On the morning of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Quan Jinghuai entered the courtyard, looking travel-worn. Several disciples swarmed around him, calling out "Master" and chattering as they escorted him inside.
Quan Jinghuai's exhaustion vanished instantly, and he felt a warmth in his heart. He thought of his master, and how he and his fellow disciples hadn't felt this excited and joyful when they returned home after being away for many days.
Although he was reluctant to leave these disciples, after only a few days apart, upon returning, he felt the same longing and joy they had shown for Xiao Duo that he had previously envied. In short, he felt very satisfied.
It turns out that he, as their teacher, was also an important person in their hearts.
"Master, shall I boil some water so you can take a hot bath to relax?" Tian Shu said.
"Master, have you had breakfast yet? What would you like to eat? Wonton? Fried eggs? Meat patties?" Tianxuan asked immediately.
"Master, are you thirsty? Have some tea." Tianquan.
“Master…” Tianji.
“Master…” Yuheng.
"Master, did you bring us anything delicious back?" Yao Guang asked, tugging at her master's sleeve.
Looking at his disciples surrounding him, Quan Jinghuai didn't know which one to answer first.
"Ahem, Master is out running errands and it's inconvenient for him to buy you things, so..." Quan Jinghuai replied somewhat awkwardly.
Fortunately, Quan Jinghuai noticed that after he said that, the little ones did not show any signs of disappointment or regret on their faces. Even Xiao Yaoguang said with a smile, "It's okay, it's okay. It's good that you're back, Master. We'll celebrate the New Year together."
"Okay, Master will wash up and change his clothes later, then we'll go shopping. Whatever you want, Master will buy it for you," Quan Jinghuai quickly said.
After saying that, he looked at the smiling person sitting opposite him and asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"
Hong Xiaoduo said, "I'm not in a hurry. Big brother, why don't you take a hot bath, change your clothes, eat something, and get some sleep first?"
Without even asking, she knew that Quan Jinghuai had traveled overnight, and even if she wanted to know about Jiang An's situation, she wouldn't ask now without considering the consequences.
Anyway, he's back now. Once he's rested, we can talk about it slowly.
"Alright, Tian Shu, prepare some water for your master." Quan Jinghuai stood up and said, walking towards his room. It's so good to be home.
Although this family doesn't have a fixed house, as the little ones say, wherever they go, big or small, is their home.
"Have you slacked off in your training while I've been away?" Quan Jinghuai asked his eldest disciple, Tian Shu, who was scrubbing his back, while he was soaking in the bathtub with his eyes closed.
"Reporting to Master, we practice for one hour every morning and one hour every afternoon. In addition, we also have practical combat," Tian Shu honestly reported.
"Real combat?" Quan Jinghuai turned his head and asked.
He certainly knew what real combat meant, and it didn't refer to sparring drills between his disciples!
He knew the meaning of the word, and his disciples naturally knew it too. So, did Tian Shu mean that during his absence, some fools came to cause trouble?
Seeing his master's darkening expression, Tian Shu hurriedly said, "It's Jiang Baicheng and Yang Laowu, the ones who were taught a lesson by Mother before. They hired people with money to retaliate. After weighing the pros and cons, Mother said that the risk was not high and that it would be good for us to practice."
"But Master, we haven't killed anyone. Each time, we just make them suffer some physical pain."
"Every time? Several times?" Quan Jinghuai asked, seizing on the key word.
“Yes, that makes five times in total, including last night.” Tian Shu replied to his master while adding some hot water to the bathtub.
After hearing his eldest disciple's words, Quan Jinghuai frowned, then thought of a possibility. Although he felt that it was most likely, he still asked his disciple to confirm: "Since you know who ordered it, but according to her personality, you didn't go looking for her, so she did it on purpose, just to let you guys practice?"
Upon hearing this, Tian Shu nodded and said, "That's right. She said that those two playboys surnamed Jiang and Yang, I don't know if they were deceived by others or if they were too short of money to pay, the people they found were really not very good, but it's just right to leave them for us to practice on."
So, she pretended to be confused and didn't go looking for the two masterminds. She said that having sparring partners paid for by an idiot was a rare opportunity that couldn't be wasted; it would not only improve their combat skills but also be a fun way to pass the time.
After confirming it, Quan Jinghuai didn't know what to say. She could make good use of such things, which was something only she could do.
It's not that she's taking advantage of the situation, but rather that these kinds of opportunities to train children are truly rare.
If it's just sparring with their own people, or if they hire sparring partners, they definitely won't go all out; they have to be careful not to hurt the children.
The one they found from the Jiang family was different. They were paid to solve problems, so they wouldn't hold back when they started fighting, and there was no question of them going easy on them.
Furthermore, the kind of people they hired, the kind that Xiaoduo could trust to let the children practice with, were what she called "newbies."
I really wonder if those two idiots from the Jiang and Yang families will be so frustrated they'll vomit blood when they find out the truth.
I don't know what those two bastards were thinking, provoking her for no reason, especially after they'd already suffered a great loss at her hands. Why didn't they learn their lesson?
Especially that one from the Jiang family, how could he even have the mind to plot revenge against her?
However, even if Jiang Baicheng didn't have such bad intentions now, it wouldn't change the fact that he was about to leave his luxurious home and would soon no longer live the life of a pampered young master.
Half an hour later, after taking a hot bath with the help of his eldest disciple and enjoying breakfast prepared by his second disciple, Quan Jinghuai, who was refreshed even without taking a nap, said that he wanted to talk to Hong Xiaoduo. The little ones then left to do other things on their own.
"I'm not in a hurry, big brother, you should go get some sleep first," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile.
Quan Jinghuai glanced at her and said, "Well, you're not in a hurry to hear it, I'm the one who's in a hurry to tell you, okay?"
"Oh, okay then, brother, you go ahead and say it." Hong Xiaoduo quickly grabbed a plate of melon seeds from the small coffee table and poured tea for him and herself.
Seeing her typical gossiping attitude, Quan Jinghuai couldn't help but laugh, so he picked out the important parts to tell her.
After hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo said with a hint of regret, "Ah, you didn't hear what they said when they met?"
Quan Jinghuai laughed in exasperation: "You told me to keep an eye on him secretly and protect his safety, but you didn't say anything about finding out anything. I have to follow him closely, but I can't be exposed and seen by them. It's fine at night, but how can I get too close in broad daylight?"
Hehe, Hong Xiaoduo smiled guiltily, tapping her fingers lightly on the coffee table.
Pang Yong has been brought back and secretly settled. Now it's up to Jiang An to decide what to do. With Brother Quan back, I can finally leave this courtyard without worry...
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