“SHUT YOUR MOUTH” she shouted hoarsely, before trying to attack again but just with her hand.
this time he let it hit its mark.
slapping him in the face.
but he did not move and simple watched her without any hatred, only sorrow…
or was it?
he wasn’t good at comforting, but he was good at faking expressions and emotions.
but this time, he actually did feel bad.
so yes, he was feeling sorrow.
she kept punching and slapping, until she fell into his arms again.
“why did you d-do it…” she whimpered out.
“I didn’t want to, I’m serious.” the sole reason he fought the gang leader, was to get a solid chance of becoming a Martial Artist.
he seriously didn’t mean to kill the Gang Leader, but it happened anyway.
“I’ll keep my promise Sister, you will be treated as my family ok?” she looks into Ma Qing’s eyes, seeing that he wasn’t joking.
and let out a shaky breathe.
“than what will you do to me?” He smiles gently, “I’ll teach you Martial Arts.” her eyes widen, no women who came from the Slums like her had a chance to learn!
she eventually wanted to, after her brother cemented himself, but with him dead, her dream died.
but here her brother’s killer was..
giving her a second chance at her lifelong dream?
“h-how can I-” “I’ll teach you directly~” Ma Qing Answered with a smile.
“alright…
Xiaoqing..” he than started teaching her the memorised Wolf Blood Nourishing technique.
its a skill he thought suited her.
she was slightly tall, shorter than her brother, but had a similar lean build with modest assets.
she was pretty though, having black hair with few strands unkept and eyes, probably due to her brothers death, so..
he planned to iron her out fully and make her the Gang Leader, or the true one, while he played a facade.
with this, he technically also started practicing the Wolf Blood Skill, but, since he was already warned, he only demonstrated it a few times, though [Wolf Blood Nourishing Skill:3/10 uninitiated] the pressure in his lungs though wasn’t that severe, almost like a quarter of the amount.
eventually, she became a Beginner in the Qi Blood Nourishing realm.
which made her incredibly happy!
and then looked at me with hesitant eyes.
‘I shouldn’t forgive him…
shouldn’t I?’ after all, he killed her only blood, but after everything, the man held her, let her vent out her frustration, and taught her too.
‘he even said he’ll treat me like family..
who does that?’ meanwhile, what Ma Qing was actually doing was creating an ally.
he meant to use the Gang Leader, Liu Yung, but Ma Qing fucked up and accidentally killed him.
‘so, as a show of forgiveness and partnership, I’ll make use of Liu Qin instead.’ she seemed way, way more talented than her brother anyways, after learning and speaking with…
Xiaoqin, it seemed he took way longer to become a beginner than his sister, which only took a day?
after this, I told her about the mysterious bean plant, and tell her to farm it, using it as fuel for her cultivation.
she nods confusedly, most of the time, people only viewed Meat as the source to grow and heal muscles, but her new ‘brother’ says this also acts that way.
she feels like he’s pulling a fast one, but his eyes seem genuine, so, she excepts and planted them they even decide to eat together, eating meat, the beans, with rice, and start talking about each others lives.
and they both learned a lot.
Xiaoqin also had a rough house, her mother and father tried to sell her constantly, but her older brother kept interfering before cutting them off from the family.
after that, Liu Yung became a Petty criminal, eventually building his own gang, and getting the attention of the Su family, before finally becoming a Martial Artist.
meanwhile, she learnt that, her new ‘brother’ had a similar life as her real one, learning that, after his parents died, he was the one who raised both of his younger siblings, using his excellent cunning to slowly build up a large amount of money he was planning to use to move.
only until recently where he felt it took too long and he might die somehow in the unstable caves.
so he took way more risks.
putting his life on the line way more times than he should’ve, eventually killing her brother.
she still felt hatred, but also had enough sympathy.
both of them, her first and new brother, pushed themselves up through sheer determination, while she could only piggy back.
“I’m truly sorry.” Ma Qing finally said to his new sister.
she started crying, though, no longer sobbing, she still felt a hole in her heart was being filled with another tether.
while he too felt a connection blossoming.
both of them, couldn’t fully know each other, but both of them understood enough to build a real connection.
‘is this my first friend in this world?’ probably.
most the people he knew were people who tried using him or he used, and most only let out some helping hands that barely surmounted to anything.
they finished the meal, and slumped on their chairs.
“want to get drunk?” his ‘sister’ asked.
Ma Qing grinned, “sounds wonderful, Xiaoqin~” they both got drunk, this time, he too enjoyed in the drinking, but not having too much.
they partied, gambled on the cage match and slept next to each other on her first brothers bed.