The weather was cold, so Jason Brooks didn’t go far. Instead, he came to a secluded little grove a few hundred meters south of Jingyang Village.

The grove was silent and still. He walked in, stopped, and began practicing martial arts—specifically, Jeet Kune Do.

Chapter Four: The Fruit

In the Tiantong Dynasty, the characteristics of many “scholars” were quite obvious, nothing more than the words “dull” and “weak.” “Dull” referred to their temperament; “weak” to their physical condition.

This was determined by their daily habits and life experiences.

Jason Brooks was quite dissatisfied with his current frail and sickly body, so he made a workout plan: every morning after getting up, he would jog in place in his room, do push-ups, and so on. After finishing these, he would find a chance to go out and practice Jeet Kune Do.

On Earth, because he was obsessed with Bruce Lee, he had started practicing Jeet Kune Do at the age of thirteen. He had trained for over ten years—not daring to claim mastery, but at least he had strengthened his body, gained considerable fighting ability, and could easily handle three or five ordinary men.

Now, because his body was too weak and lacked a foundation of strength, his previous skills naturally couldn’t be put to use. Still, he was confident that as long as he persevered and kept at it, once his body improved, everything else would fall into place.

The body is the capital of revolution.

This principle holds true everywhere.

He absolutely didn’t want his body to be soft and flabby, weak as a kitten—let alone working, he couldn’t even perform in bed. How could he call himself a man?

But without a doubt, building up the body is a long-term plan.

First, Jason Brooks had to pay attention to privacy, to avoid being seen and causing a stir, shocking the world; second, he needed to improve the quality of his diet. As the saying goes, “People are iron, rice is steel”—without good nutrition, how could he grow stronger or taller?

The little grove was peaceful and quiet, especially in the cold of winter—basically, no one would come here for no reason. So he wasn’t afraid of being seen, and could let loose, practicing his punches with abandon.

Jeet Kune Do advocates a high degree of freedom in combat, so Jason Brooks’s practice had no set forms or routines—he simply let his fists and feet fly as he pleased, moving with abandon.

As he practiced, he gradually became absorbed, even unconsciously imitating Bruce Lee’s signature calls, shouting out loud. “Oh oh oh!” But because his throat was raw, the sound came out a bit odd.

Pa!

At the height of his excitement, he suddenly punched a tree trunk as thick as an arm beside him. But the trunk didn’t budge at all, while a wave of sharp pain shot through him, making him grimace in pain. Looking at his fist, it was already bruised and swollen, with faint traces of blood seeping out.

This body was really in terrible shape.

Jason Brooks gave a wry smile. But he also knew that this kind of thing couldn’t be accomplished overnight—it had to be improved and adjusted gradually to build up his health.

This was by no means easy, perhaps even harder than passing the imperial exams. After all, without the right conditions, how could one just talk about getting healthy and make it happen?

Chirp chirp!

Just then, a familiar cry sounded to his right. Jason Brooks looked over in surprise and saw a flawless white figure appear there with elegance.

It was that little white fox!

Jason Brooks was stunned, not having time to think further before the white fox hopped over, stopping just over a meter in front of him. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spat out something it had been holding.

It was a fruit, pale red all over, about the size of a ping-pong ball. Its shape wasn’t perfectly round, a bit like a plum, but in fact, Jason Brooks had never seen anything like it in either of his lives.

Squeak squeak!

The little white fox very humanely pointed at the fruit on the ground with one forepaw, as if telling Jason Brooks to pick it up and eat it. Unfortunately, Jason Brooks was frozen in place.

He couldn’t help but be stunned.

Though he was a transmigrator, at heart he was still an ordinary person, with ordinary experiences. When faced with certain strange events, he was bound to feel surprised and let his imagination run wild.

What he was thinking about most now was: could this little white fox actually be a fox spirit?

Chirp chirp!

The white fox called out a third time. Seeing that Jason Brooks still didn’t move, it could only shake its head, turn, and quickly leave—like an uninvited guest departing in disappointment, instinctively wary of this unfamiliar place, not daring to linger.

On the ground, the fruit was still clearly visible.

“What’s going on here?”

Jason Brooks glanced in the direction the white fox had left, then looked at the fruit left on the ground, feeling quite surprised. He thought to himself: Could it be that the white fox has gained human understanding, and to repay my saving its life, specially brought this fruit for me?

But what kind of fruit is this?

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but bend down and pick up the fruit.

The fruit was very fresh, as if it had just been picked. Sniffing it, there was a sweet fragrance that seemed to penetrate deep into his lungs, and on the skin, a faint red sheen rippled like water, warm and plump.

This probably wasn’t an ordinary fruit.

Smelling that sweet aroma, Jason Brooks couldn’t help but drool, almost stuffing the fruit into his mouth right away. But just as it reached his lips, he stopped.

“No, even though the white fox doesn’t seem malicious, I should still be cautious about this…”