Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 120 - 26: The Back

Chapter 120: Chapter 26: The Back

Zheng Fa looked at the old man and the more he looked, the more benevolent and amiable he appeared—highly cultivated, timid, and not involved in many affairs.

It’s a predestined mentor-disciple relationship!

"Don’t look at me like that!" Perhaps the enthusiasm in his eyes was a bit too apparent, and the Sect Leader said with a stern face, "I’m not taking in any more disciples!"

"Just like you, Sect Leader, I am also someone who prefers to stay indoors!"

Zheng Fa said earnestly.

"My oldest disciple said the same! I believed his nonsense back then." The Sect Leader curled his lips, his expression filled with vicissitudes, "He stayed well in the sect for three hundred years, but the first time he left, he encountered the Demon Sect..."

"Then he was killed by the Demon Sect?"

"It would be better if he had been killed!"

"Ah?"

"He hooked up with a grand-daughter of an elder of the Demon Sect and led her to abandon evil for good!"

"...Isn’t that good?"

"Good my ass! He left alone and came back with a huge crowd, with the Demon Sect’s army following behind his ass!" The Sect Leader spoke through gritted teeth, "If it weren’t for me having some tricks up my sleeve, completely destroying that elder both spiritually and physically, wouldn’t our Jiushan Sect be annihilated?"

...Listening to this, Zheng Fa felt that the Demon Sect elder seemed a bit wronged.

His cabbage was dug up by a Righteous Path’s pig, and to make matters worse, he ended up getting killed.

No, wait, who is the Demon Sect here!

"And my second disciple told me he has no interest in women at all, even dislikes socializing with people!"

"That seems quite suitable for you, Sect Leader..."

People with social anxiety generally don’t attract much danger.

"He doesn’t like people, and even places he visits, no one dares to go!"

"Ah?"

"He likes to explore ancient ruins, look for secret realms and caves." The Sect Leader spoke with an almost grief-stricken tone, "Either caught in the myriad of traps set by Ancient Immortals’ caves or unearthing some sealed malevolent forces from ancient times, it always ends up with me having to rescue him!"

"..."

Zheng Fa had nothing to say, finally understanding the Sect Leader’s phobia of disciples.

He even felt a bit of sympathy for him.

Not to mention the Sect Leader’s dislike of trouble.

Even for average people, dealing with these two promising young talents would be a headache.

"What about your other disciples, Sect Leader..."

"Aren’t two enough?" The Sect Leader looked at Zheng Fa with an odd expression, "With these two disciples, whatever mountain of bad karma I’d accrued in my last life should be absolved by now! So it’s impossible I’ll take a third disciple!"

Seeing the Sect Leader’s adamant attitude, Zheng Fa fell silent for a while, then nodded, "I understand what you mean, Sect Leader."

"Understood?" The Sect Leader was caught off guard by his calm demeanor and found himself asking, "You just... won’t try anymore?"

"If I beg the Sect Leader, will you agree?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Then this disciple won’t make things difficult for you, Sect Leader."

Zheng Fa said straightforwardly.

"This disciple of yours is indeed not bad." After hesitating for a long while, the Sect Leader dryly said.

"I have a favor to ask."

"But we’re really not suitable!"

"I’m not asking you to take me as a disciple, but I’ve also written a few storybooks and thought of discussing them with you, Sect Leader."

"Oh? You have an interest in this area?" This request the Sect Leader readily agreed to: "I’ve read almost eight or nine out of ten storybooks in the Xuanwei Realm, so I can definitely provide you some guidance!"

...

Watching Zheng Fa walk out of the hut, Yuan showed a slight concern in her gaze.

Zheng Fa shook his head at her.

Yuan made a face at the hut but didn’t say anything, as if she had anticipated this.

Now, not in as much of a hurry as on her arrival, Yuan did not offer Zheng a ride again.

The two walked side by side down the mountain.

"Zheng, otherwise, shall I try persuading the Sect Leader again for you?"

"You’ve already tried your best, Yuan Sister." Zheng Fa shook his head and refused, "Saying more might just upset the Sect Leader."

"It’s okay; the old man is actually pretty decent, at the most, he won’t listen to me—he finds even getting angry too troublesome."

Zheng Fa nodded.

No matter how much the Sect Leader claimed to dislike trouble—in reality, once he took on a disciple, he really put his heart into it.

Not to mention the eldest brother who persuaded the Demon Sect girl to turn to the good.

Even for that adventure-loving second disciple, who repeatedly ended up in life-threatening situations, the Sect Leader was willing to save him.

Often, people aren’t unwilling to take responsibility because they don’t care, but because they see responsibility as so significant that they hesitate to step forward.

For someone like the Sect Leader, having him as a master would be excellent!

"Actually, not to mention you." Yuan Sister sighed, "Once I completed my Transformation, the old man sent me down the mountain, telling me to follow Sister Zhang and said he won’t bother with me anymore—He just likes to be alone, enjoying that ’Lu’s World’ of his."

"That reminds me, I should thank you for your kind words, Yuan Sister."

Zheng Fa suddenly stood straight and sincerely thanked Yuan.

"That day you spoke well of me in front of Sister Zhang, it’s only right for me to speak a few good words on your behalf too." Yuan Sister waved it off casually, "Just couldn’t be of much help."

Zheng Fa turned to look back at the thatched hut on the mountainside and suddenly said to Yuan, "There’s something I might need to trouble you with, Yuan Sister."

"What is it?"

"I made an appointment with the Sect Leader to show him some storybooks, so when the time comes, may I trouble you to deliver them for me?"

"Such a small matter? No problem!"

Seemingly a bit guilty for having not been of help, Yuan immediately agreed upon hearing the request.

...

"Zheng Fa! The Sect Leader wants you to go there again!"

About ten days later, Yuan burst into Zheng Fa’s study, happily telling him.

"Go again?"

"Yes!" Yuan grabbed Zheng Fa, ready to take him up the mountain: "I’ve been delivering storybooks to you these past few days, right? Today, the Sect Leader suddenly told me to ask you to go there again!"

"Wait!"

"What are you waiting for!" Yuan anxiously said: "It must be because your storybooks are well-written, and the Sect Leader has taken a liking to them, changing his mind about taking you on as a disciple."

"Senior Sister, please tell the Sect Leader that I’ve come up with a new storybook recently and don’t have time to go up the mountain—I have another new one here, please take it to the Sect Leader as an apology!"

Zheng Fa struggled to free his hand from Yuan’s grasp.

"No time?" Yuan looked at Zheng Fa suspiciously, then squinted her eyes and said: "Why do I feel like you’re scared?"

"Scared? I’m not scared!" Zheng Fa immediately shook his head, then as if remembering something, he turned to Yuan and asked: "Do you think, if I want to move in and stay in Zhang’s courtyard for a couple of days, would Zhang agree?"

"..." Yuan sized him up and down for a while, somewhat puzzled, then took the new book from Zheng Fa and flew up to the ninth peak.

...

"Where is Zheng Fa!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as Yuan reached the mountain, she saw the Sect Leader, who rarely ventured out, waiting at the entrance of the thatched cottage.

"He said he doesn’t have time."

"No time?"

The Sect Leader sneered, intending to say something, but when he saw the book in Yuan’s hand, a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

"What are you holding?"

"Zheng Junior Brother said this is a new storybook—to offer as an apology to you, Sect Leader!"

"An apology?" The Sect Leader clenched his teeth and said: "Pah! Keep it away! I wouldn’t read his storybooks even if I were a dog!"

With that, he flung his sleeves, kicked open the door of his cottage, and stormed inside.

"..."

Yuan looked at the book in her hands, then at the closed door of the cottage.

Finally, she understood why Zheng Fa was unwilling to come.

But... why?

She couldn’t help being curious, waved her hand, and the grass and branches on the mountainside rapidly grew, intertwining to form something resembling a single-person sofa—like a bird’s nest.

Yuan lay in the nest, picked up the storybook to read, and was quickly engrossed.

After all, she was a cultivator, and she read at a lightning-fast pace. A stick of incense’s time later, she found her page-turning fingers hit a void, realizing she had reached the last page.

But...

"What about the rest?"

A crazed voice came from the cottage.

"Sect Leader! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t read it?"

Yuan paused, finally realizing that the old man had been squatting in the cottage all along, using his Divine Sense to read along with her.

"I didn’t want to read it, but then you squat at my doorway to read! How could I resist?"

The Sect Leader pulled open the door, looking gloomy.

"Junior Brother Zheng... are all the storybooks you deliver like this?"

Yuan spoke somewhat with an epiphany.

The Sect Leader nodded his head.

"No wonder he doesn’t dare come up!"

"I’m going down!" The Sect Leader suddenly said through gritted teeth.

"Sect Leader, you are actually going out?" Yuan’s expression was even a bit shocked.

"Lead the way!"

Yuan led the Sect Leader directly to Zheng Fa’s courtyard.

But by then, Zheng Fa’s home was already empty.

The Sect Leader’s Divine Sense swept over, sneered, and taking Yuan along, disappeared from Zheng Fa’s home. In the next moment—both appeared in the hall of Zhang’s home.

Zheng Fa, with a pack on his back, was still exchanging pleasantries with Zhang, who seemed confused about the situation. He wasn’t even settled in yet when he saw the two appear before him.

"Sect Leader?" Zhang’s face was full of surprise: "You came down from the mountain?"

The Sect Leader completely ignored her, just sneering at Zheng Fa: "Running? Where can you run to?"

"...I just felt... tired of staying at my own place," Zheng Fa’s voice was somewhat low.

"Tired? If you’re tired, then you should finish writing the storybooks!"

The Sect Leader sneered:

"The first book, you wrote about a male lead who took on a wicked disciple. As a result, the disciple stole the secret manual and conspired with his dao companion to frame him as a fraud. Finally, after the male lead fell into a cave, he learned a secret technique, obtained a divine weapon, and even had a peerless beauty by his side, ready to seek revenge..."

Zhang and Yuan became engrossed as they listened, feeling like this story sounded quite good.

"And then you stop writing before the big battle for revenge?"

"..."

Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa, seeming to understand why he wanted to flee.

"The second book’s protagonist is even worse off. He was the famous hero who was known across the lands as the head of a great sect! Turns out he was of Demon Race descent and was betrayed and maligned by his subordinates. Moreover, a shadowy figure leading the pack framed him along the way—after enduring numerous hardships, he was on the verge of confronting the lead figure, but then you stop writing again?"

"I haven’t left every book unfinished," Zheng Fa weakly defended himself.

"The most infuriating book is the one you finished! The uncle endured humiliation and heavy burdens for his nephew’s sake, bearing all scorn and disgust... Finally, when everyone understood him, the protagonist was already dead! Dead!"

As Zheng Fa watched the Sect Leader’s furious face, he felt a bit scared and involuntarily moved closer to Zhang and Yuan...

Only to find that the two senior sisters dodged quickly, their expressions filled with disgust.