Hearing this, Fang Hu's last doubts vanished. Fang Yue's ability to persist for so long and perform so well proved one thing: he had truly been initiated.
'Four days—no, wait, he was initiated in just three days.'
'Superior Talent!'
'I was just planning to take on a disciple. How did I end up with a young genius?'
Fang Hu still found it a little hard to believe. He subconsciously reached up to stroke his chin, but his beard was too short to grasp. Otherwise, he might have pulled out a few hairs.
"Phew... Mr. Fang Hu, what are you and Ergou doing?"
Fang Yue's clear voice rang out while Fang Hu was lost in thought.
Fang Hu snapped back to his senses. At that moment, he was still holding down Fang Ergou, who in turn was holding down the wildcat.
The father and son looked like they were just playing around.
Ahem, ahem.
Fang Hu coughed to cover his embarrassment, then smoothly scooped Ergou up and pressed him down on the nearby stone table.
"Ergou was disobedient today. His skin was itching for a beating. He wasn't practicing properly, so he needs to be taught a good lesson."
As he spoke, he gave Fang Ergou's backside a few hard smacks.
The latter was completely bewildered. He had no idea what was going on or why he was suddenly getting a beating.
All he could do was cry out, "Ouch! Ouch!"
After a few smacks, feeling that it was quite satisfying, Fang Hu hit him a few more times.
Only then did he point to the teapot on the side and say to Fang Yue with a smile:
"You must be thirsty, Fang Yue. Drink this pot of tea."
"Thank you, Mr. Fang Hu."
Fang Yue picked up the teapot, poured a cup of the slightly bitter tea, and drank it in one gulp.
After finishing the tea, Fang Yue put down the cup and was about to go wash up when Fang Hu's voice sounded.
"Wait. Drink the rest of it too."
Hearing this, Fang Yue looked puzzled. Usually, he only drank one cup of tea after training.
'Why do I have to drink an extra cup today?'
'Isn't the other cup for Fang Ergou?'
He looked at Fang Hu, his confusion evident.
"I told you to drink it, so drink it. This tea was all brewed for you today. Ergou already had his," Fang Hu said, looking at Fang Yue with a cheerful smile.
"Huh? Dad, when did I drink any? How come I don't know about it?"
Fang Ergou scratched his head, wondering when he had drunk any medicinal tea. 'Did I drink some in the house earlier?'
'Probably not!'
"I said you drank it, so you drank it! Don't talk back!" Fang Hu snorted, his eyes glaring.
Fang Ergou immediately cowered, looking like a timid quail. "Oh, oh, then I guess I must have drunk it. I drank it."
Then, Fang Hu turned back to Fang Yue with a cheerful smile, ignoring the resentful look on Fang Ergou's face, whose medicinal tea had just been "drunk".
"Hurry up and drink it, or it won't be as effective."
Fang Yue naturally knew that Fang Ergou definitely hadn't drunk any. His portion of the medicinal tea for the day had been given to him instead.
He had realized over the past few days that this was a medicinal tea, and certainly not an ordinary one.
Although he couldn't taste any herbs, the tea's effects were potent.
After every training session, his muscles and bones would be utterly exhausted, just like back when he, his father, and his older brother would rush to harvest the crops, doing heavy labor for days on end.
In that state, if he were to lie down and rest, he wouldn't be able to get up for three days and three nights.
But after drinking the tea, that feeling would slowly start to dissipate.
It was because of this that he could fully recover by the next day and continue his training.
This was proof enough that the tea was extraordinary.
Usually it was one cup for him and one for Ergou, but today he was given both.
Although he found it strange and didn't know the reason why.
But he trusted Mr. Fang Hu and knew he would never harm him.
So, he poured himself another cup and drank it down.
A moment after the two cups of tea went down, a strange sensation arose within him.
The exhaustion, soreness, and discomfort in his body began to slowly dissolve.
"Good, not bad. Keep practicing hard for the next few days. In a little while, you'll come with me to Xiahe County Town."
Fang Hu said encouragingly, patting Fang Yue on the shoulder.
"Okay, Mr. Fang Hu."
~~~~~~
「Ten days later, early in the morning.」
Today, Fang Yue only studied new characters. And because of his outstanding ability to learn, his daily quota had increased from twenty characters to thirty.
As of today, Fang Yue had mastered nearly six hundred characters.
He could recognize them, write them, and understand their basic meanings.
However, compared to the three thousand basic characters, Fang Yue was still semi-literate.
His journey to literacy was long and arduous; he still needed to work hard.
"Fang Yue, this is your first time traveling far from home. There are some things you need to know for the road."
On the road leading out of their village, Fang Hu led Fang Yue and Fang Ergou, driving a donkey cart loaded with dozens of pelts, some animal bones, and some processed medicinal herbs.
It looked like a lot of cargo, filling more than half the cart.
Of course, there were also dry rations, flatbreads, and a few gourds of drinking water.
It was a journey of over two hundred li. Because they were carrying goods, it would take them three or four days.
For the next few nights, they would basically have to sleep in the wilderness.
The journey was quite long, and in these times, it wasn't uncommon for common folk who couldn't make a living to turn to banditry.
One always needed to be cautious when away from home.
Fang Hu was very experienced, and he explained things in a very organized way.
For example, don't eat food given to you by strangers, and don't drink water that has been out of your sight.
Keep your valuables on your person. Be especially wary if you encounter elderly people, children, or women traveling alone, and try not to interact with them carelessly.
There were many such warnings.
Along the way, whenever they saw edible wild fruits, or poisonous plants and insects, he would give Fang Yue on-the-spot lessons on how to handle or avoid them.
"Also, if you run into a Daoist in robes, stay far away..."
Fang Hu added with special emphasis.
"Yes, I understand, Mr. Fang Hu," Fang Yue nodded.
The things Fang Hu talked about were all very practical, especially for traveling.
This era was not like his previous world. The wilderness in this world was the real deal.
Even on the official road to Xiahe County Town, one could still frequently encounter ferocious beasts.
Wild boars coming down from the mountains, tigers and leopards running rampant—all of it was possible.
Besides, people were even more dangerous than wild beasts.
These days, if something happened to you out here, one or two people going missing was nothing. You could only blame your bad luck, and the case would truly go cold.
Even though Fang Yue had never traveled far, he had heard about these things from his father, Fang Mu.
When the villagers wanted to go to the county town to buy something, they would actually travel in groups of twenty to thirty.
Even so, there had been incidents in the past.
He had heard that only in Shanyang Prefecture City and the area two to three hundred li around it were there truly no bandits, a place where everyone could live and work in peace.
~~~~~~
"Tonight, let's spend the night here."
Seeing that dusk was falling, Fang Hu pointed to a clearing ahead and said.
It's near the bank of the Xiahe River, so getting water to wash up won't be difficult.