Turning pale at the mention of books
Water born from Heaven?
For some reason, this image kept flashing through her mind. Then came a verse: "The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without striving. It dwells in places that others disdain, thus it is close to the Way. In dwelling, it chooses the right place; in heart, it chooses the deep; in giving, it chooses benevolence; in speech, it chooses trustworthiness; in governance, it chooses good order; in affairs, it chooses competence; in action, it chooses the right time. Because it does not strive, it is without fault."
A clear and gentle voice seemed to rise from somewhere deep within the heart, accompanied by the innocent singing of a little girl.
The 'master' before her, Wan Qiqing, was dressed in white, elegant and refined, yet he seemed not to be the person she remembered.
Wan Qiqing did not lose patience and said, "This is Yong, the Yong in 'Yongweiyihao' (meaning 'forever good'). Look closely, its shape is different from the character 'shui' (water)."
He patiently guided her, holding her wrist, and said, "Let's write this character."
Wan Qiqing's wrist was extremely steady as he guided her with the brush, the strokes rising and falling, the pauses and turns clearly defined. After she finished writing, he said softly, "Brushwork is like swordsmanship; the direction, the power, and the rhythm are all different. With your talent, I believe you can do it well. Write one yourself and slowly get a feel for it."
A-Qiu awkwardly held the pen, as if holding an unsuitable sword, giving rise to a strange feeling that was both bewildering and unfamiliar.
What happened to the person who taught her the character for "water"? Where did he go?
She realized for the first time that there might be gaps and breaks in her memories of the past.
The master's handwriting was probably excellent, but she had a subtle resistance to all the habits and details of his brushwork that he taught her, and this was not something she did intentionally.
It's more like, if someone has learned how to use a tool before, and then suddenly changes course and teaches them to use it in a completely new way, the old habits will always subtly persist and create a subtle resistance.
This is especially evident in martial artists like her who excel at learning through physical ability. This is because the body develops precise memories of every movement of the extremities.
Even the slightest bit of unfamiliarity would make her feel lost and disoriented.
With Wan Qiqing's encouraging gaze, she awkwardly picked up her pen and drew a large "永" character as before.
Wan Qiqing had great confidence in her, but the moment he saw the word she had written, his expression changed instantly, and the paper he was holding seemed to tremble slightly.
Looking back now, it's quite strange that my master, who is usually so calm and composed, could lose his composure so much just from writing such an ugly character.
She knew she probably had no talent for calligraphy, but Lanling Hall had never been known for its calligraphy, and her master certainly had no intention of having his disciple establish a school of calligraphy. For a disciple of the All-Union Assassins, wasn't writing poorly just a trivial matter?
Wan Qiqing's face was ashen. Even after the great changes that occurred in the hall, A Qiu had never seen him look so bad.
He turned his head and shouted sharply, "Shut up!"
The eldest disciple, Gongyi Xiu, who was serving in the outer hall, immediately ran in. After walking to the two of them, he bowed and said, "Master." He then bowed to A Qiu in a gentle manner and said, "Junior Sister."
Wan Qiqing shouted, "From now on, you will be in charge of teaching her books, calligraphy, and writing!" After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.
Only the two disciples in the hall remained, staring at each other blankly.
Gongyi Xiu had never seen his master so angry. He had already caught a glimpse of the piece of Xuan paper that had been thrown on the table out of the corner of his eye. He picked it up and glanced at it, but he didn't understand why. He just frowned in confusion.
A-Qiu asked blankly, "Is my handwriting really that bad?"
She had just returned from the snowy plains and knew nothing of human relationships or social customs, nor did she have any concept of her senior brother's status in Lanling Hall, so she didn't even use honorifics.
Gongyi Xiu already knew about her situation, and besides, he was an approachable and kind person, so he didn't mind. He said carefully, "For your first time writing, it's actually quite good."
He then asked, "I don't know why Master is so angry. Could it be that you spoke to him in a way that offended him?"
A-Qiu shook his head, dumbfounded.
Seeing her like this, Gongyi Xiu didn't think she would say anything that would anger her master. So he decided to say, "Perhaps he had too high expectations of you, and after taking a look, he found that you... don't have much talent in this area. He loves you so much that he's very strict with you. But it's okay, I'll teach you in the future. After practicing for a few months, you'll definitely get better. Then you can show it to your master, and you'll surely surprise him."
The first word that Gongyi Xiu taught her was still the character "永" (yong).
Gongyi Xiu's writing of the character "永" is handsome and elegant, seemingly romantic and unrestrained, yet it is actually subtle and incisive, just like the man himself.
He patiently explained, “The first lesson we Lanling Hall disciples learn to write is this character. This is because within this one character, eight brushstroke techniques are implicitly contained: lateral stroke, rein stroke, crossbow stroke, flick stroke, slash stroke, glimpse stroke, pecking stroke, and slash stroke. It is exquisite and complete. If you can write this character well, other characters will not be difficult.”
Upon hearing this, A-Qiu asked, "Do other people in the world do this too? Do they have to write this character?" It wasn't that she had any prejudice against this character; it was just that she was a child, and if she couldn't write this character well, she wanted to write another one.
Gongyi Xiu did not grow up in Lanling Hall from a young age. He was originally a young master from a prominent family in the north. He was already thirteen years old when he came to Lanling Hall, so his first character was not learned to be written in Lanling Hall.
He shook his head and said, "As far as I know, that's not the case. Most people start learning from one, two, three. But my master said that starting with the character '永' (yong) is a secret passed down by calligraphers of the Southern Dynasties. Although it's difficult to get started this way, progress is rapid." He shook his head and laughed, "I've practiced it and I think this secret method is indeed brilliant, but hehe, due to my limited aptitude, no matter how brilliant the method is, I reckon my achievements in this area will be limited."
Gongyi Xiu was the foremost disciple, exceptionally quick-witted, knowledgeable, and eloquent. Since he said that even he himself hadn't found the method useful, and considering that she herself barely knew many characters, A-Qiu said dejectedly, "Then, Senior Brother, why don't you start teaching me from one, two, three?"
Gongyi Xiu immediately covered her mouth with his hand, looked around warily, and then whispered, "Don't let Master hear this, or he will scold you for being short-sighted and having a low level of vision from the start."
A Qiu was dumbfounded, unaware that her master, as the head of the Assassin's Guild, was so devoted to calligraphy. She thought to herself that since her master valued calligraphy so much, he might as well open a private school.
Gongyi Xiu, seeing his expression, knew what he meant and said with a smile, "Lanling disciples must start learning calligraphy with the character '永' (yong), this is the hall rule. I cannot violate it. However," he whispered in A Qiu's ear, "I can teach you a few things in private, but you must keep the paper you've written on safe and don't let the master see it, otherwise we will both be punished."
...
Although Gongyi Xiu had promised Aqiu that as long as he practiced diligently with his senior brother, he would surely be able to give Master Wanqiqing a surprise in a few months.
Although Gongyi Xiu had promised that if it was too difficult to start practicing from the character "永" (yong), he could teach him step by step privately from the character "一" (yi), one horizontal stroke and one vertical stroke, to build a foundation step by step. After all, he himself did not start practicing from the character "永" (yong) back then, and he writes it quite well now, at least worthy of the name of a romantic and talented man.
But as it turns out, Gongyi Xiu's promise was just that—a promise, no different from the promises he made to courtesans and socialites when he grew up.
Master Wanqiqing was as valiant as a celestial dragon, unrestrained and wild, acting as he pleased.
In other words, he has little patience for stupid people.
This is why he immediately changed color upon seeing the character "永" written by A Qiu, and promptly decided to hand over all her cultural subjects to his eldest disciple, Gongyi Xiu.
Wan Qiqing had an exceptional eye for talent. Just as he knew A Qiu was a martial arts prodigy at first sight, he could also tell from just one word that his disciple would likely be semi-illiterate in the future.
He himself was a genius, and had absolutely no interest in the kind of work that involved getting a stubborn rock to nod or grinding an iron pestle into a needle.
Among the disciples of Lanling Hall, Gongyi Xiu was most similar to his master Wanqi Qing. Not only was his demeanor outstanding, but his every move was also unrestrained and elegant.
This also means that Gongyi Xiu has no patience for the things that Master Wanqiqing is impatient to do.
On the first day, Gongyi Xiu, with the demeanor of a senior disciple, kindly and patiently accompanied A Qiu, practicing "Yong" and "Yi" for an entire afternoon.
The next day, he yawned and told A Qiu to continue practicing "Yong" and "Yi" on his own, because he said that he hadn't written them well enough.
From the third day onwards, Gongyi Xiu disappeared without a trace. When A Qiu went to look for him, he was either loosening the soil for his famous flowers in Qixiang Garden, teaching his junior brothers to play chess in Yiyantang, or waiting for the dishes in the kitchen—although waiting for the dishes to be served was something that the senior brother of Lanling Hall did not need to do personally.
After A Qiu wrote "永" and "一" for ten days in a row, she finally cornered her senior brother outside the outhouse, holding up a piece of paper and asking him when he could teach her to write "二".
Gongyi Xiu glanced at her densely written characters on the paper, as if he had just remembered the task his master had given him. He praised her repeatedly without saying a word, and said, "Junior sister, you are truly a rare talent in calligraphy. In my humble opinion, with your current progress, you don't need me to teach you anymore. You can go to Songxue Hall to find various calligraphic works and practice copying them on your own. After a while, with your diligence and talent, you will surely be able to develop your own style."
Encouraged by Gongyi Xiu, A Qiu was full of confidence and immediately went to Songxue Hall to search. Wan Qiqing's bookshelf had a great many famous calligraphic works and books, as well as many treatises on calligraphy from various dynasties. She studied them like a martial artist, practicing and imitating them, exploring regular script, cursive script, running script, and clerical script, and blending them together in a unified whole. The final result was astonishingly unique.
However, her calligraphy learning journey lasted only a few months. After a few months, she could recognize and write almost all the characters, and her master began to give her various assassination missions and the secrets of the Divine Weapon Hall. She had been focused on planning assassinations and managing the Divine Weapon Hall for years, and had forgotten that she had a calligraphy graduation surprise to present to her master.
It was obvious that not only she had forgotten this matter, but also her senior brother and master.
Much later, Wan Qiqing received a note from A Qiu at Songxue Hall, a message from afar saying that everything was accomplished. The shock that note brought him at the time was even greater than the perfectly sealed head in the wooden box that was attached to the letter.
This matter was later relayed to A Qiu by Gongyi Xiu. The eldest brother found her, hesitated for a long time, and finally suggested that if A Qiu wanted to send letters in the future, she should find a scribe in the local area, and the content did not need to be detailed, just a brief mention would suffice.
A-Qiu said dismissively, "I'm not illiterate, why can't I write it myself?"
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