55 A Touch With Arrogance, A Step Into Cultivation 5 (1/2)
”Sigh, that Elder Jiang fellow is finally gone. Little lass, do not worry! Us foolish and old things may bend our knee before that vixen, but we haven't lost our conscience!”
Confirming that the mature woman and the Sword Marquis' daughter had departed from the tenth platform, the scholars crowding around the young girl released a collective sigh of relief. The older scholars even displayed a comforting smile towards the irritable An Fei, waving towards the younger, hot-headed juniors to cajole them into action.
”Alright, alright!”
A middle-aged scholar boomed, his powerful stature and imposing voice bringing everyone into a halt. Gesturing towards the perimeter of bookshelves, he roared towards the crowd with a righteous enthusiasm.
”There's still two sichen before the guests must depart! Hence, let's not follow that contemptuous woman in throwing the face of our Three Lotus Sect!”
”Esteemed Senior…” Xiao Wen stepped forward, a mottled look of confusion evident on her countenance.
”This… what's going on?”
”Young Miss, please be at ease!” a youthful scholar cheerfully walked before the maidservant, both hands clasped into a respectful greeting. The innocent countenance and pure smile loosened the tension within the maidservants' hearts, causing both Xiao Ying and Xiao Wen to relax.
”We'll make proper use of the remaining time to scour the repository for cultivation and martial arts techniques suitable for the Young Miss and her companions. Be at ease, the techniques you walk out with will be no worse in quality compared to the ones Elder Jiang snatched from your hands-”
”Fool!” An elderly scholar interjected harshly, slapping a rolled book against the youth's head. As the youthful scholar clutched his forehead in agony, the old man stepped forward to berate him roughly.
”What quality, who cares about quality?” The elder complained in a hoarse tone, shaking the rolled up book at the youth.
”Compatibility! The techniques must be capable of resonating with the practitioner to achieve the full effect. If you seek merely the quality of a cultivation or martial arts technique without confirming its compatibility with your natural instincts, then you will end your path of cultivation with the same result regardless of whatever heavenly technique you get your hands on!”
”You've been here for a decade and a half, and you still don't know such a basic concept!? Get lost, you are prohibited from eating dinner until you copy the transcriptions for the mantra thirty times!”
”Yes, yes, yes, elder Luo, I was wrong!” the youth pitifully pleaded. ”So… can you reduce the punishment to fifteen times?”
”Scram! Don't make this old thing double your punishment, else I – ahem – Young Miss, did you say something?”
Waving the book clutched in his hand in a frenzied manner, Elder Luo angrily chased the youthful scholar away, before suddenly turning to question An Fei. When the girl shook her head, the old man continued to stare at her, causing the maidservants nearby to cast a wary gaze.
”Young Miss, you must have said something,” the elder stubbornly protested. ”Otherwise, who could whisper into my ear without alerting my detection?”
”… I truly said nothing,” An Fei replied with a dull tone, her eyes narrowing from the old man's unusual persistence. ”Besides, how would I whisper into your ear from such a far distance?”
”Hehe, the wheels of fate possesses swift breaks and turns incomprehensible to our understanding,” Elder Luo grinned, placing his hands behind his back.
”Nevertheless, the Young Miss has indeed achieved such a phenomenon. Therefore, as per the customs of our sect, the Young Miss must ask a question!”
The smile deepened as the old man gently inclined his head in a respectful greeting, the pair of experienced eyes glinting with mirth, yet all An Fei could see standing before her was a shameless scholar who ignored the statements of others.
She clearly stood there without saying a word, so why was he spouting such nonsense?
”This… this…” the girl stammered in frustration. Her gaze darting to where the two maidservants debated over a rather large stack of tomes and manuals of various sizes, quality, and appearance, the girl attempted to dash for refuge, only to be blocked by a wizened arm extended before her.
”You!”
”The Young Miss must ask the question!” Elder Luo resolutely spoke, a helpless and amused expression barely concealed by the cracking façade of a stern, scholarly demeanor.
”After asking the question, the Young Miss may naturally leave.”
Forcefully taking a step back, An Fei glared at the shameless old man. Most annoying was his righteous and serene expression, of which Elder Luo tossed around with every opportunity he received.
”Then… what exactly is cultivation?” the girl grit her teeth before crossing her arms and asking a question that had burned at her heart since early morning.
”What is cultivation… a rather astute question, ah!”