131 Yato

Chu Yao gently brushed Lin Feng's hair, filled with satisfaction.

"Good, good, good child," he expressed repeatedly. For some reason, his eyes reddened slightly at the corners.

"To take on a student is a very serious matter for scholars of this era." Chu Yao agreed to take on Lin Feng as his female student not just for Shen Tang's sake or the title of being the "first extraordinary woman to attain literary prowess," but also because of some personal affection.

Lin Feng was still young, barely eight years old. If Chu Yao hadn't encountered certain troubles in his youth, he would have settled down and had a family long ago. He didn't know if he would ever marry in the future. If not, Lin Feng would be like a daughter to him, someone to inherit his teachings.

"Teacher!" Lin Feng's eyes also quietly reddened.

Compared to Mr. Qi whom she had spent less time with, Mr. Chu was more amiable and kind-hearted, reminding her of her grandfather at home. If not for her remaining rationality, she might have called him "Grandpa."

"About your literary talent, keep it a secret for now. Don't reveal it to others," Chu Yao's emotions came and went swiftly. Rationality prevailed as he carefully instructed Lin Feng on what to pay attention to.

Lin Feng earnestly remembered every detail.

"Yes, teacher, I'll remember."

"For safety's sake, in the future, dress as a boy."

"But Master Chu, Lin Feng's face clearly doesn't look like a boy's..." Shen Tang hinted wildly from the side. "Are you going to tell everyone she's a boy?"

Chu Yao didn't see any problem with that.

"Her appearance hasn't fully matured yet, it's fine."

Children are often indistinguishable in their early years. The better the foundation, the more likely facial features may exhibit traces of the opposite sex. If Lin Feng dressed as a boy, others would only say how cute this child looked, boyish or girlish. When she grew older and developed her literary prowess, they could reconsider.

Chu Yao paused, then turned to Qi Shan, saying, "Yuanliang, next time you go down the mountain to recruit help, see if there are any talented girls or daughters of declining families. We need to clarify whether Lin Feng is truly an exception, which will affect our future arrangements."

"Do you really need to remind me?" Qi Shan had already considered this.

If Lin Feng were the only exception, regardless of the reasons, she would have to hide her true gender for her entire life if she wanted to live. If it wasn't just an exception but a stable replication of this "miracle," then—this would become Shen Xiaolang's trump card, greatly compensating for the innate shortcomings of the lords born into agricultural families.

After all, ambition wasn't limited to men alone.

Women like "Poisonous Spider," ambitious and unwilling to submit, might not be numerous, but they were definitely not few. If they could be utilized as well, they would surely be a great asset in the future.

Shen Tang was restless.

Seeing that there was nothing else to discuss, she once again hinted wildly, "Yuanliang, Qishan, do you have any other matters to discuss?"

Qi Shan pinched his brow. "Nothing else."

Shen Tang asked again, "Really nothing? Are you sure? Do you want to think about it again? If there's really nothing, then I'll leave?"

Qi Shan gritted his teeth. "Fine!" 

Shen Tang had already stepped halfway out the door, making faces at him and gesturing toward her own face. "Really, am I leaving?"

Qi Shan's blood pressure, which had just started to calm down, spiked again. He pushed Shen Tang out forcefully, hands on her shoulders, urging, "Go, go, go. Go to bed early. You really have nothing to do here."

Ignoring Shen Tang's nonsense could probably add a couple of years to his life.

Pushed out the door, Shen Tang muttered, "(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻," pursed her lips, and pulled Lin Feng along with her. 

After a few steps, the sound of the wooden door slamming shut behind her made it seem like they were in a hurry to get her out. Shen Tang turned around angrily, threw a punch, and muttered, "Don't regret this in the future!"

Lin Feng asked, "What did Sir just want to discuss with Master Chu?"

Shen Tang tilted her head, smirked maliciously, and said, "I was going to say something earlier, but now I don't want to anymore. Let them figure it out themselves. It's not a big deal, right?"

Lin Feng was puzzled but relaxed when she saw Sir's expression. She nodded, "Hmm."

Shen Tang looked up at the moon, calculated the time, and said, "It's late. You should go to sleep first, rest well... Getting up early for the disciple ceremony at dawn is just insane. Well, at least compulsory education for nine years makes students happy, they can go to school at seven or eight o'clock."

Lin Feng gradually got used to Shen Tang's inexplicable murmurs and respectfully bowed, "Sir, go to bed early too."

Shen, the night owl, Tang: "..."

It's impossible to go to bed early.

Especially when she lay down and heard a faint "bang, bang, bang." With no sleepiness at all, she sat up straight, put on her clothes, and followed the sound under the moonlight. She vaguely saw a tall figure in the "training ground" created by Gongsu Wu.

From a distance, she recognized the person's identity.

"Lili, why are you still not asleep?"

The banging suddenly stopped, and the person turned around. Sure enough, it was Lili. He held a long wooden stick in his hand and practiced chopping and thrusting at a wooden stake. It was unknown how long he had been training here. His clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his muscles, rising and falling evenly with his breath.

At first glance, he looked like a wild beast ready to pounce.

Shen Tang approached, and Lili exerted force, inserting the wooden stick into the haystack. He answered softly, "Naturally, it's because I can't sleep."

"Coincidentally, I can't sleep either." The haystack was full of practice sticks. Shen Tang pulled out one and made an invitation to Lili. "Hehe, since we both can't sleep, how about a match?"

Moderate exercise before bed helps with sleep.

Lili turned around and said, "No, I'm going back to sleep now."

As someone who can breathe air at an altitude of two meters, Lili could look down on Shen Tang's small arms and legs. Her thighs were not as thick as his arms, and she was a scholar of the mind. Lili was not interested in her invitation to fight.

Thud!

"With the fire inside, how can you sleep? The more you sleep, the more awake you become. It's better to let out the fire. What do you say?" Shen Tang's stick blocked his path, deeply embedded in the muddy ground beneath her feet. She looked up at him along the stick, her eyelids trembling slightly, an inexplicable desire to compete surging in her heart.

He gritted his teeth and decisively pulled out a stick from the haystack. With a powerful gust of wind, he swept towards Shen Tang's face.

Thud!

Shen Tang raised her stick to block.

Lili decisively pressed the attack.

Thud, thud, thud!

The shadows of their sticks were dense, both striking swiftly and fiercely.

Lili, relying on his height advantage, attacked quickly and with strength. Normally, others would either struggle to keep up with the rhythm or withstand the force. But this short young man in front of him was unexpectedly able to not only keep up but also match his strength.

No, recalling the scene from earlier that day when Shen Tang had effortlessly stopped him with just one hand, Lili knew that this was not all she had. Thus, his inner fire burned even hotter, and he swung his stick faster and more fiercely.

Crack!

The long sticks in their hands almost simultaneously couldn't withstand the force and cracked. Lili chose to circle around the haystack to grab another one, while Shen Tang charged directly with the half-broken stick.