Chapter 158: The Gu Master Who Cultivated the Young Hero
It was the spring of the tenth year of Hongjia, and Qi He kowtowed to his parents in front of their grave.
After getting up, he carefully held the corner of the clothes of the strange boy he met for the second time and called him in a low voice: "Master."
Lin Zhi held his hand in his palm, smiled softly and said, "I don't plan to be your master."
The child's body stiffened, and his hands were still cold even though they were wrapped in the boy's warm palms. He didn't say anything.
"You are not suitable for raising Gu, and I can't teach you, but I will let others teach you, and I will let you learn a lot."
Lin Zhi said it calmly and confidently.
The art of witchcraft is not passed on to outsiders, and it requires talent and hard work. Not everyone in the village knows how to do it, and it is even less likely to be passed on to outsiders. Moreover, Qi He's situation is not suitable for becoming a witch doctor.
From the moment he finished reading the information, Lin Zhi decided to let him take another path.
"You can call me brother."
This body is seventeen years old, and Qi He is eight years old. There is a nine-year age difference between them, which is not enough for them to call each other uncle or godfather.
Despite this, Qi He still insisted on using the original name.
"You are my master."
It turned out that this man was a Gu Master. Although his father was not good at martial arts, he liked the things in the martial arts world very much. When he talked to him about Gu teaching, Qi He thought of his father, and his gray eyes became even dimmer.
The title of "brother" made him feel very uneasy. This person could have many younger brothers at any time. He might be so enthusiastic to take others away in the future, or he might just be in a momentary mood and forget about him forever.
The relationship between a master and his apprentice is different. People in the martial arts world attach particular importance to the bond between them.
Qi He pursed his lips which had lost some of their color and turned pale. He had already come this far, he couldn't lose this life-saving straw.
Lin Zhi smiled and didn't care what Qi He called him.
The night was deep and the dew was heavy, chilling people's bones.
Qi He heard his laughter, wrapped in the new clothes that Lin Zhi had given him, and felt the warmth.
Lin Zhi looked at the child who was being led by him obediently and asked him nothing, "Aren't you afraid if I don't ask you where I will take you?"
He thought Qi He would shake his head, because Qi He looked very strong, and the pain from the poison was not just a tickle. Not long after he left the Qi family that day, he heard the news that something had happened to the young master of the Qi family. A child who could make a decision in such a short time and endure the pain would definitely not easily expose his vulnerability.
However, Qi He nodded, raised his head and whispered, "Scared."
"I was afraid that Master would not come to pick me up. I was afraid that I was deceived. I was afraid that Grandpa would wake up and hear the news and think that I was dead too."
Qi He's lifeless eyes were still clearly black and white. Even though he couldn't focus, he still looked in Lin Zhi's direction based on his feeling.
"But there's no use being afraid. I will try my best not to be a burden to Master."
Even when expressing his fear, there was no panic on the child's face. He tried his best to appear calm, but he was only eight years old after all, and his ability to conceal his emotion was not good enough, and he still revealed his uneasiness.
He is too well-behaved and sensible, full of precocity that is tempered by the vicissitudes of life. In the subtle details, he reveals his hope and prayer not to be abandoned, which makes people feel sorry for him.
Such a child would make people feel pity even if he were a stranger, not to mention that this was the childhood version of Lover's Fragments. The emotions in Lin Zhi's eyes became softer.
He pinched Qi He's fair face and said, "You won't be a burden to me."
He stroked the boy's hair, his voice gentle but cold: "Don't worry, those who do bad things will pay with blood."
Qi He didn't know what his master looked like, but at this moment the vague outline in his mind became clearer, like a beautiful flower that actually contained poisonous thorns. Qi He was not afraid, and even felt strangely at ease.
A solitary moon hung high in the sky, and the falling light lengthened the shadows of the master and disciple.
There was a curfew in the city, and Lin Zhi had no plans to take Qi He out of the city at night.
He had already booked a room in another inn. When he was about to reach the door of the inn, Lin Zhi squatted in front of Qi He and picked him up.
An eight-year-old child is already very heavy, so Lin Zhi doesn't have any difficulty holding him.
Qi He was frightened by Lin Zhi's sudden action and was a little at a loss.
He has grown up and his father doesn't hold him anymore. Only his grandfather would occasionally pick him up to check his weight. He felt very uncomfortable being suddenly held by his master, who was still a stranger to him.
"Lower your head and pretend to be asleep. Don't let the people here notice the abnormality of your eyes."
Lin Zhi whispered in his ear that although most of those martial arts people had left, some of them still stayed in the city, and the mastermind behind the Qi family incident might have left some people here.
Qi He understood his master's intention and tried to relax his body, burying his head in Lin Zhi's shoulder to avoid being seen by others.
Lin Zhi carried the child into the inn. At night, the waiter was the only one dozing off in the inn. When the waiter saw that the guest had paid the room fee, was generous and had a very good appearance, he greeted him. When he heard that the guest asked for hot water, he happily ran errands.
"Take a hot bath and change clothes. We will set off tomorrow."
After Lin Zhi entered the room, she put Qi He down and talked about tomorrow's plans.
Qi He sat on the bed properly and nodded obediently, still not asking where he was going.
Lin Zhi took the initiative to inform: "Let's go to Wucheng."
Qi He's eyes were somewhat confused: "Wuhu City?"
Qi He had read the geography book and knew that starting from Chunyi, Miaojiang and Wucheng were two different directions.
"I have a private matter to attend to."
Lin Zhi narrowed her eyes. On the day Qi He faked his death, Wang Gu lost the ability to sense the mind-controlling Gu.
There are only two possibilities: the mind-controlling insect is dead, or it has already parasitized the human body.
So many people from the martial arts world gathered in Chunyi because of the Qi family's affairs. Those who need the mind-controlling Gu may take this opportunity to act, or they may be concerned about the Qi family's affairs, but we cannot draw a direct conclusion.
Lin Zhi didn't plan to let it go. Even if the mind-controlling Gu could not be recovered, he had to find out the whole story.
The traitor who stole the mind-controlling Gu was also an expert in raising Gu in the village. The Gu master who raised the Gu worms had a different body from ordinary people.
Lin Zhi used the poisonous insect to find the traitor's trail, but he did not go directly to the door to alert the enemy. Besides, he was still worried about Qi He, so he left something on the traitor to facilitate tracking.
The traitor had left Chunyi alone four days ago. Lin Zhi followed her to Wucheng and then returned. In the remaining days, he went to Jiuyuan Escort Agency to withdraw some silver in advance.
This is Madam Qi's private property, and it is the property that Qi He should inherit.
Lin Zhi brought enough silver with him this time, and he did not do this for daily expenses.
To survive in the martial arts world, one needs to rely on kung fu and money. Miao has always been a reclusive people and does not have many contact points in the Central Plains. In order to avenge Qi He in the future, Lin Zhi's businessman nature is also at work. He is used to making preparations in advance, and everything requires start-up capital.
Lin Zhi did not hide this matter from Qi He and explained the reason to him.
Qi He was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
After hesitating for a while, he told Lin Zhi the location of the Jiuyuan Escort Agency's accounting office.
"My family's account book was placed in my father's study by my mother. If Master finds it, he can see the profits that my mother deserves and take the money according to that amount. I don't have the ability to take it back for the time being, and I am already a dead man. Master, you don't have to explain to me if you take part of it. What's mine is Master's."
Qi He unconsciously grabbed the corner of his clothes and wrinkled the edge.
"It's not a good thing to trust people so much."
Lin Zhi leaned forward, her voice filled with pleasure.
He was happy not because of Qi He's flattery, but because he felt that Qi He's personality was very interesting. Although he was young, his words were very precise and thoughtful.
His words "take money according to profit" have different meanings to people with different personalities.
It can be said as 'don't take more than you want' or 'don't take less than you want'.
Qi He shook his head and said, "I won't trust others easily, but Master is not someone else."
He didn't know where Lin Zhi was, so he could only look for directions hesitantly, feeling very dependent.
There was a knock on the guest room door, and two waiters came to bring water.
When there was a knock on the door, Qi He fell down facing the wall and pretended to be asleep. After the guys left, Lin Zhi bolted the door, and Qi He sat up from the bed.
"Take a hot bath before going to bed. Do you want me to help you undress?"
Lin Zhi took Qi He behind the screen and asked with his arms folded.
Qi He shook his head repeatedly, and a slight blush appeared on his pale face due to embarrassment.
Even though he couldn't see, he could still dress and undress himself.
But he was not very familiar with the layout of the inn. After groping for a while, he still called out "Master" in a low voice.
Lin Zhi put him in the water. The wooden barrel was big and still a little deep for a child, so Qi He stood by holding the edge.
After losing his sight, Qi He's other senses magnified many times, especially his hearing, so he could hear the sound of cloth rubbing against each other and squeezed the edge of the barrel even harder.
Qi He was not used to bathing with others, but he had no right to refuse, and he still needed his master's help.
The water temperature in the wooden barrel was relatively high, but Qi He felt that the body temperature of the unfamiliar adult behind him made him more resistant.
Lin Zhi saw Qi He's tense look, but he didn't mind. He didn't like sharing bath water with others, even with children, but the person in front of him was an exception.
He helped Qi He wash his hair first. Feeling the child's body gradually relax, he used a towel to wash his back, and let the child do the rest by himself.
Lin Zhi ordered two buckets of hot water. After washing once, she took the child to the second bucket to soak again.
The hot water dispelled the musty smell and coldness in the coffin. Feeling the presence of the master behind him, Qi He lowered his head, and his thick, long eyelashes trembled slightly.
"How did the doctor diagnose your eyes?"
Although Lin Zhi knew that Qi He's eyes were a symbol of his soul fragment condition and that he would only get better if his heart was completely healed, no one knew this except him. It would be very strange if he ignored Qi He's eyes and did not seek a solution.
“They couldn’t find a reason.”
Qi He still remembered the warm feeling of his grandfather's blood splattering on his eyelids. When he woke up again, he couldn't see.
This made his situation worse. Qi He wanted to see desperately, but the doctors could not find the cause of his illness. Some even said that it might be that his grandfather's blood contained toxins or internal force that caused him to go blind.
Qi He knew that his grandfather had been half crazy because of the death of his uncle's family. When he was sober, he loved him very much and treated him very well. This time he suffered such a great shock and his internal injuries were even more serious. Qi He was unwilling to put the responsibility of his eyes on his grandfather, and did not want his master to say bad things about his grandfather, so he simply did not mention it.
"Master, will my eyes remain blind forever?"
Qi He looked up at Lin Zhi, his voice filled with uneasiness.
The dim candlelight illuminated his young face, and panic was hidden in his gray eyes.
The young boy held Lin Zhi's wrist, as if wanting to get strength, or an answer, from him.
Or rather, it is some kind of promise.
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