"[Ren], willpower; [Hatsu], action..."
"People use 'willpower' and 'thinking' to command 'action', using aura to overcome, and can repel the enemy without moving."
"For those who practice [Ren], first the 'willpower' must be strong enough. If the mind is insufficient, it's easy to become stubborn, unable to correct wrong thoughts in time, leading to deviation from the right path, and in severe cases, to death."
"Therefore, when practicing [Ren], one should not stop at the superficial level of 'Nen', but should focus more on 'questioning the heart'."
"Ask yourself what you really want, what direction you want to head in the future, thoroughly determine the path forward, then it's not too late to talk about practicing [Ren]."
Deep in the night, the moonlight bathed the father and son in a silken glow...
Killua carefully got out of bed, supporting his waist, clinging to the doorframe, and looked outside. The two figures, one large and one small, stood with their hands behind their backs at the window, gazing into the distance, appreciating the night view of Kukuroo Mountain, exuding an eerie sense of harmony.
Is it my illusion? The electronic eye on the woman's face flickered... Roy stood close to Silva, listening quietly, and a sentence faintly emerged in his mind—
Skill may approximate the Dao, and arts may connect with the Divine!
When 'art' reaches the ultimate, it ultimately aligns with the direction of the 'Dao'.
"Father's meaning is that the essence of [Ren] does not lie in the material aspect, controlling the opening and closing of the body's acupoints, but rather... arming the mind with thoughts, interpreting responsibility through actions. Driving the will as a blade, causing spiritual or lethal impact on opponents."
Silva was slightly stunned, turned his head to look at Roy, whose frowning, contemplative face was faintly glowing... It was unclear whether it was because the door was opened, letting the light through the door crack onto him, or because the moonlight was too strong, making him appear exceptionally outstanding.
In any case, this phrase "arming the mind with thoughts, interpreting responsibility through actions" sounded unexpectedly fresh.
The man said quietly: "Your grandfather said you always have some novel ideas, now it seems, it's not just idle talk."
"Killua, bring over the notebook from my drawer."
The door creaked open a bit more, and the woman handed over two notebooks...
Silva said: "These are some experiences I compiled early on regarding the training of the Four Major Principles. Keep one for yourself, and give one to Illumi...."
Roy received them with both hands, flipped through, it was handwritten, bowed and saluted: "Thank you, Father. I won't keep you waiting for long...."
"Haha... let's hope so!"
A gust of wind blew in, making Silva's head of silver hair dance wildly like a lion's mane....
The young man straightened his back, nodded to Killua, turned and left along the path he came, leaving behind a silhouette that wasn't particularly tall but not too thin for the couple....
"He's grown up..."
"Yes," grown up... "Be careful not to let the child catch cold." Silva watched Roy leave, took one last deep look, and went back inside with Killua's support.
The bedroom door closed.
But it could not sever the blood ties...
Strolling once again in the corridor of the ancient castle filled with the aura of the ages, Roy's thoughts were clear, and his mood was light, completely different from the heaviness and depression of an hour ago.
"You seem quite happy... Have you been to see Haseki Dorou again?"
The "lethal dose" of neurotoxin was quite intense, even though he drank the antidote in time, it still took Illumi a whole day to recover from the residual poison in his body,
And so, on the way to his bedroom, the young man encountered his big brother.
Well, it saved Roy the trouble of looking for him, though he wasn't going to, he would just ask Wutong to pass on the notes from their father.
"This is yours." He tossed the notebook over.
Illumi reached out, caught it in the palm of his hand, flipped through, and then...
Stiffened his neck, glaring at Roy: "Have you changed?"
Why disclose these experiences to himself for free?
"It's from Father," Roy said calmly, without even glancing at him, turned his head and walked away.
Illumi stood there with the notebook in hand, staring blankly at his departing figure, his heart shrouded in thick disappointment.
'I thought it was a gift from you....'
The young man stood rigidly in place, like a stone statue, facing the direction Roy left, watching for a long time, before turning around, back towards Roy, and retreated melancholically to his bedroom...
At that time, the moon was high up in the sky, looking down... The Zoldyck brothers, one to the left and one to the right, like two straight lines, would never intersect....
....
"Dong~"
At ten o'clock in the evening, the clock in the corner struck.
With thoughts of [Ren] in his heart, having bid farewell to Silva, Roy returned to the bedroom, looked up and found... Wutong unusually hadn't prepared dinner for him, but was holding two white gloves, waiting at the door, and paused.
"Young master, the master instructed, practice when it's time to practice, eat when it's time to eat. If you promised someone something, you must do it," Wutong mimicked Maha and said: "I'm hungry now, let's eat!"
Roy: "..."
For a moment, he didn't know... whether to say Wutong's imitation was lifelike or merely an awkward attempt, he put away the notes from Silva and those given by Biscuit and great-grandfather, closed the drawer, and headed towards the kitchen.
"Let's go, can't let the old man go hungry."
"Yes."
The young butler followed Roy, and in no time reached the kitchen, poked his head inside to look...
Maha sprawled lazily in the chair, one foot on the seat, casually munching on a cucumber.
Upon seeing Roy, he grunted, "No need to make cucumber salad, let's stew some chicken."
One might not be enough, "Enhancement" types are all gluttons, each hungrier than the last. So... Roy was foresighted enough to have the kitchen prepare six.
He simply set up a large pot, borrowing the fierce flame of the earthen stove to stir-fry... The earthen stove, built of brick by the chef, is specially for cooking large meals to supply the servants. Now, since Roy wanted to use it, it was naturally made available beforehand.
Next, Roy wielded the spatula, while Wutong added wood to the fire, and Maha just sat lazily waiting for the meal, glancing occasionally, enjoying himself by tapping his fingers on the armrest.
Soon, after stir-frying, adding water, and covering the pot... the chicken was stewing. Roy took the opportunity to leisurely express his confusion regarding [Ren] to Maha.
The old man half-opened his eyes and glanced at him, joking, "Your dad isn't enough, and you still want to fleece the old man, greedy kid!"
"This isn't fleecing; it's seeking advice." Roy replied solemnly, "You told me, a crying child gets milk."
Heh... the boomerang just thrown out quickly flew back. Maha looked at the young man, and the young man looked at him, smilingly. They locked eyes for a moment, and finally... a sigh, "Fine."
The old man sighed in frustration, "'Questioning the heart' isn't teaching you some 'grandiose' empty theories."
"'Thoughts' too must be grounded, to transform into weapons."
Roy listened quietly,
"What is 'grounding'? Tangible 'insight', 'knowledge', visible and invisible, lurking deep within you, the most unforgettable memories... 'reference points'."
Maha tapped his fingers on the armrest, serene in demeanor: "Humans can't imagine things beyond their knowledge out of thin air. A knife, an event, a blow, a harvest, a contemplation can all serve as 'reference' objects."
"Afterward, 'borrowing', 'imitating', finally 'creating' something most suitable for oneself....."
"So anchoring in the most memorable 'reference points' of the heart becomes the key to 'Questioning the heart'?" Roy frowned in deep thought.
Maha didn't answer, bit a cucumber: "The pot's boiling."
The young man suddenly startled, turned off the flame, served the dish, accompanied his great-grandfather for the meal, occasionally glancing at him, wanting to ask further. But... the old man's eyes were only for the chicken, forgetting him entirely as he devoured the meal, dropped the chopsticks, and vanished in a flash....
"Too fast. Every time I see Mr. Maha eating, I wonder if my eyes are deceiving me..."
Can't see the movement of the chopsticks at all...
Wutong cleaned the chaotic table, nearly five of the six chickens were devoured by the old man, leaving one for Roy's stomach. The young man leisurely wiped his mouth with a napkin, then left the kitchen, stopping in the garden.
He looked up at the sky...
Near midnight, the bright moon hung in the sky...
He reached out a hand, pinched a strand of moonlight, looking at it intently. Wutong stood silently behind him, accompanying him.
The young butler suddenly asked, "What do you think remains eternal?"
Wutong was momentarily stunned, seeing him gaze at the sky, tentatively replied, "Stars?"
The young man chuckled: "How can the light of fireflies compete with the radiant moon?"
"Then it's the moon," Wutong stated confidently, "It rises in the east and sets in the west, no matter how the world changes, the moon rises every day."
Is that so?
Roy released the strand of moonlight, letting it drift and blend into the moonlight, turned to look at Wutong, his deep eyes "whoosh~" sparked two divine fires, growing brighter: "It's the sun, fool."
"Heaven and earth, I reign supreme, wherever the light reaches is within my sight!"
The young man spoke profoundly, patted his shoulder, and headed towards his bedroom.
Wutong watched him leave, moving farther away, soon disappearing... his conversation with Maha echoed in his mind, stunned in place, unable to recover for a long while....
Until the next day, when Roy saw him, the young butler was sporting two dark circles, evidently lacking sleep.
"According to master's instructions, young master has two days of leave for 'Questioning the heart,'" Wutong conveyed Silva's words.
"No need." Roy took a bite of his beef burger: "Training goes on, as for 'Questioning the heart'..."
The young man suppressed his voice with a low laugh: "Tell him, I've found my direction."
Wutong recalled the young man's bright eyes last night, hesitatingly inquired: "If master inquires..."
"Just say... the sun."
"Yes."
Wutong deeply glanced at Roy, after serving him breakfast, pushed the dining cart down.....
Before leaving, a soft call made him stop, the butler turned back, the young man looked at him seriously and said: "You need to work harder, Wutong."
"Pick [Ren] back up and train it again, I don't want to be searching for you in the dust in the future..."
Sisko... cards... that encounter in the forest wasn't so pleasant...
"Don't worry, young master." Wutong adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and blinked: "Even the sun requires the stars as guardians..."
"I'll let young master witness my growth."
"You rascal..." Roy shook his head with a smile, pulled open the drawer, took out Silva's notes, and spread them on the table: "I can't give you the original, copy it here, leave when you're finished."
"Those belong to the master..."
"What master, if given to me, they're mine!"