Rebirth of the Genius Charlatan

Chapter 11 – Becoming a Disciple.

Xia Shao followed the old man into the study room, sweeping a glance at the furnishings and she was stunned.

The books placed on the antique shelves looked very old, and after a casual glance, the names of the books made Xia Shao feel slightly awkward.

《 Zhou Yi1 》, 《Zhai Jing2 》, 《 Cang Jing3 》, 《 Duan Yi TianJi4 》, 《 LiuRen Yin Yang Jing5 》, 《 Yi Si Zhan6 》, 《 Shu Cang7 》, 《 QiMen DunJia8 》……

In addition to these, there were also books on Taoism and medicine such as 《Lao Tzu9》, 《Zhuang Zi10》, 《Dao Cang11》,《HuangDi NeiJing12》, and 《Nan Jing13》.

At a second glance, the table was also decorated with LuoPan14, GuiJia15, and Bronze Coins16, these made Xia Shao felt so strange.

Was it possible that this old man who had been rumoured as an entrepreneur in the village, was actually an occultist?

Just when she was left in her strange thoughts, the old man had turned his wheelchair and faced her.

“Little girl, your name is Xia Shao, and you will be ten years old in four months, am I right?”

Xia Shao nodded her head, thinking that he had inquired very clearly of her details. Yet she kept quiet about it and curiously waited for the old man to continue.

As expected, the old man stroked his white beard and stared at her while nodding his head: “I have read your fortune the other day and found that you have a strange destiny. I have seen your bone structure just now, and they are very beautiful which makes you very suitable to join in my Xuan Sect. Just that I’m not sure if you will be willing or not?”

There was another important reason why he wanted to take Xia Shao as his disciple, and that was not only because she had a peculiar destiny, but with his power, he was unable to deduce her future destiny!

A year ago, he had observed a disturbance in the TianJi17, yet he didn’t know what the problem was. However, when he found out that Xia Shao’s simple words managed to help Professor Zhou in avoiding the catastrophe, he realized that TianJi was reflected upon this little girl.

He couldn’t tell whether if it was a good or bad sign. Yet such a person, who could change the plans of TianJi, and still was a little child, since he had bumped into her, of course, it was naturally of him wanting to guide her well.

Thus, she would be guided by good and drive away from evil in the future, and avoid bringing misfortune to the world.

Most of the females were not suited for this line of work. However, not all of them are unsuitable, the disturbance in TianJi reflected upon her, and after some tests today, he could foresee that this child had a strong heart and a good nature.

Also, the rarest thing was that she had such a good bones structure, a rare gift that could help pass on his lineage! That was when he had decided to take her in as a disciple.

At this moment, Xia Shao was also surprised. Although she had a feeling that today was very important to her, yet she didn’t expect the result to be like this.

To be honest, in her previous life, she was very interested in metaphysics and ecclesiology ever since she learned about its profundity. Just that she was busy with work after graduation, so she didn’t have the opportunity to come into further contact with these.

Today, this old man offered to take her in as his disciple, and of course, she was naturally willing to do so.

However, there were so many different sects of metaphysics and very few of them had a legacy. How would she know whether if this old man was a real master or a fraud?

“Lao Yeye, are you talking about fortune telling? My grandmother said that the blind man in the neighbouring village was very accurate. That the soul of the youngest grandson of Grandma Liu’s family in the eastern end of the village had been taken away by an old fox spirit. So they could only ask a Shifu to perform a spell to capture the old fox spirit.” Xia Shao blinked, and lifted her little face, her smile looks so innocent and beautiful.

The old man glared and blew out his beard: “Ah pui pui pui! Those frauds who cheat people out of their money and wreak havoc! Don’t even think of touching the toes of our lineage! Our lineage has a proper heritage! Our ancestor is Li ChunFeng, who is known as the ancestor of the six calendrical astrology, and the first person in astronomy and calendars in ancient times! It has been handed down from the Tang Dynasty to me, Tang ZongBo, for my generation. Right now is the 105th generation. Today, there are many different sects of metaphysics, but none of them have been older than our sect.  In terms of Feng Shui, divination, fortune-telling, and QiMen formation, apart from our sect, none dares to call itself a Xuan Sect!”

Tang ZongBo glared at Xia Shao, this girl looks so docile, but her words could piss other off! How could those deceitful people compare with the Xuan Sect?

“Our lineage is thin, but that is because we are very strict in accepting disciples, and the first thing we look out for is the character, we would not accept those with a bad conscience! Otherwise, Feng Shui techniques and QiMen formations, once a scourge know it, it will cause extremely deadly! Furthermore, those with poor bones structure will not be accepted too! A proper heritage has a cultivation method to be practiced, so without a good bones structure, how can one practice it? Finally, it is about one’s destiny and fate, and not everyone can enter the profession. You little girl, you have the advantages and still trying to gain more benefit!”

He shook his head and glared at Xia Shao: “Little girl, I see that you have good assets so that’s why I wanted to take you in as a disciple, answer me quickly, are you willing or not?”

There was a smile under Tang ZongBo’s gleaming eyes as he bluffing for fun.

He had been recuperating in the village for the past two years, except for the old village chief that came over to deliver things, he had been avoiding the outsiders and was feeling a bit lonely so today he would definitely take her in as a disciple.

Tang ZongBo, had no children in his life, and at this age, he loved children and their liveliness. It was fun to think that in the future, he would have a little girl hanging around him every day, talking and chatting with him.

Tang ZongBo had no reservations when explaining these things to Xia Shao. Firstly, what he said was the truth and secondly, if she was to be initiated, she would have to know these things sooner or later. Although at her age right now, she might not understand much.

Tang ZongBo thought Xia Shao didn’t understand, but he didn’t know that she was incomparably shocked at this moment!

Her shock was all focused on one person.

Li ChunFeng?

Li ChunFeng, who, together with Yuan TianGang, wrote the 《Tui Bei Tu》 during the Tang Dynasty?!

《Tui Bei Tu》 could be described as a miraculous book of oriental prophecy, and the accuracy of its predictions had been classified as a forbidden (harmonious) book in all dynasties.

The reason for this was that the book predicts not only the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty but also the subsequent dynastic changes and the major historical events afterward.

What was even more astonishing was that the order of these dynasties matches the history perfectly! The book even predicts historical events such as TaiPing Heavenly Kingdom, the entry of Qing Troops into China, and the Japanese invasion of China, and all of them came true.

In the beginning, Xia Shao went to look up information because she was extremely curious about the person who had written such a book. Only then did she discover that Li ChunFeng’s achievement was not only limited in the 《Tui Bei Tu》.

He studied with Taoist Shifu ZhiYuan at the age of nine, became Li ShiMin’s advisor at the age of 17, participated in the uprising against the Sui Dynasty, and later became Li ShiMin’s counselor after Li ShiMin was crowned as Prince of Qin.

At the age of 25, he authored a book on astronomical observations and calendric 《 Fa Xiang Zhi》; he also authored the first ancient Chinese astrological masterpiece 《Yi Si Zhan》. It was known as the Encyclopaedia of Ancient Chinese Astrology, an ancient monograph on astronomy and meteorology and also he wrote 《Zhai Jing》, 《LiuRen Ying Yang Jing》.

He was known as the patriarch of Feng Shui and the ancestor of the six calendrical! Subsequently, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty, he joined the Tai Shi Bureau, where he was in charge of astronomy, geography, calendar making, and history revision, and was a true astronomer, geographer, mathematician, Taoist, and Yin-Yang Feng Shui scholar!

Such a wonderful awesome man was the ancestor of the Xuan Sect?

If that was the case, then naturally, Xia Shao had no reason to be unwilling. Although she might not be necessarily to do this as a career in the future, she was still happy to learn more things. Moreover, she was interested in it and it would be helpful for her in the future to have such knowledge.

With this in mind, Xia Shao knelt on the ground and kowtowed to her master: “Shifu!”

“Aiyo! Slow down, slow down!” Tang ZongBo helped Xia Shao to get up, stroking his white beard and smiling with a glowing face: “This is not the proper way to pay respect to Shifu. The direct disciple of the Xuan Sect, there are rituals for making proper respects to Shifu. Follow me.”

Tang ZongBo turned his wheelchair and headed for a room behind the study room. Xia Shao hurriedly followed him and helped him to push the wheelchair behind him. Since she had decided to become the disciple, the old man would be her Shifu in the future, and she naturally had to respect her elders.

Tang ZongBo turned his head to look at her and nodded with a satisfied smile.

The room had a long altar where incense was placed. Other than the joss sticks, candles and fruits, there was also a whole pig’s head, a whole chicken, and a duck which made it looks very grand. It seem like it had been prepared earlier and was just waiting for Xia Shao to come and pay her respects today.

On the wall was a scroll showing an old man in a Taoist robe, with a three-foot-long beard and a whisk in his hand, that made him look like an immortal. At a glance, Xia Shao concluded that it must be the portrait of Li ChunFeng.”

Tang ZongBo sat near the table and said to Xia Shao: “First, kowtow to the ancestor and offer incense, and then kowtow to your Shifu and offer tea.”

Xia Saho did as she was told, and then listened to Tang ZongBo’s admonition saying: “You must remember the three rules and six commandments of the Xuan Sect. First, you must never deceive or disrespect your Shifu. Second, you must not contempt your predecessors. Third, you must not cause chaos in society. Fourth, never compete in ferocity and kill for fun. Fifth, no r*pe, theft, lewd and vicious. Sixth, no deceiving of mortals. Do you remember them clearly?”

“Yes, I’ve remembered it clearly.” Xia Shao replied.

“Good, good.” Tang ZongBo smiled and stroked his beard: “From today onwards, you are the 106th generation of the Xuan Sect’s direct disciples, so get up now.”

When Xia Shao got up, Tang ZongBo waved at her fondly, seeing how lovely she looked, he couldn’t help but rejoice: “I can’t believe that I can take in another disciple when I’m no longer in my prime. Come here, this is a gift from me.”

Xia Shao froze, and there was already an extra piece of jade carved into a small gourd in her hand.

The jade gourd was white and moist, like cream, warm and delicate. In her previous life, Xia Shao was a great lover of jade, so she had concluded that the jade gourd was made of the finest sheep white jade!

As the saying goes, gold had a price, and jade was priceless. Although it didn’t cost much during these days, yet in ten years, the price of jade would soar insanely high.

What amazed Xia Shao was not just that the jade gourd was carved from sheep white jade, but the moment the jade touched her hand, she felt a warmth soak into her body that warmed up her body a little in this cold early spring.

This peculiar sensation made her unconsciously stare at her palm while using her Divine Eyes and she was surprised!

A golden Qi was actually surrounding the jade gourd! This was the third colour Xia Shao had seen after the two Qi of Yin and Yang.

“Shifu, what is this?” She raised her head and asked.

“Keke, this is no ordinary pendant. Let me tell you, it’s a magic tool! It was cultivated in the land of birth and luck, and it is good for warding off bad luck. If you wear it on your body, it can help you block away from any calamities in the future.” Tang ZongBo explained as he helped Xia Shao to wear it around her neck.

A magic tool? Was it really that special?

Xia Shao was slightly skeptical, but then she smiled with relief. Compared to her rebirth and her Divine Eyes, the existence of magic tools was not that uncommon.

The world was full of mysteries, many of which could not be explained by science. Yet to deny their existence because they could not be explained was just too arrogant. It was better to have some reverence for the unknown.

“You’re still on holiday, aren’t you? Then from tomorrow onwards, come here every day and when school starts come over during the weekend. At your age, it’s not too late for you to learn martial arts and cultivate your Qi. There are five arts in the Xuan Sect, if you don’t know how to cultivate your Qi, even if you learn everything, you will hardly achieve a great state of accomplishment. So tomorrow comes over here and I will teach you slowly.” As he spoke, Tang ZongBo stroked Xia Shao’s dark hair, then his beard, and nodded with a glowing face. He was so looking forward to the future when he would no longer be bored.

However, Xia Shao felt slightly awkward, who started spreading that her Shifu was dignified as rumoured? He was like an old child instead!

As for cultivating Qi for martial arts, Xia Shao didn’t understand much but she felt so excited. Today’s trip to the mountain seems to have opened a mysterious door for her, and her life would be rewritten when she steps into it.

At this moment, Xia Shao didn’t know that she would use this as a starting point to eventually become an existence that bypass the rules of the world.

(T/N: Disclaimer: These following books’ names translated are not the actual name for the book. If interested in reading it, please search using the Chinese book name. The following translated names are adjusted for a better understanding of the genres of the book for this novel. Thank you. )

《周易》Zhou Yi1 = The Book of Changes.

《宅经》Zhai Jing2 = The Ancient Art of Feng Shui for House.

《藏经》Cang Jing3 = Tibetan Scriptures

《断易天机》Duan Yi TianJi4 = Unlocking Secret of the Heavenly Divine.

《六壬阴阳经》LiuRen Yin Yang Jing5 = The Sutra of Ancient Chinese Calendrical Astrology with Yin and Yang.

《乙巳占》Yi Si Zhan6 = The Ancient Art of Chinese Astrology.

《术藏》Shu Cang7 = The Ancient Art of Chinese Numerology

《奇门遁甲》QiMen DunJia8 =  The books of ancient divination and formation.

《老子》Lao Tzu9 = Lao Zi the ancient Chinese philosopher and Taoism.

《庄子》Zhuang Zi10 = Chuang Tzu the ancient Chinese text for Taoism.

《道藏》Dao Cang11 = The Taoist Canon/ Treasury of Taoism

《黄帝内经》HuangDi NeiJing12 = The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor/ The Book of Ancient Chinese Medical for the Emperor.

《难经》Nan Jing13 = HuangDi BaShiYi NanJing/ The Classical Collection of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

罗盘 LuoPan14 =  Geomantic compass/ Chinese magnetic compass used for Feng Shui.

龟甲 GuiJia15 = Turtle shell, empty and cleaned turtle shell to use for Chinese Divination.

铜钱 Bronze Coins16 = Tong Qian, ancient Chinese bronze coins used for the art of divination.

天机 Tianji17 = The mysterious of the heaven/celestial system or the planned path of the heavenly destiny.