Chapter 38
From his perspective, his life belonged entirely to the Zhao family, and the lady's methods could be described as gentle.
However, Zheng Fa, with his modern experiences, found it hard to accept such a relationship of personal dependency.
As for the Seventh Young Master… Zheng Fa cast a glance at the dumbfounded young man, who was simply too naïve to have considered this.
“Well, Xu Jiaotou, you’ve wasted twenty years…”
The Seventh Young Master still seemed a bit conflicted.
“No one forced me; I just placed too much importance on the ‘Ling He Shen’ (Spirit Crane Technique).”
Xu Jiaotou smiled sincerely, as if he had never held a grudge against the lady.
The Seventh Young Master’s expression gradually improved.
“I have some friends who, like my younger self, yearned for the jianghu (martial arts world). They dove right in and never came back.”
Zheng Fa and the Seventh Young Master listened quietly.
“And I, having spent a stable twenty years with the Zhao family, now even have disciples. Looking back, the lady might have saved my life,” Xu Jiaotou said, patting Zheng Fa on the shoulder. “The only regret I had was the ‘Ling He Shen,’ but now that Zheng Fa has shown me what this martial art truly is, what more could I possibly regret?”
The Seventh Young Master pondered for a moment and then clapped his hands. “So, my mother did something good? And I’ve been holding this in for so long!”
Seeing him smile with relief, Zheng Fa glanced at Xu Jiaotou but said nothing.
“It’s late; you two should head back,” Xu Jiaotou said to them.
Zheng Fa and the Seventh Young Master bid farewell to Xu Jiaotou, who stood with his hands behind his back, watching their figures gradually fade into the distance.
In the middle of the night, when Xu Jiaotou’s nephew got up, he saw a shadow standing in the moonlight, startling him awake. Once he recognized the figure, he sighed in relief and rubbed his eyes, asking:
“Uncle, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to venture into the jianghu?”
“Why bring that up? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t allow it?”
Hearing his nephew’s slightly complaining tone, Xu Jiaotou didn’t turn around but gazed at the waning moon and said, “Go ahead. In a couple of days, I’ll go ask the lady to retrieve your contract. After today, she should give me this favor.”
“But you said you wanted me to stay at the manor to take care of you…”
“Make sure to write often and tell me what the jianghu you’ve never seen is really like.”
…
The ‘Ling He Xin Jing’ (Spirit Crane Heart Sutra) brought unexpected changes to Zheng Fa. When he got up the next morning and stretched out his hand, he noticed a thin layer of skin peeling off his arm, leaving a bed covered in white flakes.
When he washed his face, the reflection in the copper mirror was so different that Zheng Fa almost didn’t recognize himself.
In his early years, he had helped his mother with farm work, and under the sun and wind, his skin had become dark and rough.
But the face in the mirror was pale and radiant, with delicate, smooth skin that didn’t even show pores unless one looked closely.
In the Seventh Young Master’s study, Zheng Fa noticed that Gao Yuan had been staring at him, inching closer.
“Is there something on your mind?”
“Zheng Fa, you… smell amazing!”
As Gao Yuan spoke, he leaned in closer, seemingly wanting to take a whiff.
“Stop! If you keep sniffing, I’ll take action!”
Zheng Fa swore he had never been so scared.
“If Gao Yuan hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have realized. Zheng Fa, you really do have a fragrance,” the Seventh Young Master said, lifting his head and scrutinizing Zheng Fa closely.
“Why is your face so pale? Are you wearing powder?”
“What powder…” Zheng Fa was taken aback. He touched his face and guessed, “It must be because of the ‘Ling He Shen.’”
“You mean after mastering the ‘Ling He Shen,’ your face became fairer, and now you smell good?” Gao Yuan’s eyes widened, his tone filled with deep envy. “Entering the path through martial arts, it’s truly miraculous.”
The Seventh Young Master seemed to have thought of something and stroked his chin. “I heard my mother say that the ‘Ling He Shen’ seems to aim for some kind of postnatal Dao body.”
“Dao body?” Zheng Fa recalled the strange power he sensed after mastering the ‘Ling He Shen’ and felt a flicker of understanding.
“Zheng Fa, how did you cultivate the ‘Ling He Shen’? When I get into the Song He Zhuang (Song Crane Stance), I’ll also ask the lady to grant me the ‘Ling He Shen.’”
Gao Yuan didn’t know the secrets of cultivating the ‘Ling He Shen,’ but hearing the Seventh Young Master say this clearly piqued his interest in the martial art.
More importantly, the miraculous changes Zheng Fa experienced after mastering this technique captivated him.
The Seventh Young Master remained silent, his eyes bright as he looked at Zheng Fa, seemingly curious as well.
“The main thing is visualization—imagining various birds,” Zheng Fa said, not feeling the need to hide anything.
The two nodded, looking as if they were hearing something impressive.
The Seventh Young Master even commented, “Visualization techniques, I’ve seen them in stories; they’re truly methods of the immortals.”
But Zheng Fa frowned, voicing the confusion he had since mastering the ‘Ling He Shen.’ “But why is visualization effective? What exactly is visualization?”
When he looked up, he found that the Seventh Young Master and Gao Yuan hadn’t been listening to him at all; instead, they were eagerly discussing visualization techniques and the recent stories they had read.
Seeing Zheng Fa still frowning, the Seventh Young Master looked up, puzzled. “As long as visualization works, isn’t that enough? Why does it matter?”
“Isn’t it important?”
The two shook their heads, their eyes filled with confusion as they looked at Zheng Fa.
…
“Mother, why did you call for me?”
“Zheng Fa, have you really mastered the ‘Ling He Shen’?”
“I have!” the Seventh Young Master replied with a smile.
“What’s so funny? Do you know what it means for him to have mastered it?” The lady looked at her foolish son, exasperated.
“What does it mean?”
“It means there’s at least a Yuanying Zhenren (Nascent Soul True Person) behind him. There might even be some conspiracy against our Zhao family!”
The Seventh Young Master was stunned, blinking as if he didn’t understand. Slowly, he pieced the words together. “Yuanying Zhenren, against our family, a conspiracy?”
The lady nodded.
“But what does he want?” the Seventh Young Master asked earnestly. “Do we even deserve it?”
“…”
**Chapter 44: Dropping Out**
Zheng Fa could never have guessed that the lady would reasonably yet absurdly deduce that a Yuanying Zhenren was hiding behind him just because he had mastered the ‘Ling He Shen.’
Now, his problem was that the old man behind him—Old Bai—had lost interest in studying.
No, he wanted to drop out.
One night, after tutoring Tang Lingwu, he suddenly said to Zheng Fa, “Xiao Zheng, I probably won’t have time to practice martial arts anymore.”
Old Bai’s progress in martial arts was too slow, and he couldn’t see any results, so his enthusiasm naturally waned day by day.
Zheng Fa had been watching this unfold and had anticipated this day.
Looking at Old Bai, Tang Lingwu couldn’t help but doubt, “Grandpa Bai, is it because practicing martial arts is too tiring and painful that you want to give up?”
“Give up? Nonsense!” Old Bai retorted. “I have other important matters to attend to! Do you understand how busy a person of importance is?”
“You’re a retiree; what important matters could you possibly have?” Tang Lingwu clearly didn’t believe him.
“Don’t underestimate me!” Old Bai said proudly. “A couple of days ago, someone from the Capital University Press called me, saying they’re just waiting for my new book!”
Upon hearing this, both Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu were a bit surprised.
“You’re still writing books? I’ve never heard you mention that before!”
“Am I going to boast to you two youngsters?” Old Bai smirked. “I mean, I’m retired and getting old, but they’re crying and begging me to write!”
As he bragged, Tang Lingwu began to doubt, “What kind of book are you writing?”
Hearing this, Old Bai sighed. “You don’t know, but some of our university textbooks were written last century. It’s not that they’re bad; they were written by great scholars. But now everyone realizes, ‘Hey, it seems we can do better,’ and some new knowledge hasn’t been updated.”
“So you’re writing a textbook for Capital University?”
Tang Lingwu’s tone was somewhat reverent.
“Just one, just one,” Old Bai waved his hand, appearing modest. “It’s not an important book; they’re just pushing me for it, and I really don’t have time!”
Seeing he didn’t seem to be bragging, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but look at the old man with newfound respect.
“So it’s not that I’m giving up on practicing martial arts; it’s just that I don’t have the time,” Old Bai explained again. “Just thinking about those students still learning outdated materials makes my heart race! I can’t even sleep!”
Hearing this, Tang Lingwu glanced at Zheng Fa, a hint of worry in her eyes.
Sure enough, Old Bai continued, “Xiao Zheng, if you have any questions in the future, just come to my house on weekends. I’ll spare an hour or two to explain things to you. As for topology, you won’t need it for now; you can learn it after the college entrance exam.”
Tang Lingwu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she seemed at a loss for words.
Zheng Fa nodded, but he didn’t blame Old Bai in his heart.
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