Chapter 162: The Gu Master Who Trained the Young Hero
April 9th is Qi He's birthday.
He deliberately did not get up early that day, but lay in bed waiting for his master to wake up.
Last night, the master told him that he would personally cook a bowl of longevity noodles for him this morning.
Qi He suppressed his emotions, closed his eyes and recalled everything that had happened in the past few days.
He confirmed more than once that he had made a risky but extremely correct choice. If he had gone with the others, he would have been just an outsider in those sects. How could he have lived so comfortably and been taken care of so well?
The master treating him well does not mean caring for him in everything, or even being by his side often.
He did a lot of things by himself, such as getting up before dawn to practice martial arts and training himself against poisonous insects at night. Sometimes, when his master was too busy to be seen, he would ask Lin Tang to bring the insects to help him train.
But as long as he was with his master, Qi He felt inexplicably at ease.
He even rarely felt the anxiety and urgency brought about by hatred. The master once said that the more important the matter is, the less anxious you should be.
Not long after, Qi He heard some noise nearby.
Lin Zhi looked at Qi He who sat up rubbing his eyes, and told him to sleep more.
Qi He shook his head and said, "I've been too sleepy today. After eating the noodles made by the master, I will go to the teacher. I will come back after practicing for enough time."
Qi He's movements looked like he had just woken up, but there was no sign of sleepiness on his face, and his unfocused eyes were open, as if he had been awake for a long time.
His words and actions all showed his excitement and anticipation.
"good."
Lin Zhi neither advised nor praised his apprentice for his diligence and hard work.
He got up to wash and brush his teeth. The friction between the fabric and the quilt made a slight sound. Qi He listened to the sound and got up to get dressed.
He had already figured out the clothes here before, as his master had given him a set to wear.
The climate here is hot and humid, so people don't care about dressing neatly and exposing their skin as much as people in the Central Plains.
The top was a short shirt, and the bottom was loose and thin, revealing the waist and abdomen. Qi He wore it once, but still couldn't get used to the feeling of having her belly exposed, so she changed back to her previous style of clothes.
The master joked that the Miao people's clothes in summer would be shorter, exposing their arms and legs, which made Qi He even more embarrassed and determined to wear Central Plains clothing.
While Qi He was fetching water for cleaning, Lin Zhi lit the firewood under the small pot to boil water for cooking noodles.
Lin Zhi had not specially learned cooking and seldom cooked, but he had eaten many delicacies and had some experience, so the longevity noodles he cooked looked pretty good.
There is plenty of rain here, and after the rain you can always find a lot of edible mushrooms. Mushroom soup is the base, and it is extremely delicious with just a little salt.
There were also two small green vegetables and a poached egg in it. Lin Zhi sprinkled some chopped green onions and brought the noodles to Qi He.
Qi He carefully held the bowl, sniffed the hot steam from the noodle soup, smiled and said to Lin Zhi, "Master, you eat too."
"You're the birthday girl today, so just eat by yourself. I'll eat something else later."
Qi He nodded and lowered his head to eat noodles.
He ate with happiness and satisfaction, as if he was eating something delicious.
Lin Zhi cooked a large bowl of soup, but Qi He couldn't finish it. He reluctantly put down his chopsticks and said, "Master, keep these for me. I'll come back at noon to continue eating."
“Is it so delicious?”
Lin Zhi raised his eyebrows. He knew it wasn’t because of his amazing cooking skills, but he asked anyway.
"This is the longevity noodles that my master cooked for me. From now on, my master will be the only one who will cook noodles for me."
Qi He's voice was very soft, hiding a sense of loneliness.
"Since you know that I will cook for you on your birthday in the future, there's no need to force yourself to have this bowl. Be careful not to spit it out during martial arts practice later."
Lin Zhi looked at Qi He and saw that he was about to stuff more food in, so she held his hand.
Lin Zhi complied with her child’s wish of having a bowl of noodles on his birthday every year.
Qi He smiled again, cleaned up the dishes and went to his master.
He had already mapped the route to the village in his mind many times, so he knew what was around even if he couldn't see it.
Not long after Qi He left, Lin Zhi also went out and headed down the mountain.
Lin Zhi did not stay in the mountain often during these two months. As far as Qi He's situation was concerned, it was impossible for him to stay in seclusion in a corner. Lin Zhi had been making preparations and there was still a lot of time, enough for him to make his plans.
In the hall set up in the village at the foot of the mountain, Lin Zhi released the bird to carry the message.
The chirping of birds could be heard from time to time in the dense forest. Lin Tang was bored in the afternoon, so he took his snake to watch Qi He practice martial arts.
The snake next to her was not the flower snake that Lin Zhi caught for her two months ago. That flower snake had long been poisoned to death by the black-bellied snake next to her.
The palm wind swung by the young boy gathered the bamboo leaves together and then scattered them, which made Lin Tang wave his palms excitedly as well, but unfortunately, it was soft and nothing happened.
Lin Tang felt a little regretful and blew the flute to make the snake swim and dance.
Wu Feng was startled, fearing that the snake would bite Qi He, so he had to keep an eye on the naughty saint.
Despite the noise around him, Qi He remained unfazed and continued practicing his moves.
My grandfather once said that in order to become proficient in swordsmanship, one must swing the sword countless times. Sometimes, even if the eyes and brain do not react, the body will habitually respond. The same should be true for palm techniques.
After watching for a while, Lin Tang ran to the bamboo forest to find some insects to play with. After a while, he ran back to show the insects to Wu Feng. Then he made a wreath with straw. When he was tired of playing, he fell asleep on Wu Feng's recliner.
Looking at the two children who were only one year apart in age, Wu Feng couldn't help but admire Qi He's perseverance even more, and once again felt sorry for why Qi He was not his apprentice.
It was almost dusk when the sound of silver bells came from a small path not far from Wu Feng's home.
Qi He, who had not spoken a word the entire afternoon, stopped and looked in the direction he came from.
He wiped the sweat dripping down his chin and said confidently, "My master is here."
Lin Tang was talking to the snake with his head down. When he heard it, he stood up directly but didn't look at anyone.
She asked curiously, "How do you know it's your uncle?"
"The sound of the Master's bell is different from others."
People in the village love silver jewelry. Men, women, young and old all wear silver jewelry as daily decorations. Lin Zhi also has a string of small silver bells around her waist.
Qi He also knew that above this string of silver bells there was a small bell that did not make any sound normally. It was what Lin Zhi used to control the poisonous insect.
Lin Tang stood on tiptoe and really saw the boy coming over. He waved excitedly and shouted, "Uncle!"
She muttered, "Why don't I hear anything different?"
Isn't that the sound of all bells? All bells sound the same, nothing special.
Qi He didn't say anything, but it was different. The sound of the master's bell was softer and longer.
"You guys go back first. I have something to talk to your Uncle Wu."
Lin Zhi touched his little niece's head as a greeting. He came to see Wu Feng for something and also wanted to take Qi He home.
Lin Tang always listens to her uncle, so Qi He travels with her.
After the children left, Lin Zhi handed Wu Feng two pieces of paper.
"This is the top fifty masters ranked by Jianghu Baixiaosheng today. This is the ranking from more than ten years ago. Take a look and see which ones you still remember."
Wu Feng took a quick look and asked, "Why are you showing me this?"
"Xiao He is the child I brought back from his enemies. We don't know the identities of those people, but we can be sure that they must be from the big sects in the martial arts world. It's not a bad thing for Xiao He to know more about them."
Lin Zhi asked Wu Feng to be Qi He's first teacher not only because Wu Feng was in the Miao village, and not only because she valued Wu Feng's skills, but also his experience.
Wu Feng's ranking in the top ten that year was the result of one competition after another. The accumulation of these experiences is very important.
If he had asked this question on the first day, Wu Feng would most likely have kept silent, but now that two months have passed, Lin Zhi feels he is 90% sure.
Wu Feng looked at the two pieces of paper in his hand for a while and said, "Okay, a long time has passed. I need to think about it carefully."
While Lin Zhi and Wu Feng were talking, two children walking on the path were also talking.
Lin Tang is a person who doesn't like being boring and always likes to find topics to chat about.
"Brother Xiaohe, what kind of girl do you think my uncle would like?"
Qi He shook his head: "I don't know."
"Yesterday I saw Sister Alan handing Uncle a sachet, but Uncle refused. He also didn't want Sister Qingqing's insect powder. They were both very nice, but Uncle didn't like them."
Qi He pursed his lips slightly and asked, "Are there many people who like Master?"
"Of course! My uncle is so handsome and his witchcraft is amazing, so many people like him."
As a staunch uncle fan, Lin Tang certainly thinks that her uncle is the best man in the world.
"If Master falls in love with someone, Brother Xiaohe, you must tell me. After Ah Xi got her aunt, she braided her hair every day, made clothes for her, and cooked all kinds of delicious food. I also want to have an aunt."
Qi He didn't say anything. He had never thought about having a life with a master's wife.
Seeing that the young boy in blue clothes in front of him didn't say anything, Lin Tang couldn't help but urged: "You must tell me!"
"oh."
Qi He responded without any change in expression.
Lin Zhi met two children on the way and took them home.
Along the way, he found that Qi He was a little depressed.
When he asked, Qi He said listlessly: "Maybe I'm tired."
Lin Zhi looked at the child's thin body and asked the neighbor lady to make wild rabbit as a snack.
After Qi He finished taking a bath at night, Lin Zhi showed him his birthday present.
Qi He's expression was pleasantly surprised: "Knife?"
"It's already sharpened, be careful not to hurt yourself."
Lin Zhi knew that Qi He had not given up training in the Hengduan sword technique, but he had no sword and could only use tree branches for practice. He specially asked someone to make a light sword suitable for Qi He for him to practice.
Qi He nodded happily: "Thank you, Master!"
What kind of person would such a good master like?
Qi He didn't want to know and didn't ask.
…………
As the seasons change, the Wuzhai in the mountains and forests seems to have never changed.
Before dawn, Qi He had already opened his eyes.
There was no one around. It seemed that the master did not come back last night and stayed in the forest for another night.
Qi He skillfully cooked porridge in the pot, his movements no different from those of an ordinary person.
After he finished all these, the rooster raised by the neighbor lady started crowing.
Qi He picked up the knife and headed towards his master's house.
This was no longer the knife that his master gave him on his birthday two years ago. He had changed several knives in the past, and the blades of those knives had long since become bent or broken and could no longer be used.
Wu Feng woke up again to the sound of a knife breaking through the air and sat quietly in the room.
When Wu Feng accepted this student, he knew that he was extremely talented, but Qi He's rapid progress still shocked him.
He had spent most of his life perfecting these moves, but in just two years a kid had learned all of them. He even used a sword to develop a style of swordplay that had the spirit of the Haoran Palm.
Wu Feng laughed dully for a while, his eyes twinkling, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
He leaned against the door, looked at the boy who had grown taller, and suddenly said, "Starting tomorrow, you don't have to come again."
"Go tell your master that I have nothing left to teach you."
"Kid, remember, the one who knocked me down the mountain was He Yanghong, the leader of the ninth-generation Zuiyue Sect. Now he is ranked seventh, and his disciple is ranked twenty-third. There is still a big gap between your strength and his disciple's, but in time you will definitely have a place in the martial arts world. When you defeat his disciple, ask him if he remembers me."
Wu Feng murmured, "I guess I can't remember, but it's best if I can't remember. It's more exciting to see his apprentice beaten by the student of his defeated opponent."
"Okay, I won't forget what I promised you when we first met."
Qi He placed the knife on the ground. The blade was sharp even in the still chilly first month of the year, but he gave people an extremely quiet feeling, without any attacking power at all.
Wu Feng knew that he was talking about helping him find a successor, and said with a smile: "You are thoughtful, kid."
Wu Feng sighed: "You and your master are becoming more and more alike. You seem to be very friendly. Your master can curse people with a smile, but you can follow behind and collect the bodies with a face that says you never hurt anyone."
Qi He just smiled and didn't answer.
Wu Feng took a look and thought, wow, it looks even more like them.
When it was daybreak, Lin Zhi returned home from the woods.
He took out a clay pot that was placed in a hidden place, put the poisonous insects he found last night into the pot filled with the smell of blood, and watched several insects fighting inside.
The King Gu is the king of all Gu and is not easy to refine. Lin Su took six years to refine the King Gu, and Lin Zhi could not wait that long.
In the past two years, he has read almost all the books and conducted continuous experiments.
Half a year ago, his poisonous insect was already on par with Lin Su's King Gu, but Lin Zhi still felt it was not enough.
He went deeper into the forest, looking for more toxic poisons. With 01 as his guide, he would not get lost in the forest.
The insects in the jar were unable to determine the winner for a while, and Lin Zhi watched without blinking.
The sight of the insects entangled together would make most people feel uncomfortable, but Lin Zhi still felt that the action between them was not intense enough, so he cut his palm and let blood drip into it.
A corrosive sizzling sound came from the jar, stimulating the insects and causing the jar to vibrate slightly.
Qi He came back early today. He smelled blood before he reached the door and quickened his pace.
Lin Zhi looked at the young boy who came in and smiled, "Xiao He, I have a feeling that I can get what I want this time."
"Congratulations, Master."
Qi He's lips curled up a little more. He walked to the place where the herbs were kept in the room, sat next to his master, and carefully held his fingertips to sprinkle the medicine on him.
The bug has finally been refined. If it continues like this, the master will have to bleed a lot more.
Lin Zhi: "Why did you come back so early today?"
"The master said there is no need to go anymore."
Lin Zhi tapped the table with his fingertips: "A few days ago, he told me that you were making great progress. It's time. We will go down the mountain tomorrow. I have already found your next teacher."
"good."
Qi He responded quickly and didn't think there was anything wrong with leaving so quickly.
He had no attachment to anyone other than his master, and he would go wherever his master went.
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