The mercury-like mist swirled and rolled, making his brain rumble. However, Jiang Xingchen did not have the previous fear this time. Things like soul time-traveling had happened, and the appearance of strange mist in his brain was not an unacceptable thing. Even
At this moment, he still had some vague expectations, and all his attention was focused on the mist.
That is, after he stared at the mist for a moment, all the heat generated in his stomach rushed into his mind, and the mist suddenly released a series of ripples.
Then, a method of controlling breathing suddenly appeared in Jiang Xingchen's consciousness. There were no words, but it was clearly engraved in his mind. It was extremely strange.
Before he could have any thoughts, Jiang Xingchen was attracted by an invisible force and couldn't help but follow this method to breathe.
"Breathe, breathe, breathe... Breathe, breathe, breathe... Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe..." The length and arrangement of the breaths are very special and complex, but Jiang Xingchen is being carried along without any difficulty. On the contrary,
He felt extremely comfortable. His mind, which had been a little heavy since the time travel, became clearer. Even his body was recovering quickly. Before he knew it, he was deeply immersed in it...
But he forgot that there was a little girl beside him waiting for his answer.
"Brother! Is Meier really a slave?" After the little girl asked, she stared at Jiang Xingchen nervously. Unexpectedly, the word 'of course' was what was waiting for her.
It was like a sledgehammer smashing her previous strength into pieces. Negative emotions such as sadness, grievance, fear, etc. all came out at once, making it difficult for this little girl who was only thirteen years old to stay calm anymore, and burst into tears.
Eye socket.
"Brother! You..." The little girl still refused to give up, holding on to a glimmer of hope and preparing to ask again, hoping that it was still her brother's deception and joke.
However, when she saw Jiang Xingchen's eyes were dull and his expression was silent, she could no longer say the words that came to her lips.
"Brother! I'm going to light a fire. You should go to bed early!" Mei'er held back her sobs, biting her lower lip, and said in a low voice. She bent down and took out a clay brazier from under the bed.
At this time, Mei'er didn't know Jiang Xingchen's condition, nor did she pay attention to his strange breathing. She was so aggrieved and sad that she didn't have the time to notice anything different about him, thinking that he had become as cold and heartless as before.
The brazier was placed in the middle of the room. Mei'er took a dozen pieces of charcoal and placed it in the basin. Then she took out a flint and lightly struck it against a ball of plush. The soft crackling sound made the room feel depressingly quiet.
The sparks ignited the plush and then the charcoal, and the temperature in the room gradually increased and became warmer.
Meier straightened up and looked back at Jiang Xingchen, who was still sitting beside the bed. The scene when she had just eaten the cake flashed through her mind. That short moment was the happiest moment for her in several years!
"I'm going to bed, I have to get up early tomorrow!" Mei'er said again, as if talking to herself, then she took out a pile of dry grass from under the bed, walked to the corner next to the bed, and spread it on the cold ground.
, facing the inside, slowly lying down...
After an unknown amount of time, the charcoal in the brazier gradually extinguished, leaving only a faint light from the fire.
The wind blew outside, making a cry-like sound, constantly penetrating through the huge gaps in the windows, and the temperature in the room dropped rapidly.
Jiang Xingchen, who had been sitting by the bed, suddenly moved, his breathing became erratic, the expression on his silent face changed, and his eyes became active.
Shaking his head slightly, Jiang Xingchen exhaled. The guidance of the invisible force in his mind suddenly disappeared, and his breathing could no longer continue. Then he woke up, and the rotating mist disappeared.
"This mist really works. The breathing method it releases is really good. You can regulate your body just by breathing..." Now his whole body feels relaxed. The previous aches and pains all over his body and the heaviness of his head are gone forever.
.
"I'm just hungry! The warm current in my stomach made the fog appear again. It should be the energy of food... Hey! Where is the little girl?"
Jiang Xingchen was startled when he didn't see Mei'er. He couldn't care less about the fog anymore, he stood up and looked around.
Soon, with the faint light of the charcoal fire, he discovered the thin figure huddled in the corner, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why is she sleeping on the ground!" Jiang Xingchen frowned slightly and walked over.
"Brother! I promised uncle that I will take good care of you..." The crouched Mei'er suddenly murmured, and Jiang Xingchen, who had already walked to her side, paused at his feet and slowly squatted down.
"The territory and noble status are gone when they are gone. Don't be sad, brother! Mei'er can already make money. Although I can only let you eat black flour cakes now, I will definitely let you eat white flour cakes in the future... No, let's eat
Rice, and meat! I buy ten pounds of meat to eat every day!”
"We will no longer live in a dirty civilian area. Let's buy a big house near the Imperial College or in the aristocratic area, a large courtyard of 1,000 square meters, buy the most expensive oil lamp, and light it in the bedroom all night, so that my brother will not be afraid at night.
Black! Hee hee..."
"Was I afraid of the dark before?" Listening to Mei'er's laughter as she talked in her sleep, Jiang Xingchen felt like his nose was sore and he wanted to cry. He quickly raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, thinking this.
"In the future, when we go out, we will take a beautiful carriage to watch the performance of the most famous dance band in Hongyuan City..."
"By the way! We also need to buy beautiful clothes. Wear the best silk in the summer and the softest animal skins in the winter. Meier will never wear shoes with holes in her shoes again. It's so cold... Also, I need to wear my shoes."
The jade pendant was redeemed..."
After a pause, Meier suddenly raised her arm and said loudly: "Brother is not allowed to call Meier a slave again! Otherwise I won't take care of you!"
After saying this, Meier became quiet again.
Jiang Xingchen squatted still, his sympathy for the little girl rising again, and he also got a lot of information from Meier's sleep talk. He was now in Hongyuan City, where the weights and measures were similar to those on Earth, and there were also
The difference between winter and summer, and most importantly, combined with seeing a corner of the ancient building outside the door, he already had a rough outline of Hongyuan City in his mind.
"Woo~" A gust of wind howled, and a large amount of cold wind penetrated through the cracks in the window. Jiang Xingchen couldn't help but shiver.
Mei'er in the corner curled up even tighter, almost turning into a ball. But even so, she couldn't resist the cold, and her trembling body made the withered grass beneath her make a slight friction sound.
Jiang Xingchen felt distressed for a moment, and reached out to hug Mei'er, who was shrinking into a ball.
She was dreaming again and was cold. Mei'er had not fallen into a deep sleep at all. She was hugged by Jiang Xingchen and woke up.
"Brother!" She shouted in a daze, and the little girl immediately woke up. She was so surprised that she could hardly close her mouth from ear to ear, and then struggled to get off the ground.
"Don't move!" Jiang Xingchen shouted in a low voice, walked to the bedside, grabbed the thin quilt with several patches on the bed, wrapped her up, and said with a cold face: "Who asked you to sleep on the floor?
!”
Mei'er didn't seem to recover from the surprise. After a while, she said softly: "Brother took fake medicine and was injured...and there is only one bed...I'd better sleep on the ground!"
"Stay there and don't move! I'm fine!" Jiang Xingchen ordered with a stern face, stood up and walked towards the charcoal pile.
Meier tightened the quilt wrapped around her body, curled her lips, and her smile flashed away, as if she had forgotten the sadness she felt when she heard the word 'of course'.
"Brother, Uncle Huang's family is not well off, so we can't use more of their charcoal!" Just when Jiang Xingchen was about to get the charcoal, Meier spoke.
Jiang Xingchen stopped and turned around. Under the dim light, the little girl's bright eyes could be seen twinkling, as if filled with water vapor.
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Xingchen put down his hand and sighed in his heart: "This little girl!"
She turned around and was about to walk back when she heard Mei'er say again: "It's the last night, it doesn't matter if you use a few more bucks, it's so cold!"
"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen froze, feeling black lines all over his head, his breath thickening, and he shouted in a deep voice: "Little girl, are you kidding me?"
Mei'er on the bed let out a chuckle, shrank back under the quilt, and then stuck out her tongue.
Jiang Xingchen took a dozen pieces of charcoal, walked to the middle of the room, put the charcoal into a basin, then sat on the edge of the bed and said, "You go and sleep inside, I'll sleep outside!"
"Oh!" the little girl responded obediently, took out the two open-toed shoes from the quilt, threw them to the ground, then moved inside to lean against the wall, and lay down.
Seeing Meier lying down, Jiang Xingchen also took off his shoes and lay down.
The broken wooden bed was not big, only big enough for one person to sleep on. Although both of them were relatively thin, after lying down, half of Jiang Xingchen's body was still exposed outside the bed.
"Brother! I'll give you the quilt. It's cold outside when you sleep!" The little girl moved and covered Jiang Xingchen with the quilt.
"I'm not cold, just cover yourself up and be obedient!" Jiang Xingchen shook his head, sat up and put the quilt back on the little girl.
"No! You have to cover it, or I won't cover it either..." The little girl also sat up, raised her head and looked at him stubbornly, paused, and said, "Be obedient!"
When Jiang Xingchen heard the word "obedient", he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth twice and was immediately speechless.
"How about this!" After pondering for a moment, Jiang Xingchen turned and sat on the bed, leaning against the corner between the bed and the wall, and said: "Sit in my arms, turn the quilt over, and the two of us will
It can all be covered!”
"Ah!" The little girl was stunned, a hint of shyness flashed in her eyes, and her little head hung slightly.
"What are you thinking about? I'm your brother!" Jiang Xingchen stretched out his hand and gently tapped Mei'er on the head.
"You treat me like your sister now. You ignored me before and you want to sell me! Humph, sell me and see who will support you in the future!" The little girl covered her head, puffed up her face and said angrily.
"Oh! Where did you come up with so many words? I won't sell you if I don't say anything! Come here quickly!" Jiang Xingchen raised his hand to hit her on the head again.
"Hmph! Then tell me, am I a slave?" Meier asked loudly, slapping away his extended hand.
"Of course not! Didn't I tell you before?"
"You clearly said 'of course' before, but you lied to me again!"
"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen was stunned for a moment. Then he remembered the previous situation and couldn't help but reveal a wry smile. Halfway through his words, he was attracted by the fog in his mind. No wonder the little girl misunderstood.
"I originally wanted to say 'Of course not', but I was a little dizzy at the time and didn't finish my sentence!" Jiang Xingchen explained.
"Really, you didn't lie to me!" The little girl's eyes were bright and she looked happy.
"Yeah!" Jiang Xingchen nodded vigorously.
The little girl's eyes immediately turned into crescent moons, the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a flower-like smile, she turned around and sat down on Jiang Xingchen's lap.
"Ouch! Be gentle, you want to kill me, but I'm just right!" Jiang Xingchen said loudly and exaggeratedly.
"Hee hee!" The little girl laughed softly, reached out and picked up the quilt to cover the two of them, and asked: "Brother, is he really well? He was still dizzy just now!"
"It's really good!" Jiang Xingchen grabbed the corners of the quilt on both sides, pulled it back, and wrapped the two of them tightly.
The charcoal fire burned brightly and made a crackling sound, dispelling the cold and darkness, and illuminated the two people's faces with bright red.
"Does your hand still hurt?" Jiang Xingchen asked.
Meier's body froze, her eyes blurred for a moment, but the smile on her face became brighter, and she slowly leaned back and retracted into his arms.
"It's so warm!" Meier sighed in her heart and whimpered as comfortably as a kitten. She slowly closed her eyes and whispered softly: "It doesn't hurt anymore!"
The little girl was dirty and smelled bad, but for some reason, Jiang Xingchen didn't feel it at all. Maybe it was the loneliness after time travel that made him instinctively look for someone to rely on, or maybe it was the little girl's miserable situation that aroused him
His pity, maybe it was that strong smile that opened his closed heart. In the short time of contact, he had truly regarded Meier as a relative, and there was only warmth left in his arms...
"Brother has changed a lot!" Meier suddenly spoke softly, as if whispering.
Jiang Xingchen's heart tightened and he asked, "Has it changed?"
"Yeah!" Mei'er nodded: "Compared to before, I feel like a different person. I even wonder if the fake medicine that stimulated the vitality burned out my brother's brain!"
"Fortunately, there is that fake medicine thing!" Jiang Xingchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Then do you think it has gotten better or worse?"
"Of course it's gotten better!" As she said that, Mei'er turned her head sharply, her little face showed a fierce look, her eyes widened, and she said loudly: "You are not allowed to change back, otherwise I will never pay attention to you again.
!”
"Ah!" Jiang Xingchen was startled by Mei'er's sudden movement. He stared at the little face that deliberately showed a fierce look for a moment. He smiled tenderly, stretched out his right hand from the quilt, and gently wiped off a small piece of her face.
Er Er Ji Ji said: "I used to be so annoying to you!"
As Jiang Xingchen touched her face, Meier's face became a little hot and her aura became weaker, but then she glared again, turned her head to avoid Jiang Xingchen's palm, and said bitterly: "Indifferent, rigid, and inhumane! Ever since I was six years old
When I came to your house, I never saw you smiling! All day long, I was thinking about practicing. I went to play with you. You just ignored me. You often scolded me. A few days ago, you even said that I was a slave and wanted to kill me.
Sell it! If uncle hadn't said that he was afraid that you would become stupid by practicing kung fu and asked me to play with you more, I wouldn't bother to care about you!"
Mei'er seemed a little excited, as if she was venting her anger. After saying so much in one breath, she took a sharp breath.
"Uncle! She should be my father in this world...she came to my house when she was six years old. Could it be that she was really a bought slave? If true, considering her current situation of poverty and the temperament of my predecessor as Meier said,
, it is really possible to sell her..."
Just when he thought of this, Jiang Xingchen suddenly felt some vague impressions in his mind.
"Huh? It seems like... the memory of this body! It's so blurry... No matter how hard I tried just now, there was no result, but now... could it be because of the mist that the memory surfaced!" Although he was a little surprised, he couldn't hide it.
The surprise in his heart was exactly what he needed most.
"Brother, what's wrong with you? I just..." When Meier saw that Jiang Xingchen didn't speak, a look of panic appeared on her face, and her previous aura suddenly disappeared.
"Uh!" Jiang Xingchen woke up with a start. He suppressed the urge to immediately explore his memory and shook his head with a smile: "I'm fine!" Of course he knew what the little girl was worried about. He raised his hand and patted her head and said softly: "Don't worry!
Brother, I promise you, I won’t change back!”
Hearing Jiang Xingchen's assurance, Mei'er was extremely happy, and her aura increased again. She raised her little face and said: "Not only are you not allowed to change back, but you are also not allowed to have a straight face with me in the future, and you are not allowed to have the idea of selling me.
You should listen to me more..."
"Okay, okay, okay, it's all up to you! Go to bed quickly, it's very late!" Seeing the little girl talking non-stop, Jiang Xingchen immediately interrupted her. He had to concentrate quickly to avoid those blurry things.
memory disappears.
"Oh!" Meier puffed up her face at him, turned around, and leaned into his arms again!
"Brother, am I not a slave?" Just as Jiang Xingchen was about to close his eyes and meditate, Meier asked again.
"No! Okay, don't think so wildly! Go to sleep!" Jiang Xingchen was interrupted and said patiently.
"Are you sure?" Meier didn't listen to him and continued to ask.
"OK!" Jiang Xingchen's breath became thicker.
"elder brother….."
"Little girl, shut your mouth!" Jiang Xingchen's forehead was throbbing with veins and his teeth were clenching.
"Hehe!" Mei'er laughed softly, stuck out her tongue, and finally stopped talking.
Jiang Xingchen slowly exhaled, shook his head helplessly, and closed his eyes impatiently...
The memories are not complete, they are all discrete fragments, but for Jiang Xingchen, they are enough. Compared with Mei'er's words, he can easily figure out his current identity and the reasons for his current situation.
The predecessor's name was Jiangling. His mother died young and his father was a small lord under the jurisdiction of Dingbei Marquis of the Qiankun Empire. He had the title of baron and his territory was a small remote village.
Because the territory was barren, the family was not rich, and the income was just enough to pay taxes. Therefore, the family did not hire servants, only father and son. Until Jiang Ling was nine years old, his father brought in a six-year-old girl.
The only scene in Mei'er's memory.
Jiang Ling has been practicing martial arts in order to activate the Yuanquan so that he can inherit the territory, but he has never succeeded. Later, his father was sent to the battlefield and finally disappeared. According to the imperial succession system, if a lord dies or disappears for three years, none of his descendants or branches will become nobles.
Yes, the territory will be taken back. As for Jiangling, there are only two people in the family, he and his father. Once the three years expires, he will not only lose the territory, but also lose his noble status.
Later, when the three-year period expired, he sold everything in his family and came to Hongyuan City, where the main city of the Dingbei Marquis Territory was located. He searched everywhere for drugs that could activate the Yuanquan, but in the end he failed to keep the territory and the nobility.
identity……
From some other scattered fragments, Jiang Xingchen also roughly understood what Yuanquan was all about.
This world is full of something called vitality. If you activate the vitality in your brain, you will have the opportunity to draw the vitality into your body. After the initial physical training, you will reach the realm of inner energy, which will enhance your physical strength and improve your physical condition.
It has been more than two hundred years since the Qiankun Empire was founded. Although it is prosperous internally, the friction with external forces has never stopped. In particular, the territories of the seven great dukes have been allocated by Emperor Qiankun to areas bordering external forces.
Therefore, warriors have always played an important role, and their social status is naturally relatively high. By activating Yuanquan to improve their military force and military exploits, they can obtain noble status or titles and territories. This is the way most people think of it.
However, activating the Yuanquan is very difficult. Not only does it require hard training, but also the use of various drugs, which is very expensive. Not only that, if you cannot practice to the realm of inner energy, even if you activate the Yuanquan, the damage caused by hard training will slowly erode.
Body……
"No wonder Mei'er said that many people who practice martial arts do not live to be fifty years old... I should also have hidden injuries on my body, but my whole body is relaxed now. Is it possible that the strange breathing method has healed it..." Due to the existence of the mist
, Jiang Xingchen didn't worry too much. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at Mei'er, who was already sleeping soundly. His eyes gradually froze.
"The Qiankun Empire has a feudal system... This was the system before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it seems to have been the same in Europe in the Middle Ages... But the inheritance system is quite different. I feel that the system here is more complete and conducive to control..." Jiang Xingchen's expression changed a little.
Relax.
After discovering the existence of such a thing as Yuan Qi, and countless people eager to activate Yuan Qi, he thought this was a world of high martial arts.
But after careful consideration, the Qiankun Empire has a complete political system and regulations, unified weights and measures, and a currency such as copper coins that circulates normally, indicating that it is an orderly society. In addition, Meier said that for the empire or the great lords
You can also get noble status if you make contributions. He judged that in this world, there will never be a situation where personal force can overwhelm everything. Even if the status of a warrior is high, it will not be too outrageous.
"In an orderly society, it is not that difficult to change the situation. I will pay more attention to the details later... Find a place to live tomorrow. It is so cold at night. You will definitely freeze to death outside! There is also food...
"
When he thought about eating, he immediately felt a cramp in his stomach.
Wrapping up the quilt, Jiang Xingchen secretly thought: "Let's get food first tomorrow. The breathing method released by the mist is definitely not just as simple as regulating the body. There may be new discoveries..."
Slowly turning his head, Jiang Xingchen looked at the window, as if he could see the outside world through the gap.