Dropping Out

Zheng Fa could never have guessed that Madam would deduce, both reasonably and absurdly, that he had a Nascent Soul True Person hiding behind him just from him mastering the Crane Body Technique.

Now his problem was that the old man behind him—Old Man Bai—was tired of studying.

No, he wanted to drop out.

One evening, after tutoring Tang Lingwu, he suddenly said to Zheng Fa, "Little Zheng, I probably won't have time to practice martial arts anymore."

Old Man Bai's progress in martial arts was too slow, and he saw no real results, so his enthusiasm naturally waned day by day.

Zheng Fa had always seen this and had long expected this day to come.

Looking at Old Man Bai, Tang Lingwu couldn't help but suspect, "Grandpa Bai, you want to give up because practicing martial arts is too tiring and painful, right?"

"Give up what?" Old Man Bai retorted righteously. "I have other important matters to attend to, I'm spread too thin! Do you understand being busy with important affairs?"

"You're retired, what important matters could you possibly have?" Tang Lingwu clearly didn't believe him.

"You don't believe me!" Old Man Bai said, raising his head. "The people from Beijing University Press called me a couple of days ago, saying they were waiting for my new book!"

Hearing this, both Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu were a little surprised.

"You're still writing books, Elder Bai? We've never heard you mention it before."

"Would I lie to you two youngsters?" Old Man Bai twisted his mouth. "I said I'm retired, I'm past my prime, but they were begging me to write a book!"

With him bragging like this, Tang Lingwu became a little suspicious. "What kind of book are you writing, Elder Bai?"

Upon hearing this, Old Man Bai sighed. "You don't know, some of our university textbooks were written in the last century. Not that they're bad, they were written by great scholars. But now people realize, huh? It seems they can be written better, and some new knowledge hasn't been updated."

"So you're writing textbooks for Beijing University?"

Tang Lingwu's tone held a hint of reverence.

"Just one, one book." Old Man Bai waved his hand, appearing very humble. "It's not an important book or anything, they're just in a hurry, and I, I really don't have time!"

Seeing that he didn't seem to be bragging, Zheng Fa felt a bit of newfound respect for the old man.

"So, it's not that I'm giving up on martial arts, it's just that I don't have time," Old Man Bai explained again. "When I think about those students still learning outdated textbooks, hungry and thirsty for knowledge, I'm burning with anxiety! I can't even sleep!"

Hearing this, Tang Lingwu glanced at Zheng Fa, a hint of worry in her eyes.

As expected, Old Man Bai continued to say to Zheng Fa, "Little Zheng, if you have any questions in the future, come to my house on the weekend, and I'll spend an hour or two explaining them to you. As for topology and such, you won't need it for now. It's fine to learn it after the college entrance exam."

Tang Lingwu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she seemed unsure how to phrase it.

Zheng Fa nodded, but he didn't blame Old Man Bai in his heart.

Zheng Fa had truly enjoyed Old Man Bai's private tutoring for a while. Although he hadn't even started university mathematics like topology, he was confident that he had gained a lot of insight into the knowledge points for the college entrance exam mathematics.

As for Old Man Bai... he had been practicing the Crane Pine Stance for a while, and truly hadn't achieved anything.

In fact, he was the one who had benefited.

As for Old Man Bai's current change, on one hand, it was definitely due to the lack of positive feedback from practicing martial arts.

On the other hand, Zheng Fa was indeed learning slowly.

Disciples choose their masters, and masters also choose their disciples. This was even more prevalent in the Xuanwei Realm.

Old Man Bai had taught the cream of the crop at Beijing University, so it was natural for him to be somewhat disdainful of Zheng Fa's learning progress.

Moreover, he wasn't without good intentions. In his opinion, Zheng Fa's main task now was the college entrance exam, and he shouldn't be learning topology with him.

Zheng Fa actually felt a little grateful: Old Man Bai letting him come over on weekends to ask for advice was a sign of great personal regard, especially since he had no demands on Zheng Fa now.

Seeing him nod with a normal expression, Tang Lingwu let out a soft sigh. Then, as if she had discovered something, her gaze fixed on Zheng Fa's face, her expression one of great confusion.

"Why are you staring at Zheng Fa like that?" Seeing her unwavering gaze, Old Man Bai immediately got agitated and said sternly.

"He... his appearance seems to have changed?"

Old Man Bai squinted and looked Zheng Fa up and down, but didn't seem to notice anything. "He hasn't changed, one nose, two eyes."

"Your eyesight is failing, of course you can't see clearly." Tang Lingwu ignored him completely, staring intently at Zheng Fa's face. "Zheng Fa, what skincare products have you been using lately?"

Zheng Fa knew that Tang Lingwu had noticed the changes in him after mastering the Crane Body Technique.

"Recently, I've made some progress in my martial arts."

He explained to Tang Lingwu.

"Martial arts!" Tang Lingwu's small mouth opened, seemingly surprised that Zheng Fa had given her such an answer.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought..." Tang Lingwu glanced at Old Man Bai, who was looking for his reading glasses, "you were just fooling Grandpa Bai before."

Old Man Bai, wearing his reading glasses, leaned close to Zheng Fa and examined him meticulously, as if conducting research.

"Can you see any changes?" Tang Lingwu asked.

"No!" Old Man Bai replied.

"Then why are you staring for so long?"

"I don't know what he looked like before, how can I see any changes?" Old Man Bai said righteously. "I'm not like you young girls, staring at boys all day!"

"..."

"So, you're saying you mastered a martial art, and then your skin got better?"

Tang Lingwu, as if she hadn't heard the old man, asked Zheng Fa curiously.

"Yes, one morning I woke up, and it felt like I'd shed a layer of skin."

"Then the longevity thing you mentioned before, is that true too?" Tang Lingwu's eyes shone brighter than ever.

"Of course it's true, did you think I was lying to you?" Zheng Fa asked her back, then turned to look at Old Man Bai beside him, "You thought I was lying to you too, old sir?"

The two of them nodded in unison.

"Then why are you still practicing?"

"It's just... I was bored in retirement, practicing for fun."

Old Man Bai chuckled sheepishly.

"It's truly amazing..." Tang Lingwu extended a finger, as if to poke Zheng Fa's face, then stopped herself.

"What? Is this the impression I make on you two?"

Zheng Fa was a little dejected.

Were these two just playing house with me before?

"It's just that there are too many scammers on short video platforms."

Both of them smiled sheepishly at Zheng Fa.

"You believe me now?"

"Believe, believe, believe!" Old Man Bai and the other nodded frantically, staring at Zheng Fa's face.

After a moment, Old Man Bai's expression became a bit contorted. "Little Zheng... I want to learn martial arts again."

"You want to learn again?"

"Yes!"

"But aren't you quite busy, old sir?"

"Busy with what? Not busy at all! As an old has-been in retirement, who cares about me anymore?"

"Weren't you going to write a book?"

"I can write it slowly."

Zheng Fa slowly shook his head, "That won't do. Your students are waiting to be fed every day."

"Let them wait, they won't starve to death!" Old Man Bai didn't care at all. "What am I, not some great mathematician. Do I really think I'm all that? My book, even wiping my backside with it would be too stiff. It's not important, not important at all."

Zheng Fa couldn't stand looking at his fawning old face anymore and turned to Tang Lingwu.

Tang Lingwu used a finger to push an unopened milk tea to Zheng Fa.

"?"

"I want to learn too." Tang Lingwu's eyes held a passion rarely seen on her. "I'll buy you milk tea from now on."