Yang Dongxiong didn't live in the Martial Hall.
He often resided in a more luxurious courtyard in town, about a mile from the Martial Hall.
Today, Liang Qu was on Liang Qu Road without delay, borrowing three taels of silver from Xiang Changsong.
He intended to buy some gifts to show respect to the master at the various shops since basic courtesy must be understood.
However, after walking the entire road, there wasn't much to choose from.
Three taels of silver could absolutely sustain a person for a long while, but when buying gifts for a master, it felt a bit tight.
In the end, he could only buy some pastries and meat strips.
Meat sticks were a must, for there were customs about giving gifts for becoming an apprentice in this world as well.
"Junior Brother Liang, there's no need for this, Master Yang doesn’t care about such things."
"Senior Brother Xiang, a master may not mind, but a disciple cannot lack this intention."
Xiang Changsong scratched his head.
"Junior Brother Liang, you have a good heart."
He barely remembered if he himself had offered a gift back then.
“What an impressive residence.”
The Yang Manor was immense and could be seen from a hundred meters away.
A towering gate, with the words “Yang Manor” written in flamboyant calligraphy, marked the entrance to a majestic house.
Especially enticing was a small lake visible behind the house, with a little pavilion in its center.
Wilted lotus pods surrounded it, with trees lining the banks—a truly beautiful sight.
As they drew closer, ripples could be seen on the lake’s surface, despite there being no wind today.
It suggested there was a hidden river beneath, likely connected to the Jianghuai Marshlands.
Liang Qu wondered about what Li Libo had mentioned before, saying that Master Yang had been in the military, coming to Peaceful Sun Town to teach martial arts.
If this were true, Master Yang must have held a high rank before.
Inside the hall, sitting on the left seat, Yang Dongxiong's head was full of white hair.
He wasn’t particularly tall, but his aura was formidable, with eyes piercingly bright.
On Yang Master’s right sat his wife, Lady Xu, who seemed even older than Yang Dongxiong, possibly due to not practicing martial arts.
On the remaining sides sat the other seven disciples, two rows, with Xiang Changsong, the youngest, standing to the far right.
Usually, there would be one more disciple making it eight, but Liang Qu hadn't seen them since last night, likely due to some matters that pulled him away from Peaceful Sun Town.
In the hall presented was a cushion, where Liang Qu moved forward without hesitation and knelt on both knees.
“Liang Qu, you are grateful by nature, brave, and steady in work ethic. I wish to take you as a disciple. Are you willing?” Yang Dongxiong, authoritative, spoke.
A night's time was enough for him to learn about Liang Qu's past experiences.
What Xiang Changsong said was true; hence, there was no reason to back out.
Moreover, Liang Qu reminded Yang Dongxiong a lot of his younger self.
“Disciple is willing.”
“Joining my tutelage requires an open and humble heart, with heightened awareness and diligence, respecting the teacher and honoring our ways, being filial within and brotherly outside, forbidding rivalry among brethren, being ungrateful, committing misconduct, bullying the kindhearted. Do you remember this?”
“Disciple will remember.”
“Repeat it.”
“One must have an open and humble heart, humility sharpens diligence, respect the master, honor our path, be filial within, brotherly without, do not turn on fellow disciples, or be ungrateful, and never act out of line, or bully the virtuous.”
Liang Qu felt a slight sweat on his forehead.
Repeating it on the spot was quite a task.
Verbal memory is never as good as written words.
Without the foundation from his previous life, he probably wouldn’t remember.
He wondered if any of his senior brothers or sisters got stuck at this point too.
Yang Dongxiong showed a satisfied expression: “Good! Serve tea.”
Waiting for a while, a maid came up with a lacquered tray, presenting the tea for honoring the teacher.
"Present this bowl of tea, and the master-disciple ritual is complete. From this day forth, you are my ninth disciple, Liang Qu!"
Hearing this, Liang Qu respectfully accepted the porcelain bowl, slightly bending his body, raised his hands, and offered the honoring tea.
Yang Dongxiong accepted it with both hands, lifted the lid, and drank it all in one go.
Immediately after, Yang Dongxiong stood up and helped Liang Qu to his feet.
From this moment, they had become master and disciple.
At this moment, Liang Qu finally let go of a heavy sigh, an emotional tide welled in his heart.
Everything from last night was not a dream! He was no longer a humble, background-less rural fisherman; he was now the ninth disciple of Yang Dongxiong!
Who would dare bully him now?
After the tea was finished, Liang Qu handed over his offerings to the master: “Disciple's resources are limited, only able to buy some pastries. I hope Master won’t reject them."
Xiang Changsong quickly stepped forward to add: “Master, Junior Brother Liang truly has a heart. To present the master gift, he didn't hesitate to borrow silver from me. I told him you wouldn’t care about these things, but he said, ‘Master may ignore it, but a disciple cannot be without this intention.’”
“What a good child,” praised Lady Xu, sitting beside Yang Master.
Yang Dongxiong laughed heartily, patting Liang Qu’s shoulder while uttering a chain of good words.
He appreciated the thought.
Though Liang Qu grew up as a fisherman, he had the wisdom and filial piety rare for someone uneducated, marking him as both smart and sincere.
Yet, after laughing, Yang Dongxiong put on a stern face: "You have shown thoughtfulness, which makes me glad, but I hope this won't become a burden. I checked your background last night, do not blame me for being meticulous, as taking in a disciple is a major matter.”
“Disciple understands.” Liang Qu quickly nodded.
They weren’t a fee-paying pupil and teacher at the Martial Hall, but genuinely a master and disciple, like half a father and son.
Who wouldn't be careful about such a relationship?
“As long as you understand, for I know you are an orphan with a hard life. Nan Di!” Yang Dongxiong extended his hand, and the maid who presented the tea stepped forward, handing a money pouch and a red-black waist tag to Yang Dongxiong.
Yang Dongxiong took them and passed them to Liang Qu.
The waist tag was hefty, made of wood – though what kind, he didn’t know – designed lengthwise, with a semicircle at the top and a loop for a string.
The intricate patterns were pleasantly gripping and beautifully intricate.
Flipping over, one side bore his name, while the other displayed a prominent “Yang” with smaller characters beneath, all carved outwards, the letters standing proud on the surface.
Carved inward was the surrounding, leaving a raised edge, for reducing wear over time.
It must have been existing prior, with his name added overnight – surely not enough time for such an intricate craftwork.
Liang Qu reckoned.
“The waist tag is your identification; regular officials won’t trouble you upon seeing it. Buy medicines at the Evergreen Medical Hall in town, and you'll get half off. The pouch contains 10 taels of silver. Use it to procure something for yourself.”
“Thank you, Master!” Liang Qu felt touched, almost like a father’s care.
Master was truly overestimating his financial abilities, still ‘only’ giving 10 taels of silver.
Kindly note, 10 taels was a massive amount of money he’d never dreamt of!
Currently, the highest he’d ever saved before learning martial arts was 9 taels and 3 qián, now only tens of copper coins left on him.
Indeed, people are different from one another.
"Since the master gave a gift, as senior brothers, we cannot be stingy. We prepared a token of our presence last night, just unsure if Junior Brother likes it."
A tall man stepped forward, squarish in visage, though dark was his complexion, akin to a farmer's.
According to Xiang Changsong's introduction, this was Yang Dongxiong’s second disciple—Yu Dun.
“Yes, we prepared as well.”
"And me."
"Naturally, there is something!" Various senior brothers chimed in, all ready with gifts for their new junior brother.
(End of chapter)