I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Chapter 33: Sworn Brotherhood

"Brother! Are you saying this room is mine from now on?"

Zheng Shan asked in a daze, her mouth stretched wide to her ears, seemingly unable to believe the arrangement Zheng Fa had just mentioned.

"What's wrong? Can't you sleep alone?" Zheng Fa laughed.

"I can!" Little sister quickly replied.

Their new home in the Zhao family wasn't exactly large, but compared to the earthen house they lived in before, it was quite spacious.

As they entered the small courtyard, there were two small rooms on either side. Zheng Fa planned to use them as the kitchen and wood storage.

The main house had four rooms in total, not counting the central living room.

For the remaining three rooms, Zheng Fa intended for each of the three family members to have their own.

She nodded seriously, "My new room is really beautiful!"

Zheng Fa glanced inside. The room was empty, except for a lot of dust. He couldn’t understand where little sister saw the beauty in it.

"Your little sister is still young. Let this room be your study for now." After some hesitation, their mother spoke, "You're the young master’s attendant, and studying is important. Your little sister can sleep with me."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Shan lowered her head, not saying a word, her lips pouting as if she were upset.

Zheng Fa understood. It had always been a bit uncomfortable for Zheng Shan and their mother to sleep together. Since their father passed away, their mother had been overworked, unable to stay up late, and slept lightly. Zheng Shan, on the other hand, was full of energy and stayed up late, but she was considerate and knew how hard their mother worked.

Every time their mother fell asleep, little sister would stay as still as possible, afraid of waking her up. For the lively and energetic Zheng Shan, this was quite torturous.

This was why, before moving into the new house, Zheng Shan’s biggest wish was to have her own bed.

"Although little sister is still young, she will grow up eventually. Since we have an extra room, let her sleep in it now, so we won't have to move later." He said to his mother.

Little sister’s head shot up, and she flashed a silly grin at Zheng Fa.

Seeing that their mother was about to speak, he continued, "I need to study. Whether it’s in Mr. Shen's classroom or in the Seventh Young Master’s study, I can read. When I'm home, can’t I read in the living room?"

"Well... I saw at Wang Guan Shi's house that after Wang Gui entered school, he set up a study room. He said that a scholar should have a dedicated room for books."

Zheng Fa waved his hand and laughed, "The poor student has many supplies... I mean, it's not about putting the books on a shelf, it’s about putting them in your mind."

"But..."

"Mother, he has already studied at the Misty Rain Tower. His father’s management position is gone. If we’re going to study, we should study something good."

"You're right!"

Thanks to Wang Gui, Zheng Fa’s mother had become very receptive to suggestions...

Zheng Shan raised her hands and cheered, "Mother! I want to decorate my own house!"

"Then you clean it yourself." Their mother smiled as she saw her daughter so happy.

"I'll clean it myself! I’ll clean Brother’s room, and I’ll clean Mother’s room too!"

The mother and daughter happily leaned together, starting to discuss how to arrange the furniture that Steward Gao had brought. Zheng Fa looked at the sun and said, "Mother, you two can keep discussing. I need to go practice martial arts with Master Xu."

Their mother waved her hand without even looking at Zheng Fa, completely immersed in the joy of decorating the new house. This gave Zheng Fa a slight sense of being neglected.

In the training ground room, Master Xu was stroking several thick books in front of him, sighing deeply.

His rough face was filled with delicate worry.

Xu’s young disciple, who was also his nephew, walked over and, seeing his master’s expression, asked with concern, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Sigh, the lady sent over 'Spirit Crane Body.' She wants me to teach it to this kid, Zheng Fa."

"Spirit Crane Body!" The disciple exclaimed, looking at the book in Xu’s hand. Sure enough, the cover read the three characters "Spirit Crane Body."

His gaze immediately locked onto the book: "Uncle, can I take a look?"

"You want to die? I’ve served the Zhao family for twenty years before the lady thought of rewarding me with the 'Spirit Crane Body.' It's a shame..."

"Uncle, you spent twenty years to earn this opportunity," Xu’s disciple lowered his voice, "Isn’t this a bit unfair?"

"Shut up, do you think you can talk about the lady?" Xu smacked his nephew’s head.

The disciple rubbed his head and grinned, "I just saw you sighing and thought I should speak up for you!"

Xu’s mood improved slightly, and he said, "It’s not about that. It’s... I was planning to take Zheng Fa as my disciple."

"But now it’s too late!" The disciple suddenly realized.

"Yes, he’s gained the lady’s favor now. How could I have such a face? What would the lady think of me?" Xu nodded, "But I should have told Zheng Fa earlier."

"If you had told him earlier, he would have been my junior!" The disciple understood.

"Even if I couldn't take him as a disciple, it would have been a good connection!"

Xu seemed regretful, not noticing his disciple’s sly look as he quietly walked out of the training ground.

Zheng Fa walked to the entrance of the training ground and saw a young man squatting there, seemingly waiting for someone. The person looked somewhat familiar, probably one of the people who had been standing by Xu last time.

He stopped and nodded slightly to the person, ready to enter the training ground.

But the young man suddenly jumped up, his face full of joy and enthusiasm as he said, "Brother Zheng!"

"Hmm?" Zheng Fa stopped in his tracks, looking at the person with confusion, "Who are you?"

"We met last time! Master Xu is my uncle."

"Xu, Brother, is there something you need?"

"It’s nothing serious!" The young man walked forward and enthusiastically grabbed Zheng Fa’s arm. "We met briefly last time, and I felt an immediate connection with Brother Zheng. What a coincidence to meet here again, it’s truly fate!"

Zheng Fa glanced at the two shallow indentations left where the person had been squatting. He tilted his head back slightly to avoid the man’s enthusiastic spittle, "Indeed, it’s a happy meeting!"

"How about this? Let’s swear an oath of brotherhood!" Before he finished speaking, Zheng Fa watched as the young man pulled out an incense burner from where he had been sitting and lit three incense sticks, causing three wisps of smoke to rise.

"Isn’t this a bit hasty?"

"This is the nature of swift friendship. When I met Brother Zheng, I had this feeling."

The young man’s enthusiasm was so overwhelming that Zheng Fa could only politely decline, "This... an oath of brotherhood is unnecessary. How about we just call each other brothers from now on?"

"Well..." Seeing that Zheng Fa wasn’t eager, the young man reluctantly nodded and, with sincere emotion, said, "You must remember, I truly regard you as my brother, Brother Zheng!"

"Brother Xu, I still have business, I’ll be leaving now!" Zheng Fa quickly excused himself and ran off.

The young man called after him from behind, "We’ll continue our brotherly bonding another day!"

Zheng Fa entered the training ground and found Master Xu’s room.

He saw Master Xu standing with his back to him, staring deeply at something with a look of longing, as if gazing at an old friend.

"Master?" Zheng Fa asked carefully.

"Little Zheng, do you know what day it is today?"

"What day?"

"When I was young, I had a brother who was very close to me, but he passed away young. Today is his death anniversary..."

Zheng Fa lowered his voice, "Master, my condolences."

Master Xu wiped his face and said, "To be honest, when I first saw you, I felt like you were my deceased brother."

"..."

"Let’s swear an oath of brotherhood!"

"Wait, this sounds familiar..." Zheng Fa looked at the incense table behind Master Xu and frowned. 

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