At noon, He Wanying was still under the sun, repeating the movements from the book her senior brother gave her over and over.
These movements were somewhat strange, not too difficult to perform, but extremely taxing on stamina.
He Wanying was now drenched in sweat, her limbs aching and weak.
“Keep going, push through!”
From the side, Lin Guiming shouted sternly.
The path of cultivation was inherently fraught with hardship.
If she couldn’t endure even this, there was no point in cultivating.
He Wanying gritted her teeth and persisted, but soon her body began to go numb, and her vision blurred…
“Your movements need to be precise. Look at your hands…”
Lin Guiming stepped forward to correct her posture, but He Wanying’s strength gave out completely, her entire body collapsing into Lin Guiming’s arms, unable to move even a finger.
“You silly girl…”
Lin Guiming affectionately pinched her nose, the stern expression on his face instantly vanishing.
Body refining required this—exhausting all physical strength to progress faster.
During training, he had to be strict; there was no other way.
Thankfully, this girl genuinely wanted to cultivate and grow stronger, so she worked hard.
The morning’s training had been quite effective.
“Look at you, all sweaty and smelly. Go take a bath, then eat. We’ll continue in the afternoon.”
Lin Guiming pinched her cheek as he spoke.
“Huh?”
He Wanying’s face fell, and she pouted.
“What? Can’t keep up already? And you want to take the Imperial Academy exam?”
“No… it’s not that!”
He Wanying’s expression sharpened, and she quickly said, “But, Senior Brother, I don’t have the energy to bathe or eat…”
“Well…”
Lin Guiming paused.
She had a point.
After completely exhausting one’s strength, it was normal to be unable to move for a while.
He’d been through it himself back then…
Thinking of that, his face darkened—it was practically his dark history.
Of course, he’d planned for this.
He had prepared spiritual medicine for He Wanying to soak in, which would relieve fatigue, restore stamina quickly, improve her constitution, and prevent training from affecting her growth or figure.
This was why that old geezer said, “No money, no cultivation!”
In the secular world, without such spiritual medicine, training time was cut in half at least.
Moreover, one couldn’t start too early, or it would stunt growth.
For girls, there were even more considerations—they had to train carefully to avoid developing bulky muscles, or how could they marry?
With Lin Guiming’s spiritual medicine, all these issues were resolved.
And this medicine was barely entry-level, not particularly precious.
Lin Guiming carried plenty, enough for her to use for a while.
“But not having the strength to bathe is indeed a problem…”
Lin Guiming muttered to himself.
“W-Well…”
He Wanying’s face turned bright red as she spoke.
“How about… Senior Brother, you… help me bathe?”
Her back was still pressed against Lin Guiming’s chest.
As she spoke, she leaned in closer, her body instinctively curling up.
At such close proximity, Lin Guiming could clearly sense her nervousness.
“What are you thinking?”
Lin Guiming flicked her forehead.
There was no way he’d do that.
Otherwise, he’d be taking major advantage of her, and he’d have no choice but to marry her…
Lin Guiming thought it over.
If he told Mother He, she’d definitely refuse to help He Wanying bathe and might even stir up more trouble.
So, he found a random He family maid and said, “Add this to the bathwater, then strip your young miss and toss her in.”
With that, he handed the spiritual medicine to the maid and gently pushed He Wanying into her arms…