Watching the Mountain

Chapter 251: Chapter 160: Hidden Mountain

”However, my Senior Brother is a very private person. Just keep this to yourself and don’t mention it to anyone else.”

”From now on, you can come visit him more often. If you run into any trouble you can’t solve while I’m in seclusion or away from the Sect, you can come to him for help.”

Li Daoyi looked at Xu Ran in surprise. When he first saw him, he thought Elder Hidden Mountain looked quite ordinary, and he hadn’t noticed anything special about him.

Now, after hearing his master’s words, he felt he must have been mistaken. Not only was the man on such good terms with his master, but he had even been a close friend to the legendary Sword Dao Ye Shan—the same man who had taught him swordsmanship.

He recalled the elders in his family saying that Sword Dao Ye Shan had seemed humble and treated all his fellow sect members well. He had never been condescending or arrogant.

In reality, however, he was incredibly proud and wasn’t known to have any friends in the Sect.

More importantly, his family elders said that Sword Dao Ye Shan was a terrible conversationalist. Talking with him was supposedly an agonizing experience that most people couldn’t endure.

Several elders in his family, who had been named True Disciples in the same generation as him, had tried to befriend him. But they had given up, unable to tolerate Ye Shan’s rambling, disjointed way of speaking.

These elders had once remarked that Sword Dao Ye Shan was someone you could follow or aspire to be like. But as for being his friend? Forget it.

For several of his elders—all of whom were known for their excellent temperaments—to express such a sentiment, it was clear just how difficult Ye Shan must have been to get along with.

’For Elder Hidden Mountain to have become such a close friend to Sword Dao Ye Shan... he’s no ordinary person.’

Li Daoyi sighed to himself. He then gave Xu Ran a slight bow and asked,

”Elder, may I come to you for guidance on my swordsmanship in the future?”

A kind, benevolent smile spread across Xu Ran’s face. He answered without the slightest hesitation,

”Of course. You’re welcome anytime, nephew. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

”Thank you, Elder,” Li Daoyi replied, his expression composed.

Zhang Zhentian then bid Xu Ran farewell and left with Li Daoyi.

It wasn’t long, however, before Zhang Zhentian returned. This time, he was alone; Li Daoyi hadn’t come with him.

Clearly, he wanted to speak with Xu Ran alone.

”Senior Brother, what do you think of my disciple?”

Zhang Zhentian asked with a pained expression as soon as he saw Xu Ran.

Seeing his look, Xu Ran asked, a little puzzled, ”What’s wrong? Are you not satisfied with your disciple?”

Zhang Zhentian shook his head. ”How could I be unsatisfied? In terms of talent, he’s absolutely the best we’ve seen in centuries, even better than I was. It’s just...”

He shook his head with a wry smile, his expression helpless.

”Senior Brother, you saw his temperament for yourself. On the surface, he’s as calm as still water, completely unruffled. But inwardly, he’s prouder than anyone—far prouder than I was as a child.”

Seeing Zhang Zhentian looking so vexed, scratching at his head, Xu Ran couldn’t help but chuckle.

’To think that the little terror who once gave True Monarch Flowing Clouds and Teacher Qing Xuan such headaches was now worrying about how to guide his own disciple.’

’What goes around, comes around. How interesting.’

He bluntly corrected him. ”No, what you had as a child wasn’t pride. At best, you could call it being a brat, or just plain arrogant. Your disciple is much better than you were. He’s more polite and not nearly as mischievous.”

Zhang Zhentian was stunned by Xu Ran’s words. After a long moment, his eyes went wide, and he asked, looking rather sheepish,

”Senior Brother, was I really that hard to teach back then? I thought I was fine. I was probably just a bit mischievous, without too many... er, bad qualities, right?”

”I... I was a good kid, right?”

As he spoke, Zhang Zhentian seemed to recall his childhood antics. His voice lost its conviction, but he still stubbornly denied ever having been a brat.

”I was just a bit of a troublemaker, that’s all. Besides, Senior Brother, you know I turned over a new leaf later, didn’t I?”

Xu Ran chuckled. ”Your grandfather would know best what you were like as a child. As for me, you turned over a new leaf not long after we met, so I’m not really qualified to say.”

He was telling the truth. He had only heard stories about Zhang Zhentian being a brat. When they did interact, his behavior had certainly seemed to fit the description.

But he hadn’t experienced the full extent of it. After all, once Xu Ran defeated him that first time, Zhang Zhentian had mostly stopped coming to the Instructor Hall. He’d only heard rumors that he and his friends were out making trouble all day.

The only concrete proof of Zhang Zhentian’s bratty nature was True Monarch Flowing Clouds’s reaction. The True Monarch had been so worried about teaching him that he lost all appetite for food and drink. He truly went to great lengths.

He then smiled at the sheepish-looking Zhang Zhentian.

”So, now you understand how your grandfather felt back then?”

Zhang Zhentian nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

”I get it now, Senior Brother. I truly understand how hard it must have been for my grandfather. I never realized raising a kid could be so torturous.”

He scratched his head, then asked sheepishly,

”Senior Brother, the reason I brought him to see you was to ask for your advice. For someone like my disciple, what do you think is the best way to teach him?”