Volume 1 School Master – Chapter 1 A Hidden School Master
It was September. The story began at the library of the Jiangjing University of Chinese Medicine.
Fang Qiu unconcernedly picked a Chinese medical book named Bonesetting from the bookshelf and went to the resting place.
He was a freshman at the school. It was raining and they couldn’t do military training. So He went to the library as soon as possible.
Before he was admitted to the university, Fang Qiu knew little about traditional Chinese Medicine, but this couldn’t stop him from being interested in Chinese Medicine, curing the sick, and saving the patient.
Of course, he had his own purpose in applying to the University of Chinese Medicine.
Fang Qiu pulled out a chair from a desk and sat down, putting the Bonesetting on the desk.
He looked straight at the book.
But he didn’t begin to open the book, and just put his hands on both sides of the book.
And then, he patted the book slightly with his right hand.
Something strange and magical happened!
Without any other action, the book began to turn the pages automatically with merely a slight pat!
Facing such a strange scene, Fang Qiu was so calm. It seemed that everything was normal as usual.
Fortunately, the semester just started, thus, no one was in the library except Fang Qiu. If somebody else saw the scene, he would think that the library was haunted.
Fang Qiu lifted his hand and patted down, the lift-and-pat action continued until the book showed its main body.
He began to read the book with great interest.
After finishing reading a page, Fang Qiu lifted his right hand again and was ready to pat the book.
At that time, a hurried footstep sounded in the distance.
Fang Qiu slowly put his lifting hand down as usual.
The book didn’t turn its pages, and the sound was coming.
“I have finally found you, Fang Qiu!”
Fang Qiu turned back and saw the comer. It was Liu Feifei, the assistant class teacher of class three, the class he belonged to.
She was a beautiful and enthusiastic junior senior.
Fang Qiu still remembered the scene that they first met. The first time Liu Feifei introduced herself to the class as the class teacher, all the boys in his class began to howl with their eyes shining.
“Unexpectedly, you are so hard-working. Everyone was so tired because of military training, and you are here reading books!”
Liu Feifei came straight to the opposite side of the desk and had a look at the book. She asked admiringly and curiously, “Classical Chinese? Can you understand them? Our major is going to have orthopaedic classes in the second semester, isn’t it too early to learn that?”
“I’m just looking around.”
Fang Qiu didn’t say that he could understand.
He REALLY could understand.
“Nice job!”
Liu Feifei praised him, and then asked with her big bright eyes, “I have called you several times but you didn’t answer, what happened?”
Fang Qiu was stunned by what he had heard. He took out his cellphone and found that 5 missed calls were on the screen. He answered with embarrassment, “The cellphone was set to be silent, so I didn’t hear it.”
Liu Feifei nodded relievedly, it seemed that Fang Qiu didn’t do it on purpose.
It was the first time she took the job as a class teacher, so she had had much expectation on the newly-enrolled boys and girls. She didn’t want to see anyone in the class who didn’t listen to her.
“I called you because our school temporarily decided to hold a mid-autumn open-air party for the freshman tomorrow night on the playground, and every freshman class was asked to perform. I came here to ask you to perform a program. Everyone in our class ought to perform and no one can escape. I will choose one from your programs.”
After the explanation, Liu Feifei asked, “What’s your speciality?”
“Speciality?”
Fang Qiu thought for a while and answered, “I can play the flute, is it a speciality?”
Liu Feifei was amazed and she asked hurriedly, “How well do you play the flute? And your national level?”
“Just so so. I haven’t taken any exams yet.”
Having compared the level of his to his old master’s, Fang Qiu quickly gave himself a pertinent evaluation.
Liu Feifei was a little disappointed. She thought that there would be another amazing program in her class, but she didn’t expect that the level was just ordinary.
“Can I have a listen at your play?”
At this time, she made up her mind that if it was as average as the guy said, she would not have to report it to the school.
Fang Qiu said with some embarrassment, “It should be yes, but the flute is in the dormitory now.”
And he pointed to the book.
It was so obvious that he wanted to read books instead of going back to the dormitory.
“My Fang!”
This intimate address from Liu Feifei made Fang Qiu to be covered with gooseflesh.
“Time is limited. I have to report the program to the school this noon. Can you be considerate toward me this time?”
Looking at the beauty’s smile and listening to her entreating words, Fang Qiu felt totally embarrassed.
That was a bit too much for him.
It would not be suitable for him to refuse the senior.
But it would waste him 40 minutes to go back to the dormitory and return to the library if he didn’t refuse.
He didn’t want to waste too much time. Moreover, he was a freshman, thus, he had no library card to bring the books out, which meant he had to read them in the library.
He hesitated for a while and said, “Let me play hand flute for you, ok? From this, you can see my level of playing the flute. But we are in the library now...”
“Hand flute? What’s that?”
Liu Feifei was confused, her interest was raised.
Fang Qiu explained patiently, “Hand flute requires your two hands to work as the resonator, it’s easy.”
Hearing the procedure was easy, Liu Feifei was not so interested.
But having looked how hard-working Fang Qiu was, she would be sorry to disturb him, so she had to agree with Fang Qiu.
“Just play. There’s no one else here to be disturbed. I will listen to you with all my years.”
Fang Qiu was happy for not going back to the dormitory, he put his cellphone down.
Under the gaze of the beautiful senior, his hands were directly folded into the shape of a curve, leaving the palms empty, and a small hole was revealed in between the thumbs.
He made his mouth near his thumb.
His chest vibrated.
The air came out of his mouth.
A haunting melody rang through the library immediately.
“This???”
Liu Feifei’s eyes widened in an instant. She was shocked and couldn’t help but say, “Is this Blue and White Porcelain from Jay Chou?”
The next scene startled her directly.
Fang Qiu even nodded while playing, which didn’t affect his performance at all.
Liu Feifei looked at Fang Qiu absent-mindedly.
She had thought that hand flute and whistle were almost the same, but she had never imagined that it was so magical, the melody seemed to be from heaven.
It was awesome.
She had never thought that there was such an outstanding boy hiding in her class.
Liu Feifei directly immersed herself in the beautiful melody, without any time to think about it.
She seemed to feel herself wandering in the ancient scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, holding a pink painted oil-paper umbrella, standing on a stone bridge, looking back into the past, seeing the birth of beautiful blue and white porcelain, and witnessing a beautiful love story.
The sky is waiting for the rain, and I am waiting for you.
The smoke rises up, from a thousand miles away.
Sometimes she seemed to be a bystander and sometimes the heroine of a sad love story.
A kind of sadness, a kind of missing.
All those feelings were hovering in her mind.
So beautiful!
And so sad...
The melody continued to take her to wander in the misty rain. She was indulged in pleasure without stop.
......
When the song was finished, Fang Qiu put down his hands and looked surprisingly at the beautiful senior who was still immersed in the melody. Without interruption, he continued to read the book.
A minute later.
The beautiful lady came to herself, grabbed his hands and said with her eyes shining, “That’s terrific! Fang Qiu, you are so good! That’s great!”
“I have heard Blue and white porcelain for dozens of times, but it’s the first time that I feel it so haunting that I was immersed in it! Who could have imagined that you could play the sounds of heaven with only a pair of simple hands!”
“You’re overpraised, senior.”
Fang Qiu pulled out his hand in a hurry and said embarrassingly. He really didn’t feel good about his level.
“No overpraising!”
Liu Feifei directly denied Fang Qiu’s self-evaluation, and then looked at him with a resentful look. “You are ordinary? I was almost cheated by you! Now, as a class teacher, I formally inform you that your program has been passed. You don’t need any flute, just play the tune with your hands!”
She smiled excitedly, “Now we have had two programs, they’ll be amazing.”
“Two programs?”
Fang Qiu asked puzzledly, “The other one is?”
“Chen Cong’s Wushu performance! This guy is as modest as you. He could play Chinese boxing. Although worse than yours, his performance is still a good program.”
Liu Feifei stood up, raised her fist to Fang Qiu and cheered him up, “It all depends on you two tomorrow evening! Come on!”
After that, she took out the library card from her pocket and threw it to Fang Qiu.
“This is a reward from me to you. Return it to me when your library card is ready.”
After that, Liu Feifei left quickly.
Wushu?
Fang Qiu looked at his hands and smiled.
He could play Wushu as well.
But his was named Kung Fu.
Also named Martial Art.
Fang Qiu could not help sighing at the thought of Kung Fu.
He didn’t know what was going on with his old master.
Fang Qiu began to learn Kung Fu from 3 years old and now he was 17, which meant he had been practicing Kung Fu for 14 years.
All those things were done without the knowledge of anyone, including his parents.
He met his old master at the age of 3, and the old master taught him secretly for 12 years.
At the grade of senior two, Fang Qiu made his Kung Fu into another level, which helped him to find that the old master was suffered from a hidden illness. And at that time he realized that in order to teach him, the old master had been suppressing his illness with his powerful cultivation, and did not treat the illness.
At the time when the old master found that he couldn’t suppress his illness, he left only one sentence and went away quietly without any trace.
“I have nothing to teach you any more. Just practice your Kung Fu hard. I’m going to cure my illness, we’ll meet someday in the future.”
He clearly knew that the illness wouldn’t be cured easily, because if so, the old master would have cured it earlier.
He felt a sense of guilt and pain as long as he thought that a man who met him at the age of three had taught him for 12 years without regret, but he could not repay him for his kindness or even help him at all.
So he applied for the Jiangjing University of Chinese Medicine.
He hoped that he could learn well at medicine and cure the illness of the old master.
He also hoped that he could cure more people, not only the old master.
He clearly knew that the faster he finished learning, the less dangerous the old master was.
The only hope was that the old master could live to that day.
The most embarrassing thing for him was that he didn’t know what illness the old master was suffering from. Although he was aware of the hidden disease, he didn’t know the detailed condition.
So he couldn’t study in a specific way.
He had no choice but to learn the treatment methods involved in traditional Chinese medicine as much as he could, and try not to waste even a single minute.
The reason why he read orthopaedic books first was that he was a Kung Fu practitioner. He knew much about the bones and muscles and had learned some of the treatment methods of falling injury with the old master.
So he could learn quickly about this kind of ancient books.
He hoped that they could take a case or two as an example for the rest to follow and he could become a good doctor.
“Hope everything will be all right with the old master.”
Fang Qiu sighed with emotion in his heart. He collected the library card, restrained his mind and continued to read.
The library also restored its tranquility.
As Fang Qiu’s palm kept rising and falling, pages of books were read.
Soon, a book was finished.
He stood up and went to the bookshelf to pick up another ancient book on orthopedics.
He prepared to learn from one subject to another till the day he had got all the knowledge from the ancient books. If modern medicine could cure the illness, the old master would not suppress it for so long. So Fang Qiu chose to seek methods in ancient books.
Soon, another book was finished.
Fang Qiu was a fast reader. It was not like reading a book at all, but turning it over.
Fang Qiu had read four or five ancient books of orthopedics in the whole morning.
Looking at the time on the cellphone, it was eleven o’clock at noon. Fang Qiu stretched himself, mobilized the internal air to rotate around the body, and the sense of fatigue disappeared instantly.
With the unfinished book in hand, he chose several other ancient books of orthopedics. He decided to read them in the dormitory.
He came to the lending department and handed the books and library cards to the librarian, a middle-aged man who looked a little serious.
The middle-aged man glanced at the library card at will, then glanced at those ancient books. With a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes, he looked up at Fang Qiu. The surprise in his eyes was even more strong.
“Freshman? You can understand the books?”