Chapter 34

Perhaps explaining the meaning of the characters to you wouldn't help you understand, but it's fine if you don't understand. I can demonstrate it for you.

This is what Ding Ning did. He wrote a simple character for "ice," and the surrounding old men actually dared not get close, fearing they might slip. This is the meaning of the character.

After Ding Ning finished writing the character and left, the old men watched excitedly but did not approach. As a result, there was space above and around the character, allowing people to pass through.

A middle-aged man came out for a morning run and casually ran, about to step on the character Ding Ning had written.

Old Chen, who was still looking at the character, saw someone about to step on it and hurriedly warned, "Be careful of your step!"

The man was startled; he remembered there was nothing on the ground.

Since the character was written with water, it had no color, and the water marks were not heavy. From a distance, it was hard to see. The man was also standing tall, so he didn't notice.

Old Chen's reminder made the man suspiciously look down. Not looking was fine, but once he looked, things went wrong.

A patch of ice, about the size of a floor tile, appeared under his feet. The man immediately felt his feet slip, lost his balance, and wobbled to maintain it.

After a few flailing movements, the man couldn't stand and fell on his butt.

"Ouch! In the middle of summer, who took the ice out of the fridge?"

The man loudly complained, bent down to touch his butt, and his expression changed.

The ice was gone, leaving only a faint water mark. The high summer temperature made it dry quickly. When he sat on it, the character for "ice" was already unrecognizable.

"I clearly saw the ice, but how did it turn into water? My butt isn't that hot, right? It melted so quickly, that's not scientific!"

The man, ignoring the pain in his butt, got up in confusion and started looking for something on the ground.

The old men nearby found it amusing but were also amazed by Ding Ning's incredible calligraphy skills.

Old Feng was even more determined in his thoughts and turned to say something to Ding Ning, but Ding Ning spoke first: "Old man, did that little girl not come today?"

Old Feng, reminded by Ding Ning, suddenly remembered something and said, "I almost forgot. Miss Xiaoyue came earlier and told me she had to pick up a guest today, so she couldn't come to practice boxing with you."

"Oh, I see. What guest came so early?" Ding Ning asked casually.

"It seems to be a flight from abroad. She said it was an old friend of her family who came to see her mother."

Hearing this, Ding Ning asked curiously, "Is her mother sick?"

"Ah, it's not really a disease. After a car accident a few years ago, she has been in a coma, a vegetative state."

Listening to Old Feng's sigh, Ding Ning's thoughts raced.

A vegetative state is indeed a challenge for modern medicine, but it's nothing for Ding Ning.

Once Ding Ning reaches the second level of Qi Induction and can write more advanced talismans, he can write a Spirit-Gathering Talisman to gather the scattered consciousness of a vegetative patient, making the patient regain consciousness. With some medication, a complete recovery within a week is no problem.

He didn't expect that An Xiaoyue's mother had such a condition. Once he breaks through to the second level of Qi Induction, he must cure her mother.

As for the person who returned from abroad, Ding Ning could only hope they wouldn't make things worse.

After bidding farewell to Old Feng, Ding Ning slowly ran away. Old Feng quietly took out his phone and made a call.

"Did you find out?"

"Already found out. Ding Ning, male, 16 years old, from Qingshan Village, Xiushui County, Binhai City. He lives with his mother, and only he and his mother are listed in the household registration."

"No father?"

"None found."

Old Feng silently hung up the phone. It seems Ding Ning comes from a poor family. But who taught him to write and practice Tai Chi?

*****

Not seeing An Xiaoyue and not being able to give her the bracelet, Ding Ning couldn't stay in Binhai any longer. He first returned to the small courtyard where he lived.

The true owner of the small courtyard was already dead, and no one would come here for the time being. Ding Ning checked that the clover in the flower bed was still intact, packed some simple things, and said goodbye to Lin Xuan, reminding him to mail the money from yesterday. Then he left.

He first bought a lot of food at the market, bought two sets of clothes for his mother, and a Tang suit for his master. He also changed into a casual outfit, spending almost all the money he had. Then he prepared to go home.

Taking a bus to the bus station, then a bus to the county, and finally a minibus back to Qingshan Village, after more than three hours, Ding Ning finally arrived home.

He didn't know if it was a delusion, but from the bus station in the city, Ding Ning had a feeling of being followed. This feeling disappeared only when he got on the bus back to Qingshan Village.

Not thinking too much about it, Ding Ning felt a sense of returning home in glory.

When he left, his family was poor, but in just a few days, Ding Ning had nearly ten thousand in wealth. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to no longer be poor.

Holding a large bag, Ding Ning stood at the door, and the smell of food wafted out. After eating outside for several days, Ding Ning couldn't resist the urge to eat and shouted, "Mom! I'm back!"

The door opened, and his beautiful mother, Thirteen Lady, opened it, looking at her son with joy.

"Ah Ning, you're back! Let me see, oh, my son has lost weight."

Thirteen Lady happily pinched her son's chubby face, pulling it a bit, which she had always done when she was happy.

Ding Ning shook his head in dissatisfaction, "Mom, I'm going to high school soon. Don't treat me like a kid, okay?"

"Okay, okay, Ah Ning is a big boy now. Come in quickly, Mom is cooking. We'll eat soon."

"No rush, Mom, come and see what I bought."

Ding Ning carried the bags into the house and took out the things he had bought one by one.

Thirteen Lady's eyes lit up with surprise, "Ah Ning, did you sell the Chinese knots?"

"Yes, I not only sold the Chinese knots but also bought a lottery ticket and won 80,000 yuan."

This was the reason Ding Ning had already thought of, otherwise, it would be hard to explain where the money came from.

"Win the lottery?" Thirteen Lady looked doubtful. Is my son that lucky?

"Yes, I sold the Chinese knots and saw a lottery stand, so I bought a ticket. I didn't expect to win the first prize of 80,000 yuan that night."

"Is that true? It sounds like a story to me."

"Hey, Mom, don't worry. Your son has good luck. After worshipping Guan Yu with my master for so many years, naturally, the gods will protect us. Here's a card with 50,000 yuan. Mom, keep it. I'll ask you for high school tuition for the next three years."

Thirteen Lady took the card hesitantly, not quite believing her son's luck but unable to find a reason for where the money came from.

"I still have 20,000 yuan to repair the temple for my master. The rest was used to buy things and rent a house in the city. Mom, has my master come back?"

Ding Ning saw his mother's doubt and spoke quickly, afraid she would ask more questions.

Sure enough, Thirteen Lady's attention was temporarily diverted, "Climbing the mountain is difficult for me. I saw your master two days ago, but he hadn't returned. I don't know if he's back today."

"Ah? He hasn't come back yet? I'll go check quickly. Mom, try on these clothes and see if they fit. I'll go now."

Ding Ning said and quickly ran out of the house.

"Hey! This child, remember to come back for dinner early!"

With his mother's reminder, Ding Ning left the house. He was eager to see if his master had returned and also wanted to show off his money to his master.