"What are you saying?" Jun Ning interrupted before he could finish, "It can’t be helped; you should rest properly! We’ll talk about it once you’re better. The Imperial Physician has said that young people must cherish their bodies and not act recklessly."
The girl’s beautiful face was full of seriousness and earnestness, with not a hint of joking, and there was a touch of firmness that brooked no argunt.
"Oh... alright then!" Qi Xiao replied sulkily and held Jun Ning as he fell asleep.
The next day, the two of them went fishing at the moat.
Qi Xiao, sohow, had picked up excellent fishing skills. He fished quite adeptly and in no ti had caught many fish, which he handed over to Xiao Jiu and Xiao Shi to grill. In contrast, Jun Ning, who wasn’t fond of fishing in either of her lifetis, naturally didn’t catch anything.
She was sowhat embarrassed by this.
Had Xiao Er already caught five fish? Even if she didn’t catch five, she should have at least caught one!
But she hadn’t caught a single fish; her basket beside her was empty, and the rod that remained still for half the day seed to mock her ineptitude.
She was most afraid of being ineffective.
Her old face suddenly couldn’t hold up, and she awkwardly laughed, self-mockingly saying, "Perhaps the fish don’t like , so they don’t want to take my bait."
Xiao Jiu chid in from the side, "Your Majesty, what are you saying? Being caught ans death; how could the fish like our general? No matter how much they like him, it’s not worth dying for!"
Xiao Shi raised both hands in agreent, "My brother makes sense; the fish couldn’t possibly like the general."
"Then why is Xiao Er so good at fishing?" Jun Ning wondered.
As they spoke, Qi Xiao’s hook moved again, and another fish was caught. Qi Xiao smiled as he pulled up the fish and teasingly said to Jun Ning, "A wise man has his ways."
...
Later, Qi Xiao told Jun Ning that his fishing prowess ca from the years of apprenticeship. Growing and needing more food sotis ant going hungry. Because his master was strict, he was sowhat afraid to speak up, so he had to find his own ways to fill his stomach.
Fishing was the best option.
When he first started fishing, he was like Jun Ning, unable to catch a single fish, wasting a lot of ti, and often crying in frustration.
As he grew older and went fishing more often by the river, he gradually ca to understand so tricks and learned how to catch fish.
From that ti, he could finally avoid going hungry, catching as many fish as he wanted every day.
Upon hearing this, Jun Ning looked at Qi Xiao with a pained expression. Qi Xiao had lost the protection of his parents at a young age and had to go out and learn skills on his own, which was no easy feat.
"...Xiao Er, you suffered a lot during those years," Jun Ning said, holding Qi Xiao’s hand.
"Ah Ning, don’t look at like that!" Qi Xiao, the person in question, instead, smiled nonchalantly, "It’s all in the past; there’s nothing hard about it."
Qi Xiao had let go of it and was strong enough internally to accept and endure everything. Thus, he didn’t find anything particularly difficult about it.
His lips still carried a faint smile, seemingly unaffected.
Jun Ning hesitated a bit before asking, "Xiao Er, how could you go hungry? Was your master not good to you?"
Qi Xiao’s master was also Qi Qin’s master. Both father and son studied under the famous White-Haired Elder, who had only two closed-door disciples.
Logically, the White-Haired Elder wouldn’t treat Qi Xiao poorly!
"He’s not bad, Ah Ning, don’t overthink." Qi Xiao recalled, "The reason I went hungry was unknown to the master because he was wholly imrsed in researching martial arts every day, resting on cultivation techniques, not interested in won, not a glutton, and had no other hobbies. He’s a very simple person..."
"So simple that he didn’t even notice if I was full?" Qi Xiao said, shaking his head, the speechless tone carrying so admiration, "Looking at him eat, he only ever ate the one dish in front of him, uninterested in others, as if eating was just to stay alive. Whether he was full, or what he ate, he didn’t care or know much."
"His biggest concern was whether his cultivation technique had improved."
"Are there such people?" Jun Ning was astonished.
Such people seed to exist in legends, often ambitious and not paying attention to details.
Jun Ning had heard about them but had never actually seen one.
Qi Xiao laughed bitterly, "The world is vast; there’s nothing it doesn’t have."
Jun Ning nodded in agreent, "You’re right."
"Ah Ning, if we have the chance, shall we visit my master?" Qi Xiao suggested, "I suddenly miss him a bit, and I’m not sure how he’s doing without . Is he eating his three als on ti? Going to bed on ti?"
Pausing, Qi Xiao continued, "Even if he didn’t care about my food or clothing, all of my martial skills were taught by him personally. According to the servant, he was more attentive to than to my father. Without him, there wouldn’t be the renowned Qi Xiao of today."
"If you put it that way, we should indeed go see him," Jun Ning replied. "But where does he reside? If we’re going, we should choose a proper ti."
Their status wasn’t ordinary, and they couldn’t act as they wished; everything needed a plan.
"You don’t have to worry about that. Recently, the master has been touring the Imperial City. Knowing his character, he doesn’t like formalities or extravagant spending. Inviting him to the palace would certainly make him uncomfortable and unwilling. How about we go directly to pay our respects? He would definitely be happy to see you," Qi Xiao suggested with a smile.
"That sounds good. Tomorrow would be a perfect day. Shall we go then? But..." Jun Ning was troubled, "What kind of gift should I bring him for our first eting? We must prepare a good gift."
Qi Xiao waved it off, "Your presence itself is the greatest gift. Master doesn’t care about those superficial things."
"No, no, a gift is necessary." Jun Ning put down the fishing rod and stopped fishing, "Let think carefully about what to prepare for Master."
"Xiao Er, tell if the master needs anything," Jun Ning said. "I’ll give him what he lacks."
Qi Xiao shrugged, "As I said, the master isn’t interested in anything. Whether he needs sothing or not, he’s indifferent."
That made it difficult.
What kind of gift would be appropriate then?
Jun Ning thought for most of the day, pondering over it and unable to co up with a good idea, so much so that she didn’t even eat the fish grilled by Xiao Jiu and Xiao Shi.
Qi Xiao thought that Jun Ning would have a better appetite by dinnerti, but in fact, her appetite wasn’t any better. She was still troubled by the gift issue, unable to eat.
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