Chapter 53: The Responsibilities of Being a Master
The dormitories for disciples in the outer sect usually have a small courtyard with four people per room.
She had been lucky enough to visit Huo Qizhi's courtyard several times. It was extremely remote, and some areas were in shabby condition. It was better to call it a disciple dormitory than a utility room.
He lives here alone, the surrounding yards are empty, and you won't see a soul for a minute when you go out.
If you don't light up the lights at night, it will feel like a haunted house in the mountains.
But it doesn’t have any advantages. It’s naturally quieter when there are fewer people, and it’s convenient to do something.
When he came to the closed door, Tong Yan reached out and knocked. After waiting for a while, no one opened the door.
It was just dawn at this time, and although most of the disciples were still resting, Huo Qizhi must have gotten up.
Sure enough, after knocking again, footsteps sounded inside and the door opened.
Seeing that the person outside the door was Tong Yan, Huo Qizhi was a little surprised, "You're back? When did you come back?"
"Just yesterday."
"Why did you come to me so early?" Tong Yan used to get up very early in the morning, and most of the time he would come to see him in the afternoon.
I knocked on the door before midnight today. It's so unusual. There must be something wrong.
Tong Yan smiled: "There is someone who wants to live with you. Please help me take care of him."
As he said that, he pulled He Zhan forward and said, "That's him. I brought him back from this experience. His name is He Zhan."
Huo Qizhi looked at her without saying anything.
Considering that he is usually quite withdrawn and rarely interacts with others, he might be reluctant if she suddenly sends someone over.
But she knew too few people, and there was only one Huo Qi in the outer sect, so she had no choice but to look for him.
Before he could refuse, Tong Yan miserably gave in.
"I don't know anyone outside, so I can only ask you."
This time Huo Qizhi turned to look at the young man for a while, and finally nodded slightly to let them in.
Although he lives alone in this courtyard, if the sect arranges for three other people to live in it, he has no right to object.
After successfully keeping He Zhan, Tong Yan felt relieved. Worried that Huo Qizhi would still mind, he said what he had thought about before.
"He can take care of himself in life, but he just came to the sect and is not familiar with the place. I would like to trouble you to bring some with him. I will bring him food and supplies every month, so I won't ask you to worry too much."
Huo Qizhi brought the two of them to the door of a room and said, "This room doesn't leak. Let's stay here."
There was a lot of dust in the room. Huo Qizhi was busy practicing every day, so he must not have been there much.
Cleaning your house is easy, just cast a few little spells and it will be spotless.
However, all daily necessities had to be picked up by her at the Secular Affairs Hall at noon or in the evening after her practice.
She was still in a hurry to go to Luohua Palace in time for Chen Shi. After finishing these things, she should leave.
"Azhan, I'll leave first if I have something else to do. You will live here from now on. If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask Huo Qizhi.
Brother Huo, you can call him this from now on, and listen to his words. I will come to see you later."
After giving instructions to He Zhan, she turned to Huo Qizhi and said, "I'll trouble you next. I'll leave first and come back later."
The door to the courtyard was closed, blocking Tong Yan's leaving figure outside.
The young and old in the door looked at each other. Although He Zhan was young, his eyes were very sharp. It only took a few glances to tell that Huo Qizhi was not an easy person to get along with.
But this is his territory, and he must know how to keep his head down when he is new here.
He politely called, "Brother Huo."
Huo Qizhi remained silent, looked at him twice, turned around and left.
Tong Yan didn't ask him to do anything, although even if she did say it, she might not do it.
For such a big man, someone who stutters can survive. Why bother?
When Chen time was approaching, Tong Yan finally rushed back. The door of Luohua Hall was open and the master was not there.
After waiting for a while, Shang Xun's voice came from outside the hall, "Come out, I'm outside."
As soon as he went out, he saw him stepping on a sword, his clothes fluttering in the wind.
He asked, "What do you think of the sword in your hand?"
This sword was just picked up casually and used first, and it was not considered to be what I wanted.
She answered honestly, "It's all too fancy and doesn't suit me very well."
If a swordsman doesn't have a sword that suits him, he can only use nine points out of ten points at most.
Shang Xun landed, waved his hand and released a dozen various spiritual swords.
"Choose the one that suits you." As a master, he has the responsibility to find a weapon that suits him for his apprentice.
More than a dozen spiritual swords were arranged in front of him. Tong Yan looked from left to right, from right to left, but couldn't make a move.
Shang Xun raised his eyebrows, "You don't even like it?"
Then he waved his sleeves and replaced another batch.
Although the spirit sword was good, Tong Yan still didn't like it at first glance, so he thought about picking one at random.
However, Shang Xun seemed to have seen her thoughts, and threatened lightly, "There are many spiritual swords in my master's collection, so you don't have to force yourself to pick one. If you are perfunctory and choose an inappropriate spiritual sword, then in the future,
Just use green bamboo as your sword."
Qingzhu? Let’s forget it.
Bamboo is used as a weapon. Although it looks cool, it is not domineering or sassy enough.
She also didn't want to carry a bunch of bamboo with her and replace it with another one if it was damaged.
It would be very embarrassing if you change weapons in the middle of a duel.
So she said, "Master, change it."
After seeing nothing suitable, he added, "Change, master."
"No, change."
"Change."
"Change again."
Shang Xun's forehead had faint veins popping out. This had happened nineteen times.
"Master, can we change another batch?" Seeing that Shang Xun's expression was wrong, she said this with some caution.
"nature."
There was nothing wrong with the words, but she felt a little chilled down her spine.
After looking through the new batch of spirit swords in front of him, Tong Yan was silent for a while, then mustered up the courage to say: "...Master, change it to another one?"
Shang Xun turned to look at her coolly, almost seeing her covered in cold sweat. It took him a while to utter a few words, "Today, I'll practice sword practice first."
He was the majestic young master of the Demon Temple Sect, but his treasures were piled into ashes. Not one of the spiritual swords in his collection had been taken notice of by the disciples in the Foundation Establishment Stage.
What a shame!
These spiritual swords are all good products in the hands of Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator. If it weren't for the serious expression on her face, Shang Xun would have doubted whether she did it on purpose.
In fact, she can't blame Tong Yan, after all, there is a plug-in divine sword, and all weapons are like her younger brothers in front of her.
How can I be so fond of these spiritual swords?
"Oh well!"
But at this moment, Shang Xun's face was not very good. She didn't dare to say a word except for Ma Liu's promise.
Shang Xun turned his back and walked out. The sword he stepped on when he came out was still in his hand and slung behind his back.
After seeing the full picture of this spiritual sword, Tong Yan's eyes suddenly lit up and he shouted, "Wait!"
Shang Xun turned around and narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, "What's the matter?"
It seemed that if she couldn't come up with a valid reason, he would kill her.
After swallowing, she pointed to the sword in his hand and said tentatively, "Master, can I take a look at the sword in your hand?"
This one in your hand?
Shang Xun brought the sword in front of him and looked at it. The blade was neither thick nor thin, more than one foot eight inches long and one foot five inches wide. There were inscriptions engraved on the surface.
There are at least five similar swords like this in the pile I just looked at.
He casually threw the spirit sword to Tong Yan, he wanted to see what she liked in it.
She got the sword as she wished. She admired it for a moment, then slashed casually, finding it inexplicably suitable for her hand.
"Master, can I have this?" She blatantly snatched the sword from her master's hand. She was not sure whether Shang Xun would give it to him.
Shang Xun said casually: "Just take it."
He was originally looking for a sword for her. Since he took a fancy to it, he would give it to her. He does not lack this spiritual sword.
"It's not the sword you often use, master, is it?" She asked a bit hypocritically.
The sword was almost gone, so I asked if he liked it.
Shang Xun glanced at her sideways and said, "No, since you have a sword, let's go practice sword practice."
"Yes!" Tong Yan accepted the order. A new sword and a new owner must get used to each other first.
The first day of training was according to her usual habits. Shang Xun just watched from the sidelines and did not interfere.
She probably knew in her heart that this was to understand her cultivation progress and give her time to sharpen the sword.
There was a half-hour break at noon. Taking advantage of this time, she took He Zhan to apply for a disciple's badge and get some things by the way.
Then go back to your new residence and tidy up the empty room.
In the evening, Tong Yan came again to see how He Zhan was adapting. Seeing that there was no big problem, he went back to his residence to rest with confidence.
The next day, Shang Xun began to officially intervene in her practice.
The game started in regional mode, and she almost couldn't handle it.
Compared with the training plan formulated by Shang Xun, hers was simply playing house.
Daily practice will definitely exhaust the last bit of spiritual power in her body.
When I returned to my residence at midnight, I was exhausted and fell asleep. Even washing my clothes was reduced to a spell.
He Zhan, she hasn't seen him for a long time.
In the morning, it was basically her spanking time. Shang Xun had set a small goal for her, and she would achieve it if she touched his sleeve.
However, for more than half a month, Tong Yan couldn't even get close to him.
High-intensity training for many days in a row not only made her feel tired, but also made her feel more irritable.
When sparring with Shang Xun, he became increasingly out of shape.
Until today, I was eager for quick success and failed to catch a few moves, but I was injured.
"From today on, I will go to the cold pool to calm down for an hour every day!" Shang Xun strode away with a cold face.
The master was angry.
"Yes." Tong Yan received this punishment without any complaints.
First, the mentality is wrong and there is no timely and effective adjustment.
Second, the most important thing to avoid in battle is to be impatient, which she just did.
Hantan, as the name suggests, is a pool with very cold water.
The water flows down from the highest point of Luohua Peak, and the terrain halfway up the mountain is gentle, forming a natural cold pool over time.
The water in the pool is very cold, and the temperature nearby is also very low. Only some cold-resistant plants grow there.
As soon as he stepped in, the cold Tong Yan shivered. He gritted his teeth and walked deeper.
At this time, Shang Xun's voice sounded in the air, "Go to the waterfall and ride on horseback."
"It's Master." He came to the waterfall and stood up. The cold stream water hit his body. Even if he used his spiritual power to resist, his teeth couldn't help but chatter.
After taking some time to slowly adapt to the coldness, Tong Yan's eyes fell on the surface of the pool, his head unconsciously became empty, and time passed much faster.
One month passed, and Shang Xun very humanely gave her a day off to relax her nerves that had been tense for a month.
The long-lost laziness finally came back. She got up after one o'clock. After tidying up, she went out to Huo Qizhi's residence.
I saw two unexpected people on the road, Wang Jiayu and...Cao Yicheng.
Do they know each other?
The two of them were very close and looked very familiar. Even though they were too far apart, you couldn't hear what they were saying.
However, the path she wants to take is not the same as theirs, and she cannot meet them.
She kept walking and continued to move forward.
When she walked farther away, the two people over there saw her leaving behind.
Wang Jiayu said quietly: "Senior Brother Cao, didn't you tell me that she is dead?"
That day, when he saw Tong Yan being kicked into the strong wind in the desert, he really thought she would die, so he couldn't help but lied in front of Wang Jiayu to take credit.
Unexpectedly, Tong Yan came back alive and the two of them saw him at the same time.
Cao Yicheng's face turned red and white with embarrassment, and he quickly explained, trying to make up for his previous lies.
"Well, I did kick someone into the strong wind that day, but I didn't expect that the person would survive.
However, she was only able to survive at the initial stage of foundation building, but she might have been seriously injured and unable to practice or something."
It doesn't matter whether Tong Yanshou was injured or not. What's important is that Wang Jiayu doesn't think he is unreliable or incompetent.
Wang Jiayu smiled softly, "Junior sister naturally trusts senior brother, but she was a little surprised when she suddenly saw her just now, so she asked senior brother more, please don't be surprised."
When Cao Yicheng saw that Wang Jiayu believed his statement, he was determined and quickly laughed and said: "How could it be possible?"
Tong Yan knew nothing about the conversation behind him, so he came to the door of the yard, knocked on the door and called for someone.
However, no one responded for a long time, and no one was there. Where have they gone?
The shed built by Huo Qizhi was not too far away from here. Since there was no one in the house, she planned to go there to look for it.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, she came to the shed and saw a man soaking in the water.
She sat down at her usual spot, took out snacks and ate them slowly, waiting for him to come out of the water after practicing.
After waiting for more than a quarter of an hour, the water suddenly exploded, and a man slowly walked out of the water.
Tong Yan knew that this was Huo Qizhi coming out, but why was the movement a bit loud this time, like a landmine exploding in the water.
She turned her head and looked over and saw the white chests of the people by the river.
"Um?"
Why didn't this brother wear clothes and soak in the water today? He seems to have abdominal muscles?
Huo Qizhi also discovered Tong Yan only after he came up. When he met her surprised gaze, he remembered that he was not wearing any clothes, so he picked up the coat next to him and covered himself.
He put on his clothes and approached, with a thin blush on his face that was either due to luck or shyness.
"Why are you here all of a sudden?" He sat down next to him and put on his clothes before the water was dry, causing some of the clothes to stick to his skin.
His skin is very white, and he wears an ordinary gray disciple uniform, which makes him look a bit like a down-and-out young man.
"Your skin is so white!" Tong Yan kept staring at his exposed wrist and suddenly praised it in wonder.
She pushed her sleeves up a little and leaned over to compare with Huo Qizhi's wrist.
It was really white, almost a degree whiter than hers, and the big hands connected to the wrists were fair and slender, with clear joints.
Just a simple touch of the five fingers is enough to touch people's hearts.
Those who said Huo Qizhi was ugly must have never looked at these hands carefully.
Huo Qizhi felt a little confused when Tong Yan stared at his hands like this. He moved his hands uncomfortably and said after a while, "Have you seen enough? It's just a pair of hands."
"Now, why don't I notice that your hands are so beautiful?" She muttered, then looked away.
With such hands, it would be a pity not to kill pigs... No, it would be a pity not to play the piano.
After sitting upright, I asked him, "Where has A-Zhan gone? I didn't see him all the way here. Isn't he with you?"
Huo Qizhi's eyes wandered for a moment and he said coldly, "He should be attending a class to practice calligraphy."
Tong Yan nodded in understanding. He Zhan was not cared for by his father before, so he probably had no chance to read and write.
The sect has a place dedicated to teaching disciples how to read, and He Zhan's being able to go there proves that he is adapting to the sect's life.
After a while, she asked again: "Azhan, has he started practicing? He has three spiritual roots, so practicing shouldn't be difficult."
Huo Qizhi frowned slightly, would she only ask He Zhan?
"If you are so concerned, you might as well wait until he comes back at noon and ask him personally."
"Oh yes, then he didn't cause you any trouble." He had lived alone before, but she suddenly let someone in. She didn't know if it disturbed him or not.
Huo Qizhi gave Tong Yan a look and let her experience it for herself.
Then he stretched out his claws and picked up the snacks on the table.