Chapter 105: Becoming an Apprentice

  The night is deep and quiet, the moon is dark and the wind is strong.

  A dark figure agilely flashed past Qin Dai's window from outside, without making a sound.

  Qin Dai's heart had a mind of its own, yet she was even more afraid that this thief would hurt the people she cared about. Subconsciously, she quickly put on her clothes and chased after the direction where the black shadow had fled.

  Outside the Qin mansion, in a quiet and desolate forest. Qindai stopped in her tracks, bent over with her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

  Damn it, she can be sure now that this thief is definitely after her. The way he's leading her on a wild goose chase isn't even like the usual tactics of luring a tiger away from its mountain lair! She chased him for so long, how many miles? Definitely more than ten! And who knows where this person came from, but his leg strength is incredibly good, always keeping a distance that's just out of reach. Just when she thought she was about to catch up to him, he'd dodge and weave and disappear, making her think she'd lost him, only for him to suddenly slow down. This is clearly a ploy to toy with her!

  At this moment, a dangerous aura suddenly came from behind, it was an ambush! The attacker's movements were swift and deadly, the palm wind arrived in an instant, hitting Qin Dai Xin's right shoulder. Qin Dai Xin quickly took a step forward, her body dodging to the left, avoiding the attack. She then lifted one foot and kicked towards the attacker's shoulder. In this moment of danger, the most primitive reaction from deep within her bones saved her, she was Qin Dai Xin, but also Mo Li. It was just that in this life or the previous one, they had already been closely connected, inseparable and irretrievable.

  The two quickly clashed, Qin Dai Xin's specialty was close combat, grappling and throwing, her forte was capturing and strangling. Although she wasn't Mo Lian of the Flame Alliance, her devilish training from before had not been for nothing. At this moment, apart from her clothes restricting her movements, her skills were completely unrusty, her actions smooth and efficient. Her opponent's kung fu was defensive in nature, using a "hard" style that seemed to say "I've lost my way". The power behind his moves was solid, but it was an old-fashioned style, like something from a bygone era, leaving Qin Dai Xin shocked and wondering what kind of era this was.

  The two fought nearly a hundred rounds and were still evenly matched. Qin Dai's heart vaguely knew that the other side was letting her win, he didn't have any intention of taking her life...

  Another weirdo. He was shrouded in black clothes, with a black scarf covering his face, making it impossible to discern his features.

  Qin Dai's heart thought of this, and she couldn't help but smile. What's the harm in taking a gamble? Her past self had gambled many times before, hadn't she? Before her death, her luck had always been good, guessing correctly nine out of ten times...

  Qin Dai Xin let out a loud shout, transforming her palm into a blade and chopping towards the incoming person's neck. The opponent easily dodged and took advantage of the momentum to pull on her arm. With his right thumb and index finger forming a throat-locking gesture, he struck at her neck. Originally, Qin Dai Xin had at least five ways to dodge this move, but she decided to take an opposite approach, meeting it head-on to test her opponent's limits. This was a gamble with their lives; if the opponent didn't intend to harm her, they would definitely withdraw and not hurt her. On the other hand, even if she could dodge this move, how would that change anything? She wasn't a match for this person anyway and would still die at their hands, the only difference being whether it was sooner or later.

  She went forward without hesitation, even slightly raising her head, completely exposing her neck. Her opponent didn't expect her to act this way, his eyes widened involuntarily as he recoiled and retreated four or five steps before regaining his composure.

  Qin Dai's guard was instantly dropped, and only then did she feel how exhausted she was. After running and chasing for over ten miles, and fighting nearly a hundred rounds without stopping, it would be strange if she wasn't tired.

  The other person yanked off the black scarf from his face and shouted: "You little girl, what's wrong with you? Don't you want to live?"

  Qin Dai's face turned uglier than a stroke patient when she saw this person. He was of medium build, slightly thin, and quite old, but his spirit was very good. Looking at him shouting with a full breath, who would have thought that he had just rushed over like herself? This ordinary-looking, yet dignified old man, who are you exactly?

  The newcomer was none other than the strange old man who had a drinking contest with Qin Daiyu on the roof of Xiaofeng Village.

  "Old man, what's the point of bringing me here in the middle of the night?" Qin Dai's heart wasn't polite either. The girl had a fire burning inside her, and if she didn't think she could beat him up, she would have dragged him over to give him a good scolding.

  "Haha." The old man laughed with his usual sly look, "You little girl, too arrogant, don't you know how to respect your elders? I'm already an old man, qualified to be your grandfather, why do you still call me 'old head'?"

  "Otherwise? What do you want me to call you?" Qin Dai's heart probably knew what he meant, but she didn't dare to confirm it in her heart, so she decided to play along.

  The old man took down a wine gourd from his waist, opened it and poured a big mouthful of wine, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve, savored the taste, nodded, and carelessly put away the wine gourd. "Call Master to come and listen!"

  As expected, this person wants her to be his apprentice.

  Qin Daiying stretched her waist and yawned, saying: "I'm still sleepy, what's the point of staying here with you at midnight? You drink slowly, I'll take my leave and go back to sleep!" After speaking, she turned around and wanted to leave.

  The old man was even more pleased to see her behave so freely, and as soon as he saw Qin Dai wanting to leave, he became anxious and hastily blocked her way.

  "Girl, girl. You don't know what's good for you! Many people beg me to take them as apprentices! They kneel in front of me, crying and wailing, their heads almost cracking open, but I just ignore them. And you, at such a young age, don't be ungrateful!" The old man was so anxious that he kept circling around Qin Dai's body, trying to force her to kneel down and become his apprentice directly.

  "I'm nothing like them, besides, what can you teach me?" Qin Dai's heart was just like the clever monkey Sun Wukong, who wouldn't let go of a rabbit once he had caught it.

  "Ah, that's too much. Just talking about your skills, ah." The old man leaned against the tree, proudly saying: "I don't know who you learned from, but it seems like you only learned the surface level and dared to come out and show off? What are you staring at? I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about your master. His skills aren't that great, yet he dares to take on disciples?" The old man took another big swig of wine and said: "He only taught you external skills, but didn't pass on the internal ones. Your bones and muscles are okay, but you lack inner strength. You're basically just a decoration, good for scaring off some petty thieves, but if you encounter a master, you won't last twenty rounds before getting beaten to the ground."

  Neigong? This girl doesn't even know what neigong is. Anyway, physical training must not be the neigong this old man is talking about.

  "Is that all?" Qin Dai was unconvinced. "As a young lady, I should just stay at home and do some needlework, what use is there for martial arts?"

  The old man laughed again, "Heh heh, if someone else said that I'd believe it, but you're saying it, haha! I wouldn't believe it even if you beat me to death!" The old man looked Qin Dai up and down and said: "If you can stay at home and embroider flowers, how could you have learned such a poor skill?"

  What a waste of her skills? Qin Dai glared at this strange old man, wishing she could pluck out his beard. This was what she had spent her entire lifetime studying in the previous life, and in the alliance, her skills were among the best. Yet, in his eyes, they seemed to be worthless.

  "What are you staring at? Don't be resentful, girl." The old man had a wine gourd in his hand and was drinking from it nonstop.

  "You've eaten my Chi Yang fruit, now you have to acknowledge me as your master, no room for discussion!" The old man had a smug look on his face, like an old fox.

  "What is Red Sun Fruit?" Qin Dai's heart skipped a beat as he mentioned this, and he thought of those two red fruits.

  "Ah, you're awake? My fruit isn't that delicious, how was your sleep?" This Red Sun Fruit is worth a thousand gold coins, many people have almost lost their lives for it, and she ate two in one go, not knowing when to stop.

  Qin Dai Xin only then understood that her sleep was all thanks to those two fruits.

  "You almost killed me, did you know that? The people at home were about to invite a Taoist priest to perform a ritual and splash black dog blood on me. It turned out it was all because of your wicked deeds." I was almost killed by him!

  "Ah, you don't know what's good for you, young one! This Chi Yang fruit is no ordinary thing! It's a treasure that martial artists dream of possessing. Although it can't bring people back from the dead or regrow bones, it can adjust the body's internal organs, repair tendons and veins, and increase one's power. I've spent 30 years to get only two of these fruits, and I'm giving them both to you. You're still yelling and screaming, if I didn't think you were worth cultivating, why would I be wasting my breath here in the middle of the night?"

  Living dead man, born white bone. This phrase sounds so familiar, doesn't it?

  "Hey, it took thirty years to get just two? Old man, are you making up stories?" Qin Dai Xin scoffed at his words, who knows what he's trying to do.

  "Alright, alright, no more nonsense. You don't believe me? Then let's just try it out! Your old skills were nothing to brag about, but now you're a different person altogether. Try it and you'll see, my words are not empty!"

  Qin Dai's curiosity was piqued by his confident tone, and according to what he said, her body should have undergone significant changes. Could it be that the improvement in her hearing and sense of smell were also related to those two fruits?

  "How can I try?" She didn't believe it. If she had really become stronger as he said, how could she not feel anything?!

  The old man suddenly became serious when he heard Qin Dai Xin say this, and solemnly said: "You first calm down, listen carefully to the sounds around you, feel everything around you with your heart, and let your body and mind relax."

  Qin Daiying slowly closed her eyes, making her brain a blank slate, trying to relax her body as much as possible, not thinking, not listening. This was actually quite similar to when she practiced physiological cultivation.

  The night is so quiet, quiet enough to hear only the sound of the wind.

  "The Way of Heaven, desires to be with the infinite and contains emptiness, regardless of south or north, calm the mind and eliminate worries, when the vital energy declines then the spirit runs to the divine court, follows the Yin and Yang, understands the numerical methods, the spirit communicates with the refined essence of the hundred gatherings, practices the wonderful method of Ren and Du; quiet contemplation pacifies the spirit, clear and still like the crown of heaven's axis, clear and empty without obstacles, knowing is heavenly fate, the five elements play with the sun and moon in the pot, grasp the Yin and Yang above the palm, therefore long preservation..."

  "Let your breath flow along the meridians to all parts of the body, finally gathering at the Sea of Qi, where all your strength is stored, and bursting forth when you need it."

  Qin Dai Xin slowly opened her eyes, as if ignoring everything...

  The old man looked and unconsciously touched his own beard, indeed a young child can be taught!

  "How is it? Do you feel it? Is there a surge of power accumulating at the Qi Hai point?"

  Qin Dai Xin turned her head and looked at the strange old man, asking seriously: "Where is the Qi Hai?"