"Ow! Let me finish!"
Struck so suddenly by Ms. Chen, Father Fang couldn't help but hiss in pain.
'This was supposed to be a family intervention for Zhi'Er. How did *I* end up being the one getting hit?'
'My wife really doesn't hold back. She's so strong.'
Father Fang shot Ms. Chen an aggrieved look. Clutching his smarting arm, he quickly turned to Fang Yue and said:
"Uh, um! Zhi'Er, your mother is right. You're still young and don't know how dangerous the mountains can be. Just be a good boy and stay home. Don't go trying to learn how to hunt."
When he first heard his son say that Fang Hu wanted to teach him to hunt, Fang Mu had actually been quite happy.
'My Zhi'Er really is special. Fang Hu doesn't take just anyone as a student, so why would he single out my boy?'
But after hearing what Ms. Chen said, he came to his senses.
His reaction wasn't nearly as strong as Ms. Chen's, though.
Fang Yue said nothing, simply walking to the center of the courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard sat a stone roller, used for grinding wheat. It weighed around three or four hundred jin.
He gripped the groove in the middle of the roller with both hands. Then, with a sudden exertion, a surging power erupted from him.
"Zhi'Er, what are you doing? Put that down! Quick... Zhi'Er."
Seeing Fang Yue's actions, Ms. Chen feared he was in danger and rushed forward to stop him.
But in the next moment,
she saw her youngest son—the same boy who had been so skinny as a child a gust of wind could have blown him over—
lift the courtyard's stone roller clear off the ground!
Ms. Chen rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.
'Am I hallucinating?'
'Maybe that isn't our stone roller Zhi'Er is holding. Maybe it's something else?'
At this thought, she gave Father Fang's shoulder a vicious pinch.
Father Fang instantly hissed in pain but forced himself not to cry out, afraid of startling Zhi'Er.
He shot Ms. Chen a mournful look that clearly said, 'Why did you pinch me again?'
Ms. Chen glared back before turning her attention to Fang Yue.
By now, Fang Yue had hoisted the stone roller above his head.
Seeing the danger, Ms. Chen quickly pleaded, "Zhi'Er, put it down! It's too dangerous! Just put it down first, and I... I won't stop you from learning to hunt anymore..."
Hearing this, Fang Yue slowly lowered the stone roller.
THUD!
The stone roller landed softly on the ground, yet the earth still trembled slightly.
"Mom, what did you just say?" Fang Yue asked again, delighted to have her permission.
"What did I say? I didn't say anything!"
"How could I have given birth to such an unfilial son! Scaring your own mother like that! If something happened to you, how would I ever go on living!"
Ms. Chen grabbed Fang Yue and her palm landed squarely on his back.
She only managed a few swats before the force behind them lessened. Her eyes grew redder and redder, and soon, tears were streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string.
"Mom, Mom, don't cry! I won't learn, okay? I won't learn anymore."
In the sum of his two lives, past and present, this was the first time Fang Yue had ever encountered a situation like this.
He was truly at a loss for what to do.
He could only look to his sister and older brother for help, but at that moment, the two of them were as timid as quails.
Finally, his only hope was Father Fang.
"Ah, uh, um, it's okay, it's over now. Don't cry."
Having no other choice, Father Fang had to bite the bullet and try to console her.
But what comforting words could a simple, honest farmer possibly offer? He stumbled over his words, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Brother Mu, are you home?"
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Fang Hu's deep voice from outside.
With a visitor present, Ms. Chen immediately stemmed her tears. She wiped her face and quickly composed herself.
Seeing his wife had composed herself, Father Fang had her take Fang Lan inside. Only then did he call out, "Is that you, Brother Fang Hu? I'm here. Come on in."
"I've come uninvited, Brother Mu. I hope you don't mind. There's something I need to discuss with you," Fang Hu said with a smile as he entered and glanced around.
Since he had already decided to take Fang Yue as his apprentice, he naturally had to come and speak with his parents.
This time, he planned to accept Fang Yue as a true disciple and formally establish a master-disciple relationship.
In this day and age, a master was like a father to his disciple.
Once that relationship was established, if he were to pass away, Fang Yue would be expected to carry his coffin as a filial son would.
As a disciple, Fang Yue could eat his master's food and live in his master's home.
And once his training was complete, he would be responsible for upholding his master's honor and reputation.
This was the difference between a formal disciple and an in-name-only one.
Therefore, it wasn't enough for just Fang Yue to agree.
He also had to win over Fang Yue's parents.
"It's about Zhi'Er, isn't it? Let's go to the main room to talk."
Zhi'Er had just announced his intention to learn hunting from Fang Hu, and now Fang Hu himself had shown up at their door.
Father Fang knew at once what Fang Hu was here for.
Besides, after seeing his boy lift that stone roller, he was both worried about Fang Yue getting hurt and also entertaining a new thought: Zhi'Er was learning Wu. And he must be learning it from Fang Hu.
Nothing else could explain what had happened today.
And now, Fang Hu himself was here.
It wasn't appropriate for the adults to have this conversation in front of the children.
Since this was a serious matter, it had to be discussed indoors.
~~~~~~
And so, only the two brothers, Fang Cheng and Fang Yue, remained in the courtyard.
"Zhi, do you really want to learn hunting from Mr. Fang Hu?"
"And how did you get so strong all of a sudden!"
With their parents gone, Fang Cheng—who had inherited all of his father's traits—approached his younger brother, his voice full of concern and curiosity.
"Yeah, I want to learn."
Fang Yue nodded. As for why he had gotten so strong, he took the easy way out and credited it all to Fang Hu.
"So it really was Mr. Fang Hu! I knew it."
Fang Cheng slapped his forehead in a moment of realization, a look of "I knew it!" on his face.
He wasn't the least bit jealous. On the contrary, he was happy that his little brother would get to learn hunting from Mr. Fang Hu.
After all, everyone in Da Liushu Village knew that Mr. Fang Hu was a man of great skill.
Which of the young men in the village wouldn't want to learn hunting and other skills from him?
With that in mind, Fang Cheng didn't forget his duty as an older brother. "Zhi," he instructed, "make sure you listen to Mr. Fang Hu from now on and learn everything you can from him."
"Yeah, Big Brother, I know. But Mom and Dad don't seem to agree. Even if I want to learn, I'm afraid it'll be hard."
Fang Yue nodded, voicing his concern.
"Heh, don't worry. Mr. Fang Hu came in person. There's no way it won't work out," Fang Cheng chuckled.
Sure enough, just as Fang Cheng finished speaking,
Fang Hu and Father Fang emerged from the main room. Fang Hu patted Fang Yue on the head and said with a chuckle,
"Heh, come over early tomorrow."