The hunchbacked old man had his back to Lin Jiangnian, holding a broom in his hand. He moved slowly but intently as he carefully swept the dust off the floor of the attic.
The sudden appearance of such a strange and mysterious old man in the dim attic was indeed surprising. Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes. How could there be a "sweeping monk" in this important place of Ruyi Tower?
No one inside or outside Ruyi Tower can easily enter. The only people in the entire Prince Lin's Mansion who can enter and leave this place freely are Prince Lin, Prince Lin's son, and perhaps the maid beside him... Zhiyuan?
No one else is qualified to enter here!
And now, there is an old man with a mysterious identity sweeping the floor here?
All the elements are complete!
This old man is probably not simple!
Is it the guard?
Or... is there some unparalleled master hiding here?
"senior?"
Lin Jiangnian spoke tentatively.
However, the hunchbacked old man was still sweeping the floor diligently, as if he had not heard anything.
Lin Jiangnian walked slowly forward, came behind the old man, and called out again: "Senior?"
Still no response.
Still no reaction at such a close distance?
Are you deaf?
Just as Lin Jiangnian was about to approach the old man, he finished sweeping the dust in front of him and turned around. He seemed startled for a moment before he saw Lin Jiangnian appear behind him.
This was an old man in his sixties, with dry, white hair that was neat yet looked worn out. His face was covered in wrinkles, and his eyes were sunken, seemingly unable to open. His entire body gave off an aura of loneliness.
It feels like the end of life is approaching!
The old man raised his head and looked Lin Jiangnian up and down before he spoke: "Are you here to look for something?"
The voice was also old and hoarse.
Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly: "Senior, are you the caretaker of this attic?"
The old man shook his head slowly: "What kind of guard is this? He's just an old man who's about to die..."
After saying that, the old man slowly turned around and continued to bend down and sweep the floor.
"senior?"
Lin Jiangnian spoke, but the old man still didn't respond. This time, Lin Jiangnian raised his voice: "Senior?!"
The old man seemed to react at this point. He turned around to look at Lin Jiangnian and shook his head gently: "I'm old, and my hearing isn't very good... Do you have anything else to say?"
"I have a few things I'd like to ask the senior about."
Lin Jiangnian nodded.
The old man shook his head and said, "If you want to find something, you can search anywhere in this attic. Except for the seventh floor, you can find it everywhere else. As for the rest, I can't answer your questions..."
Lin Jiangnian subconsciously glanced in the direction of the seventh floor. In the Ruyi Tower, the second, third and fourth floors contained books, the fifth floor contained weapons, the sixth floor contained rare herbs and elixirs, and the seventh floor was locked, so he couldn't get in.
"Senior, do you know what is hidden inside the seventh floor?"
The old man shook his head lightly and sighed, "Except for the prince, no one else can enter the seventh floor. No one knows what is inside."
No one can enter except King Lin?
Can't Prince Lin do the same?
Lin Jiangnian's eyes flickered as he looked at the old man in front of him. "Senior, how long have you been here?"
The old man did not answer this question, but just shook his head slightly and turned around to continue sweeping the floor.
However, Lin Jiangnian had no intention of giving up this opportunity.
Although he had entered Ruyi Tower, he had found nothing so far. The old man before him… looked like a peerless master who lived in seclusion and remained hidden.
Anyone who can appear in Ruyi Tower is definitely not an ordinary person... Lin Jiangnian will certainly not miss this good opportunity to make friends!
"Why are you here, Senior?"
"I have a few questions and would like to ask a senior for advice!"
"Senior, are you the peerless master who has retired to Ruyi Tower and never appeared in public?"
“…”
The old man who was sweeping the floor seemed a little annoyed by the young man chattering in his ears.
Even though I am hard of hearing, I still can’t stop the annoying young man!
The old man raised his head, glanced at Lin Jiangnian with a slightly cloudy gaze, and sighed: "Look, does this old slave look like a master?"
Lin Jiangnian's eyes flickered. It really didn't look like that, but weren't all true masters good at disguising themselves? Aren't they all like this?
"I am just an old man in his twilight years!"
The old man sighed deeply: "Fortunately, the prince has shown me kindness and taken me in to clean and organize things in Ruyi Tower..."
The old man shook his head and sighed, glanced at Lin Jiangnian, and continued cleaning on his own.
Lin Jiangnian stood there, looking at the hunchbacked old man in his sight, frowning slightly.
Not an expert?
He had an idea and pulled out a book from the bookshelf next to him and threw it at the old man.
The scene I imagined of the old man with eyes on his back catching the book with one hand was not... The book hit the old man's back and fell to the ground.
The old man seemed to come to his senses, turned around, looked at the ground, then looked at Lin Jiangnian behind him, seemed to sigh, bent down and slowly picked up the book from the ground, patted the dust off the book, and put the book back on the bookshelf.
"The books here are all rare treasures, so you must cherish them!"
After doing all this, the old man continued to sweep the floor.
Lin Jiangnian stood there, his brows furrowed even deeper!
Not an expert?
Or... is he pretending to be very deep?
But no matter what, it's probably impossible to find out the truth today. Lin Jiangnian glanced at the night outside the attic, and it was already dark.
It seems I can only make plans tomorrow.
Lin Jiangnian turned around, went downstairs and left Ruyi Tower.
On the other side of the long bridge, maids had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Lin Jiangnian returned to the shore, two maids came forward to greet him.
"Your Highness, it's getting late. Are you hungry? Dinner is ready..."
Lin Jiangnian felt his stomach and felt hungry, so he followed the maid to have dinner.
On the way, the maid behind me mentioned something.
"Your Highness, Miss Xu came to see you this afternoon!"
"Xu Lan?"
Lin Jiangnian was not surprised: "Where is she?"
"After learning that His Highness had entered Ruyi Tower, she waited outside for a long time and did not return until dark."
Lin Jiangnian was stunned. Waited for him for the whole afternoon?
Is she really full and has nothing to do?
However, Lin Jiangnian was confused at the moment and didn't feel like caring about these things. He followed the maid to eat, filled his stomach, bathed, changed his clothes, and returned to his room.
The room was empty.
There was no sign of the woman in red, nor was there the little maid who was supposed to be warming the bed in the room.
However, Lin Jiangnian was not in the mood to settle the score with the little maid at this time.
Sitting at the table, he began to recall the martial arts books he had memorized in the attic this afternoon.
While thinking, Lin Jiangnian took out a pen and ink from the bookshelf and slowly wrote down the martial arts secrets that he had memorized in his mind.
Although I can't remember it completely clearly, I have a general idea of it.
After seeing the densely packed words written on the paper on the desk, Lin Jiangnian breathed a sigh of relief and then began to observe.
only……
Even if you read it once, twice, three or four times...
Lin Jiangnian still hasn't figured out anything!
I don't understand it at all!
I don’t know where to start!
After a while, Lin Jiang sighed.
He really overestimated his own understanding. In this unfamiliar field of martial arts, it would be difficult to enter the industry without a master to guide him!
Different fields are like different worlds!
Lin Jiangnian was confused at the moment and didn't know how to start.
Just when he was feeling a little disappointed, a figure flashed by the corner of his eye. Lin Jiangnian subconsciously raised his eyes and smelled a faint fragrance in his nose.
Then, a figure appeared in the room and sat opposite Lin Jiangnian.
Familiar red clothes!
"What are you doing?"
The woman in red glanced at Lin Jiangnian with a gentle, slightly playful look, then glanced at the things on the table.
Then, she seemed to realize something and was a little surprised.
"You, want to learn martial arts?!"
“…”