It was just Zizi and I under the pagoda tree after I told Yuan Kou to leave. Zizi felt refreshed after running three rounds of the mental cultivation and was continuing. Before we knew it, night had fallen. While I was waiting, I finally finished reading Pure Yang One Qi.
Initially, I just wanted Yuan Kou and Zhao Tiankuiâs versions to summarise into a version I could teach Zizi. That way, Zizi wouldnât have called me shifu for nothing. After seeing him beat the four men, however, I felt it wouldâve been a waste to not teach him, giving me an itch to teach him some more. Even if I didnât teach him, his mother would ask someone to teach him in the future, and heâd still go somewhere. Of course, his brothers still wouldnât spare him. What harm was there in showing some generosity to the young Prince who was bound to suffer plenty in the future? Besides, it wasnât illegal to teach him some martial arts even if I didnât plan on taking him on as my disciple. To that end, I tried to edit Pure Yang One Qi.
I combed through both versions, picking out every single mistake. Once I was done, I let out a long exhale and solemnly set them down beside me. My shifu truly was a genius. I didnât understand squat. Forget the contents that resembled gobbledygook for a moment. Why did they have to practice upside down? Why, in summer, did they have to wear six layers of clothing and train under a blanket? Why, in winter, did they have to bury themselves naked in snow to train their qi? The author was clearly trying to prank readers.
I was stupefied from the first pages to the last pages. There wasnât a single commonality between the two manuals. They were two completely different books! From what I saw, their execution was virtually identical, and their internal energy attributes were the product of the same discipline. Although their gains were different, they werenât as drastically different as the manuals. How in the world did they learn something so similar when there was basically not a single identical page in the manuals? I finally understood why Shifu didnât let me learn it back then. Forget practicing it. I couldnât even understand what I read.
The moment I opened them, I felt as if I was sitting in an exam room. I never did the homework Shifu set me. The subject lines themselves were incomprehensible to me.
How the heck did those two gruff guys understand it? Doesnât this mean that Iâm even⊠stop, stop, there must be something amiss. I need to re-read.
I opened the two manuals again, turned to the second page, stared for a long while and⊠nearly fell asleep.
âShifu, does this mean that I should continue practicing the next part?â Zizi asked whilst pointing at the second page.
âIt means for you toâŠâ
Hell as if I knew. I was going to fool him first to buy myself a few daysâ time, only to realise something.
âYou can understand this?â
âIt says that the practitioner should push on and not stop, does it not? It says that here, as well.â
âArenât these two different books?â
âWhat are you saying, Shifu? They are saying the same thing.â
âUh⊠Zizi, who teaches you to read and write?â
âPrincipal Huang and Prime Minister Li.â
No wonder! Doesnât that mean youâre levels above m-, you rival me?
I tapped Ziziâs chest with the manuals. âYouâre right. Keep training. Youâre winning.â
***
âLord Zi!â General Manager Bai looked as if her soul left her body when she saw a man come back instead of a boy. As she held him in her arms, she asked him what happened.
Zizi was on the cusp of crying when I patted him on the shoulder to signal he had to keep it a secret and to not cry. His growth was evident. He didnât cry.
âHaha, itâs all thanks to me. Youâre welcome. No need for thanks.â
Zizi and I were given warm welcomes as expected. However, General Manager Bai dotingly sent him to be treated, while she chased me down⊠with a blade!
âWhy are you angry with me when I taught him cool stuff that would make his ancestors proud?!â
âLook at his wounds!â
âItâs just twenty-odd injuries. Theyâre medals of honour for men.â
âLet me give you some medals of honour, then! Donât move!â
I finally understood her sentiments. Medals of honour needed to be earned in a certain way, and this wasnât one of them.
After receiving a beating, I managed to make some time to visit Feng Qizhi. I couldnât mistreat my Brother Fengâs cousin now, right? Before I even knocked, I saw Sir Sui come out with his head hung down and shout, âHe is hopeless!â
Feng Qizhi soon came out afterwards carrying a flower pot and shaking his head. When he saw me, though, he warmly greeted me. âBrother Ming, Sir Sui really does have unique knowledge on cultivating flowers.â
I think youâre the one whoâs unique. Youâre the first person to make Sir Sui give up on someone.
âI feel inspired after spending some time learning about flowers from him. I have blended it into my swordplay and vice versa. One begets two. Two begets three. Three begets all things.â
âAnd thatâs why you slashed up his flowerbed like this?â
âWhat do you think? Artistic?â
Keep it up. Iâll go ask Brother Feng for compensation.
Feng Qizhi staying at Liu Shan Men saved me the trouble of worrying about him doing stupid things, and I couldnât be bothered with him. Since Brother Feng didnât complain, I had no reason to.
I made my way to Daren Academy, where I had an appointment. As always, he beamed and skipped over when he saw me.
âBig Brother Ming!â
For quite some time now, I had been intermittently teaching Su Xiao some martial arts, and he had grown rapidly. He didnât need me to teach him to begin with, butâŠ
I caressed Su Xiaoâs small head and asked, âDo you still remember what I taught you?â
âI do!â
âGet started, then.â
Su Xiao repeated back what I taught him while I listened in with a smile. As time quietly flowed by, the negative feelings welled up inside me gradually disappeared.