Chapter 16

The scream of the maid Xiaocui was not for any other reason but the shock at the pile of paper strips, as high as a small mountain, that had been torn up in the room.

Could it be that the young master did all of this by himself?

Dongfang Xiuzhe naturally wouldn’t explain anything to her, and the guards, seeing that it was just a false alarm, said nothing and returned to their posts.

Dongfang Xiuzhe spent the entire morning in the room, holding a brush and making various types of talismans on the paper strips.

On the table, there were already no less than a hundred talismans piled up, which an outsider would only see as a child’s scribbling.

These hundreds of talismans looked similar at first glance, but if one carefully examined their lines, differences could be found.

These hundreds of talismans had different functions: auxiliary types such as "strengthening talismans," "nourishing spirit talismans," "restoration talismans"... cultivation types such as "gravity talismans," "spirit gathering talismans"... and daily use types such as "pest repelling talismans," "anti-corrosion talismans," "light-emitting talismans"...

Dongfang Xiuzhe made more of the commonly used talismans.

Some of these talismans could be reused, while others could only be used once; some could be used in combination, while others could only be used separately.

In the art of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, "talismans" were only the tip of the iceberg.

After making these hundreds of talismans, Dongfang Xiuzhe felt an unprecedented fatigue. Just as he was about to rest, a servant reported that the lady and the general wanted the young master to come over.

Dongfang Xiuzhe thought they might be calling him to eat some pastries, but when he arrived, he was stunned. Besides his parents, there was also an unfamiliar old man.

"This is my son!" Donglong introduced.

The old man stroked his beard and sized up Dongfang Xiuzhe, while Dongfang Xiuzhe also observed him.

"Who is this old man? Could he have something to do with me?" Dongfang Xiuzhe wondered, and this time he guessed right.

"Zhe'er, come here. This is the teacher I have invited for you. Quickly call him Teacher Cao!" Donglong said.

Teacher Cao?

Dongfang Xiuzhe was a bit dazed, not understanding why his father would suddenly find him a teacher. Wasn’t it said that his meridians were special and unsuitable for cultivating martial arts? Could this old man be a mage?

Dongfang Xiuzhe had heard his parents talk about it more than once. Because of his unique constitution, he couldn’t cultivate martial arts but could learn magic. In the future, they would either hire a magic tutor for him or send him to a "magic academy" to study.

Now that he was only three years old, why were his parents in such a hurry to find him a teacher?

Dongfang Xiuzhe had seen martial arts, but he had never seen magic, so he was somewhat excited. He politely called out, "Teacher Cao."

"Teacher Cao is highly respected and knowledgeable. Zhe'er, you must learn well from your teacher!" Donglong looked at Dongfang Xiuzhe with a gaze full of hope.

Dongfang Xiuzhe nodded, but he couldn’t help feeling that the old man in front of him didn’t seem very powerful.

Donglong and Xie Qiuping gave a few more instructions and then turned to leave.

After they left, Cao Mengde carefully examined this student. "So this is the son of the great general. He doesn’t look as foolish as the rumors suggest. He’s a pretty good kid, isn’t he?"

To be honest, Cao Mengde was very reluctant to take on this job. He had heard long ago that the son of General Donglong had been mentally impaired since childhood. For a well-known person like himself to teach a fool would damage his reputation.

But he couldn’t refuse General Donglong, so he reluctantly agreed.

However, he had already made up his mind to teach the child a few words and a few simple poems, and then resign on the pretext of old age and poor health.

As for Dongfang Xiuzhe, he was eagerly waiting for his first magic lesson from Teacher Cao. However, when the lesson began, he was dumbfounded.

This wasn’t teaching him magic; it was clearly teaching him to read and write.

Dongfang Xiuzhe didn’t need anyone to teach him to read and write; he had already learned it long ago.

......

Xie Qiuping and Donglong returned to the residence, still discussing the matter of finding a teacher for their son.

"Zhe'er must be very happy today. I didn’t realize he was such a studious child. If I had known earlier, I would have started his education sooner!" Donglong said with a smile.

"It’s not too late to start now. Our Zhe'er is still young!" Xie Qiuping also looked very pleased.

"My previous worries were unnecessary. Even if Zhe'er can’t become a general, he can still become a scholar. Ha ha!" Donglong became more and more excited as he spoke.

Just as the couple was chatting happily, a servant reported that Teacher Cao wanted to leave and looked extremely unhappy.

The couple was shocked. Could it be that Zhe'er had been disobedient and angered Teacher Cao?

But when they saw Cao Mengde, they were confused by his words.

"General, please find another teacher for your son!" Cao Mengde’s face was alternately red and white.

"Teacher Cao, please stay. Did my son do something to anger you?"

"I am incompetent and cannot teach a genius like your son!"

Cao Mengde insisted on leaving and refused to give a specific reason. Donglong couldn’t stop him and had to let him go.

However, he couldn’t help but ask Dongfang Xiuzhe about it.

"Zhe'er, what did you do to Teacher Cao to make him so angry?" Donglong asked, but with a kind and gentle expression.

Shrugging, Dongfang Xiuzhe said, "I didn’t do anything. I just asked him a few questions, and he couldn’t answer them. Then he started to make a fuss and wanted to leave!"

"What questions did you ask?" Xie Qiuping interjected, very curious.

Dongfang Xiuzhe didn’t hide anything and told them.

After hearing his explanation, both Donglong and Xie Qiuping laughed. The questions Dongfang Xiuzhe asked were so difficult that even Cao Mengde couldn’t answer them, let alone anyone else.

They asked a few more details but didn’t delve too deeply, and the matter was left unresolved.

However, they didn’t know that the questions Dongfang Xiuzhe asked were all about Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and after Cao Mengde couldn’t answer them, Dongfang Xiuzhe provided the answers.

Cao Mengde didn’t leave out of anger but out of shame.

Of course, after Cao Mengde left, they still needed to find someone else to be Dongfang Xiuzhe’s teacher.

After much consideration, Donglong decided to appoint his military advisor, Lin Yazi, as the teacher.

Lin Yazi was also highly knowledgeable and very wise. He was not only Donglong’s military advisor but also his teacher.

Donglong felt very reassured having Lin Yazi teach his son!

When the matter was proposed, Lin Yazi readily agreed.

Lin Yazi was no ordinary person. After taking on the task of teaching Dongfang Xiuzhe, he quickly discovered something astonishing!