Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 18 - What Great Master is Dou Yin?

The middle-aged man and the old servant were both stunned. Although it's said that truth comes out with wine, they hadn't expected him to spew out such scoundrelly words.

After a few breaths, the middle-aged man finally couldn't help but laugh, and cursed, "You bastardly kid."

The first half, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

Although just a few words, it was thought-provoking. Thinking of the current scholars in the Ning Kingdom, although they have read extensively, their limbs are idle and they can't distinguish the five grains. Apart from composing poetry and writing essays, they are good for nothing. He felt it was profoundly true.

The middle-aged man considered himself well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, yet he didn't know where this sentence came from. He reckoned it must be the words of some ancient sage.

But the line that followed it, "Traveling ten thousand miles is not as good as latching onto a noblewoman"?

The corners of the middle-aged man's mouth twitched. This was most likely something the kid had added himself. An ancient sage's saying, originally containing a great truth, had been turned into the vulgar talk of the marketplace.

Blaspheming the sages, truly a scoundrel.

Fortunately, those old scholars hadn't heard it, otherwise they would have definitely kicked his butt hard.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles" actually comes from the Ming Dynasty's Dong Qichang's "Secrets of Painting":

There are six principles for painters, the first is called 'spirited resonance and lifelike motion'. Spirited resonance cannot be learned; it is known at birth, a natural gift from heaven. However, there is also a way to learn it. Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles, and cast off the dust and turbidity from your chest. Naturally, the hills and valleys will form within you, and what you write with your hand will all be the divine spirit of the landscape!

Later, it was extended into the idiom, "Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles."

And then later, it became "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

Truthfully, in terms of time, he probably couldn't be considered an ancient sage. After all, this time and space, chronologically, should be equivalent to the Tang Dynasty on Earth. Song Yan hadn't calculated it in detail, but it was more or less right.

The middle-aged man didn't give up and asked again:

"Do you not have any ambition? You don't want to make a name for yourself, and are content to be a live-in son-in-law who just drifts along waiting for death?"

"What's wrong with that?" Song Yan rolled his eyes.

"How many people want to be the Luo family's live-in son-in-law and don't even get the chance? A person lives for one lifetime, isn't it just to have enough to eat and wear? I've reached the pinnacle of life in one go, saving myself thirty years of detours. How great is that?"

As if thinking of something, Song Yan's expression became a little emotional. He grabbed the wine cup, and with a gudong gudong, took another big gulp:

"Think about what kind of life I lived before! In the Duke's mansion, anyone could slander me, laugh at me, bully me, humiliate me. But the Luo family is different. The Luo family values me, likes me. When others humiliate me, my mother-in-law will even help me."

"Whoever ruins my life now, this young master will fight them to the death."

The middle-aged man let out a laugh:

"Nonsense. You don't want to be an official, become a minister of a department, and hold power in the court? Or be a valiant general, achieve merits, and campaign in all directions?"

"I don't want to," Song Yan answered immediately.

"Are you kidding me? Making me scheme against those old foxes in the court? Heh heh, with this small frame of mine, I'd probably be eaten until not even bone dregs were left."

"Although I'm interested in practicing martial arts, being a military general is out of the question. It's too dangerous. I'd die."

The middle-aged man shook his head: "You are rather lazy. If everyone were like you, who would govern the world? Who would resist the foreign tribes?"

"That's something the emperor should worry about. What does it have to do with me?" Song Yan said, shaking his head.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly: "You want to learn martial arts? This old servant of mine also knows a few moves. Do you want him to give you a few pointers?"

Although he looked completely drunk, upon hearing this, a bright light still flashed in Song Yan's eyes. He looked towards the old man:

"For real?”

Seemingly a little angry at Song Yan's doubt, the old man snorted through his nose:

"I daren't say under all of heaven, but within the borders of this Ning Kingdom, those whose strength surpasses this old one are few and far between."

"I can count to one hundred on my fingers..."

The old man's face suddenly flushed red. Why hadn't he noticed this kid was so infuriating before? Forget it, he's just a youth, and a drunk one at that. I am a magnanimous man; I won't bicker with him.

Song Yan spoke again: "So what do you know? Do you know the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms? That's the most yang and most unyielding palm technique under heaven. When the palm force is activated, there is the sound of a dragon's roar."

The old man's brow furrowed. He shook his head.

"What about the Six Meridians Divine Sword? The most exquisite sword technique under heaven, killing people without a trace."

He shook his head again.

"What about the Three-Part Return to One Qi? Internal and external complement each other, the three essences flow and circulate, endlessly generating."

The anger he had just suppressed seemed to be bubbling up again.

"What about the Sunflower Manual? To learn this divine art, one must first castrate oneself. For a mere two or three inches, one can become invincible under heaven."

The old man could no longer hold it in. His eyes were crimson, completely bloodshot:

"Kid, are you going to learn or not?"

If his master weren't by his side, he probably would have been unable to resist slapping this stinking brat to death.

Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms, Six Meridians Divine Sword, Three-Part Return to One Qi, Sunflower Manual? What are all these things? He had roamed the Jianghu for many years and had never heard of anyone who knew these things.

"Learn, learn, learn, of course I'll learn." Song Yan nodded like he was pounding garlic.

The old man's expression then softened slightly: "I need to see your aptitude first. Have you learned anything before?"

Song Yan thought about it very seriously:

"Lightning Five-Consecutive Whip."

The old man's expression turned solemn. That sounds very domineering. Could it be a whip technique, as fast as lightning?

To have him give pointers to Song Yan, this old man wasn't very willing at first, but now he had a bit of interest:

"Demonstrate it once for me to see."

Song Yan nodded, got up shakily, and recalled the Lightning Five-Consecutive Whip he had learned from meme videos in his past life. Under the strange gazes of the old man and the middle-aged man, his body began to move...

Pa... pa... pa... pa... Hu!

In that instant, the old man felt like his nose was about to be bent out of shape from anger. This fucking thing is called the Lightning Five-Consecutive Whip?

The name sounds so intimidating, but this is it?

And, what's the meaning of that final shiver?

Decided. Later on, I'm renaming my Eagle Claw Art to Dragon Claw Hand.

The corners of the middle-aged man's mouth twitched. He was too embarrassed to say anything more about having the old man give Song Yan pointers.

He coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment:

"Forget it, forget it. Kid, I am curious though. You were imprisoned in the Duke's mansion's backyard for a dozen years. Where did you get these medical skills from?"

Song Yan's consciousness had already become hazy. Hearing the question, he just mumbled:

"A gift from Douyin*."

[N: Chinese name of TikTok]

But at this time, Song Yan was already slurring his words, so his tone was inevitably a bit heavier. To the ears of the middle-aged man and the old man, it immediately turned into something else.

Dou Yin?

What great master is this?

"There is no such person among the famous physicians of this generation. Could he be some great hermit master?"

That would explain where Song Yan got his medical skills, which are completely different from the norm. After all, for a kid who was imprisoned for years, without the guidance of a master, it would be impossible to possess such abilities.

Once the floodgates of conversation were opened, the two chatted a lot more, from the Luo family to the Song family, from Ningping County to Song Prefecture, to the entire Ning Kingdom and even the entire Central Plains.

The middle-aged man was surprised to find that although this kid was drunk, no matter what he said, he could always keep up the conversation. He could offer an opinion on any matter. Although most of it was nonsense, occasional viewpoints could be considered original.

After a long while, Song Yan finally couldn't withstand the surging drunkenness in his mind, and at some point, he collapsed onto the table and fell fast asleep.

The middle-aged man's brow furrowed slightly:

"Banxia."

"Your subordinate is here."

Accompanied by a cold and clear voice, a figure appeared silently in the pavilion. With a full and firm figure, who could it be but Gu Banxia?

Her expression was extremely calm, like an old well without a ripple, as if she were an emotionless doll.

"Take the Young Master-in-law back. Serve him well. Don't let him catch a cold."

After the two left, the middle-aged man picked up his wine cup and took a sip. The slightly spicy wine stimulated his sensitive nerves:

"What do you think of this child?"

"Glib-tongued, speaks insolently, and has no great ambitions. He is just a whelp." The old man snorted immediately and said:

“If not for his medical skills, he would be completely unworthy of Miss Tianxuan."

"But you can't blame him for this. He's only fifteen, with a boy's temperament, and was imprisoned in the Duke's mansion for ten years. It's already not easy for him to maintain such a state of mind."

The middle-aged man sneered: "You old thing, you really have a sharp tongue but a soft heart."

After a pause, the middle-aged man spoke again: "Was he really drunk?"

"He was indeed drunk. This old slave would not be mistaken."

"In that case, what he said must have been the truth. It's good that he has no great ambitions. As long as he can stay peacefully in the Luo family, what's the harm in guaranteeing him a lifetime of wealth and honor."

"He wants to learn martial arts, so let him learn. He probably lacks a sense of security and wants some martial skills for self-protection."

The middle-aged man sighed again with some envy:

"To be a local landlord, with a thousand mu of fertile fields, and when you have nothing to do, take your lackeys to the streets to harass girls from good families... heh heh, this kid is truly a scoundrel. When Tianxuan gets better, I must discipline him properly... But, if it were really possible, I would also like to live such a life."

"Master is joking."

The middle-aged man shook his head and stood up:

"I quite like this kid. Talking to him, I always feel a lot of pressure lift from my chest. Unfortunately, I've been out for a long time. It's time to go back."

"Do we not need to inform Miss Yuheng?"

"No need. Let's go now." The middle-aged man said: "Oh right, later, arrange for someone to investigate that person called Dou Yin."

"Such a reclusive master, if he can be used by me, would be a great help. But remember, after finding him, you must treat him with courtesy and not be neglectful. If the other party is unwilling to come out of seclusion, you must not force him."

"This old slave understands."

The old man followed by the middle-aged man's side. The two of them, one after the other, disappeared from the Luo Mansion.

On the other side, Song Yan was also brought back to the bedroom by Gu Banxia. Seeing Song Yan's drunken appearance, Gu Banxia was also helpless. She pulled the blanket over him to cover him and then quietly left the room.

It was not until the room was completely plunged into darkness and silence that Song Yan, who had been lying on the bed in a deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

That pair of eyes was as black as ink. Where was the slightest trace of cloudiness?