章 4: Chapter 4: Little Hua is Gone
His mother's words lingered in his mind. It seemed that he really needed to settle down and learn martial arts properly to become a disciple of the Immortal City Sect as soon as possible, he thought.
Five years only, he should be able to bear the loneliness.
"What are you thinking about?" Jing Qiu left, and Jing Si after finishing her last bit of work and feeling a bit thirsty, came over and sat next to Ye Chen to drink tea, seeing Ye Chen in a daze.
Ye Chen answered, "Thinking about women."
"Missing your country girl?"
"I do need to think about how to get by here."
"You have such a good senior uncle, what else do you need to think about?"
Ye Chen laughed coldly after hearing this, "Well, you say that, but my senior uncle suddenly popped up. But my mom said that if anything happens in the Immortal City, I have to carry it on my own. If I am driven out of Immortal City, I can only become a countryside bumpkin for the rest of my life."
"You don't have to take the Immortal City so seriously, they won't kick you out just like that."
"Is it really that hard to become a disciple of Immortal City?" he had heard from the two of them just now that some in Immortal City had grown white beards, yet they still couldn't become a disciple of Immortal City.
Some just lived their lives without learning anything for over a decade. Could he genuinely become a disciple of the Immortal City, which only has a one percent success rate, in five years? The dreams of becoming a Sect Leader were suddenly cast aside.
Jing Si laughed after hearing this, "Don't just listen to Jing Qiu's nonsense. Those are very individual cases, it doesn't necessarily apply to everyone."
"I'm not one of those individual cases, am I?"
"Hard to say, but you need to work hard. Those who can learn martial arts here are all related to hard work."
"Guess I can only work hard."
Jing Si looked at Ye Chen, now looking like an adult, "You're just a little kid, why are you so worried? Really missing the village girl?"
Ye Chen blushed a little, didn't say anything, but was thinking, in five years, Little Hua would be gone.
"There are plenty of beautiful girls in Immortal City?"
This stirred Ye Chen's interest, and he asked, "Then introduce me to some."
"Hehe, and you say you want to study and be good at martial arts."
"Studying and picking up girls don't interfere with each other."
"The pretty ones are not for you."
Ye Chen laughed, saying: "I understand, in your eyes, I'm just a country bumpkin. It's fair that I'm looked down upon, and I can only find a country wife. Now even a wife! It's hard to stand out and become a disciple of Immortal City."
Jing Si laughed after hearing this, and found it quite interesting, saying: "That's not the point, indeed, there are many talented people in Immortal City, and most of them can't become genuine disciples of Immortal City. But you're different."
Ye Chen was puzzled, "What's different about me?"
"Although you just came from the countryside, you're still the nephew of the Sect Leader. If you can build a good relationship with his son, Su Zhanze, there are many masters around him, abundant resources, endless secret manuals. If you can really get some pointers, you have unlimited potential in the future."
"Ah, that makes sense!" He promptly asked, "So is there a possibility that I'll become a disciple of Immortal City?"
"Of course, there are all masters around him. If he could give you some pointers, it would save you a lot of detours."
Ye Chen remembered the words of his senior uncle. His senior uncle had even said he would let him meet Ze'er, and asked: "Then, can you tell me about this Su Zhanze, what's his temper like?" He seemed to see hope again.
"Your senior uncle's only son, his mother, Feng Nianmei, is the daughter of the previous Sect Leader. Naturally, they have spoiled Young Master Ze a little, and he can be a little temperamental, but he's a very principled person and easy to get along with."
Ye Chen's interest was peaked...
Su Hong came back.
Feng Nianmei said, "Where have you been all these days?"
"Bringing two people into Immortal City."
"Who?"
"My junior sister whom I haven't seen for many years, who has been living in the countryside, named Ye Xue, and she brought a child named Ye Chen."
"The countryside! Junior Sister! You've never mentioned this before." Feng Nianmei became curious.
"Well, we got separated during the great war thirteen years ago. I haven't seen her for many years and I never mentioned it to you before."
Feng Nianmei had no knowledge of what happened to Su Hong before he joined Immortal City. Su Hong was able to become the Sect Leader of Immortal City in large part due to Feng Nianmei. She used the power of the previous Sect Leader to help Su Hong win the competition against Qiao Fanfeng for the Sect Leadership.
"Couldn't you have said something? That you've ventured off to some remote countryside? I thought something had happened to you, that you were led astray by a vixen."
"I am old enough not to fall for the charms of a vixen!" Su Hong asked, "Where is Ze'er?"
"He went out to play, probably forgot about your return." Feng Nianmei put aside the preparations for the meal and had someone serve a hot plate of water. She removed his dusty outer garment and gave it a light shake, raising a cloud of dust.
"Well, then you should be disciplining him. I heard he started to skip class again."
"A little mischievousness in childhood is a sign of intelligence."
"Still, he should be properly disciplined."
"He is your son too! You can't expect me to do all the disciplining!"
Su Hong was speechless. He said, "I have a lot on my plate already, don't I?"
"Then why can't you share some of the burden!" Feng Nianmei coldly retorted, "Since your Junior Sister is here, shouldn't I meet her?"
"You can meet her tomorrow."
"Where?"
"At the Pear Blossom Garden."
"Is she bringing her child? What about the child's father?"
"He's dead." Su Hong continued, "I plan to arrange for her son to learn martial arts with He Weng."
"Learning with our child along with He Weng?" Feng Nianmei was slightly surprised.
"Haven't you been looking for a companion for Ze'er all along? Now we have a ready candidate who could help you supervise him."
"Your so-called companion might end up forming a pact with him, and they might slack off together without any supervision. I haven't met Ye Chen, I have no idea what kind of child he is. Living in the countryside, he might not have any education and must be a wild chap somewhere. It's off-putting, but I haven't shown it."
"Why not give it a try first! I don't know how things should be arranged now. We might see how things turn out, maybe they will get along."
"Fine, let's see." Feng Nianmei had put in a lot of effort to persuade He Weng to teach their child. She was initially reluctant to share this privilege with others, but she felt that Su Hong had a point about having a companion. She couldn't outright refuse her husband.
The sun was high in the sky and the birds had already chirped twice.
"Chen'er, it's time to get up. If you don't wake up, I'll pour water on you." Ye Xue knew that Feng Nianmei would be coming back today, so she got up early.
"What time is it? Let me sleep for another two hours."
"If you don't wake up now, you won't have any breakfast."
His mother wouldn't bluff. He slowly got up, squatted at the door with half-closed eyes and a big yawn. He looked every bit the country bumpkin.
"You look like someone from the countryside."
"Well, I am from the countryside!"
As expected, before long, Su Hong arrived with Feng Nianmei and their son, Su Zhanze.
Ye Xue quickly welcomed them.
After some small talk, Feng Nianmei took a closer look at Ye Xue. She didn't look too country, probably educated. Although no longer in her prime, she must have been a beautiful woman when she was young.
It was Ye Xue's first time meeting Feng Nianmei, but she had heard about her. Indeed, Feng Nianmei was as domineering as her reputation.
After a few words, Su Hong asked Ye Chen and Su Zhanze to learn martial arts with He Weng.
Ye Chen didn't want to listen to these boring domestic talks. Su Hong had Su Zhanze take Ye Chen outside for a walk.
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