Ke Zhen'e said, "Fu'er, don't talk nonsense!"
Guo Jing stepped forward quickly to help, taking the two children from Ke Zhen'e's shoulders and carefully laying them down on the bed.
Both brothers still had a bump on their foreheads, clearly from bumping into something.
Guo Jing asked, "Eldest Master, what on earth happened?"
Ke Zhen'e sat down by the table, leaned his iron staff to the side, and poured himself a cup of tea first.
Gulp, gulp—he downed it in one breath.
Only then did he give a brief account of hearing the cries for help at Yanyu Tower, rushing to Lu Manor, and finally Wu Sanniang entrusting the children to him.
The old blind man poured out the story like beans from a bamboo tube, summarizing it in just a few simple sentences.
As for the embarrassing moments where he was sent flying several times by Li Mochou, he skipped over them entirely.
He simply insisted stubbornly, "That Scarlet Maiden's kung fu is tricky as hell."
Guo Jing stood beside the table, his expression growing heavier as he listened.
Looking at the white-haired old man before him, a surge of warmth rushed through his chest.
He suddenly recalled his childhood.
For the sake of a promise back then, his seven masters had searched all the way from Jiangnan to the Mongolian desert.
A search that took six whole years.
Afterward, they stayed by his side and taught him martial arts for ten full years.
Now, six of his masters rested beneath the yellow earth, leaving only his Eldest Master alone in the world.
He was already an old man nearly seventy years of age.
Yet whenever he heard of someone committing evil or saw anyone in distress, he would still swing that hundred-plus-jin iron staff with tiger-like vigor.
His bones were still the raw iron of old; his blood was still boiling hot.
With reddened eyes, Guo Jing said solemnly, "Eldest Master, you are still the same as you were back then."
Ke Zhen'e waved his hand impatiently, rolling his white eyes as he said, "Alright, alright, stop pouring flattering words on this old man!"
"My throat is parched like smoke—pour another cup of tea!"
Huang Rong poured a bowl of hot tea and handed it over, though a layer of frost gathered in her bright eyes: "Madam Wu Sanniang sacrificed her life for righteousness, which commands respect, but Senior Brother Wu is truly going too far!"
"As for that Scarlet Maiden... While her abandonment by Lu Zhanyuan is pitiable, every debt has its debtor."
"When she sought revenge on Lu Zhanyuan and his wife before, she could still be called a woman who loved and hated fiercely."
"But if she bullies the innocent, this is no longer deep affection, but obsessed madness!"
...
While the adults were discussing the affairs of the martial world, Guo Fu couldn't sit still and tiptoed over to the bed, inspecting the two brothers on the mattress with curiosity.
She reached out a scallion-white finger, intending to poke the mud mark on Xiao Wu's face.
Suddenly, she twitched her nose, took a couple of sniffs, pinched her nose, and ran back.
"Mother!"
Huang Rong turned her head and asked, "What is it?"
Guo Fu said with a look of utter disgust, "Those two older boys are taller than me, yet they actually wet their pants!"
The mouthful of strong tea Ke Zhen'e had just taken almost sprayed all over the table.
His fingers holding the teacup froze in midair, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Why those two unlucky brats wet their pants... no one knew better than he did.
It was purely because in the pitch-black hole in the middle of the night, they were scared witless by his fierce, blind face.
Ke Zhen'e coughed violently twice, immediately putting on a stern face: "Fu'er, don't be rude!"
"You mustn't make fun of them!"
"It was cold at night."
"And they were in that vegetable cellar for so long."
"It's only normal that they couldn't hold it."
...
After a while.
On the bed, Da Wu's eyelids twitched violently twice before he slowly opened his eyes.
The candlelight in the room was dim and yellow.
Beside the table sat a tall black shadow, drinking tea.
Da Wu glanced sideways.
That fierce, white-eyed face from the cellar slammed right back into his vision with a boom.
Da Wu strained his voice, shaking Xiao Wu's arm like crazy.
"Ghost!!"
"The man-eating ghost from the cellar chased us to the inn!!"
Xiao Wu jolted awake from the shaking, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he joined in with a raspy screech.
The two brothers huddled together, tears and snot streaming down as they kicked their legs and shrank into the innermost corner of the bed.
Sitting by the square table, Ke Zhen'e squeezed the coarse porcelain teacup in his hand until a fine crack opened with a snap.
Rough breaths huffed from the old blind man's nostrils as he thought, "Again? Is there no end to this!"
Huang Rong stepped forward, her voice gentle as a spring breeze: "Children, don't be afraid."
"This is Hero Ke of Jiangnan. Your mother entrusted him to rescue you."
"If not for Grand Uncle Ke, you would still be in the vegetable cellar right now."
Upon hearing the word "mother," the wailing stopped abruptly.
Da Wu sniffled his snot, staring straight at Huang Rong: "Where is my mother?"
"Why didn't my mother come?"
The atmosphere in the room instantly grew several degrees heavier.
Just as Guo Jing was about to speak, Huang Rong gently tugged his sleeve under her cover.
The two children had just suffered a terrible fright; if they learned their mother was gone now, they would surely cry their souls out on the spot.
Her smile undiminished, Huang Rong poured two bowls of sweetened water and thrust them into their hands: "Your mother has some extremely urgent business to attend to."
"We are your mother's close friends, entrusted to look after you for a few days."
Da Wu and Xiao Wu timidly raised their heads.
They looked at the imposing, rock-solid Guo Jing, then at Huang Rong, who looked like a fairy.
Finally, their eyes glued themselves firmly onto Guo Fu to the side.
Though Guo Fu was only nine years old, she had already inherited Huang Rong's peerless beauty, her skin white as snow.
With her chin slightly raised, her dark, glossy eyes radiated an undeniable pampered pride.
How could these two boys, having just suffered such a calamity, have ever seen such a little fairy?
Both were instantly dazed, forgetting even their fear, as their faces turned redder than a monkey's bottom.
In the quiet room, the sound of the two brothers swallowing their saliva in unison was exceptionally clear.
Seeing that they actually dared to call her Grand Uncle a ghost, Guo Fu immediately grew displeased.
She put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and huffed coldly: "Hmph! You two cowards, how dare you call my Grand Uncle a ghost?"
"What do you know?"
"My Grand Uncle is the famous Flying Bat of the martial world!"
"Plenty of bad guys have to walk around him when they see him!"
Da Wu and Xiao Wu began to listen intently.
The more Guo Fu spoke, the more enthusiastic she became: "His martial arts are second to none in the martial world!"
"Being saved by my Grand Uncle is your good fortune!"
"He promised your mother to take care of you two."
"Even if you learn just half a move from him, it'll be enough to benefit you for a lifetime! You should be secretly overjoyed."
Ke Zhen'e was drinking tea, but upon hearing Guo Fu's glowing praise...
...he stroked his graying beard, the fierce flesh on his face relaxing as a wide smile spilled over the corners of his mouth.
This girl was usually wild beyond belief, but sometimes her mouth really brought him honor!
Upon hearing this, the way Da Wu and Xiao Wu looked at Ke Zhen'e instantly filled with admiration, and they nodded repeatedly like chicks pecking at grain.
Huang Rong chuckled softly to the side.
Guo Jing, however, put on a stern face, adopting the demeanor of a strict father to scold her: "Fu'er! Children must speak truthfully; never blabber or boast wildly."
"Eldest Master's heroic name is known across the four seas, but there are countless talented experts in the martial world. How can you be so arrogant and full of yourself?"
The moment these words were spoken, Ke Zhen'e, who had been holding his teacup and drinking leisurely, took offense.
Bang!
He slammed his teacup heavily onto the table, splashing tea all over it.
Rolling his white eyes, Ke Zhen'e sneered repeatedly: "Well done, Hero Guo!"
"Now that you've mastered the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms and even the Four Greats of the realm show you respect..."
"...what? Are you looking down on this old blind man's coarse martial skills and low-rate kung fu, thinking I'm not worthy to teach these two brats?"
"Since this old man promised their mother to look after them, I naturally intend to teach them martial arts so they can stand strong on their own!"
Guo Jing was startled and hurriedly stood up, bowing and waving his hands: "Eldest Master! Jing'er had no such intention at all! You've misunderstood!"
Frightened, Guo Fu shrank her neck and slipped behind Huang Rong, not even daring to show her head.
Seeing the old man and the young man about to lock into an awkward stalemate, Huang Rong's eyes darted, and she immediately stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over.
She gently pressed Guo Jing down, then turned to Ke Zhen'e with a bright smile: "Eldest Master, why are you getting upset? It's not like today is the first day you've known how clumsy Brother Jing's tongue is."
"What he meant was that your martial arts are naturally formidable, but he's mainly worried that if you teach these two children kung fu, it will 'mess up the generational hierarchy'!"
Ke Zhen'e froze. "Mess up what hierarchy?"
Huang Rong poured a fresh cup of tea and handed it to Ke Zhen'e, smiling enchantingly: "Think about it. Brother Jing interacts with Master Yideng's four major disciples as equals, treating them as brothers."
"And these two children are Senior Brother Wu's flesh and blood."
"If these two children take you as their master, wouldn't their generation in the martial world be equal to Brother Jing's, making them martial brothers?"
"When the time comes, if these two brats call you Master and call Brother Jing Senior Brother, and then try to sort out generations with Master Yideng's lineage, wouldn't the whole hierarchy and sect order be thrown into total chaos!"
Ke Zhen'e stroked his beard, nodding thoughtfully: "Hmm... Martial arts sects place the utmost importance on seniority and generation. That indeed would be a problem."
Striking while the iron was hot, Huang Rong let out a sigh: "Besides, how much painstaking effort did you expend over the years to teach Brother Jing?"
"Now that you've finally reached the age to enjoy your twilight years in comfort, how could we let you tire yourself out again?"
"The way I see it, Brother Jing has been so idle on Peach Blossom Island these past few years that his bones have grown light. It's only fitting that he takes over this burden for you."
"Let Brother Jing take them as his disciples. As for you, you can comfortably sit in a grand armchair, act as the Grand Master, and offer a word or two of guidance once in a while. What do you think?"
The moment Ke Zhen'e heard the words "Grand Master," the slight unpleasantness in his heart vanished in an instant.
Stroking his beard, he burst into a heartily satisfied laugh: "Rong'er makes complete sense! This old man is advanced in years; it really is time to enjoy a peaceful life."
"Jing'er, I leave these two brats to you to hone well from now on!"
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Guo Jing gave Huang Rong a grateful glance, cupped his fists, and said: "I shall respectfully obey Eldest Master's teachings!"
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