"I think it’ll take about ten days, right?" Zheng Fa calculated the time between the two worlds and said this thoughtfully, wanting to spare the old man too much disappointment.
"Sounds like my talent is pretty poor," the old man with white hair nodded, looking completely unfazed.
"Don’t you feel discouraged, Grandpa Bai?"
"Why should I feel down?" The old man waved his hand with a smile, "At my age, why bother worrying about talent or speed of cultivation? When it’s time to be open-minded, one must be open-minded!"
Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu nodded, feeling a bit of admiration in their hearts.
This old man really had a broad mind and a carefree attitude.
"Besides, look at Zheng Fa—he struggles with math like an underdeveloped monkey, and he’s not discouraged at all. Why should I be?"
"Today, I’m going to let you experience the power of the Songhe Zhuang!"
"Ha! I won’t hide it from you anymore! I have a secret technique I’ve been cultivating for sixty years. Once I unleash it, you’ll be begging for mercy on your knees!"
"What secret technique?" Zheng Fa asked, curious.
The old man reclined in his chair, clutching his chest, his face contorted in agony, and began to wail, "Help! I can’t move! Someone’s attacking me!"
Zheng Fa: ...I want to kneel.
...
"I can’t even say if I’ll live for another six months. It takes half a year just to get started; that’s way too long!"
The old man was really backing out.
This wouldn’t do!
Whether he practiced or not was irrelevant, but Zheng Fa couldn’t afford to lose this top-notch free tutor!
Learning math from the old man, Zheng Fa initially found topology completely incomprehensible, so the old man eventually decided to start from high school math.
Although the old man lacked decorum, if one could overlook the insults to their intelligence during his teaching, and discern the guidance of a top professor from a barrage of personal attacks, they would benefit immensely.
It might not be as effective for others, but Zheng Fa’s foundation was already quite solid; sometimes, it was just a matter of a few key phrases.
He couldn’t let the old man’s yearning for the world outside settle down!
"Did you know that the Songhe Zhuang you’re learning has the ability to extend life?"
Zheng Fa’s tone suddenly grew serious.
"Extend life?" The old man’s expression shifted slightly, clearly intrigued. At his age, it was hard to resist such temptation.
"Not just that." Zheng Fa’s face turned solemn, "The Songhe Zhuang is merely the introductory skill of my sect’s ultimate technique, Linghe Shen, which is a secret art that allows one to enter the Dao through martial arts!"
"Enter the Dao through martial arts?"
It was evident that the old man was somewhat taken aback by Zheng Fa’s seriousness, but he remained skeptical.
"According to my sect’s ancient texts, this Linghe Shen was developed by an ancestor who dedicated his life to traversing mountains and emulating nature, drawing inspiration from all the birds of the world. Once you master the Songhe Zhuang, if you can then learn the Linghe Heart Sutra, you’ll be able to enter the Dao through martial arts and greatly extend your lifespan!"
Thanks to that boastful ancestor, Zheng Fa found it easy to spin this tale for the old man.
"Traversing mountains and understanding the essence of all flying creatures? Sounds so mystical!"
The old man murmured.
"Not only that, I’ve heard that after mastering the Linghe Heart Sutra, this ancestor ascended and achieved enlightenment!"
Zheng Fa wasn’t exaggerating; the ancestor who created the Linghe Heart Sutra had indeed entered the realm of immortals. Rounded up, wasn’t that the same as achieving enlightenment?
"Is this what it means to enter the Dao through martial arts?" Although the old man didn’t believe in the supernatural, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of respect, "This ancestor must have been a person of great perseverance and determination!"
"Do you want to learn?" Zheng Fa tempted him.
"I do!" Just the thought of extending his life was enough to sway the old man.
"Once you master the Songhe Zhuang, I’ll take you in as my disciple and teach you the Linghe Shen!"
"Master! Your disciple is utterly devoted to the sect; I will study diligently and one day revive our school!"
Meanwhile, Tang Lingwu’s face slowly turned puzzled, "I have a question..."
"Yes?"
"This ancestor of yours is indeed impressive. But is it really that hard to comprehend? If we want to observe birds, can’t we just go to the zoo?"
"Eh?"
Zheng Fa and the old man exchanged glances, and the lofty image of that esteemed ancestor crumbled in an instant.
Tang Lingwu, holding her milk tea cup, said weakly, "Did I say something wrong? Then... how about the flower and bird market?"
---
**Chapter 37: The Account**
The bus pulled up at the stop, and Zheng Fa stepped off, following the map on his phone toward the zoo.
He had checked online and discovered that the city he was in actually had a zoo—though the reviews on the map app weren’t very flattering.
Tang Lingwu had spoken without thinking, but Zheng Fa took it to heart.
Previously, the Seventh Young Master had told him that if he wanted to master the Linghe Shen, the secret lay in the first volume.
But after flipping through the first volume repeatedly, they hadn’t found any hidden messages.
The Seventh Young Master felt that since this Linghe Shen was a copy, it might have missed some crucial details.
But... what if the secret was hidden within this autobiography?
Among the four volumes of Linghe Shen, only the first one had the most content. If we assume the author wasn’t an extremely narcissistic person... well, that was hard to rule out.
If this author, besides being narcissistic and boastful, had other intentions, the most likely scenario was that he detailed his experiences of traversing mountains and observing birds, which was closely related to the martial art of Linghe Shen.
In the Xuanwei Realm, the old man was right; this author was undoubtedly a person of great perseverance, perhaps even a bit eccentric.
The Xuanwei Realm was not like the modern world; the mountains were often the territory of powerful beasts, and climbing them was often a life-or-death endeavor—calling it extreme sports wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
As for observing birds...
Do you think the birds want to be watched?
How do you know if they have any cultivation? Even if they’re just ordinary birds, how do you know they don’t have beastly parents?
And considering that Linghe Shen is just a mundane martial art, why risk your life for it?
So, even if someone shared Zheng Fa’s thoughts, trying to experiment would be nearly impossible.
But in the modern world, it was much simpler!
Zheng Fa arrived at the zoo entrance. Although it was called a zoo, it was essentially just a large enclosed park.
At the main entrance, there was a weathered red table, behind which sat a woman in her forties wearing a red armband.
On the wall behind her was a sign that read: Admission Fee: 15.
"Twenty."
Zheng Fa obediently pulled out his money.
He had come during the lunch break, so time was tight; otherwise, he would have tried to save five bucks.
The inside of the zoo looked just as dated as the table at the entrance.
At noon, there weren’t many people in the park... and not many animals either.
As soon as he walked in, he spotted a sign about the size of a person, proclaiming the museum’s treasure, with a bright arrow pointing inside.
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but be curious and took a few steps further in.
Sure enough, outside a building, he saw a sign that read: Panda.
They have this too?
Excited, Zheng Fa craned his neck to look inside, and indeed, he saw two black-and-white balls of fluff happily running around and rolling on the ground... barking.
Looking back at the sign, he noticed that next to the big characters for "Panda," there was a small character for "Dog."
Zoo staff, how could you be so dog-like? Why not just paint yourself black and white and sit inside?
Deeply hurt, Zheng Fa headed straight for the so-called bird paradise area of the park.
Even though he had lowered his expectations, seeing a group of pigeons pecking at the ground and the large black net overhead still left him in a long silence.
The moment he stepped out of the zoo, he took out his phone and wrote a scathing review for the place.
...
Back at school, Zheng Fa slumped over his desk, feeling a bit dejected.
The experience at the zoo was one thing, but more importantly, that net made him realize a crucial issue—birds can fly.
So whether it was a zoo or a flower and bird market, they all preferred to keep flying creatures like terrestrial animals.
Even in the most upscale zoo, the birds inside had likely lost their natural instincts.
Trying to comprehend the Linghe Shen through these birds was probably not going to work.
Inside his desk, his phone vibrated twice.
Zheng Fa quietly pulled out his phone, and a little cat avatar was bouncing on the screen.
"Who’s this?" A big face leaned in beside him; Wang Chen was curious and nosy, peering over Zheng Fa’s shoulder at the little cat avatar, "Looks like a girl!"
"Tang Lingwu."
Zheng Fa replied casually and clicked on the avatar.
Tang Lingwu had sent two messages.
The first was a link.
The second was a somewhat lengthy message: "I saw you mentioned going to the zoo? Are you looking to see birds? Our city’s zoo isn’t great, so I found a few documentaries for you."
Clicking on the link, he found a cloud storage folder with several subfolders inside.