# Chapter 3: Perfect Meditation
Ding Hao's newfound boldness left the household servants utterly astonished.
However, having bullied this good-for-nothing for over a decade, they weren't about to be changed by just a few words.
So as they watched Ding Hao resume his meditation, the maid entered once again. This time she was careful, looking up at the top of the doorframe—this time there was no incense ash, nothing at all.
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a dark shadow suddenly flashed by. Startled, she hastily retreated.
Thud! A sharp, awl-like object embedded itself in the spot where she had just been standing. The maid looked up to see Ding Hao holding another candlestick in his hand, glaring at her furiously.
"You good-for-nothing, you wouldn't dare..." The maid was somewhat shocked this time. If she had been a moment slower, that candlestick's sharp tip would have pierced her—the consequences would have been terrifying.
"You are a servant of the Ding family. If I kill you, the worst I'd face is losing my immortal seed status! But if you injure me, you will die! Now tell me—do I dare or not?" A vicious gleam in his eyes, Ding Hao hurled the second candlestick at her.
"Ah!" The red-skirted maid finally grew afraid. With a shriek, she fled.
That was just how this world worked: the meek get bullied, the tame horse gets ridden. The old Ding Hao had been kind-hearted, never defending his own rights, and in the end was bullied to the bitter limit. Now that they discovered Ding Hao had become a different person, these people finally learned fear and dared not intrude again.
"Finally, I can enter meditation."
This time, Ding Hao no longer needed to pretend to meditate. With the stone in his mouth, his mind settled into stillness, and he truly began to enter meditative concentration.
"With wine before us, let us sing—how long is life? When the mind is still and clear, not a speck of dust shall stir."
With these words, Ding Hao entered the state of meditation in an instant.
...
Meanwhile, a company of soldiers happened to be passing along the great road near the Ding estate. This troop of soldiers surrounded a sedan chair, with a tall horse following behind.
"Halt the sedan! Halt the sedan!" The sedan curtain suddenly lifted as a middle-aged man shouted loudly.
"What's the matter, Dean Min?" The man riding the white horse hurriedly caught up.
The man in the sedan quickly pushed aside the curtain and stepped out, his face full of joy. "City Lord Ling, I sensed it! It's nearby—perfect meditation, truly perfect meditation! Someone has entered the state of perfect meditation!"
"Perfect meditation? Impossible. Those in all of Wu Prefecture capable of perfect meditation can be counted on one hand! I don't recall any powerful cultivators living around here. How could there be perfect meditation? Dean Min, are you sure your senses aren't mistaken?" Wu Prefecture's City Lord Ling Yunxiao said with some disbelief.
"My senses cannot be mistaken!" Dean Min was extremely excited. "I possess a Tier-Two Spirit-Communion Painting spirit root. My spirit root's cultivation emphasizes stillness above all, so I am exceptionally sensitive to the state of meditation. Whenever anyone in our Nine Provinces Academy enters perfect meditation, I can sense it—it has never failed! Someone capable of perfect meditation must be an extraordinary talent. I must recruit him into our Nine Provinces Academy and nurture him well!"
Ling Yunxiao said delightedly, "Excellent! Heaven blesses Wu Prefecture—another prodigy has emerged!"
With that, he barked orders to the accompanying soldiers. "All of you, immediately inquire at the nearby households—who has someone currently meditating? Report back at once!"
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers roared their assent, then scattered to make inquiries.
"Does your household have anyone in meditation?"
"Bang bang bang! Open the door!"
"Does your household have anyone meditating?"
Along both sides of the street, the doors of every household were knocked open by soldiers clad in white garments and silver armor. Once the doors opened, they asked the same question: "Does your household have anyone meditating?"
"Meditating?" The one who answered the Ding family's door was precisely Butler Ding Laosi. His handlebar mustache twitched as he asked suspiciously, "Soldier, what business do you have with people in meditation?"
The soldier replied, "Good news! Wonderful news! Vice Dean Min of the Nine Provinces Academy has returned home to visit family and sensed that someone nearby has entered perfect meditation, so he is making inquiries! Whoever that meditating person is will be taken to the Nine Provinces Academy to be properly trained!"
"Such wonderful news! One moment, soldier—I shall go ask within."
Ding Laosi went back and immediately summoned the maid. "Quick, go check—are Junjie and Juncai meditating? If it's them, then I, Ding Laosi, have truly struck great fortune! Enter the Nine Provinces Academy, and the next step is the Immortal-Refining Great World!"
But the maid soon returned to report, "The Eldest Young Master has gone out. The Younger Young Master is reading a book."
Ding Laosi was greatly disappointed, then asked again, "Then who else in the household is meditating? If it's one of the servants' children, that would also be good. If their children achieve success, they can help my two sons."
The maid shook her head. "No one in the household is meditating." Then, as if remembering something, she lowered her voice and said, "Chief Steward... that little good-for-nothing... seems to be meditating..."
"The little good-for-nothing? How could that be possible!?" Ding Laosi's eyes widened in shock, but then he snorted coldly. "He's a good-for-nothing who hasn't awakened even at fifteen. How could he possibly enter perfect meditation!"
The maid hesitated. "But what if he did?"
"Even if by some chance, it couldn't possibly be him!" Ding Laosi said with contempt. "That little good-for-nothing probably can't even enter meditation at all! Even if he did, it would be low-level meditation at best! A good-for-nothing is a good-for-nothing, period!"
With that, he walked out of the estate gates and said with a smile, "Soldier, I've asked. Truly disappointing—no one in my household is meditating."
"Then we won't trouble you further." The soldier cupped his fists and moved on to the next household.
Some time later, Dean Min and the others returned, sighing. "There are indeed some people meditating nearby, but not a single one is who I'm looking for. Such disappointment, such disappointment."
City Lord Ling said with a smile, "Perhaps the fated moment has not yet arrived."
"I fear you're right." Unable to find anyone, Dean Min could only return to his sedan, and the party headed back to the city lord's residence.
After they left, a long while passed before Ding Hao finally awoke in his room.
"That felt wonderful!"
After an hour of meditation, when he opened his eyes, Ding Hao found the world around him even more vivid—the colors bright and lively, every sound and sight distinct. He nodded. "The fundamental reason is that all six of my senses have been enhanced. I can see things more clearly, hear sounds from farther away. This world truly is different. The effects of meditation here are far stronger than on Earth!"
Ding Hao was very satisfied with the results of this meditation, though it was a pity he had not broken through his immortal aperture and awakened an immortal root during perfect meditation.
"No matter. The so-called immortal aperture is really just the Ren and Du meridians. If I cultivate meditation persistently and accumulate strength, they'll burst open sooner or later. That's not a problem!" With this thought, Ding Hao nodded confidently and stood up.
"Since I've come to this world, how could I not go out and have a look?"
Ding Hao went to the main hall and summoned Ding Laosi. "Butler, I want to go out and browse around, buy some things. Bring me some silver."
Ding Laosi thought to himself: the little good-for-nothing even knows to ask me for money now? His face darkened. "You don't know the price of rice and firewood until you run the household! Just buying you one book cost ten taels of silver! Have you ever tallied the household's various expenses? If I didn't subsidize it with my own money every month, the Ding family would have collapsed long ago! And you still dare ask me for money? I have two words for you: not happening!"
"Not happening?" Ding Hao sneered. "You say the household expenses are enormous. Then let me ask you—where has the fifty taels of state allowance our family receives every month gone? Our Ding family originally had nine courtyards deep; now only five remain! Where did the money from the properties you sold off go? Ding Laosi, I warn you—my silence doesn't mean ignorance! If you hand over the money today, we can talk. But if you don't, then bring out the account books, and we'll go settle this at the city lord's residence!"
"You—!" Ding Laosi was startled inwardly, thinking: this little good-for-nothing has become a different person today—how formidable!
At that very moment, a fierce, towering virago stormed in from outside—none other than Ding Laosi's wife, Ding Chen Shi. Upon entering, she launched into a torrent of abuse. "You little good-for-nothing, and you have the nerve to ask for money? You want money from your mother? The Ding family's account books? Where would the Ding family find the money to hire an accountant? If I didn't bring money over from the Chen family every month, your state allowance wouldn't even cover the servants' wages! You little good-for-nothing, go back and tally your own accounts!"
At that moment, yet another maid came to report, "Chief Steward, Chief Steward! The Younger Young Master refuses to eat unless it's bristle-beast meat."
Seeing the scene before him, Ding Hao fell to his knees with a thud before the wooden statue of his ancestors and kowtowed three times, declaring in a loud voice, "Ancestors, open your eyes and look! Such is the state of the Ding family—your own flesh-and-blood descendants are called 'little good-for-nothing,' while the butler's and servants' sons are treated as young masters! They eat nothing but bristle-beast meat, while I, the true master, don't even know what bristle-beast meat tastes like. Where in all the world is there such a master-servant relationship?"
Seeing him pray before the ancestral statue, Ding Chen Shi's face turned pale and she grew somewhat afraid, but she still said, "Your ancestors haven't manifested in ages—who knows, they may have perished in the Upper Realm long ago!"
Ding Hao said, "Great-great-grandfather, have you heard all this? When you're finished with your important business, find a moment to manifest and come sort things out for the family down here."
Although the Ding family ancestors had not manifested for a very long time, there was still no definite news that Ding Yibai had died. Ding Laosi felt a bit of fear as well, and snapped, "What business is it of a woman to speak? Get out!"
After driving off Ding Chen Shi, he took out two taels of scattered silver and handed them to Ding Hao. "Family Head, there really is no money in the household right now. As I said, it all went toward buying your books. These two taels of silver are the last of our reserve funds—I'm giving you all of it."
The stingy butler, who wouldn't part with a single hair, had finally produced two taels of silver. Ding Hao took it and headed out the door.
Leaving the Ding estate, Ding Hao walked onto the broad thoroughfare, and the sight before him opened his eyes wide!
On both sides of the street stood all manner of prosperous shops, stocked full of goods; various workshops where workers used spirit-root arts to produce items with great efficiency; in the fields, not a person could be seen, yet the crops grew plump and full; and looking up at the sky, sunlight shone brilliant, white clouds drifted in clusters—everything was peaceful and orderly.
"This world is truly astonishing. It could be called the pinnacle of ancient civilization. With the application of all manner of spirit-root arts, people live in incredible abundance. There are no disasters here—no earthquakes, no hurricanes—nor any sickness or pain. Compared to Earth, this place is practically a paradise!"
Yet even in this seemingly perfect world, there were still the poor, the discriminated against.
Ding Hao also saw some beggars pleading along the streets, looked down upon by no one and everyone alike.
They had no work and no income whatsoever, surviving solely on begging for food from others. The people of this world deeply despised mortals—even when their food rotted in storehouses, they would rather let it spoil than give it to beggars. Thus, those beggars lived in abject misery.
"Is this what my future holds?" Ding Hao clenched his fist and thought to himself, "There's still half a year. I will awaken an immortal root—I definitely will!"
As he spoke, a pill shop appeared ahead, and he strolled inside to look around.
That's all for today. Thank you, friends, for your support—I'm truly touched. Arriving at a new place, unfamiliar and a bit nervous, yet with so many old and new friends, I feel both anxious and warm, just like a young bride. Hehehe.