Chapter 37
“I wouldn’t know! I haven’t mastered it!” Xu Jiaotou shook his head, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “But Zheng Fa has trained for less than one percent of the time I have, and his internal strength is barely one-tenth of mine. Yet when we sparred just now, he was already on par with me. Aside from entering the Dao through martial arts, I can’t think of any other reason.”
“That’s because you went easy on me,” Zheng Fa corrected him.
“I’m still a bit stronger than you, but that’s mostly due to my years of experience in combat,” Xu Jiaotou replied with a sense of acceptance. “In just a few months, I might not be able to keep up with you.”
Zheng Fa wanted to offer some words of comfort, but Xu Jiaotou waved him off. “I’ve spent over twenty years on something I can’t even grasp, while you’ve mastered it in just over twenty days. If I don’t take it easy, I might as well find a rope and hang myself.”
After saying this, he glanced at Gao Yuan and his own nephew, suddenly feeling a bit worried. “You two should also take it easy and not compete with Zheng Fa in the future.”
Gao Yuan was taken aback, glancing at Xu Jiaotou’s nephew, who was also in a daze.
“In the past, I pushed you two to motivate you with Zheng Fa. But now…” Xu Jiaotou paused for a moment. “It’s better not to aim too high or seek quick success.”
Gao Yuan felt a mix of emotions swirling inside him.
He had thought Xu Jiaotou’s nephew made a good point earlier.
When Xu Jiaotou had been strict with him in the past, he had his share of complaints.
Now, the words Xu Jiaotou spoke, which he had longed to hear, somehow didn’t bring him joy; instead, they left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Beside him, Xu Jiaotou’s nephew raised his cup and downed its contents in one go.
Noticing Gao Yuan’s gaze, he turned to look at him, his eyes slightly red, and smiled. “This wine is a bit spicy today.”
Gao Yuan stared at the cup in his hand, silent.
We’re drinking water, after all…
……
“Are you all eating?”
The Seventh Young Master walked into the training ground, plopping down beside the four of them and rubbing his belly. “Get me some chopsticks.”
Zheng Fa handed him a pair of clean chopsticks, puzzled. “Young Master, haven’t you eaten yet?”
It was already getting late.
Xu Jiaotou and the others were waiting for Zheng Fa, but the maid in the Seventh Young Master’s room should have served him by now.
“I forgot earlier,” the Seventh Young Master said, his fingers stiffening as he casually accepted the chopsticks.
Zheng Fa glanced at him, feeling that something was off.
The Seventh Young Master kept his head down, not looking up, and ate absentmindedly, as if he had no appetite, picking grains of rice one by one with his chopsticks.
Noticing Zheng Fa’s gaze on him, the Seventh Young Master finally looked up and smiled at everyone. “What were you just talking about?”
Zheng Fa sensed he was deliberately avoiding his gaze, as if feeling guilty.
“We were saying how impressive ‘Ling He Shen’ is…” Gao Yuan replied, but as he looked at the Seventh Young Master’s expression, he couldn’t continue.
Upon hearing the words “Ling He Shen,” the Seventh Young Master’s grip on his chopsticks tightened, and his expression darkened.
Now, it wasn’t just Zheng Fa; the other three noticed something was wrong with him.
The group fell silent.
“Phew…” The Seventh Young Master let out a breath and smiled. “You three can leave now; I have something to discuss with Zheng Fa.”
Xu Jiaotou and the others exchanged glances, confused, but they still stood up.
“Wait, Xu Jiaotou, you stay too.”
The Seventh Young Master suddenly spoke up.
Xu Jiaotou’s face showed even more confusion.
Once Gao Yuan and the others had walked away, the Seventh Young Master lowered his head, breathing heavily, as if struggling with something inside.
After a long silence, he finally looked up at the two of them and said, “Before I say what I need to say, I hope you both promise me one thing.”
Zheng Fa and Xu Jiaotou became serious, realizing the Seventh Young Master had never been this earnest before.
“Zheng Fa, what I’m about to say today ultimately stems from me. If you have grievances, direct them at me, not at my mother.”
Zheng Fa frowned.
The Seventh Young Master raised a hand to stop him and turned to Xu Jiaotou. “Xu Jiaotou, there were things in the past that I’m sorry for. I apologize.”
Xu Jiaotou’s mouth fell open, not understanding what he meant.
“Let me finish; don’t interrupt me. I’m afraid I won’t have the courage to say it again!”
The Seventh Young Master raised his hand, stopping both of them from speaking, and continued in one breath:
“‘Ling He Shen’ cannot be mastered! It’s not that you can’t do it; it’s that it simply can’t be done.”
“My mother gave it to you to make you face setbacks, to keep you grounded and serve my family!”
“So Zheng Fa, don’t think about ‘Ling He Shen’ anymore. Xu Jiaotou, it’s not your fault that you haven’t grasped it in twenty years.”
After saying this, a look of indescribable relief washed over his face.
Seeing the two of them staring at him in shock, both silent, the Seventh Young Master felt a bit anxious and turned to Zheng Fa. “Zheng Fa, my mother did this for me…”
“Xu Jiaotou, you don’t have to leave…”
“Seventh Young Master!” Xu Jiaotou suddenly interrupted him, his expression serious. “You shouldn’t say that.”
“I didn’t want to say it; I wanted to bury it in my heart! But today… I can’t even eat!” As he spoke, a rare determination appeared on his face. “I’ve realized she’s my mother, and the mistakes she made, I’ll bear the consequences.”
“I know you don’t have a good relationship with my mother, but you shouldn’t fabricate these things to slander her!” Xu Jiaotou looked at him as if he were a child who didn’t understand.
The Seventh Young Master glared at Xu Jiaotou. “I’m telling the truth! ‘Ling He Shen’ really can’t be mastered!”
Seeing his urgency, Xu Jiaotou nodded, as if he understood something, and his expression softened a bit.
“I know, I know. Seventh Young Master, you mean well and don’t want me to lose faith in martial arts.”
“I’m not! I didn’t!” The Seventh Young Master scratched his head in frustration. He had imagined countless reactions from Xu Jiaotou and the others: anger, hatred, even tears and curses.
He had prepared himself mentally.
But he never expected Xu Jiaotou wouldn’t believe him!
The Seventh Young Master was dumbfounded, facing Xu Jiaotou’s grateful yet disapproving gaze, nearly breaking down. “Why don’t you believe me?”
“I believe you, I believe you. Just don’t say such things again, or my mother will scold you.”
The Seventh Young Master pondered this; wasn’t that still disbelief?
It felt like he was trying to soothe a child!
Meanwhile, Zheng Fa watched the two of them going back and forth without reaching an understanding, a look of realization crossing his face.
“I’ve mastered it,” he finally spoke up.
“Mastered what?” The Seventh Young Master was confused by Zheng Fa’s sudden declaration.
“I’ve mastered ‘Ling He Shen.’”
“Ah?”
The Seventh Young Master stared blankly, looking at Xu Jiaotou, who nodded kindly at him, a hint of a knowing smile on his otherwise stern face.
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**Chapter 43: What’s the Point?**
The Seventh Young Master scratched his head. “Did my mother trick me again?”
Yet there was no trace of anger on his face, only a hint of a smile.
“Madam probably didn’t lie,” Zheng Fa hesitated before speaking.
The Seventh Young Master and Xu Jiaotou were taken aback, the smile fading from the Seventh Young Master’s face as he looked at Zheng Fa, seemingly unwilling to believe what he had just said.
“So you didn’t master it?”
Xu Jiaotou’s brow furrowed, clearly sharing the same question.
“I can master it, but most people probably can’t.”
These two in front of him were already among the few Zheng Fa trusted, yet he didn’t reveal anything about the modern world.
But many things couldn’t be hidden. From the Seventh Young Master’s words, it was clear that Madam understood the difficulty of mastering ‘Ling He Shen’ very well.
Once Zheng Fa mastered ‘Ling He Shen,’ Madam would surely suspect he harbored secrets.
He had long been mentally prepared; as his strength grew, this revelation was inevitable.
Hiding it would only raise suspicion; it was better to be like this—no explanations, but no concealment either.
Sure enough, the Seventh Young Master and Xu Jiaotou exchanged glances, seemingly guessing something, but neither asked.
Only the Seventh Young Master’s face showed a hint of disappointment. “So my mother didn’t trick me.”
He looked as if he would rather be deceived once and for all.
Zheng Fa turned to Xu Jiaotou. “So the Seventh Young Master is right; you don’t need to doubt yourself.”
Xu Jiaotou’s expression shifted back and forth before he finally let out a long sigh. “I see…”
The Seventh Young Master’s voice dropped. “Xu Jiaotou, it’s my mother…”
“Madam really didn’t need to go this far.”
“Ah?”
Xu Jiaotou looked at the Seventh Young Master and smiled. “Seventh Young Master, you probably forgot, I’m a born servant, bound by a contract to the Zhao family.”
The Seventh Young Master was stunned.
“If Madam didn’t want to let me go, one word from her would suffice. If it weren’t to maintain this master-servant relationship, why go through all this trouble?”
Zheng Fa nodded; Xu Jiaotou had a point.
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