Gasp… Gasp…
Beads of sweat dropped down Yi Chen's chin like raindrops in regular intervals, darkening the soil below. This was Yi Chen's twenty-fifth round, and his vision had started failing him.
Suddenly, Yi Chen noticed a man servant walking towards him.
'Did Master Ru finally take pity on me after seeing my state?' Yi Chen thought in delight as he put down the buckets and waited for the man servant to arrive.
"Young master," The man servant bowed and said, "Master Ru has told me to inform you that you won't be served breakfast if you don't finish all the assigned tasks in the following hour."
With that said, the man servant bowed once again and left, leaving Yi Chen with a flabbergasted expression.
'This bastard!' All the traces of respect which Yi Chen had for Master Ru went down the drain the very next moment as he tightly gritted his teeth and continued with the rest of the rounds. This anger helped him to focus better on the task and forget everything about his surroundings.
At that moment, a woman dressed in white training robes with a white veil covering the bottom half of her face came outside the courtyard and asked one of the nearby servants, "Servant Lu, what's going on inside?"
"Ah, Young Miss!" the servant named Lu bowed respectfully and answered, "Master Ru has assigned some physical tasks to Young Master, and he has told us to monitor and report his progress to him later."
Hearing this, Miss Yu glanced towards Yi Chen, who was drenched in sweat and was giving his all to complete the task her father had assigned to him.
'He's so diligent,' a smile formed on her face when she saw Yi Chen's focused eyes and decided not to interrupt him.
She just nodded at the servant and walked towards a training hall that was constructed next to the courtyard. It was built solely for her.
Inside, many books containing various martial arts skills were neatly lined on a huge shelf. Miss Ru had read almost all of these when she was a child. In the middle of the room, on a small, low-height table, rested a blue colored book.
It had the title 'Frost Purity Arts'.
Among the pile of dozens of skill books in the room, this one belonged to the lowest of the low grade, with no offensive ability at all. However, this was the only skill book useful to Miss Yu.
Sitting next to the table, Miss Yu turned over to a particular page, and after glancing through the words, she closed her eyes.
The next moment, a faint blue light emitted from Miss Yu's body as a pained expression formed on her face. However, around fifteen minutes later, her expression finally relaxed as the blue light continued its channel throughout her body.
A few hours later.
Dining room.
"Haha, you must be brimming with energy now, aren't you? That's the magic of physical exertion. Don't worry, give me a couple of months and you'll be in tip-top condition to start your martial arts journey," Master Ru commented in a jovial mood.
'From which angle do I look energetic to you, old man…' Yi Chen narrowed his eyes towards Master Ru, who acted as if he didn't notice it at all and turned his head to Yi Chen's side.
"Yu'er, how about you and Xiao Chen go out after breakfast and spend some time together. It's better to know each other more before your marriage," Master Ru suggested with a doting tone.
He knew that his daughter wasn't fond of going out because of her appearance, but he still hoped that this would change. Now that Yi Chen was by her side, Master Ru couldn't help but give it a try.
Hearing her father's words, Miss Yu subconsciously grabbed the edges of her robes with her hands before relaxing them a little.
With the side of her vision, she glanced towards Yi Chen and, with a deep breath, made her decision, "Alright, father."
"That's great! I'll get a carriage ready for you two," Master Ru said in elation, and the next second clapped his hands once.
Soon, a warm and freshly prepared breakfast was laid on the table for the three of them to eat.
BRRRR!
Yi Chen's stomach cried out in joy seeing this great line of dishes.
'Oops…that was embarrassing,' Yi Chen could only scratch the back of his head in this unexpected situation, which invited a giggle from Miss Yu, who was sitting next to him.
"Eat as much as you like, you've earned it," Master Ru said with a smirk, and the three of them began their meal.
An hour later, Yi Chen stepped inside a closed carriage, which was driven by two well-built horses. Miss Yu was dressed in a pink Hanfu with a floral pattern on it.
"You look as elegant as a flower in that dress, Yu'er," Yi Chen greeted with a smile.
A bashful smile formed on Miss Yu's face the moment she heard those words, and while averting her eyes from his, she too commented, "Y-you too look very sharp…Chen'er,"
"Thank you." Not thinking much over it, Yi Chen sat next to her, and silence ensued the next moment.
"So…" in an attempt to get over the silent awkwardness, Yi Chen initiated a conversation, "…where are we going?"
"I-I've not yet decided…" Miss Yu wasn't used to going out, so there really wasn't any place she was fond of. "…Is there a place you have in your mind?"
She asked Yi Chen the next moment with hopeful eyes.
"Mhmm", Yi Chen hummed slightly when he heard this, as various images of the places in the town started appearing in his mind.
'It's clear that she isn't fond of going out from her reaction…and she's also very conscious about her appearance…so a less crowded place would be much more suitable.' Yi Chen thought in his mind.
Suddenly thinking of something, he suggested, "There's a pond a few kilometres outside the town. It's a quiet and beautiful place, so how about we go there for sightseeing? We can pack our lunch from a stall along the way."
Miss Yu's eyes brightened at this suggestion as she immediately informed the carriage driver about this decision. A few moments later, the carriage started moving.