Volume 1 Chapter 4: Black Hair and Red Beauty
Seeing this, Lin Qing hurriedly picked up Lan'er and said, "You've been standing in the snow for so long, your shoes are wet, how can your legs bear it? Uncle Qing will carry you into the house!" Lin Qing lifted the door curtain and went into the house. Seeing that Wang Po was still mending in the dim light, he put Lan'er on the kang and said, "Auntie, why don't you rest yet?"
When Wang Po saw him come in, she smiled and said, "A few days ago, when I was skinning the prey you hunted, I cut off some unsellable scraps and made a waistcoat for you. If you don't mind, try it on and see if it fits you." As she spoke, she took out a fur waistcoat. The fur was of various colors, and it was obvious that it was made from the fur of various prey. However, the stitching was dense, and it was obvious that a lot of effort had been put into the workmanship.
Lin Qing took it silently and put it on. It fit him perfectly. He was stranded in the world, but Wang Po didn't care about the day when she threatened Lan'er with a sword. Instead, she cared for him more these days. He felt warm in his heart. He looked at Lan'er again. The cotton-padded jacket she was wearing was full of patches. He said, "Auntie... I'm not afraid of the cold, but Lan'er is still wearing a torn cotton-padded jacket. Let's give it to Lan'er."
Grandma Wang smiled and said, "This is specially made for you. Lan'er can't wear such a big dress! Since Lan'er's parents passed away, I have been getting worse every year, and I have made Lan'er suffer a lot. With your help these days, it is much better than before. Are you still afraid that you will have no clothes to wear in the future?"
Lin Qing said, "How can this little thing be compared to you saving my life..." He secretly made up his mind and said to Wang Po seriously, "If you trust me, don't let Lan'er go to the village school in the spring. I have a basic knowledge of literature and history, and I can teach him. I can also give him some advice on self-defense on weekdays."
In the martial arts world, this was tantamount to expressing his intention to accept Lan'er as his apprentice. He became famous at a young age, and his reputation in the martial arts world has not diminished for more than ten years. Although many people came to him to become his disciples that day, he felt that he was still in his prime and was always reluctant to accept apprentices and pass on his legacy too early. Sometimes, a little guidance would be grateful. He thought that Wang Po would be very happy, but he saw Wang Po's turbid eyes flickering under the light, revealing indescribable complex emotions. She slowly said, "I know you are good at martial arts, so I'm sorry to bother you. There is only one thing I need to make clear in advance. I let Lan'er go to the village school, and I didn't mean to let him seek fame and fortune. Reading is only for understanding reason and practicing martial arts is only for strengthening the body, not for fame. Therefore, since you are willing to teach him, I hope you can teach him more about the basics of being a human being. If he is stubborn by nature and doesn't like to study and practice martial arts, just let him be, and don't tempt him with fame and fortune."
Lin Qing was shocked and thought, "Other families send their children to school, and they tell them to study hard and become officials, just like us martial artists who practice hard in our youth, just to become famous overnight, but this Aunt Wang has such a clear understanding of the world." He thought of the verses that Wang Po recited and the words she taught Lan'er on the day she was rescued, which were all meaningful, and she really didn't look like a crude woman in the countryside. He looked up and saw that Wang Po was hunched over, her face was old under the light, and her hands were cracked, just an ordinary old woman.
Seeing that Wang Po was still looking at him and waiting for a reply, Lin Qing walked to the kang, took a small mattress and covered Lan'er, who was already tired and asleep, and said softly: "Don't worry, Auntie. I came from the world of fame, wealth and right and wrong. I know the pain and suffering, so how could I let Lan'er get involved in this mess again."
Wang Po sighed and said, "In that case, please follow me." Then she went to her room, and Lin Qing followed behind her without knowing what was going on. He didn't often go into Wang Po's room, and now he looked carefully and saw that it was no different from his own room, except that the north wall was covered with a large cloth, and he didn't know what was hidden inside.
Wang Po walked over and gently lifted it up from one side. Lin Qing could see that it was a row of cabinets stacked there, like a wall. Wang Po said, "Come and take a look."
Lin Qing opened the cabinet door, and a damp smell of ink and paper rushed towards him. It turned out that the cabinet was filled with rows of various books. It seemed that there were words painted on the horizontal partitions. After a closer look, he saw the words "History Books", "Military Strategy", "Medicine", "Poetry" and so on. There were so many types of books, covering all aspects. Many of them were rare books that he had never heard of or seen before. He was very surprised and turned around and said, "This is..."
Grandma Wang said, "This is what my son-in-law left behind. He loves reading and collects all kinds of books. Since you want to teach Lan'er, you can choose from here and teach him."
The two chatted for a while, then Wang Po woke Lan'er up and took her back to her room, where they each rested. Lin Qing couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, and after careful consideration, he felt that there was something unspeakably strange about Wang Po's family. He originally thought that Lan'er's father was just an ordinary farmer, but now it seems that just based on the books he collected, he was no ordinary man. It was a pity that he died early and he had no chance to see them.
Winter is about to pass, spring snow is melting, and Lan'er is very happy since he heard his grandmother say that Uncle Qing will teach him in the future. He often thinks of the heroic figure of Lin Qing when he took him hunting, and he is full of energy. Lin Qing taught well, and Lan'er was smart, so he gradually got into reading, and he was no longer as playful as he was in the village school. Compared with children of the same age, he has become much more mature and stable.
How to teach him the internal power made Lin Qing hesitate for a long time. It should be known that the practice of internal power should not be started at a too young age, because the emotional fluctuations when practicing internal power will affect the heart meridian. Firstly, teenagers are prone to extreme sorrow and joy; secondly, the meridians are not fully formed and the ability to withstand is still weak. Once affected by the outside world during practice, it is too easy to cause irreversible consequences. Now that Lan'er has learned to control his emotions a little and his actions have become much more stable, he decided to teach him with great caution.
Lin Qing has extensive knowledge of martial arts and pharmacology, and knows very well that people's meridians are different, and each has a suitable internal skill. However, most people in the martial arts world do not understand their own conditions, and blindly practice, which will only achieve half the result with twice the effort throughout their lives. Ultimately, they will not be able to become first-class masters. It is necessary to look at Lan'er's own meridians and choose a suitable internal skill that will be of great benefit.
Lan'er saw Lin Qing calling him, but she didn't know why. She only saw Uncle Qing's middle and index fingers on her wrist. She wondered in her heart, "This is how the doctors in town treat patients. Uncle Qing, are you going to treat me? But I don't feel unwell anywhere."
Lin Qing felt the pulse, but he became more and more frightened, his face was uncertain, and finally he let go of Lan'er's hand and remained silent. Lan'er saw his horrifying face and asked cautiously: "Uncle Qing, am I sick?"
Lin Qing came back to his senses, his expression slightly softened, and he said, "Lan'er, has anyone ever taught you the technique of moving the aura through the body?"
Lan'er was surprised and asked, "What kind of breath is that? Exhaling and inhaling?" Then she took a few breaths in and out.
Lin Qing said: "It's not like that. It's like flowing water. It flows along a certain route in your body and finally returns to a certain place."
Lan Er shook her head and said, "I can't feel it! Am I sick?"
Seeing that he looked serious and didn't seem to be lying, Lin Qing patted his head and said with a smile: "Lan'er is fine, he is not sick, go and play."
Seeing Lan'er walking away, Lin Qingfang frowned, and was extremely surprised. Just now, when he felt Lan'er's pulse, he only felt that there was an internal breath in the meridians flowing around Lan'er's body. Although it was weak, it had already taken shape. He just used a very small internal force to test it a little, and just as he intercepted the wandering internal breath, it was bounced away. It takes three to five years of effort to make the breath flow freely around the body as usual, but if you really have these years of effort, the internal breath should not be so weak. What puzzled Lin Qing even more was that although he only practiced the Lin family's ancestral internal strength Qianyuan Jin, he had a general understanding of the breathing methods of other sects. The breath on Lan'er's body was not similar to any of them!
Thinking that Lan'er was simple by nature and would not lie to him, if no one taught him, where would this inner force in his body come from? Lin Qing did not know how to cultivate this inner force, and judging from the situation, this inner breath was very repulsive to other inner forces. I was afraid that Lan'er would not be able to practice other inner skills in his life. If he was taught to practice other mental methods, it would be harmful to him. Then he thought again, if he did not seek to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, it would not be bad to keep this inner force in his body.
However, Lin Qing had already regarded Lan'er as his eldest disciple, so he naturally had a thought in his mind, hoping that Lan'er could surpass his master in martial arts. Now that he was blocked by this unknown internal energy, he was always worried. When he saw Wang Po, he always wanted to ask her, but he was afraid that she would worry about her grandson. Besides, she didn't care much about whether Lan'er practiced martial arts, so he kept his doubts in his heart every time. He had to move all the medical books left by Lan'er's father to his room and study hard to see if there was a solution.
Time is merciless. In a blink of an eye, Lin Qing has been in this foreign land for more than three years. A year ago, the poison in his body was completely eliminated, and his internal energy has reached a higher level. He usually reads those medical books, and with Lan'er accompanying him all the time, he doesn't feel that time is hard to bear. Seeing another pear tree in bloom, Lin Qing couldn't help but put down the book and stared at the pear tree in a daze.
Lan'er knew that he was homesick again and had been in a daze from time to time over the past year. Grandma said that although he had enemies, the thought of missing his hometown was not something he could easily get rid of. She also advised Uncle Qing several times to let him go home to visit, but he insisted on not going.
Seeing Lin Qing in a daze, Lan'er did not disturb him. She sat aside and read a book. Occasionally, she looked up and found a white hair appearing and disappearing in Lin Qing's hair. She said, "Uncle Qing, you have a white hair. I will pull it out for you." Then she ran to Lin Qing, found the white hair and gently pulled it out.
Lin Qing held the white hair with his fingers, stared at the sunlight for a moment, smiled, dipped the pen in thick ink, and wrote on the paper: "The only fair thing in the world is white hair, which does not spare the nobles." Lan'er said: "I understand this, it means that the most fair thing in the world is white hair. No matter rich or poor, everyone will grow white hair in the end. Here it says white hair, which actually means that everyone will grow old, right?" Lin Qing nodded and said: "That's right, we will all grow old, Lan'er will also grow old."
Lan Er said, "Will he become as old as Grandpa Li in the village? He is the oldest person I have ever seen! He was the village chief before the previous dynasty was destroyed. Later, when the current dynasty came, he became the village chief again. Now it is said that the Great Zhou has been changed, and he has become the village chief of the Great Zhou again."
Lin Qing grabbed a handful of corn and said, "Although dynasties have changed, the people are still the same. Forced by heavy taxes and levies, most of them live in poverty." After that, he scattered the corn on the ground.
The pheasant that was hunted the winter before last was raised like a domestic chicken. As its wing was broken, it did not move much every day, so after more than a year, it became very fat.
After listening to the Book of Poetry taught by Lin Qing, Lan'er named the pheasant "Jiujiu". When the "Jiujiu" saw someone scatter corn on the ground, it slowly walked around and pecked at the food. Lan'er squatted down and teased it, saying, "Jiujiu, if you keep getting fat, we will cook you and eat you. Hey, you are so fat that even a weasel that wants to steal the chicken may not be able to carry you away. Uncle Qing, don't you agree?"
But she felt that there was no sound in the yard, and Uncle Qing did not answer. Lan'er was about to turn around when she heard a soft voice saying, "Do you call this pheasant 'Jiujiu'? Alas, a child of your age, you also know that a beautiful girl, young man, should think about her day and night?"
Lan Er stood up and looked back, only to see a beautiful woman in her thirties standing under the pear tree. Her face was more beautiful than pear blossoms, her hair was as black as ink, and she was standing tall and graceful in a plain robe. The woman only glanced at Lan Er, then looked straight at Lin Qing, her face changing from sad to happy, and after a while she took a half step forward and said, "Brother Qing."
Lin Qing's face was pale, and his lips kept trembling. After a while, he finally uttered a word: "You finally found this place."
Lan'er noticed that Lin Qing's behavior was strange. Although the woman called him "Brother Qing", he did not show any joy of meeting a brother and sister. Instead, his expression was very sad. She felt very puzzled.
The woman looked at Lin Qing and saw that he had a weathered face, his hair and beard were hastily trimmed, his cotton robe was clean but had patches on several places, and his leather waistcoat was also patchwork, just like an ordinary farmer in the Northeast. But his eyes were gentle and sad, which was very different from the sharp eyes of the past.
The woman lowered her eyes, a few tears dripped to the ground, and said: "Brother Qing, seeing you like this, I am really sad." After that, she winked at the gate of the courtyard. A moment later, a middle-aged man with a full beard came up to Lin Qing holding a set of expensive silk cotton clothes and said: "Please help the master change clothes."
Lin Qing stared at the bearded man for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, okay, you're here too. Why bother? Although I'm wearing rags, they are hundreds or thousands of times more comfortable than those silks and satins. Although I eat coarse food, I don't have to worry about someone coming to kill you while you're eating."
