Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 146 - 49: Gift (5K)_3

Chapter 146: Chapter 49: Gift (5K)_3

"...Aren’t you supposed to be concentrating on your studies?"

Zheng Fa asked in confusion, wondering why this guy was always listening to his conversation with Tang Lingwu.

"I also want to focus on studying..." Wang Chen pointed at the "College Entrance Exam Essential Tips" in front of him and gritted his teeth saying: "I’m here trying to read, and you two are chatting away. I can’t seem to absorb anything whether I look at it horizontally or vertically, and the only thing that finally emerges from between the lines of text, you guess what?"

"What did you see?"

"Two densely packed words – jealousy!" Wang Chen turned his head towards Tang Lingwu and asked, "Tang Lingwu, do you have a sister?"

"?"

Tang Lingwu’s face looked a bit puzzled.

"I’m not coveting your house, I just can’t bear to part with my good brother Zheng Fa..." Wang Chen said in a serious tone, "I want to become his brother-in-law."

...

Because of Wang Chen’s action, Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu felt it inappropriate to continue their discussion in the classroom, so they stepped out into the corridor outside, where Tang Lingwu handed the notebook she held to Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa took the notebook and found that the handwriting in it belonged to Old Man Bai.

Turning the pages, Zheng Fa’s expression became somewhat astonished—

The notes were written based on the talismanic diagrams of Master Pang.

First, Old Man Bai had simplified those overly complex talismanic diagrams.

Then, possibly with the help of Tang Lingwu, using the previous method, they had found some similar Sub-talismans.

On the first page of the notes, Zheng Fa was stunned to see Old Man Bai had written:

"Algorithmic proof shows that the Five Elements Child Talisman is not unique; within each talismanic diagram, there exist three different Sub-talismans, with the Five Elements Child Talisman being just one type among them."

"The Five Elements Child Talisman seems to be the easiest to observe, but the others seem incomplete in their ordinary manifestation."

"I hypothesize that each talismanic diagram should be composed of three different Sub-talismans, and besides the Five Elements Child Talisman, the effects of the other Sub-talismans are not yet clear."

Zheng Fa flipped through the pages.

The handwriting in these notes was very fresh, even suggesting a sense of haste.

Old Man Bai had used the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman that Zheng Fa had first condensed as an example—

He had decomposed this talismanic diagram into three Sub-talismans.

Aside from the Earth Element Sub-talisman, there were two other Sub-talismans, but the meanings of these two characters themselves were unclear.

"This is..."

"Sir Bai has been studying those talismanic diagrams you gave him over the past few days, and I also sought out that senior brother to try different methods on them. We weren’t holding out much hope, but perhaps because the talismanic diagrams are now more complete, the patterns have become clearer. The computer automatically classified these talismanic diagrams."

"Sir Bai and I analyzed it and found that—talismanic diagrams are composed of three parts, which we’re calling the Three Child Talismans Law."

Zheng Fa pursed his lips.

Tang Lingwu made it sound simple.

But Zheng Fa knew the difficulty of this task—The talismanic diagrams given to him by Master Pang were more complete than those Zheng Fa had seen before.

But they were also much more complicated.

He had been studying these talismanic diagrams over the past few days, so he was naturally aware of the amount of work involved.

"Mr. Bai he..."

"He said he needed to catch up on sleep for two days and told you not to bother him."

Tang Lingwu relayed Mr. Bai’s words—a bit bluntly, which sounded exactly like something Old Man Bai would say.

Zheng Fa felt the notebook suddenly grow heavier in his hands and whispered, "The old man also told me not to overdo it."

"...He was pulling your leg." Tang Lingwu’s eyes narrowed into slits as she spoke to him, "This is a gift."

"Huh?"

"You’re eighteen now!"

Zheng Fa was taken aback, then he remembered that if he counted by the age of this body, today was indeed his eighteenth birthday.

Whether it was in the modern world or the Xuanwei Realm, he had never had the custom of celebrating his birthday.

No one celebrated it in the modern times, and there were no means to celebrate it in the Xuanwei Realm.

In previous years, apart from some software reminders, no one else remembered this event, nor had anyone wished him well.

Unexpectedly—Old Man Bai and Tang Lingwu actually remembered.

"...You guys remembered this?" he said, looking at the notebook in his hands and exhaling softly.

"I saw it at Mr. Chen’s place." Tang Lingwu said cheerily, "We didn’t have much we could give you, luckily, this got finished in time."

Zheng Fa looked deeply at Tang Lingwu, then turned his head to look at the residential building where Old Man Bai lived, pursed his lips, and suddenly asked, "So, when Mr. Bai said those things earlier, was he doing that on purpose?"

"Of course!" Tang Lingwu said with a smile, "He and I had discussed it beforehand to give you a surprise... But Zheng Fa, those words were also sincere."

Zheng Fa shook his head, no wonder the old man suddenly said those things.

He didn’t doubt the old man’s sincerity towards him; rather, it was clear that Old Man Bai had seemed unnatural and a bit incoherent at the time.

Now it seemed likely he’d said those things on purpose so that Zheng Fa wouldn’t guess what the two of them were doing.

"Zheng Fa, Tang Lingwu, look over here!"

Suddenly, a classmate’s shout came from the classroom.

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu looked up to see a flash of light as a boy held up his phone to take a picture of the two of them.

"What are you doing?"

"Aren’t we about to take the college entrance exam?" The boy said with a smile, "I thought to record this moment, you two standing outside looked good, so I snapped a photo... Here."

Zheng Fa looked at the boy’s phone screen and saw that in the evening glow, he and Tang Lingwu were standing side by side.

Tang Lingwu was smiling immodestly, as if proud of giving Zheng Fa a surprise, her gums still exposed in her grin.

Zheng Fa looked at his own face and realized he was also smiling.

He never knew he could smile so freely and even unrestrainedly.

"Can you send me that photo?" he asked the boy.

"Sure thing!" The boy waved his hand, somewhat nervously asking, "I’m thinking of using this photo for our class yearbook cover, is that okay... The two of you looking like a pair of lovebirds on the internet, it would get high click rates."

"..."

"Great!" Before Zheng Fa could reply, Tang Lingwu spoke up first.