Chapter 26

Zheng Fa stared at the young master’s face; his expression held more amusement than anything else.

Glancing at the silent Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, the young master rose, lazily clapped his hands, and said, “You two discuss it—I’ll come back later.”

He said “discuss it,” but Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan both understood—he was essentially telling them to fight each other so he could watch.

The young master strolled out of the study calmly.

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood where they were, unmoving.

No one spoke.

Zheng Fa turned to look out the window, pondering the young master’s intentions.

One servant boy or two— it made no difference to him—but for Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, the choice would shatter their fragile relationship completely.

To him, this matter was probably no different than tossing a bone between two dogs to watch them fight.

Purely for amusement.

“You stay.”

While Zheng Fa was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Gao Yuan whisper.

“Hm?”

This startled Zheng Fa; he turned to look at Gao Yuan, whose expression held both self-mockery and gloom.

Gao Yuan did not look at him, only at the bookshelf filled with volumes.

“If you really had to pick one servant boy, it should be you,” he said calmly. “Your talent is better than mine—in both martial arts and study.”

Zheng Fa shook his head.

To be honest, without modern knowledge, he couldn’t say he was truly better than Gao Yuan in talent.

Besides, would a man like the young master even care about a servant boy’s talent?

“I’m injured,” Gao Yuan’s next words finally made Zheng Fa understand why he had suddenly given up.

“It’s almost laughable—I originally intended to compete with you,” Gao Yuan said with self-derision. “You mastered the Song Crane Stance in three days, so I trained three, even four hours a day, ignoring my father’s advice. Now my leg meridians are damaged—I’ll need half a year to recover before I can train again.”

“So I’m not giving up for you—I’m just tired of humiliating myself.”

Gao Yuan finally looked at Zheng Fa; his gaze held pain, but also a trace of relief.

Zheng Fa opened his mouth to speak.

But Gao Yuan cut him off: “Don’t pity me. Even if I go home, my father has plans for me. If you go home, you’ll have nothing at all.”

Zheng Fa: … Fine, you’re very good at persuasion.

When the young master returned, his eyes curiously scanned between Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan.

As if checking whether they had fought.

He was slightly disappointed—their expressions were calm, their clothes neat, and the atmosphere between them even more harmonious than before.

“How did you two decide?”

“Young Master, I am shallow and unlearned—I voluntarily…”

“Wait!”

The young master raised his palm, cutting off Gao Yuan.

“Who said you get to decide who stays and who leaves?”

“… ”

“My servant boy? I choose him myself!”

He looked at them, eyes narrowing with a cruel delight: “Actually, if you two had fought just now, I might’ve been entertained enough to keep both of you.”

“Now, the show I wanted to see is gone—I’m not happy.” He sat cross-legged in the chair before the desk. “Why don’t you both just leave together?”

“You!” The young master narrowed his eyes at Gao Yuan. “You haven’t even mastered the Song Crane Stance, have you? No—your leg is injured?”

His gaze swept over Gao Yuan’s leg—he saw it at a glance.

Gao Yuan murmured, “Yes.”

“You seem to have decent talent?” The young master turned to Zheng Fa. “You mastered the Song Crane Stance in three days.”

This man usually said not a word to Zheng Fa or Gao Yuan.

Yet about them, he knew everything.

“Even Master Xu said you’re a talent and wanted to take you as a disciple,” the young master tapped his fingers on the desk, smiling. “But the Song Crane Stance is too weak, and you started martial training too late—you’re not qualified to stay by my side.”

Zheng Fa hadn’t known Master Xu had ever wanted to take him as a disciple.

The young master stood and circled around Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan.

“One with a leg injury, the other who knows only a few basic fists…” He shook his head, then suddenly said, “Gao Yuan!”

“Yes!”

“Him? I don’t want him. But you—I’ll give you another chance. Didn’t you steal those talisman diagrams that the previous idiot copied? What have you learned from them?”

“Young Master…”

Gao Yuan turned pale—he hadn’t expected the young master to know about this.

He might’ve known all along that the former servant had secretly copied the diagrams he studied daily.

Now Zheng Fa had a suspicion: those few diagrams might have been deliberately leaked by the young master himself.

“If you can learn even a little from them, even if you’re crippled or an idiot, I’ll keep you by my side!”

The young master’s gaze was unusually serious.

Zheng Fa knew—he truly cared about this.

The young master picked up the talisman book he always carried, opened it, and placed the familiar diagrams before Gao Yuan.

He then laid out paper and brush, gesturing to Gao Yuan.

“After all these days, what have you figured out?”

Gao Yuan looked at him, his expression complex—longing, but mostly resignation.

He knew that if he showed even a shred of talent here, he could stay.

But…

“Your servant is dull…”

Gao Yuan didn’t pick up the brush—only bowed his head.

“Idiot!” The young master shook his head, losing interest. “You two…”

Zheng Fa suddenly stepped forward and picked up the brush before Gao Yuan.

“Hm?”

The young master frowned at Zheng Fa.

He knew Gao Yuan had studied those diagrams for days.

But this Zheng Fa—he’d only glanced at them a few times!

On the white paper before Zheng Fa, he picked up the brush and drew the two diagrams Master Bai had given him.

Gao Yuan watched beside him—Zheng Fa had drawn only two simple strokes, utterly unrelated to the original complex diagrams.

Just scribbling?

But one look at the young master’s face told him otherwise.

The young master frowned, staring at Zheng Fa’s brush tip—as if it revealed something he never anticipated. After a long silence, his gaze lifted from the paper to Zheng Fa’s face.

“Did you figure this out yourself?” His voice had turned strangely sharp.

Even Gao Yuan realized: these two diagrams Zheng Fa drew must be significant. He inwardly sighed bitterly—so he’d been deluding himself… Zheng Fa never needed him to give up.

“No.”

Zheng Fa set down the brush, as if he’d merely doodled.

“Who taught you!” The young master demanded urgently.

“No one taught me. I figured it out together with Brother Gao,” Zheng Fa smiled at Gao Yuan beside him. “Right?”

“Huh?” Gao Yuan stared at Zheng Fa, dumbfounded.

“Oh?” The young master narrowed his eyes, studying Zheng Fa for a long moment, then turned to Gao Yuan. “Go bring me my lunch. And add an extra portion—for him!”

He pointed at Zheng Fa.

Gao Yuan hesitated, glancing at Zheng Fa; seeing Zheng Fa nod, he rose and left.