Chapter 45 | Dominating the World with Nine Yin and Nine Yang

Huang Rong's eyes turned slightly cold, her tone carrying the decisiveness of the head of the household:

"So, I think it's best not to teach Guo'er martial arts for now."

"Jing-ge, starting tomorrow, you focus on teaching Da Wu and Xiao Wu, and Fu'er will train alongside you as well."

Guo Jing was stunned: "Then what will Guo'er do?"

Huang Rong answered earnestly:

"I will teach Guo'er myself."

"I'll first teach him to read 《The Analects》 and recite 《The Mencius》, carefully studying the Four Books and Five Classics!"

"I want to use the teachings of the sages to thoroughly temper that rebellious streak of his!"

"If he is real gold, he won't be afraid of a slow-burning fire."

Guo Jing paced around the room:

"Rong'er, Guo'er isn't a bad kid. Don't hold a prejudice against him."

Huang Rong let out a sigh and said:

"I didn't say he was bad."

"On the contrary, I feel this child is unyielding to his core, and his heart is warm."

"At Lu Manor, despite dragging around his poisoned body, he still tried to protect his companion."

"In the ruined temple, even though he knew he could go off to live a good life, he still sought a future for those two little beggar brothers."

"These things can't be faked with mere cleverness."

"They were all out of his own true sincerity."

Huang Rong paused, turning around:

"It's just... Guo'er has suffered a lot since he was small, so he's far too good at reading people's expressions."

"When he speaks, it's often three parts truth and seven parts hidden."

"You see him smiling,"

"but you might not know what he's thinking inside."

"Just now, when facing First Master, Guo'er first admitted fault, then explained, and then smoothed his feathers."

"In the end, he even managed to make the old master laugh in spite of his anger."

"This whole routine—forget a thirteen-year-old child, even a thirty-year-old warrior of the jianghu might not be able to pull it off so smoothly."

Huang Rong's eyes narrowed slightly, her expression growing grave:

"And then there's the poison wound on his hand."

"Before, we both subconsciously assumed that Ouyang Feng injured him with poison."

"But today, he said the poison wound he received was at Lu Manor from Li Mochou's Ice Soul Silver Needle."

"Judging from that, eight or nine days have passed between the incident at Lu Manor and our meeting with Guo'er."

"Though I haven't faced Li Mochou head-on myself,"

"I have heard of her title as the 'Scarlet Maiden' in the jianghu, half of which was earned through those Ice Soul Silver Needles!"

"Rumor has it that within half an hour of being struck, the poison attacks the heart, killing the victim!"

"Without an antidote, even renowned martial arts seniors couldn't endure it."

"How could Guo'er, a mere child, stubbornly endure this deadly poison and stay alive and kicking for eight or nine days?!"

Guo Jing suddenly remembered:

"Earlier, when I checked Guo'er's pulse, I noticed a surge of warm, utmost Yang inner force inside him."

"Could it be that Guo'er has been using his inner force all along to force out the poison?"

Huang Rong nodded and said:

"That's why I say Guo'er still has many secrets hidden from us."

"It's not that a child like this isn't worthy of trust."

"We just need some time to get to know him."

Guo Jing's simple, honest smile returned, his tone resolute and firm:

"Then let's give Guo'er some time."

"He has lived this way for thirteen years."

"We can't expect him to tell us everything the moment he meets us."

"We'll just treat him well, step by step."

"As time goes by,"

"he will naturally learn what a family means."

Huang Rong couldn't help smiling with pursed lips as she looked at Guo Jing:

"Jing-ge, the way you dote on Guo'er right now is ten times more attentive than the way you dote on Fu'er."

Guo Jing froze, a bit bewildered:

"Is it?"

Huang Rong shot him a glance:

"How could it not be?"

"When Fu'er took a fall while practicing martial arts as a child, you made her get up on her own, saying that a martial artist sheds blood, not tears."

"Now, even if Guo'er coughs from a breath of wind, you can't wait to go fetch three doctors."

Guo Jing's old face flushed with mild embarrassment as he coughed softly:

"Well... isn't that because Guo'er is injured?"

Huang Rong covered her mouth with a soft chuckle:

"Alright, I'm not blaming you, just giving you a reminder."

"Hold the scales evenly on ordinary days, lest your precious daughter gets upset and tears your roof down."

By dinnertime.

Guo Jing kept Huang Rong's warning of "don't be biased" firmly in mind.

He forcefully suppressed the urge to frantically heap food into Yang Guo's bowl, keeping his head down and focusing solely on eating his own food.

Yet little did he expect that while he managed to restrain himself, his precious daughter went wild.

Guo Fu extended her bamboo chopsticks, deftly picking out the fattest and most tender piece of steamed fish belly from the porcelain plate.

She placed it steadily into Yang Guo's bowl.

Resting her chin on her hands, her eyes curved into sweet crescents as she smiled:

"Brother Yang, eat more fish! The fish from the East Sea is so fresh, it's the best for restoring qi and blood!"

Yang Guo paused slightly holding his chopsticks, then grinned:

"Thank you, Sister Fu."

Guo Jing, sitting opposite, stole a glance and blossomed with joy in his heart, thinking to himself:

"Good! Good! The Guo and Yang families are as close as one family. Fu'er is truly sensible now!"

The moment Huang Rong saw her husband's expression,

she knew he was thinking about things years into the future again.

She kicked Guo Jing directly under the table.

Guo Jing looked at her with an innocent expression:

"Rong'er, what's that for?"

Huang Rong glared back:

"Just eat your food properly."

Sitting to the side, Da Wu and Xiao Wu's faces were as dark as two freshly burnt lumps of charcoal.

Da Wu shoved rice into his mouth with his head lowered, chewing tastelessly, his heart filled with desolation:

"Yesterday an honored guest at the head table, today forgotten and left out in the cold."

Xiao Wu stared at the sole remaining plump chicken leg on the plate, swallowing his saliva three whole times.

Seeing that nobody was moving their chopsticks, Xiao Wu extended his bamboo chopsticks toward the chicken leg.

Just as he was about to snatch it—

Another pair of chopsticks intercepted him out of nowhere, forcefully snatching the big chicken leg away.

Xiao Wu held up his rice bowl in high anticipation.

However—

That big chicken leg dripping with thick sauce didn't linger over his bowl for even half an inch.

It dropped with a soft plop straight into Yang Guo's bowl!

Guo Fu beamed as she nudged Yang Guo's bowl toward him:

"Brother Yang, eat the chicken leg to gain some weight!"

Xiao Wu's chopsticks froze suspended in midair.

In that single moment, the young boy completely lost his big chicken leg.

And he also lost the last bit of his smile for the evening.

...

After dinner, Guo Jing finished practicing his martial arts and returned to the bedroom.

Huang Rong had just bathed and was letting her hair down, tidying up the brocade quilt by the bed, her figure graceful.

Looking back, she saw Guo Jing gleefully pulling a quilt and a wooden pillow out of the cabinet.

Huang Rong was stunned: "Jing-ge, where are you going with that quilt in the middle of the night?"

Guo Jing replied in all seriousness:

"Rong'er, what you said today was so right!"

"We really ought to spend more time getting to know Guo'er and getting closer to his heart."

"So tonight, I want to move into Guo'er's room, sleep side-by-side with him, and have a good heart-to-heart about everything he's been through all these years!"

Huang Rong said exasperatedly:

"Jing-ge! Guo'er may be a child, but he's already thirteen—a half-grown young man!"

"He has his pride and needs his own personal space, too! If you stay right beside him, he might not feel comfortable at all."

Guo Jing gave a simple laugh and gently pushed Huang Rong's hands aside:

"Ah, Rong'er, you don't understand!"

"The bond between men is forged during late-night heart-to-hearts!"

"I just want to get to know Guo'er sooner. I won't crowd him, I can just sleep on the floor!"

Saying so, he hugged his quilt and pillow, taking arrogant, sweeping strides right out the door.

"Jing-ge!"

Huang Rong called out twice, but Guo Jing's back had already disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

He left with complete resolve, without turning his head back even once.

Inside the spacious bedroom, the red candles flickered.