Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 186

Cheng Qingsong looked at Zi Jin's slightly trembling hand: "Girl, don't worry too much. That person must be a relative of the fool. He won't hurt him."

"You usually pride yourself on being a lawless lone wolf, how did a bunch of thugs beat you up like this?"

"I...I...I was just not paying attention..."

"No means no, and you're calling me a lawless lone wolf... Don't say that again, or people will laugh at you." Zi Jin turned her face away and said disdainfully.

"You brat! Are you trying to make me angry? I just did it by accident..." Before Cheng Qingsong could finish speaking, Zi Jin suddenly hugged him tightly.

“Master…” Zi Jin trembled uncontrollably, and tears that she had been holding back for so long finally streamed down her face. “Master, please don’t be hurt… It doesn’t matter if you’re old… It doesn’t matter if you have a bad mouth… It doesn’t matter if you shout loudly… But please don’t be hurt… Please don’t be hurt no matter what… Your disciple is scared… Your disciple is scared…”

Cheng Qingsong's eyes gradually reddened. He tried to open them wide and patted Zi Jin's back: "Alright, alright, my good disciple... don't cry, don't cry... if that fool finds out, he'll be heartbroken... Master is fine, Master is alright, I'll live to be a hundred and nothing will happen to me... about today... it's all Master's fault. Half a month ago, when Master saw that everyone who had been guarding outside Rouge Valley had left, I thought of arranging your marriage with that fool ahead of time... I never expected that they hadn't given up at all..."

Zi Jin choked up and said, "It's not Master's fault... We can't hide in Rouge Valley forever, there are many things to resolve... It's just a matter of time..."

"Old man! You can't even protect your own disciple!" A strange voice suddenly interrupted.

Zi Jin quickly released Cheng Qingsong, wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and looked at the person who had been standing to the side: "Zi Jin hasn't thanked Grandma yet."

The old woman in black gently wiped away Zi Jin's tears, saying, "Although this is our first meeting, I feel like I know you all too well. That old man talks about you every day, and he's always so proud of you..."

"What are you yelling about? Take my precious apprentice to see the lousy weapon you made!" Cheng Qingsong shouted, his face slightly red.

The old woman smiled shyly at Zi Jin: "Look at me, I've completely forgotten about the important matter."

Zi Jin stared blankly at the shy old woman opposite her: "Wait...wait...you...you are the old ghost that Master was talking about?"

"Old Ghost? You old codger! I, Ghost Hand Artifact, am a figure of considerable standing in the martial arts world! How dare you speak of me like that to a junior!"

"That's still Old Ghost," Cheng Qingsong muttered under his breath.

The old lady then turned to Zi Jin and smiled gently: "Don't listen to that old man, just call me grandma, girl."

Zi Jin was stunned by the old woman's incredible ability to change her expression, and stammered, "Grandma...Grandma..."

"Good girl, come on, let Grandma show you the weapons." The old woman didn't notice Zi Jin's strange expression at all, and pulled Zi Jin outside with a happy face.

Zi Jin followed the old woman blankly until they reached the armory, where a cold light shone upon her, bringing her back to her senses.

In the center of the armory hall sat a pair of cold blades, dazzling and chilling indescribably; they must be the pair of male and female blades that Master had mentioned.

"Is the girl interested in that knife?" the old woman asked in a low voice.

"No, no..." Zi Jin shook her head repeatedly.

“I think so too. Knives are for roughnecks. Grandma specially made a weapon for the girl; it's far superior to any knife. Girl, come here…”

"Qiu Baifeng! What did that knife do to you! Why do you just not like it?! If you don't like it, why don't you just give it to someone else!" Cheng Qingsong said, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

Zi Jin was about to go over to help him up when she was pushed aside. In the blink of an eye, the old woman was beside Cheng Qingsong, her face ashen. As Zi Jin was seriously considering whether to keep her master or the weapon, the woman surprisingly gently helped Cheng Qingsong to sit down beside her.

What a delightful pair of bickering lovers...

"At your age, all you do is show off," Qiu Baifeng said, neither too harsh nor too soft, before turning and going into the inner room.

Zi Jin tilted her head, stroked her chin, gave Cheng Qingsong a strange smile, and called out in a sinister tone, "Master..."

"Wh...what are you doing..." Cheng Qingsong looked at Zi Jin's strange face and stammered guiltily.

"You like her...hehe..."

"You brat! You're not worried about your stupid son, but you're meddling in other people's business!" Cheng Qingsong shouted, suddenly remembering him.

Zi Jin stroked her chin, squinting her eyes: "Master is angry because he's embarrassed, Master is angry because he's embarrassed, Master likes someone but doesn't dare to say it...hehe..."

"You brat! Shut up! Don't let that woman hear you!" Cheng Qingsong shouted angrily.

"What do you mean I can't hear this?" Qiu Baifeng came out carrying a square box.

“It’s nothing… I asked Master when he was going to marry his mother, and Master got shy.”

"You brat! I'll never forgive you!" Cheng Qingsong said hatefully.

“With my master’s wife backing me up, I’m not afraid of you at all,” Zi Jin said smugly, holding Qiu Baifeng’s hand.

Cheng Qingsong turned his head away angrily, refusing to look at Zi Jin and the other person again.

Qiu Baifeng looked at Cheng Qingsong and smiled coldly: "Good girl, don't pay attention to that old man. Grandma has something good for you." She then opened the box in her hand.

A golden soft whip suddenly appeared in Zi Jin's eyes. Zi Jin stared blankly as she reached out and slowly grasped the whip.

"Bai Feng, you..."

Qiu Baifeng put down the box in her hand, slowly walked to Cheng Qingsong's side, and said in a low voice, "I really like this child. Now that I'm old and won't live much longer, I don't need it anymore. This child is very intelligent and is your successor. If not her, who else can I give it to?"

"This is your family heirloom, I..."

Qiu Baifeng buried her head in Cheng Qingsong's neck: "Qingsong, come back. All these years I've been waiting for you to come back to me... I've never blamed you, and you shouldn't blame yourself anymore... The child's death wasn't your fault. You've been gone all these years... Now we're both old. Although we've lost our child, at this age Heaven has given you such a filial and sensible disciple. That's enough... What more do you want? Do you have to wait until I'm gone before you'll come back?"

"Bai Feng..."

A loud bang interrupted their conversation.

Zi Jin withdrew the whip from her hand, shrank back, and looked at the stone table and the weapons scattered on the ground in front of her: "I...I didn't mean to."

Qiu Baifeng walked over to Zi Jin and glanced at the stone table: "Girl, you have such strong skills."

"I...I just swung it casually, how did it break?" Zi Jin looked at the soft whip in her hand in confusion.