Chapter 57 - 57 57 The Phoenix Returns

Words : 1536 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Phoenix Returns Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The Phoenix Returns Early morning. Zheng Fa, holding a stack of papers with talismanic diagrams, walked into the study of the Seventh Young Master. In the morning light, the Seventh Young Master was sitting by the desk, with unkempt hair and a weary face, not even washed, slowly dozing off. Compared to the refined appearance when Zheng Fa first saw him, the Seventh Young Master now looked rather shabby. Hearing the sound of Zheng Fa entering, the Seventh Young Master showed no reaction and continued to sleep soundly, a trace of drool nearly dropping onto an open talismanic diagram on the desk. Zheng Fa placed the papers in his hand on the desk in front of him. Awakened by his action, the Seventh Young Master slowly raised his head, glanced at Zheng Fa, and then at the new papers Zheng Fa had brought. “What is this?” “Today’s task,” Zheng Fa replied with a gentle smile. The Seventh Young Master shakily extended his hand, his index finger and thumb measuring the thickness of the stack of papers, realizing his own hand was not large enough. His eyes widened: “How is this even taller than what it was a few days ago!” “In the past few days, my lord, you had just started learning this Secret Technique, and I reduced the workload to let you adapt,” Zheng Fa explained, showing great consideration. “But now, we can start your formal training.” “Adapt?” the Seventh Young Master’s voice was filled with confusion towards the term: “In the past few days, I’ve only slept two hours per day, and every time I open my eyes, it’s talismanic diagrams; you tell me I’m adapting? I’m almost dead!” Zheng Fa shook his head; the flood of diagrams strategy was indeed a bit cruel for someone like the Seventh Young Master, who virtually had no experience in diligent study. But there were only two months, and it had to be so. The talismanic diagrams weren’t just picked randomly by Zheng Fa. He wasn’t planning to reveal the notebook given to him by Old Man Bai — a single “Spiritual Crane Body” had already caused quite some trouble, making Zheng Fa more cautious about these modern insights. However, to enhance the Seventh Young Master’s ability to analyze talismanic diagrams, he still needed to impart some of the techniques within it. Zheng Fa decided to learn the methods in the notebook himself first, and then find some diagrams with similar features that could be analyzed using the same technique, presenting them to the Seventh Young Master daily. Subtly helping him grasp the techniques. It resembled what modern schools call specialized training. This method was a bit tiring for Zheng Fa, but it was safer. On the other hand, it also forced Zheng Fa to enhance his own understanding of these methods. “I’m done with this!” Looking at the papers from yesterday that he hadn’t finished analyzing, and then at the new papers brought by Zheng Fa, the Seventh Young Master pushed the desk and stood up. Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised; it was already unexpected that the Seventh Young Master had persisted for so many days. “Really quitting?” he looked at the Seventh Young Master. “Quitting!” the Seventh Young Master shook his head resolutely. “Alright.” Zheng Fa turned to Gao Yuan, “Bring over that box I brought.” “Right away!” Gao Yuan, cheerful and spry, trotted over with a long rectangular box. “What is this?” the Seventh Young Master was a bit confused. “A few days ago, the lady sent Housekeeper Wu to find me, entrusting me with a Magical Treasure,” Zheng Fa said solemnly, taking the long box from Gao Yuan. “Magical Treasure?” the Seventh Young Master was baffled. Zheng Fa opened the long box, pulling out a long vine wrapped elegantly with a red silk ribbon. “Why does this thing look so familiar?” the Seventh Young Master furrowed his brows in thought. “Bestowed by the lady, I named it Shangfang Treasure Vine. Housekeeper Wu said if my lord abandons the pursuit midway again, this treasure vine will act as if the lady herself is present,” Zheng Fa held the vine in his hand, his smile growing even more gentle: “Allow me to punish first and scold later.” “I recognize it now!” the Seventh Young Master suddenly realized: “Isn’t this what my mother used to discipline me with when I was young?” “Seventh Young Master, you have a good memory!” Zheng Fa approached with a vine cane in hand, causing Seventh Young Master’s face to grow paler and more alarmed, “Stop! My mother just uses this to scare me, she loves me too much, she has never really hit me!” “Right,” said Zheng Fa, “Madam said whenever she hears Young Master cry or sees you shedding tears, she really can’t bear it. So she gave me the vine cane.” Zheng Fa waved the vine cane, “I’ll do it, she won’t hear or see.” ... Seventh Young Master suddenly sat down in the chair with a docile expression, “I’ll learn! No need to hit!” ... Observing Seventh Young Master burying his head in diligent study, Gao Yuan sighed regretfully. “What is it?” asked Zheng Fa. “The Young Master lacks spine.” Gao Yuan spoke quietly, clearly lamenting that Seventh Young Master had not been beaten. “You don’t think I heard that?” Seventh Young Master glared at Gao Yuan. Gao Yuan covered his mouth. Seventh Young Master frowned at Gao Yuan, “I just realized, Young Master, you also have some talent for learning talismanic magic, why don’t we study together!” “No!” Gao Yuan quickly waved his hands, “I’m not that fortunate!” Seventh Young Master glanced at the gloating Gao Yuan and then at Zheng Fa standing by, and couldn’t help but curse, “Small-minded people revel in their petty power, rats and snakes in the same nest! My future life is doomed!” Suddenly the room darkened. “Eh?” Seventh Young Master was startled, muttering, “Did my words just come true? Then I want to become an immortal on the spot, I want the talismanic Dao to end!” “Young Master, a bird!” Gao Yuan pointed outside the window. “What bird?” Seventh Young Master and Zheng Fa looked up to the sky. A giant bird, as large as the courtyard, flew across the sky, its wings spread wide, blocking the sun above. The giant bird had green feathers but sported some long red feathers on the edges of its tail and wings, streaking across the sky like a green and red firework. “A green phoenix!” Seventh Young Master leapt up, “My sister is back!” He frantically waved toward the sky, shouting, “Sister! Sister! Save me! Come save me!” ... On the green phoenix’s back, two young girls stood, one in front and one behind. The one in front, dressed in red, craned her neck to overlook the scenery below while pointing towards Zhao’s Mansion explaining to the girl behind, “This is my home!” “That’s my yard over there, and inside, there’s a little fish pond filled with lots of fish. I even fell into it when I was little.” “That small building is where my mother lives; she loves listening to those moaning and groaning sounds, I used to hate going there.” “We just passed my little brother’s yard, it seems renovated and they’ve built a small garden.” The girl behind in a simple green Taoist robe, watching her excited companion continuously talking, softly asked, “You’ve been away from home for ten years, you still remember so clearly?” The girl in red pursed her lips and smiled embarrassedly, “When I first went to the Qingmu Sect, I dreamed about home every night. Later, I drew this place myself and occasionally took it out to look at it. Although it’s been ten years, the general appearance hasn’t changed.” The girl in green smiled gently at her slightly embarrassed look, and asked, “Was there someone in the courtyard just now waving at us? It seemed like they were calling for ‘sister’? Was it your brother?” “Not at all!” said the girl in red, definitively, “That person was clearly an unkempt, studious scholar, definitely not my brother.” Seeing the puzzled look on the face of the girl in green, she explained further, “You don’t know what my brother is like, he’s been vain and lazy since we were kids.” “When we were little, I hit him once. I know my own strength; a wound that might heal in a day, and he lay in bed for three months, just to avoid going to school! My mother also spoiled him, he’s probably even worse now!” “...Maybe after ten years, people change?” “Uh, maybe if he got possessed by some old monster,” the girl in red pondered, touching her chin, “Impossible, what kind of old monster would be so blind to fancy my brother?”

Chapter 57 - 57 57 The Phoenix Returns

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