141 How thrilling! The person above is taking secret photos.

Du Ruo opened his eyes and nearly lost his composure. The Chinese alligator was thrashing in the water, sending splashes everywhere. Beside it, a crucian carp was floating along with the current—and it had suffered grievous damage, its head bitten clean off.

"Thwack!"

Du Ruo extended his palm and delivered a solid slap to the head of the alligator, which was still in the midst of its "death roll."

He snapped the "playing" alligator out of its frenzy, ignored its wide, bulging eyes, pried its jaws open with both hands, stuffed the headless carp inside, and clamped its mouth shut again.

"What are you looking at? Once you're full, go back to sleep."

Du Ruo gave the alligator's head another moderate pat. He then reached his hand into the water, crouched down, pivoted at the waist, and used his torso to drive his arm in a forward thrust.

"Whoosh!"

Though his arm didn't move much, it was guided through a semicircle in the water. Du Ruo felt a surge of "qi" gathering around his arm and palm; the space between his fingers felt as if it were webbed. His arm was led by this force, creating a massive wave that pushed the alligator deeper into the water.

The grandmother standing on the bank didn't see this due to the fading light, but it was captured by Xiang Yuanyuan’s camera. However, she seemed not to notice, simply ending the recording and standing up.

"Wow, it’s so late already. We should head back quickly."

Xiang Yuanyuan tucked her phone away. Looking up, she realized the surroundings were shrouded in twilight and couldn't help but remark.

"Right. You help the grandmother, and I'll carry the bucket and bamboo pole to lead the way."

Du Ruo was delighted. He hadn't expected to grasp the true essence of water movement while merely having a fleeting insight into the alligator form of Xingyi.

Taking the bamboo pole and bucket, Du Ruo walked ahead, simultaneously opening his attribute panel. He saw that his "Three Flowers" progress had increased by 1%, while his "Five Qi" progress had surprisingly jumped by 4%.

However, seeing that his 0.38 attribute points could not be applied to his "Essence, Qi, and Spirit," he realized that the cost to upgrade these stats had increased again.

"It seems the progress for the Three Flowers and Five Qi can only be polished through personal effort. It’s a pity there’s no decimal display for my daily practice progress; it would be much clearer if there were."

As Du Ruo thought this, he used the "mud-wading step" with every stride, ensuring his entire sole hit the ground simultaneously, then applied the Baji "shaking foot" technique to make every step land with a heavy thud. In this weather, walking through such overgrown riverside grass, "beating the grass to scare the snakes" was a necessary precaution.

Dinner was a grand affair with chicken and duck, and the two elderly hosts were incredibly hospitable. Du Ruo, however, didn't stand on ceremony or linger; he and Xiang Yuanyuan finished their meal quickly, sensing that despite the couple's warmth, their eyes kept glancing anxiously toward the door.

After the meal, Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan declined the invitation to stay the night, instead offering to drive the elderly couple to the hospital. Upon hearing this, the couple stopped insisting.

Du Ruo dropped them off at the hospital and even bought some fruit to visit the two children in the ward. The children were awake and seemed in good spirits. The woman’s eyes were red and swollen, but her face was full of smiles; she showered Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan with gratitude upon their arrival.

It was only then that Du Ruo learned the older child knew how to swim, but they had been playing too carelessly. The younger one had stepped into a drop-off in the riverbed, and the sudden depth caused him to drown. The older child had tried to save him but was tightly entangled by the panicked younger boy, leading to the crisis. They were lucky to have encountered Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan passing by; had it been anyone else, the younger child might have been saved, but the older one would have been in grave danger.

"Try not to let the children swim in the river in the future," Du Ruo said. He felt there was no need to say more; after this lesson, the parents certainly wouldn't dare let them go near the water again.

Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan didn't stay long. The family was far too gracious; if the children hadn't been lying in bed on oxygen, they might have forced them to kowtow. They took their leave, and as for the clothes, they left them behind, accepting the woman's words that the old garments weren't worth anything.

"What do you think? Should we find a hotel for the night, or head back now?" Du Ruo asked Xiang Yuanyuan, who was browsing through photos on her phone in the passenger seat.

"Let's go back. It’s still early, and I can edit the video once we're home. I haven't posted today's yet," she replied. She looked outside; the area was quite remote, and it would take a while to reach the town, so heading back directly was more convenient.

"Alright. You can sleep if you're tired; I'll wake you when we arrive." Du Ruo set the GPS and drove straight toward the homestay.

Along the way, Xiang Yuanyuan played DJ music in the car. She listened to the tracks, chatted with Li Qiyao about the alligators they had seen, and occasionally talked to Du Ruo. She showed no signs of wanting to sleep.

When Du Ruo pulled up to the tavern, the small square was just beginning to clear out. The tavern hadn't closed yet, and a few people were still drinking inside.

"Okay, I'm heading up. You'll see today’s video tomorrow!" Xiang Yuanyuan didn't go into the tavern, waved goodbye to Du Ruo, and headed toward the second floor.

Du Ruo smiled and returned to his rented courtyard. He took out his phone and started a video call with his mother. Listening to her chatter on and on about where she had been, the scenery, what she had eaten, and what she had bought, Du Ruo felt happy seeing her smile.

"Remember to like my social media posts! Alright, get some sleep," his mother reminded him before hanging up.

After ending the call, Du Ruo began to wash up. A lot had happened today, but he didn't go straight to bed. Instead, he began his pre-sleep meditation, practicing the "Hunyuan One Qi Gong." He had decided that a one-hour meditation before bed was essential for regulating his "Essence, Qi, and Spirit" and for training the Three Flowers.

Practicing martial arts in the morning to grasp the spirit of boxing and master the Five Qi, then meditating in the evening to refine the Three Flowers—this was a reasonable schedule.

Of course, Du Ruo also needed to start learning a foreign language proactively. The last experience had taught him the importance of mastering one. Back in the Philippines, the death of their guide had caused him many setbacks, and to avoid repeating such situations, he had been quietly studying.

He had discovered a benefit to adding attribute points: the strengthening of his "Spirit" didn't make him smarter or sharper in logic, but it significantly improved his focus. Human memory is inherently formidable; everyone is capable of photographic memory initially, but as we are exposed to more useless and complex sensory input, the brain automatically filters it out based on habits. Moreover, as one ages, it becomes harder to concentrate.

By adding points to "Spirit," Du Ruo could better control his mental state. If he wished, he could focus on even the most boring knowledge, memorize it quickly, and absorb it. While he couldn't fully command his body and mind yet, this alone made his learning ability astonishing. His progress in vocabulary and English was already remarkable.

The next day, Du Ruo went up the mountain as usual, bringing beef for the clouded leopard and a portion for that unfortunate kestrel. After playing with the mountain animals for a while, he didn't climb further but practiced his boxing on a large boulder. Once he finished, he descended. Having reached the summit once, he had no immediate interest in climbing the next peak, as it would require too much time.

The good news was that after descending, his attribute points had reached 0.50, and a "+" sign had appeared next to his "Essence, Qi, and Spirit." It meant that while he initially needed only 0.01 points to upgrade, after reaching 9.50, it required 0.10 points for a 0.01 increase. Now, at 10.00, it cost 0.50 points per upgrade. This was better than he had feared; he had braced himself for needing 1 full point for a 0.01 increase.

"Upgrade!"

He added the points to "Essence." There was no surge of heat this time; the "fire" in his gut simply burned more intensely, like adding a bit of kindling to a hearth. Though faint, it was perceptible.

Back home, Du Ruo lay on the sofa, intending to study English, but suddenly remembered Xiang Yuanyuan’s video. Unable to resist his curiosity, he found her account and clicked on it.

"Exciting! Secret filming from upstairs, 2v2 outdoor spear duel!"

With an exaggerated, slightly suggestive title and a high-energy background track, the video had no unnecessary narration. It opened with the duel between Shi Dong and Yang Huaming. Even without introductions, and despite the top-down perspective masking some details, the footage was solid. Yang Huaming’s face was blurred; only Du Ruo was easily recognizable, as he appeared in Xiang Yuanyuan’s videos often.

The combat was well-shot, and the editing and music made for a great style. However, the comments and live reactions were the most interesting part.