Chapter 331: Chapter 331: 309, Not Favored?_1

“Last time, that strange monk…”

“How do you speak of someone? That’s my master, you should address him as Master Gu.”

Daohua unhappily interrupted Xiao Yeyang’s words.

Xiao Yeyang fell silent, thinking to himself that he picked up the term strange monk from her, but let it go, not wanting to bicker with her, “Last time, Master Gu also left a martial arts manual for me, now that I’m here, I should go up and pay my respects, personally express my gratitude.”

Daohua smiled and nodded, “At least you understand some manners, let’s go, follow me up the mountain.” Saying this, she took the lead and walked ahead.

Taohua Temple.

Because Granny Gu liked flowers, Gu Jian had cultivated a flower garden in the courtyard. A few days ago, Daohua had Xiaoliu bring over a batch of flower seeds. At this moment, Old Madam Yan and Granny Gu were busy picking and planting.

When Daohua led Xiao Yeyang into the courtyard, the two old ladies were still chatting and laughing.

“Bang!”

In front of the kitchen door, Gu Jian, who was preparing medicine, saw Xiao Yeyang, and, too shocked, the medicine bowl in his hand was not held steady and fell to the ground.

“Master!”

Daohua quickly went over, saw that the back of Gu Jian’s hand had been scalded red, and promptly scooped some cold water to rinse it, “Master, are you alright, do you need to apply some medicine?”

At that moment, Gu Jian had recovered his senses, shook his head, “Your master is fine.” after a pause, he explained, “Just now my hand shook and I smashed the medicine bowl.”

Daohua scooped another ladle of water, “It’s just a broken bowl, I’ll prepare the medicine later.”

Gu Jian nodded absently, his gaze occasionally shifting towards Xiao Yeyang.

In the courtyard, Xiao Yeyang intended to follow Daohua, but who would have thought, upon hearing the noise, Granny Gu turned her head, saw Xiao Yeyang, and immediately fell to the ground with a plop.

Old Madam Yan, after all, was of advanced age and could not help the woman up.

Seeing this, Xiao Yeyang had to go over and help Granny Gu up, “Granny, did you hurt yourself? Is everything okay?”

Although Granny Gu repeatedly warned herself not to show any strangeness, touched by Xiao Yeyang’s concerned voice, her eyes moistened involuntarily. To avoid showing her emotions, she just lowered her head and shook it slightly.

Xiao Yeyang found Granny Gu’s reaction a bit odd, but thinking of her face, mostly destroyed by burns, he understood.

People whose appearances have been marred probably don’t want unfamiliar people to see their faces.

Old Madam Yan thought the same, quickly stepping forward to support Granny Gu’s other hand.

Xiao Yeyang truly sympathized with the old Granny in front of him. Having her face burnt like this, he could imagine how dangerous the fire she was trapped in must have been, “Granny, let me help you into the house to sit down!”

Granny Gu weakly nodded her head.

Old Madam Yan saw Granny Gu’s spirit weaken, her concern evident in her voice, “Old sister, you didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

Granny Gu forced a smile, “I’m fine, I will recover after resting.”

By the time Xiao Yeyang and Old Madam Yan helped Granny Gu into the house, Daohua had finished cleaning up the broken bowl, “Master, sit down in the house for a bit, I’ll go get some ointment to apply to your wound.”

After saying that, she hurried towards the pharmacy.

Gu Jian watched Daohua, fell silent for a moment, then stepped into the house.

Seeing Gu Jian enter, Xiao Yeyang promptly stood up to show respect, “Strange… Master Gu, do you remember me?”

Gu Jian glanced at Granny Gu, who was still keeping her head down as if she hadn’t yet recovered her composure, then frowned and uttered a ‘hm’, asking curtly, “Why are you here?”

Uh…

The smile on Xiao Yeyang’s face froze, he was not being welcomed!

At that moment, Daohua entered, laughing as she explained, “Master, Xiao Yeyang’s uncle, Governor Yan Wenkai, is stationed at Ningmen Pass. This guy came back from visiting his uncle at the Academy today, and stopped by to look for me on the way. Last time, didn’t you give him a martial arts manual? He especially came here to thank you.”

Hearing this, Gu Jian furrowed his brows.

Xiao Yeyang’s uncle is stationed at Ningmen Pass?

In recent years, with his sister’s health getting worse and worse, he had grown weary of paying attention to matters in Beijing, so he was indeed unaware of this.

After a moment of silence, Gu Jian said dryly, “No need for thanks.” Having said this, it seemed he felt he hadn’t made himself clear, so he added, “That set of swordsmanship, I picked it up. Since you saved me last time, and we used his boat, consider it a gesture of thanks.”

Uh…

Xiao Yeyang and Daohua exchanged incredulous looks.

Daohua thought to herself: My thrifty master really knows how to pick things up. She had heard from her fourth brother that Xiao Yeyang had acquired a set of swordmanship techniques, which significantly improved his martial skills, leaving them far behind.

Xiao Yeyang touched his nose sheepishly: How much could he possibly be disliked? That strange monk seemed to have a strong distaste for him.

At this moment, Grandma Gu spoke up. Her mood had stabilized, and she smiled at Xiao Yeyang, “Master Daohua speaks like that, don’t take it to heart.”

Xiao Yeyang immediately replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, elder, I am not bothered.”

Gu Jian snorted and looked away.

Knowing of Gu Jian’s odd temperament, Madam Yan had no choice but to smooth things over with a smile, “Yang, why aren’t you studying at the Academy?”

Xiao Yeyang said with a smile, “To Madam Yan, I have mostly learned what the Academy has to teach. My uncle said what’s in the books is dead knowledge, and it only becomes real ability when applied. So, starting this year, he frequently calls me over to Ningmen Pass to train with the soldiers.”

“You’re still so young, isn’t your uncle being a bit too strict?” Grandma Gu voiced her disapproval.

“As the saying goes, the sharpness of a sword comes from the whetstone. As a man standing firm under heaven, I naturally am not afraid of hardship or fatigue,” Xiao Yeyang said.

“Pff~”

Hearing Xiao Yeyang’s speech-like bold words, Daohua couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

Then, she immediately received four dissatisfied glares.

Daohua shrank her neck and gestured to Xiao Yeyang, “Please, continue, continue!”

Xiao Yeyang glanced at her and, looking at Madam Yan and the other two, continued, “My physical condition is quite good, and although the training is tiring, I can keep up without any issues.”

Grandma Gu fell silent and didn’t speak.

Madam Yan simply didn’t understand these matters and felt it was better not to speak out of turn.

With both elders silent, Gu Jian voiced his opinion, “Even so, don’t train too frequently. You’re at the age where you’re growing. The intensity of the soldiers’ training is high, and if you don’t recuperate in time, your body will suffer. In the worst case, it can lead to a shorter lifespan.”

Before Xiao Yeyang could respond to these words, Daohua had already interjected, “Is it that serious?” Turning her head towards Xiao Yeyang, she said, “Then you should stop training. Just practice casually with my third and fourth brothers at the Academy. There’s no need to push yourself so hard.”

Xiao Yeyang appreciated Daohua’s concern, but he replied, “Don’t worry, I always have an Imperial Physician with me. I won’t neglect my health. Besides…”

With that, he leaned toward Daohua and whispered in her ear, “I still have the medicinal bath packets you gave me, but I’m about to run out. You’ll need to prepare some more for me.”

Even with the same prescription and the same ingredients, the Imperial Physician’s medicinal packets weren’t as effective as Daohua’s. It was indeed baffling.

“You’re not shy about it,” Daohua gave him a sidelong glance.

Xiao Yeyang smiled, “With our kind of relationship, do I need to be?”

Daohua also smiled, tilted her head to look at him, “Xiao Yeyang, I’ve noticed that your skin is getting thicker by the day.”

Xiao Yeyang said nothing. Seeing Madam Yan looking at him, he quickly said, “By the way, Madam Yan, Wentao and Wenkai also want to join the military training with me. Have they discussed this with the family?”

Madam Yan was taken aback. She didn’t understand much about martial training and suddenly looked to Gu Jian, “Master Gu, my two grandsons are fairly sturdy. Can they go?”

After a moment’s thought, Gu Jian said, “They can go, but their diet must be adequate, and they must have regular check-ups by a physician to monitor their health. If there’s any sign of exhaustion, they must stop immediately.”

Madam Yan replied, “I can’t decide on this matter; I’ll have to go back and discuss it with their parents.”