The Matter of Becoming a Master

"What kind of skill is that?"

Han Jinkai stared blankly at the teacup, while the others eagerly looked at it.

"This is also part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, belonging to a relatively secret lineage. Zhuyou Technique!"

Su Ziyang gave a brief explanation.

"He's truly a miraculous doctor! I'd heard of Zhuyou Technique before, but I've actually witnessed it firsthand today. Come, I propose we toast Doctor Su!"

"Yes, yes, from now on our lives will depend entirely on Doctor Su's protection. Hahaha!"

"Old maid, a toast to your master!"

"Brothers, stop fooling around. You're making me feel terrible."

After a lively half-day, as everyone was leaving, Song Li put his arm around Su Ziyang and mysteriously said that he would ask Su Ziyang to perform the apprenticeship ceremony in a couple of days, which Su Ziyang declined several times.

After returning home, Fairy Li sat cross-legged on the sofa and started typing on her laptop.

You're back?

Su Ziyang changed his shoes and nodded.

"Don't move, stand still!"

Fairy Li put down her notebook, jumped down barefoot, walked to Su Ziyang's side, and sniffed him with her little nose.

"What are you sniffing about? You're like a little puppy."

Su Ziyang pinched Fairy Li's face with both hands and rubbed it.

"Let me smell if it smells of cosmetics! Hmm. You pass. Go take a shower."

Fairy Li pushed Su Ziyang away and threw Su Ziyang a nightgown.

After washing up, Su Ziyang sat on the sofa and leaned on Fairy Li's shoulder. "Can I tell you something?"

Fairy Li pinched Su Ziyang's cheek. "Go away, you little brat. I'm busy! I'll play with you when I'm done."

Fairy Li looked at a floor plan and scribbled something down.

"Oh dear, this is very important! Listen to me!"

Su Ziyang lingered beside Fairy Li, saying, "I took on a new apprentice today."

"Oh." Fairy Li kept staring at the screen, then the next second, Fairy Li almost threw the laptop away. "Huh??? What did you say?"

"I... I know I was wrong, but we were having dinner, and the atmosphere was right, so I agreed."

Su Ziyang sat cross-legged and said.

"Hahaha, I'm going to be my master's wife!" Fairy Li covered her mouth and chuckled. "Stop! Don't try to get close to me. Go report to your master! He'll beat you to death!"

"Look at you! I asked you for advice, and you're making fun of me!"

Su Ziyang leaned back on the sofa and started to act spoiled.

"Tch, what a jerk. With your shameless attitude, you call yourself a teacher? So vain! Have your two teachers come over for dinner tomorrow. Just tell them!"

Fairy Li patted Su Ziyang's leg. "Alright, I'll play with you after I'm done."

"I'm going to practice my exercises."

Su Ziyang felt that thinking about it here was pointless, so he simply went to practice his martial arts on the side.

The next morning, after dinner, Su Ziyang hesitantly called Mr. Mengfei, saying he had something to discuss and asked him to come over for lunch.

"What's going on? Why are you being so secretive!"

Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng looked at the six dishes and one soup prepared by Fairy Li, but neither dared to touch their chopsticks. They stared at Su Ziyang and asked.

"Master, I have something to tell you both. Make it clear, you mustn't get angry."

Su Ziyang chuckled and put food on Mr. Mengfei's and Yang Tianzheng's plates.

Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng exchanged a glance and shook their heads. "If you do it this way, we might not dare to eat this meal."

"Take a bite, and I'll tell you what to do next."

While secretly chuckling, Fairy Li served soup to the group.

"Oh dear, this is wonderful news! You two are going to be advisors. And I, this young lady, am very honored to be the advisor's wife!"

Seeing that Su Ziyang was hesitant and embarrassed to speak, Fairy Li Su Ziyang spoke for him.

"Huh???" Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng exclaimed in unison, a rare occurrence.

"Master, you..."

Su Ziyang grinned, showing his teeth as he looked at Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng.

"Tell me, what's your name? Boy or girl? How old are you?"

Su Ziyang had always thought that Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng would be angry, but to his surprise, the two were quite calm.

"Ah, you two aren't angry, are you? I know I'm not qualified yet. I'll decline for now, saying I'll wait four years until the girl is 14. She's the child of a friend of mine, who is also a patient..."

Su Ziyang quickly rattled off a whole bunch of things.

"Don't be angry, you can teach us. But we can't let you tarnish our reputations. So, we'll give you special training starting tomorrow, for a period of four years!"

Mr. Mengfei took a bite of the shredded pork with garlic sauce cooked by Fairy Li, shoveled some rice into his mouth, and said very calmly. Yang Tianzheng didn't say anything, picked up his rice bowl, and started eating as well.

Su Ziyang frowned as he looked at his two masters' calm exteriors. He had a feeling that things weren't so simple, and gently tugged at Fairy Li's sleeve. "Fairy, save me!"

"Ah! What do you mean, 'save you'? I'm currently basking in the joy of becoming a teacher's wife, why are you frowning!"

Fairy Li brought Su Ziyang a bowl of soup and sat down to eat her meal happily.

The dining table was eerily quiet. Su Ziyang looked down, glancing upwards as he ate, his eyes fixed on the three people eating in silence.

"Alright. We're full. Let's go, girls, you two should rest for a while."

Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng simultaneously put down their chopsticks, got up, and walked towards the door. As they reached the door, Mr. Mengfei suddenly turned back to Su Ziyang, who was holding a bowl of rice, and said, "Ah, the special training starts tomorrow. See you later."

"Zijun, beauty, fairy, what do they mean by that?" Su Ziyang couldn't even swallow his food when he saw that the two of them had really left.

"What does that mean? It just means you should study hard and strive to reach a level where you don't mislead others. That's all, relax!"

Fairy Li patted Su Ziyang's shoulder in a very relaxed manner, indicating that Su Ziyang was alright.

But the calmer things seemed, the more uneasy Su Ziyang became.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't be qualified to take on apprentices, and he should be severely reprimanded for this. But the opposite happened, which is quite perplexing.

Even when he was meditating that evening, Su Ziyang was still confused and anxiously kept pestering Fairy Li to talk to him.

"Susu, the client needs my plan tomorrow. If you cause any more trouble, I'll spank you."

Fairy Li hugged Su Ziyang 'Su Ziyang head, pinched his ear, and said with a smile.

"Cut."

Su Ziyang put on his slippers and went back to his meditation cushion.

Su Ziyang, who usually maintains a calm state of mind, was unable to calm down tonight and could only sit on the futon in a daze.

What kind of special training is it?

Why aren't they angry?

"Zijun, why?"

"Stop talking, go copy the scriptures over there." Fairy Li glanced at the computer and pointed at Su Ziyang.

"Why!"

Su Ziyang sighed, got up from the futon, sat at the desk, and picked up a brush to copy the Scripture of Clarity and Stillness.