Chapter 6: The Golden Period
A surge of emotion rose in Qin Ming's heart. Could the "routines" he was once told were impossible to master have finally become harmonious and fully integrated?
He had returned from the wilderness, and a glow like fire seemed to burn within him, making even the bitter winter feel warm. The surge of strength throughout his body was no illusion; with a mere flick of his toe, he sent the stone roller in the courtyard rising off the ground.
He leaped upward, experiencing a powerful sense of airtime as he grabbed a handful of snow from the eaves.
As he exhaled, a stream of white air shot out like a spear shrouded in mist, producing a sharp, echoing crack as it broke the sound barrier.
Qin Ming moved vigorously, his breathing driven by his abdomen. His spectral movements stirred the fallen snow into the air, causing large flakes to fall once more within the courtyard.
With every movement, his entire skeleton followed. With a horizontal sweep of his arm, the swirling snowflakes in front of him were blasted apart.
the vitality of his flesh and blood increased significantly, and his body grew scalding hot. Silver patterns interlaced within his pores, drawing out a large amount of sweat as if his body were being purified.
A sense of total comfort washed over Qin Ming, and his entire being was enveloped in a faint silver light.
Such a sight was rare, even during the process of Rebirth.
He trained for a long time, consuming a great deal of energy, and only stopped when he truly felt exhausted.
Rebirth was a process. Qin Ming believed he was changing and would soon achieve his goal.
He did not go back inside but sat quietly in the courtyard, letting the stirred-up snowflakes fall upon him. He no longer feared the invasion of the bitter cold; his entire body felt warm and cozy.
This was completely different from the past, back when he had first recovered from his illness and would feel cold all over even while wrapped in thick quilts on a heated brick bed.
Qin Ming closed his eyes and visualized himself, repeating those difficult movements in his mind to train his consciousness.
The silver ripples that had just faded resurfaced. Driven by his thoughts, his breathing constantly adjusted, becoming exceptionally complex and difficult to track.
Thought arose from the spirit, and Qi moved by intent; the flowing light on the surface of his body brightened slightly because of this.
The courtyard fell silent as Qin Ming was covered by the falling snow.
A long time passed before he stopped his thoughts and let his mind go completely blank.
Only when the silver light on his body had vanished entirely did he slowly open his eyes. Feeling the changes within himself, he was certain that a vigorous power of Rebirth was breeding inside him.
Qin Ming effortlessly picked up the two-hundred-jin millstone in the courtyard and then gently set it back down.
"Rebirth will likely be completed within two days," he estimated.
At that moment, he felt an unsurprising but incredibly intense hunger.
Qin Ming boiled a pot of mushroom soup and made a main meal out of walnuts, almonds, and chestnuts, with red dates and hawthorns as side dishes, eating to his heart's content.
Once he had rested enough, he began a new round of training, wanting to accelerate the progress of his Rebirth.
Qin Ming moved like a snapping bow and struck like a clap of thunder, stirring the snow across the courtyard as the vitality of his flesh grew stronger.
And so, he would nap when tired, feast on dried fruits when hungry, and train again once his energy was restored. From Shallow Night to Deep Night, a vigorous vitality surged within him.
Before going to sleep, he washed with ice-cold water. He felt no cold. His slender, lean body was tight with muscle and smooth lines. His wet black hair dripped with water, and under the fiery glow of the Sun Stone, his skin appeared lustrous and bright, radiating a sense of power.
He slept dreamlessly that night, falling into the deepest state of slumber. Because he was accelerating his Rebirth, his body remained filled with a fresh, crisp vitality.
The next day, Qin Ming’s appetite increased drastically, and he had already reached seven meals a day.
The primary reason was that the post-natal embryonic transformation required an enormous amount of energy.
Even delicious food became a bit tiresome after many consecutive meals, and since it was all dried goods, he had to wash it down with hot water.
"A pity there aren't many mushrooms left. I can't even make fresh soup anymore," Qin Ming noted with regret.
What made him frown was that his food stores were running low; at this rate, they would only last one more day.
"Am I a glutton? More than half an animal-hide bag of dried goods only lasted three days," Qin Ming muttered to himself.
He couldn't stop the routines that aided his Rebirth. He was as still as a mountain when resting and as swift as a diving eagle when moving, the silver light emerging from his pores growing stronger.
He could truly feel his physical condition improving—not all at once, but through gradual changes.
Qin Ming walked to the side of the courtyard and tried to lift both the upper and lower millstones together. With a sudden burst of power, he actually hoisted them off the ground.
Lu Ze happened to push open the courtyard door and enter, standing there dumbfounded.
"Little Qin, you..." He wore a look of shock. Just yesterday, he had been feeling sorry for Qin Ming, thinking he would miss the Golden Period for Rebirth, yet today he was seeing this.
In the neighboring courtyard, Liang Wanqing heard the commotion and came over. She was stunned when she realized what was happening.
"Just like Er Bingzi from the next village—he can lift over four hundred jin right after his Rebirth." Lu Ze was sincerely happy for Qin Ming.
"To undergo Rebirth during the Golden Period... Little Qin really did it," Liang Wanqing said. She noted that in all these years, he was the first in Twin Tree Village to achieve this.
"Uncle, you're amazing!" Wenrui ran over as well, his large eyes sparkling as he looked up at Qin Ming with an expression full of admiration.
"I feel like the changes from Rebirth are still ongoing," Qin Ming said.
He had realized that the duration would exceed his earlier estimates; it was far from over.
Liang Wanqing looked startled and said, "In our region, even for those who undergo Rebirth during the Golden Period, lifting five hundred jin is the limit once they stabilize. Is Little Qin about to reach that?"
"It’s said that in that bright city far away, there are youths who can lift six hundred jin," Lu Ze mentioned. He was very curious to see what height Qin Ming would reach once the changes of Rebirth were finished.
A sudden clamor came from the street.
Liang Wanqing went out and returned shortly after, her voice low. "The old grandmother from the Zhou family... she's not going to make it."
Qin Ming had seen her on the road just yesterday. Recalling her frail body and pale face, she had indeed looked to be in a bad state.
"What happened?" Lu Ze asked.
Liang Wanqing sighed. "They say she's been eating too little lately. Combined with her already poor health, things took a turn for the worse."
Qin Ming, Lu Ze, and the others went to the street to find out more.
Grandma Zhou’s son had gone out a while ago. He hadn't brought back any food, and he had been badly injured, breaking his right arm.
This winter, every household was short on food. With the family's pillar incapacitated, Grandma Zhou had been deeply worried. Every day, she had quietly set aside the food she was supposed to eat, taking only a tiny bit to fill her stomach.
Many people had already gathered in the Zhou family courtyard. When Qin Ming and Lu Ze entered the house, they saw Grandma Zhou lying motionless. Her face was sallow, and she was no longer breathing.
Two children were weeping, kneeling nearby and crying out loudly for their grandmother.
Before she passed, Grandma Zhou had told them where the food was. Some ground-potatoes and cold, hard buns had been hidden by her in a bamboo basket beneath the snow.
As for the nuts Qin Ming had given her, she hadn't been able to bring herself to eat a single one.
Only today did the family learn that she had been scrimping and saving, leaving as much of her rations as possible. She was worried that her heavily injured son, Zhou Changyu, would never be able to bring food back again, and she was afraid her grandson and granddaughter would starve. She would rather eat less—or nothing at all—herself.
When Zhou Changyu learned the truth, his heart broke. The man, nearly thirty years old, was covered in tears. He slapped himself hard, crying out that he was useless and unfilial for not noticing sooner.
His wife also knelt there, sobbing uncontrollably.
Many in the courtyard were sighing. In a year like this, the entire region was suffering, everyone lacking food and clothing. It was a hard life.
Qin Ming’s chest felt tight. When he had seen the pale Grandma Zhou two days ago, she had even tremblingly offered him a few pieces of dried ground-potato, trying to press them into his hand.
He knew now without a doubt that those were the rations she had been secretly saving every day.
Such a kind elder, gone just like that. Qin Ming stood in silence for a long time.
After the Shallow Night ended, the crowd in the courtyard gradually dispersed. Qin Ming returned, carrying a cloth bag containing five jin of nuts, and handed it to Zhou Changyu, offering his condolences.
"Brother Qin!" Zhou Changyu’s eyes were red as he tried to refuse. He knew how difficult it was to find food in the wilderness right now.
Qin Ming pressed it into his hands, insisting he take it, and then turned to leave.
It was already very late, but the sounds of weeping could still be heard from the Zhou house.
Qin Ming sat in his pitch-black courtyard. Others had relatives to weep for them, but what about him? The few unclear faces in his mind were becoming more and more blurred. He feared that one day he would forget them entirely, leaving not a single memory behind.
On this cold winter night, he looked up at the sky where nothing could be seen and lost himself in thought for a long time, feeling an indescribable sense of loneliness.
In his heart, there was a hazy glow of lanterns and dim figures. He wanted to get closer to see clearly, but he could never reach those long-faded childhood memories.
Suddenly, a heart-palpitating aura rushed toward him. It was exceptionally oppressive, causing Qin Ming's body to tense instantly. In that pitch-black sky where one couldn't see their own hand, two golden lanterns actually appeared—mysterious and terrifying!
Then, the calm winter night was suddenly beset by violent winds. The snow on the ground erupted upward, and the roof tiles rattled violently as if they were about to be ripped off.
In the abyss-like night sky, that pair of golden lanterns passed overhead, accompanied by fierce gales. They carried an incredibly terrifying pressure that made it almost impossible to breathe!
Qin Ming's pupils contracted. He guessed that it must be a high-order being, impossibly massive. It beat its wings like dark clouds covering the sky as it passed over Twin Tree Village.
those golden lanterns were its eyes. As it flew into the distance, the sudden storm quickly weakened and then dissipated.
A commotion broke out in the village as many people came out, talking amongst themselves.
The older folk had experienced similar events. Although their expressions were solemn, they told the younger generation not to panic; it was likely just a high-order being passing through on its journey.
Qin Ming returned from the street and sat in the courtyard for a long time, staring into the endless night.
Darkness enveloped the world, blocking the paths to distant places and making the world seem increasingly mysterious. Waves of emotion rose in his heart; he truly wanted to go out and see the vast world.
Finally, he stood up resolutely and began practicing the sets of specific movements he remembered most clearly from his childhood.
Even if he had desires, he needed strength to fulfill them.
Gradually, a vigorous power of Rebirth emerged from his body, and a thin mist of light rose from his skin.
Much later, he felt an unprecedented sense of hunger. The changes from his Rebirth hadn't stopped; they seemed to have become even more intense.
Qin Ming washed down a pile of dried goods with hot water, but he still wasn't full.
When images of the mutated squirrels and the black mountain goat from Yang Yongqing's house at the village entrance floated into his mind, he couldn't help but salivate.
He truly wanted to eat meat. Just thinking about it, he could almost smell the rich aroma. He realized his body was sending a signal; it needed nourishment.
It wasn't until Qin Ming ate another pile of nuts that the abnormal craving slowly faded.
"It seems I'll have to enter the mountains again once the Shallow Night arrives." He had to satisfy his body's call to ensure no problems occurred with his Rebirth.
In truth, after giving five jin of dried goods to the Zhou family, his original stores were no longer sufficient.
After a dreamless night, Qin Ming woke up very early. Although he was starving, his spirit was incredibly vibrant. He had a feeling that after the continuous changes of Rebirth up to this point, he should be able to lift over five hundred jin.
"Most importantly, the Rebirth is still ongoing." This filled him with anticipation—what level would he eventually reach?
He began to stretch his muscles and bones.
Next, Qin Ming performed the Opening the dragon’s spine technique. He first hunched his waist and then violently arched backward, his entire spine forming an exaggerated crescent shape. His joints popped one after another, and his flesh vibrated violently.
Starting from the coccyx, Yang energy arose, climbing all the way up the dragon’s spine until it reached his head.
Qin Ming felt a numbing sensation throughout his body, like an electric current. His pores opened completely, and his entire body felt warm, enveloped in Yang energy.
At the same time, a layer of silver light rippled across his skin, clearer than ever before.
Undoubtedly, this significantly promoted the progress of his Rebirth!
Before the Shallow Night had fully arrived, Qin Ming was already outside the village. Because the various dried fruits could no longer satisfy his needs, his appetite felt like a bottomless pit.
When he thought of rock sheep, night deer, and black-feathered pheasants being roasted over a bonfire, their fat sizzling and dripping onto the charcoal, he couldn't restrain himself. His mouth watered, and his feet felt light as the wind, wishing he could charge into the wild forest immediately.