Chapter 99 World Three [13]
As the sound of firecrackers continued to ring outside, the new year quietly arrived.
Jing Ke took out the red envelope he had prepared long ago from his pocket and handed it to his little apprentice who was still holding the oil-paper umbrella in a daze.
"Happy New Year, little disciple. This is the New Year's money your master gives you." Jing Ke said with a smile.
"Thank you, thank you, Master." Luo Yuezhu reached out to take it. When her fingertips felt the warmth of the red envelope, she couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat and inexplicably wanted to cry.
"Okay, go to bed early. On the first day of the new year, your master will allow you to be a little lazy, but Chenshi is the latest time to get up." Jing Ke gently pinched the little apprentice's red nose.
"Master, it's a new year. Can I make a small request?" Luo Yuezhu asked, tightening her grip on the red envelope.
"Sure, go ahead," Jing Ke agreed readily. As their master, she had to do her best to satisfy her apprentice's first request of the new year.
"Master, can I, can I sleep with you, just tonight, tonight?" Luo Yuezhu said. She wasn't sure if her request was too much.
Except for last year when she slept alone, Luo Yuezhu has slept with her family every New Year's Eve. When she was young, she slept with her mother, and when she grew up, she slept with her elder sister.
It is said that if you sleep with your significant other on the first day of the new year, you can stay with her for the entire year.
Last year I wasn’t with my mother or my elder sister, so they couldn’t be with me for the whole year.
If I can’t sleep with my master on New Year’s Eve this year, will he leave me because of some accident?
"Okay, but I don't know if I snore when I sleep. If I disturb you, you can't dislike your master." Jing Ke agreed very straightforwardly.
Sleeping with a ten-year-old boy for a night wasn't something Jing Ke would find difficult. If she wasn't worried about her little apprentice's reluctance, Jing Ke would even be willing to let her little apprentice sleep with her every night.
Of course, Jing Ke had no other intentions. She just felt that such a close distance would make it easier for her to protect her little disciple.
Jing Ke was just joking when he said he snored. After letting his disciple lie down after washing up, Jing Ke lay on the outside of the bed and considerately pressed down the quilt.
"Good night, little disciple." Jing Ke said.
"Good night, Master." Luo Yuezhu said.
Luo Yuezhu was a little nervous as it was her first time sharing a bed with her master, but she felt more of an indescribable sense of security.
The master is lying next to her. She is not alone. She is the master's bond, and the master is also her bond.
As she was thinking, Luo Yuezhu, who always had a healthy sleep schedule, slowly fell asleep.
Perhaps it was a habit she had developed before, but not long after Luo Yuezhu fell asleep, she took the initiative to approach Jing Ke, and did not stop until she held her arms in her arms.
Jing Ke vaguely sensed the inner uneasiness of his little disciple, but he did not pull his hand away. He just let his arm be held and slowly fell into a dream.
-
New year, new atmosphere. After starting to learn the internal skills, the cheerful little disciple reappeared.
Jing Ke's teaching method is very simple. He first asks his apprentice to memorize an entire book of internal energy techniques. After the apprentice can recite it backwards, he destroys the techniques he has written down.
"Relax your body. I will guide the internal force in your body to flow through your meridians. Feel it carefully and then write down the specific route." Jing Ke said.
Then, under the pretext of teaching, he began to inject his internal energy into his little disciple's meridians in small amounts, and then taught her step by step how to refine and control it, turning it into the little disciple's own internal energy.
In this way, the new year began with a brand new teaching model.
The neighbors all knew what had happened to Mr. Luo's family, so they did not come in groups to pay New Year's greetings. They just sent their housekeeper to deliver some gifts to express their thoughts and maintain good neighborly relations.
In a blink of an eye, it is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, an equally lively day.
Luo Yuezhu, who had been practicing for half a month, was given a night off at this special time. Accompanied by his master, he went to see the lantern festival.
"Master, what do you think of this mask?" Luo Yuezhu seemed to be infected by the happy faces of the people on the street, and the smile on her face became more obvious.
"Hmm? This is a tiger?" Jing Ke raised an eyebrow. "My little disciple, do you think I, your master, am like a tiger and very fierce?"
"Of course not, Master, have you forgotten? Your zodiac sign is the tiger." Luo Yuezhu blinked innocently, "I just wanted to choose a mask that matches your zodiac sign."
Jing Ke smiled, accepting the statement. While taking the tiger mask, he also picked up the pig mask.
"I'm a tiger, so are you a pig?" Jing Ke asked, handing the mask to Luo Yuezhu.
Luo Yuezhu was not angry when she saw it. She took the mask happily and put it on her face. "Yes, I am Xiaozhu. After putting on the mask, I become lazy and stupid. Master must keep an eye on me, otherwise I might get lost."
Jing Ke couldn't help but rub his little apprentice's head, "Okay, I will take good care of you, my little piggy apprentice."
In order to prevent his little apprentice from getting lost, Jing Ke held his little apprentice's hand after he finished speaking, and they walked shoulder to shoulder through the crowd.
After being squeezed together by the crowd, Jing Ke suddenly realized that the little disciple seemed to have grown a little taller. If the little disciple was only 1.4 meters tall when they first met, then now the little disciple is almost 1.43 meters tall.
The little apprentice has grown taller. If he exercises every day, maybe he can become 1.8 meters tall like himself.
Jing Ke sighed in her heart and couldn't help but put herself in the perspective of her elders.
Growing a carrot that was not even as tall as your shoulders to the same height as you makes me feel a sense of accomplishment just thinking about it!
-
The most distinctive feature of the Lantern Festival is the lantern riddle guessing activity. There are many ways to guess lantern riddles. Some require you to recite poems and compose couplets, while others are knowledge quizzes that mix legends and customs.
The former is a blind spot in the knowledge of the master and the apprentice. None of them can compete with a group of talented scholars in the level of couplets, so they can only settle for the second best and directly use money to buy the lanterns they like.
As they continued walking hand in hand, an acrobatic troupe appeared in the sight of the master and disciple.
Jing Ke was not very interested in these little acrobatics, but when he saw the little apprentice wearing a pig mask couldn't help but stop and watch, he also chose to stop and stand around to watch.
Everyone in the circus knows some kung fu, especially those who perform stone-breaking chest movements, who practice hard qigong. If this technique is mastered to the extreme, one can become truly invulnerable to swords and guns.
The little disciple watched very seriously, and judging from her movements as if she wanted to clap her hands, she seemed quite satisfied.
When someone came to ask for a tip, Jing Ke generously threw a piece of silver to the other person, which not only made the acrobatic troupe members' eyes light up, but also made them say a series of auspicious words to the two of them.
However, the people in the acrobatic troupe seemed to have mistaken the identities of Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu, and sent them blessings as a pair of sisters.
The flaws outweighed the merits, and Jing Ke was very satisfied with the nice and auspicious words. Before leaving, he threw a piece of silver in their direction as a final reward.
Feng'an City actually has a curfew. According to relevant laws and regulations, people are not allowed to go out starting from the hour of Hai.
However, this curfew can only restrain ordinary people, and cannot restrain those martial artists with outstanding martial arts skills.
In addition, on days like New Year's Eve, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Lantern Festival, the curfew will be temporarily lifted to facilitate people to go out and celebrate the New Year and enjoy the festive atmosphere.
As time passed, the once bustling streets gradually became deserted.
Around midnight, the only people left on the streets were some small vendors who were still packing up their things, and those who came with their servants.
Jing Ke and Luo Yuezhu were each holding a lantern in their hands. The masks they were originally wearing had long been put away and taken away by Xiaomu, who had gone back to prepare hot water.
"Do you want to walk around a bit longer or go back?" Jing Ke stopped and asked after reaching the lake.
"Master, it's getting late, let's go back." Luo Yuezhu said as he glanced at the lake.
The lake seemed quite lively, with many flower boats and pleasure boats sailing on the lake, and the music inside could be heard a little by standing by the lake.
"Okay, do you want to walk back, or do you want me, your master, to take you back?" Jing Ke asked.
"Master, how are you going to take me back?" Luo Yuezhu withdrew his attention from the pleasure boat and looked up at his master.
"I can carry you on my back or hold you in my arms. It doesn't matter." Jing Ke smiled and handed the lantern to the young apprentice. "You have some internal strength now. You can try to learn Qinggong."
"Is it flying over eaves and walls?" Luo Yuezhu's eyes lit up and she quickly took the lantern.
"Not only that, you can even walk on water without leaving any traces." Jing Ke opened her arms. "Do you want me to hold you in my arms or carry you on my back?"
Luo Yuezhu blinked, and thinking that she would soon be eleven years old, she subconsciously straightened her back, "Master, I am not a child anymore, you can just carry me on your back."
"Okay, then you come up." Jing Ke withdrew his hand, turned his back to his little disciple and slightly bent his knees.
Luo Yuezhu was also not vague. After holding two lanterns in one hand, she lay on her master's back and put her free hand around her master's neck.
How much weight could a child under eleven years old have? If it weren't for the arm around his neck, Jing Ke would have felt like he had nothing on his back.
As a master, you occasionally need to demonstrate your strength in front of your apprentice.
So even though the other side of the lake was not the correct direction to go home, Jing Ke still carried his little apprentice on his back to show him what it meant to walk on water without leaving any trace.
Is it really possible to step on the water without leaving any trace?
Luo Yuezhu had never seen this in real life, so when her master carried her across the lake, she subconsciously looked back.
The moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was very round and bright, so Luo Yuezhu could clearly see whether there were any ripples on the lake.
No, my master's lightness skill seemed to be even more powerful than the one described in the storybooks, where he could walk on snow without leaving any trace. He didn't leave any trace on the water surface.
To a certain extent, walking on water without leaving any trace can represent the highest level of Qinggong, which means that the person can approach most existence silently.
The moonlight was bright, so the figures passing by on the lake were particularly obvious.
Jing Ke, who always liked to wear dark clothes, was fine and could basically blend in with the night. But Luo Yuezhu, dressed in a plain white robe, stood out. At least everyone whose eyes were on the lake at the time noticed her presence.
"He walks on water without leaving any trace. I didn't expect that there is such a master hidden in Feng'an City." A female knight in green clothes couldn't help but say.
"There are many things you haven't thought of." Another lazy voice came over. Yin Honglian was seen lying opposite the female knight in green very wantonly, allowing the singing girls sitting around to peel grapes for her and feed her.
"Do you know her?" asked the female knight in green, frowning subconsciously.
"Come on, Ye Wenxin, there's no need for you to pretend in front of me. I don't believe you don't know who the person who just passed by is. As the head of the Suzaku Hall, you were sent to this small place just for her, right?" Yin Honglian said with a smile.
Although Yin Honglian's internal energy was sealed by Ye Wenxin's blood, she was still unbridled, as if she was sure that the other party would not do anything to her.
Ye Wenxin didn't respond, but she retracted her gaze from the window and fell on Yin Honglian.
"I have brought you to the pleasure boat for a trip as you asked. Can you give me Junior Brother Yu's antidote as agreed?" Ye Wenxin asked.
"This is just my first request. Didn't I say it before? You must agree to my three requests." Yin Honglian said lazily.
"Okay, then may I ask what your second request is, Left Protector?" Ye Wenxin asked patiently.
"Hehe, my request is not excessive. Miss Ye, just accompany me to Fengming Tower tomorrow. I have a good relationship with the courtesan there. I want you to spend a night with me in Fengming Tower."
Taking advantage of the fact that the other party needed her help, Yin Honglian was not polite at all when she made her request. "By the way, you still need to pay for all the expenses tomorrow."
"Just one night?" Ye Wenxin asked.
"Yes, just one night." Yin Honglian nodded. She deliberately made this request just to see how Ye Wenxin, who claimed to be righteous, would react.
"Okay, I agree to your second request. I hope you, Left Protector, remember what I just said. After I agree to your three requests, you must give me the corresponding antidote." Ye Wenxin emphasized.
"Okay, although I am a member of the Demon Cult, I am still a trustworthy person. I will never go back on my word once I have promised." Yin Honglian said with a smile.
"But I must remind Ms. Ye that helping me unlock the Xue Dao is not a requirement, but a prerequisite for the completion of the transaction." Yin Honglian said.
Ye Wen nodded in his heart. Since he could use the acupoints to seal the opponent's internal energy once, he could also seal it a second time.
If Yin Honglian didn't run away immediately after the Xue Dao was untied, and died in his hands again, then he could only blame her bad luck, not his failure to keep his promise.
-
It felt really good to fly all the way home, and it would have been even better if I hadn’t almost fallen down after landing.
Luo Yuezhu realized that her lower body was not stable enough, so she returned to her room at a very fast speed, and secretly made up her mind that from tomorrow she would continue to do horse stance with weights to strengthen her lower body!
After a short night of relaxation, Luo Yuezhu immersed herself in martial arts again starting from the 16th day of the first lunar month, and almost forgot about looking at the account book.
However, it doesn’t matter whether Luo Yuezhu looks at the account book or not now. The ten shopkeepers in Feng’an City all know that Jing Ke is a very powerful master.
As long as Jing Ke stayed in the Luo family and stayed by Luo Yuezhu's side, they, as ordinary people, would not dare to tamper with the account books, let alone do anything to make the store their own.
When Luo Yuezhu realized this, it was already February 3rd, the day she turned eleven.
Ten shopkeepers arrived early to deliver gifts, congratulating their young master on turning one year old. Five shopkeepers who had bought a shop outside Feng'an City for 90% of the price also set out early in the morning and delivered the gifts by noon.
Luo Yuezhu had never dared to imagine such treatment before. It was only when she was complimented that she realized it in a daze.
Half a year seemed to have brought about a qualitative transformation in her. She was no longer the orphan who was easily bullied in the eyes of most people.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
