Chapter 45
(Non-main text: The previous chapter was overwritten by new plot. If you read the previous chapter before 2 a.m. last night, please go back and reread it so you do not lose the thread.)
Looking at the milk tea before him, Zheng Fa looked at Tang Lingwu in confusion. "I already knew Old Man Bai was afraid of dying, but you're still so young..."
"It can make me fairer."
Tang Lingwu said softly.
Zheng Fa stared at her little face for a long while, unable to understand. "Does your skin even need that?"
In his eyes, Tang Lingwu's face was already fairer and smoother than his.
A fervent light filled Tang Lingwu's eyes as she nodded seriously, indicating that she very much needed it.
Zheng Fa shook his head in confusion, then turned to look at Old Man Bai beside them.
Old Man Bai also felt that Zheng Fa did not understand him, and he defended himself in a low voice. "That's not called being afraid of death. That's called being full of attachment to this world!"
As he spoke, he sighed. "Those young people online keep saying they want to die, want to die every day. Once you reach my age, you'll know what it means for life to be beautiful and living to be precious. In the blink of an eye, a whole lifetime is over, and only then do you learn to cherish this life."
Looking at Old Man Bai's pale hair and wrinkle-lined face, listening to his sigh laden with reflections on life, Zheng Fa could not help feeling moved.
Tang Lingwu looked even more admiring as she said, "Grandpa Bai, I rarely see someone who loves life as much as you do."
"You don't understand!" Old Man Bai waved a hand. "When I was young, my doctoral dissertation was written like a pile of dog shit. I was terrified I wouldn't graduate. After I started working, my boss treated me worse than a human being. I wanted to become a great mathematician and leave my name for eternity, but I didn't have the brains. I wanted to be an academic deadbeat, muddling through life and waiting for death, but I didn't have the old man for it either."
"Back then, the moment I got out of bed, I wished the world would end. Every day, I wanted to hang myself from that crooked-neck tree outside the faculty office and show that idiot boss what for."
"But things are different now! My retirement pension is several tens of thousands a month. I have a home in Capital City, don't need to work, and don't even need to look after grandkids. Every morning, I stroll through the park and exercise. I'm strong, free of disaster and illness, and even on the bus, young people don't need to give up their seats for me."
"At night, I go out and watch the square dancing. Those little old ladies on the square, ten years younger than me, hear about my circumstances and want to have an autumn romance with me every day."
Old Man Bai looked at the two of them and said sentimentally, "I paid social security for decades before finally waiting for this day. If it were you, would you want to die?"
Tang Lingwu's eyes widened. "So that's why you said we'd understand once we reached your age..."
"Exactly. You'll understand once you retire."
Old Man Bai said it as though it were only natural.
"As the saying goes, the Dharma is not lightly transmitted, much less my sect's supreme art. Your heart for martial arts is truly not sincere enough."
Though the old man's words were logical and convincing, Zheng Fa did not agree so easily.
"Master, look, can you give me another chance? I'll definitely study properly!" Old Man Bai looked at Zheng Fa eagerly.
"You really want to learn?"
"I do!"
Zheng Fa nodded. "Let me make this clear first. Your aptitude isn't very good. If you truly want to learn, then from now on, there can be no more giving up halfway."
"Absolutely not!" Old Man Bai slapped the few ribs on his chest until they went bang bang.
"Wait! Let me see your sincerity first!"
Zheng Fa turned around and took several thick stacks of draft paper from the backpack resting on the chair.
On them were the Talisman Diagrams from the Complete Guide to Talisman Diagrams that he had recorded from memory. There were only the first few volumes, but he had put considerable effort into them.
One unexpected delight was that after apparently mastering the Spirit Crane Body, his improved physical abilities had also made his memory somewhat stronger than before.
Old Man Bai looked at the thick stack of draft notebooks, his lips twitching as a bad premonition rose within him. "This sincerity... how many books are there?"
Zheng Fa slowly held up one finger and smiled brightly. "A roomful."
Old Man Bai did not even need to master the Spirit Crane Body. He was already fairer than Zheng Fa now.
Recently, Zheng Fa had not actually given Old Man Bai many Talisman Diagrams to analyze. Most of the time, he had been learning Topology from Old Man Bai.
After all, he still preferred to master this field of knowledge himself.
But he had to admit that the talent he displayed in this field was truly scant.
He looked at Old Man Bai's head of curly hair.
You scold me every day for not having much of a brain, but your brain seems to work pretty well. Let me borrow it.
Old Man Bai had been far too lazy before, not the sort of person willing to be a tool.
But now... wasn't Old Man Bai the one stirring up trouble himself?
Since the other man was feeling guilty, Zheng Fa naturally took advantage of the situation.
"How about I keep teaching you Topology instead? Knowledge is safest when it stays in your own head." Old Man Bai rubbed his head, seemingly feeling a little chilly. Clearly, he was still unwilling to become a tool and continued struggling.
"I never said I wasn't learning. I'm just learning slowly, aren't I?" Zheng Fa smiled.
He wanted the top-tier private tutoring.
He also wanted the tool's brain.
"Actually... I suddenly realized that you, too, are an uncut jade in Topology." Old Man Bai said sincerely.
Zheng Fa sighed softly. "Then it seems your heart for martial arts isn't all that sincere either."
Seeing that Zheng Fa would not relent, Old Man Bai looked toward his hand—mainly at the milk tea beside Zheng Fa's hand.
A flash of inspiration struck him. Remembering that he still had a teammate, he twitched his eyes toward Tang Lingwu.
We're on the same side. Don't you want to learn too? Help me plead for mercy!
Tang Lingwu nodded as though she understood. She walked to the table, picked up the cup, and personally inserted the straw.
A smile appeared on Old Man Bai's face. Lingwu understood him well. When asking someone for a favor, you needed a service mindset!
The next moment, he watched helplessly as Tang Lingwu put her mouth around the straw.
"Feeding him with your mouth?" Old Man Bai hurriedly reached out. "That service is a little too much!"
Tang Lingwu swallowed the milk tea in her mouth and looked at his anxious expression in confusion, seemingly unable to understand what he meant.
Old Man Bai stared blankly at her. "You drank it yourself?"
"Mhm!" Tang Lingwu nodded.
"Wasn't this your gift for becoming his disciple?" Old Man Bai pressed.
"I'm not learning." Tang Lingwu lowered her head.
"It can make you fairer!"
"I was born beautiful."
"It can make you even prettier!" Old Man Bai grew anxious.
"It attracts bees and butterflies."
Old Man Bai had not expected Tang Lingwu to change her tune so quickly.
Remembering the enthusiasm in Tang Lingwu's eyes when she had mentioned becoming fairer, he could not help shaking his head. The way he looked at Zheng Fa became even less friendly.
Zheng Fa also gazed deeply at Tang Lingwu and understood her thoughts. She probably just did not want to make things difficult for him.
After all, hiring a tool at the level of a Capital University professor probably could not be paid for with a lifetime's worth of milk tea.
Perhaps noticing that both men were looking at her, Tang Lingwu's gaze drifted aside as she muttered, "I'm just a little afraid of pain and exhaustion. It's not like I really wanted to practice martial arts that badly."
Looking at her, Old Man Bai could not help slapping his forehead. Having this friendly force was worse than having none at all!
He looked conflictedly at the draft notebooks Zheng Fa had placed before him. After frowning and thinking for a long time, he finally sighed softly and pushed them away.
That action somewhat exceeded Zheng Fa's expectations.
Old Man Bai had been extremely persistent about living a few more years.
"You mean...?"
"I really don't have time. I still have to write my book."
Zheng Fa froze. "You really are writing a book, sir?"
"...So you thought I was lying?"
Zheng Fa nodded.
Old Man Bai looked toward Tang Lingwu, who was nodding as well.
"Between the three of us, there isn't even a shred of trust to be found!"
(End of chapter)
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