Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins
Years of Heartflutter · Page 113 of 214
"Nothing, ha ha." Yang Ce laughed dryly, suddenly feeling he had been rather self-important. Indeed, apart from Xia Xue, no one knew of the promise between Zhou Yanning and himself, so it was only natural Wang Xue did not know.
"By the way, Yang Ce," Wang Xue suddenly paused and said, "I have something to give you."
"Something for me?" Yang Puqi was startled, then looked at Wang Xue suspiciously.
"It's like this—Aunt Hua asked me to help pack up Jiajia's things from the dormitory," Wang Xue said, opening her carry bag. "While packing, I found a diary. I thought this thing would be better given to you."
"To me? Why give it to me?" Yang Ce took the diary Wang Xue handed over, perplexed, and glanced it over—it even had a lock. "And it's locked, too."
"Because Jiajia and I were together every day, I have a rough idea what she wrote in her diary," Wang Xue smiled. "I couldn't find the key—who knows where that wretched girl put it. You'll have to figure out how to open it yourself. I didn't peek, I swear."
"Thank you." Yang Ce immediately understood what Wang Xue meant—there were probably some secrets of Zhou Yanning's in this diary. Yang Ce had been wanting to understand Zhou Yanning better, so he gladly accepted it.
After chatting with Wang Xue a while about Zhou Yanning's condition, Yang Ce rose to take his leave once Mother Zhou returned. Old Buffon already knew of his return and was waiting for him at the hotel in a frenzy of impatience.
Yang Ce still felt quite apologetic toward Old Buffon. The man had helped him enormously, and though Yang Ce was nominally his master, it was a title in name only—he had never taught him anything.
After leaving the hospital, Yang Ce drove to the Moon Island Hotel where Old Buffon was staying. Hearing Yang Ce was coming, Old Buffon had been waiting at the entrance for a long while. Catching sight of Yang Ce, he immediately came trotting over, all eagerness: "Master!"
"Keep your voice down, don't let others hear," Yang Wenru said with a frown.
"I know, I know." Old Buffon immediately looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "I know to keep it secret. We martial artists all prefer to keep a low profile."
Yang Xu shook his head helplessly and went upstairs with Old Buffon. Once the room door was closed, Yang Ce put away his smile, sat down on the bed, and said to Old Buffon with a serious face, "Old Buffon, I now formally take you as my disciple."
"Thank you, Master!" Though Old Buffon had long known Yang Ce had agreed, hearing him say it so solemnly with his own ears filled him with irrepressible joy. He hurriedly knelt down according to the discipleship rites he knew, and respectfully knocked his head three times.
Seeing Old Buffon, at his age, kowtow to him, Yang Ce felt some reluctance in his heart. But in martial arts there is no seniority of age—the capable become the teacher. Such was the rule, and everything had to be done by the rule. Yang Shuo could only accept it with composure.
"Don't celebrate too early. There are some things I must make clear to you first," Yang Ce said with a wave of his hand, his tone mild.
"I know—is it the school rules? I will follow them, Master, rest assured," Old Buffon said, nodding hurriedly.
"The school rules are one thing, but the main point is that I can only take you as an outer disciple." Yang Mo looked at Old Buffon with some apology. "Given your age and aptitude now, inheriting my legacy is out of the question, so I will only teach you some practical skills and exercises to strengthen the body."
"I understand, Master. I know my own situation," Old Buffon nodded.
"Good. Then I'll teach you some practical skills right now," Yang Ce said. "Would you rather learn combat techniques or acupoint sealing?"
"Acupressure? Oh heavens, Master, are you serious? You're going to teach me acupressure?" Old Buffon's eyes brimmed with delighted surprise.