Zhao Wu seemed careless and unlearned, but he was actually quite intelligent, learning many things quickly. Environment shapes people, and after just over a month, he was actually living quite well in the mountains. Furthermore, he had martial arts skills and could occasionally hunt wild animals.

Zhao Wu also saw Xu Lanyin, and stood up to greet her and said, "Sister, you are finally here. You haven't been here for two days, and I missed you so much."

I used to call her Sister Xu, but now I’ve dropped her last name and just call her Sister or Sister. Because the wound on her face hasn’t healed yet, her speech is a little unclear.

He was thinner than before, and his face was even smaller. The only thing that stood out on his face was a black scab on each side, like two huge black moles, symmetrical. His small face, long neck, and long legs made him look like a clothes hanger when he stood up.

Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "The shop is about to open, and I've been busy as hell. Yesterday I went to the county town's silver shop to help you sell jade pendants, so I didn't have time to come here." She took down the bamboo basket and added, "I brought your favorite egg rolls and meat. My mother also made you a new pair of cotton shoes."

Zhao Wu always wore Xu Qingyan's shoes, but the shoes from many years ago were not warm enough, so Qin felt sorry for him and made him a new pair.

Zhao Wu stuffed a piece of egg roll into his mouth, fiddled with his new cotton shoes, and said with a smile, "Sister, please thank Mom for me. When can I go home? I really want to see her soon and kowtow to her a few more times."

Xu Lanyin frowned and said, "Don't yell. When did my mother become your mother? You should call her aunt." She added, "Please wait a little longer. At least the wound on your face will heal before you can leave."

Zhao Wu couldn't possibly live in the mountains forever. He didn't dare live with his relatives, as someone in his family might harm him. Xu Lanyin and Zhao Wu discussed this over and over again, and decided to let him temporarily live in the remote Xiaozao Village.

Having fallen from such a high mountaintop, his attackers wouldn't have thought he had a chance of surviving. He was currently in the developmental stage between adolescence and adulthood. He'd spend the next two years quietly hiding in the countryside, during which his appearance, figure, and even voice would change. Even if someone who knew him saw him without noticing, they would only think they looked similar, not the same person. There are so many people in this world who look alike.

However, Zhao Wu was unwilling to live alone and insisted on renting Xu Lanyin's house. Xu Lanyin discussed this with Qin Shi, saying that since Xu Lanyin was a woman, it would be inappropriate for her family to rent a house to an unmarried young man. So they decided to clean up the west wing, lock the door to the courtyard, and open a door on the outer wall. Living there would give him a private house.

Xu Lan looked up and took a closer look at Zhao Wu's face. The other scars had healed a lot, the scabs had fallen off, revealing pink flesh. Only the large scabs on both sides of his cheeks were unusually obvious. They were dark brown, as big as the tip of a thumb, and so thick that they bulged out.

If the Yuru Regenerating Skin Ointment hadn't been used, two pink tumors would have likely grown from the large black scab. Zhao Wu said the two holes were caused by an eagle's peck.

The Yu-Jade Regenerating Cream that Xu Lanyin had taken earlier was already used up, so she later took some more.

This clown face wasn't good-looking at all now, but his eyes were warm, his face was smiling, and his mouth was sweet. He was much cuter than the awkward boy before. It was not easy for him to completely adjust his mentality in just one month.

Zhao Wu touched the scar on his face and said, "It's okay to be ugly as a man. Sister, there's no need to feel sad for me."

When did you feel sad?

Xu Lanyin smiled and continued, "Your luck is incredible. You fell from such a high mountaintop, but you only sustained minor injuries. Even my mother said you'd be very rich in the future. Look at that boy. He fell down the mountain with only half his leg left. How horrible."

Because of that half leg, Xu Lanyin had several nightmares.

Zhao Wu said, "When I was seven years old, my eldest brother secretly gave me a book left by my father and asked me to memorize it secretly and practice self-defense when no one was around. I had a good memory and memorized the book word for word. I practiced secretly at night when no one was around. But it never worked. Later, my eldest brother asked me to go find Uncle Yu when I was out of the house. Uncle Yu had been my father's personal soldier. His leg was cut off on the battlefield and he was recuperating in the back street of the house. He secretly taught me and said that I was a martial arts genius..." He raised his eyebrows and said, "Sister, I'll tell you a secret."

Xu Lanyin noticed that he was acting mysteriously and asked, "What secret?"

Zhao Wu whispered again, "In Daxiang Temple, I met a great monk with amazing martial arts skills. One night, I secretly saw him practicing martial arts, and he also saw me. He said that I was a rare martial arts talent and that my forehead was black, which might mean I was in trouble. He asked me to become his disciple and learn martial arts well, so maybe I could escape danger..."

Xu Lanyin asked curiously, "They can even tell that you have a calamity. Is there really an old half-immortal in this world?"

Zhao Wu nodded solemnly, "Of course I did. I didn't believe him at all at the time. I thought he was just a monk, not the abbot or the head monk. He was good at martial arts, but his fortune telling might not be accurate. But I like practicing martial arts, so I wanted to become his disciple. But he said there were conditions. I've met them, so it's not too late to become his disciple." He kept the suspense going and asked, "Can you guess what the conditions were?"

Xu Lanyin knew that the head monk was the person in charge of cooking in the temple. Although his job wasn't very prestigious, his martial arts skills were impressive and accurate, making him a high-ranking monk. Shaking his head, he said, "We mortals can't fathom the thoughts of a high-ranking monk."

Zhao Wu smiled and said, "He asked me to give him two gifts as a token of my apprenticeship. I asked him what he liked, and he asked me what I meant by 'not afraid of a narrow alley'. I said it was wine, and he said a Buddhist prayer, saying that he didn't mean that. He then asked me what the saying 'beating a dog will never come back' meant. I said it was meat buns, and he said a Buddhist prayer again, saying that he didn't mean that either. He didn't say clearly whether he would buy it or not, and I didn't know whether I should buy it or not. He slapped me twice and said that monks don't tell lies, let alone the delicacies he revered. So I secretly went to town to buy those two things as a filial gift to him, and I took him as my apprentice. After that, every night I went to the woods behind the temple to practice martial arts with him. He only taught me one unique skill, the Three-Legged Kung Fu, and asked me to practice diligently. In order to practice martial arts, that bastard urged me to go back home several times, but I didn't go back."

Three-legged Kung Fu, three-legged cat Kung Fu, Xu Lanyin laughed.

Moreover, the monk was a drunken monk who was trying to cover up his crime. She recalled a line from a movie in her previous life and said, "Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart."

Zhao Wu was surprised and asked, "How do you know this? That's what my master said."

Xu Lanyin secretly complained that he even knew this line, so he wondered if he was a martial arts star from his past life. But then he thought about it and rejected that guess. If he was really a martial arts star from his past life who had traveled through time, how could he not be a general or a stud, but instead ask for trouble by becoming a monk.

He said, "I'll research some vegetarian snacks when I get back. You can bring them to him when you visit him in the future."