Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

Early September in Beijing is characterized by clear skies and crisp autumn air.

On Qianmen Dashilan West Street, in front of an inconspicuous courtyard, Qin Huairu, carrying a bundle, stared blankly at the newly painted vermilion wooden door.

"Let's go in and take a look." Chen Yu gently pushed open the door.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was kept very clean. There were three main rooms facing north, two side rooms, and several rose bushes and pomegranate trees planted in the yard. There was also a hand pump well in the corner. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the old locust tree, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Qin Huairu walked into the courtyard step by step, her eyes gradually becoming moist.

From as far back as she could remember, she had lived in a cramped side room in a courtyard house, sharing it with Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu, without even a space of her own. Now, although this small courtyard was not large, it was truly her and Chen Yu's home.

"Do you like it?" Chen Yu asked.

"I love it..." Qin Huairu's voice choked with emotion, "I love it so much... Chen Yu, how much... how much will this cost?"

"Don't worry about the money." Chen Yu put his arm around her shoulder. "From now on, you'll be the lady of this house. There are three rooms in the north wing: a main room in the middle, a bedroom on the east side, and the west side will be for the children. One of the side rooms will be used as a kitchen, and the other as a storage room. We'll add some furniture later."

Hearing this, Qin Huairu finally burst into tears. She turned and hugged Chen Yu, burying her face in his chest: "Thank you... thank you..."

Chen Yu gently patted her back: "Silly girl, don't thank me. You're mine, this is your home."

The two stood in the yard for a long time until He Yuzhu's loud voice came from outside the door: "Chen Yu! Huai Ru! You didn't even ask me for help moving!"

The door was pushed open, and He Yuzhu came in carrying two loads of things, followed by Yan Bugui, who was also carrying large and small bags.

"Brother Zhu, Third Uncle, what brings you here?"

"Nonsense, how could we move without help?" He Yuzhu put down his load, looked around the yard, and exclaimed, "Wow, this yard is nice! Much better than our dilapidated courtyard house!"

Yan Bugui nodded: "The location is good, quiet in the middle of the city, perfect for a peaceful life."

Qin Huairu quickly invited them inside. A square table and several chairs had already been set up in the main room, arranged in advance by Chen Yu. He Yuzhu sat down, crossing his legs: "Huairu, you're in for a treat now. That Chen Yu kid, he's got guts!"

Qin Huairu blushed and went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea.

Yan Bugui lowered his voice: "Little Chen, I heard you made a fortune in Hong Kong this time?"

"Who told you that, Third Uncle?" Chen Yu asked with a smile.

"The whole Jia Zhang family is saying that you brought back a lot of foreign goods, and even a young lady from Hong Kong." Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses. "Little Chen, making money is a good thing, but you should keep a low profile. You know how talkative Jia Zhang is."

Chen Yu nodded: "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle San."

Just then, a voice came from outside: "Is Comrade Chen Yu here?"

When Chen Yu went outside, he saw that it was Director Wang from the subdistrict office, followed by two cadres in Zhongshan suits.

"Director Wang, what brings you here?"

"Xiao Chen, I've come to congratulate you!" Director Wang said with a smile, pointing to the two people behind him. "These two are comrades from the district. They heard that you have made contributions to the neighborhood, so they came to see you."

Chen Yu understood that this was due to his identity—the orphan of a martyr who had gone to Hong Kong on business, so the organization naturally had to pay attention. He politely welcomed the man into the house.

The two cadres were very kind. They inquired about the situation in Hong Kong and praised Chen Yu for his youth and talent. As they were leaving, one of them whispered, "Comrade Chen Yu, the organization knows you've done things for the country. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to us."

Chen Yu nodded his thanks.

After seeing the guests off, He Yuzhu approached him and asked, "Xiao Chen, what exactly did you do? People from the district even came?"

"It's nothing, I just bought some things for the country," Chen Yu said vaguely.

He Yuzhu didn't ask any more questions, but looked at Chen Yu with even more admiration.

In the evening, everyone had a simple meal at their new home—He Yuzhu was in charge of cooking, preparing several of his signature dishes. Qin Huairu busied herself inside and out, a smile always on her face.

After seeing the guests off, Chen Yu and Qin Huairu sat in the courtyard, watching the last rays of sunset on the horizon.

"Huai Ru, you'll be living here from now on. You can go back to the courtyard house during the day if you want, but you must come back at night."

"Hmm." Qin Huairu leaned on his shoulder. "Chen Yu, will you... will you still be going out in the future?"

Chen Yu was silent for a moment: "I might have to go out a few more times. But I'll try my best to stay with you."

Qin Huairu nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She knew that what Chen Yu had done was not simple, but since he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't ask.

As night fell, Chen Yu escorted Qin Huairu back to her room to rest, while he himself meditated cross-legged in the west wing.

After the Foundation Establishment stage, the cultivation method is completely different from the Qi Refining stage—it's no longer simply about absorbing spiritual energy, but about refining it into purer true essence, which is then condensed into liquid in the dantian. This process requires a large amount of spiritual energy, but the spiritual energy in Beijing is scarce, making cultivation very slow.

He took out the Qi-Nourishing Pill he had redeemed from the system and swallowed it. The pill transformed into warm medicinal power, flowing through his meridians and finally converging into his dantian, nourishing the pool of golden spiritual liquid.

While cultivating until midnight, Chen Yu suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation—someone was using their spiritual sense to explore this area!

He suddenly opened his eyes, activated his breath-concealing technique to its maximum, and used his spiritual sense to trace the source in reverse. The source was in the distance, at least three miles away, and belonged to a cultivator with a cultivation level of around the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Refining stage.

"People from the Temple of Vulcan?" Chen Yu's heart skipped a beat. They've found Beijing so quickly?

He didn't act rashly, but silently memorized the direction—it was south of the city, outside Yongding Gate.

The next morning, Chen Yu went to the subdistrict office and found Director Wang.

"Director Wang, I'd like to inquire about something. Have any suspicious individuals appeared outside Yongding Gate in the south of the city recently?"

Director Wang was taken aback: "How did you know? The district was just saying yesterday that a few out-of-towners came over there, acting suspiciously and not staying in hotels, but instead staying in abandoned factory buildings. The police station went to investigate but didn't find anything wrong, but something still felt off."

Chen Yu had a plan in mind.

He made an excuse to leave the neighborhood office and headed straight for the south of the city. With his Foundation Establishment stage spiritual sense fully activated, he could sense every blade of grass and every tree within a hundred-zhang radius.

There were indeed several abandoned factory buildings outside Yongding Gate, built during the Great Leap Forward but later abandoned and left vacant. Chen Yu stopped at a distance and probed one of the factory buildings with his spiritual sense—

There were four people inside! Three were at the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Refining stage, and one was at the seventh level—the very person who had investigated last night. They were sitting together, a map in front of them, discussing in hushed tones.

"...Are you sure this is the place?"

"Confirmed. The man surnamed Chen lives near the front gate, and the woman lives in the courtyard house."

"Keep a close watch and await the Palace Master's orders."

"Yes."

Chen Yu's eyes turned cold. They really were after him!

He didn't alert the enemy, but left quietly. Back at the front gate, he called Li Guoan.

"Director Li, the people from the Vulcan Temple have arrived in Beijing."

"What?" Li Guoan's voice changed. "How many people?"

"Four of them, all at the Qi Refining stage, have settled in an abandoned factory outside Yongding Gate. They are monitoring me and Qin Huairu."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's not alert them yet," Chen Yu said. "I want to know how many people are behind them. Also, could you please protect Qin Huairu secretly for me?"

"Understood. I'll arrange it right away."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yu pondered. The fact that the Vulcan Temple caught up with him in Beijing so quickly showed how deeply they coveted the Four Symbols Ritual Artifacts. That temple master was only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage; if he came in person, Chen Yu might not be a match for him.

"I need to improve my strength as soon as possible," Chen Yu thought to himself. The Qi-Nourishing Pill was quite effective, but it took time. If he could cultivate in the cave for a while longer, his progress would be even faster.

But the cave is in Yunnan, and it would take many days to travel there and back.

"System, do you have any teleportation techniques or magical artifacts?"

[Ding! Host's needs detected. Recommended exchange: 3 Beginner Teleportation Talismans. Each talisman can teleport you to any location within 100 miles. Requires 500 points.]

Chen Yu checked his points—50 points left, not enough. He needed to keep checking in to accumulate more.

Over the next few days, Chen Yu spent his days helping Qin Huairu familiarize herself with their new home and purchase furniture and household items. At night, he would secretly go outside Yongding Gate to monitor the four people from the Fire God Temple. They were very cautious, taking turns monitoring Chen Yu and Qin Huairu each day, but they never made a move.

On September 7th, when Chen Yu went to the south of the city again, he found the factory empty—the four people had disappeared.

He felt a chill run down his spine and immediately returned to the front gate. Everything in the courtyard was normal; Qin Huairu was hanging clothes to dry in the yard. Seeing him, she greeted him with a smile, "Back so early?"

"Hmm, nothing's wrong today." Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but his doubts deepened. Why did the people from the Vulcan Temple suddenly withdraw? Did they have ulterior motives, or were they scared off by someone?

In the afternoon, Li Guoan called: "Mr. Chen, those four people left Beijing last night and took a train south. Our men followed them for a while, but lost them in Shijiazhuang."

"South?" Chen Yu frowned. "Does that mean back to Yunnan?"

"That's possible. They might just be scouting the situation; the real big move is yet to come."

Chen Yu nodded. He was well aware that the Temple of Fire would not let this go.

That evening, while he was cultivating, he suddenly received a system notification:

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for signing in for 365 consecutive days. You have received the annual sign-in reward.]

[Annual Sign-in Rewards: World Fragment x1, Advanced Cultivation Technique Lottery Ticket x1, Spirit Stone (Medium Grade) x10, Pseudo-Humans x10]

Chen Yu's eyes lit up! A fragment of the world! He had finally waited for this!

World Shards: Can be used to upgrade smaller worlds; must be used in specific locations.

[After use, the area of ​​the small world expands tenfold, the concentration of spiritual energy increases fivefold, and a new function is added: the time flow rate is adjustable (1:2 to 1:10)]

The flow of time is adjustable! This means that two days of cultivation in the small world will only equal one day in the outside world!

Chen Yu's heart raced. If he could upgrade the small world, he could cultivate within it, increasing his efficiency several times over!

"Where is the specific location?"

[Requires use in an area where the earth's spiritual energy converges. The nearest suitable location is: Daying Mountain Cave in Yunnan.]

Another grotto-heaven! Looks like I have to go to Yunnan again.

But this time, he couldn't go alone.

Chen Yu looked out the window; the light in Qin Huairu's room was already off.

He had to take her with him—it was too dangerous to leave her alone in Beijing.

But would she be willing? Would she understand?

Chen Yu fell into deep thought.

The next morning, Chen Yu called Qin Huairu to his side and said seriously, "Huairu, there's something I need to tell you."

Seeing his serious expression, Qin Huairu's heart tightened: "What is it?"

"I'm going to Yunnan again," Chen Yu said. "And... I want to take you with me."

"Take me with you?" Qin Huairu was stunned.

"Yes." Chen Yu grasped her hand. "There are some things I can no longer hide from you. I'm not an ordinary person, and what I'm doing is very dangerous. I'm worried about leaving you alone in Beijing. Would you like to come with me?"

Qin Huairu stared at him blankly for a long time before slowly nodding: "Wherever you go, I will go."

Chen Yu felt a warmth in his heart and pulled her into his arms.

"Thank you, Huairu."

Outside the window, the autumn sun shines brightly.

And a new journey is about to begin.