"An'er, you... you mean, the Wei family head wants to hold a grand apprenticeship ceremony for you?"
Magu asked, somewhat stammering.
“Yes, Master.” Wei Zian nodded vigorously. “My father said that the apprenticeship ceremony I had in the mountains that day was too simple. There wasn’t even an apprenticeship gift. It was too unfair to you, Master. So he wants to hold a make-up apprenticeship ceremony for me to make up for it!”
“This, this... I, Magu, am utterly stunned!”
I never expected the Wei family to pull such a stunt.
To be honest, ever since he returned to the county town, he had been thinking about how to handle his master-disciple relationship with Wei Zian.
Magu knew his own limitations.
To be fair, given his abilities, he was indeed not qualified to be Wei Zian's personal mentor.
The Wei family has many martial arts experts; any one of them would be much stronger than him, who is only at the Tendon and Bone Realm.
What merit or ability does he possess to become the young master of the Wei family?
If I were to say that, people would probably laugh their heads off.
Besides fearing that others would accuse him of seeking fame and fortune, Ma Gu was actually more worried that it would jeopardize Wei Zi'an's martial arts future.
After all, he knew that there wasn't much he could teach Wei Zi'an.
With Wei Zian's martial arts talent, it won't be long before he catches up with his cultivation level.
At that point, he would be even less qualified to be someone's teacher.
However, ever since he came to the Wei family, everyone in the family has respected him greatly and treated him as Wei Zian's master.
This prevented Magu from finding an opportunity to speak.
Now, hearing Wei Zian say that the Wei family was going to hold a grand apprenticeship ceremony for him and Wei Zian, Ma Gu felt even more apprehensive.
“An’er, why don’t you go and talk to Patriarch Wei and tell him that we shouldn’t hold the apprenticeship ceremony?”
After hesitating for a long time, Magu finally spoke.
"Why, Master?" Wei Zian asked, somewhat puzzled.
“The main problem is that my cultivation level is too low. I can’t handle the situation and I’m afraid I’ll embarrass you.” Ma Gu sighed. “I always felt that I wasn’t capable of being your master. There are many adults in the manor who are much stronger than me and more suitable to be your master.”
Given the Wei family's status in the county, if they wanted to hold a grand apprenticeship ceremony, they would definitely invite important figures from other families to attend.
The thought of so many martial arts masters attending made Magu feel very uneasy.
“But I only want to acknowledge you as my master!” Wei Zian said earnestly. “Master, from the moment you woke me up with your scolding, I began to understand many things.”
"Disciple understands what you mean. The Silver Moon Guard commanders in the manor are very strong, but they are too concerned about my status. Even if they teach me, they just coax me. No matter how well I practice, they just praise me perfunctorily and rarely point out my shortcomings."
In the past, I might have thought this was a good thing. The disciples already found martial arts training arduous, and the leaders' relaxation suited my wishes perfectly.
But after experiencing so much during this time, I've come to understand that in this world, everything can be lied about, except for one's own strength.
Without strength, one will be bullied and unable to protect even those one wants to protect.
I know that I am lazy and undisciplined and cannot endure hardship. If I want to make a name for myself in cultivation, I need someone to strictly supervise me.
None of the commanders in the manor can do this; only you, Master, truly care about your disciple and won't let your disciple slack off.
Therefore, Master, I earnestly request that you not abandon your disciple, but continue to teach and supervise your future cultivation.
Wei Zian was originally quite intelligent.
However, the Wei family's past dominant position in the county town made him believe that he could live a comfortable life even if he never worked hard.
This attack by the Tiancang Sect made him realize that the family power he was once so proud of was utterly insignificant in the face of true strength.
His time on the run taught him many things he had never considered before.
Outside the city gate, I witnessed firsthand the battle between Lu Qing and the burly man, the clash of auras between the ancestor and Wang Cangyi, and the awe-inspiring power of the old doctor's single finger.
He was deeply shocked, but he also realized that only his own power was true power.
From that moment on, a longing arose in his heart.
I hope that one day I can also master such great power.
Even if we can't reach the same level as Lu Qing and the others, it would be good to be close to them.
Looking at the serious expression on Wei Zian's face, Ma Gu was somewhat dazed.
He never expected that his disciple would say such a thing.
It seems that the young master Wei, who was once known for his arrogance in the county town and avoided by everyone, has truly grown up completely.
"Master, please grant your request!"
Seeing that Ma Gu remained silent, Wei Zian pleaded again.
Staring intently at the expectant look in his disciple's eyes, Magu suddenly smiled after a while.
"Alright, since you've put it that way, it would be too unreasonable for Master to refuse again."
"Master, you've agreed? Then I'll go find my mother right now and prepare the apprenticeship gift for me!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Zian was overjoyed. He quickly bowed to Ma Gu and ran outside.
The words that Magu wanted to call out to him were all stuck in his throat.
His hand remained suspended in mid-air for a moment, then Magu smiled and shook his head.
Well, a real man should not hesitate any longer once he has agreed.
It's just a discipleship ceremony. Could it be more dangerous than being chased in the mountains that day?
After adjusting his mindset, Magu became more at ease.
So much so that when Wei Xinghe brought up the matter while everyone was having breakfast in the dining hall, he remained very calm.
"This matter is best left to Patriarch Wei to decide. However, the apprenticeship ceremony is of great importance, and I'm afraid I should return to the clan to inform them first."
"Of course, I'll have someone bring a visiting card and personally explain the matter later," Wei Xinghe said.
“Absolutely not. Patriarch Wei is of noble status. If you were to come in person, it would likely arouse a lot of unnecessary speculation in the city,” Ma Gu hurriedly said.
Wei Xinghe has a special status. If he were to personally pay a visit, who knows what the county magistrate's office would think?
Unlike the Wei family, these smaller families still held great reverence for that somewhat unfathomable county magistrate and had to consider his reaction.
Wei Xinghe thought about it and agreed, so he nodded and said, "Then let Ah Hai take the visiting card and pay a visit on my behalf."
"That's excellent."
Magu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chief Steward Wei is one of the most prominent figures in the Wei family, so it would be most appropriate for him to visit.
"Master Ma, are you going back? I'm going out later too, let's go together."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qing, who was eating, suddenly spoke.
"Is Young Master Lu also going out?" Wei Xinghe asked.
“That’s good. It’s a rare opportunity to come to the county town, so I’d like to take Xiaoyan around and let her see the sights.”
Lu Qing had long been curious about the cities of this world. Now that he had come out, he wanted to see if he could obtain some information he needed.
"Then I'll arrange for someone to show Young Master Lu around the city later," Wei Xinghe said quickly.
"No need, Patriarch Wei. I'll just take Xiaoyan for a stroll and let her see the sights of the city. Having someone with us would make me feel uncomfortable," Lu Qing said with a smile.
Wei Xinghe was about to say something, but then he thought that with Lu Qing's strength, no one in the city could pose any threat to him. Even if he wanted to storm the county magistrate's mansion, no one could stop him, so there was no need to worry about his safety.
Therefore, the matter of sending someone to accompany them was not mentioned again.
Wei Zian wanted to go along, but was glared at by Madam Wei and had to swallow his words.
After finishing breakfast, Lu Qing took Xiao Yan and Xiao Li and prepared to go out.
As for the old doctor, he wasn't interested in strolling around.
On the contrary, when he heard Wei Xinghe say that there were several rare medical books in the manor's library, his eyes lit up and he asked to borrow them.
"Young Master Lu, this is some money prepared by your wife for your expenses in the city later. If it's not enough, just mention the name of our Wei family, and someone will come to settle the bill. There's no need to worry."
Before leaving, Steward Wei handed a money bag to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing opened it and saw that inside were several gold ingots, some loose silver, and a few silver notes.
The total amount is quite substantial.
He smiled and did not refuse, putting away the money pouch: "I understand, please thank Madam for me, Chief Steward."
"Mr. Ma, I'm leaving now."
Holding Xiao Yan in his arms, with Xiao Li perched on his shoulder, Lu Qing waved and walked out.
He had originally planned to go out with Magu.
But later we saw that the Wei family had prepared a lot of things for Ma Gu, with more than ten servants carrying large boxes, and we didn't know what was inside.
He found it troublesome and couldn't be bothered to wait any longer.
Once outside the courtyard, Lu Qing did not go directly out of the Wei residence through the main gate.
It's easy to imagine that the entire Wei family mansion is now under the watchful eyes of countless people.
This is also one of the reasons why he was unwilling to go out with Magu.
He went out to explore the county town, not to be seen as a monkey show.
Holding Xiao Yan in his arms, Lu Qing finally found a relatively secluded section of the wall in the mansion. After waving to the Silver Moon Guards who were secretly guarding a corner, he nimbly climbed over.
Only the Silver Moon Guard remained, watching this scene with a speechless expression.
After standing there for a while, he finally remembered to report to the chief steward.
