Before coming, when he heard that Zhu Sheng needed to find an instructor, Chen Miao had wondered who Zhu Sheng's instructor would be.
When he had advanced to Second-Grade Apprentice, his instructor had been Ma Jie, who had only recently died.
Would Zhu Sheng's instructor this time be Ying Xiu?
Things turned out exactly as Chen Miao had suspected. Ying Xiu was dead and had been made into a paper effigy.
Chen Miao felt a chill.
He did not know what to make of the Paper Effigy Shop owner's hobby.
But he did not understand why the owner wanted him to see all this.
A warning?
Or was there some other meaning behind it?
Chen Miao glanced at Zhu Sheng beside him, whose face was just as pale, and calmed down.
It seemed Zhu Sheng knew Cao Xiu too. In that case, at least Chen Miao knew this was not directed solely at him.
"Concentrate on Bone Binding!"
Ma Jie's voice rang out, and Chen Miao immediately refocused on the bamboo splints in his hands.
The afternoon quickly passed.
Chen Miao did all the binding that afternoon. Ma Jie never stepped in to instruct him.
Then, just as Chen Miao was about to leave, Ma Jie said, "You don't need to come anymore. You can perform Bone Binding now."
After a moment of surprise, Chen Miao thanked Ma Jie.
If he disregarded that face, nothing this instructor had done had been out of line.
As Chen Miao left, Zhu Sheng was also saying goodbye to Ying Xiu.
The two walked out of the instructors' courtyard together.
After a long silence along the way, Zhu Sheng finally spoke.
"Brother Chen, did-did you see that just now?"
"See what?"
Chen Miao spoke without expression.
"Ying Xiu, my instructor, is Cao Xiu!"
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