Xuan Huaiqing saw her blank expression and immediately understood that she probably didn’t know about these things.
He smiled and said, “Miss Yu, do you know about the National Preceptor?”
Yu Li replied, “I don’t!”
The original owner of this body was just a country girl who had only been to the county town once as a child. Her understanding of the outside world came entirely from the people around her.
The people around her were all ignorant villagers with poor access to information, so their knowledge was even more limited.
Of course, the scholars in the eldest household probably knew a bit more, but after returning to the village, they acted aloof and rarely talked about the outside world with their family. They felt it was a waste of time to share, as they thought their family wouldn’t understand, maintaining an air of superiority.
Xuan Huaiqing was momentarily stunned by her straightforward response.
He had already concluded that Yu Li must have been taught by some extraordinary person and was someone truly skilled. Subconsciously, he assumed that such extraordinary people would surely have a thorough understanding of worldly matters. Who would have thought she would turn out to be so “ignorant”?
She didn’t even know about the National Preceptor in the capital.
Xuan Huaiqing had no choice but to explain, “The National Preceptor is an extraordinary individual. Before he became the National Preceptor, he was just a reclusive cultivator in the mountains. Later, he saved the Sage Emperor from a disaster, and the Sage Emperor appointed him as the National Preceptor.”
The National Preceptor was a typical example.
He didn’t gain his position through the imperial examination or ancestral privilege but was instead appointed based on his abilities.
Examples of extraordinary individuals being granted official positions existed in the previous dynasty, and in this dynasty, there was a living example right there in the capital.
Xuan Huaiqing thought that if Yu Li’s teacher were willing to come out of seclusion and showcase their abilities to the Sage Emperor, they would certainly also be granted an official position.
As for Yu Li herself, with her abilities, if she wanted to in the future, she probably could as well.
Although there were no precedents for women holding official positions in this dynasty, if her contributions were too great, the court couldn’t simply ignore it, could they?
Yu Li, however, didn’t have time to think about such things. She was instead astonished and asked, “Cultivation? What kind of cultivation?”
“I don’t know,” Xuan Huaiqing spread his hands. “It’s said that the Sage Emperor met the National Preceptor twenty years ago, and even though twenty years have passed, the National Preceptor still looks as young as he did back then.”
Yu Li was puzzled. “Didn’t you say he was a reclusive cultivator? How is he still young?”
Xuan Huaiqing patiently explained, “When the Sage Emperor met the National Preceptor, the National Preceptor already appeared very young. It’s said that he had mastered cultivation and looked around thirty. The National Preceptor himself claimed that he was already over sixty at the time. Being over sixty does indeed qualify as elderly.”
These were things he had heard from the older generation in his family since he hadn’t even been born twenty years ago.
Yu Li’s eyes burned as she stared at him. Sixty years old—hua jia—meant sixty.
To still look thirty at sixty, and now, twenty years later, to still look thirty at eighty, could that National Preceptor truly be someone who understood the art of cultivation?
Genetic warriors, because of their special abilities, could also delay aging.
In the eyes of people in this world, someone like a genetic warrior would be considered an extraordinary individual.
For a moment, Yu Li was filled with curiosity about the National Preceptor, wondering if he had experienced something similar to herself.
She asked Xuan Huaiqing, “Do you know what abilities the National Preceptor has? Can he level mountains and split the earth? Can he fly through the skies and burrow underground? Can he summon the wind and rain? Can he make all things grow…”
She was asking about the awakened abilities of genetic warriors.
For example, if one awakened a strength-related ability, their power would become immense, far surpassing hers now. A single punch could level mountains and split the earth. If one awakened a wind-related ability, they could rise into the air, effectively flying through the skies and burrowing underground. If one awakened a water-related ability, they could summon wind and rain. If one awakened a wood-related ability, they could make all things grow.
These abilities corresponded one-to-one with her descriptions.
Though she wasn’t sure if the National Preceptor was like her—reborn after death and coming from another world—if he had any other abilities, she might be able to deduce his origins while also probing his skills.
Xuan Huaiqing looked at her with a bewildered expression.
Even Tu Laoda was stunned.
What she was describing sounded like the means of immortals.
Could it be that the teacher who taught her possessed such skills? If that were true, they might understand why she had transformed from a thin, almost skeletal girl when they first met into her current state in just a few months.
At this thought, Xuan Huaiqing’s eyes burned as he looked at her and tentatively asked, “Miss Yu, does the teacher who taught you these skills know how to do these things?”
“No,” Yu Li thought to herself. Teacher Cai was strength-oriented and could punch an arrogant genius flying into the sky with a single blow.
As the saying goes, one overwhelming strength can conquer ten techniques. No matter how many methods you had, before Teacher Cai, you could only lie down obediently.
It was precisely because she had witnessed Teacher Cai send an unruly genius in the training camp flying with one punch that, as a child, she longed for strength. When she awakened her ability, it followed the strength-oriented path.
Xuan Huaiqing looked a bit disappointed. “What you’re describing sounds like the means of immortals. Are you sure your teacher isn’t…”
An immortal?
Now it was Yu Li’s turn to look at him in confusion. Immortal?
She did know what immortals were. Even a hundred years after the apocalypse, some fragmented records remained, allowing people like her in later generations to know what their ancestors once imagined immortals to be.
Realizing they were misunderstanding Teacher Cai as an immortal, she quickly clarified, “Of course not. Teacher Cai is just like us—human. She’s just more powerful and exceptionally skilled.”
Xuan Huaiqing was disappointed. “Then what about the things you mentioned earlier…”
“You’re the one who said the National Preceptor is a cultivator, so I asked if he could do those things,” Yu Li replied righteously.
If he could cultivate, wasn’t it natural for him to have some special abilities?
Xuan Huaiqing retorted just as righteously, “The National Preceptor obviously can’t do those things. If he could, he’d be an immortal.”
If that were the case, the Sage Emperor in the palace would likely go to even greater lengths to worship the National Preceptor and seek the path to immortality.
This time, it was Yu Li who felt disappointed. “Isn’t he the National Preceptor appointed by the Sage Emperor? If he can maintain his youth, why can’t he do those things?”
She understood that “Sage Emperor” referred to the emperor in the capital’s imperial palace.
This was a world of imperial authority, where the emperor’s power was supreme. Even the title used for the emperor was sacred, referring to him as the Sage Emperor. Such basic knowledge was common even among country folk.
Xuan Huaiqing felt embarrassed. “I’ve never heard of the National Preceptor having such abilities. But he can refine immortal pills, and it’s said these pills can prolong life. Thanks to the National Preceptor, the Sage Emperor’s health has reportedly been improving in recent years…”
It was also because the emperor had lived so long that the princes, now growing older themselves, were increasingly dissatisfied with the old emperor clinging to the throne.
To the princes, an emperor who died early was the best kind of emperor.
Unfortunately, their imperial father lived far too long. To consolidate his power, he showed no mercy in killing his own sons, even the once-respected Crown Prince Yide, who ultimately met a tragic end.
Whenever Xuan Huaiqing thought about the affairs in the capital, he couldn’t help but feel agitated.
After his father died in battle back then, his family had hurriedly sent him away from the capital to live with his grandfather, fearing that he might be drawn into the conflicts.
Now, nearly ten years had passed, yet the situation in the capital remained far from clear.
Yu Li noticed that his mood had suddenly turned sour. Though she didn’t quite understand why, she didn’t press him further.
She thought to herself that the National Preceptor seemed quite impressive, even capable of refining “immortal pills.” Could there truly be some mysterious power in this world that she didn’t know about?
If she encountered such power in the future, would she be able to fight against it?
With these thoughts lingering, Yu Li didn’t feel like asking any more questions. After exchanging a few casual words with Xuan Huaiqing, she left.
—
Yu Li, preoccupied with her thoughts, absentmindedly returned to Qingshi Village.
After eating her meal, she went to take a nap in the afternoon, though it wasn’t a restful sleep.
Fu Wenxiao woke up early and, noticing her frowning even in her sleep, felt a bit puzzled.
Her emotions were always steady, and very few things could trouble her. Could she have encountered some kind of difficulty?
That evening, Fu Wenxiao sat there while she held his hand for treatment.
When the treatment was done, he placed a plate of white rice cakes in front of her and told her to eat something to settle her stomach.
These rice cakes were specially made by Zhou Shi at his request.
Ever since he found out that her treatments left her hungry, Fu Wenxiao wouldn’t let her go straight to sleep afterward. Instead, he made her eat something first, so she wouldn’t sleep on an empty stomach, which he knew wasn’t a pleasant experience.
“Li Niang, have you run into something difficult?” Fu Wenxiao asked gently.
His voice was calm and steady, carrying a soothing quality that made one instinctively want to confide in him.
Yu Li had been meaning to ask him a question anyway, and since he asked, she said, “Brother Xiao, do you know the National Preceptor in the capital?”
Fu Wenxiao paused slightly, a flicker of something flashing quickly in his eyes.
Instead of answering directly, he asked in return, “Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”
A rural girl from a remote and quiet village shouldn’t have any knowledge of the National Preceptor in the capital. There shouldn’t be anything related to the National Preceptor in her memories either. It must have been someone who told her about it.
There was no need to guess—only Xuan Huaiqing would have spoken to her about this.
Yu Li said, “Xuan Huaiqing came to the butcher shop today and told me about it.”
She then recounted her conversation with Xuan Huaiqing to him.
“Xuan Huaiqing and Uncle Tu both think I’m an extraordinary individual,” she said, scratching her face, and asked curiously, “Brother Xiao, what do you think extraordinary individuals are like?”
Yu Li was well aware that her strength seemed exceptionally unusual to people in this world.
This was something carried in her soul. No matter what, she had been a genetic warrior in her past life and had awakened strength-related abilities. Even though she now had a different body, some remnants of her past life’s strength lingered in her soul.
On the other hand, her awakened life-related ability was an anomaly, so weak it could almost be considered nonexistent.
Yu Li never intended to hide her strength.
In this life, free from pollution, she would live a long time. If she had to constantly suppress herself and couldn’t use her strength just to keep it hidden, she would rather not bother.
Before she could figure out how to explain her strength, Xuan Huaiqing had already taken the initiative to help her explain.
The term “extraordinary individual” was perfect; it neatly wrapped up both her strength and her abilities.
After all, her abilities were limited to having a bit more strength and some healing skills. Compared to the National Preceptor in the capital, who could maintain eternal youth, she fell short.
Fu Wenxiao didn’t show any surprise on his face—this was something he had expected long ago.
She was far too unique, and it was natural for others to associate her with extraordinary individuals. That was why he never tried to dissuade her or urged her to hide anything. She could simply live and act as she saw fit.
If she had skills and abilities, why should she need to hide them?
Talented individuals could easily stand out.
He didn’t believe that a small village like Qingshi could hold her back. Sooner or later, the world would witness her abilities and even be genuinely awed by her.