When Mo Fan took out the gold ingot, both Mr. Fang and his son Fang Lin were startled.
“Gold… gold?!”
Fang Lin’s eyes widened, thinking to himself, *This is way too lavish!*
“Young brother, how could you possibly learn to read and write well in just a month?”
“And even if you wanted to learn, you wouldn’t need this much money. If you’re so wealthy, you could hire a scholar as a teacher, and the results might be even better.”
“So, you’d better leave!”
Mr. Fang, however, didn’t take the gold and shook his head solemnly.
“Sir, don’t worry about whether I can learn to read or not. I’ve heard your daughter is gravely ill and you’re in urgent need of money. Please don’t refuse!”
Seeing Mr. Fang’s stubbornness, Mo Fan grew anxious.
He was already taking a huge risk entering a human village using his Qi-Concealing Technique. Learning to read at a private school was far safer and more reliable than hiring a scholar.
As for the gold, he didn’t care at all.
He had killed some rogue cultivators before, and their storage pouches contained plenty of gold, but such mundane items were of little use to him.
“Yeah, Father, Sister is gravely ill, and we need money now. Since Brother Mo is so eager to learn, why not teach him?”
“If you won’t teach him, I will!”
Fang Lin, anxious as well, reached for the gold ingot in Mo Fan’s hand.
“Enough!”
Mr. Fang scolded, and seeing his son retract his hand, he turned to Mo Fan with a wry smile, “Since you’re so determined to learn, I’ll agree!”
With that, he took the gold ingot from Mo Fan, gripping it tightly.
In a place like Pingyao Town, few could produce a gold ingot. Even his private school would take a long time to earn such an amount.
This wasn’t just about money—it was about his daughter’s life!
Seeing this, Mo Fan finally smiled and handed over a basket of fruit, saying, “This is for Miss Fang!”
“On behalf of my daughter, I thank you, young brother!”
Having accepted the gold, Mr. Fang didn’t stand on ceremony. After taking the fruit, he pondered briefly and said, “How about this? From now on, my daughter will personally teach you to read. Is that alright?”
“Huh?”
Mo Fan and Fang Lin were both stunned. Fang Lin quickly said, “Father, Sister is sick right now!”
“Exactly, with Miss Fang ill, it’s not right to trouble her to teach me. There’s no need for special treatment, sir. I’ll just study with the other children!” Mo Fan added.
Though he didn’t know what illness Miss Fang had, having a sick person teach him felt inappropriate, especially since she was a woman. Her literacy skills might not even match Mr. Fang’s.
“Young brother, my daughter is one of the three scholars in Pingyao Town. Her knowledge is no less than mine. Are you really unwilling to let her teach you?”
Mr. Fang looked at Mo Fan and explained, “Besides, the daily lessons in the school vary. Many children have already learned certain characters, and since they’ve paid, I can’t waste their time. That’s why I thought my daughter could teach you.
Though she’s ill, it won’t hinder her teaching, and it’ll let her repay your kindness.
You can rest assured, her illness isn’t contagious or serious.”
“Sir, you misunderstand. That’s not what I meant.”
Mo Fan quickly waved his hand. Seeing the conversation had reached this point, he gave a wry smile, “Then I’ll be troubling Miss Fang from now on!”
“Good. I have a class to teach. Lin’er, take Young Master Mo to see your sister and explain things to her.”
“Yes, Father!”
After Mr. Fang left, Fang Lin carried the fruit basket and led Mo Fan to the back courtyard.
Mo Fan then noticed that the Fang family’s private school was divided into front and back courtyards. The front was larger, used for the children’s playtime, while the smaller back courtyard had several rooms where the Fang family lived.
Upon entering the back courtyard, Mo Fan saw a woman in a plain dress sitting on a chair, reading a book.
“Sister!”
Fang Lin called out with a smile. The woman shifted her attention from the book to Mo Fan and Fang Lin.
“Little Lin, who’s this?”
She looked at Mo Fan with a hint of curiosity.
It had been a long time since a stranger, let alone a man, had come to the back courtyard.
“Sister, here’s what happened…”
Fang Lin quickly explained their father’s decision.
After hearing it, the woman nodded, smiled, and clasped her hands toward Mo Fan, “Fang Ru greets you, Young Master!”
Mo Fan then noticed Fang Ru’s poor complexion, her lips pale, her entire being frail. Most strikingly, there was a faint trace of demonic aura on her!
This discovery made Mo Fan’s eyes narrow slightly.
“I’m Mo Fan, a wandering hunter with no knowledge of literacy, so Miss Fang can just call me by my name, no need for formalities.”
Mo Fan averted his gaze, giving a simple smile as he introduced himself, then asked, “Miss Fang, what illness do you have? It seems your legs can’t move?”
At this, the Fang siblings’ expressions dimmed. Fang Ru gave a bitter smile, “I don’t know what’s wrong. Since three months ago, I’ve woken up every morning extremely weak.
Father invited all the doctors in town to examine me, and I was even taken to the city once, but no one could diagnose anything. They only said I’m suffering from severe qi and blood deficiency and need supplements like ginseng or wild yam.
It helped at first, but half a month ago, my legs lost all sensation.”
“I see!”
Mo Fan nodded, a faint suspicion forming.
Miss Fang was likely being plagued by a demon!
Though he understood the crux, Mo Fan didn’t say it aloud.
First, it wasn’t easy to explain. Second, he didn’t want unnecessary trouble.
Miss Fang was pitiable, but to him, she was just a stranger, and their relationship was merely transactional, based on money.
Of course, if the demon didn’t provoke him, he wouldn’t mind helping Miss Fang resolve her condition.
After some small talk, Fang Ru sent her brother away, then had Mo Fan find a long branch and a basin of water. She began teaching him to write on the ground.
Mo Fan studied for several days.
He found Fang Ru truly knowledgeable, her handwriting far more elegant than Mr. Fang’s, making it easy for him to learn without guessing correct strokes. This sped up his progress significantly.
Notably, over these days, Mo Fan was surprised to find the demonic aura on Fang Ru growing fainter, and her complexion becoming rosier, which puzzled him.
Had the demon troubling her left?
The Fang family noticed her changes too, and they were overjoyed, subconsciously seeing Mo Fan as a lucky star. Meanwhile, Fang Ru was shocked by Mo Fan’s learning speed.
Ordinary children might memorize a dozen characters a day, but this bald Young Master Mo had a remarkable memory, learning over a hundred on the first day and picking up speed in the days that followed.
In just six or seven days, he had learned thousands of characters.
