Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Upon hearing this, Shenxin immediately picked up the blackboard.

"Yu, did you understand? These words are truly calculated. If you had even a tenth of her abilities, you wouldn't have trouble finding a girlfriend."

"What do you mean by 'jade'? And whether I find a girlfriend or not is none of your business. The way you talk and talk... it makes me feel like you're my dad!"

Shen Xin smiled crookedly, his unspoken words conveying a thousand unspoken thoughts.

Shen Xin could recognize Cao Cailan's rhetoric, but Jiu Yi couldn't. Although he had dealt with people in the political arena for a while, because he was appointed by the emperor and his stance was clear, he hardly needed to engage in any scheming with others. Besides, the subtle tricks in such rhetoric were sometimes only understood by women. Jiu Yi only felt that the other party was really easy to talk to, as if their relationship had become a little closer.

So he relaxed a little.

The other person is right. Since it's a blind date, it's simply a matter of seeing if she can meet your requirements.

Upon realizing this, Jiu also spoke.

"Miss Cao...how old are you this year?"

Cao Cailan tucked a strand of her long blue hair down to her front, gently rubbing it in her hands, and smiled, "Eighteen years and seventy-six months old."

If it were Shen Xin here, and she decided to flirt with the other person, she would definitely sigh with feigned sorrow, saying, "What should I do? I'm not of legal marriage age yet." But here it is Jiu Yi, who said, "Hmm... twenty-four years old? Miss Cao is still quite young."

Then, without giving the other party a chance to speak, Jiu asked, "Miss Cao, what are your hobbies?"

Shen Xin knew without even thinking what the woman would say.

"Speaking of which," Cao Cailan said with a smile, her fingers interlaced, "I like quite a few things: folk tales, tea brewing, flower arranging, musical instruments, and even time-travel puzzles..."

Her words were passable. If she directly said "time-space kill," it would be like a werewolf self-destructing in Werewolf, too obvious. Putting it in a later position makes it slightly more acceptable.

Jiu Yi wasn't stupid after all; he knew the other party must have investigated some of his preferences. Just as he was about to speak, Shen Xin suddenly raised the small blackboard.

—She predicted it again, and she was right.

"Don't ask her about the time-travel incident; it'll only make things awkward for everyone."

—Yes, Jiu Yi was just about to ask her some questions to see if she was a player from Time Kill. Shen Xin had to stop him. Regardless of whether she knew or not, Jiu Yi definitely couldn't ask, at least not on their first meeting. It would be like saying, "I know you came for me and investigated me. I want to see what's behind your mask."

If the girl really gets stumped by his question, it won't look good for either of them.

Jiu Yi quickly grasped the key point, but since his mouth was already halfway open, closing it would be too deliberate, so he could only hastily find a topic to talk about.

"Miss Cao...where do you work?"

Cao Cailan smoothed her hair and said naturally, "I don't have a job right now. I've been staying at home researching various folk tales and dedicating myself to restoring hidden records... or rather, strange tales. Occasionally, I write some travelogues and publish them in magazines, which earns me a little money. Since I'm not an only child and my family is relatively well-off, my parents don't object."

Jiu Yi didn't have a deep concept of money. Although his parents came from the countryside, they weren't poor. After going to university, he formed the Golden Duo with a Nephalem. After graduation, he went straight to work and became the Dean of the Royal Academy within a few years. In his life, apart from drawing cards, he basically never worried about money. So even if the other party didn't work, he didn't feel anything. Instead, he became interested in the folk legends the other party talked about.

"Folk tales, supernatural stories?" Jiu asked with interest. "Like those event bosses in Time and Space Kill?"

“That’s true, but it’s not limited to that.” Cao Cailan took a sip of coffee and smiled. “I have to say that Time Killer did bring a lot of traffic to Tales of the Strange. Before that, not many people knew about Tales of the Strange, let alone the Hidden Chronicles.”

Jiu asked curiously, "What exactly do you do?"

"Well... it's basically about traveling around the world, collecting local folk tales, and then paying to acquire fragments of the Hidden Chronicles." Cao Cailan smiled and said, "Thanks to this, I consider myself to know quite a few folk tales... For example, Mr. Jiu, do you know how the Qixi Festival originated?"

Jiu Yi said, "Of course I know, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl."

“That’s a festival of Southern Qin.” Cao Cailan shook her head and said, “Our Seven Luminaries originally had its own ‘Qixi’ festival, but later Southern Qin exported its culture to the world, and their folk legends spread more widely. In addition, at that time, the country had just been established, and festivals were a complete mess. Gradually, Southern Qin’s Qixi became our country’s festival. But in fact, our country’s Qixi comes from a story in the Hidden Records.”

"That story is called..."

"The butterfly exists."

Chapter Thirteen: The Existence of Butterflies

"Young man, wait a moment!"

Ying Qin was strolling along the road when he was suddenly stopped by an old man at a roadside stall. The old man had a beard, wore a white vest and shorts, and was holding a worn-out palm-leaf fan. He was squatting on the ground with a urea bag in front of him and some books on it.

Ying Qin Guan had heard this old man's legend from Luo Shui. Luo Shui talked a lot when playing cards, but her talkativeness was different from Ji Fa's. Although Ji Fa talked a lot, it was mostly related to playing cards, but Luo Shui was different. She just wanted to say something.

She seemed to be taking advantage of Ying Qin Guan, who wasn't a local from Qi Yao, and started talking to him about random things, like how the old men selling things at roadside stalls in white tank tops, shorts, and flip-flops were all billionaires.

Ying Qin Guan, of course, did not believe it. To be honest, there were very few roadside stalls in the Seven Luminaries Capital, and he had only seen them a few times (of course, because he had also rarely left the school gate, his social experience was not much more than that of a junior high school student).

Although he didn't believe it, since the old man had stopped him, Ying Qin Guan, who respected the elderly and cared for the young, had no choice but to stop.

"Grandpa, did you call me?"

"Yes," the old man said, shaking his head. "Look, there are so many people on the street, who else is all alone like you?"

The old man was still unaware that he had kicked something a thousand times harder than an iron plate. Ying Qin Guan crossed his arms and stubbornly said, "Grandpa, please don't say that. I was on my way to see my girlfriend. I only stopped when you called me."

The old man chuckled and said, "Young man, I live in the same neighborhood as dozens of middle-aged women. I listen to their gossip every day. I can tell whether a person has a girlfriend or not just by looking at him!"

Ying Qin Guan said angrily, "I said it exists, so it exists. Believe it or not, it's up to you! I'm leaving now!"

"Hey, wait, wait!" The old man hurriedly called out to Ying Qin Guan again, saying mysteriously, "Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent, a once-in-a-million genius. I have a book here—"

"The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the Dugu Sword Technique, the Sunflower Manual?"

Ying Qin Guan answered immediately and was very proud of it. He had heard the storyteller in his village tell this kind of story many times when he was a child and could recite it by heart. Later, he found that the novel culture of Southern Qin was indeed twenty years behind the outside world, but the dialogue was much more sophisticated.

"You're dreaming." But the old man didn't play by the rules, saying, "If I had these things, I'd definitely practice them myself! What Sunflower Manual? At my age, why would I care about that?!"

“Σ（°°|||）︴。

Ying Qin Guan swallowed hard, thinking this man was truly an unparalleled hero. Of all the men in the world, who would dare say they could give this up? Even someone like him wouldn't dare to be defiant on this point.

With this thought in mind, Ying Qin Guan asked curiously, "Then what are you going to sell me?"

The old man immediately picked up a book from the carpet.

"This book is the original of the Secret Chronicles. There is only one copy in the world. I see that you are a destined person. I will sell it to you for thirty Eevee."

The Hidden Records... Ying Qin Guan overheard the boss and Jiu Yi chatting for a while, and it seemed to be the original of some kind of strange tale.

Out of curiosity, he took it and casually flipped to a page.

-

When the sky was still a blur and the earth was still muddy soil, a young man lost his beloved.

He held his beloved's body in sorrow and prayed to the goddess, saying, "God, please help your people. Your will is higher than Mount Sipo, and your capacity is deeper than the Abyssal Trench. May you save your people and show your divine power."

A butterfly came to the young man's side and mocked him, "Man, the gods no longer care about worldly affairs. It's no use praying to them."

The young man asked sadly, "Who are you?"

The butterfly said, "I am a butterfly of existence."

The young man asked, "What is the butterfly of existence?"

The butterfly then said, "The Son of Man is my Lord. He sent me to travel throughout the world. If I see anyone who has lost their pursuit and love of life because of the death of someone around them, I will devour the existence of that dead person, because the dead are never as important as the living."

The young man hugged his lover's corpse tightly and said, "What happens to someone whose existence you've devoured?"

The Existence Butterfly was incredibly proud, saying, "Since I am called the Existence Butterfly, those whose existence I have devoured will be as if they never existed in this world; everyone will forget them. In this way, people will throw themselves into new lives."

The young man said in horror, "No, I can't forget her."

A butterfly flew by and said, "Since I've come, it means you must forget her."

The young man knew that if a butterfly landed on his lover, everything about her would disappear from the world. So he carried his lover on his back and began to run away.

A butterfly was chasing after him.

While fleeing, the young man passed through a village and cried out for help, "Help! A butterfly is trying to eat my lover!"

The villagers came out and said loudly, "You foolish man! Look how sad and painful you are now! If you just let go of that person, you can start a new life."

The young man said sadly, "But my sadness and my pain are proof that she existed."

A butterfly chased after them, bewitching them, "People, do you know? These villagers suffer under the oppression of foreign tribes. Their food has been stolen, and they have no way to survive. They can only resort to cannibalism, and countless people have fainted from grief. But I have come, and I have eaten their children, so they will no longer grieve.

The young man said loudly, "But I would rather be sad than forget her. Some things cannot be forgotten."

So the young man carried his lover on his back and continued to run away.

The butterfly continued to chase after him.

While fleeing, he passed through a port and cried out for help, "Help! A butterfly is trying to eat my lover!"

The porters came out and said loudly, "Man, you are foolish! Look how tired and miserable you are, carrying someone on your back while running away. If you just put that person down, you won't have to be tired and miserable anymore."

The young man said sadly, "But my toil and my hard work are proof of her continued existence."

The butterfly pursued them, enticing them: "Humans, do you know? These people have been captured by the alien race and enslaved, toiling day and night, so exhausted they have no will to live. But I have come, devoured their existence, and the alien race has forgotten them. This way, they will no longer have to toil or suffer."

The young man said loudly, "But I would rather be tired than forget her. Some responsibilities should always be borne."

So the young man carried his lover on his back and continued to run away.

The butterfly continued to chase after him.

As he fled, he passed a magnificent palace and cried out for help, "Help! A butterfly is about to devour my lover!"

The aliens in the palace came out and said loudly, "Human, you are so foolish to come to us for help. Now you not only cannot save your lover, but you are also going to lose your life. All this is because you are unwilling to let go of what is bound to leave you!"

Chapter Fourteen: A One-Time Savior

The young man said sadly, "It doesn't matter if I die, as long as the proof of her existence remains, that's enough."

The butterfly was chasing after them, bewitching them, "Man, you have walked down a dead end. These alien races will kill you or capture you to be a slave. You will lose your freedom, your life, and everything. Come quickly and let me devour you and your lover. That way, they won't be able to see you."

The young man finally gave in. He shouted, "Butterfly, eat me, but don't eat my lover! I can cease to exist, but she can't!"

The butterfly, having satisfied itself, devoured the youth, saying, "To live in this world and be forgotten is the inevitable fate of all. When I'm hungry, I'll eat her too. But great people are never forgotten. If you want to preserve her, let her be great." But how can someone who is already dead be great?

Left with no other option, the young man once again carried his lover's body on his back and began his escape.

Having eaten its fill, the butterfly calmly chased after them.

The youth crossed the desert, forded the sea, and climbed the mountain.

The journey was arduous, and it is not for outsiders to know.

The butterfly was always chasing after him.

During his escape, the young man gradually aged and became an old man. He was about to die, so he stopped and said in a weak voice, "Butterfly, exist, I am about to die."

A butterfly fluttered around me and said, "Yes, you're going to die."

The old man said, "You could have caught up with me much earlier, why didn't you?"