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Grandpa…
Yan Zheke was shocked and scared. Instinctively, she took a step forward, putting herself in front of Lou Cheng.
What does Grandpa want to do with Cheng after asking me to leave?
Seeing his granddaughter’s reaction, Ji Jianzhang laughed and shook his head.
Young lady, you’re a total copy of your mother. Girls always help their lover, always support their lover… Don’t worry. I’m just going to have a couple of words with Lou.
Yan Zheke’s clear, bright eyes blinked a couple of times, almost saying
You must promise
.
Ke, it’ll be fine. Go in and see Grandma.
Lou Cheng took a deep breath, pretending to be calm so that he could comfort his girlfriend.
If Senior Ji wants to make things difficult for me, no one can save me from this match…
Then, I’ll look for you later.
Yan Zheke lightly squeezed Lou Cheng’s right hand. She said this sentence on purpose before making her way into the house. She did not leave without turning back a couple of times. Meanwhile, Ji Lingqian asked the driver to park somewhere, pretending not to notice what was going on.
Let’s go. We can make a round around the mansion.
Ji Jianzhang was wearing a loose, dark blue martial arts suit. His hands were placed behind his back as he walked slowly forward.
Yes.
Lou Cheng walked at a good pace without hurry, intentionally keeping a step behind.
The lake next to them was clear. The pathway had pretty flowers and grass. Ji Jianzhang was walking straight, and while he walked, there was a sense of longtime authority. He did not speak, but the more he was silent, the more oppressive he felt.
If it were not because he had faced Mighty Ones like the Divine Enchanter of Sin Flame and the Queen of Thought, or didn’t have the experience with his eccentric master, Lou Cheng would’ve probably been a nervous wreck who could not walk properly right now. But Lou Cheng was taking every step steadily, maintaining a respectful attitude towards his elder, and at the same time, exuding confidence. He did not scramble to find topics to fill the silence, all he did was enjoy it.
I respect you. It’s
for no other reason than you’re
Ke’s grandfather, and also an experienced senior in martial arts!
After walking for a while, with his hands still behind his back, Ji Jianzhang looked ahead and laughed.
Although the two boys that Lingxi and Lingfang brought home were learned and could be considered elites, they couldn’t even spend a few minutes alone with me, not to mention take a walk, without breaking out in cold sweat…
He shook his head lightly as he spoke.
Senior, I am just used to my master’s drills.
Lou Cheng answered humbly.
He was filled with caution, feeling that Ke’s grandfather’s words could not be as simple as that.
Senior Ji was world famous for his Yin-yang Magneto-optical Sword. Now that he was using the sword skill to enter their conversation, there must be some catch here.
With your master’s temper and character, it must have been not easy to have a disciple like you.
Ji Qianzhang let out a deep laugh. He turned and looked towards the sky. With a somewhat old but floating tone, he said,
Ke, that girl, she has always been physically weak. Congenitally deficient, so naturally, us, the elders, would spoil her a little more.
I’ll take good care of her and not let her experience anything bad.
With simple words and a short sentence, Lou Cheng gave his promise.
How she could get better in the end, and grow up healthily, was mainly because her grandmother and I had taken some measures. We know her body condition even better than her parents. There’s this one thing that we’ve always kept hidden from them,
Ji Jianzhang said slowly. He had already lowered his eyes and kept them at the ripples of the lake.
What is it that has to be hidden from Empress Dowager, Father-in-law, and even Ke, herself?
Lou Cheng thought about it to himself. Somehow it did not feel right and he started to be anxious.
With Senior Ji’s status and position of today, with his love for Ke, he would never joke or cheat me on such matters!
What’s going on?
Just as his mind started to run wild, Ji Jianzhang stopped walking suddenly and turned back to look at Lou Cheng. His eyes were sharp, and with his deep voice, he slowly said,
Because of Ke’s body, it may be difficult to have children in the future. Can you accept that?
His words were like his sword – hard and sharp, with nothing to hide, straight to the heart.
Phew! Lou Cheng heaved a huge sigh of relief. This, compared to the crazy thoughts of her not being able to live past 30, was so much better!
For him, at this age, with the school environment that he was in, he did not have many thoughts about the next generation or children. At most, only when Yan Zheke talked about it. He did not have too deep a desire for it. His felt heart heavy after hearing this news, but what he felt was heartache for his girlfriend. He felt sorry for her.
He looked up and met Ji Jianzhang’s eyes. Lou Cheng was silent for a good ten seconds before he started to say something.
I’m with Ke because I like her, not because she can give birth.
Ji Jianzhang squinted a little. He let out a small laugh and said,
Don’t say it in such an absolute manner. You’re still young. Perhaps you still can’t imagine it. Wait till 10, 20, 30 years later. Everyone around you, your friends, your relatives, will all have children. Will you still say that you have no regrets? No disappointment? No wants?
Because he was describing it in such a vivid manner, even with Lou Cheng’s current age and experience, he felt an indescribable sense of heaviness in the heart. His expression darkened a little.
He shut his eyes and tried to imagine such a future. With a deep and firm voice, he said,
I can accept it. At most, we can adopt a child…
Even if we didn’t adopt any children, there is a saying, right? When a couple is together, the love will eventually become family. Then I can just treat Ke as my daughter and love her like that. This could be considered having a child…
Of course, this saying was not sufficient an explanation to someone outside their relationship!
Ji Jianzhang’s expression was solemn, his hands still behind his back. He then asked another question.
Even if you can accept, can your parents accept it as well? Your family?
The atmosphere of their talk was getting heavier and heavier. Lou Cheng could almost imagine the heavy silence of his parents. He took a deep breath and relaxed his fist.
Ke is marrying me. Not my parents, not my relatives. If they can accept it, it’d be good. If not, it doesn’t stop us from being together. At most, for my family, I’ll handle it, and not let them have any contact. Less contact, less interaction, less friction.
Ji Jianzhang looked at Lou Cheng solemnly. He did not continue asking questions. He turned back away and continued walking forward. With a relaxed tone, he said,
Not bad. But don’t mind this too much. It’s just difficult for her to conceive. Doesn’t mean that there is no hope. With your vigor, qi, blood, and body that is almost entering the Inhuman stage, the odds are with you.
While he spoke, the corners of his lips edged up, revealing a faint hint of a smile. It was no longer as solemn and serious as earlier.
Ah… Lou Cheng was stunned.
No need to mind this too much… The odds are with you…
This means that all the worry, struggle, and heartache that I experienced just now were just part of a speculation? Did I just waste my emotions for nothing?
Grandpa, you’re the serious and revered elder that Ke talked about. You’re a senior that I respect and look up to. How could you? How could you cheat and test me with such matters! I’m just a kid!
No, wait. He didn’t cheat me. He just didn’t finish talking about the matter…
This… No one fears real skills, the only fear is a deep ambush!
Ji Jianzhang could somewhat sense what Lou Cheng was thinking. He started to smile brighter. He stopped walking and waited for the young man. He tried to change the topic and said in a relaxed manner,
Actually, I’ve known for a long time that you both were together.
Huh?
Lou Cheng was lost once again.
Known for a long time? For how long a time?
Seeing that he had caught up, Ji Jianzhang put his hands behind his back once more and proceeded to walk slowly. Grinning, he said,
It’s an old mansion, so the sound isolation is not too good. My ears are functioning rather well. Although I wouldn’t intentionally go and eavesdrop or something, Ke, that girl, sometimes she gets too happy and doesn’t bother to control her volume. Coincidentally, I walked past her room one day, and I heard a couple of lines. Plus, that boy from the Xie family mentioned it once or twice. You’ve always been performing well. During the New Year celebrations, that girl pretended and found a whole load of excuses just to get you the Nine Words Formula. So I just went with the flow and agreed.
Damn, Grandpa, you’re so sharp! Does Ke know that? Lou Cheng’s mouth was half opened. He was having difficulty in closing it.
To think that we’ve been so careful all this while, secretly doing this and that. In the end, we didn’t even manage to hide it from anyone!
Wait, no. Just Father-in-law… Poor him…
On that note, since Empress Dowager had a similar experience, Senior Ji would obviously be extremely sharp and sensitive to such signs.
Once bitten, twice shy!
At this very moment, within Lou Cheng, the impression of Ji Jianzhang had transformed. It was no longer a strict and serious senior, but a doting grandfather.
If he were to say that his master was one who pretended to be deep but was a straightforward person, Senior Ji was the true cunning fox.
At that time, Ke was so pleased with herself…
After he said so, Lou Cheng almost laughed out loud. He mischievously thought about Ke’s reaction if she were to hear about this.
Ji Jianzhang shook his head and laughed. The next time he opened his mouth again, it was on a different topic already.
Lou, do you use the balance of ice and fire to do your Force Concentration?
As an elder of the Shushan Study, he had experience with countless cultivation theories and manuals. So, naturally, he could see more than the usual physical invulnerability Mighty Ones. Plus, his topics were jumping and changing constantly. Lou Cheng could never figure out what was next. Just like when facing the hard-to-predict sword moves, he could only be in a passive position.
After thinking for a while, Lou Cheng answered frankly,
Yes, my master has some relations with the military. So I’ve had early exposure to cultivation, and together with other physical conditions, I combine them together.
Ji Jianzhang thought about it for a while and nodded.
Then, if you are to advance further, if you want to break into Inhuman, you need to have greater grasp and enlightenment about ice, fire, yin, and yang.
Before Lou Cheng could respond, he continued talking.
I entered martial arts with the Yin-yang Magneto-optical Sword, and I’m also in charge of the Taiqing Moral Chapter in the Shushan Study. So I have got a good grasp of yin and yang…
Just as Ji Jianzhang finished his sentence, Lou Cheng suddenly felt the sky darken. It was like the starry skies were almost touching the ground and melted into one with the lotus pond. Like dream, like reality.
He did not speak another word. As he walked with Ji Jianzhang, he had his eyes half shut, trying to sense and feel the intriguing momentum of not being able to tell the state of fantasy from reality.
Fire as yang, ice as yin, bright stars as yang, the endless dark sky as yin… To move as yang, to be still as yin, to turn naturally as yang, to counter as yin… Everything in the universe all come from one. Each and everyone, each and everything have two sides, yin and yang.
With overflowing senses, Lou Cheng remembered what he had learned – zero as yin, one as yang, 00111100, infinite things, matters all can be described as such…
Unknowingly, Ji Jianzhang had stopped walking. The surroundings were bright, flooding with sunlight. There were no deep, dark, starry skies.
At this moment, the two men had returned to where they started.
Understand it already?
Ji Jianzhang asked as he gave a gentle smile.
A little,
Lou Cheng answered honestly and somewhat embarrassedly.
A little is good.
Ji Jianzhang laughed and waved his arm. He started to walk towards the main hall.
Lou Cheng stood there, surprised. In his mind, countless thoughts started to fly.
Ke and I aren’t married yet. It’s not convenient for Senior Ji to teach me anything directly. So he could only use such a method for me to feel and understand his yin-yang balance and momentum?
This! Is he trying to give me a secret boost into Inhuman?
