Chapter 255: A Disciple Need Not Be Inferior to the Master
“Do you know your mistake?”
The dim yellow light of a green lamp flickered onto the face of Lin Chaoying’s maid, her expression as cold as frost.
Li Mochou stood with her hands behind her back, her slender fingers twisting together.
Little Dragon Girl stood ramrod straight, her back as stiff as green bamboo.
Both junior sisters were being questioned.
Little Dragon Girl had been keeping watch for Li Mochou.
Li Mochou, on the other hand, was unmotivated and neglecting her martial arts.
“Long’er, do you know your mistake?”
“I know, Master.” Little Dragon Girl replied obediently.
“What was your mistake?”
“I shouldn’t have kept watch for my elder sister.”
“What should you do?”
“Be confined.” Little Dragon Girl said timidly.
“Then go.”
“Understood, Master.” Little Dragon Girl turned, her right hand squeezing Li Mochou’s fingers forcefully, conveying the meaning that her elder sister should be braver. She then left the stone room, turning left and right, to another stone room, where she obediently locked herself in.
In the stone room, where the lamp was as faint as a firefly, Lin Chaoying’s maid asked again, “And you?”
Li Mochou said softly, “I know my mistake.”
“What will you do?”
Li Mochou was silent for several breaths, took a slight breath, and said with distress, “Master adopted me, taught me martial arts, and her kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. I wish to serve and care for Master my entire life. However, Head Escort Zhou has been kind to the Ancient Tomb and has saved me many times. Humans are not made of wood; how can one be without feelings? I cannot forget him.”
“Wicked disciple.” Lin Chaoying’s maid’s tone was stern, but in her mind, she was thinking of Zhou Yan riding alone for a thousand li to the Ancient Tomb, guarding the entrance and fighting enemies without yielding. After Ouyang Feng and the others retreated, he went down the mountain to the market, buying snake repellent and busying himself with various tasks.
“Master, please punish me. You ask me to ‘follow the natural course of the clouds and forget my feelings like plants and trees,’ but I truly cannot do it. The more I try not to, the more the scene of Head Escort Zhou acting righteously appears in my mind. My strength is insufficient to forget my feelings.”
“Master, I don’t understand why I must forget my feelings. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, let alone the kindness of saving my life.”
Seeing Li Mochou’s distressed and earnest expression, Lin Chaoying’s maid sighed inwardly. Mochou, her disciple, was devoted and could not escape the mortal world.
“From now on, will you willingly accept punishment like this, still thinking of Head Escort Zhou?”
“Yes.”
“If that is the case, why not leave the Ancient Tomb?”
Li Mochou was terrified, “Master, how can I do such a thing as betraying my master and being unfilial and rebellious? Moreover, my junior sister is so young.”
“Hmph!”
Li Mochou trembled.
“Cultivate well. If you can defeat me one day, then you may go down the mountain. When your junior sister is a little older, she may leave the Ancient Tomb.”
Li Mochou was first happy, then alarmed, and quickly said, “Master, how can I leave the Ancient Tomb? If I can defeat Master, can I travel down the mountain often and still be your disciple when I return?”
“You are thoughtful.”
“Did Master agree?”
“For now.”
Li Mochou immediately said, “Master, I want to try now.”
…
“Ah…”
“Ouch.”
“Elder sister, can you bear it?”
Several strands of hair clung to Li Mochou’s cheeks. She lay on the Cold Jade Bed, her beautiful pupils filled with intense pain. The lamplight flickered over her body, and on her back, as white as jade, were clearly visible streaks of blue marks.
Little Dragon Girl was applying a swelling-reducing herbal paste, and Li Mochou couldn’t help but cry out again.
“Elder sister, you know it hurts, yet you sparred with Master.”
“What do you know?” Li Mochou suddenly laughed. “I’m only a little bit weaker than Master. In a few more months of cultivation, I’ll be able to defeat Master.”
“And then?”
“After defeating Master, she will agree to let me go down the mountain to travel.”
“Then elder sister won’t come back?”
“How could I not? If I don’t come back, what if people like Ouyang Ke come again? Who will protect you? I’ll just go to Zhongdu for a few days, do some chivalrous deeds along the way, and see what level my martial arts are at in the current Jianghu.”
“Then I can rest assured. Elder sister, work hard.”
“Of course. After you apply the herbal paste, I’ll start practicing.”
“I’ll apply it quickly, elder sister. What do you think Big Brother is doing now?”
“He’s naturally escorting goods. What if I go to Zhongdu and don’t see Head Escort Zhou?”
“Didn’t elder sister say that as long as you defeat Master, you can travel down the mountain anytime?”
“You have a quick mind.”
Little Dragon Girl smiled innocently. After she finished applying the medicated paste, Li Mochou got up, tidied her clothes, sat cross-legged, and practiced the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter. She had fought over three hundred moves with her Master before being defeated. As long as the fourth stage was successfully completed, and she practiced her whip technique for a while longer, she would definitely be able to defeat her.
…
“The Head Escort is back.”
At the Fu’an Escort Agency in Zhongdu, as the familiar voice rang out, Zhou Yan smiled.
The runner on duty knew about Zhou Yan’s resignation, but seeing the familiar person and horse, he called out.
Zhou Yan had been cultivating at the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor and had broken through the fifth stage of the Yijin Forging Bone Chapter with the help of a Dragon Tiger Pill. His cultivation had improved significantly. The next day, he bid farewell to the Shi Brothers with Huang Rong and escorted Master Ku Hui and others southward.
The journey was uneventful and smooth, and they arrived in Zhongdu. He first settled Ku Hui, Huang Rong, and the others at an inn not far from the escort agency before heading straight here.
“I’m back. Is the Chief Escort here?” Zhou Yan asked, following the runner’s words.
The runner had been to the Western Regions and said, “The Chief Escort is here. Head Escort Huyan has gone to Caizhou.”
Zhou Yan understood. Huyan Lei was delivering armor and warhorses to Yang Miaozhen’s mountain stronghold.
“I’ll go in and take a look.”
The runner led the horse and said, “I’m used to calling you that. You can still call me Head Escort from now on.”
“Of course.”
“Alright!” The runner was overjoyed. Zhou Yan smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and quickly entered the escort agency.
…
Sunlight streamed through the window into the inn, casting square grids on the wooden table. Dust motes danced in the air.
“Wow!” the little leopard cried out and jumped into Huang Rong’s arms. She giggled, picked up the sturdy little creature, and stroked its soft fur.
Suddenly, the light and shadow shifted, and a man in a green robe appeared in the inn.
“Daddy!” Huang Rong exclaimed with joy, dropped the little leopard, and ran to Huang Yaoshi, hugging his arm. “Why are you here, Daddy?”
Huang Yaoshi said sternly, “If I didn’t come, would you not know to return to the island?”
“How could that be? Rong’er was thinking of taking the little leopard back to train it and amuse Daddy.”
“Nonsense. Tell me, where have you been?”
“Daddy, please sit.”
Huang Rong pulled Huang Yaoshi to sit down. She poured him tea and said, “That day, I left Shaoshi Mountain, and unexpectedly encountered Bao Yin the Monk and over ten others from the Vajra Sect. I was no match for them and was escorted towards the Western Regions.”
Huang Yaoshi’s expression tightened. “And then?”
“Naturally, I was fine. In Shuo Prefecture, I met the Fu’an Escort Agency’s escort team heading to Yumen Pass, and Head Escort Zhou rescued me again.”
“It’s been nearly three months. You only arrived in Zhongdu now? You went to the Western Regions?”
“Did Daddy inquire at Fu’an?”
Huang Yaoshi snorted.
Huang Yaoshi said with a smile, “Daddy, don’t be angry. Rong’er will tell you many interesting stories.”
Huang Rong spoke eloquently, describing the scenery of the Gobi Desert, encountering the Iron Hawks in Ganzhou, Zhou Yan at the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor with a hundred beasts breaking through the enemy, and the Vajra Sect burning down the Shaolin Temple of the Western Regions.
She vividly recounted the Shi Brothers’ beast taming skills.
Huang Yaoshi was quite surprised by the beast taming methods of the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor, but he gradually noticed something subtly different about Huang Rong. Whenever her daughter mentioned Zhou Yan, her tone seemed particularly intimate, and her words were full of praise.
He suddenly wondered if his daughter had feelings for Zhou Yan.
Huang Yaoshi appreciated Zhou Yan, that was true, but as this thought settled, he couldn’t help but recall the woman from the Ancient Tomb on Zhongnan Mountain.
A head escort, willing to become an enemy of Ouyang Feng to protect someone’s safety, their relationship must be unusual.
As Huang Yaoshi made these speculations, Huang Rong added, “In a few days, Rong’er and Head Escort Zhou will escort Master Ku Hui to the Shaolin Temple.”
“Why are you going to the Shaolin Temple? It has nothing to do with you. Come back to Peach Blossom Island with me.”
“Ah!”
“You don’t want to?”
“How could I not? After Rong’er goes to the Shaolin Temple, I will definitely return to Peach Blossom Island to accompany Daddy.”
Huang Yaoshi’s expression suddenly turned cold.
Huang Rong’s mind raced. She thought her father seemed a little angry for some reason. She decided to go along with her father for now and find out the reason later.
“Daddy, don’t be angry. Rong’er will return to Peach Blossom Island now. I can’t leave without saying goodbye. I must inform Zhou Yan.”
Huang Yaoshi stood up. “Let’s go!”
Huang Rong pouted, picked up the little leopard, and left the inn with Huang Yaoshi.
…
The setting sun cast its glow, and the aroma of wine wafted through the air.
Inside the octagonal pavilion of the Fu’an Escort Agency, Zhou Yan and Zhang Wangyue were toasting each other, drinking and chatting.
“After Leader Yang trains the cavalry for a while, and the mountain stronghold attacks Tongbai Mountain, will you come to show your skills, old brother?”
Zhang Wangyue smiled. “With the Zhenwei Escort Agency, how can Fu’an be absent?”
“Good, we’ll have a good fight then.”
“Of course.” Zhang Wangyue raised his cup, and Zhou Yan lifted his wine. Suddenly, he looked towards the back of the pavilion, above the roof of the meeting hall. A figure in a green robe stood tall, with Huang Rong beside them.
Zhang Wangyue followed his gaze and sighed inwardly. He hadn’t noticed the arrival of Island Lord Huang, yet Brother Zhou heard the movement. His cultivation had improved again.
Such talent was truly rare.
