Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 252 Cultivating Martial Arts My ass
Seeing that he was about to face a tragic end, Shi Yizhi panicked and shouted, "You're so fierce! Which family would dare to take you in again!"

"What did you say!?"

Hearing Shi Yizhi's shouts, a hint of sadness flashed in the young woman's eyes, but she immediately raised her red-tasseled spear and roared, "You dare say that to me again?!"

Shi Yizhi dared not go any further and muttered softly, "Second Sister, I was wrong, I was really wrong. You, you go back first, I promise I'll go back right away..."

"I can't control you!"

Unexpectedly, those two "threats" were just casual threats. The young woman looked tired and didn't press Shi Yizhi about being confined or escaping. Instead, she finally spoke in a normal tone, saying, "I can't control you. You'd better take care of yourself!"

With that, the young woman dragged her red-tasseled spear and hurriedly left West Gate Street.

After a while, the merchant patted the countertop of the stall, his tone tinged with concern: "Hey, you rascal! Your second sister's gone, aren't you coming out yet?"

With a rustling sound, Shi Yizhi finally crawled out of the shed, but he looked rather miserable, his face was all wrinkled and covered in grime.

The merchant, sensing the situation, didn't try to persuade the two of them further. Instead, he slipped the three gold leaves the young woman had left behind into Shi Yizhi's hand, saying, "Here, this is the gold your second sister gave you. She originally intended to demolish my shed, but I don't think it's necessary anymore, so you should take it back! Everyone's money is hard-earned!"

Shi Yizhi wiped his face, refusing the gold leaf. Instead, he raised his chin high and said proudly, "No need! If Second Sister gives it to you, then it's yours! My Shi family wouldn't stoop to such petty concerns!"

"I know the Shi family, the General Shi who died alongside Emperor Minyeol and was killed by that monster!"

Unexpectedly, this merchant was quite knowledgeable. As he spoke, he forcefully tore open Shi Yizhi's already wrinkled clothes and stuffed three gold leaves into a hidden pocket in his pocket before adding, "We common people have heard that General Shi died for his country. Although I am not as wealthy as the Shi family, I am not short of food and drink. How could I possibly ask the Shi family for money? The Shi family is now mostly old and young..."

At this point, the merchant hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but reveal his true feelings: "Young master, you must be General Shi's young master, right? I've heard that General Shi has seven sons, six of whom died in battle. Now, you are the only male heir in the Shi family. I'm afraid this burden will fall on your shoulders. You shouldn't hold a grudge against your family..."

Shi Yizhi was already annoyed by the lecture from this stranger, and hearing the man speak ill of his father and the Shi family made him blush even more. He couldn't care less about refusing the gold leaf anymore, and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "I understand!"

After speaking, Shi Yizhi felt even more embarrassed, so he used his inner energy and leaped out of the West Gate Street of the city, disappearing without a trace.

After finally escaping the suffocating place, Shi Yizhi did not return to the Shi family home, but instead wandered aimlessly in a deserted alley.

The Shi family was originally a prominent military family in the Zhou Kingdom. General Shi, who led the "Shi Family Generals," was once so famous that he could be compared with Heshi Lie of the Xiao Kingdom. In his youth, he led troops to repel the offensive of the Jinsha Kingdom on several occasions. In several attempts by the Northern Xiao Kingdom and the Southern Chu Kingdom to probe the Zhou Kingdom, he firmly defended the territory of the Zhou Kingdom and was highly trusted by Emperor Minyeol, Li Renshun.

General Shi was quite famous among the people and had always been Li Renshun's confidant and right-hand man. He was both the general in charge of the palace guards and controlled the Imperial Guards to ensure Li Renshun's safety.

However, it was precisely because of this that he unfortunately met his demise and became one of the first Zhou officials killed by the Mirror-like National Preceptor.

General Shi had seven sons and two daughters. Six of his sons died at the hands of the Mingjing National Preceptor while helping their father to communicate and deliver messages in an attempt to rescue Li Renshun. Only the sixth son, Shi Yizhi, escaped the calamity because he went to the Yuxu Sect of Xiao Kingdom to study martial arts.

In that catastrophe, besides the Shi family, many military families perished for their country. For example, the eldest daughter of General Shi, who was already married, and her husband, the youngest daughter, all died as a result.

Because the Shi family's family martial arts are divided into Yin and Yang, and men and women are ranked separately, the "second sister" mentioned by Shi Yizhi is the only surviving daughter of General Shi, named Shi Ying, while Shi Yizhi, the sixth son, is the only surviving son.

So, to be precise, Shi Ying is now a widow. Shi Yizhi even wanted to find a handsome young general to marry his second sister, so that she wouldn't be left heartbroken in the dilapidated Shi family. However, he was beaten up and had to give up the idea.

As the merchant said, the Shi family is now in a dire situation. The entire burden of the family business rests on Shi Yizhi's shoulders. But he is only sixteen years old. No matter what he does, he is ridiculed for being a greenhorn. Even in martial arts, because he has always been lazy, he has only reached the eighth rank.

The eighth rank is barely enough to travel around the martial arts world, but in the prestigious Shi family, as the son of General Shi, who once cultivated to the fourth rank of the Acquired Venerable, Shi Yizhi was even ashamed to mention it.

The Shi family has fallen on hard times.

The more Shi Yizhi heard the people's praise for the Shi family in the past, the more distressed he felt.

Because it's like a constant reminder to yourself: you are not as good as your father and brothers, far inferior, and even the Shi family is about to decline in your hands.

This is rather cruel for a sixteen-year-old boy.

The reason Shi Yizhi was confined this time was because he was discovered by Old Lady Zhong—his grandmother—to be secretly practicing the Dao of Immortality!
What's going on!

Grandma Zhong was not unaware of the rise of the Immortal Path, nor was she unaware that the current ruler, Immortal Baishi, cultivated and promoted the Immortal Path.

However, the Shi family can no longer afford any more attempts and failures. The path of immortality can be cultivated by granddaughters and grandsons, but it cannot be cultivated by the eldest son, the only heir!
If they can't achieve anything and give up martial arts, then the Shi family will truly decline! But Shi Yizhi doesn't think so.

Because his cousin had managed to get into Baishi Xiandao University by chance as a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), Shi Yizhi pestered his cousin to also read the "textbooks" from Baishi Xiandao University.

He was completely captivated by the cultivation system described in books like "The Immortal Dao Book of Baishi," "The Book of Qi Sensing of Baishi," and "The Basic Theory of Qi Induction into the Body," and realized that martial arts was truly on the verge of decline.

Then what's the point of practicing martial arts!

So what if the Yin-Yang Daoist Technique, created by the Shi family's ancestor, is lost? As long as the Shi family is preserved, one day he will be able to create a unique Yin-Yang Daoist Technique of the Shi family that belongs to the immortal path!

We must never miss the opportunity to cultivate immortality!

However, Shi Yizhi was only interested in traveling all over the country back then. Even though he stayed at the Jade Void Sect for two years, he only learned some basic swordsmanship and did not take the imperial examination at all!
The requirements for admission to Shiraishi Sendo University, besides taking an exam, also included at least the status of a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations)!
Out of desperation, Shi Yizhi heard that the fake stationmaster of the Chang'an City Passenger Transport Station (in ancient times, "fake" meant "agent") had actually achieved Qi cultivation earlier than the students of Baishi Immortal University through self-study, and he began to have such thoughts.

If that fake stationmaster can do it, so can I!
Shi Yizhi confidently spent a lot of his pocket money to find those three books on the White Stone Immortal Dao, but before he could even study them, his old servant discovered them.

Then, to prevent himself from "going astray," the loyal old servant turned around and complained to Old Lady Zhong.

The three books were immediately confiscated, and his plan to cultivate immortality was cut short before he even began, leaving him confined to his home!

But it doesn't matter. Shi Yizhi has been confined to his home before. He knows the way well and sneaks out, thinking of finding another set of White Stone Immortal Dao books on the most bustling West Gate Street in the entire Chang'an City. Unexpectedly, he was discovered and chased out by his second sister Shi Ying in less than an hour, which led to the series of accidents just now.

Giving up the path of immortality was impossible for Shi Yizhi; in his heart, this was the Shi family's only chance.

However, he had no idea how to cultivate immortality.

Even if I manage to buy the books this time, they will eventually be confiscated again. If this continues, my hard-earned savings will be depleted—this set of books is not cheap!

Just as they were fretting, a burly man with a full beard suddenly turned into the empty alley. This man had deep-set eyes and prominent bones, and looked like he came from the Western Regions.

Then, under Shi Yizhi's puzzled gaze, the burly man walked straight forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked in a gruff voice, "May I ask, young brother, how do I get to the teleportation station in Chang'an City?"

Their Mandarin is quite standard.

Shi Yi first looked at the burly man with a beard with some confusion, then his eyes lit up and he asked, "Are you... a cultivator?"

The burly man with the thick beard replied, "Oh, no, I am from Khwarezm. I have heard that a true god has appeared in the East, so I have come to participate in the Immortal Alliance Assembly!"

Shi Yizhi was skeptical: "Are you from Khwarezm? Your Jingzhao dialect is so fluent?"

Although the bearded man did look like someone from the Western Regions, Shi Yizhi had seen people from that region before. Their accents were very heavy, and sometimes he couldn't understand what they were saying!
"To be honest, I was originally a Zoroastrian official, but later I switched allegiance to the Grand Preceptor of Daxing Temple... Ah, I'm referring to that old Grand Preceptor," the bearded man patiently explained, "I suppose it's because I've been in Jingzhao Prefecture... which is Chang'an City for about ten years, that's why I speak the Jingzhao dialect so well. Please excuse my poor accent, young man..."

"Unfortunately, I happened to return to Khwarezm before the old Grand Preceptor's incident and only recently returned with a merchant caravan. I was unaware of the old Grand Preceptor's murder. If I had known, I would never have left; I would have wanted to repay the old Grand Preceptor's kindness..."

At this point, the bearded man looked somber, and his tone was very sincere.

“You’re no use staying here. That evil monk is a demon. I heard that even my father, the old general, was killed without a sound. If you stay at Daxing Temple, you’ll just be another corpse. On the contrary, with you as my disciple, you might be able to revitalize the old national teacher’s Buddhism.”

Shi Yizhi's tone was also low, but his words were intended to comfort, showing a lot of empathy.

The burly man with the thick beard nodded frankly upon hearing this: "Young brother is absolutely right. Even the Grand Preceptor, with his cultivation level of Grandmaster, is helpless against this, let alone my mere fifth-rank cultivation! It's just a pity that what I came here to seek guidance from was not Buddhism, but rather my confusion about Zoroastrianism. Therefore, I am unable to help the Grand Preceptor spread Buddhism. I am ashamed."

Shi Yizhi then belatedly realized, "Oh right, I see you haven't shaved your head!"

The burly man with the thick beard nodded and said, "I am but a common man, and I cannot bear such precepts..."

After finishing his sentence, he hadn't forgotten his purpose and asked again, "By the way, young brother, I would be grateful if you could enlighten me. I haven't been back to Jingzhao Prefecture for many years, and this area looks completely unfamiliar to me. How exactly do I get to the teleportation station in Chang'an City?"

(End of this chapter)