Peach Blossom Dual Cultivation - Chapter 2: The Dual Cultivation Manual
“Master, do you remember that ancient copper coin passed down in your family?”
The pure and innocent girl, showing no shyness and without concern for her exposed body, gracefully walked over to the large wooden tub and softly asked Zhou Lang.
Her body emitted a pleasant fragrance, seemingly unique to young girls, that captivated Zhou Lang. This scent was far more delightful than the expensive foreign perfumes that Ye Qianqian used.
Zhou Lang looked down and realized that the copper coin, tied around his neck with a red string, was nowhere to be found.
“Where’s my copper coin?”
Zhou Lang was shocked. If he hadn’t considered that he was undressed, he would have jumped right out of the bathing tub. Though the copper coin wasn’t valuable, it was something his grandfather, Zhou Maolin, had passed down to him on his deathbed, repeatedly reminding him that it was a family heirloom and should never be lost. Thus, Zhou Lang felt a deep sense of unease.
“Master, don’t worry. You and I are currently inside that very copper coin,” the pure girl quickly replied.
“What? I’m inside the copper coin?”
Zhou Lang was stunned, his mind struggling to comprehend.
This couldn’t be real—things like ancient coins and jade stones with magical spaces seemed to exist only in movies and novels, not in real life.
“My name is Xiao Xi. I’m the spirit of this copper coin, and you are my master. I’m always at your service.”
The pure girl introduced herself, “I’ve been asleep for hundreds of years and only woke up a few hours ago when you summoned me. Seeing that you were injured, I brought you in here to heal you.”
After speaking, Xiao Xi unexpectedly removed her towel, took a piece of cloth resembling a towel, and placed it on the edge of the tub. Then, she lifted her leg into the tub, standing directly in front of Zhou Lang.
At this moment, Xiao Xi wasn’t wearing a single thread, and her figure was incredibly perfect. Her chest, in particular, was heaving up and down due to her movement, creating a breathtaking scene.
Zhou Lang was stunned, his mind going completely blank. This was the first time he had ever seen a woman’s body, and he nearly had a nosebleed.
“Beauty… who exactly are you? Don’t mess with me. If I lose control and ruin your innocence, that wouldn’t be good… I… I’m called Wolf Brother for a reason, and I’m known as a lustful wolf…”
Thinking that something so unusual must have a catch, Zhou Lang tried to scare Xiao Xi away, instinctively backing up until his back was pressed against the wooden tub.
He didn’t believe in spirits inhabiting copper coins. After all, he was a college student—how could he believe in something so far-fetched?
“It’s an honor for me to cultivate alongside my master,” Xiao Xi said earnestly, as if serving Zhou Lang was the most natural thing in the world.
“Could the copper coin be a treasure passed down through the family?”
Seeing Xiao Xi’s sincere expression, Zhou Lang began to wonder if this wasn’t some kind of prank after all.
He had fallen asleep in his dorm bed, so how did he end up here? And why was there a stunning beauty wanting to help him bathe? None of this made any sense!
“Master, we should start quickly. This water has been infused with many medicinal herbs, and if it cools down, it won’t be as effective,” Xiao Xi urged, seeing that Zhou Lang was lost in thought.
“Ahem, Xiao Xi… I think I’ll bathe myself.”
Still a virgin, Zhou Lang, regaining his senses, couldn’t bring himself to look at Xiao Xi again. Feeling a bit awkward, he remarked that while he normally longed for intimacy with beauty, he was now unsure of how to handle such sudden “bliss.”
“Master, I’ve noticed that your body is quite weak. While I help you bathe, I’ll also use true energy to cleanse your marrow and bones. Otherwise, you won’t be able to practice the Dual Cultivation Manual that the old master—your ancestor—left behind.”
Xiao Xi explained.
“The Dual Cultivation Manual? What is that? It sounds like it’s related to intimate relations between men and women. Is it some kind of secret bedroom technique? Why didn’t my ancestor leave me something more useful? There’s plenty of this stuff online…”
Zhou Lang’s mind began to wander. However, a man’s nature is to be attracted to beauty, so after a brief hesitation, he nodded.
Xiao Xi, like a dutiful maid, knelt before Zhou Lang. Her soft hands began to move across his body, making him tremble all over with a mix of pleasure and torment…
Damn, so this is what it feels like to be touched by a beautiful woman. Zhou Lang felt so happy that he almost fainted!
…
The next morning, the sun was shining brightly when Zhou Lang woke up, finding himself still in his dormitory bed.
“So it was just a spring dream.”
He touched the ancient copper coin hanging around his neck and smiled wryly.
But soon, his smile froze. When he got up and looked in the mirror, he was shocked to find that all the bruises on his body were gone. He touched the spots where he was injured yesterday, and they didn’t hurt at all. On his bed was an ancient, thread-bound book. The pages had four seal characters: The Dual Cultivation Manual.
“Oh my god, was last night not a dream?”
Zhou Lang was dumbfounded. If it was a dream, how could his injuries heal overnight, and where did this book—mentioned by Xiao Xi in his dream—come from?
Zhou Lang, unable to contain his excitement, quickly opened the Dual Cultivation Manual. Though it was written in traditional Chinese characters, he could still understand it.
The more he read, the more excited he became. The Dual Cultivation Manual contained a wide array of techniques, including miraculous medical skills, powerful martial arts, and various mystical abilities like clairvoyance, invisibility, walking through walls, talisman crafting, divination, and dual cultivation techniques between men and women. It even described how, with advanced cultivation, one could fly and achieve anything.
“My goodness, could my ancestor have been an immortal to leave behind such a treasure?”
Zhou Lang was overjoyed. Last night, after being humiliated by Ye Qianqian and beaten by people sent by Nie Yuanxiong, he thought he’d never have the means to take revenge on those two. But if he could master the skills in the Dual Cultivation Manual, dealing with them would be a piece of cake!
He fantasized wildly, regretting not taking advantage of the beautiful Xiao Xi last night when she offered to cultivate with him. He was the only virgin among the four people in his dorm, often teased by his three roommates.
After quickly washing up, Zhou Lang didn’t even bother using hot water for his instant noodles, eating them dry before diving into studying the Dual Cultivation Manual.
But after reading the general outline, he felt a bit disappointed.
According to the book, practicing the Dual Cultivation Manual requires a gradual process, starting with martial arts training. Only when one’s skill reached a certain level could they learn the various mystical techniques.
The path of martial arts alone was divided into four levels: martial apprentice, martial artist, expert, and grandmaster. For an ordinary person, even after a lifetime of effort, they might only reach the level of a martial artist. Those with high talent might reach the “expert” level after two or three decades of training. But to become a grandmaster was the stuff of legends, one in ten thousand.
No matter how skilled one is in martial arts, a knife can still kill, let alone in the era of firearms. Even if one reached the level of a grandmaster, a single bullet could end it all. The risk of spending one’s entire life on this seemed too high for Zhou Lang.
“Doesn’t this stupid book have a shortcut?”
Zhou Lang tossed the Dual Cultivation Manual onto the bed in frustration.
“Master, you needn’t lose hope.”
Suddenly, the ancient copper coin hanging around his neck flashed with multicolored light, and a beautiful woman, wrapped only in a bath towel, appeared before him. Who else could it be but Xiao Xi, who claimed to be his servant?
Xiao Xi’s towel wasn’t modern; strictly speaking, it was just a piece of white cloth, barely wide enough to cover her body. It only just covered the middle of her body, with half of her round chest exposed, and her snow-white legs were completely bare.
“Xiao Xi, why did you come out dressed like that?”
Zhou Lang glanced at the “half globe” exposed on Xiao Xi’s chest and quickly averted his gaze.
This was a boys’ dormitory, after all. Although it was summer vacation, the dormitory manager occasionally came to inspect. If she saw a scantily clad beauty in the room, she might think Zhou Lang had smuggled in a girlfriend, causing a huge scandal.