Chapter 42: A False Alarm

  Liu Xiu's eyebrows twitched, anger and confusion flashing in his eyes before he fell silent again. To this day, he still didn't quite understand why his father, Liu Yuanqi, was so biased towards Liu Bei, yet had little affection for him as a son. Was it just because Li Ding said Liu Bei had a good face, that he would make something of himself in the future? But now that Liu Bei's fortune had been ruined, it was impossible for him to amount to anything else; why did his father still have this expression of regret and disappointment?

  This is his sorrow, and also Liu Yuanqi's sorrow. As someone who was once highly expected by his father, he knows what it feels like for a man to treat his own son this way. In some ways, he may be even more heartbroken than the son being blamed.

  Who doesn't want their son to be proud?

  At the thought of this, Liu Xiu let out a long sigh and said softly: "Ah, I... didn't fight him to the death." He raised his head, meeting Liu Yuanqi's somewhat surprised gaze, and calmly said: "Actually, those were all tactics taught by Wu Junhou."

  "General Wu, is this a tactic?" Liu Yuanji looked at Liu Xiu who was calm and composed, stunned for a moment, and suddenly had an unusual feeling. In the past, Liu Xiu couldn't bear his criticism, every time he would stiffen his neck, either remaining silent or arguing with him, and then the father and son would part ways in discontent. Moreover, what he said was different from what Li Ding and Liu Bei said, could it be that they won against Yan Rou not because of desperation, but a premeditated tactic?

  Liu Xiu told the whole story from start to finish. He had never told anyone about this before, including when Liu Bei asked him, he only lightly mentioned that Wu Junhou pointed it out to him.

  Liu Yuanqi listened quietly, his face, which had turned red with anger, slowly returned to its normal state. As he sipped his wine, he observed Liu Xiu, a faint smile spreading across the corners of his mouth.

  "And also, for more than half a month now, my reading has been going well." Liu Xiu smiled lightly and bowed: "Just now, Xuande also reported to the adults, I believe that among so many fellow students in Taogu Jing She, there are not many who work harder than me."

  He said, staring at his father's expression, feeling a bit nervous. His biggest concern now is how to face Liu Yuanqi. If he has any flaws, he will definitely not be able to deceive his father's eyes, because even Liu Bei has already had some doubts about his performance in the past few days. Today, he enthusiastically told his father about his heroic deeds in Taogu, but didn't have good intentions. If his father suspects that he has suddenly changed his personality and thinks he is possessed by evil spirits, it would be a joke.

  These days, he tried not to have too much contact with others and avoided showing off whenever possible. It was all for this reason, but he knew that paper couldn't wrap fire forever. As long as he didn't want to live like the foolish kid he used to be, the changes within him would eventually be discovered by others. However, if he could get past his old man's scrutiny, even the greatest risks wouldn't be a problem anymore.

  Liu Yuanqi didn't speak for a long time, just drinking wine mouthful after mouthful, but his face had already calmed down. After a while, he said casually: "Xuande said earlier that you and your fellow students don't get along well. If you want to do things in the county or even the prefecture in the future, these people may become your colleagues. Why not seize this opportunity to make friends with them?"

  "They... not many of them are truly interested in reading." Liu Xiu saw that Liu Yuanqi did not suspect anything, and secretly let out a sigh of relief. He respectfully said: "Sir is a famous Confucian scholar and also a renowned minister in the imperial court. Having such a good teacher is an extremely rare opportunity, but they only want to borrow your reputation, be content with becoming a nominal disciple, and do not think about seizing this rare opportunity to truly learn from you. I think... none of them will achieve anything. Whether or not to associate with them... is not important."

  Liu Yuanqi sneered: "I didn't expect that you, this arrogant kid, would still be so proud. Then tell me, what kind of achievements do you think you can attain, to the point where you don't put these people in your eyes?"

  Liu Xiu fell silent for a moment, then said half-truthfully: "I reckon the gentleman won't be staying in Zhuo County for long. I'd like to follow him to Luoyang."

  "Luoyang?" Liu Yuanqi's eyes narrowed, the hand holding his wine cup paused for a moment before quickly returning to normal. He nodded slightly and said: "Luoyang has the Imperial Academy, if you want to pursue knowledge, it's naturally better to go to Luoyang. Even if you don't pursue knowledge, being able to travel in the capital and broaden your horizons is also not a bad choice." He thought for another moment, then raised his head and smiled: "Alright, although I don't believe going to Luoyang will be of any use to you, since you have this intention, it makes me very happy."

  Liu Xiu also smiled. Whether it was his old man's eagerness to see him succeed or his overconfidence in Lu Zhi's ability to cultivate people, anyway, he had passed this test and wouldn't have to feel so guilty anymore. As long as he left Zhuo County, from now on, he would be free to roam the world, with no more worries about his identity.

  Liu Xiu smiled happily, and Liu Yuanqi was even happier. He spoke with a rare smile of three parts: "Haven't you read the 'Book of History' yet?"

  Liu Xixin's illness had gone, and his demeanor also became more relaxed. "The teacher has been busy and hasn't had time to give lessons yet. I was thinking of pre-studying first, but unfortunately, I couldn't find the book. The 'Analects' and 'Classic of Filial Piety' I read were brought by Xuan De."

  Liu Yuanqi's mouth twitched, and he smiled: "Want to read books? You really have made progress. Hmm, whether you're being sincere or just trying to make me happy, as I said last time, as long as you're willing to read books, it's a good thing." He paused for a moment, then asked: "Tell me, what kind of book do you want to read?"

  Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment and thought seriously for half a day. Although he is now a student of Lu Zhi, he is not sure if the classics have any other uses besides entering officialdom. Moreover, in his opinion, these moral articles are only suitable for scholars to study, and may not be of much use for survival in a chaotic world. The most obvious example is that none of the three kingdoms' heroes, Cao Sun Liu, were masters of classical studies. To learn survival skills, one must look to history.

  "I want to read some history books."

  "History books?" Liu Yuanqi's eyes flashed, and he asked back: "Isn't the Book of History also a history book? Lu Jun studied ancient texts, and an expert in ancient texts can say that all six classics are histories."

  "Those historical events are too far away, and the affairs of three generations are not very useful even if we look at them." Liu said: "I want to understand the deeds of the wise ministers and generals of this dynasty. These people and things are closer to us, and the role of reference is greater."

  Liu Yuanqi let out a "heh" and laughed, nodding repeatedly: "That's also reasonable. If we're talking about the history books of our dynasty, then there are only two - the Book of Taishi Gong and the Book of Ban Mengjian. For more recent ones, you'd have to go to Luoyang to find them. If you can go to Luoyang with Master Lu to study, maybe you'll have a chance to see them, but they're not available in Zhuo County."

  Liu Xiu thought for a while before he understood, Taishi Gong's book was probably referring to the Records of the Grand Historian, and Ban Mengjian's book was probably referring to the Book of Han. It seemed that at this time, there were only these two historical books worth reading. He looked at his old man with some doubt, thinking that although he usually appeared to be a rustic simpleton, he actually knew quite a lot.

  "This thing, I'll take care of it." Seeing that his son had really taken a liking to reading, Liu Yuan's mood was not bad, and the smile on his face became even more gentle. He waved his hand, indicating for Liu Xiu, who had been sitting upright, to relax a bit. He picked up his wine cup and savored two mouthfuls with relish, then suddenly said: "Is your chest and abdomen still hurting?"

  "It hurts." Liu Xiu responded with a single word, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he was shocked. He had never told anyone about the pain in his heart, not even Liu Bei, who was closest to him. How did Old Master know? Had he himself had this problem before?

  Liu Yuanqi looked at Liu Xiuzhen's shocked face and raised an eyebrow, then asked with concern: "Was it very painful this time?"

  Liu Xiu subconsciously rubbed his chest, pondered for a moment, and frowned: "It hurts badly." Since defeating Yan Rou, his chest had been hurting vaguely, and these two days not only did not alleviate, but instead showed signs of worsening, which made him very uneasy.

  "Ah, Xiū, in the past I didn't let you practice martial arts because I was afraid that you would be too brave and fierce, always fighting with others to the death. One fight to the death is enough to cause heartache." Liu Yuánqǐ took a deep breath, remained silent for a moment, then continued to advise with a bitter tone: "To say nothing of your physical strength, you are indeed a good candidate for martial arts training. However, in the past, you didn't like reading books, and I worry that even if you master martial arts skills, you will still end up losing your life in vain. Even if heaven blesses you and allows you to survive from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, achieve military merit, and become a renowned warrior, won't you still be looked down upon as an uneducated fighter?"

  Liu Xiu nodded, and he somewhat understood his father's good intentions. In this world, literature is valued over martial arts, and studying classics is the right path to becoming an official. Even if one has excellent martial skills, it doesn't necessarily mean they can rise through the ranks or become wealthy, even if they are victorious on the battlefield. These days in Taoyuan, he heard many of his classmates talk about this kind of thing. Some people said it with pride, thinking that they could study under Lu Zhi and didn't need to fight on the battlefield to gain merit. Others had a desire to join the military but were worried about their future prospects being hindered. This mentality was present in both Gongsun Zan and Mao Zong, as well as Liu Bei, only to different degrees.

  "You can now focus on your studies, I'm delighted." Liu Yuanqi nodded with relief: "It's essential to be well-versed in both literature and martial arts to achieve great things. Reading is not a one-day task, but physical matters cannot be delayed. I have a qigong technique here, follow it, and you'll surely alleviate your heartache."

  He said, pulling out a small piece of silk book from his bosom and pushing it in front of Liu Xiu. His hand paused in the air for a moment: "This is my family heirloom, absolutely do not let outsiders know about it, can you remember?"

  Liu Xiu was really startled this time, and it turned out that the Liu family had such a heirloom. Was it an internal skill? Listening to his father's tone, he seemed to have known about his heart disease for a long time, but because he didn't like reading books, in order not to make him arrogant and reckless, he delayed his progress, and that's why he never passed on this breathing technique to him.

  This...this is too cruel, isn't it?

  Liu Xiu hastily nodded solemnly, no need for you to say it, I definitely won't tell anyone.

  Liu Yuan released his hand, and Liu Xiuxiu received the thin silk handkerchief as if she had obtained a treasure. She opened it to take a look, and on it were painted several small human figures, with dense and intricate words written beside them, just like the legendary martial arts secret book.