Chapter 10 - 10 10 Illustrated Guide

Words : 1288 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

10: Chapter 10 “Illustrated Guide 10: Chapter 10 “Illustrated Guide Breakfast was just a bowl of plain porridge and a few pieces of pickled vegetables. The two of them were barely full, eagerly wanting to continue practicing the Zen Meditation Posture, hoping to reach the entry level as soon as possible. However, the pain in their shoulders seemed to have erupted by now, making it extremely painful, so much so that even lifting their arms was difficult. Unable to bear it, they had to ask Mr. Qian for permission, and finally were allowed to leave the Sunburst Gang Branch to buy medicine from a nearby clinic. North Street was as bustling as ever. A constant flow of people hustling and bustling, continuously entering and exiting the shops on both sides. Wealthy young masters, rich ladies, and roaming Jianghu warriors were among them. Bai Ziyue and Zhang Guoyi, in their coarse linen clothes, seemed somewhat out of place. They tried to walk on the edge of the road, avoiding other pedestrians. Along the way, there were naturally clinics, but any clinic on North Street, even the most basic one, was priced beyond what they could afford. So, it wasn’t until they had almost left the North Street area that they found a small clinic in a remote alleyway. There were no other patients in the clinic at this time. A middle-aged doctor was sitting inside, leisurely reading a book, and not far away, a medicine boy was carefully and earnestly grinding some medicine. “Doctor, we...” Bai Ziyue and Zhang Guoyi hesitantly stepped in. Money emboldens people. With the silver his mother had given him in his pocket, Bai Ziyue felt somewhat anxious. “Power transfer injury, right? Boy, give them two pieces of black ointment.” The doctor just glanced at them and directly made the judgment. The medicine boy quickly put down the grinding stick in his hand, fetched two pieces of black ointment wrapped in paper from a compartment. “How much is it?” Bai Ziyue hurriedly asked. “Two pieces, thirty coins. Apply it for a day, and the swelling will go down. It will heal in two to three days.” The medicine boy said skillfully. “Here’s the money.” Bai Ziyue breathed a sigh of relief. Thirty coins were not expensive; it was within his budget. “Take off your clothes, I’ll help you apply it.” The medicine boy took the money and kindly offered. “Thank you!” Bai Ziyue didn’t hesitate and readily took off his clothes. On Bai Ziyue’s skinny body, faint muscular lines could be seen, slightly tensed, revealing a six-pack on his abdomen. However, the bruises on his shoulders stood out starkly against his well-proportioned body. Without further ado, the medicine boy tore open the paper and slapped the black ointment onto the bruises. Bai Ziyue gasped, immediately feeling a continuous cooling sensation spreading from the ointment. His previously numb and immobile arm instantly felt much lighter. After a few breaths, he was already able to slightly lift his arm, no longer experiencing the unbearable pain from before. “That feels great!” Zhang Guoyi exclaimed, grinning widely. After getting dressed, Bai Ziyue hesitated for a moment, then walked up to the middle-aged doctor, bowed, and said, “Doctor, I want to learn to read. Could you recommend a book that can help me recognize characters?” “Oh?” The middle-aged doctor showed some interest, smiling as he said, “It’s rare for someone so young to have such ambition. Judging by your appearance, you must be newly recruited apprentices from some place, also from poor families, generally unable to afford private schooling. However, learning to read requires a teacher. You need someone to tell you how to read, how to write, and what the words mean. It’s very difficult to master knowledge through self-study.” “I don’t have enough money to hire someone to teach me to read, and I don’t have time to dedicate to studying. So I want to learn to read by myself. Please recommend an introductory book. If there are words I don’t understand, I can ask others.” Bai Ziyue said sincerely. In fact, with his previous life’s university education, Bai Ziyue believed that understanding and writing sentences wouldn’t be a problem for him. Even though the two worlds were different, there were always similarities. What he lacked was knowledge of this world’s characters. He was also extremely intelligent. As he walked along earlier, he had already learned about a dozen characters by reading the shop signs around. By learning from context, he believed he would master more and more characters. “Good, you have ambition. Go out and turn right for three hundred meters, and you’ll find an Old Qin Bookstore. Ask the owner for a copy of the ‘Illustrated Guide,’ which is suitable for learning characters through pictures and fits your situation.” The middle-aged doctor said with a smile. For children attending traditional private schools, ‘Three Character Classic’ and ‘Hundred Family Names’ were suitable as introductory books. But for someone like Bai Ziyue, who had no teacher, ‘Illustrated Guide’ for learning characters through pictures was certainly more suitable. “Thank you very much, doctor.” Bai Ziyue respectfully thanked him. ... “Ziyue, I’ll pay you back for the ointment once I get my earnings.” As they walked out of the clinic, Zhang Guoyi said softly. “No problem.” Bai Ziyue waved his hand. Although he didn’t have much money, he didn’t mind such a small amount. “But do you really need to buy a book? We don’t know how to read; isn’t it unnecessary?” Zhang Guoyi asked, puzzled. “It’s very necessary.” Bai Ziyue looked at him seriously and said, “Zhang Guoyi, we are from the same village, and we should look out for each other, but at the same time, if you don’t strive yourself, no one can help you. If we want to succeed here, martial arts are important, but so is literacy. For instance, if you’re lucky enough to get a Martial Arts Secret Manual, but you can’t read, wouldn’t that be a waste?” “That sounds about right.” Zhang Guoyi nodded in confusion but still said distressingly, “I know studying is useful, and being literate makes it easier to find a job, but I can’t do it. No one in my family for eight generations has been literate. I can’t do it.” Bai Ziyue sighed helplessly and didn’t try to persuade him further. Everyone has their own choices. If you don’t work hard yourself, no matter how anxious others are, it won’t help. Soon, a bookstore appeared before them. “Old Qin Bookstore!” Bai Ziyue looked at the sign deeply. From the doctor’s words and comparison, he recognized four more characters. Ten minutes later, Bai Ziyue walked out of the Old Qin Bookstore, satisfied. In his hand, he held a book half a finger thick, illustrated and text, exactly as the middle-aged doctor had said, the ‘Illustrated Guide.’ In the ‘Illustrated Guide,’ there would often be a deliberate drawing of something, with a few characters written beside it for comparison. For example, the book would draw a snake, and the character ‘snake’ would be written beside it, making the comparison clear and easy to understand. “In this way, my speed of learning characters will greatly increase. The only unfortunate thing is that this book is indeed quite expensive.” Bai Ziyue’s face showed a pained expression. The two pieces of black ointment had cost him only thirty coins, but the ‘Illustrated Guide’ cost one hundred and twenty coins, indeed expensive. However, books had always been precious, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Chapter 10 - 10 10 Illustrated Guide

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