Zhao Yuan was also sizing up the old woman.
Based on her appearance alone, no one would have doubted she was only in her thirties or forties.
Her face, her skin... no matter how he looked at her, they didn't seem to belong to an elderly person. They weren't much different from a young girl's! If Ying Ji hadn't respectfully bowed and called her "Ancestor" the moment she walked in, Zhao Yuan would have never believed this was the Ying Family's 120-year-old Ancestor!
Zhao Yuan politely greeted the old woman. "Greetings, Ancestor."
The Ying Family Ancestor's face broke into a smile. She looked as kind and approachable as a next-door grandmother.
She smiled and said, "You must be Zhao Yuan. There's no need for such ceremony. In fact, I should be thanking you for your willingness to translate the scroll left behind by the Ancient Witch Priests. The Dao of the Witch Priest, though ancient, has lost many of its cultivation Techniques for that very reason, and our Ying Family is no exception. The contents of the Ancient Witch Priest scroll will undoubtedly bring us immense gains—it might even raise our family's strength to a whole new level! In that regard, you have done the Ying Family a great kindness!"
Zhao Yuan didn't try to take credit, replying with a calm and steady demeanor, "You praise me too highly, Ancestor. It was hardly a great kindness, merely a small effort on my part. Besides, Ying Ji was entitled to a share of that Sheepskin Book, and I was paid for my translation services."
The Ying Family Ancestor shook her head. "A kindness is a kindness, and the Ying Family knows how to appreciate one. The ritual script of the Ancient Witch Priests... you can count the number of people alive today who understand it on one hand. Even if we could hire one of them to translate, the compensation they'd demand would be far more than a single Spiritual Jade Gui. The Ying Family will take this kindness to heart and never forget it."
Zhao Yuan had honestly never imagined that translating the Sheepskin Book for a fee would somehow make him a great benefactor to the Ying Family!
'How ridiculous is that? I guess being fluent in a foreign language really is important...'
Zhao Yuan couldn't help but inwardly compare the Jinling Zhao Family to the Ying Family. 'They're both Noble Families, so why is there such a massive difference in how they conduct themselves?'
Since the Ying Family Ancestor had brought up the Sheepskin Book, Zhao Yuan took out the notebook containing his translation. He knew the score: when asking for a favor, it was best to offer a little sweetener first. After accepting a benefit, could the other party really have the nerve not to put in a serious effort?
He handed the notebook to the Ying Family Ancestor and said humbly, "I've finished translating the contents of the Sheepskin Book. It's all in this notebook. I would be grateful for your corrections, Ancestor."
"You've finished the translation already?" The Ying Family Ancestor looked astonished. "It's only been a few days, hasn't it?"
The script of the Ancient Witch Priests was notoriously obscure and difficult to comprehend. The Ying Family Ancestor had once been fortunate enough to witness another person who understood the script translate a single small page.
It had taken that person a full week to translate a short passage of just a few hundred characters. Even so, another expert in the script had praised him to the heavens, calling his work incredibly fast and accurate.
The Ying Family Ancestor hadn't seen the Sheepskin Book herself, but Ying Ji had told her that its number of pages and sheer volume of text were staggering. In the Ancestor's opinion, translating such a tome in several years, or even a decade, would be considered fast. And yet, Zhao Yuan? He'd finished translating the entire Sheepskin Book in a mere two or three days?
'That's just too preposterous, isn't it?'
The Ying Family Ancestor found it impossible to believe. She couldn't help but wonder, 'He didn't just make the whole thing up, did he?'
Filled with skepticism, the Ying Family Ancestor opened the notebook, intending to find fault. But after reading just a few lines, she was utterly captivated and instantly cast aside her prior suspicions.
The content recorded in the notebook was remarkably insightful and profound; there was no way it could have been fabricated!
In that moment, the Ying Family Ancestor became obsessed. She completely forgot that Zhao Yuan and Ying Ji were standing right in front of her, utterly lost in an ocean of Witch Priest knowledge.
After quickly finishing a page of the translation, she suddenly noticed a few lines of text written in parentheses in the bottom-left corner. At a glance, they appeared to be a commentary on the translated content.
'Is this Zhao Yuan's commentary?' the Ying Family Ancestor mused.
At first, she paid the commentary no mind, eager to turn the page and continue with the main text. But as she did, a phrase in her peripheral vision made her whole body jolt. She hastily flipped the page back, her eyes wide and her mouth agape as she stared at the words. It was as if a tidal wave had crashed through her heart, leaving her reeling!
The commentary was brief, only a hundred words or so, yet it perfectly summarized and distilled the essence of the page's content. It used language that was both profound and simple, making the concepts incredibly easy to grasp.
Previously, a few parts of the page had left the Ying Family Ancestor confused. But after reading Zhao Yuan's commentary and looking back at those confusing passages, everything suddenly clicked into place. She understood it all in an instant!
After a brief stupor, the Ying Family Ancestor snapped out of it and quickly flipped through several more pages. Just as she suspected, every page had a corresponding commentary. Some were long, some were short, but without exception, they were all incredibly insightful. She had no doubt that studying the text alongside these notes would make the process twice as effective in half the time!
The Ying Family Ancestor took a deep breath, struggling to suppress her shock. She looked up and stared at Zhao Yuan. "This translation... and the commentary on each page... did you write all of it?"
Although she tried to appear calm, her trembling voice betrayed her. Everyone in the room—human and Ghost alike—could clearly sense the sheer astonishment and excitement she was feeling.
Of course, Zhao Yuan wasn't about to tell the Ying Family Ancestor that the commentary was actually excerpted from his Witch Doctor inheritance.
As it turned out, whenever he finished translating a section of the Sheepskin Book, a commentary would appear on the Information Leaf. This commentary came from Wu Peng's legacy, so its profundity was naturally beyond question. Even though Zhao Yuan had only copied down a small fraction of it, it was enough to leave the Ying Family Ancestor thunderstruck, as if she had discovered a priceless treasure!
Zhao Yuan replied, "I wrote it. What's the matter, Ancestor? Are you not satisfied? I can take it back and make some revisions." As he spoke, he reached for the notebook.
The Ying Family Ancestor immediately grew frantic. "Satisfied! I'm satisfied! Extremely satisfied!" she said in a rush, clutching the notebook to her chest and turning away as if afraid Zhao Yuan would actually snatch it from her.
The scene left both Zhao Yuan and Ying Ji completely stunned.
In her memory, the Ancestor had always been calm, composed, and full of gravitas. When had she ever reacted like this? Ying Ji couldn't help but mutter, "Is that really my Ancestor? She hasn't been replaced by a Demon Ghost, has she?"
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