Ghostly Scribbles

Ghostly Scribbles

Zheng Fa struggled to pretend he had not seen Instructor Xu's dark expression.

"What the hell do you know?!" Instructor Xu cursed Gao Yuan. "The martial arts those schools outside teach may look impressive enough in power, but once practitioners pass their prime, they lose all their vigor! And if they train badly, they may even shorten their lives!"

Zheng Fa understood what Instructor Xu meant.

The same martial art could improve one's abilities if practiced well.

That made an extra buff like the Pine Crane Stance, which could extend one's lifespan, naturally very valuable.

But Zheng Fa had another thought in his heart—Gao Yuan had to train for thirty years to gain twenty years of life.

His aptitude was supposedly top-tier. Instructor Xu had said so when examining his bones. Since he was more talented than Gao Yuan, would he not need thirty years?

More importantly, he could still travel to the modern world!

If he practiced there, he would have double the time.

Even by Gao Yuan's simple arithmetic of lifespan gained and lost, he might not come out at a loss.

Perhaps Gao Yuan had truly angered him. Instructor Xu personally guided them for a while longer, then turned into a hands-off boss and went back to playing with his spear.

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan continued practicing the Pine Crane Stance where they stood.

Even Gao Yuan, who had seemed somewhat dismissive earlier, learned with utmost seriousness.

Sometimes, Zheng Fa could not help comparing people his age in the Xuanwei Realm with those in the modern world. Most of the classmates he had met in modern schools would probably have been more lax.

People their age in this world, like Gao Yuan, might have been born servants, but he had scholarly credentials and money at home. His family was not an ordinary one in this world, so he cherished opportunities all the more.

After standing in the posture Instructor Xu had taught them for a while, Zheng Fa felt the warm current within him becoming increasingly distinct. His bones tingled pleasantly, while his breathing gradually grew calm, deep, and long.

When Instructor Xu came over and saw Zheng Fa's state, he could not help nodding in satisfaction. "I told you your aptitude was good. You've gotten the hang of it quickly!"

Zheng Fa clearly saw Gao Yuan's movements stiffen slightly beside him, as though he had grown anxious.

Instructor Xu seemed to have noticed as well, but he merely glanced at him. Without praise or rebuke, he slowly walked away.

Watching Instructor Xu's retreating figure, Gao Yuan's face showed obvious dejection.

Since it was their first exposure to the Pine Crane Stance, Instructor Xu did not let Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan practice for long. Less than half an hour later, he began chasing them off.

"Proceed step by step! The greatest taboo in martial arts is being greedy for quick results!"

Zheng Fa could barely keep standing anyway. As he left the training ground, his stomach rumbled like thunder. He was so hungry that even the bluestone slabs on the ground looked like matcha cake, and he nearly wanted to take a bite.

He had never eaten his fill in this world to begin with. Only after beginning martial arts practice did he discover that Instructor Xu's words—that the more one practiced martial arts, the better one needed to eat—were a very plain truth.

The moment they returned to their quarters, Zheng Fa sat on his bed and felt his vision darken.

Gao Yuan understood what was wrong from his expression at once. "Hungry?"

"Yes. How are we supposed to eat?"

"By the manor's rules, we belong to Seventh Young Master. Seventh Young Master's maids should collect our meals, then we go get them."

"Then do you think they collected meals for the two of us?"

Zheng Fa posed Gao Yuan a question straight from the soul.

"That's impossible... Actually, they really might not have. I'll go to the main kitchen!" As the son of the second branch's steward, Gao Yuan displayed his extensive connections. "Madam gave us an allowance. If I go to the kitchen, they won't dare refuse to give it!"

After saying that, Gao Yuan sprang to his feet and hurried outside, shouting, "Wait here! I'll bring yours back too!"

Watching Gao Yuan leave, Zheng Fa smiled.

His roommate had some of an ordinary person's petty thoughts, but honestly, he was not a bad person.

Gao Yuan took nearly another half hour to collect the food. By the time he brought over the food box, Zheng Fa was so hungry that his stomach and intestines were twisting in pain.

"Those people in the main kitchen said Madam hadn't given instructions! They wanted to pocket our meal money!" Gao Yuan said indignantly. "I had to find my father before they finally told the truth!"

Hearing this, Zheng Fa raised his head and thanked Gao Yuan. "Then I really should thank your father. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have gotten this meal."

"It's nothing! This was our rightful allowance to begin with!"

Gao Yuan waved his hand.

There was quite a lot of food in the food box.

The top layer held two large bowls of meat and one large bowl of vegetables.

The middle layer was filled to the brim with rice.

It did not look particularly tasty, but the portions were generous.

Zheng Fa picked up his chopsticks and wolfed it down.

As he stuffed food into his mouth, his gaze casually swept over the bottom layer of the food box.

It had originally been empty, but he saw a sheet of paper—or rather, the corner of one—caught in the gap between two layers of the food box.

Gao Yuan seemed to notice his gaze too. His hand suddenly pulled back, as though he did not want Zheng Fa to see.

Only then did Zheng Fa understand. Gao Yuan had probably done some private business besides collecting food during the long time he had been gone.

He lowered his head and stuffed another mouthful of rice into his mouth, as though nothing had happened.

Gao Yuan, on the other hand, seemed restless. Even while eating, he was distracted.

Over the next two days, Zheng Fa lived an extremely regular life.

Early every morning, he went to Seventh Young Master's courtyard to stand as punishment, and he accompanied Seventh Young Master to Teacher Shen's lessons.

In the afternoon, he went to Instructor Xu to learn the Pine Crane Stance.

Zheng Fa did learn somewhat faster than Gao Yuan, but Instructor Xu had also told them that although Zheng Fa learned quickly, he had started late. Without some special opportunity, it would be difficult for him to achieve great mastery in the Pine Crane Stance.

At night, after they had eaten, each of them would do a few things of their own.

Zheng Fa was very busy at night.

Besides memorizing the classics Teacher Shen had explained in class, he also had to recall knowledge from modern textbooks.

He even had to set aside half an hour every day to practice brush calligraphy.

But Gao Yuan was different.

The moment he returned to their quarters, he hid in his room and secretly looked at something.

Zheng Fa occasionally glimpsed several sheets of paper in his hands.

They looked very much like the sheets hidden in the food box that day.

Whenever Gao Yuan looked at those sheets, he usually hid from Zheng Fa. The moment Zheng Fa entered the room, he would tuck them into his clothes.

But sometimes, when he became absorbed in reading them, Zheng Fa had inadvertently seen what was written—or rather, drawn—on the paper: all complicated lines, forming no discernible pattern.

Though he had only looked once, Zheng Fa had felt his eyes swim.

Gao Yuan, who stared at those sheets all day, was clearly even closer to collapse.

That night, when Zheng Fa entered the room, he saw Gao Yuan sprawled across his bed like a salted fish.

Those precious sheets of paper lay scattered across his blanket.

His entire body radiated an air of having lost all desire to live, of lying flat and waiting for death.

"What's wrong?"

Gao Yuan's eyes were unfocused, and he looked like he did not want to speak.

After a long while, he suddenly sat up and shouted, "Even if I stop being a pageboy, I'm not looking at this stuff anymore!"

Zheng Fa froze, his gaze involuntarily turning to those sheets. "Looking at these can keep you from being driven away?"

"What do you think that book Seventh Young Master reads all day is?" Gao Yuan pointed at the patterns on the paper. "It's all this ghostly scribbling!"

Zheng Fa picked up a sheet and examined it. The patterns on it were chaotic and complicated, without even a trace of discernible order.

"What does Seventh Young Master read this for?"

"Talismans. These are the talismans of the legendary Immortal Sect!"

Zheng Fa could not help growing solemn. Looking again at those patterns that resembled a child's scribbles, he felt they were filled with profound mystery.

(End of Chapter)