Narration System for the Journey of Martial Arts

"Aunt Huang, this won't do. This is your food ration. If you give it to my brother, what will you eat?"

"Don't worry about me. My son went to the ditch to catch fish. If he's lucky and catches one, I'll have fish soup for dinner. I'll bring you some more then."

Then she went on and on for a long time, with Aunt Huang advising him to give up on his younger brother. She said that if he didn't have money for medical treatment, he could only hope that others would take pity on him, but those big shots would never see them!

………………

The two walked out, chattering away, and saw Su Yuchen and his companion standing in the courtyard. Aunt Huang's expression changed, and she stepped protectively in front of the little girl, asking, "What brings you two here?"

Su Yuchen smiled and said, "I'm a doctor!"

Then he pointed to Wang Yuyan beside him and said, "I ran into this Miss Su outside the clinic just now. My apprentice is unaware of the suffering of the people, so I specially brought her to pay a visit and also to check on the child's illness. I wonder if you two would be willing to let us take a look?"

"I...I don't have any money," the young girl surnamed Su said with a hint of unease.

Su Yuchen waved his hand and said, "No money needed, just half a steamed bun will do."

The little girl and Aunt Huang exchanged a glance, and the little girl immediately said, "Doctor, please come in quickly, please save my brother." As she spoke, the little girl let Su Yuchen and Aunt Huang in while taking the cornbread from her brother's hand.

The little boy pursed his lips, ultimately not daring to cry. He had heard it too, and perhaps this half-eaten cornbread could save his younger brother, so he said nothing.

After entering, the girl kept rubbing her hands and apologizing, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, it's really too simple, I'm sorry to have troubled you?"

Wang Yuyan frowned and said, "This is your home, why are you apologizing?"

The little girl and Aunt Huang were taken aback, unsure how to respond. Su Yuchen had already reached the bed and placed his hand on the baby's wrist.

After a moment, he lowered his finger and said, "It's childhood pneumonia!"

The little girl's face turned pale, and then she looked at the baby on the bed with teary eyes. She heard Su Yuchen continue, "The problem isn't serious. Is there any hot water?"

"Ah!" The little girl was still in a daze when Aunt Huang next to her nudged her and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes."

The little girl quickly turned around and poured half a bowl of hot water. Seeing that the bowl already had a chip, Su Yuchen didn't mind. He took it, tested the water temperature, and dissolved a pill in it. Then, he pressed his right hand against the baby's chest. The baby opened its mouth, and the medicine in the bowl turned into a stream of water that fell into its mouth.

After there was more than half a bowl left, Su Yuchen stopped forcing the medicine down his throat and pointed to the bowl, saying, "Give him the rest of the medicine in two doses. Give him one dose before bed tonight and another one tomorrow morning, and he'll be fine."

"Really?" the little girl and Aunt Huang asked in disbelief.

Su Yuchen smiled and handed her the bowl, saying, "I wouldn't lie to you about half a steamed bun. Besides, he'll get better soon; you'll know that at a glance."

The little girl carefully took the medicine bowl and placed it on a high place before wiping her hands and saying, "This... how can I give you only half a steamed bun?"

Su Yuchen shook his head and said, "We agreed on half a cornbread, so it's half a cornbread." Then, he looked at Wang Yuyan and asked, "What are your thoughts now?"

Wang Yuyan frowned and remained silent, lost in thought. Su Yuchen took half a cornbread and placed it in her hand, looking at Wang Yuyan's raised head, and said, "This half cornbread represents a human life."

After a while, the baby's breathing became steady and it fell into a deep sleep. Only then did Su Yuchen get up to say goodbye.

Chapter 299 The Beggars' Sect's Secret, Li Shi's Visit

As dusk settled, the two were already seated in a private room at the Fengyun Inn.

Wang Yuyan stared blankly at the half-eaten cornbread on the table. Su Yuchen took a sip of hot tea and said...

“That eldest daughter of the Li family is a sight to behold, but she is crippled in both legs. Don’t you think she’s pitiful? That little girl’s family is also a sight to behold. She herself is almost skin and bones, yet she still has to raise two younger brothers. Don’t you think she’s pitiful?”

"The daily meals provided by the eldest daughter of the Li family could save the little girl's family and provide for them for a year. But why should the Li family save them? And are they even willing to save them?"

"There are so many pitiful people in this world, who should be saved and who shouldn't? How do you decide? If you had the ability, who would you save? And how would you save them?"

"Do you still think that your little love affair with Murong Fu is a big deal?"

Looking at Wang Yuyan, who seemed to be deep in thought, Su Yuchen smiled and said, "No rush. There are still many beautiful sights to see along the way. You can take your time to enjoy them."

"Okay!" After a long while, Wang Yuyan nodded, picked up the half cornbread, tore off a piece, stuffed it into her mouth, and then her face fell.

Su Yuchen said dismissively, "This is made from cornmeal mixed with bran and wild vegetables. In your house, it's probably not even something that would be fed to livestock."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuyan was taken aback, and then ate the half-eaten cornbread in small bites.

………………

Junshan Mountain in Dongting Lake is the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect.

As dusk settled, only a mess remained in the main hall of the Beggars' Sect headquarters; those who were supposed to leave had already dispersed.

The headquarters' storage room was near the kitchen. At that moment, Wang Jiantong and Ma Dayuan passed by the kitchen, opened the door, and went into the storage room. Neither of them noticed that Kang Min, who happened to be coming out of the kitchen, witnessed this scene.

"What are those two doing in the storeroom? It's full of old, unusable furniture. Is there some secret there?" Thinking this, Kang Min looked around and then quietly followed them.

Inside the storeroom, Wang Jiantong fumbled around in the shrine on the wall for a while, then pulled out a brocade box and gestured for Ma Dayuan to open it.

"This... Chief, this..." After Ma Dayuan finished reading the contents of the brocade box, he was shocked. In his distraction, neither of them noticed that someone was secretly lurking around the corner.

Wang Jiantong took the brocade box and put it back into the shrine. Seeing the fingerprints left behind, he thought for a moment, then wiped them away with a flick of his sleeve. Once no one else could see them, he nodded and turned to Ma Dayuan, saying, "This matter is a top secret of the Beggars' Clan. You must not let anyone know."

Seeing Ma Dayuan nod, he continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, you should assist Qiao Feng well, and never make this matter public. But if one day Qiao Feng does something that betrays his country, you can use this secret to control him and prevent the Beggars' Sect from going astray."

Ma Dayuan hesitated and said, "We all know Brother Qiao's character. Don't worry, Chief, I will always remind you and assist him wholeheartedly."

Seeing the two of them puzzling over their steps, Kang Min, unable to hear the inside story, could only leave first. After a while, Wang Jiantong led Ma Dayuan outside. Suddenly, he stopped and frowned at the footprints on the ground: "These don't seem to be our footprints?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Dayuan looked at the ground and nodded, saying, "Indeed, it's not. The footprints are very small; they are a woman's footprints."

The two were startled, exchanged a glance, and immediately rushed out of the storeroom. When they found no one there, they nodded and began searching in the opposite direction.

A moment later, the two returned to their original spot, shook their heads to indicate that they had not found anything. Ma Dayuan hesitated and said, "Could it be that someone went to the storeroom earlier and accidentally left it behind? Tonight, the brothers gathered together, and quite a few people came, so it's inevitable that some equipment will be missing."

Wang Jiantong hesitated for a moment, but he also felt that it was not impossible: "Could it be that I am overthinking it?" For some reason, he felt uneasy and vaguely thought of Kang Min, that woman, who was obviously not a docile person.

"Without any evidence, why would I suspect her?" Wang Jiantong shook his head, forcing himself to abandon the idea.

Wang Jiantong wanted to take the brocade box, but worried that he might not keep it safe and that Qiao Feng would see it, making it impossible to hide anything anymore. He could only tell himself that he was just being paranoid.

Seeing this, the two had no choice but to part ways. Little did they know that behind the artificial hill not far from them, Kang Min was covering her mouth and burying herself in the grass, motionless.

After a long while, a figure flashed out from the shadows. It was Wang Jiantong, who had returned. He looked around and, seeing no one else, felt relieved. He then shook his head and left.

Not long after he left, Ma Dayuan suddenly appeared. He carefully approached the door of the storeroom and listened for a moment. When he heard no sound, he left with peace of mind.

Only then did Kang Min scramble out of the bushes in a disheveled state, and without stopping, headed towards her residence.

………………

After dinner, Wang Yuyan, who had been busy all day, went to rest, while Su Yuchen waited quietly.

[Upon hearing news of you, Michelle Reis's father ordered people to investigate your whereabouts after you left the Lee family garden. He has decided to meet you in person.]

The narration system played in my mind, and at the same time, there was a knock on the door of the guest room.

A moment later, the two sat down. The Li clan chief looked at Su Yuchen sitting opposite him with a hint of surprise in his eyes. Although his daughter had told him that this person was very young, he did not expect him to be so young. He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old.

However, the mountains and fields are full of extraordinary people, and the Taoist and Buddhist sects have always been mysterious, with many novels about gods and immortals circulating. Therefore, the two of them would not judge people by their appearance.

"Having heard what my daughter said, this old man has taken the liberty of visiting you. I hope you will not take offense, Daoist Master," Li said, bowing apologetically.

Su Yuchen was too lazy to deal with it; after all, this was just a whim of his, and whether it succeeded or not was unimportant. So he simply said, "Just say what you have to say!"

Li was taken aback, but having dealt with many people and seen all kinds of people, he wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "Since you're so frank, I won't beat around the bush either! From my daughter's words, are you saying that my daughter will definitely become a nun in the future?"

Su Yuchen nodded: "She has an affinity with Buddhism and Taoism." He gestured for him to continue.

The clan chief said helplessly, "Although I have two sons, I only have one daughter. I only wish her to be safe and well, but I have never had any intention of sending her to become a nun."

Su Yuchen glanced at him and said, "In the fifth year of Qianxing, your daughter will marry the fourth son of the Wang family. However, her marriage will be unhappy. After that, she will fake her death to escape and eventually go to Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan to cultivate Buddhism. She will never appear in public again."

"This... Daoist, could you possibly foresee the future?" Madam Li asked, somewhat surprised.

Su Yuchen shook his head and said...

"Nothing is absolute, and nothing is predetermined! What I said is just one person's opinion. I just saw the result, so I wanted to make some changes."

“Fate is beyond our control. If Master Li does not allow your daughter to marry into the Wang family, then none of this will happen, and there is no need to take my words to heart.”

Mrs. Li shook her head and said...

“When Ziqiong was a child, a monk suddenly came to her door and said he would teach her a martial art. I thought it would strengthen her body and give her some self-defense ability in the future, and also give the girl something to do so that she wouldn’t have any wild thoughts, so I agreed.”

"Later, the monk said he was going to travel to Sichuan and never returned. I didn't take it to heart at first. It wasn't until I heard from Ziqiong that the Taoist priest said she had a connection with Qingcheng that I began to have doubts."

"Is all of this fate? Is Ziqiong destined to be connected with Buddhism?"

Chapter 300 Teaching

Su Yuchen couldn't help but smile dismissively and said...

"Why are you so worried, Mr. Li? Let me tell you a story."

“In the past, there was a candidate in the Jiangnan region who passed the imperial examination at a young age and became a Xiucai. His family was extremely pleased, and the neighbors all believed that this child would surely achieve great things in the future.”

"One day, this scholar went on a trip at the invitation of a friend. On the way, he met a monk begging with a sesame seed cake. He gave the monk a piece of sesame seed cake. After the monk finished eating it, he said that he had a connection with him and would give him a divination."

"The monk's divination revealed his future destiny in a very clear way. He knew exactly when he would pass the imperial examination, his ranking, when he would marry, when he would have children, and when he would pass away."

"The scholar didn't believe it at first, but his ranking in the prefectural examination was exactly the same as what the monk had said. After that, he also got married at the same time as the monk had said."

"The scholar was disheartened and felt that since his fate was already predetermined, why should he study hard? His wife sighed every day when she saw him like this."

"One day, the scholar was on his way home from drinking with women when he met a Taoist priest. He told the priest about the incident, and the priest just laughed and left without saying a word."

The next day, the scoundrel went to the scholar's house to see his wife and handed her a note. The scholar's wife blushed immediately upon reading it and hurriedly went to the inner quarters.

"As a result, the scholar's wife became pregnant and gave birth to a son the following year, seven or eight years earlier than the monk had said."

"At this time, the Taoist priest came again and asked him if it was true or not. Only then did the scholar shake off his dejection and devote himself to his studies. The following year, he passed the imperial examination and completely broke the fate that the monk had predicted."

After hearing this, Madam Li understood his meaning and asked, "If my daughter were to become a disciple of the Taoist priest, would she be able to break free from this curse?"

Su Yuchen shook his head and said, "I have already said that this has nothing to do with me. As long as Master Li does not let her marry into the Wang family, he can naturally break the fate I mentioned."

Madam Li shook her head and said, "Rather than leaving her to live a life of Buddhist devotion, it would be better to let her become a disciple of a Taoist priest. At least the Taoist lineage doesn't restrict marriage, and we don't even know which branch of the Taoist sect she belongs to."

Su Yuchen said, "My branch originated from a side branch of Longhu Mountain, and now we have settled by West Lake, but I am the only one in the sect."

Madam Li's eyes lit up, and she said, "So you are a highly accomplished disciple of Longhu Mountain! In that case, why not invite you to our residence tomorrow to formally accept my daughter as your disciple? But I wonder if, after my daughter becomes a disciple, I may invite her to our residence to cultivate?"

Su Yuchen chuckled and said, "I'm afraid your daughter didn't make it clear. Although she has joined my sect, she is only a disciple of the inner circle, not a direct disciple. She is free to come and go as she pleases and does not need to serve me."

"Why...why is this?" Li asked in surprise.

Su Yuchen smiled and said...

"I'm just impatient with the Buddhist sect's scheming, especially of such a young girl. As for the master-disciple relationship, there is none."

"If Mr. Li agrees, a cup of tea tomorrow will suffice. I will naturally keep my promise."

………………

It's quiet at night.

Kang Min looked at the sleeping Ma Dayuan, then quietly got up and slipped into the storage room in the side courtyard. However, the room was full of broken furniture and dust, and she didn't know where to look for that 'secret'.

Carefully recalling the sounds she heard and judging where the two were standing, Kang Min's expression shifted. There was nothing strange about the surroundings, except for the shrine hanging on the wall.

She immediately grabbed a chair and reached into the shrine, but after a moment, she looked disappointed, finding nothing. To avoid alerting Ma Dayuan, she could only leave angrily, waiting for another opportunity to search.

………………

Dali, Yunnan.

The Duan family of Dali has been ruling here for a long time, but the current Duan emperor has no sons, only his son Duan Yu, who is the "Prince of Zhennan" with the same father and mother.

However, Duan Yu had spent his childhood at Tianlong Temple in the city, and he disliked martial arts, preferring to study Buddhist scriptures.

On this day, Duan Zhengchun, the Prince of Zhennan, returned from the palace and went to Duan Yu's courtyard. He saw that the Duan family's secret manual of "One Finger Divine Skill" had been casually thrown aside, and Duan Yu was instead engrossed in reading a Buddhist scripture.

Duan Zhengchun was filled with bitterness. Although Dali revered Buddhism, the country could not rely on Buddhist scriptures for governance in the future. Moreover, the Duan family was both a royal family and a martial arts family. Without martial arts skills, they would not only lack the ability to protect themselves, but would also be ridiculed.

He immediately reprimanded Duan Yu and sold the maid who served him into the mansion. Unable to argue back, Duan Yu became furious and, thinking of his mother who lived outside the city, quietly left the mansion.

………………

The next day at noon, Su Yuchen brought Wang Yuyan and quietly entered the Li residence without disturbing anyone. He simply had Li Ziqiong serve him a cup of tea on the small building.

"Since you have already become a disciple, you must know the lineage of our sect. Our sect, 'Chaotian Temple,' originated from a branch of Longhu Mountain. Your grandmaster's original surname was Zhang, and he was a collateral branch of the Zhang family of Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi."

"After his passing, the sect was passed down to me. Our branch is small, and now, besides me, it's just you."

"Chaotian Temple is located on the shore of West Lake, on a barren mountain not far from Lingyin Temple. It consists of only a small courtyard, a main hall, and three side halls, with nothing else."

“I have something to do, so I won’t take you to see it. Whether you go to the temple to cultivate in the future is up to you. Our lineage doesn’t care about these things. Your ancestor advised me that if I can’t survive on the mountain, I should come to the secular world and find a job to make a living.”

"It's good that you know this, so that you won't be unable to explain your background if someone asks about it later. Next, I'll talk about how to cure your leg. Our sect has several methods, each with a different speed."