Chapter 4

After dinner, Ito Shou first started to move his body in the room according to the routine taught by the old man. When the time was right and the other three women had finished their baths, he took the mixed herbs and snake venom from the room to the bathroom. Fortunately, most Japanese households have bathtubs, which aligns with the Japanese custom of soaking in baths.

Ito Shou stood by the bathtub, waiting for the water to slowly fill up. During this process, he gradually and evenly poured the herbs into the water and stirred them with his hands until the water and herbs were fully mixed, emitting a medicinal fragrance. Then, he quickly took off his clothes and poured the snake venom into the medicinal water.

As soon as the snake venom was poured into the water, the originally black medicinal water changed color and emitted a strange fragrance, which could make one feel dizzy just by smelling it.

Ito Shou ignored this and stepped into the water, immersing his entire body except for his head. Instantly, a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, as if thousands of ants were crawling and tearing at his skin, making life unbearable.

Seeing that the medicine was taking effect, Ito Shou endured the unbearable feeling, forced himself to calm down, and followed the breathing method taught by the old man to strengthen his body.

As his breathing changed, the unbearable pain seemed to gradually subside, and Ito Shou's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, his face calm.

Time passed quietly.

After an unknown amount of time, with a sudden alertness, Ito Shou, who was sitting in the bathtub, suddenly stood up. As the medicinal water dripped off his body, his unusually rosy skin was revealed.

Ito Shou reached out and gently touched it, feeling a sharp sensitivity that far exceeded his usual sensation. A hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

"It seems the effect is good."

After thoroughly cleaning himself with the showerhead, he drained the water that had lost its medicinal effect and left the bathroom. At the same time, the special fragrance that had been lingering followed Ito Shou as he opened the door, filling the room.

"What's that smell?" Hareko and Suzune, who had been watching TV in the living room, wrinkled their noses in confusion. At this moment, Ito Shou, to avoid trouble, quickly ran back to his room.

"Phew. I didn't expect to find such an unexpected surprise this time." In his room, Ito Shou sat on the bed, clenching his fists tightly, thinking to himself.

While soaking in the medicinal bath, along with the breathing method, a set of exercises and a segment of this body's memory appeared. In the memory, at the age of five, he and his six-year-old second sister, Ito Reina, were being taught Japanese swordsmanship by their older sister, Ito Suzune, in a large dojo. In the evening, they would follow an old man to learn a meditation technique that seemed to be passed down in the family. This meditation was different from the seated meditation practiced in Europe; it involved breathing and hand gestures. The old man vaguely mentioned that this was a method for cultivating spiritual energy, essential for shrine maidens and priests. Combined with the morning swordsmanship practice, it formed the basic training for ancient shrine maidens and priests to exorcise demons.

"It seems this family shrine is not simple at all." Ito Shou thought to himself, "Since all three of us children have learned it, Hareko, as our mother, must have learned it too. No wonder Hareko has a certain aura. It's a pity that the memory is limited, and it's clear that 'I' didn't continue learning later. I wonder what level Hareko and the others have reached, and whether there are any specific methods for using that spiritual energy."

However, from this memory, Ito Shou vaguely sensed that this world itself is not simple. But he quickly dismissed his thoughts. Even if it's not simple, his life with the magic cube is destined to be complex, and this new point of contact will help him avoid being completely in the dark in the future. The priority now is to enhance his strength; only with strength can he face the challenges to come.

With this in mind, Ito Shou settled his thoughts, practiced a set of boxing in the room to digest the medicinal energy in his body, and then turned off the lights, lying on the bed in a posture with his five points (hands and feet) facing the sky, practicing the nameless health-preserving technique passed down by the old man. As for why he didn't practice the spiritual energy, Ito Shou had considered it. First, he only had the method of cultivation but not the method of application, so it would be useless even if he cultivated it. This nameless health-preserving technique, which the old man knew as a Taoist, was brought out and passed down after he was forced to return to secular life during a special period. Ito Shou had practiced it for nearly twenty years, and there were no issues with either cultivation or application, so it was clearly more advantageous to practice this. He could deal with the spiritual energy later when the opportunity arose.

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Time passed quickly, and the night was over. The next morning, Ito Shou, feeling refreshed, got up early. After practicing a set of boxing in the room, he went downstairs to the living room. However, it was still too early, and only his mother, Hareko, was busy preparing breakfast in the living room.

"Hmm? Shou, you're up early today." Hareko said, continuing her work.

"Uh-huh." Ito Shou nodded, acknowledging her. However, after a moment in the living room, he found it boring and decided to go out for a walk to familiarize himself with the surroundings, as memory is one thing, but personal experience is another.

Putting on his shoes and stepping out, he walked slowly. Gradually, the environment and information around him began to align with his memories, and the sense of unfamiliarity gradually disappeared. Only then did Ito Shou feel a sense of integration with this world. Just as he was about to return after familiarizing himself with the surroundings, Ito Suzune, dressed in sports clothes, appeared before him.

"Good morning, Shou. Why are you up so early today?" Ito Suzune ran up to Ito Shou and stopped, speaking as she walked.

"Just slept early last night." Ito Shou waited for Ito Suzune to catch up, then walked back home with her.

"Is that so? I feel like you've changed a bit since yesterday." Ito Suzune turned her head, looking at Ito Shou seriously.

"Is that so." Ito Shou's heart tightened, then relaxed. He knew that, being a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, which translates to "穿越者" in English, but in this context, it means "a person who has traveled through time or dimensions"), even if he acted according to his memories, there would always be subtle differences due to the two different consciousnesses and mental states. Especially knowing that Ito Suzune might have some abilities and a particularly keen sense of perception. However, he quickly calmed down, knowing that his body was still the same body. Although his consciousness had changed, the Ito family, who might have some abilities, clearly wouldn't know his situation and would at most think he had changed due to some event.

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With two more chapters, the story can finally enter the main plot.

{Piaotian Literature}