The Master's Learning Was Like a High Mountain

In Ghost Valley, Verdant Green Maiden lay on a homemade lounge chair, rocking back and forth.

Hong Luan was still telling Snake Girl about the perilous scene just now. If she hadn't reacted quickly, they might have missed out on the Apprenticeship Gift!

Seeing her looking as if she expected praise, Verdant Green Maiden got up and swatted her, scolding, "Use that walnut-sized bird brain of yours and think! If you hadn't rushed out so eagerly, wouldn't they have come back with their generous gifts?"

"Mm!"

Hong Luan dodged Verdant Green Maiden's hand and blinked. "I guess so..."

Verdant Green Maiden rubbed her forehead helplessly.

"My painstakingly prepared Immortal Entrance Ceremony!"

"You ruined the whole atmosphere with that one sentence!"

Hong Luan hurriedly tried to soothe Verdant Green Maiden. "Don't get upset, don't get upset. We can just beat them until they lose their memories! Didn't you used to do that all the time? At worst, we can do it again..."

At that, Verdant Green Maiden's expression changed. She hurriedly said, "Nonsense! How can you just make up accusations and sully a snake's good name?"

"Huh?"

Hong Luan tilted her head, looking utterly confused.

Did she even have such a thing?

Pang Juan and Sun Boling prepared generous gifts, then respectfully kowtowed several times outside the valley, asking to see the Immortal. Hong Luan went ahead and snatched the gifts in her beak, drawing astonished cries from the two boys. Could a little bird like her really carry something so heavy?

What a true Immortal Bird!

Whether she was an Immortal Bird or not was beside the point. Verdant Green Maiden wasn't very satisfied with the gifts the boys had brought.

"Why is there so little meat?"

Of the Six Gifts, dried meat made up just one item, and there wasn't much of it. Though Pang Juan and Sun Boling had considered the Immortal's status and brought extra sacrificial meat, to Verdant Green Maiden, that amount was only enough for a bite or two!

She was a Snake Girl who couldn't live without meat!

Even eating fruit counted as self-cultivation for her.

"Ah... What were those two called again?" Verdant Green Maiden sighed and looked up at Hong Luan.

Hong Luan shook her head. "I didn't ask."

Verdant Green Maiden: "..."

Hong Luan made another trip and brought back their names. As soon as Verdant Green Maiden heard them, she was beside herself.

Hurry and invite them in!

Pang Juan and Sun Boling!

Watching the two boys kneeling before her and kowtowing solemnly, Verdant Green Maiden thought of how they would one day turn their weapons against each other, and couldn't help sighing.

"Immortal?"

Seeing her sigh, the two boys grew uneasy.

Verdant Green Maiden gave a light cough, her gaze settling on them. "I am Gui Gu Zi. From this day on, the two of you are my disciples! As fellow Guigu Disciples, you must look out for each other in the future. Understand?"

The two boys were overjoyed and bowed repeatedly.

"We pay our respects to Master!"

The boys beamed.

Pang Juan was older, so he became the senior disciple. But at first, Verdant Green Maiden didn't teach them anything else. She began instead with the principles of how to conduct themselves. Her outlook, thousands of years ahead of its time, left the two young men deeply shaken.

Verdant Green Maiden was a good master. While they lived in Ghost Valley, they didn't have to worry about food, clothing, housing, or travel.

Her two disciples neither visited their families nor took holidays; they stayed in Ghost Valley all year round. Seeing how energetic they were, Verdant Green Maiden handed them the task of cleaning the valley inside and out, putting them to work as Human Weed Mowers.

When winter came, Verdant Green Maiden holed up inside and hibernated, while the two of them diligently swept snow for months.

One day, after clearing away another layer of snow, Pang Juan pulled Sun Boling aside and asked in a low voice, "Junior Brother, don't you think Master is treating us like laborers?"

"Why do you think that, Senior Brother?"

Sun Boling didn't understand.

Pang Juan said in frustration, "In the year or two since we became her disciples, apart from teaching us how to conduct ourselves, Master hasn't taught us anything else! If things go on like this, when will we ever learn real skills? Master can live forever, but we can't wait that long."

Verdant Green Maiden was lazy and unhurried. Aside from eating and drinking, she seemed able to put off anything she had to do for three or five days, or even half a month.

Perhaps Banished Immortals had limitless lifespans and didn't care about the passage of time.

But they really couldn't wait!

Pang Juan wasn't blaming Verdant Green Maiden. He was just lamenting that, if things went on like this, he might not live long enough to finish his studies.

And then, how could he make a name for himself across the land?

Just as the two boys were preparing to fight for their lives to grow stronger, the Snake Girl who loved to sleep late finally climbed out of bed. Seeing her tidy up her disheveled appearance, Hong Luan, who was nearby, couldn't resist a jab. "Can't you just stop sleeping?"

At that, Verdant Green Maiden's movements suddenly froze.

A long while later, she murmured, "Because winter is hard..."

Back when she was the totem of the You Xiong Tribe, all the meat and grain went to her first.

But food was hard to find in winter, and she had a big appetite. After thinking it over, she figured she might as well hibernate, so the tribe wouldn't have to go hungry and cold setting aside food for her. That sleep had become a habit lasting more than two thousand years.

Hong Luan was silent for a long while, then said, "I've already prepared food for you."

One of Snake Girl's famous sayings was: whether you were sick, injured, hungry, or dying, you had to eat.

Once you were full, there was hope!

Verdant Green Maiden summoned Pang Juan and Sun Boling. Under the clear-eyed gaze of the two boys, she announced, "Starting today, I will teach the two of you Military Strategy."

The two were naturally overjoyed and bowed to thank her.

In private, Hong Luan questioned Verdant Green Maiden. "You know Military Strategy?"

"How surprising!"

Verdant Green Maiden scoffed disdainfully. "We who live forever and never die—even if we started out as pigs, wouldn't we learn everything there is to know after living all these years?"

Verdant Green Maiden had lived through the wars spanning over a thousand years, from Shang Tang's overthrow of the Xia to King Wu's campaign against Zhou.

As the saying went, long illness made a good doctor. She'd seen enough to learn!

Hong Luan, who still hadn't learned how to transform into a human, was speechless: "..."

Winter passed, spring came, and several years went by.

The boys of old had grown into men. Standing before them, Verdant Green Maiden looked more like their little sister. But the two of them would never disrespect her because of her petite frame! After studying under her for so many years, they were utterly convinced by her.

Their Master's learning was like a high mountain, like an abyssal sea—lofty beyond reach and unfathomably deep.

But when would they be considered ready to graduate?

Temple Calculation!

Yet after more than ten rounds of Temple Calculation, both senior and junior disciples had lost to Verdant Green Maiden. That only stoked their competitive spirit, and so it went, day after day.

At last, both of them managed to draw with Verdant Green Maiden in Temple Calculation.

"Congratulations. You're ready to graduate!"

At that, Sun Boling bowed and said, "Master is too kind. I still have a long way to go."

Pang Juan, however, wore a proud expression and cupped his hands toward Verdant Green Maiden. "Thank you, Master!"

The next day, Pang Juan asked Verdant Green Maiden's leave to depart.

In this Great Contention Era, the Warring States were constantly waging wars of diplomacy. It was the perfect time for him, Pang Juan, to pursue his ambitions and make a name for himself! After years of studying in Ghost Valley, he could wait no longer.

At the valley entrance, Pang Juan looked back at Sun Boling and asked, "Junior Brother, are you really not coming with me?"

Sun Boling shook his head and politely declined. "No, Senior Brother!"

"Then wait for your senior brother to carve out a place for himself out there! Junior Brother, remember to come find me after you leave the valley. I'll protect you!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

The two fellow disciples bade each other farewell at the valley entrance.

Pang Juan turned and left.

When Sun Boling returned to the valley, Verdant Green Maiden and Hong Luan were arguing over whether to eat a fruit or plant it. Seeing him come back, Verdant Green Maiden tucked the fruit away and asked, "Why didn't you leave?"