Chapter 4: Master

Xiao Chengqian’s appearance seemed like a dream. When Chengqing went to the bar with the relevant personnel to look for Xiao Chengqian five minutes later, he couldn’t find him.

I asked Chengqing, “Why didn’t you act at first?”

Cheng Qing smiled wryly and said to me, “Do you believe there is resistance? And even if I find him this time, I can only talk to him at most. What do you think you can do to him?”

Hearing this, I had a headache and thought of what my master had said: subtle and intricate relationships prevent certain organizations from moving, at least for now.

No wonder Xiao Chengqian could come to Beijing to find me so arrogantly. He was crazy, but he didn’t look like a fool, stupid enough to walk into the trap.

So, in the face of Chengqing’s helplessness, I also said helplessly, “Yes, it’s been difficult to move the ‘nobility’ from ancient times to the present.”

Chengqing, who already knew some of the content of my conversation with him, sighed and said, “It seems that everything is related to our ancestor, but our ancestor has a ‘question mark face’. Except for knowing that there is such a person, everything about him seems like a mystery.”

When Chengqing said this, he and I couldn’t help but start to smile wryly, and even the appearance of Xiao Chengqian made people feel unreal.

My two sisters came with their parents, along with my brother-in-law, who seemed a little nervous, and my two nephews, who were not familiar with the environment in Beijing.

It had been more than two years since I had seen them, and my eldest nephew was a little shy around me, hiding behind my eldest sister.

As for my younger nephew, he had never seen me since birth. With big, curious eyes, he timidly stared at his strange uncle. Their behavior made me feel a bit sad.

What kind of son and brother am I? I can’t always be there for my parents, and I didn’t even know that my sister had given birth to a child.

When I saw my relatives getting off the car, I couldn’t help but think of this sad thought. But just as I was standing there, before I had a chance to walk over, my mother had already run over. Before I could even say “Mom,” her hand was already on my cheek.

She said, “You’ve lost weight, my son. Don’t say anything, I know everything.”

I held my mother’s hand, but I didn’t know what to say. What did my mother know?

Then my father came up to me with his hands behind his back. My father likes to maintain his fatherly authority, and again, before I could say anything, my father was already very proud and said to me in front of me: “Sanwa, if you work for the country, you don’t have to worry about anything else. Our family should support you unconditionally.”

When he said this, my father’s expression was full of pride, as if I were already a war hero. I was a little amused, but more moved. But this was obviously not the place to talk, so I quickly ushered my family in and led them to my courtyard.

This courtyard is where I live with my master. It is too spacious for the two of us, but it is also the perfect place to accommodate my family. However, my master said that I am a troublemaker and will bring trouble to my family, so I cannot live with them. When they arrive, I will have to move out. I have already arranged a place for them to live, so I don’t have to worry about it.

I told my family about this on the way, and my parents and sister naturally understood the taboo and were very understanding. My two brothers-in-law knew a little about the mysterious things about their younger brother-in-law, so they didn’t ask too much.

After a meal, I told my family about my experiences over the past two years, as if to give them an explanation.

After all, my parents had been sent to Beijing, and my sister and her husband had been forced to temporarily relocate for work. I always had to give a reason.

Although I was selective about what I told them, some of my feelings came to the surface when I was drinking, and I couldn’t hide them in front of my family.

“If that girl Ruoxue is so nice, why don’t you bring her home to meet Mom? As long as you like her, Mom won’t object.” My mother was overjoyed to hear that I liked someone, and she couldn’t wait for me to marry her right away.

After all, I was 26 years old and still hadn’t settled down, so my mother was understandably anxious.

My father, on the other hand, seemed much more composed, but his tone still betrayed his anxiety. He said, “Sanwa, is it that the girl doesn’t like you? You’ve always been a careless person, and you’re not careful. When dealing with girls, you need to be patient and considerate. You can’t rush things. Otherwise, I’ll go meet the girl and help you talk to her.”

Haha, my dad is actually teaching me how to chase a girl? And he’s going to help me chase a girl? I laughed immediately. Before I could say anything, my sister and brother-in-law also offered their suggestions. I really wanted to hold back, but my eyes suddenly turned red.

The ordinary, everyday, and most normal kind of concern, the frustration of love, and the comfort I received from my family all came flooding back to me, and I couldn’t help but cry.

I quickly turned around, pretended to look around, quickly wiped my eyes, and then felt that I had said too much, so I quickly comforted my family and said, “Don’t worry about it. I know what I’m doing. I’ll definitely bring the girl to you when I have time.”

The days that followed were relatively peaceful for me. I spent time with my parents and teased my two nephews when I had the chance. My original feelings of anxiety had actually subsided a lot.

However, I always had a feeling that something was about to happen, but I kept this feeling deep in my heart and didn’t tell anyone.

Time passed quickly with the companionship of my family. Before I knew it, spring turned to summer, and the third summer after my master left was quickly approaching.

From the day summer began, I lived every day in a state of anxiety. I longed to see that familiar figure, but I was afraid that after the summer was over, I would never see that familiar figure again, or that I would never see that familiar figure again. In this complex state of mind, my mood began to become anxious again.

Every morning when I woke up, I was hopeful.

But every night when I went to sleep, I felt lost.

In this mood, the weather became hotter and hotter, and before I knew it, it was already midsummer.

That evening, I was in the courtyard, still drinking tea with my father, and listening to my two nephews competing to recite nursery rhymes for me. My eyes were absentmindedly looking at the door, and I always hoped that the door would suddenly open and my master would appear before me.

But when the sun had set and a crescent moon had climbed into the sky, I still hadn’t seen the scene I had hoped for.

It was another day of disappointment.

On the way back, my father insisted on walking with me for a while. In the moonlight, in the hot, summery air, my father, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: “Sanwa, you’ve been a bit restless lately, haven’t you?”

“Dad, don’t worry, I’m not upset.”

“Are you waiting for Master Jiang to return?”

I was silent.

“Master Jiang is a man of his word. That’s what I wanted to tell you,” my father said, looking up at the sky.

I was a little moved. No matter how big or small my son’s worries were, they were always a big deal to my father. It was hard for him to be so ‘careless’ and deliberately comfort me by saying these words to me.

I nodded my head and said, “Yes.”

Thanks to my father’s words of comfort, I felt much better and my footsteps were lighter as I walked home in the moonlight.

The apartment Qin Huai arranged for me was a tenement building. When I walked downstairs and habitually took out the key to open the door to go home, my head suddenly got a light but not light hit.

Before I could ask who it was, I heard a very familiar voice ring in my ear, and then my head was knocked back and forth.

“What did I tell you? I told you to use these three years to hone yourself. What have you been doing?”

“Catching a liar? Fighting with people?”

“Got involved with that crazy village?”

“And you went to seduce the witch of the Miao village?”

“How much have you improved in the past three years? You’ve made me weak and now you haven’t recovered yet?”

These words came in rapid succession, and I was not allowed to say a word. When it was finally over, I was kicked hard in the buttocks, and I fell to the ground. But in that moment, my tears could not help but fall one after another.

Who else could it be? It was my master, he had finally returned.

I couldn’t help but cry. I buried my head in my hands and cried like a child who had suffered a lot and finally found someone to rely on. How could I control my emotions?

But at that moment, a pair of big hands pulled me up and said angrily, “You’re trying to seduce that little girl, Ruoxue, right? That’s fine, but the damn thing is, you haven’t even succeeded yet. Go, go get her for me. Who says you can’t fall in love?”

“What’s so fun about falling in love? There’s a master, and there’s a disciple.” Another familiar voice drifted into my ears. I knew who it was as soon as I heard it. It was Master Hui. He had also returned.

At this time, I had already dried my tears and looked at the familiar figure in front of me, which seemed to have lost some weight. I had a thousand words to say, but they all turned into one sentence: “Master.”

The master nodded expressionlessly, turned and walked in front of me, and said without looking back, “There’s nothing more to say. The master knows everything! I can take care of you, but not if outsiders bully you. Let’s talk about it later.”

At this time, Master Hui also came over. I only noticed that there was a little tail behind him, Hui Gen. Master Hui walked up to me, looked me up and down, and then said, “It’s fine if you get bullied, but you also take my apprentice to get bullied. Isn’t this making me have to help my apprentice find a place to fight back? You’re just as much of an asshole as your master.”

I laughed. Even if Hui Gen hadn’t been bullied, you would still have helped me get back at them, right?