Chapter 15: Arrival at the Post Station, Successful Qi Induction

The two girls worked together to carry the large wooden tub to the front of the carriage. When Xiao Jingrui and Xiao Jingxuan saw this, they quickly came over to help.

Once everything was unloaded, the two men grabbed wooden bowls, ready to help distribute food.

The brothers were quick to take over the tub and bowls from the girls, serving their grandmother and parents first.

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue followed behind, handing out roujiamo (meat-filled buns).

Each woman received one, while the stronger men got two—including the officers.

No one had expected to eat such good food on the road. The brothers Liu Yong and Liu Gang were now even more convinced that this trip had been worth it.

While the main branch of the Xiao family was enjoying their hot food, the second branch still lay sprawled on the ground, not a single person getting up to prepare a meal.

Liu Yong and Liu Gang said nothing, allowing them to sleep where they lay.

An hour later, Liu Yong cracked his whip in the air to wake the second branch, but no one dared complain at the sound.

They got up and moved instantly—their speed was impressive.

Although they felt physically better after the nap, they were now starving.

With no chance to cook while on the move, they could only take out the coarse cornbread they’d hidden on their bodies and gnaw on that.

Meanwhile, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue sat comfortably inside the carriage, chatting about the benefits of the marrow cleansing.

Mu Ruxue’s eyes sparkled as she said, “Once we reach Lingnan, I want to cleanse my marrow too. I want to see how gorgeous my peak form is.”

“Alright, once we get there, I’ll help you through it.”

After that, the two resumed watching their drama series, snacking and enjoying themselves thoroughly.

By dusk, the exile convoy finally arrived at Dongjiao Town.

Liu Yong entered the town before the gates closed, while Liu Gang stayed with the exiles at the official post station outside the city.

The post station sat by the main road—convenient for access but surrounded by desolate land and very few people.

After everyone settled in, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue shared a room. Madam Zhao and the grandmother shared another. The remaining three men shared the last room.

This arrangement saved them one room’s worth of silver.

Of course, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue had suggested it just so they could room together, and the two Xiao brothers had no choice but to go along with it.

Because of the imperial edict, they didn’t have to wear shackles or ankle chains on this journey and were allowed to ride in carriages.

They also hadn’t suffered any abuse from the officers, and Xiao Jingrui and Xiao Jingxuan had avoided the experience of prison altogether.

Once inside the room, Mu Ruxue did a quick wash-up and quickly fell asleep.

Yun Ruoxi, seeing her friend already asleep and not feeling tired herself, returned to her space to cultivate.

However, the cultivation techniques were extremely difficult to understand. Yun Ruoxi had spent the entire afternoon on the carriage studying them but still hadn’t figured them out.

Back in the space, she closed her eyes and began mentally reciting the contents of the technique over and over again.

She still couldn’t grasp the deeper meanings and could only memorize them mechanically.

But as time passed, spiritual energy began to gather around her, eventually condensing into frost that settled on her skin.

Over the course of the night, ten full days passed inside the space.

Yun Ruoxi successfully reached the Qi Induction Stage.

“Finally reached Qi Induction… but it really took too long.”

In truth, Yun Ruoxi’s talent could rival that of any prodigy in the cultivation world.

However, the spiritual energy in her space was too sparse to support proper absorption, which greatly slowed her progress.

What’s more, she had completely forgotten to use the spiritual spring water to assist her cultivation.

While spiritual energy was limited in the space, the spring water contained a vast amount of it—perfect for accelerating the process.

But Yun Ruoxi hadn’t thought of that at all, resulting in a lot of wasted time.

Noticing that it was about time to get up, Yun Ruoxi quickly exited the space—but forgot to suppress her spiritual aura.

Mu Ruxue, still half-asleep, mumbled something about it being cold and rolled over, wrapping herself tighter in the blanket.

Shaking her head helplessly, Yun Ruoxi got up to prepare breakfast for everyone.

The kitchen at the post station was open to all, though each use required a payment of ten coins to the station manager.

After paying the fee, Yun Ruoxi climbed into the carriage and pulled out some white rice to cook porridge, along with the steamed buns her uncle had packed for her.

She sliced the roasted chicken, cut open the steamed buns, spread mushroom sauce inside, then layered in the chicken slices and topped it all off with a fried egg.

Just like that, a Chinese-style burger was complete. Yun Ruoxi prepared the entire breakfast alone in the kitchen.

She made thirty of them—enough to ensure everyone would be full.

Halfway through her work, she heard soft noises in the courtyard; several people were starting to get up and wash up.

What Yun Ruoxi didn’t expect, however, was that the first person to walk into the kitchen that morning would be her second aunt-in-law, Madam Wang.

Seeing Yun Ruoxi busy cooking and the basket already full of finished buns, Wang’s eyes gleamed with greed.

“You’re Jingrui’s wife, right? Are you sure you can finish all these buns? Just so they don’t go to waste, Second Aunt can help you eat some.”

Yun Ruoxi hadn’t expected this woman to be so shameless, but she never hesitated to reject people she didn’t like.

“Don’t worry, we don’t even have enough for ourselves. Where do you get the face to ask?”

Wang hadn’t expected a junior to talk to her like that and immediately snapped, “Hey! You little wretch, is that how you talk to your elders? I’m doing you a favor eating your food! Look at you—strutting around early in the morning like some hussy. Aren’t you just out to seduce men?”

Yun Ruoxi paused in her food prep. “And who exactly made you my elder? Just because I’m younger? So what? When I walk outside, I turn heads. You, on the other hand, are so old and ugly, people get scared just looking at you.”

With that, she calmly wrapped the last bun in oiled paper and placed it into the basket.

Fortunately, she had broken through to the Qi Induction Stage last night—her arm strength now reached 200 jin (~100 kg).

Even if Mu Ruxue, who weighed about 90 jin, stood in front of her, Yun Ruoxi could lift her up like a doll.

Carrying the basket in one hand and a wooden bucket in the other, Yun Ruoxi walked out looking completely relaxed.

But Madam Wang, furious and spiteful, caught sight of the steaming rice porridge in Yun Ruoxi’s hands. Malice surged in her heart, and she moved behind her, reaching out to shove her.

Just then, Xiao Jingrui was walking over and saw everything. His eyes filled with alarm. “Ruoxi, watch out!”

But the distance was too far—despite using his light-footwork technique to its fullest, he still couldn’t make it in time.

Wang’s hand was already reaching for Yun Ruoxi’s back—but the feared disaster never happened.

Even with both hands full, Yun Ruoxi simply turned slightly and easily dodged Wang’s sneak attack, standing firm at the side.

Xiao Jingrui quickly rushed over and carefully checked Yun Ruoxi from head to toe. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he relax.

As for Madam Wang—due to the momentum of her own motion—she fell flat on her face with a loud splat, eating dirt.

Yun Ruoxi calmly handed her things to Xiao Jingrui, then turned and walked over to Wang, who was still face-down on the ground. Without hesitation, she began kicking her.

“You dare try to push me? Try to attack me from behind? Come on, then—let’s see what you’ve got…!”

Xiao Jingrui stood frozen, mouth agape, staring at Yun Ruoxi’s dominating presence.

The commotion drew members of the Xiao family’s main branch out of their rooms, and they too stood in stunned silence at Yun Ruoxi’s display.

At last, one of the five young masters from the Duke of England’s household, Yun Ruoyang, broke the silence. “Where did little sister Ruoxi learn to kick like that?”

Three of the brothers shook their heads, but the fifth brother, Yun Ruofeng, stood dumbfounded before muttering uncertainly, “Maybe… probably… possibly… me…?”

The next second, a shriek of pain echoed across the entire post station.

It was Yun Ruofeng.