Chapter 139: Become a Disciple
"Brother Xiao, Miss Xiao Qing has come to visit us. I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me!" Zuo Le saw Xiao Wenchen and his daughter from afar, and hurriedly strode towards them, bowed and greeted them with a smile on his face.
"Haha, Brother Zuo, that's too polite! We are neighbors next door now, and we will definitely visit each other more often in the future." Xiao Wenchen said with a smile and bowed.
After the Xiao family seized the Xu Family Castle, to everyone's surprise, the one who became the lord of the Xiao Family Castle was not Xiao Wenlang, the second son of the Xiao family who had a large family and many guest officials and generals under him, but Xiao Wenchen, the fourth son of the Xiao family with the weakest influence.
Also moving into Xujiabao were clan elder Xiao Zhengan and members of his branch of the clan.
However, Xiao Zhengan did not care about the affairs in the fort. He mainly served as a martial artist to deter others.
"Haha, Brother Xiao is right, exactly." Zuo Le said with a smile.
After Zuo Le finished speaking, it was naturally Lu Jiancang who stepped forward to say hello, and then it was Lu Taiqiang and Qin Ziling's turn.
Xiao Qing's original status in the Xiao family was no less than that of the second-generation legitimate son, but later he was injured and his strength was lost, so his status declined significantly.
But even so, Xiao Qing controls a lot of industries on her own. Some time ago, her personal maid Xia Yan broke through and became a powerful martial artist. Her status and position are so high that even a third-generation descendant like Lu Taiqiang cannot be compared with her. Even Lu Jiancang would not dare to treat her as a junior when he saw her.
So, logically speaking, Xiao Qing should have walked with Zuo Le and the others, but unexpectedly, she deliberately lagged behind a few steps and walked with Lu Taiqiang and Qin Ziling.
Seeing that the goddess in his heart actually lagged behind a few steps and walked with him, Lu Taiqiang's face turned red and his heart beat especially happily.
Could it be that Master Lu is about to have great luck? First, Master Zuo and Senior Brother Zheng made breakthroughs one after another, and then the beautiful lady Xiao Qing also looked at me differently?
Qin Ziling glanced at Lu Taiqiang and mourned for him in his heart.
Since ancient times, love has only left regrets, and this regret will last forever!
Xiao Qing certainly didn't come for Lu Taiqiang. In fact, she didn't come for Zuo Le either. Instead, she came because Zuo Le was Qin Ziling's master.
The purpose is to get familiar with the person first, so that it will be convenient to communicate with him in the future, and it will also be convenient to help him in the future without appearing too abrupt.
However, Xiao Qing did not expect that Qin Ziling would be present today, so he suddenly came up with an idea and deliberately lowered his status and fell behind a few steps.
"Speaking of which, I have heard of Brother Qin's name for a long time!" Xiao Qing took the initiative to say to Qin Ziling as he walked.
"Qin is just a nobody. How can I be worthy of Miss Xiao Qing's great name? I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it!" Qin Ziling pretended to be flattered when he heard it.
Seeing Qin Ziling was flattered almost couldn't help laughing. Fortunately, she remembered that Lu Taiqiang was right beside her, and there were Zuo Le and others in front of her. She forced herself to hold back her laughter and said with a serious face, "I have always respected people who value friendship. I once accidentally heard about Brother Qin saving and taking in fellow disciples, and I was filled with respect. I have long wanted to meet him in person, but I didn't expect to meet him today. Brother Qin really lived up to my expectations. He is elegant and upright, and we really hit it off at first sight!"
What the hell! Lu Taiqiang was dumbfounded when he heard this. He cursed in his heart. If he had known that saving and taking in an apprentice would attract the goddess's favor and take the initiative to make friends with her, he would have taken the initiative to save and take in Liu Xiaoqiang.
Isn't it just supporting one more person? After all, Lu Taiqiang is a member of the Lu family. Doesn't he have this little capital?
"We are all from the same sect, so it is our duty. However, my act was just for the money. Miss Xiao Qing and I, in the face of danger, disregarded our lives and stayed to share life and death with the guards, and fought against the evil cult criminals together. That is truly admirable!" Qin Ziling looked at Xiao Qing's serious face and had to cooperate with the performance.
"It's all in the past, there's nothing to say." Xiao Qing waved his hand modestly, and then quickly changed the subject, saying, "I see that Brother Qin has an elegant temperament and good conversation. Has he ever been educated ?"
"Miss Xiao Qing has a keen eye and she did read some books when she was young." Qin Ziling complimented seriously.
Xiao Qing's beautiful eyes lit up when she heard that, and she started talking to Qin Ziling about poetry and prose, and the more they talked, the more they got along.
Lu Taiqiang, who was standing by, watched his goddess and Qin Ziling getting more and more interested in each other's conversation. He wanted to interrupt several times, but he was so anxious that he was like an ant on a hot pan because he had little knowledge. Fortunately, Qin Ziling still took his senior brother's feelings into consideration and sometimes took the initiative to turn the topic to him.
For Qin Ziling's sake, Xiao Qing took the initiative to chat with Lu Taiqiang perfunctorily, which made him so excited that he became incoherent.
After entering the main hall, the host and the guest took their seats. Lu Jiancang, who was older than Xiao Wenchen, sat above him.
After sitting down, Xiao Wenchen deliberately looked at Qin Ziling a few more times.
Others may not know Xiao Qing's true strength and character, but he, as a father, knows it very clearly. Since his daughter looks at Qin Ziling differently, he naturally has to pay more attention to her.
However, the flow of energy and blood in Qin Ziling's body was faint and weak. With Xiao Wenchen's eyesight as a martial artist, he knew that his strength was very ordinary after just a few glances. Not to mention condensing his strength, it was hard to say whether he could cultivate to the level of iron skin in this lifetime. So he no longer paid much attention to him.
He didn't think his daughter would fall in love with such a man.
When Xiao Wenchen secretly looked at Qin Ziling a few more times, Zuo Le also looked at Xiao Qing a few more times, thinking: "No wonder outsiders say that Xiao Qing is amazing. Even if she has lost her strength, she can still thrive and have a relatively high reputation among the three generations of aristocratic families. Just based on her ability to look at Ziling differently, she is not comparable to those aristocratic family children."
Lu Jiancang and Xiao Wenchen came here just to win over Zuo Le, the newly promoted Hua Jin martial artist, under the pretext of congratulations. The three of them exchanged pleasantries in the main hall, drank some tea, had some snacks, and then got up to say goodbye after they had understood each other's intentions.
During this period, Xiao Qing took the opportunity to discuss some possible business cooperation with Zuo Le, laying the groundwork for frequent contacts in the future.
"Brother Ziling!" Qin Ziling followed Zuo Le to see off the guests and just returned to the inner courtyard of the main house when he saw Zuo Cong running towards him with excitement on his face.
Qin Ziling felt warm in his heart when he saw this. When Zuo Cong ran to him, he stretched out his hands and lifted him up. Zuo Cong then laughed happily.
"Zi Ling, it seems Cong'er and you are really destined to be together. Sometimes I only go back once every one or two months, but I've never seen him so excited and happy." Zuo Le said sourly upon seeing this.
"How can it be the same? You always have a stern face and look like a strict father. Even if Cong'er wants to get close to you, he doesn't dare!"
A woman came up next, wearing a light green silk shirt, about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a regular appearance and elegant temperament. She looked like a weak woman from a scholarly family and spoke to Zuo Le with a reproachful look on her face.
This woman was Zuo Le’s wife, Xu Jingfang.
Zuo Le was obsessed with martial arts and was relatively restrained when it came to women. In addition, he particularly loved Xu, who was well-educated, well-mannered and had a gentle temperament, so after marrying her, he did not add any more wives or concubines.
"Greetings, Master's Wife!" When Qin Ziling saw Xu coming, he quickly put Zuo Cong down and bowed to greet her.
"Zuo Le has already told me about your situation. You don't have to bow like this when there are no outsiders around." When Xu saw Qin Ziling bowing to her, she hurriedly bowed slightly in return and said.
"You are the elder. No matter if there are outsiders or not, as long as it is not official business, you should still be polite." Qin Ziling said with a smile.
Qin Ziling was not surprised by Xu's words.
Xu is Zuo Le's wife and Zuo Cong's mother. He will also teach Zuo Cong the art of breathing and refining Qi next. There are some things that he cannot avoid without Xu's help.
Hearing this, Xu's lips moved, and she wanted to say something polite, but Zuo Le had already smiled and said, "Okay, Jingfang, Ziling is just that kind of person. Otherwise, at my age, I wouldn't be willing to follow him."
"Dad, Mom, what are you talking about? Why don't I understand?" Zuo Cong raised his head and looked at his parents in confusion with his dark eyes.
"You'll understand soon." Zuo Le patted his son's head, then said, "Come to my study."
"Cong'er, kneel down and kowtow to your master!" After entering the study, Zuo Le pointed at Qin Ziling and said to Zuo Cong with a serious expression.
"Brother Ziling will be my master?" Zuo Cong became more and more confused.
"Master Zuo, it's nice that Zuo Cong calls me brother. I'm also missing a younger brother." Qin Ziling said.
"No, Zi Ling, you can't do whatever you want. The Qi Refining Method is so precious and important. Many people beg to become a disciple of a Qi Refining Master, but they are not accepted, even if they have money.
How can Cong'er deserve to be taught the way of Qi Refining by you so easily? He must go through the ceremony of becoming your disciple. It's just that this matter should not be made public, so I'm keeping it simple." Zuo Le said seriously.
"The way of refining Qi? Dad, are you talking about the way of refining Qi used by immortal sorcerers?" Zuo Cong's eyes widened when he heard this.
He had been weak since childhood, and Zuo Le had taken him to visit some famous Taoist temples in Fangqiao County, and even specially hosted a Qigong master from Guan Gou Mansion for him. However, the former was just a name, and the latter was arrogant and was not willing to teach him the way of Qigong.
So although Zuo Cong was young, he knew the way of refining Qi very early on, and he also knew that the real way of refining Qi was kept secret and it was difficult for ordinary people to learn it.
"That's right. By chance, your brother Ziling was able to learn the secret method of refining Qi. This is his secret, and it was supposed to be kept absolutely confidential. But he took pity on your frail body, so he revealed the secret to your father and decided to teach you the method of refining Qi and breathing, so that you can use it to nourish your Qi and body and grow up healthily. This is a great favor and a great blessing for you, so why don't you quickly do the ceremony of becoming his disciple!" Zuo Le nodded in response.
As soon as Zuo Le finished speaking, Zuo Cong bent his knees, fell to the ground with a plop, and kowtowed to Qin Ziling repeatedly. His pink forehead even got red and swollen because of kowtows too hard.
