The Nine Cauldrons

Book 7 Chapter 43 Ah Shou

Li Jun was surprised and smiled. “Big Brother Teng, you have never accepted any disciples. This should be the first one, right?”

Old Wang, who was standing at the side, was stunned and asked, “Disciple? What does that mean?”

Li Jun then explained, “Disciples are followers!”

In Duanmu Continent, the term ‘disciple’ did not exist. Disciples were called followers here, while teachers were called instructors.

“Roar~roar~~” Li Jun lowered her head and stared at Xiong Shou.

An indescribable expression could be seen in the eyes of the teenager Xiong Shou as he responded promptly with growls and roars. As he hadn’t been able to communicate with humans for years, Xiong Shou really liked this lady who understood the language of beasts. He felt that..…. this lady before his eyes was the cutest and best among all humans!

“Boss, with your ability, it is a blessing to be your disciple. The teenager, Xiong Shou, will definitely agree,” Old Wang said, chuckling.

“Of course.” Little Ping had complete faith in Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan stared at Xiong Shou, and the more he looked, the more he liked Xiong Shou. This was someone who would pass on his legacy—a good disciple who would bring the Internal Martial Art to a greater height of development! Under the circumstances of not being taught by anyone, he had been able to reach the Grandmaster Realm of bone synchronization by learning from beasts and by naturally sensing the heavens and the earth.

He was a genius!

“If he understood the words of man and someone had taught him how to cultivate his inner strength at the beginning, he wouldn’t have attained the Grandmaster Realm,” Teng Qingshan thought as he sighed inwardly. “It is hard to say whether the ignorance of human language is a bliss or misery.”

“Roar~~” Li Jun’s expression was rather unpleasant as she roared and growled repeatedly.

However, Xiong Shou just wouldn’t respond anymore.

“What happened?” Feeling ominous, Teng Qingshan asked.

“Big Brother Teng,” Li Jun said, looking at Teng Qingshan with a helpless expression, “This teenager Xiong Shou is just a blockhead. It might be because you fought with him earlier. So, he has retained some enmity against you. No matter what I tell him, he just won’t listen. He’s so stubborn! A blockhead!”

When he heard this, Teng Qingshan was stunned.

“But I wasn’t that harsh just now…” Teng Qingshan said helplessly as he stared at Xiong Shou.

Xiong Shou still refused to respond.

“Xiong Shou doesn’t understand the human language and has always lived with beasts. His intelligence is probably like that of a kid’s,” Teng Qingshan conjectured. “I probably can’t compare his mind with the minds of ordinary people.” Teng Qingshan pondered continuously on how he could make this teenager, Xiong Shou, obey.

He had low intelligence but was extremely wild.

Xiong Shou had participated in the gambling cage fights for a few years. Thus, it was hard to determine his temperament and character.

“Big Brother Teng,” Li Jun spoke in a helpless tone. “Xiong Shou has the temperament of a beast. You have no idea how he talks to me..…. It’s just the same as how a two to three year-old-kid talks. Additionally, he is much more stubborn than a two to three year-old-kid. It’s as if his brain has become completely rigid.”

“Let’s keep moving. We can think of a method on the way.” Teng Qingshan walked over and untied the chains around Xiong Shou’s body. He then continued saying, “Little Jun, tell him that if he tries to attack or escape, I will break his legs!”

“Alright.” Li Jun then immediately conveyed the message to Xiong Shou.

“Roar, roar~~” The teenager Xiong Shou promptly shouted at Li Jun.

Li Jun smiled and looked at Teng Qingshan as she asked, “Big Brother Teng, can you guess what the teenager Xiong Shou just said to me?”

“What did he say? That he would rather die than yield? Or something similar?” Teng Qingshan couldn’t figure out what Xiong Shou was thinking.

Li Jun couldn’t help but laugh. “I told him your words and he just told me that..…. he won’t leave. He wants to follow me!”

“Follow you?” Teng Qingshan finally understood what was going on.

After suffering great hardship because of his inability to communicate with humans, Xiong Shou knew that if he left Teng Qingshan and his companions…… the result would be that he would get caught by another group of people. Although Xiong Shou possessed an extraordinary strength, one could catch him easily with the use of some traps because Xiong Shou did not possess the knowledge of human.

If Xiong Shou left Li Jun, he would continue living a miserable life! After suffering for dozen of years, the teenager, Xiong Shou, refused to live such a life again!

He was determined that he must follow this human lady.

Xiong Shou had made up his mind.

By evening, the day had already darkened completely. Teng Qingshan and the others stopped their carriage by a river near the official road and prepared to spend the night there.

“Big Brother Teng, it looks like the Fang Clan of the Danyang City won’t come after us anymore,” Li Jun said with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s already been a day, and we aren’t traveling at a fast speed. If they wanted to pursue and kill us, they would have already arrived.” Teng Qingshan cast a glance southward and chuckled. “The Fang Clan was able to become the master of Danyang City, so they shouldn’t be that dumb.” With this, Teng Qingshan turned his sight to the side.

Xiong Shou was half-naked, wearing just a pair of leather pants. With his hands and feet on the ground, he stooped like a lonely wolf.

“Stand up!” Teng Qingshan shouted suddenly.

Xiong Shou looked over and saw Teng Qingshan’s glare. He immediately understood what this powerful human was saying and stood up straight.

Li Jun burst out into laughter.

“Big Brother Teng, just making him learn how to walk with his back straight is a very difficult thing to do.” Li Jun said.

“Yes. The moment I look away, this boy will immediately drop back down with his hands and feet on the ground.” Teng Qingshan felt annoyed and helpless. Although Xiong Shou did not acknowledge him as his teacher, Teng Qingshan had already begun correcting some of Xiong Shou’s behavior forcefully. For example, one should move by walking. Another example was eating with chopsticks!

“It is very difficult to teach a disciple like this.” Teng Qingshan heaved out a long sigh and smiled bitterly.

“Old Wang, prepare some clean clothes for this boy to change into,” Teng Qingshan shouted.

“Yes, boss.” Old Wang was very diligent.

“Next, I must make him cut his long nails, shower, and dress up!” Teng Qingshan felt that even these things were hard to accomplish. However, in the future, when he established his branch of Internal Martial Arts, it would be very embarrassing if people knew his eldest disciple did not even wear clothes.

Moreover, Teng Qingshan also wanted Xiong Shou to return to the human society.

“Little fella, come with me.” Teng Qingshan walked over and grabbed him.

“Hisss~~” Xiong Shou bared his fangs as he was a bit scared.

“I told you to not resist.” Teng Qingshan didn’t care at all. He grabbed Xiong Shou’s neck and lifted him up. Teng Qingshan knew that..…. this disciple of his possessed a great strength of about one hundred thousand Jin. Therefore, Xiong Shou’s body and neck had extremely high endurance. Even if Teng Qingshan lifted Xiong Shou up like this, It was still impossible to hurt him.

Xiong Shou was lifted in the air just like that. Although an ominous glint flashed occasionally within his eyes, he didn’t dare to make any other movements as he recalled how terrifying the person before his eyes was.

……

Late at night—

The Blue Luan and the Whole Gale Eagle descended on top of the carriage and rested there. As for Little Ping and Li Jun, they rested in the carriage. The carriage was very wide and the space in front of the carriage door was enough for three to four people to sit on. Teng Qingshan was sitting cross-legged in front of that door.

“Zzzz~~”

Hearing soft snoring sounds coming from nearby, Teng Qingshan turned and saw the teenager, Xiong Shou, curled up on the ground. Xiong Shou now wore a grey cotton cloak, and his face was washed clean.

“He is still a teenager,” Teng Qingshan scrutinized quietly.

When the teenager Xiong Shou was dressed up, he looked just like an ordinary teenager. However, the image of him curled up on the ground was just like a cat!

“Big Brother Teng.” Li Jun came out from the carriage door. She peered at Xiong Shou, and her face revealed a sweet smile as she said, “Actually, Ah Shou is just a kid, an insensible kid. He is a child who acts completely according to his natural instincts and wild nature. o one has taken care of him for a very long time!”

Teng Qingshan nodded in agreement.

Teng Qingshan still remembered distinctly how he had forced Xiong Shou to cut off his sharp nails and the process of making him wear clothes.

“It doesn’t work if you just speak nicely to this stubborn boy. You must use force,” Teng Qingshan said.

“I can help,” Li Jun said with a smile. “There’s no need to always use fists.”

“Big Brother Teng, starting from tomorrow, Little Ping and I will teach Ah Shou to speak!” Li Jun said.

“Teach him to speak?” When Teng Qingshan heard this, he nodded slightly and said, “Yes, that’s a good idea. However, it will be hard for you.”

“It’s alright.”

Li Jun stared at Ah Shou with the eyes of a mother and said, “Actually, I think he’s pitiful, much more pitiful than me. He doesn’t have parents and lived amidst the beasts. He doesn’t even know how to speak like us.….. With me and Little Ping teaching him together, I believe Ah Shou will eventually speak understandable words.”

Looking at Li Jun’s appearance and expression at that moment, Teng Qingshan laughed and responded, “Little Jun, your countenance now make it seems like you are Ah Shou’s mother.”

“Then who is Ah Shou’s father?” Li Jun asked back.

Stunned by the sudden question, Teng Qingshan coughed twice and looked in the other direction.

The Godly Axe Mountain had a special meaning in Duanmu Continent!

The Godly Axe Deity, Yu the Great, was the existence which unified the language and the writing system. It is also the existence which spread the art of cultivation. The people of Duanmu Continent felt extremely grateful to the Godly Axe Deity, Yu the Great. Due to Yu the Great, Duanmu Continent had twelve months in a year as well as a Yearly Sacrifice!”

One the day of the Yearly Sacrifice, almost all the clans and every clan member would ask Yu the Great for blessings!

The largest city in Duanmu Continent, Nanshan City, was located southeast of the Godly Axe Mountain! It was also called Great Yu City or Godly Axe City.

Nanshan City could be said to be the area which was flourishing the most out of the entire Duanmu Continent. After the Thunder Blade Deity, Duanmu Yu, unified the world, he had also chosen Nanshan City as the capital!

……

At this moment, Teng Qingshan and his companions had left Danyang City for eight days. They had been traveling at a slow speed, and they were only around one hundred Li away from Nanshan City.

During the evening…

“Clop! Clop! Clop!”

The carriage moved forward. Teng Qingshan and the coachman, Old Wang, sat at the front of the carriage. The one riding the Hunchbacked Beast was a long haired, skinny, and muscular teenager dressed in grey cotton coat. It was the teenager called Xiong Shou! After many days of training, the teenager Xiong Shou already looked slightly like a normal human being.

“Ah Shou!” Little Ping shouted through the carriage window.

Xiong Shou immediately turned and looked over. After a few days of learning from Li Jun and Little Ping on how to talk, Xiong Shou had become extremely familiar with the words, ‘Ah Shou’.

“Ah Hou!” Xiong Shou also tried, with great difficulty, to pronounce the two words.

Li Jun, who was looking out from the other window, shook her head immediately and growled softly, telling Xiong Shou the pronunciation was wrong. She then said slowly, “Ahh….Shou!”

“Ahh..…. Hou!” The teenager’s tongue seemed to have become rigid. Somehow, there was always problem with his pronunciation.

Teng Qingshan was listening to the sounds coming from behind. They were the sounds of Li Jun and Little Ping teaching Xiong Shou the pronunciations. As Teng Qingshan listened, he couldn’t help but laugh. During these several days, Li Jun and Little Ping had been teaching Xiong Shou along the way.….. Now, Xiong Shou already knew how to speak a few words. Although his pronunciation was still inaccurate, there were improvements.

“Old Wang, it is already late now. It looks like we will have to spend the night in the wilderness. We can only arrive Nanshan City tomorrow,” Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

“Yes, we will arrive tomorrow afternoon,” Old Wang said, smiling.

“Eh?” Suddenly, Teng Qingshan saw something up ahead.

On the official road ahead, there was a great and dark shadow formed by numerous soldiers.