Chapter 150: Master and Servant

In the examination hall.

Several classmates seated around Zheng Fa, hearing him gently put down his pen, couldn't help stealing glances at him.

Their expressions were nearly identical—crushed: You've finished again? It's only been an hour since the exam started!

Even the female proctor couldn't resist walking over to glance at Zheng Fa's answer sheet; only after seeing it filled completely did she slowly walk away.

The college entrance exam was truly no challenge for Zheng Fa.

Especially after gaining cultivation, his reaction speed and memory had improved significantly.

If a test paper contained no tricky or difficult questions, he could finish it in under an hour—and still have time to review it.

It was still too early to submit, so Zheng Fa sat in his seat, already thinking about his next steps.

Previously, because he was illiterate, he had to study extremely hard just to keep up.

For at least five years, his studies were relentless:

In the Xuanwei Realm, even while working in the fields under the blazing sun, he felt nothing but continued reciting the textbooks he had memorized.

In the modern world, he barely left his home for five years, rarely entertained himself, living a life cut off from society.

This college entrance exam was the culmination of his daily, relentless efforts.

But university was another matter entirely.

He had no reason to attend university—or rather, the things others cared about, he did not care about.

He could gain wealth and status in the modern world without a diploma—just as Tang Lingwumin had said: I don't need a diploma.

Zheng Fa's purpose in attending university, on a small scale, was to truly learn how to conduct research, how to organize a laboratory, so he could fully realize the value of the nursing home.

On a larger scale, he wanted to truly cultivate his scientific thinking, to decipher the true Dao of Immortals—Zheng Fa always understood that the greatest advantage modernity could offer him was only thought.

He wanted to learn more.

Of course, there was also the idea of attracting more scholars to join the nursing home.

Zheng Fa now cultivated the Ling Shan Method, and his desire to establish the nursing home had grown more urgent—The "Foundation Establishment Method of Talisman Dao" now faced two difficult problems:

First, after discovering the Three-Child Talisman Law, research must now be conducted on the unknown Type A and Type B child talismans.

Especially after studying the child talismans within Lin Bu Fan's body, Zheng Fa had gained some inspiration:

Type A child talismans remained baffling.

But for Type B child talismans, Zheng Fa had two hypotheses—

First, these are directional child talismans; for instance, the two talismans within Lin Bu Fan's body might point toward the Demon Ancestor of the Great Freedom Demon Sect, and the other toward himself.

This is precisely what Tang Lingwumin proposed—that such talismans are interactive, as if all things in the world were hardware of a computer.

The biggest problem with this hypothesis is—the number of possible targets is infinite.

If true, then Type B child talismans would be limitless.

Second: they are a kind of interactive talisman, interacting with something more fundamental.

This hypothesis came from Zheng Fa's extrapolation based on the model of the four fundamental forces.

The advantage of this hypothesis is—it might be sufficiently simple.

The drawback is—it's pure speculation, with zero evidence.

The second problem was even older—what is the true nature of the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagram? This had troubled Zheng Fa for a long time.

He still couldn't comprehend the concept of Yin and Yang generating each other.

…

He was currently at Qi Refining Level Six.

At his current cultivation pace, he would likely reach Qi Refining Level Seven before August, truly beginning to implement the Ling Shan Method.

When Zheng Fa exited the examination hall after the college entrance exam, he was surprised—he did not see Tang Lingwumin waiting for him.

For the past two days, every time he finished an exam, Zheng Fa had found Tang Lingwumin waiting at the entrance.

But now, after the final exam, Tang Lingwumin was gone.

The one who came to pick him up was the White Old Man.

"What are you looking for?" the White Old Man, seeing him search, patted his shoulder: "What's wrong? Isn't me coming to pick you up enough?"

Zheng Fa shook his head and said nothing more.

He followed the White Old Man onto the bus.

The bus rattled slowly along.

The bus was full of examinees, their faces relaxed, gathered in small groups, chattering away.

"How did it go?" the White Old Man asked Zheng Fa.

"Not bad."

"Can you get into Beijing University?"

The White Old Man's question silenced everyone around them; they all turned to stare at him, their faces reading clearly—

So bold!

"Probably."

Zheng Fa nodded; the top three students from Qing Shui High School still had a decent chance of entering Beijing University.

Then he saw the entire bus fall silent, staring at him, their faces reading again—

So full of himself!

…

After getting off the bus, Zheng Fa and the White Old Man exchanged a glance and both laughed—they hadn't spoken a word during the entire ride back.

"When do we go to Beijing? Wait for the acceptance letter?"

"Go sooner. The nursing home is most important."

"When exactly?"

"I have some matters to attend to at home. Early July."

"What matters?"

"Some trivial things—thank the teachers and staff who looked after me these years, and… visit my parents' graves."

Honestly, he didn't even know what connection he had with this body, but the parents who raised it had done him a great favor.

Now that he was leaving his hometown, he ought to pay his respects, out of both sentiment and duty.

"... lright."

The two walked silently into the Qing Shui High School residential area, when the White Old Man suddenly said: "Come eat at my place—the meal's already ready."

Zheng Fa turned to look at him and nodded.

As soon as he entered the White Old Man's home, he was surprised—

He wasn't surprised that Tang Lingwumin was there.

He was surprised that Teacher Tian was there too.

Both were in the kitchen; Tang Lingwumin stood before the stove, holding a spatula as if facing an enemy.

Teacher Tian stood beside her, seemingly giving guidance.

Seeing them return, Teacher Tian stepped out of the kitchen.

Tang Lingwumin, embarrassed, hid inside and didn't show herself.

"Teacher Tian, why are you here?"

"Old Bai said that now that your exam is over, other families celebrate with dinners—he wanted to throw you one too," Teacher Tian smiled. "But… he can't cook!"

"So you called me?"

"I happened to be free."

Teacher Tian waved her hand, laughing cheerfully.

Zheng Fa glanced at the White Old Man, who was grinning sheepishly—the old man had wanted to surprise him, yet went through the trouble of pleading with Teacher Tian.

On the other hand, given that Teacher Tian had only met him once, yet willingly came here to cook for him, Zheng Fa truly felt grateful.

As for whether Teacher Tian knew he might be able to cure her—based on his understanding of the White Old Man, the old man knew his limits well.

"And her?" Zheng Fa glanced toward the kitchen, where Tang Lingwumin was still hiding.

Teacher Tian gave Zheng Fa a knowing look and said: "She, for some reason, suddenly developed an interest in cooking."

Her tone suggested she knew exactly why.

…

During dinner, Zheng Fa understood why the White Old Man had invited Teacher Tian—she truly had skill!

Even a simple dish of greens tasted not only free of vegetable bitterness, but sweet and fresh.

"Aunt Tian, your cooking is better than any restaurant I've ever eaten at!"

Tang Lingwumin praised this way; given her background, this was no small compliment.

"The place where I did my research was extremely remote," Teacher Tian smiled. "There were no restaurants—I had no choice but to learn."

"Wait a minute—you call my grandfather 'grandpa,' but you call her 'aunt'?" Seeing how familiar they'd become, the White Old Man was both pleased and puzzled: "The generations don't match!"

"Do you have a problem with that?" On this matter, even the cheerful Teacher Tian refused to yield; she gave him a sharp glance, and the White Old Man fell silent.

Watching Tang Lingwumin lean against Teacher Tian, whispering to her, Zheng Fa noticed another trait in the girl—she was a favorite of old folks.

In such a short time, the two had grown so close.

As he watched, Zheng Fa noticed Tang Lingwumin's small move—she quietly slid her own stir-fried tomato and egg dish toward herself, covering it with her hand, devouring it greedily.

As she ate, she frowned slightly, looking quietly disappointed.

Honestly, for a beginner, this dish wasn't bad—at least it was cooked through.

But compared to Teacher Tian's cooking, there were plenty of flaws—the tomatoes were too hard, the eggs too dry, and above all, there was too much salt.

No wonder Tang Lingwumin felt a little ashamed; after all that effort, she still hid the dish, reluctant to let anyone eat it.

Zheng Fa reached out and rescued the dish of tomatoes and eggs from under Tang Lingwumin's arm.

"Too salty!" Tang Lingwumin exclaimed.

Zheng Fa scooped the eggs into his bowl with chopsticks, nodded, and said without looking up, "It's fine—I like it salty."

Tang Lingwumin froze, then smiled with her lips pressed together.

The old man beside them chewed his greens, then puzzledly asked Teacher Tian, "Did you put sugar in this dish?"

"... o."

"Then why does my mouth feel so cloying?"

Xuanwei Realm.

Zheng Fa stood before Lin Bofan, studying a black jade ring on his right hand.

This was Lin Bofan's soul seal; if Zheng Fa wished, a single thought could end Lin Bofan's life in an instant.

Lin Bofan lay on the bed, pale-faced and dazed—as if unsure whether today's choice had been right.

"I humbly ask the young master to grant me a name."

He spoke softly.

Clearly, this was a man who understood his place.

After confirming the master-servant bond, it was customary in the Xuanwei Realm for the master to bestow a new name.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't care either way. Besides, your uncle is also surnamed Lin—changing it would look odd."

Lin Bofan's eyes flickered slightly; his confusion lessened. He felt that Zheng Fa's attitude at least proved he wasn't a cruel man.

After long consideration, he suddenly said, "Then let me change my name to Lin Fan—the young master once said..."

"No!"

"?"

Seeing Lin Bofan's puzzled expression, Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then said, "That name... is unlucky for the master."

"..."

"By the way." Zheng Fa pulled a white porcelain bottle from behind him. "You do it yourself?"

Lin Bofan looked at the bottle—now even larger than before—then at Zheng Fa—

His eyes grew dazed once more.