Daxia, North County.
There is a mountain to the east of Baiyu Town, its name is Xiu. Xiu Mountain is so towering that it is impossible to climb.
Clouds cover and fog surrounds the mountainside.
A boy, facing the rising sun in winter, stood firm on his horse, with a firm and peaceful expression, and slowly opened a boxing stance. Picking and hitting the elbow, combining hardness and softness, quite the style of a master.
However, not long after.
The boy suddenly turned red and his body trembled. Finally, he lost control of his steps and fell to the ground.
"Failed again."
Ji Ning sighed softly, with a lonely expression.
He has been learning this set of boxing techniques for six years and has practiced them thoroughly in his mind, but he still cannot execute them completely.
Just because he is not a true practitioner yet.
"There are nine orifices in the human body. All of them must be opened before the age of sixteen. Only after the bones are fixed can one practice cultivation."
"I am now fourteen years old, but I have only opened one orifice. I am the least one among the countless disciples in the temple. I am afraid I will never be able to set bones in this life!"
Ji Ning muttered to himself, with a bitter taste in his mouth.
He had no parents since he was a child and was raised by a Taoist master. Therefore, he vowed to become a strong man in the spiritual world and avenge his kindness in the future.
Who would have thought that now I have only one enlightenment.
According to this progress, not to mention there are only two years left, even if he is given another twenty years, it will not be enough.
"Am I just going to be a handyman disciple in this life?"
Ji Ning looked at his calloused hands, his eyes filled with reluctance.
Although he is nominally an outer disciple of the Taoist temple, he does the work of a handyman disciple all day long.
He chops wood and carries water, makes a fire to cook, and even pours some people's bath water himself.
But even so, he still has to bear the cold looks from the other handyman disciples. Just because his master is an elder in the temple, he can also follow him and enjoy the treatment of an outer disciple, receiving five yuan a month. Low grade spiritual stone.
However, normal handyman disciples can only receive ten taels of silver per month.
One hundred taels of silver is worth a low-grade spiritual stone.
In other words, the treatment between them was fifty times worse, but he still failed to open the second acupuncture point and became a complete laughing stock!
"well."
Just when Ji Ning's confidence was dimming, a tall, muscular young man wearing burlap clothes and a cheerful smile ran out from the bushes in front of him.
"Junior brother!"
"Senior Brother Li Hu."
When Ji Ning saw the visitor, a rare smile appeared on his face, and he stood up to greet him.
Li Hu was different from him. He was a handyman disciple who joined the Taoist temple on his own to seek immortality. However, he did not discriminate against him like others. Instead, he helped him a lot, so he called him senior brother.
"Junior brother, look, what is this!" I saw Li Hu running over with a red face, and without any explanation, he stuffed a piece of shortbread cake wrapped in cloth into the boy's arms, and said with joy:
"I took this secretly from Mr. Xiaobao when I was just lighting the fire. It is said that it is for the distinguished guests of the Taoist temple. You should eat it quickly!"
Ji Ning was startled when he heard this, and looked down at the butter pastry in his hand. His heart felt sour for no reason, his eyes were wet and red, and he was about to cry.
"Hey, junior brother, what's going on?" Li Hu chuckled and took the initiative to rub the corner of the boy's eyes with the side of his sleeve.
Ji Ning did not hide away, but silently lowered his head and broke the cake in his hand into two halves, handed the larger piece to the tall young man, and said hoarsely:
"Brother, you eat."
"I am full!"
"If you don't eat it, I won't eat it either."
Li Hu was startled when he heard this, then he took the other piece of pastry from the boy's hand with a smile, put it into his mouth and chewed it. At the same time, he shook his head in a pretentious manner and said with a satisfied smile:
"Well, it's really delicious!"
Ji Ning stared at him blankly, looking at the young man's elated expression that he was in need of a beating, and burst into laughter:
"Senior brother, has anyone ever said that you deserve a beating when you eat?"
"There are many people who want to beat me up, which one are you talking about!"
"Brother, you are so funny."
"You just know!"
Ji Ning tasted the pastry in his mouth, with a satisfied expression on his face. After a while, he swept away the gloom, stretched his waist with a spring breeze on his face, looked sideways at the young man, and smiled softly:
"Senior brother, thank you."
This time, the tall boy did not answer immediately.
He turned his back to the boy, looking at the rising sun. His back seemed to have grown taller.
After a long silence, Li Hu turned around, looked at Ji Ning with a faint smile, and asked:
"Junior brother, have you ever thought about what you would do if one day you were no longer an outer disciple, but completely reduced to a handyman like me?"
When Ji Ning heard this, his young face turned pale, and he forced a smile and said:
"Of course I have."
"According to the progress of my enlightenment, within two years, if nothing happens, I will definitely not be able to set my bones. After I turn sixteen, I will naturally become a handyman disciple."
Hearing this, Li Hu slowly shook his head and asked with a serious expression:
"I mean, what if it's not two years from now."
"Junior brother, have you never thought of giving up and giving up the position of the outer disciples, or the spiritual stones?"
When Ji Ning heard this, his face turned even paler:
"Senior brother, why did you say this?"
"Junior brother, do you still remember what the master said?" Li Hu looked at Ji Ning and said seriously, "Practitioners respect strength and do whatever they have the strength to do."
"You have been looked down upon by your peers all these years because you receive five spiritual stones every month, but you never make good use of them."
Ji Ning's face turned pale as she explained hesitantly:
"I...I'm making good use of it, but..."
"It's nothing." When Li Hu said this, his tone suddenly became stern, and he stared at the boy, "Junior brother, if you continue to hold on, it will be a waste of time!"
"It will actually do you some good to take the initiative to become a handyman disciple. At least from now on, you won't have to be looked down upon by others. The saved spiritual stones can be distributed to more useful people for practice."
Ji Ning was silent for a moment after hearing this, then raised his head, looked at the tall young man in front of him and asked:
"Senior brother, do you mean the more useful person?"
Click!
This sentence was like a thunder, hitting the tall young man's heart.
Li Hu looked at the boy, panic flashed in his eyes. Then he stepped forward, patted Ji Ning on the shoulder, and pretended to smile calmly:
"How could it be possible, junior brother?"
"You know, I've resigned myself to my fate."
As he spoke, a hint of bitterness appeared on the corner of Li Hu's mouth.
In half a year, he will be sixteen, and the deadline for bone fixation is approaching, but his last acupuncture point is still blocked, with no sign of opening.
He has thought of all the ways he could think of, and he even did not hesitate to be a human target for the outer disciples, just to earn more money and exchange it for spiritual stones to open the ninth acupoint.
However, it is just a drop in the bucket.
He is a handyman disciple with limited monthly silver. If he wants to exchange for a low-grade spiritual stone, he has to save up for at least a year without eating or drinking. And the spiritual stone he needs now is far from being solved by one or two pieces.
Ji Ning listened to the tall boy's words. After a moment of silence, he took out two small pieces of spiritual stone from his waist and said:
"Senior brother, consider these two spiritual stones as the ones I gave you. I left two more under the pillow and will give them to you when I get home. I hope you can have a successful awakening."
When Li Hu heard this, a flash of heat flashed in his eyes subconsciously, but before he could speak, he heard the boy continue:
"I'm just sorry, senior brother, I can't give up hope, let alone give all the spiritual stones in the future to others."
As Ji Ning spoke, a hint of tenacity slowly appeared on his young face.
He's a waste, that's right.
But who can really be sure that if he is given another two years, he will not have even the slightest chance of successfully enlightening himself and becoming a true practitioner?
"Be poor and strong, and you will not fall into the clouds."
"Senior brother, I will definitely succeed and I hope you will too."
Li Hu was slightly startled when he saw the tenacity in the boy's eyes and the temples floating in the wind.
In a daze, he just felt that Ji Ning seemed to be no longer naive. Maybe one day, the boy's wish would really come true and he would really become a practitioner.
But then, what will his identity be?
"Okay, let me borrow some good words from my junior brother."
Li Hu smiled stiffly and took the two spiritual stones into his heart.
After two seconds of silence, the tall young man took a deep breath, as if he had decided something, solemnly took out a paper letter and handed it to Ji Ning:
"Junior brother, can you do me a favor?"
"In Baiyu Town at the foot of the mountain, there is a store called Longmen Gambling House on the seven alleys. Can you help me send a letter to Jiang Chuan?"
"Longmen Casino?"
Hearing this, Ji Ning frowned and took the letter, feeling the thickness inside, which seemed to be like two large banknotes, so he solemnly asked the young man:
"Senior brother, are you gambling again?"
When Li Hu heard this, he pretended to be flustered, scratched his head unnaturally and said:
"Yes, it is."
"Didn't I say that I accept my fate? Qiao Asi is right. Since we can't be practitioners in this life, we might as well live a happy life and enjoy ourselves."
Qiao Asi, one of the disciples of the handyman, is about to be sixteen, has only three orifices, and has long given up on his dream of practicing.
When Ji Ning heard this, his brows furrowed even more fiercely, and he said firmly: "Senior brother, how could you do this!"
"You are different from Qiao Asi, you are only one step away!"
When Li Hu heard this, the tip of his nose twitched slightly and he laughed. He didn't say anything on the surface, but his expression when he looked at the boy became more and more complicated.
"It's just one step away. You must not gamble anymore, otherwise you will return those two spiritual stones to me!"
Ji Ning looked at the young man and said, spreading his right hand with a serious expression.
When Li Hu heard this, he hurriedly smiled and explained:
"No more gambling, no more gambling. With the help of my junior brother's spiritual stone, I will naturally do my best to open the ninth orifice, but..."
"Just what?"
Li Hu scratched his head, hesitated, and finally gritted his teeth and said with a bright smile:
"I owe someone money. I'm too busy today and can't leave. The rules of gambling houses cannot be messed with. Besides, they seem to have some background. I'm afraid if I don't pay back, someone will come to my door. When the time comes, the master will know. I'm afraid You want to expel me from the Taoist temple."
"So can you help me deliver the letter?"
Ji Ning's face was slightly cold. He stared at the tall young man in front of him for a long time. After all, he still had no doubts. He shook his head and put the letter into his pocket.
"Okay, leave it to me."
"Huh." Seeing the boy agree, Li Hu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother!"
"Ah." Hearing Ji Ning call him, Li Hu's heart started to feel tense again and he became nervous, "What's wrong?"
"Can you lend me your knife?" Ji Ning pointed to the hatchet on Li Hu's waist and said seriously, "I know you have a lot of chores today. There are some old trees at the foot of the mountain. Maybe I can chop some backs for you. return."
When Li Hu heard this, he suddenly froze on the spot.
The tall young man looked at the boy. After a long silence, he untied the hatchet from behind and handed it over to him. At the same time, he squeezed out a pale smile:
"Junior brother, be careful on the road!"
