Chapter 1155: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf
Gong Che was no match for Shi Yi and was soon defeated.
A wave of commotion swept through the students. Gong Che has always had the fastest cultivation progress, yet he lost to Shi Yi?
“Little Lu, you taught him this?!” Murong You’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at Lu Yang. Only a few days have passed. Even if I had taught them personally, I couldn’t have achieved such results.
“It’s mainly because I taught well, but of course, the children’s comprehension is decent as well. Actually, it’s not just Shi Yi; the other kids have been making rapid progress.”
“How did you teach them?” Something clicked in Murong You, and he grabbed Lu Yang’s shoulders excitedly. “The Dreamlike Bubble Mirage! It’s the Dreamlike Bubble Mirages you showed them, right?”
“Alright, alright, stop shaking me. Just see for yourself.” Lu Yang chuckled and picked up the recording orb from the ground. This whole commotion had broken out right after class ended, and he hadn’t had a chance to put the recording orb away.
An imposing ancient qiongqi appeared before Murong You, roaring to heaven and earth, displaying the majesty of a sovereign.
“T-this is a qiongqi?!” Murong You didn’t recognize Jin Caiwei, but he could tell that this was a qiongqi, the legendary strongest race among tigers. “Where did this recording orb come from?”
“The Little Ancestor of the Qiongqi Tribe gave it to me.”
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
Seeing that Lu Yang was unwilling to tell the truth, Murong You let the matter drop. He was so fond of the recording orb that he couldn’t bear to put it down.
Let alone being useful to Shi Yi, it’s immensely beneficial even for me. I’ve never seen a living qiongqi in my entire life.
“Little Lu—ah, no, Fellow Daoist Lu, are you willing to sell this recording orb?”
“Sell it? It’s not worth much anyway; I’ll give it to you.” This recording orb was the earliest version, different from those on the market. It showcased the divine might of the Qiongqi Tribe best.
“T-that’s too generous; how could I accept it? How about I give you the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core fist manuals in return?”
Lu Yang felt that if he gave the recording orb to Murong You for nothing, the man would probably lose sleep over it. Better to accept something to put him at ease. “Alright, but I still need this recording orb for class. You can only use it after I’m done teaching.”
“No problem, no problem.” Murong You was over the moon.
“So, Little Gong, will you still be coming to class from now on?”
By this point, how could Gong Che not realize that Shi Yi’s progress was all thanks to Lu Yang? I have missed a great fortuitous opportunity. He dropped to his knees and admitted his fault. “I’m sorry, Teacher Lu. From now on, I’ll definitely attend class on time and never leave early.”
“Alright, that’s enough; no need to kneel.” Lu Yang used his power to lift him up.
“Teacher Lu, about this child’s future...” Gong Che’s parents smiled ingratiatingly, afraid that Lu Yang would refuse to teach Gong Che.
“You’ve already paid the tuition fees. If Little Gong comes to learn, I’ll teach him.”
“He’ll definitely come! If he doesn’t, I’ll give him a whipping!” Gong Che’s father replied in a gruff voice.
“By the way, you two stay behind for a while. I have something to ask you.”
After the students and Murong You had left, Gong Che’s parents came to Lu Yang’s room nervously, leaving Gong Che outside.
Gong Che’s parents fumbled as they produced a few spirit stones from their storage ring, prepared to hand them to Lu Yang.
“You misunderstand, that’s not what I meant. I wanted to ask about Gong Che. The cold energy in him seems to be rather heavy. Did something happen when he was born?”
Gong Che’s parents hadn’t expected Lu Yang to ask such a question. In the end, it was Gong Che’s father who decided to tell the truth.
“Eh, to be honest with you, Gong Che isn’t actually our biological child. We found him while hunting demon beasts outside the city.
“When we found him, his little face was already purple. We couldn’t bear to let a child freeze to death out there, so we brought him back. We fed him ginger soup and medicinal herbs, but his condition didn’t improve, so we scoured the city for physicians, finally managing to save him.
“But the physician told us that the cold energy has seeped into his body and that he has the physiognomy of someone destined to die young.
“Since then, we’ve been searching for ways to keep Little Che alive. We happened to hear a folk remedy, which says that practicing a masculine yang-based fist technique could expel the cold energy, so we sent him here to train.”
“Does Little Che know about this?”
“We never dared tell him. We only said he was in poor health and needed to take more medicine and practice more fist techniques. However, that child is sensitive; he might have sensed something.
“This may also be the reason he thought you were wasting time by not teaching fist techniques in class.”
Recounting the painful memories, Gong Che’s mother sobbed and wiped her tears. “I don’t know what damned bastard left Little Che in the snow and let that cold energy enter his body. They deserve to be hacked to pieces.”
Lu Yang shook his head. “It’s not because he was left in the snow. He has Mystic Heaven Cold Energy in him. That kind of cold energy isn’t something from around here.
“But it’s not a big problem. If he continues to train fist techniques with me, the cold energy in his body can be dispelled.”
“We’ll have to thank you then, Teacher Lu!” The couple hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. Although Gong Che wasn’t their biological son, they had raised him for fifteen years, and he was as good as their own.
“Alright, I’ve already told you that I’m paid to do the job. It’s a fair transaction. Why thank me?” Lu Yang hadn’t expected that after helping Gong Che up, he would have to do the same for his parents too. They’re truly a family.
If he continued learning fist techniques the old way, Gong Che would certainly not live past sixteen. But with Lu Yang around, that cold energy was no longer an issue.
In truth, the best solution would be to nick Old Meng, get a drop of his blood, dilute it in water, and have Gong Che soak in it. That would guarantee a complete cure. But Old Meng is far away and troublesome to find. Practicing fist techniques is still the most convenient option.
After seeing off Gong Che’s family, Lu Yang focused on handling his own affairs.
“Immortal Fairy, do you know any life-preserving methods?” Several days have passed, and Senior Brother Dai still hasn’t sent anyone. Figures. I’d have to rely on myself.
“Life-preserving methods? That’s the Play-Dead Technique.”
“Do you have any life-preserving methods with... offensive capabilities?”
If the enemy isn’t particularly bright, that would be fine. But if I encounter a foe smarter than the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, the Play-Dead Technique likely wouldn’t fool them.
“You execute the Play-Dead Technique, and this immortal will take over your body and fight on your behalf?”
“Do you have anything else?”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy gritted her teeth, as if she had come to a momentous decision. “At worst, this immortal could risk damaging my origin and forcibly condense an immortal body to save you!”
This gave Lu Yang a huge fright, and he hastily said no.
“Hmm, how about this? If you run into danger, just shout that you’re Lu Yang. That way, the city lord will definitely come to your rescue.”
Lu Yang fell silent. Has the Immortal Fairy already learned tactics like “driving the tiger to devour the wolf?"[1] When I first met her, she didn’t seem like the type to employ such stratagems, though?
Just as I thought, after spending so much time together, I have subtly influenced the Immortal Fairy to become smarter.
“What if the danger comes from the city lord?”
“Then tell him you have so many enemies that they’d have to line up to take their revenge.”
“What if other enemies show up?”
“Then curse the Heaven Mandate Immortal loudly. He’ll sense it and send down immortal lightning to save you.”
“What if the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s intervention attracts even stronger enemies, like those from the Great Qian Dynasty or something?”
“At worst, this immortal could risk damaging my origin...”
1. This is a stratagem from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It is a plan Xun Yu designed for Cao Cao. It roughly means to instigate conflict between enemies so as to reap the benefits as the third party. ☜
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