"Is that so?" Hearing Fang Hao's answer, Kuwajima Jigorou didn't say much, just nodded. "Young man, you haven't introduced yourself yet?"
"Ah, this…" Fang Hao truly had no way to introduce himself. After all, the Identity Implantation level granted by the legendary compendium was only D. Although he had an initial identity in this world, he genuinely had no memories of it. He hoped that when Identity Implantation upgraded in the future, it would provide him with an identity introduction.
"Master Kuwajima, my name is Fang Hao." At this point, he could only bite the bullet and fabricate something. "I came from the great country across the sea. As for my previous identity, there's nothing more to say. I have no family left in this world."
Fang Hao spoke these words with great sincerity. High-level lies are often spoken in the most unadorned language, concealing only a part, with the rest being the truth.
As a transmigrator, and one who transmigrated physically, could he possibly have family in this world? There was no problem with that; he merely concealed the fact of his transmigration.
"Fang Hao, are you from Great Xia?" Kuwajima Jigorou pondered. The surnames and names in the island nation were indeed varied, but the name Fang Hao sounded more like it came from Great Xia.
The history of this world was somewhat different from before Fang Hao's transmigration. In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, Emperor Xia Taizu emerged, rising from a minor official to a hegemon in the southwest, then pacifying the southeast, moving north to contend for the Central Plains, overthrowing the Ming Dynasty, and establishing the Xia Dynasty.
After that, he pacified the Jurchens and Mongols, leading his army into the Western Regions, thus becoming the master of the East. Seeing this, the island nation immediately decided to learn from its 'father,' leading to the Meiji Restoration. Therefore, Great Xia was a veritable Celestial Empire in this world.
"That's no wonder." Kuwajima Jigorou looked at Fang Hao. In his view, there was a sense of incongruity about Fang Hao with his surroundings. Although he didn't show it, that kind of ingrained superiority was still detected by Kuwajima Jigorou. "Presumably, his previous identity in the Celestial Empire was not simple."
"No family left?" Although Kuwajima Jigorou appeared strict, he had always been compassionate, otherwise he wouldn't have adopted Zenitsu, who had been swindled out of all his money.
"Another poor child," Kuwajima Jigorou thought. He subconsciously imagined a scene where Fang Hao and his family went out to sea, and then his family unfortunately perished, leaving only Fang Hao to live alone, desolate and helpless.
Kuwajima Jigorou secretly resolved, "For now, I will take care of this child. I will take good care of him."
Fang Hao looked at Kuwajima Jigorou's eyes with confusion, from the initial 'as expected' to pity and lament, and then to determination, coupled with his face which already bore a scar…
"Σ(°△°|||)︴, what on earth did he imagine? Why does he look so scary! Did my explanation pass or not? Should I make up more? What else should I make up?"
"Fang Hao, from now on, you are my disciple." Kuwajima Jigorou's words interrupted Fang Hao's wild thoughts. "Yes, Master!"
——————
"Big Brother, I am Agatsuma Zenitsu. Please give me much guidance." Looking at Agatsuma Zenitsu, who was bowing to him and calling him Big Brother, Fang Hao fell into contemplation.
"Who am I, where am I? Although I am indeed older than Zenitsu, I joined later. It would certainly be fine for Zenitsu to call me Junior Brother. What is he doing?"
Suddenly, Zenitsu looked up, took a step forward, and tightly grasped Fang Hao's hand, shouting, "Big Brother, only you can do it! Please, you must pass on Grandpa's Thunder Breathing!"
Fang Hao was stunned. So it was because of this. Zenitsu had always been a very insecure person, insecure to the point of cowardice. In the original work, Zenitsu could never master any sword techniques of Thunder Breathing beyond the First Form: Thunderclap and Flash. He felt very guilty about being unable to pass on his grandpa's sword techniques.
His scummy senior brother, Kaidake, was the complete opposite. He had mastered all Thunder Breathing sword techniques except for Thunderclap and Flash. He was full of jealousy and disdain for Zenitsu, who had mastered Thunderclap and Flash. Of course, this jealousy and dissatisfaction also stemmed from Kuwajima Jigorou's affection for Zenitsu.
None of Kuwajima Jigorou's disciples had mastered all the Thunder Breathing sword techniques, but Kuwajima Jigorou did not blame his disciples for this.
He taught Zenitsu to focus on one point and perfect it. It can be said that a large part of Zenitsu's later strength came from his teachings.
"No wonder Zenitsu treats me this way. He must be treating me as the successor to the complete Thunder Breathing." Fang Hao then thought of Kuwajima Jigorou's previous attitude towards him. "These two are truly master and disciple. Their ability to imagine is truly inherited. Oh, I seem to be their fellow disciple, so never mind."
"In the original work, Kuwajima Jigorou (Kuwajima Jigorou:? Not calling me Master?) had Kaidake and Zenitsu jointly inherit Thunder Breathing. Did he mention this time point? I can't remember. Never mind, I'll just build up their favorability first, both of them."
Thinking of this, Fang Hao gently pushed away Zenitsu's hand, then placed both hands on Zenitsu's shoulders, and said with a serious expression, "Zenitsu, like you, I am only Master's disciple. Passing on Thunder Breathing is not the responsibility of one of us; it is a responsibility we must bear together."
"Man's most precious tool is life, and life belongs to us only once. A person's Issho should be lived like this: when he looks back on the past, he does not regret having wasted his years, nor does he feel ashamed of his past mediocrity. Thus, when he is dying, he can say: 'All my life and all my spirit have been dedicated to what was most important to me—struggling for ideals and responsibility.'"
As he spoke, Fang Hao silently turned around, not letting anyone see the expression on his face at that moment—a look of embarrassment, shame, and guilt.
'I can't believe I still remember this passage. By the way, at this time, "How the Steel Was Tempered" hasn't been written yet, right? Is it not so good for me to copy, ah no, borrow, like this?'
While thinking this, he secretly glanced at their expressions, only to see both of them looking shocked. Zenitsu, Kuwajima Jigorou: "As expected of Big Brother (a person from the Celestial Empire), to be able to say such profound words."
Seeing the two of them moved (or fooled), Fang Hao felt a wave of relief in his heart. It wasn't copied in vain, ah no, borrowed. How can a scholar's actions be called copying?
So Fang Hao turned around, smiling, ready to formally receive their emotional display. "Big Brother!" Zenitsu was indeed very moved, tears and snot flowing, and he rushed forward to hug Fang Hao.
Seeing Zenitsu in such a state, Fang Hao's moved smile gradually stiffened. He looked disdainfully at Zenitsu, who was leaving snot and tears on his clothes. "Can I still wear these clothes? I can't not wear them either, this is my only souvenir."
Thinking this, he looked at Kuwajima Jigorou beside him, wanting him to control his disciple, but saw Kuwajima Jigorou had silently turned away, his shoulders slightly twitching, while wiping something below his forehead.
"Hey, hey, he's crying, right? Are their emotions that rich? You two are so in sync, do you really have no blood relation?" Fang Hao complained in his heart. "Is it still too late to break off our master-disciple relationship now?"
"However, this isn't bad either."