After three glasses of wine, Blind Liu, as Ding Youtian had said, began to speak incoherently, seemingly drunken, but he remained so as he drank more. It seemed impossible to get any more information out of him.
Jian Ning's alcohol tolerance wasn't bad either. If Blind Liu was the Wine Saint, then Grandma Wu was the Wine Immortal. She was Grandma Wu's apprentice, and she also had the Spirit Spring Water to sober up. In terms of drinking, Blind Liu probably couldn't compete with her.
But it was difficult for Jane Ning to trick him into talking, and with the three Ma brothers arriving, she had to give up temporarily.
The three brothers of the Ma family came over, one to bring her a message, telling her that Chang had agreed, and the other to listen to her tell the story of Journey to the West.
Jian Ning continued to tell the story, while Ding Youtian wrote it. After two episodes, Jian Ning stopped. The four children were put to bed, and the Ma brothers also went home. Blind Liu was also enjoying a drink while listening to the story. Even after the story, he had no intention of leaving, and began to talk nonsense about stories from Journey to the West.
Jian Ning and Ding Youtian were weaving straw mats, chatting away intermittently, but Jian Ning's nerves were slowly rising. Ding Youtian's supposed "Blind Liu" was talking about all sorts of things, all over the place. Jian Ning translated Ding Youtian's story into 21st-century language: there were countless planets in the universe, and every living thing would go to another planet after death. Each planet had a protective barrier, so no matter how advanced the technology of other planets was, they couldn't detect the creatures on other planets.
That's roughly what he meant.
While Ding Youtian was in the toilet, Jian Ning pretended to be casual and asked, "Is it possible that after a person from Zhongyuan Continent died, their soul went to another Zhongyuan Continent, but instead of being reborn, they directly returned to another body?"
She originally wanted to say that she would still have the memories of her original body after being reincarnated, but she was afraid that this would expose herself, so she held back and lowered her eyelids to prevent Blind Liu from seeing her facial expression.
Blind Liu didn't look at Jian Ning after hearing this. Instead, he gently swirled the wine in his bowl and said in a shocking tone, "Of course there are. It is said that there are masters who can tear through the barrier and come and go freely."
Jian Ning suppressed his heartbeat and said with a smile, "Could Uncle Liu be such a master?"
When she asked this question, she thought of her mentor, Grandma Wu. A few days before she was about to report to the special police team, Grandma Wu wore the burial clothes she had prepared, handed her an empty urn, and said that her time had come. She asked her to hold a funeral for her, and then disappeared into her personal space and disappeared from her life forever.
She really hoped that Grandma Wu was the master that Blind Liu had mentioned, and that she had torn through space to go to another planet, preferably the continent where she was now, so that they, the master and disciple, might be able to meet again.
But is it possible?
She felt that it was impossible and could only think about it but not take it seriously. Tearing space apart didn't sound very reliable.
Blind Liu chuckled and said, "I, the old blind man, only heard it from hearsay. I don't have that kind of ability. If I had that, why would I stay in this remote place? I would have torn through the barrier and wandered around."
Even if he wasn't a master, Jian Ning felt that Blind Liu was still a remarkable man, and a learned one at that. Thinking of the fact that he had once read Ding Youtian's fortune, she had an idea: why not let Ding Youtian become his disciple?
"Uncle Liu, you're a lonely man, and even after a hundred years, you won't even have anyone in mourning. Why don't you just adopt Dabao's father as your adopted son?"
"My nephew's wife, you are too cruel. Are you trying to squeeze this old bone out of me? The four percent profit from partnership has become two percent. If you adopt me as your adopted son, I'm afraid there will be no profit at all."
"No, no." He shook his head repeatedly.
"Then become my apprentice." Jian Ning said with a giggle.
"Learn to read bones and read faces, or to learn storytelling? Is he cut out for that? Aside from those two, the old blind man can't do anything else."
Before today, Jian Ning thought Blind Liu was just a quack, but now she didn't think so. How could an ordinary person say something like "tear the barrier"? She couldn't even imagine it.
In short, what Blind Liu said tonight gave her the impression that he was a remarkable man with great ambitions and a broad mind. Since he said that Ding Youtian could become the prime minister by taking the imperial examination, she would let him take the imperial examination again when he made money. This was also for the sake of the four little ones. He couldn't stay in the mountains forever.
"Who do you think is the right material?" Ding Youtian came back from the toilet, heard a few words, and asked as soon as he entered the room.
"I'm talking about you," Blind Liu said, "Your wife wants you to become the old blind man's apprentice, but you're not cut out for bone reading, physiognomy, or storytelling. That's what the old blind man said."
He had a proud look on his face, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"
Ding Youtian smiled and said, "Your words don't count, but if you don't want any profit at all, I might consider becoming your disciple and reluctantly learning from you, as long as you're not afraid that I'll take your job in the future."
Blind Liu put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, picked up the bamboo sticks and prepared to leave.
When he passed by Ding Youtian, he took out a bamboo stick and hit Ding Youtian on the head three times.
At three o'clock in the morning, Ding Youtian knocked on the door of Liu Xiazi's house. Without saying a word, he pushed the golden mountain and overturned the jade pillar, and kowtowed to Liu Xiazi three times.
Blind Liu was wearing a long robe and sitting upright on a wenge wood armchair. At this moment, there was no trace of the usual joking look on the two of them.
Ding Youtian stood up and poured half a cup of tea for Blind Liu, respectfully presented it with both hands, calling him "mentor" with a very proper attitude.
Blind Liu took the tea and put it on the table.
Ding Youtian poured a second cup and took a sip; then he drank the third cup completely.
At this point, the ceremony is over.
Ding Youtian's greatest wish was to become Liu Xiazi's apprentice. He even deliberately failed the Tongsheng exam for three consecutive years in order to force Liu Xiazi to accept him as his apprentice. However, Liu Xiazi still refused to give in, arguing that he was lazy by nature and did not want to mislead the students.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
