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He hesitated for the last sentence. His wife's friend was his friend, and he couldn't just stand by and watch her die, but if he intervened, he'd never have peace again. Sigh, although it was unkind, he secretly hoped that his wife wasn't very close to that Tao Jinjin.

A scholar's face never hides his thoughts, especially in front of Fan Qingbo. So Fan Qingbo easily saw his inner struggle and was utterly dumbfounded. What kind of person is this?! He doesn't even remember if Tao Jinjin is the Miao girl from before, and she's been living across the street from their house for several days now, yet he still can't recognize her? He doesn't even remember her name?

She couldn't help but raise her hand to turn his face towards her, their eyes met, and she carefully examined whether he was pretending to be stupid.

The scholar was taken aback by her sudden action, his face flushing crimson. His eyes darted nervously, his long eyelashes almost brushing against her face. He turned away, only to have her pull his hand back, this time making not only his face, but his entire neck and ears burn. Hearing the whispers of passersby, he finally realized he was in the street, carrying a woman on his back, behaving intimately—even if she were his wife, it was still presumptuous. He quickly pulled his hand away and put her down.

The scholar was extremely embarrassed and awkward. He wanted to escape, but he felt it would be wrong to leave his wife alone. He stood there for a moment, feeling somewhat helpless.

Fan Qingbo couldn't stop smiling. Seeing his rabbit-like appearance, she was greatly moved. Without saying a word, she grabbed his arm and pushed him forward. Then, she glanced at the onlookers and said, "My husband is very shy. You should stop watching, or we'll have to collect the money."

The crowd burst into laughter, spitting out "Shameless little Fan," and dispersed in twos and threes.

Fan Qingbo, used to being spat on, was truly shameless, still grinning, but the scholar glared at her, "Laughing, you're still laughing? Luckily we're back at Qingmo Workshop, otherwise, who knows what rumors those people would spread outside. In public, in front of everyone, can't you have a little more self-respect, my wife!"

Fan Qingbo was in a good mood and, unusually, didn't talk back. Actually, while the neighbors in Qingmofang liked her, they were far more unscrupulous when it came to gossiping than outsiders, but it was best not to tell him about this.

"This is a one-time exception, understand?" After an unknown amount of time, the scholar finally finished his lecture, ending with a stern warning.

"Yes, I know." Fan Qingbo nodded obediently, then looked up pitifully and whispered, "Husband, my legs are numb."

The scholar's serious expression crumbled instantly. He quickly helped her up and asked anxiously, "Are you alright? Were you accidentally injured by those martial artists? Let me take a look."

He was about to look at her leg when he stopped her. "Husband, I'm fine, it's just a little numb..."

The scholar was still worried, so he quickly squatted down and said, "Wife, I'll carry you home. There's medicine the Grand Elder gave us at home."

And so, in full view of everyone, Fan Qingbo returned to the scholar's back. The scholar, of course, couldn't see her triumphant, wicked grin, and was still worried, "Sigh, I knew from the start that encountering those violent people wouldn't end well. My wife, is it really just numbness? Will it ache? Will it—"

Fan Qingbo smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared, "It's not sour, it's quite sweet." She felt a mix of numbness and sweetness in her heart.

The scholar's heart skipped a beat. "Sweet? Could it be some kind of strange poison?"

Fan Qingbo finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, hugging his neck and shaking him, "Hey, you idiot, didn't I tell you you're incredibly cute?"

Still caught up in the panic that his wife might be poisoned, the scholar hadn't quite processed what was happening and replied, "I don't want to die."

Fan Qingbo laughed so hard, "Yes, yes, you don't love to die, you just love to be silly and foolish, it's me who loves to die, I love you to death!"

The scholar abruptly stopped, then turned pale with alarm and began to run for his life, shouting, "It's over! My wife must be poisoned! What should I do? What should I do? I wonder if there's an antidote in the poison manual the Grand Elder gave me..."

They soon reached the end of Painting Alley and heard the sounds of fighting coming from the Fan family courtyard. The scholar initially didn't want to pay attention and, carrying Fan Qingbo on his back, intended to return to the scholar's house to find the antidote, but Fan Qingbo stopped him, saying, "Go to the other side! I don't know if the attack is over there!"

She has never been curious or interested in matters of the martial arts world, avoiding them whenever possible, just like a scholar. But it's a different story when it comes to her own family.

As the two entered the courtyard, they saw several skilled fighters staying there engaged in a fierce battle in twos and threes, as if they were having a martial arts contest.

Fan Qingbo anxiously searched the crowd, finally spotting Fan Bing being forced to retreat step by step by a burly man with a thick beard.

"stop!!!"

A roar that reached the heavens startled everyone, causing them to pause in their movements. Only then did they notice the Fan couple at the door. Fan Bing recognized his master's voice, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

Fan Qingbo panicked, jumped off the scholar's back, and ran over, asking, "Are you alright after your attack?"

Fan Bing frowned, tears welling up before he could speak. Fan Qingbo, seeing this, felt both heartache and anger. He suddenly stood up, approached the burly man with the thick beard, and said hatefully, "Did my family member's illness kill your parents or rape your wife and daughters? Are you trying to kill him? Are martial artists so great? Do martial artists have the right to disregard human life and trample on us ordinary people at will? You even bully unarmed and weak youths. What kind of hero are you?"

When Fan Qingbo was extremely angry, he was prone to speaking eloquently and passionately. However, the burly man was tongue-tied and forced to retreat step by step, stammering, "I... I didn't... Hey! Young man, why don't you explain this to your master!"

To everyone's surprise, seeing his master so protective of him, Fan Bing's loyal heart pounded wildly. He clung to her leg, sobbing uncontrollably, oblivious to what the burly man was saying. If that were all, it wouldn't have been so, but he broke down in tears, choking out, "Waaah, Master, he...he...he...he forced me..."

Upon hearing this, Fan Qingbo was outraged. "Beast!"

The burly man was in a completely hopeless situation, sweating profusely as he waved his hands repeatedly, "Madam Shu, it's a misunderstanding! I just wanted to spar with this young man, I meant no harm!"

"Sparring? What sparring? My husband is having an attack and doesn't know any martial arts! Ha, sparring? After sparring with him, how about sparring with me too? Is your skill in the martial arts world limited to sparring with innocent civilians?"

This statement had a wider impact, and someone nearby complained, "We'd like to find someone innocent to spar with, but your man insists he's crippled himself."

Fan Qingbo glared at them sharply, "So all you're good for is finding people who have crippled themselves or who don't know martial arts to spar with?"

At this moment, the scholar stepped forward, about to say that Fan Bing was not without martial arts skills, when he was pulled back by someone.

"You bastard surnamed Shu! Don't you dare betray me!" Fan Bing's face was streaked with tears, but his eyes were filled with malice.

The scholar was puzzled. "Shouheng, it's not a bad thing that you have martial arts skills, so why do you have to hide it?"

Fan Bing gritted his teeth, thinking to himself, "I pretended to be sick and weak to get close to my master. If he finds out the truth, it's a serious crime of deceiving his master, and I could be kicked out at any time, okay?" But he said stubbornly, "If you can cripple your own martial arts, why can't I pretend to be someone who doesn't know martial arts?"

The scholar frowned and pondered for a long time before suddenly realizing, "So you've also crippled your martial arts."

Fan Bing was taken aback, wondering what the logic was. Just then, he saw the scholar's gaze become several times more friendly, as if he considered Fan Bing one of his own. With a change of heart, he decided to play along and nodded, "Yes, yes."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the scholar stood up, walked to Fan Qingbo's side, and joined in the condemnation of those people.

Fan Bing was speechless. He had seen people who were easily fooled, but he had never seen anyone help others come up with reasons to deceive themselves...

After a moment of stunned silence, he remembered his mission, his eyebrows drooped, his lips fell, and he rushed over, bursting into tears again. Unfortunately, even while standing up for him, Fan Qingbo didn't forget to kick him away. He rushed over again, only to be kicked again. Finally, after thinking for a moment, he reluctantly settled for clinging to another leg.

He keenly noticed that the owner of the leg was stiff all over, and secretly looked up to see the scholar staring at him with a constipated expression.

—Conservation, a man's knees are worth gold, it's unseemly to cling to someone's leg, don't do that...

"Mind your own business! If I don't cling to someone's coattails, my crying won't be graceful or melodious, and you'll have to compensate me."

—Conservation, a man bleeds but doesn't cry. Crying is unsightly, so please don't do that…

—You! Mind your own business! No way! You! Also! Kick! Me! Ah!