I Come to Teach You Cultivation-Chapter 231 - 1: As If a Lifetime Ago (1/3)

Lu Huaijin is Li Boyang's disciple.

She's also one of the very few mountain folk who can directly interact with the Mountain God Granny.

With these two auras around her, Lu Huaijin is not just famous in Mountain Village.

Even outside the village, plenty of mountain folk know this seemingly mature little girl.

Clearly only four or five years old, she always wears a contemplative look on her face, acting like a little grown-up.

But only Lu Huaijin knows in her heart—

She's not acting mature; it's just that she really can't mix with those childish kids, or even with the older boys and girls.

Some of them even started school years before her, but can't even recognize the few hundred most common characters.

Meanwhile, she can already recite the Zhouyi by heart and even has some grasp of different divination methods…

And those others are still stuck on memorizing "As Heaven moves in strength, so too should the gentleman strive unceasingly." Truly a bunch of hopeless cases.

Sometimes Lu Huaijin honestly can't figure out why her master bothers teaching those blockheads and dolts how to read and write.

To get these idiots to learn faster and better,

Not only does he keep rewriting and simplifying their textbooks over and over, but even the teaching methods get endlessly refined.

All of which means Lu Huaijin has to spend entire mornings watching the idiots slog through things she could master at a glance.

"Learning isn't just about gaining knowledge or understanding the world…"

"It's also about sharing and communicating with others, making friends who can encourage and grow alongside you."

While Lu Huaijin was spacing out the way she always does, Li Jingshu was already frowning and walking over to her.

After this year, Li Jingshu would be a full eighteen.

With the physique and manner honed by years of training, she could really intimidate the little rascals.

Sure enough, Lu Huaijin got spooked and quickly bowed her head, pretending to read earnestly.

After all, though she was said to be Li Boyang's disciple, in truth she'd barely even seen the man a handful of times.

Most of the time, she was under Li Jingshu's supervision.

And Li Jingshu was definitely not one to spoil kids.

Lu Huaijin had spent four or five years under her thumb, and hadn't missed out on any of the hardships.

"Lu, do you know why your master named you 'Huaijin'?"

When Li Jingshu asked that, not only Lu Huaijin,

but all the other kids in the class looked over with curious eyes.

Everyone here knew who Lu Huaijin was, and that she was smart; but she just didn't fit in with the others.

"Jin and Yu are types of fine jade—'jin' is a kind of precious jade, a treasure."

"So, do you understand why your master chose such a name for you?"

Lu Huaijin nodded in a hazy way, her eyes wide as if she understood something, but she still didn't really get why Li Jingshu brought it up now.

"Your intelligence surpasses everyone here, but that also means you easily attract jealousy, even malice."

"I've told you all about the story: 'An ordinary man is innocent, but holding a jade makes him guilty'…"

Here, Li Jingshu paused, leaving the next words unsaid.

Because she realized, some things are better realized for yourself than explained by others.

"Forget it, that's enough for today's lesson!"

"Go find Uncle Qi and study the breathing technique—I'll be checking on it tomorrow."

With a sweeping glance around the room, Li Jingshu's one sentence flattened the excited little ones in an instant.

"As for you?"

"I'll take you to Yunmeng Marsh later—it's time you saw Feilai Peak."

...........................

"So, Big Girl has shirked her duties again?"

Watching the kids not far off, some exercising their limbs, others working on adjusting their breath,

The old village chief just glared, and Qiwa blurted out where Li Jingshu had gone.

"That girl's almost eighteen—how can she still be so careless?"

"It's all because the 'Non-crying' Baby spoiled her too much! Now no one from ten villages around dares propose marriage to her!"

Qiwa opened his mouth, hesitating—

Honestly, it's not because she's spoiled, it's because she beat up all the guys who tried proposing before, right?

Who around here doesn't know Li Jingshu's fearsome reputation by now?

At this point, anyone still daring to come to Li Family Village to propose is either a fool or someone with ulterior motives.

"Grandpa, why don't you have a seat?"

Carefully placing a stool behind the old chief, Qiwa was not about to get himself in trouble on purpose.

If Li Jingshu is hard to marry off, you think Qiwa is any easier?

Never mind his clumsy, honest nature—he's also got a daft old dad at home.

Now that the mountain folk's lives are so much better and easier…

Even with the village's "Son of the Mountain God" halo, few would willingly marry their daughters to Qiwa.

It's not like Li Family Village is lacking choices, so who would pick the fool's son?

"Sit, sit, sit? Sit my foot!"

Pushing seventy, but still fiery, the old chief glared at Qiwa.

"Little Eleven, five years younger than you, already has a wife and kid—but you, you big oaf, are just dawdling around!"

Qiwa didn't want to get into trouble, but the old chief still gave him a tongue-lashing.

"You could at least trick a wife back, you know!"

"But no, you always drag your daft old man out front right away."

No matter how fierce the scolding, Qiwa only grinned sheepishly and said nothing in defense.

He didn't want to trick anyone, and even less would he marry a wife who'd look down on his father—that was his bottom line.

"You fool…"

Looking at Qiwa's silly grin, the old village chief felt all his scolding was like punching a cotton ball.

Honestly, in Li Family Village these days, there are only three people he worries about: Li Boyang, Li Jingshu, and this Qiwa standing here.

And none of the three have a clue or do a thing to ease the old man's mind.

"Grandpa, I'll just dish out lunch for the kids now!"

Seeing the chief was about to get all naggy again, Qiwa quickly escaped by volunteering to hand out food.

For the villages surrounding these ten miles of mountains, sending their kids here for school,

for many, it's really for the free lunch too.

Especially in the slow farming season, these still-growing children aren't much help, but do manage to eat a lot.

"Feels like another life, really…"

Looking at the crowd of children surrounding him, the old chief couldn't help but sigh.

If this was ten years ago, he never would've dared dream of a happy life as unreal as this.

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