When Scribe Zhao stepped out of the tent and looked toward Wang Qi in the distance, he found the boy holding a small bowl beside a brazier, repeatedly trying to cast a spell.
The sight of such concentration was rather heartening.
But before he could react, a cool voice suddenly sounded beside him. "Did you teach him that Water-Cleansing Spell?"
Scribe Zhao turned toward the voice and saw Commandant Lin, dressed in brocade with his silver mask.
He smiled and nodded. "That's right. Earlier today, I thought he was being a little too fussy, going out of his way to climb the mountain for spring water. So I decided to give him this Water-Cleansing Spell instead of a combat technique as his reward, to teach him a lesson."
"But who knew? It seems I played right into his hands."
He did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had assumed that a youngster, once in the army camp, would surely pursue all sorts of combat techniques... Yet Wang Qi's temperament truly defied description. He was so invested in a "life skill."
Commandant Lin, however, said in a very peculiar tone, "Luckily, you only taught him something relatively safe, like the Water-Cleansing Spell... With the way he's tinkering, a slightly more dangerous spell could easily be the death of him."
Scribe Zhao was taken aback. "What happened?"
Commandant Lin pressed a hand to his forehead as though nursing a headache. "There's nothing wrong with learning a spell and practicing it repeatedly... But this boy..."
"After succeeding on his first attempt, he started trying to dispense with the incantation and cast it silently on his second."
"He's trying to run before he can even walk!"
From what Commandant Lin said, he must have come over as soon as Wang Qi began practicing... His senses really were keen.
Scribe Zhao was not surprised by that. He merely asked curiously, "That explains it. Only a spell without much destructive power, like the Water-Cleansing Spell, could stand up to this sort of tinkering... But he really is persistent. Has he been trying to cast it silently this whole time?"
Commandant Lin sighed. "If that were all, I would have gone over long ago and given him a proper scolding for reaching beyond his grasp."
"The reason I'm still standing here is that he actually succeeded after just four failures!"
Now even Scribe Zhao froze. Quickly learning the Water-Cleansing Spell, then promptly dispensing with its incantation to cast it silently, was not in itself particularly rare. Most talented spellcasters trained in the Imperial Capital or those Hidden Sects could do it.
What surprised him was that he had never expected to find a boy with a spellcaster's talent among these rustic villagers.
Learning spellcraft required a nimble mind and accumulated knowledge, so spellcaster sects preferred to train their disciples from childhood, or simply existed as aristocratic clans... Such talent was truly rare in someone who had grown up without that cultivation.
But Commandant Lin had not finished. He continued, "Then do you know what he's doing now?"
Scribe Zhao shook his head.
Commandant Lin said, "After successfully casting the spell silently, he started trying to cast it instantly!"
"Of course he failed, but after two consecutive failures this time, he gave up on instant casting and switched to what he's trying now..."
Scribe Zhao asked, "Right now, he's..."
He took a careful look at Wang Qi in the distance. The boy was holding the bowl of water in one hand while continually forming different gestures with the other... They resembled hand seals, but one glance at those contorted poses made it clear that this was another unorthodox, improvised method.
Then Scribe Zhao finished his sentence. "He's working out Hand-Seal Techniques?"
Commandant Lin said, "Exactly. After realizing he couldn't cast instantly yet, he started trying to use hand gestures instead of spoken words to cast the spell."
"This is already his eleventh attempt... The Water-Cleansing Spell consumes very little energy, but his qi really does have remarkable staying power."
At that, Scribe Zhao shook his head. Without saying anything more to Commandant Lin, he walked straight over...
Wang Qi was making his twelfth attempt. He felt he was beginning to get a vague grasp of it, but he still could not find the key... It was terribly frustrating.
Just then, however, he sensed someone come up beside him.
He quickly turned and saw that Scribe Zhao had arrived.
"Sir, what brings you here?" He hurriedly emptied the water from his bowl and hid it behind his back, then smiled in greeting.
He looked like a mischievous child caught playing by his teacher, a sight that invited laughter.
Scribe Zhao did not smile as he looked at him. Instead, he said sternly, "You can't even walk properly yet, and you're already thinking of running? Do you think an incantation is something you can discard at will? Practice properly. Don't dream of reaching heaven in a single step. Only once your foundations are solid will everything else flow naturally, like water into a channel."
Wang Qi hurriedly nodded his agreement, looking utterly meek and obedient.
Yet no one else knew what he was thinking inside. Scribe Zhao had only stepped forward to offer a word of guidance because he could not bear to see a promising seedling grow crooked... Commandant Lin probably felt the same way, but his position made it awkward for him to personally instruct an ordinary soldier.
"Now stop thinking about all this and go back to your tent to rest."
Seeing his demeanor, Scribe Zhao could not be bothered to say any more.
Wang Qi hastily took his leave, then turned and went back into the tent, apparently heading to bed...
Scribe Zhao sighed softly, then returned to the secluded corner where Commandant Lin stood...
"Why are you still lurking here?" Scribe Zhao asked, puzzled.
But Commandant Lin motioned for him to be quiet, then indicated that he should keep watching the tent...
Scribe Zhao knew this must have something to do with Wang Qi again... He could not help wondering why this little brat was so much trouble.
Sure enough, before long, they saw a corner of the tent flap quietly lift from their secluded vantage point... Wang Qi cautiously poked his head out, looked left and right, then slipped out on tiptoe.
Scribe Zhao and Commandant Lin were both speechless at the sight... This soldier was certainly clever and gifted, but that also meant he could stir up plenty of trouble!
By any ordinary measure, he was a troublemaker.
Yet they valued Wang Qi's gifts and talent too much, and for a moment, neither knew quite how to handle him... Roaming the army camp at night was a serious breach of discipline!
But Wang Qi soon dispelled their suspicions. He was not actually wandering around at night; he simply sat cross-legged in a corner beside the tent... From the look of it, he was cultivating qi.
Instead, Commandant Lin and Scribe Zhao both sighed at the sight... Wang Qi's actions had exposed a drawback to cultivating qi in the army camp: the communal sleeping quarters were not really suitable for it.
Commandant Lin lowered his head and considered for a moment. "That is a problem... Have some more tents put up later, so the new squad leaders learning to cultivate qi can sleep separately."
"We also need to start literacy classes. They don't need to learn too many characters, just enough to read the texts of their combat techniques and cultivation methods... Brother Zhao Ji, I'll need you to take care of this for me."
Scribe Zhao nodded. "All right. Have them come see me after drills tomorrow. I guarantee I'll have them memorizing the Blazing Sun Qi formula within three days."
Commandant Lin merely nodded without saying anything, though he could not help rubbing his temples with both index fingers... Listening to Wang Qi recite the Water-Cleansing Spell for so long had been quite an ordeal for him. Fortunately, it was over for the time being.
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