Chapter 155

Chapter 155

And so the first New Year’s gala I attended after enrolling at Lianghe District Middle School ended amid laughter and cheers.

I only wondered whether Yao Nan’s heart would still ache whenever she thought of Deng Liqian, the friend who had betrayed her.

It wasn’t something I could very well ask, and I had no idea how to comfort her.

Hopefully, time would heal everything…

We still had another half day of classes the next morning before the holiday officially began.

Of course, a day or two before any holiday, the students’ minds had already flown elsewhere–even the teachers didn’t keep too tight a rein on us.

When school let out at noon, Yao Nan stopped me.

“Wu Zhong, what are you planning to do over the New Year’s holiday?”

“Go home and spend time with my parents and Master, of course! I’ll help with the farmwork and feed the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, and whatnot. Then again, I might visit the surrounding villages to catch a few ghosts and subdue a few monsters. You never know.”

I shrugged and answered with complete candor.

I was a farmer’s son, after all. I’d helped my family with farmwork since I was little. There was nothing embarrassing about saying so.

Yao Nan burst into giggles.

Her bright, sparkling eyes curved into crescents.

“Are you telling a deadpan joke? The first half sounded perfectly normal, like a hardworking and dutiful farm boy. Then the whole scene suddenly changed, and you turned into some reclusive master who catches ghosts and subdues monsters.”

I laughed as well.

She reached out and lightly punched me on the shoulder.

“Seriously, though, could you come back to town one day early during the New Year’s holiday?”

I was slightly taken aback.

“Is something happening?”

She said, “January third is my birthday. My parents are holding a birthday party for me at home. Can you come?”

As society and the economy developed, some of the wealthy families in county seats and towns had already begun adopting the lifestyles of people in large cities.

Holding birthday parties for children had reportedly become fashionable among respectable families in town only within the past five or six years…

As Yao Nan spoke, her bright, sparkling eyes stared straight at me.

They were filled with expectation.

I had originally wanted to refuse.

But then I remembered that she had only recently lost a good friend… and I couldn’t bear to disappoint her.

After hesitating for a while, I could only nod.

“I can come… But I heard Wang Dachun say your family is wealthy and influential, even by the standards of Lianghe Town and the surrounding area. I won’t embarrass you if I show up, will I? Will your family and other friends look down on me?”

Naturally, I wasn’t feeling inferior–that emotion had never existed in the heart of someone as audacious as me, not even when I was little.

I was simply afraid the whole thing might become troublesome.

Yao Nan widened her eyes and deliberately pretended to be angry.

“What is that supposed to mean? You’re an expert who can perform magic. In ancient times, you’d have been practically an immortal! If anyone ought to look down on someone, you should be looking down on ordinary mortals like us.”

Well, well!

I deliberately teased her. “Looks like our classmate Yao Nan is quite self-aware.”

She deliberately arranged her pretty face into a frosty expression. “Then may the great Immortal Wu condescend to attend this humble young lady’s birthday party! Your presence is sure to illuminate my humble home.”

“Hahahaha!”

I laughed loudly and nodded again and again.

“All right, all right, I’ll go. Since it’s the esteemed young lady Yao’s birthday party, I’ll definitely prepare a wonderful gift for you!”

…

…

After returning to the coffin shop, I chatted with Old Cao and Wang Hu for a while longer.

Then I prepared to head home with my schoolbag on my back.

Of course, before taking the bus, I first had to visit the mountain outside town and say hello to Bai Su and Huihui.

To my surprise, the moment they heard, both of them expressed a strong desire to visit my home.

Best of all, they hoped they might get a chance to meet Master!

I didn’t refuse. I merely told them to come over after dark…

The highway and the country road beyond it covered more than thirty li in total, a considerable distance for an ordinary person.

But for a “great monster” like Bai Su, it amounted to less than fifteen minutes of running at full speed.

This time, I left Lianghe Town early and encountered no trouble along the way.

So it was only four in the afternoon when I reached Wujia Village.

At dusk, the sun slanted toward the west.

Warm golden light blanketed heaven, earth, and all living things, giving everything a soft, almost fuzzy texture and a gentle air.

It possessed a unique charm, different from both daylight and night.

I had always loved dusk.

“Dad, Mom, I’m home!”

I drew out the words and shouted happily.

“Oh! My boy, you’re home so early today?”

My mother’s delighted voice came from the chicken coop beside the yard.

She had been herding our chickens into the coop so she could feed them a little evening meal. The moment she heard my voice, she forgot all about feeding them and ran out to see me with the chicken feed still in her hands.

The hungry chickens became so anxious that they kept clucking inside the coop!

My father also emerged slowly from the house with his hands clasped behind his back, his face covered in smiles as he looked at me.

Since it was still early, I didn’t hurry to Master’s house at the end of the village.

Instead, I rested at home for a while, chatted with my parents, and told them amusing stories about school.

Only after my mother finished cooking dinner did I do as usual: place the dishes in a bamboo basket and carry them to Master’s house…

“Master! Your universally invincible, most handsome, and perfectly obedient disciple is here.”

I pushed open the wicker gate and stepped into the courtyard filled with flowers and plants, shouting excitedly as I went.

Smack!

It felt as though something had struck the top of my head.

There was clearly nothing around me. I hadn’t even sensed the slightest fluctuation of qi.

But I knew perfectly well that my wicked Master had to be bullying me again.

Sure enough!

Her voice came from inside the house.

“It appears you’ll never cure yourself of that glib tongue.”

“Oh, come on. You’re the only person I ever sweet-talk, Master.”

“Then you deserve to be hit all the more…”

Smack, smack, smack, smack!

A rapid string of noises sounded atop my head. It felt like an invisible hand was using my skull as a drum.

Me: “…”

I went inside.

Naturally, I couldn’t speak during dinner.

Afterward, I still had to practice the Daoist Hand-Sealing Method.

Only when that was finished could I sit beside Master and pour out everything I had seen and heard in Lianghe Town lately.
She listened quietly, her exquisite, breathtaking face perfectly calm, and occasionally offered a few words in response…

Then I mentioned Deng Liqian and the history of Leidong Miao Village’s destruction. At the same time, I took the ancient gu manual made from the hide of a century-old Black-Ice Giant Earthworm out of the bag behind me and handed it over.

Only then did a trace of surprise appear in Master’s eyes.

“Ah-Zhong, your luck is almost too good. The Great Leidong Gu Scripture vanished several decades ago, yet it fell into your hands so easily.”

The Great Leidong Gu Scripture?

The moment I heard that, I finally learned the gu manual’s true name.

Judging by her tone, Master probably knew even more about Leidong Miao Village than Deng Liqian’s grandmother, its last surviving clanswoman!

I immediately exclaimed, “As expected, my Master possesses profound arcane powers and incomparable knowledge! Nothing in this world can stump you. It seems that no matter what I encounter, you always know about it. Was Leidong Miao Village very powerful?”

She casually flipped through The Great Leidong Gu Scripture and replied in an indifferent tone at the same time.

“It was decent. In the southwest, it ranked among the more prominent regional powers. But as you said, a local warlord assembled his forces and wiped it out during the Republican era. Of course, the warlord also suffered devastating losses and exhausted the best troops under his command. In the end, he no longer had the capital to fight for power and profit. His subordinates mutinied, seized control, and declared their independence. He could only use the wealth he plundered from Leidong Miao Village to live as a rich man for a few years.”

Uh… only a few years as a rich man?

I was rather speechless, and also astonished by how clearly Master knew the entire affair. Scratching my head in confusion, I said, “Leidong Miao Village had a thousand-year inheritance, and the Miao people liked collecting gold, silver, and jewels. How could the haul have lasted that warlord only a few years?”

Still rapidly flipping through The Great Leidong Gu Scripture without so much as looking up, she continued to answer calmly.

“Oh, because he only lived for a few years after that. I found him and killed him outright.”

Me: “…”

So that was what she meant!

To put it in the language of the later internet age: This was freaking absurd!

I gave Master a thumbs-up.

“You really are ruthless!”

She lifted her head with an ambiguous smile and glanced at me.

“You’re only realizing that now? You aren’t a very competent disciple.”

“Master, after you killed that warlord, what happened to the wealth he looted from Leidong Miao Village?”

“I had no use for it, so I turned all of it over to the country.”

“Master truly is noble and selfless!”

I praised her again.

But in truth… the thought made my heart ache a little!

How much money must that have been? I certainly couldn’t have been as carefree and openhanded as Master.

I watched her rapidly leaf through The Great Leidong Gu Scripture. In such a short time, she had already read more than half of it.

I hurriedly said, “Master, you can definitely read gu script, right? What kinds of gu arts are recorded in this scripture? And, um… do you think you could teach me to read gu script too?”

She looked at my expectant face, and her brows furrowed slightly.

“Ah-Zhong, if you bite off too much, you won’t be able to digest any of it! Much of The Great Leidong Gu Scripture is also extremely profound and difficult. For now, concentrate on everything I’ve already assigned you. Once you’ve more or less grasped those subjects and barely crossed the threshold, we can discuss it.”

All right, then!

I had thought I was already doing rather well. I’d formally become her disciple and started cultivating only a little over half a year ago, yet I could already hold my own against Old Cao for a while in a direct confrontation.

When it came to actual magical combat, I might already be evenly matched with Yuan Fei and Li Miao.

As for the sheer variety of methods at my disposal, I had even surpassed them!

Yet in Master’s eyes, I hadn’t fully crossed the threshold.

Wasn’t she demanding a little too much?

I also believed that I had cultivated extremely diligently. Thinking about it that way left me rather upset.

When Master saw my dejected, aggrieved expression, she closed The Great Leidong Gu Scripture and looked into my eyes.

“What is it? You feel wronged?”

I said nothing, but the way I pursed my lips made the answer obvious.

Master suddenly smiled.

That smile was beautiful enough to topple kingdoms.

It was like a ray of light suddenly appearing amid boundless darkness.

Like a secluded orchid suddenly blooming in a silent valley.

I could only stare, spellbound.

The tiny grievance in my heart immediately vanished without a trace.

She gently ruffled my hair. Her voice softened as she comforted me.

“All right, little Ah-Zhong, don’t be sad. Your talent is actually exceptional. It’s merely that my standards truly are a little high.”

“Talisman arts, feng shui, household familiars, and the fist-fighting techniques of the eclectic arts–which the imperial court even called the national arts for a time. You must be capable of standing on your own in all four before you can be considered to have crossed the threshold.”

“So the problem isn’t you. The demands of our lineage truly are too high. That is why our disciples have always been extraordinarily few in number over the past several centuries.”

“Compared with other people, you’re already a genius among geniuses.”

Master rarely praised me, yet this time she called me a genius among geniuses! My spirits immediately lifted again.

And after thinking about it, I realized she was right.

I truly had bitten off almost more than I could chew… Even my most important arts encompassed four different subjects. On top of that, I still needed to learn Old Cao’s coffin-carrying arts and spirit-paper arts.

As for Li Miao’s corpse retrieval arts and Yuan Fei’s many methods, neither of them seemed to mind when I pestered them with questions and tried to study their techniques… Adding the gu arts on top of everything else really would be difficult.

Perhaps I had also become a little too full of myself lately!

I needed to guard against arrogance and impatience.

Come to think of it, the things I was relatively good at now were talisman arts and feng shui. My household familiar practices and martial arts were still nothing special. I needed to keep working hard!

Seeing that I no longer felt wronged, Master continued with a smile.

“The Great Leidong Gu Scripture will remain with me for now. One year from now, I’ll teach you gu script. After studying the script for another year, you’ll be able to read it yourself. Then you can discuss it with me.”

“Mm-hmm!”

I nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at grain.

“I’ll do whatever Master says!”

“Of course, this is a treasure you obtained yourself, yet I am temporarily withholding it. As compensation, I’ll give you something else.”

As she spoke, Master took out an object…