Chapter 9: Cultivation in Prison At night, I showed them the mold on the kang, and everyone praised it, giving me a thumbs up, saying "Dragon Brother is still resourceful."

  I was both angry and amused, saying: "Stop flattering, think about what to take out of the drawer!"

  "What about taking wooden ones?"

  "Can you carve out a chess piece?"

  Qī Xiǎo Huán said: "If there were just materials and tools, it wouldn't be difficult at all."

  Are you sure?

  Someone next to him said, "He's just a carpenter."

  What's wrong?

  Qī Xiǎo Huán said: "Finding a stone to grind is also okay, mainly because we don't even have wood now."

  I clapped my hands and said to everyone: "Starting tomorrow, let's find wood, and then look for everything that can be used."

  Wu Yin Tao said: "Let me report on the guard positions I observed today... There are two fixed sentry posts, one at the iron gate and the other next to the wooden door outside. When we work, there is one guard for every 20 people, roughly 50 people in total. At night, there are only two shifts of mobile patrols, which are manned by the same people as during the day, and some small heads who don't specifically take turns standing guard."

  I said: "So that means there are less than four guards in the entire prison?"

  Wu Yingdao said: "It is."

  "What the...! 1000 of us are being watched by less than four women, why don't we just rush out?"

  Yu Manli said disdainfully: "Those men are so timid and hesitant, how can they compare to our boldness?"

  I shot him a glance and said, "You're quite bold, why didn't you run away earlier?"

  Yu Manli smiled and said: "Haven't you met Dragon Brother long ago?"

  "I solemnly said: 'Alright, let's re-plan the specific steps. I suggest setting the time at three watches when the night watch is most likely to doze off. The key mold that Geng Ling needs will be taken care of then. As for the remaining Qi Xiaohuan, you think of a way; the first lock on the prison door will be left to Wu Yin.'"

  Wu Yin said: "I'm going to look for Tie Si."

  I continued: "The first wall is easy, I think stepping on Yu Manli's shoulder can jump out, the hardest to solve is the second wall, we need a very long rope..."

  Yu Manli said: "This is easy to handle, aren't we just a quilt that's been made? Tear it open and it becomes rope."

  I looked at him with new eyes and said: "You're actually quite clever."

  Yu Manli smiled foolishly: "Embroidering flowers and twisting hemp ropes is what I'm best at."

  "But just having a rope isn't enough, it also needs to be able to grab onto the wall, so we still need a grappling hook."

  Everyone was at a loss when it came to this, where can you find flying claws in such a place?

  At this time, the people in the house were all small and relieved. The sound of water and the newly poured toilet bucket made a loud echo, and everyone couldn't help but move their gaze over there. That person saw that more than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at him, and he uncomfortably shifted towards the corner of the wall. Wu Yin suddenly took a step forward, grabbed the toilet bucket and shook it back and forth excitedly, saying: "Look what I found!"

  That iron scoop was an iron plate bent into a semicircle attached to the bucket, and with just a little bit of effort, it became a small shovel... Everyone couldn't help but cheer up. The half-witted Lian Sheng said to Wu Ying: "Put it down, put it down, I'll pee on your hand..."

  I clenched my fists and exclaimed excitedly: "It seems that the two most difficult things have already been solved."

  "But the main problem has not been solved yet."

  "What's wrong?"

  Geng Xuan looked at me and said: "Little Dragon, do you know what place is less than 5 li from here?"

  I said: "You say."?

  Geng Xiao said: "Within 5 miles of here is the Jingfu Garrison, which guards the capital. If we ride horses to get there, it will only take a moment. Our biggest problem isn't how to escape, but after escaping, how can we run away? Do you think the male prison camp was set up here without any intention?"

  I frowned and said, "This is indeed a problem."

  Geng Xuan said: "So we must first calculate the escape route of the remaining bamboo, this is the key."

  I smiled and said: "You're really confident, aren't you?"

  Geng Xiao said: "Those female guards are no match for us in terms of skill, and since we're all working together with one heart, it shouldn't be difficult to get out."

  "How did you know there's no expert?"

  Geng Xuan said: "I can see that at least none of them are even at the level of a Sword Child."

  "What do you think?"

  Geng Ling hesitated for a moment before saying, "Since we're all our own people, I'll tell the truth. Do you know why they're so afraid of me? It's because I'm about to reach Sword Child level soon."

  As soon as he said this, everyone in the room was stunned. After a while, Wu Yin finally exclaimed: "You've actually practiced martial arts?"

  Geng Lingdao said, "A few years ago, a Taoist nun stayed at my home for a few days. She saw that I had a good foundation, so she taught me some simple moves and incantations to cultivate..."

  "Mu Nianci, it's you."

  Who is that?

  I shook my head, thinking that Mu Nianci was able to become a second-rate master because Hong Qigong had taught her a few moves. The difference was that she met White Whisker Beggar, while Geng Lian met the Old Nun. Thinking of this, I suddenly felt unbalanced - who is the main character in this book? Why can't I meet these masters and learn their techniques?

  But I also saw hope from this... After such a long time, I finally found someone who cultivates sword energy. The key to proving my identity is in this move. I grabbed Ge Er's arm and said: "Ge Er, so you have sword energy on your body?"

  "Not yet, just soon."

  "So can you afford to invite Jian Tong and Jian Sheng for these things?"

  "This is indeed a polite decline."

  I suddenly thrust my arm into his bosom: "Quickly take a look at what level I am?"

  Geng Ling's face was full of suspicion as she put her hand on my wrist, her expression extremely serious...

  The day of Ping Yuan's snowfall is coming! I can't wait to see the reaction of those guys when he says "Sword God" with an expression of extreme shock. Seeing Geng Ling's face getting deeper and deeper, he said proudly: "Tell them, what level am I?"

  Geng Ling touched it for half a day and convulsed: "That little dragon... you seem to be out of level."

  I almost died from spitting blood and jumped up, saying: "How could I not have a rank? Are you blind?"

  Wu Ying said with a small voice: "Dragon brother, I'll say something that you might not be happy about. Why do you always have to say that you're the Sword God? We know it's because you're afraid we think you're... selling out. But even if you were, we wouldn't look down on you..." The others chimed in: "Exactly!"

  I almost cried out in despair: "It wasn't me!"

  Everyone chimed in with a soothing tone: "Good, good, no, no."

  Geng Ling smiled wryly and said: "Little Dragon, this is something I really can't help you with."

  "Never mind." I pulled out a silk handkerchief from my waist and handed it to him, saying: "Do you recognize the characters on this?"

  Geng Xuan glanced at it casually in the past, and within two minutes, his eyes had already bulged out of their sockets as he trembled with rage, saying: "Who wrote this?"

  I rolled my eyes and said, "Still so arrogant, you're from the Women's Country, that Sword God, Su Jing."

  Everyone burst out laughing: "Dragon Brother is here again."

  Geng Ling raised his remaining right arm high and said in a deep voice: "Could it really be written by the Sword God?"

  "How did you figure it out?" He and Yu Manli were mostly illiterate.

  Geng Ling ignored him and said to me in shock, "With this method of cultivation, wouldn't others' five years of hard work be equivalent to her ten days?"

  I corrected him: "To be exact, it's 3 days."

  Geng Ling held the silk handkerchief and trembled: "It seems that this is indeed the handwriting of the Sword God"?

  Everyone was shocked and exclaimed: "Does Dragon Brother really know Sword God?"

  I sneered: "Didn't I say so? I even slept with her."

  Geng Ling solemnly raised the silk scroll above her head and handed it to me: "Such a precious thing, you must be careful to keep it safe."

  I didn't say: "Since it's useful to you, then just take it."

  Geng Ling seemed to have not heard what I was saying, and replied vaguely: "What am I holding?"

  "Yes, I don't understand the characters above either, and I'm not planning on learning them. What's the point of having them?"

  Geng Ling said solemnly, "The Sword God's Secret Manual, this thing can actually trigger war between nations, and you just gave it to me like that?" Hearing him say this, I felt balanced again in my heart. It turns out that this thing is equivalent to the Nine Yin True Classics in their country, and it seems that we didn't have anyone to teach us because there were top-notch masters rushing to teach me, but I wasn't interested in learning. What kind of awesomeness is this?!

  I smiled and said: "Then I don't want it anymore. See which of the brothers wants to learn, and teach them too."

  "Wu Yin and others were incredulous: 'Can men also learn martial arts?'"

  I said, "How can't they? Except for that one thing about losing HP every month, women can do everything men can do and more... Alright, let's continue our conversation. According to your plan, Ge brother, where should we run after we escape?"

  Geng Ling carefully rolled up the silk and said with a stable mood: "To the north is the capital, we absolutely can't go there. To the south, after passing through a wild field, it's the suburbs. My intention is that we take advantage of the night to pass through the village and then think about what to do next. To the east are high mountains and ridges, which would be convenient for escaping. If we turn west, we can sneak into Ye City. For just a few people like us, the pursuers shouldn't go there to catch us."

  "So be it then. Tomorrow everyone will go about their usual business and leave when the time is ripe!"

  Everyone clenched their fists and pounded their palms, saying: "Good!"

  That night, Geng Ling lay on the bed and couldn't help but take out the silk book several times to flip through it. Finally, he jumped off the bed and squatted at the door, using the weak moonlight that came through the gap to read it word by word. He kept making sounds of admiration with his mouth, saying: "Su Jian Shen is indeed a heavenly person! With her method of cultivation, others would need 40 years of bitter practice to reach the level of a sword master, but she can achieve it in just 10 years! If one has high innate talent, they can even reach the early stage of sword mastery in 5 or 6 years!"

  "Come on, is it that exaggerated?"

  "What's so exaggerated about it?"

  Wu Yin said: "The master of the house where I and Manli did chores was a swordsman in his early days. Just because of this, she didn't take any official position in Beiming, but just held a nominal post in the army, and received several hundred taels of silver as military pay every month, which is equivalent to being supported by the country."

  Yu Manli also sat up and said: "So you're saying that as long as we study for ten or eight years, we can also eat the country's salary like her?"

  Wu Ying carved a hole in his forehead and said: "Don't forget you're a man, when has the Women's Country ever had men as officials?"

  Geng Lingdao said: "However, looking at the meaning between the lines, the biggest drawback of this quick-fix method is that the foundation is not solid. People who are naturally insufficient, even if they rise to a higher level, their sword energy can only be equivalent to ordinary people practicing for so long with ordinary methods. They just have a high rank, but Su Jian Sheng said in the book that this method was originally used by those with extremely high talent to expedite their progress. These people's physical conditions are extraordinary and can make up for the deficiency of sword energy on their own. The purpose of Sword God's book is to help these people save time and quickly enter the stage of comprehending the Sword Saint... She wrote this secret recipe to let her daughter, Guo, produce several Sword Saints in a short period of time to counter the invasion of the Black Geese Empire. However, such people are extremely rare."

  "My grandson said: 'To be honest, brother is this kind of person.'"

  Everyone unconsciously filtered me out, Wu Ying jumped off the bed and said: "Then I'll learn too, even if I can't become a sword saint, being a sword child is fine, Brother Geng teach me!"

  Geng Ling said: "Let's learn together with everyone else, who knows, maybe after a few days of running, we can still use it."

  A group of men heard that learning martial arts could make them gods, so they all sat up. Geng Ling said: "Everyone is a beginner, first learn the basic sitting posture with me, put your hands naturally on top of each other in front of your lower abdomen, at this time, the whole body's meridians form two ring-shaped enclosures around the dantian, regulate your breath and empty your mind..."

  I heard the same old thing again and didn't even bother to get up, closing my eyes to let him continue: "This step requires everyone not to rush, it must be truly calm and peaceful before proceeding, some people may need a little more time."

  Everyone knew that this was the Sword God's personally written secret recipe, and they also didn't dare to slack off in their cultivation. One by one, they let out long sighs and short gasps, yet not a single miscellaneous sound escaped, until after a good half day had passed, Geng Liang spoke again: "Have you all calmed down?"

  Only five or six people responded in a disorderly manner: "It's quiet now."

  Geng Ling didn't say anything else and waited for almost ten minutes before speaking again: "What about this time?"

  This time, only two or three people said: "Alright, what's next?"

  Geng Ling opened his eyes slightly in the darkness, then closed them again without speaking. This time he waited even longer, only asking again after half an hour: "Is it quiet?"

  It seems that everyone has come to a realization, and no one dares to speak again. Geng Ling nodded in satisfaction: "At this moment, looking inward..."

  As expected, someone immediately asked: "What is meant by 'looking inward with the eyes closed'?"

  Geng Ling wasn't in a hurry, and slowly said: "As you breathe in and out, reach the point of forgetting yourself. At this time, your consciousness follows your breath into your body, that's inner vision."

  "Some people anxiously said: 'This is too difficult.'"

  Geng Ling said patiently: "Don't worry, reaching this step is indeed a bottleneck for beginners. Let's try again."

  I opened my eyes to see a dozen or so old men sitting in unison on the head of the bed, all holding their breath and concentrating. The scene was both amusing and eerie. They ignored me completely, with only Ge Lian's unhurried voice guiding the crowd: "Breathe... out... breathe..."

  I unconsciously followed his rhythm and breathed, my timid heart naturally calmed down. Geng Ling said in a low voice: "The Sword God Book says: The way of breathing and exhaling is natural and not divided into slow or fast. Without thinking or worrying, it will naturally come to life. When it comes to life, the mind will be clear and empty. When the mind is clear and empty, the spirit will settle, and when the spirit settles, the dantian will open!" Geng Ling's tone was originally gentle, but his words became faster and more urgent as he spoke, and by the end, it was almost like a stern warning. At first, I was wandering in a quiet atmosphere, but with his words, the breath I took into my nostrils seemed to be caught by something, as if it had really contaminated my thoughts. It slid down my body towards my lower abdomen like a small bump that had been marked. When Geng Ling spoke his last word, I felt a sudden movement in the three-inch area below my navel, and the dantian was poked open by the small bump, first cold, then hot...