Teach her some self-defense skills?
Lin Guanqing was very surprised. “Just that? What is so difficult about that? If you want to learn martial arts, just come to me.”
“However, I think your physical foundation is not very good, your aptitude is poor, and you have long missed the age for learning martial arts. Even if you practice diligently in the future, it might not have much effect, and at most it can only strengthen your body.”
After saying this, Lin Guanqing looked her up and down from head to toe, and finally nodded affirmatively to show that he meant what he said.
Shen Xiu shook her head and smiled lightly. “It does not matter. I just want to learn some self-defense moves so that I can protect myself, and that will be enough.”
After Shen Xiu finished speaking, she lowered her head, keeping the expression on her face from a moment before. Inwardly, however, she thought that this person truly did not know how to speak; no wonder he managed to anger his senior sister to that extent.
Lin Guanqing naturally agreed to this minor request.
However, right after he agreed, he remembered another matter: his senior sister had always minded his interactions with Shen Xiu. If he were to teach her martial arts in person and his senior sister found out, she would inevitably get angry again, triggering another misunderstanding.
In the end, wouldn’t his previous apology have been in vain?
Lin Guanqing felt rather awkward. He glanced at Shen Xiu twice, hesitating and unsure of how to bring it up. After all, the very thing he had agreed to a second ago was something he was already regretting a second later, and even with his thick skin, he could not bring himself to say such words.
Still, he could only bite the bullet and explain: “I, I do not regret it. I just suddenly thought that my senior sister might misunderstand. How about this? I will let my senior brother teach you instead. My Senior Brother Fang is honest and reliable, and his martial arts are quite good. Having him guide you will not be a problem at all.”
“What do you think?” He hesitated.
Shen Xiu seemed to see through his thoughts, but no look of annoyance or disappointment showed on her face. Her expression remained gentle with a hint of a smile as she obediently responded:
“Good.”
It seemed that whoever taught her was merely a martial arts master to her, with no essential difference.
This realization made Lin Guanqing feel somewhat strange, but he did not dwell on it deeply since she was, after all, only someone he had met recently.
Having said this, Shen Xiu stood up and prepared to leave.
Lin Guanqing watched her retreating figure, his gaze pausing on the sobering soup placed on the table nearby.
He subconsciously called out to her, then paused because he had no idea what he wanted to say.
Finally, he scratched his head and, looking somewhat embarrassed, pointed at the medicinal soup on the table, saying: “This, thank you. But you do not need to bring it to me next time. I do not like these things.”
In truth, it was not that he disliked it; rather, practitioners of martial arts were more vigilant and rarely touched things sent by outsiders. After all, who knew if the delivered food might contain other messy substances?
Seemingly surprised that he would deliberately call out to thank her over such a trivial matter, Shen Xiu was stunned for a moment, then flashed a smile back at him and replied: “Mm, I know.”
After leaving, Shen Xiu returned directly to the courtyard where she was temporarily staying. It was not until she entered the room that the expression on her face returned to its calm state. She heard the system in her mind speaking to her: “You acted very well.”
Shen Xiu’s eyebrows were tranquil, and her voice was gentle: “Is that so? Thank you for the compliment.”
The system fell silent for a moment, not forgetting to pour cold water on her: “But he handed the task of teaching you martial arts to someone else. How are you going to get close to him this way?”
Hearing this, Shen Xiu was not anxious at all. Instead, she sat down by the table and leisurely poured herself a cup of tea. The swirling mist of steam blurred her strikingly pure and beautiful face.
The system heard her say: “Then you do not need to worry about that.”
Fine.
After the system fell silent for a moment and saw that she refused to speak further, finding it boring to watch, it automatically muted itself.
Shen Xiu thus settled down in Biyue Manor.
Because she was a guest brought back by the young master, she kept a low profile in her daily life. Aside from occasionally being spotted around the martial arts training hall, it was nearly impossible to hear any news about her.
Precisely because she kept to her place so well, the servants in the manor treated her with great courtesy. Seeing her merely as a friend brought back by the young master, they treated her like an ordinary guest and did not mistreat her in any aspect of daily life.
Shen Xiu lived quietly in Biyue Manor for nearly half a month, about ten days or so, during which she only went out twice. It was not until the past couple of days that a little maid responsible for the manor’s external procurement came over to remind her.
She said that an unknown young man outside had been constantly inquiring nearby about a young lady surnamed Shen. The physical description and appearance given by that young man matched hers closely, and he even claimed to have a close relationship with her.
The little maid meant well with her warning, wearing a worried expression as she noted that the young man looked somewhat unprincipled and shady. He appeared thoroughly wretched with ragged clothing and did not seem trustworthy at all, urging Shen Xiu to be extremely careful not to be deceived. Shen Xiu remained noncommittal.
The system also provided a timely reminder, stating that that man was none other than Feng Chengan, the good-for-nothing scumbag who had sold her off, the very same eloping sweetheart. It warned her to be careful not to get entangled with such a wild man, lest the male lead misunderstand later and ruin things.
However, Shen Xiu paid it no mind. She thanked the little maid for the warning, picked a suitable time, and went out alone. The man outside was indeed Feng Chengan, whom she had essentially been waiting for.
According to the plot, after eloping with Feng Chengan, she had gone to Luocheng.
When Shen Xiu fled from her family, she had taken all her personal savings along, including the monthly allowances she had accumulated over the years and her jewelry.
The two originally intended to get married. However, during an outing, Feng Chengan offended someone and had his right arm broken. While recovering from his injuries, he was tempted by others, because his wound was difficult to heal and caused persistent, agonizing pain, and having heard that there was a miraculous medicine capable of numbing pain, Feng Chengan began smoking Five-Grains Powder for relief.
The medicine was indeed effective, and it was also extremely expensive.
However, the substance was fiercely addictive, and ever since he started smoking the Five-Grains Powder, Feng Chengan had changed.
He became emotionally unstable and prone to fierce tempers. Especially when his drug cravings flared up, he would act like a madman, his spirit completely hyper-excited and out of control, shouting and screaming while occasionally smashing things around him.
Because Five-Grains Powder was exorbitantly expensive, Feng Chengan spent all of their savings, including the funds meant for their marriage. Not only that, but he also took all of Shen Xiu’s personal savings. When he finally had no money left, he turned his sights onto Shen Xiu herself, selling her to a brothel procuress in exchange for two hundred taels of silver.
What happened next unfolded just as the plot described: when Shen Xiu fled in a panic, she was rescued by Lin Guanqing.
Meanwhile, the procuress lost both the person and the silver, and out of sheer fury, she tracked Feng Chengan down and gave him a severe beating, snatching the two hundred taels of silver back.
In the narrative, it was precisely because Feng Chengan refused to reconcile himself to losing those two hundred taels of silver that he pestered Shen Xiu relentlessly and refused to let go. After making numerous inquiries, he found out that Shen Xiu had been rescued by someone from Biyue Manor, which was why he came to Mingzhou City, not for any other reason, but simply because he was short on money and wanted to take Shen Xiu away.
In the storyline, Shen Xiu naturally avoided him like the plague, terrified of any lingering involvement that might cause her beloved to misunderstand her or look down upon her upon learning of her past elopement.
Yet at this moment, Shen Xiu did not care in the least.
She stepped out of the doors alone. Upon reaching the entrance, she spotted a thin, wretched-looking young man. He wore a blue cloth robe that had been washed until it turned pale, with frayed cuffs covered in fuzzy edges.
At this point, Feng Chengan still looked somewhat normal.
When not having an episode, he appeared no different from ordinary people.
Even though his figure had thinned considerably, his facial features remained passable. With a fair complexion and distinct brows, a closer look still revealed traces of his former dashing and refined appearance, otherwise, Shen Xiu would never have fancied him in the first place, let alone eloped with him.
Shen Xiu looked him up and down from head to toe, deciding it was the literal embodiment of the phrase “a beast in human clothing.”
Upon seeing her, Feng Chengan’s face instantly lit up with pleasant surprise. He rushed over to her in two or three strides and cried out joyfully, “Xiuxiu, you really are here!”
“I have searched for you for so long. When I heard people say you were taken away by the people of Biyue Manor, I hurried right over without stopping. Xiuxiu, I missed you so much. Are you doing well?”
Inwardly cold, Shen Xiu kept her outward composure completely unruffled.
Giving him only a single glance, she slightly averted her gaze and cast her eyes elsewhere.
She remained silent for a moment, brewing her emotions for a good while. When she finally spoke, her voice was light, carrying a touch of gentle alienation: “I am doing well. Do you have any business coming to find me?”
Taken aback by this distant tone, Feng Chengan instinctively took two steps forward and anxiously explained, “Xiuxiu, what are you saying? You are my unwedded wife, of course I have to come looking for you. Wouldn’t it be better if we went home together?”
“Xiuxiu, why are you speaking to me in such a tone? Are you unwilling to return with me?”
Hearing this, Shen Xiu finally raised her head to look at him.
Her lips moved, her eyes rimmed with a faint redness, her eyelashes trembling lightly, and even her tone grew tinged with sorrow: “Return with you, and then wait for you to sell me out a second time?”
She lifted her gaze slightly, looking straight into the eyes of the man before her with hard-to-conceal disappointment: “Cheng’an, I never imagined you would treat me this way. You knew full well I was your unwedded wife, yet you heartlessly sold me off to someone else. Did you ever consider what kind of fate I might face?”
The remaining words were left unsaid.
Feng Chengan’s face turned pale instantly, a flash of panic crossing his features. Subconsciously, he tried to reach out and grab Shen Xiu’s hand, but Shen Xiu clearly stepped back to avoid him.
Panic intensified on Feng Chengan’s face. Abandoning any pretense, he opened his mouth to explain in a rush, “Xiuxiu, let me explain. I did not want to either. I was tricked by others, and I have already returned that silver to them.”
“Xiuxiu, I do not know what to do either! I am sick, and I need medicine. If I do not take the medicine, I will die, my whole body burns as if on fire, aching and itching all over. That kind of torture, I truly cannot bear it. But Xiuxiu, I really do love you! I beg you, will you give me one more chance? I will kneel and kowtow to apologize to you, I beg you to give me another chance!”
“Xiuxiu…”
Looking at Shen Xiu with red-rimmed eyes, Feng Chengan affirmed with certainty, “I will definitely change this time, I will truly turn over a new leaf. Xiuxiu, you care about me so much, you surely will not abandon me, right? Xiuxiu, please do not abandon me. I cannot live without you, I only have you now. I beg you, Xiuxiu, come back with me, let us go home together, all right?”
Weeping with utter grief, Feng Chengan clutched tightly onto Shen Xiu’s sleeve with both hands, gripping it like a drowning man grasping at his final straw, refusing to loosen his hold for even a second.
He knew Xiuxiu was soft-hearted at core, and he knew she cared about him most, so she would certainly not leave him to his fate.
Shen Xiu remained silent, lowering her gaze to look at the man before her. A trace of lingering sorrow seemed to well up in her eyes once more, as if she were wavering or perhaps making up her mind.
Seeing this, Feng Chengan grew even more anxious. Gritting his teeth, he dropped straight to the ground with a loud thud, kneeling right before Shen Xiu.
It was a solid, heavy kneel.
Even though his kneecaps ached fiercely against the ground, he refused to get up.
He knew he was a bastard, a total bastard from start to finish. But he truly could not live without Xiuxiu, he must have been out of his mind, to sell Xiuxiu away when his Five-Grains Powder addiction acted up, especially when he loved her so dearly.
Kneeling on the ground, Feng Chengan hugged Shen Xiu’s legs tightly, shaking his head and refusing to let go.
“Do not leave me, Xiuxiu…”
Shen Xiu swayed slightly from his tugging. Lowering her head to look at him, her eyes filled with tears. After a prolonged silence, she finally drew two twenty-tael silver ingots from her sleeve, gently pried open Feng Chengan’s palm, and placed the silver directly into his hand.
Her tone held a hint of sorrow: “Take this silver, and treat it as though I never laid eyes on you today.”
Feng Chengan started, instinctively looking down at the silver in his hand.
Twenty taels.
Shen Xiu continued, “Cheng’an, do not come looking for me ever again from now on. Biyue Manor is not a place for you, you should go back. Turn over a new leaf, and if you still hold even a shred of past affection for me, break that drug habit as soon as you can.”
Instinctively clutching the silver tightly, Feng Chengan felt his eye rims burn red. He opened his mouth to say something more, but by then, Shen Xiu had already turned her back to him, refusing to look his way.
Closing her eyes, she merely uttered in a low voice: “Go. From now on, do not come looking for me ever again.”
For an ordinary household, twenty taels of silver was equivalent to more than half a year’s living expenses. If he could genuinely turn over a new leaf, this money would be enough to sustain him, provided he kicked the habit.
Yet Shen Xiu knew very well that he could never kick it. With her back turned, her eyes were filled with sheer indifference, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
Unaware of Shen Xiu’s inner thoughts, or if he did know, Feng Chengan would have confirmed one thing with absolute certainty: he truly could no longer quit.
Ever since he became hooked on Five-Grains Powder, he had practically exhausted all of Xiuxiu’s private savings, even pawning every piece of jewelry she kept on her person. Thus, Feng Chengan knew that Shen Xiu had no money left. But if that was the case, where had such a large sum of money come from now?
Twenty taels was enough for him to buy a tremendous amount of Five-Grains Powder.
How long had Xiuxiu been at Biyue Manor for those people to be willing to give her this much money?
At this thought, Feng Chengan’s eyes turned red, whether out of anger or pure jealousy.
He knew Biyue Manor was famous, the Lin family of Mingzhou City was a martial arts family. Even if he was not a jianghu insider, he knew the Lin family possessed vast wealth and a grand estate.
He had made inquiries before coming: the man who took Xiuxiu away was the young master of Biyue Manor. Yet he never imagined that man would be so generous toward Xiuxiu.
Thinking of this…
Feng Chengan gripped the silver in his palm tighter. In truth, he desperately wanted the backbone to fling the silver back at her, but then he remembered that his stash of Five-Grains Powder was gone, and without the drug, the pain would kill him.
Therefore, Feng Chengan’s throat bobbed. Raising his head, he cast one final look at Xiuxiu, his eyes instantly turning red.
He declared with absolute certainty to Xiuxiu: “Wait for me, Xiuxiu, wait for me to come back! Once I am settled, I will definitely return to fetch you, I promise I will keep my word.”
With that, he snatched the lotus-colored pouch from Shen Xiu’s hand, stuffed the silver inside it, tucked it into his bosom, and stumbled away in a clumsy rush, turning his back and walking off.
Not until his figure had completely vanished from sight did Shen Xiu retract the sorrowful look from her face, returning to a state of absolute calm.
Inside her mind, the system continuously warned her: “This man lacks firm resolve. Giving him silver so easily will only inflate his appetite sooner or later. He will definitely come looking for you again, this does not solve the problem at all!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiu merely smiled, her tone serene: “Who said I wanted to solve the problem? I am doing this precisely to inflate his appetite.”
Huh? What was that supposed to mean?
Uncomprehending, the system felt an itch of curiosity, desperately wishing to get to the bottom of it. Yet seeing her expression of total disinterest and absolute mastery over the situation, another wave of frustration washed over it.
Being a system was truly too difficult.
In the end, beating its own chest, the system could only squeeze out: “Fine, as long as you know what you are doing.”