Where is Our Agreement to be Each Other's Arch-Rivals?

20

That day, after having dinner, Gu Feidi went to Wanjuan Pavilion again. Su Yang followed Di Ling back to Zhichun Garden and immediately took 'Nine Cold Surging Shoots' to ask her.

Di Ling was a lady after all, so it was inappropriate for Su Yang to enter her chambers. As such, the two of them sat down at the stone table under a blooming tree in the courtyard.

"What don't you understand?" Di Ling asked lightly.

Su Yang stared at Di Ling's blank and unfocused eyes and for a moment, he didn't know how to describe his issue.

He suddenly realised that his current situation was like him sitting for a college entrance English test and going to ask the teacher questions. The teacher would ask him which questions he couldn't handle— but in reality, he had only just learned to recognize the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

'What don't you understand'?

He simply didn't understand anything at all!

Su Yang was silent for a while and had no other choice but to be honest: "... I don't understand."

Di Ling frowned slightly: "...'Don't understand'?"

Su Yang nodded, "That's right... I don't understand anything."

Di Ling was even more puzzled: "You've already cultivated the Six Underworlds Inter Flower technique, presumably you would have a very strong mental cultivation foundation. Studying advanced mental cultivations are nothing more than a different way of increasing your existing internal force circulation. As long as the techniques complement each other, success will naturally be achieved, so how could you...... not understand?"

Greaaat, the teacher assumed he had already learned the foundation topics and was only here to answer extremely complex questions.

Su Yang made up his mind and decided to talk nonsense.

"Back then when I started cultivating the Six Underworlds Inter Flower technique, I didn't rely on book reading." He said in earnest as he dropped his head, "There was someone who read it to me and personally guided me with internal force."

"They actually taught using instruction and examples?" Di Ling was a little surprised, "But if you want to learn by that method, that person must practice the same mental cultivation as you... I have never practiced Nine Cold Surging Shoots, so I can't teach you personally. But what does this have to do with you not understanding the techniques of the mental cultivation book?"

Su Yang paused for a moment: "I've never learned to read..."

Di Ling's expression didn't change and she waited for him to speak.

Su Yang continued: "...I only recognize simple words, but I don't know how to...*cough* punctuate."

Di Ling was already sporting a vacant expression but she suddenly blanked out for a moment.

Su Yang had to continue his ruse and carry on with his explanation: "That's why, I need someone to read to me the contents of this book so that I would be able to understand them."

"Why did Shizun tell me to tutor you..." Di Ling muttered to herself.

Su Yang said to himself: Okay. Even Di Ling shijie who was goddess-like and not easily affected had been pushed to her breaking point by him.

Di Ling continued: "...She knows that I am not good at reading either."

Su Yang: ???

Di Ling sighed, her eyes drifting away leisurely to gaze at some unknown thing in the distance.