Instructor Ruan waved his hand dismissively, signaling for Wei Tu to leave.
It was clear—
He had no intention of teaching him anything personally.
Even when he noticed the disdainful looks from Instructor Ruan and the two young masters of the Huang family, Wei Tu didn't show any anger. He simply thanked him and left quietly.
As he walked away, he overheard a conversation behind him.
"Yuan Shan, was that your cousin just now? Why didn't you say anything to him?"
"He's not my cousin. My mother never even lets me meet him…"
Their voices faded into the distance.
By the time the burning shame on his face cooled, Wei Tu had already walked a fair distance from Huang Manor.
"Now that I have this golden finger, is that why I suddenly have courage and self-respect? Why I'm no longer numb to it all?"
He chuckled bitterly to himself.
Last night, when he had decided to visit Huang Manor and seek out his second aunt, Wei Hong, he had already anticipated this outcome.
But he had no choice.
Aside from the Huang family, he had no other way to access a health preservation technique, let alone martial arts.
While health preservation techniques were considered commonplace, that was only true for noble families and martial instructors.
For someone like him, even if he could find a way to access them, the price he would have to pay would be far greater than enduring a few mocking remarks.
"One step at a time."
"With this technique, as long as I persist, I'll eventually rise above the rest."
Wei Tu clutched the manual tightly against his chest and quickened his pace back toward Li Manor.
He couldn't wait to start training in Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation.
While health preservation techniques weren't as lethal as standard martial arts, that didn't mean they were completely useless in combat.
A strong body was already an advantage over ordinary people.
Moreover, mastering a health preservation technique first would make it twice as effective when he eventually moved on to training in actual combat techniques.
Back at Li Manor—
After feeding the young black horse, Wei Tu lit the stable lantern, then slipped into his side room and eagerly opened the manual Instructor Ruan had given him—"Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation."
This technique wasn't complicated.
It consisted of seven stance postures, illustrated across thirty-two drawings.
After two to three hours of study, Wei Tu followed the manual's illustrations and began practicing the stance work.
He spread his feet apart, relaxed his chest, straightened his back, and sank his shoulders and elbows.
He engaged his core, aligned his hips, and carefully controlled his breathing.
His movements were stiff.
He couldn't yet achieve the key principles of "upper body light, lower body heavy," or "body relaxed, stance firm," or the seamless "balance between solid and empty."
But luckily, the stance work wasn't complex.
As he repeated the movements over and over, he gradually became more familiar with them.
Once.
Twice.
By the thirty-second repetition—
A sudden flash flickered before his eyes, and a line of text appeared on his golden-purple destiny as if etched into it:
"Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation (1/100): Train nine times a day, and mastery will be achieved in five years."
"Five years? That's too long. I have to train for five whole years just to fully master a basic health preservation technique?"
Wei Tu's excitement over discovering his destiny's application was quickly overshadowed by a grim realization.
Although he had already suspected that his aptitude wasn't great, learning that it would take him five years to master even a basic health technique still left him feeling frustrated.
Most people could become proficient in a health preservation technique in just a few months.
Why did he need five years?
"Wait… 'Five years to achieve mastery'—the key point isn't the five years, it's the word 'mastery'…"
Wei Tu quickly flipped to the introduction of the Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation manual and saw a crucial line of text:
"Once energy cultivation is mastered, qi will flow through the meridians, allowing entry into the 'Qi Perception Realm.'"
Combining this with his "Late Bloomer" destiny, the implication became clear—
His training process took longer than others, but it was guaranteed to yield results. He would definitely develop Qi Perception.
In other words—
Other people might appear to learn faster, but they never truly reached full mastery.
His results wouldn't just match theirs—they might even surpass them.
"But what exactly is the Qi Perception Realm in the martial world?"
Wei Tu sighed.
With his limited background, his understanding of this world was still too shallow.
Most of his knowledge came from hearsay and scattered fragments of information.
However, from what he could infer, Qi Perception had to be an important milestone, or else it wouldn't have been specially emphasized in the manual's introduction.
"Five years isn't that long. In five years, I'll know if this golden finger truly works the way I think it does."
Wei Tu had the patience to wait.
After all—
He was only seventeen years old.
Even five years later—
He would still only be twenty-two.