Recueil des beaux hommes du monde des arts martiaux

Chapitre 88

The scholar, feeling guilty, shut his mouth, sat down to the side with his ears drooping and his hands hanging down, gazing at her expectantly.

Seeing this, Fan Bing thought to himself that this guy surnamed Shu was really cunning, but his master fell for his tricks, so he quickly followed suit.

"What are you doing, acting cute? You don't study anything serious, you only learn these crooked ways! Stop opening those big, watery eyes, close them and reflect on your actions!"

Twelve stared wide-eyed at the scene before him, where every command and action was executed as if the girl were a trained dog. It was one thing for that so-called "Second Best Scholar Under Heaven" to have fallen so low, but for his own disciple, an elite from the Shadow Pavilion, the future Shadow Master, and the disciple he had personally trained, to bow down to a mere woman—this was intolerable!

"Two hundred—two hundred and fifty! You, a dignified man, how can you be so servile? Rather than be insulted by this woman, you'd be better off going back with your master to become the Shadow Master, second only to the Emperor. Then—"

"Screw you! You dare steal my man, Fan Qingbo's man? Want to experience another round of being shot with a thousand needles?"

Upon hearing Fan Qingbo's words "my man," Fan Bing burst into tears, wailing, "I, Fan Bing, am my master's man in life and in death! No one can take me away, I swear! Waaaaah, I'm so happy that my master still wants me..."

"you--"

Just as Twelve was about to say something, the scholar suddenly frowned and spoke up, "Wife, threatening people is wrong, especially since this brother is injured. Bullying the weak is even more wrong."

Twelve paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, “Scholar Yin truly lives up to his reputation as a benevolent man.”

The scholar turned to look at him, smiled and waved his hand, saying humbly, "Brother, you flatter me. However, my wife is right about one thing: Shouheng is a member of our family. Forcing him to go to that brothel is like abducting a young man and forcing him into prostitution, which is a crime. Brother, you should lay down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot."

Twelve's lips twitched incessantly, his face contorting. "I take back what I said last time."

Fan Bing looked at the scholar with teary eyes, silently giving him a card of gratitude, and secretly thinking that he would refrain from spitting in his soup and rice in the future.

Another hour passed, and dusk arrived. The silver needles on Twelve's body were finally removed, but because some acupoints had been punctured, he hadn't recovered yet and couldn't move for the time being.

"What should we do with him?" Fan Qingbo stroked his chin. "He's taking up a lot of space. Let's just throw him out."

"Wait, wait! I have a use for you, don't throw me away!" What a joke, the mission of taking this idiot back to be the Shadow Master is not yet completed, how can he just abandon him like this!

"Oh? What's it for?"

“About a mile away, a group of people is heading in our direction. They are all skilled in martial arts,” Twelve said confidently.

Fan Qingbo glanced at Fan Bing: Can we trust what he says?

Fan Bing blinked: Yes, his hearing is the best among the shadow guards.

"very good!"

Just as Twelve breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly saw Fan Qingbo and Fan Bingshu exchange a glance—

"Aaaaaah! You can't do this!" He was thrown out of the carriage! They actually abandoned him while he was still unable to move! They're even more heartless and inhumane than the people in the Shadow Pavilion! Isn't this Scholar Yin supposed to be the most benevolent person in the world?!

He looked up in grief and indignation, only to see the car door opened and three people inside leaning out, staring at him.

Fan Bing: "Master, don't worry, you should be able to move by the time those people arrive from about a mile away."

Fan Qingbo: "Hold them off well and we're proud of you! Keep it up!"

The scholar said, "Brother, your righteousness is admirable."

My ass, I admire you so much!!! I was thrown out by you guys!!! I didn't come out on my own, okay!!!

Twelve's roar was swallowed back by the dust kicked up by the speeding carriage. He collapsed helplessly to the ground, his eyes weary as he stared at the sky. Then, suddenly, he laughed. Interesting. This family is truly interesting. He seemed to understand why his apprentice insisted on following them. Hmm, the scholar Fan Qingbo, is it? He finds him amusing, but getting rid of him won't be so easy, hmph.

As the carriage drove away, the scholar shivered. "Wife, wouldn't it be terrible if we just left them like this—"

She was interrupted before she could finish speaking, "Husband, do you know why I was willing to leave the capital?"

The scholar immediately forgot about Twelve, "Why?"

Fan Qingbo smiled, nestled into his arms, and whispered, "Because I believe in you."

Because of belief, she possessed courage. The meaning of home lies not in a house or a place, but in the people. The scholar and Fan Bing were her most important family members; wherever they were, was home?

Previously, I thought Fan Bing was just a weak young man, and I was worried that it would be too much of a burden for the scholar to protect the two of them. So, it would be best for him to stay in the capital with his beautiful brother and the others to take care of him. Now that I know that Fan Bing's martial arts skills are also incredibly high, and that chain on his hand is also extremely vicious, what is there to be afraid of?

Actually, she wasn't that angry with Fan Bing. She just noticed how much more docile he became when he was scared, and how much his episodes had decreased, so she let him think she was angry. As for the guy holding her in his arms, his face filled with ecstatic joy and excitement, unsure of what to do…

She was really looking forward to his reaction to her confession.

"My wife...you, you...I finally believe that you have truly accepted me!"

"This idiot! He's unmatched in martial arts, the most clueless person in the world, and a scholar with the talent of a top scholar—why is he so insecure?" Fan Qingbo cursed inwardly, but her smile grew even sweeter. Seeing the scholar's face flush red, hesitant to speak, she quickly encouraged him with her eyes. "Say it boldly! Your wife loves sweet words! Come on~!"

Encouraged, the scholar took a deep breath and finally asked, "So... would you like to wear a woman's hairstyle, madam?"

...Damn it! I shouldn't have had any expectations of this idiot! Fan Qingbo rolled over and rested her head on his lap, closing her eyes with a dark face, "I'm sleepy, I'm going to sleep."

"My wife, you haven't answered me yet. Don't sleep, please answer me, my wife... my wife?"

"It's so noisy."

"My dear wife, I'm very good at combing hair. Why don't you give it a try? You might just like it!"

"It's so noisy. Do you think changing your hairstyle is the same as changing your sex position?"

"My wife, you—you're talking nonsense again! Your husband—he didn't…"

"When he has an attack, press his mute acupoint."

"Yes, sir!"

The clatter of hooves faded into the distance, the voices of people gradually disappeared, and the carriage quietly vanished into the sunset.

It is said that later, although various groups searched for them, they repeatedly came up empty-handed, and no one ever saw them again.