Xiao Que'er, being a young girl with no experience in relationships, failed to detect the overwhelming sourness in his voice, nor did she realize that a huge jar of jealousy had been spilled in front of her. She nonchalantly said, "Yeah! He brought a girl with him, and they're living in the same courtyard! It's infuriating! Let's go give him a good kick!"
"...Fine!" Xiao Qing's face suddenly turned furious, his teeth itching with rage. "Let's go kick him! Kick this brat to death!!"
Chapter 262 [Pushing Down]
Completely unaware that she had stirred up a huge jealousy, Xiao Que'er was even more oblivious to the fact that she had mistaken Feng Jing for Ma Liang, bringing home a fraudulent imposter—a classic case of letting a wolf into the house.
And what about Chen Xiao right now?
He was still in a daze.
Chen Xiao knew that the Xiao family was holding an ancestral hall ceremony and a clan meeting, but he wasn't entirely sure how much this matter concerned him.
He had been staying in the inner quarters these past few days. Old Master Xiao's strict orders forbade anyone from the Xiao family to disturb him, meaning Chen Xiao could only speak to Zhang Xiaotao at most each day. As for the servants who brought him food, they didn't dare say a word to Chen Xiao, leaving hurriedly after delivering the food, leaving Chen Xiao with no source of information.
It was only once, while strolling around the inner courtyard, that I overheard a few servants chatting and vaguely learned that the Xiao family had opened an ancestral hall and was preparing to hold a clan meeting, and that the town outside was already bustling with activity.
But Chen Xiao didn't even consider the matter to be related to himself—in his view, what big deal was it for a large family to hold an ancestral hall meeting? It was probably something important within the clan, and it probably had little to do with him, an outsider.
The servants talked for a while, then, noticing Chen Xiao's presence, they scattered like birds, and Chen Xiao could no longer hear them. However, in the following days, the servants who brought him food always looked at Chen Xiao with a strange expression.
Grandpa Xiao met with Chen Xiao every day, having tea and chatting for a while in the afternoon. Their conversations mostly revolved around the origins of the Xiao family of Lingnan, with a few casual remarks about martial arts. He remained silent on other matters. Sometimes, Zhang Xiaotao would join the conversation, and Grandpa Xiao would subtly probe her, eventually uncovering details about her family background.
These days, the old man's most frequent topic of conversation is Chen Xiao's kung fu. He was particularly interested in the amazing "short-range" footwork that Chen Xiao had unintentionally demonstrated. Unfortunately, Chen Xiao could never find that flash of inspiration in combat again, and he could never replicate that "short-range" footwork.
Later, the old man did let two of the Xiao family's younger brothers try to spar with Chen Xiao. However, Chen Xiao now understood that it was just a normal sparring match. He didn't feel the same sense of urgency as when facing an opponent, and he couldn't trigger that flash of inspiration. Every time they sparred, Chen Xiao would take a few punches and kicks and end up losing.
Over time, most of Xiao's younger generation developed a negative impression of Chen Xiao—after all, Xiao Qing was the true jewel among the younger generation in the Xiao family. Many of the younger members of the Xiao family from other branches secretly admired Xiao Qing, while the young men all treated her like a princess within the family.
Knowing that Chen Xiao was the husband the old man had chosen for Xiao Qing, no one gave him a friendly look. Some were jealous, and many more disliked him. Everyone felt helpless: how could such a pretty boy, with only a pretty face, marry the most beautiful girl in our Xiao family?
Normally, no one dares to provoke Chen Xiao because of Old Master Xiao's authority—didn't you see that even that little tyrant Xiao Que'er was ruthlessly locked up by the old man? Even the usually favored "Xiao Yaoji" was punished. You think you're more favored by the old man than Xiao Yaoji? Then go ahead and try!
But a martial arts sparring match is different! That's the old master personally giving his permission to do it! With such an opportunity, isn't it a perfect chance to teach this wild outsider a lesson in a legitimate way? Let him know that the most beautiful flower of our Xiao family isn't so easily plucked!
So every time the master chose someone to spar with Chen Xiao, these young men would put in their best effort to perform well, hoping to be chosen by the old master to practice martial arts in the inner quarters.
During the martial arts competition, it was supposed to be a friendly contest, but everyone basically used their true skills. Since it was a martial arts competition, if someone made a mistake and gave the kid a few good blows, the old man would at most blame him for not practicing his martial arts well enough and not being able to control his movements freely, and there wouldn't be any serious punishment.
As a result, Chen Xiao suffered quite a few dirty punches during the few days of sparring. Zhang Xiaotao was not happy about this. Every time she saw Chen Xiao fighting with someone, in the end, Chen Xiao would cover his head like a sandbag and let the other party kick and hit him. Zhang Xiaotao was furious and questioned the old man.
But Old Master Xiao's attitude was strange. Logically speaking, the fact that the young members of the Xiao family were using the opportunity of martial arts competition to practice their skills was something even an outsider like Zhang Xiaotao could see. As a martial arts master with keen insight, how could Old Master Xiao not see it? Yet he deliberately didn't point it out?
Chen Xiao's behavior was even more bizarre.
Every time they sparred, he seemed to become a human punching bag, timid and hesitant, letting his opponent kick and punch him. Even though he took dozens of punches and kicks and was almost unable to stand up on the spot, after the match, he would go back, take a shower, change his clothes, and walk out as if nothing had happened, without a single scratch on his body. On the contrary, the few guys who had used all their strength to beat Chen Xiao were exhausted.
Zhang Xiaotao didn't understand, but the old man did!
Therefore, the first martial arts competition was just a random choice of a young man from the Xiao family with mediocre skills. However, with each match, the chosen one gradually became one of the best among the younger generation of the Xiao family.
On the seventh day of the sparring match, the top senior disciple among the current generation of the Xiao family nearly strained his arm muscles after giving Chen Xiao a good beating. Chen Xiao, on the other hand, went back to rest for a bit and then swaggered out, while the senior disciple had to be helped out.
Old Master Xiao finally couldn't sit still any longer!
That bastard Chen Xiao is hiding his true strength! I've already figured out a way to find out his abilities. This kid has been playing dumb these past few days, happily serving as a human punching bag. Among the younger generation, apart from Xiao Qing who's not home, I've already tested the best martial arts skills of everyone else.
Old Master Xiao knew exactly what was going on! Don't be fooled by Chen Xiao's act of pretending to be in a sorry state, running around the yard after being beaten. If he really used his skills, this kid could probably take down all these "young talents" of the Xiao family with just a flick of his finger!
But when we first met that day, this kid didn't seem that impressive!
Watching the "senior brother" being helped out by the two boys, the old man finally sighed, put down his teacup, looked at Chen Xiao, and said frankly: "Boy, tell your old man the truth, what do you think of these guys' kung fu?"
Chen Xiao smiled, her eyes crinkling like a little fox: "It's alright."
"Not bad?" The old man scoffed. "But you always seem to get beaten up and crawling all over the place."
Chen Xiao disregarded his pride, sat down, took a piece of mung bean cake, and put it in his mouth, mumbling, "Grandpa, you have such discerning eyes. If you think I'm no good, you don't need to go to all this trouble to pick someone to beat me up. If I'm not mistaken, this brother today is probably the strongest among our generation."
The old man snorted and squinted his eyes: "Kid, your great-grandfather misjudged you! When I saw you that day, I didn't realize you had such skills."
Chen Xiao sighed inwardly.
He would never dare to reveal his true abilities easily, even if his life depended on it.
His memory hasn't returned yet, but in the past few days, it's as if he's taken a magic pill overnight, and his former abilities seem to be gradually flowing back. Although the image of that freakish madman who could single-handedly flatten a mountain and chase down an entire naval fleet hasn't returned, his memories are still vivid.
However, Chen Xiao could clearly feel himself getting stronger!
The most obvious change is that I'm sleeping less and less! I can only sleep for two or three hours at most each day before I can't fall asleep anymore! Yesterday, I only closed my eyes for less than forty minutes before waking up. After waking up, I felt refreshed and couldn't fall back asleep no matter what I did. Even counting sheep to eight thousand with my eyes closed didn't help.
Chen Xiao's recent seclusion and the strange changes in his body have made him quite wary.
For example, one night, Chen Xiao woke up in the middle of the night and found that he was not lying in bed, but floating in mid-air more than a meter above the bed!
When Chen Xiao woke up, he was startled. Then he saw himself in the mirror; his face was covered in those old, flame-like lines, like graffiti! It took him over an hour of calm and patience for the lines to gradually disappear, returning him to his original appearance. From that day on, Chen Xiao secretly tried it dozens of times in his room, finally managing to roughly control the change. He discovered that whenever he got angry, emotionally agitated, or used martial arts, this change would appear on his face—it was unbelievable! It was just like a Saiyan transforming into a Super Saiyan and having their hair turn golden!
Chen Xiao, however, would rather her hair be blonde! This current "transformation," with her face painted up, makes her look like a ghost…
And sometimes, a sudden thought will strike you, and your body will move as if it were out of your control. You'll be sitting there perfectly fine, and suddenly you'll raise your hand and unleash a vacuum slash that will shatter the window into pieces!
The most dangerous time was when Chen Xiao was washing his face in the morning. It was an old-fashioned iron basin. As soon as Chen Xiao's hand touched the basin, he unknowingly triggered his "metal molecule explosion" ability. The result was, of course, that the basin exploded into pieces with a loud bang!
Chen Xiao was scared!
He understood that his strength was gradually recovering, but this recovery process was very dangerous! During the recovery process, it seemed that his power was still out of his control!
At this time, sparring with others... it's not that Chen Xiao likes to be beaten, but that he doesn't dare to fight back! These young men from the Xiao family, although some of them are indeed quite skilled, are no match for Chen Xiao in a real fight.