Ling Tian extended an olive branch to Xiao Ling, who was stunned. Faced with such a choice at the age of eight, the child’s mind couldn’t quite process it.
Xiao Gu, standing nearby, quickly nudged his sister’s back.
“Xiao Ling, hurry and agree! Brother Ling Tian is a very skilled doctor. If you become his disciple, you’ll definitely learn incredible medical techniques and become a formidable doctor yourself! This way, you’ll never have to worry about not having enough to eat again.”
Across the globe, whether in affluent or impoverished regions, doctors were a highly respected profession. At the very least, doctors didn’t go hungry and enjoyed high social standing. Xiao Gu naturally understood the immense benefits his sister would gain by becoming a doctor.
On the other hand, Xiao Gu was also acutely aware that their future still held a degree of uncertainty. However, if Ling Tian agreed to take Xiao Ling as a disciple, her future would at least be secured.
Xiao Ling looked at her brother, bit her lip, and nodded. Xiao Gu immediately gave her another push.
“Sister, don’t just stand there! Hurry and kowtow to your master!”
Xiao Ling approached Ling Tian, knelt respectfully on the ground, and performed three kowtows.
“Master, you are above, please accept your disciple’s bow!”
The little girl was incredibly devout, her head hitting the floor with a resounding thud. Ling Tian sat there, waiting for the girl to finish her kowtows before helping her up. He accepted the disciple-taking ceremony with equanimity.
“Good, Xiao Ling, from today onwards, you are my disciple! I, Ling Tian, am a disciple of the Medical Saint lineage. In the future, you will also be a successor of the Medical Saint lineage. Our sect doesn’t have many rigid rules. Conduct yourselves with integrity, be upright in your dealings, do not engage in wicked deeds, and heal people to the best of your ability. That is sufficient…”
“I understand, Master. I will remember your words and strictly adhere to your teachings!”
The little girl spoke in a refined and polite manner, a testament to her love for reading. In contrast, her brother was an impish, lively, and talkative monkey.
“By the way, Xiao Ling, what is your full name?”
“Full name?” Xiao Ling looked bewildered. “I don’t have a full name. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been called Xiao Ling.”
“How can you not have a full name? You can’t be called Xiao Ling forever. You’ll need an identity to survive in society. How about this, I, your master, will give you a full name. Since you don’t know your past, you shall take my surname. From now on, your name will be Ling Ling! The surname Ling, as in ‘Ling Li’ (sharp and fierce), and the given name Ling, as in ‘Ling Qiao’ (clever and agile)!”
“Ling Ling! A wonderful name, thank you, Master, for bestowing it upon me!”
The little girl was overjoyed, tears welling up in her eyes. She kowtowed to Ling Tian several more times. Xiao Gu, watching from the side, felt a pang of envy. He wished he had a name too.
Ling Tian smiled and said to Xiao Ling, “Xiao Ling, now that you are my disciple, I want to prepare a gift for you. What would you like?”
Xiao Ling bit her lip, then said solemnly, “Master, ever since I was very young, my brother and I have relied on each other. My brother is the most important person in my life. I hope you, Master, can also take my brother as a disciple.”
“This…” Ling Tian fell into hesitation.
Seeing this, Xiao Gu quickly said, “Sister, how can you casually trouble our teacher? You have good aptitude and have taught yourself medicine; you are definitely a promising candidate to be a divine doctor. But I, I don’t even recognize many characters. I know I don’t have the ability to learn medicine. Please don’t make things difficult for our teacher.”
Ling Tian pondered for a moment, then said, “Taking Xiao Gu as a disciple is not impossible…”
Through his interactions with Xiao Gu over a period of time, Ling Tian had come to understand the boy. This child was like someone with hyperactive disorder, mischievous and clever, possessing extraordinary abilities and a strong spirit of exploration, with excellent comprehension. Most importantly, this child possessed a quality of courage and responsibility. To care for his sister, he risked his life diving into the sea to collect shells for food when he was less than five years old. When facing danger, he would also proactively step forward. For instance, this time, he risked his life to bring information to him and Ah Li. For a nine-year-old child to possess such chivalrous spirit was truly remarkable.
“I can take Xiao Gu as a disciple. His aptitude is not suited for learning medicine, but it is suitable for learning martial arts. However, if he wishes to learn martial arts from me, the requirements will differ from those for learning medicine. A martial artist must have a righteous heart. If their heart is not pure, and they learn profound martial arts, they become a menace to society! How about this, since you siblings will be living with me, I will first take Xiao Gu as a nominal disciple. I will assess his character. If, one day, I deem his character to meet my standards, then I will formally accept him into my tutelage. But I must make one thing clear: just as I can teach you martial arts, I can also enforce discipline. If, one day, you use what you learn from me to act recklessly, then do not blame me for being harsh!”
“Master, you are above, please accept your disciple’s bow!”
Upon hearing Ling Tian’s words, Xiao Gu immediately knelt on the ground and knocked his head three times. The child was honest, even scraping his forehead. Xiao Ling, standing beside him, was distressed. She quickly activated her ability, placing her hand on Xiao Gu’s forehead. A green light enveloped it, and the scraped skin quickly healed.
“Teacher, I don’t have a name either. Can you give me a name?” Xiao Gu looked at Ling Tian with bright, expectant eyes.
Ling Tian stroked his chin, looked at Xiao Gu, and pondered for a moment.
“You siblings shall both take my surname. Xiao Gu, you have worked hard to take care of your sister since you were young. This is not easy, and it is very handsome and cool. Therefore, from now on, your name will be Ling Shuai!”
“Ling Shuai, Ling Shuai, a great name, haha, I have a name now…” Xiao Gu, after receiving the name from his teacher, jumped up with joy. His happiness was genuine.
“By the way, Xiao Ling, how much of your healing ability can you use per day?”
“Teacher, for a wound like the one you had just now, I can probably treat about five times a day. If I am given some time to absorb the life force of plants, I can perform about ten treatments a day. Of course, absorbing the life force of plants also requires a process…”
Through Xiao Ling’s description, Ling Tian learned about the girl’s principles for absorbing plant life force. For instance, woody plants contained far more life force than herbaceous plants. The longer a plant had grown, the more life force it could provide. Furthermore, the growth condition of the plant mattered; plants with lush foliage could provide more life force.