When it was almost time, just as Young Master Qin was hurrying out the door, he was stopped again by Madam Qin.
“What have you been so busy with these past few days?” she asked.
“Just having some fun,” he replied with a smile. “Did you need something, Mother?”
Before Madam Qin could respond, he spoke again.
“If it’s something important, let’s talk another day. I’m in a rush right now.”
He hurried off as he spoke, leaving Madam Qin chuckling behind him, watching her son’s retreating figure.
“I didn’t really want to ask him anything,” she said with a smile, gently fanning herself as she gestured in his direction to the maids beside her. “I just came to see how he’d react and run off when I asked.”
The servants all burst into laughter.
“Madam, why are you teasing the young master like this? He’s clearly distracted these days,” they said, amused.
“Well, this is the first time my son has ever tried to win over a young lady,” Madam Qin said with a laugh, covering her mouth with her fan. “As his mother, how could I miss it?”
The maids laughed too, though with a trace of exasperation.
“Madam, the young master isn’t trying to win her over for romance—it’s all for the sake of healing his leg,” they said, half complaining. “Instead of helping, here you are watching it like it’s a show.”
Madam Qin continued to smile.
“All right, all right, I’ll help—I’m going now,” she said, calling for someone. “Let’s go, we’re heading to the Chen residence.”
The Chen residence?
The servants looked surprised.
What are we going to the Chen residence for?
“Would you like something to eat, young master?”
The waiter asked.
Zhou Liu-lang withdrew his gaze from the window, frowning slightly.
“Just bring me whatever you have,” he said.
This kind of customer—who didn’t ask about the food right away but stood by the window admiring the view—was a first for the waiter. But with so many people coming and going in the restaurant, he’d seen all sorts of odd habits. He didn’t find it particularly strange.
Smiling, he nodded and responded courteously.
“Then I’ll bring you one meat dish and two vegetables, four kinds of cold snacks and fruits, Yutangchun wine, and tea from Puxiu Temple—how does that sound?” he said.
They even have tea from Puxiu Temple?
Zhou Liu-lang was momentarily stunned. That tea wasn’t something you could get in exchange for just a bit of Tai Ping Tofu. So she actually asked him to get this? This lady really dares to ask for anything!
Still, helping out was better than not helping at all.
But… he couldn’t help feeling that something about it was a little off.
“Young master?”
The waiter gently prompted, noticing the youth drifting into a daze again.
So young, yet he looked weighed down with worries.
Zhou Liu-lang came back to his senses and waved his hand.
“That’ll do,” he said, once again turning his gaze outside. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he saw two carriages, one after the other, entering the back courtyard of Tai Ping Residence.
Ever since the incidents—shooting that thug and smashing up the Immortal’s Abode—with no consequences afterward, rumors had spread that Tai Ping Residence was now protected by a vajra guardian from the Buddhist realm.
That back courtyard was a place no one dared to enter lightly. And those who could enter so easily… were clearly insiders.
Thwack—a sharp sound rang out. The long arrow shot from the bowstring and struck dead center on the target fifteen paces away. Four arrows clustered around the bullseye at varying heights—all solid hits.
“Not bad at all,” Cheng Jiao-niang said as a maid tied the arm-guard around her.
Young Master Qin flashed her a smile.
“Didn’t expect you to still be able to shoot arrows when you can’t even stand steady,” Cheng Jiao-niang added.
Young Master Qin kept smiling, but said nothing.
Cheng Jiao-niang finished fastening her sleeve, took up her bow and arrow, and stepped into position. With a thwack, the arrow flew from the string—completely missing the target.
Sun Cai quickly took a few steps back toward the doorway.
After all this time, and still no improvement…
Young Master Qin burst into laughter.
Cheng Jiao-niang shot him a glance, her expression tinged with embarrassment and annoyance.
Of course, that was just Young Master Qin’s own assumption. In truth, the girl’s face showed nothing but a smile—or, at most, a blank indifference.
Three arrows flew out in quick succession, but in the end, only two remained loosely hanging on the edge of the straw target, swaying slightly.
“Your strength is still a bit lacking,” Young Master Qin said with a smile, picking up his own bow again.
“So what if it is?” Cheng Jiao-niang lowered her bow and looked at him calmly. “It’s not like I need this to prove I’m just like everyone else.”
Young Master Qin’s hand paused slightly on the bow. He smiled, but said nothing.
With a thwack, another arrow shot out—hitting the bullseye once again.
“Brother!”
Cheng Jiao-niang suddenly raised her voice and called out.
Fan Jianglin, who had been standing under the eaves, quickly responded and stepped forward.
“Brother, you try it too,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Fan Jianglin glanced at Young Master Qin.
Young Master Qin smiled and handed over the bow in his hand.
“Use mine, it’s a recurve bow,” he said.
Fan Jianglin didn’t stand on ceremony. He took the bow, gave it a quick feel in his hands, then pulled it open in one smooth motion.
“Brother, don’t embarrass yourself,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Just as she spoke, thwack—an arrow shot straight toward the bullseye with such force that it pierced right through the straw target.
Startled, Sun Cai immediately flung the door open and jumped back into the house.
Bad aim is dangerous, but good aim is dangerous too…
One of the maids cheered loudly.
“Young Master Fan is amazing!” she clapped her hands and exclaimed, her expression genuinely full of awe.
Young Master Qin also smiled and praised him.
“No wonder you’re the hero who slew the wolves at night,” he said with a laugh.
Fan Jianglin quickly bowed and replied modestly, “I don’t deserve the praise.”
Cheng Jiao-niang took a step forward, smiling slightly.
“See that? That’s what a real, proper man looks like,” she said. “You—no matter how hard you try—could never pull that off.”
The courtyard fell into a moment of silence.
“Is that guy… Miss’s enemy or something?” Sun Cai couldn’t help but whisper to a young servant inside the house.
What a thing to say…
If he were a young lady, he probably would’ve run off in tears by now.
But Young Master Qin wasn’t a delicate girl. So instead of running, he just looked a bit awkward—then smiled again.
“I’m not pretending,” he said with a grin.
“You’re not pretending?” Cheng Jiao-niang shot back. “Then why is a little cripple like you trying to learn archery and horseback riding?”
“A little cripple should just sit properly in a carriage and watch others ride and shoot, shouldn’t he? No matter how much you try to learn, it won’t change the fact that you’re still a cripple.”
With a loud bang, the door to the courtyard was kicked open.
Fan Jianglin jumped in surprise, instinctively assuming a defensive stance.
Zhou Liu-lang stormed in, striding quickly toward them with a pair of chopsticks still clutched in his hand.
“Cheng Jiao-niang! Haven’t you had enough?” he shouted.
Fan Jianglin immediately stepped in front of Cheng Jiao-niang, blocking Zhou Liu-lang’s path.
Young Master Qin also hurried over with his crutch, trying to intervene.
“No, I haven’t,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, looking straight at him. “Didn’t I already tell you that before?”
Zhou Liu-lang threw the chopsticks in his hand to the ground with a loud clatter.
“Cheng Jiao-niang! What do you want from me?” he roared. “Even a killer just takes one blow to finish the job—do you have to keep humiliating me over and over like this?”
“I don’t really want anything,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. “It’s just that seeing you all like this… makes me feel pretty happy.”
Zhou Liu-lang was so furious his eyes turned red, and his whole body trembled with anger.
Young Master Qin reached out to hold him back, then turned to look at Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Lady Cheng, I don’t believe it,” he said, smiling gently and shaking his head.
Don’t believe what?
Everyone was puzzled.
Cheng Jiao-niang also smiled a little.
“Actually, I don’t believe it either,” she said, looking at Young Master Qin. “Do you really… not resent him? Not even a little?”
As she spoke, she pointed her finger at Zhou Liu-lang.
Zhou Liu-lang’s eyes were blazing with fury, his fists clenched so tightly that his bones audibly cracked—he looked ready to explode.
“I only want one sentence,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, completely ignoring Zhou Liu-lang’s rage. Her gaze stayed fixed on Young Master Qin. “Will you keep pretending to be the good guy, or will you finally admit what’s in your heart?”
Young Master Qin looked at her, smiled once more, and took a deep breath.
“I still don’t believe it,” he said again.
What exactly does he not believe?
“Cheng Jiao-niang! Would you be satisfied if I died? What the hell are you doing tormenting him? He’s done so much for you! Do you even have a conscience?” Zhou Liu-lang shouted.
“Shut up!”
A furious roar cut him off mid-sentence.
The courtyard fell silent once again. Everyone looked at Young Master Qin with a mix of disbelief.
This young man, always carrying the gentle smile of a scholarly type, could actually raise his voice so harshly?
“Yes, I resent it. I do resent it,” he said, still smiling softly as he slowly nodded. “But I don’t hate him—that’s nobody else’s business.”
He spread his hands and looked down at the crutches supporting him under his arms.
“This has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s just… my fate,” he said, smiling again, but the smile twisted painfully on his face. “I’m a cripple—destined to be one. But what can I do about it? If I cry, scream, curse, will that make me not a cripple?”
He shouted that last sentence so loudly that even Zhou Liu-lang, standing close by, seemed to forget his anger, staring blankly.
“That’s right. A little cripple,” Young Master Qin said, leaning on his crutches as he stepped backward a few paces. “I’m pretending. What else can I do if I don’t? Cry in front of everyone’s laughter and pitying eyes? Hide away? Where could I hide? Unless I’m dead—where else could I go?”
He looked at Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Are you satisfied now?” he asked. “You can say it—tell me to kneel and beg you. I’ll kneel and beg you. It’s just kneeling to you, isn’t it? Better to kneel once than spend my whole life on my knees!”
His roar died away, and the courtyard was silent.
“Shi’san, let’s go,” Zhou Liu-lang said, stepping forward and reaching out to pull him along.
“Stay away. This has nothing to do with you!” Young Master Qin shouted.
Zhou Liu-lang stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath.
“Lady Cheng, I don’t believe it. You’re not that kind of person,” Young Master Qin said again, looking at Cheng Jiao-niang and shaking his head. “I don’t believe it. I just don’t.”
Cheng Jiao-niang stared at him with an expressionless face.
“Yes, I’m not,” she said. “I just… realized I made a mistake.”
A mistake?
Everyone in the courtyard turned to look at her.
“I thought I wouldn’t lie,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
“Of course you wouldn’t lie!” Young Master Qin shouted, the smile gone from his face.
“Send for Li Dashao,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
Fan Jianglin came back to his senses and quickly responded, but didn’t leave the courtyard—he just stood there and called out for Li Dashao.
Soon, Li Dashao was called over. He stood in the courtyard holding a carving knife, looking somewhat at a loss.
“What can I do for you, Miss?” he asked.
Cheng Jiao-niang didn’t look at him but instead fixed her gaze on Young Master Qin.
“Look at his hands,” she said.
Everyone instinctively turned their eyes toward him. Li Dashao held his hands in front of him; there was nothing particularly noticeable. From a distance, one might not even see the scar on his right hand.
“He’s using his left hand now,” Cheng Jiao-niang continued, her eyes still on Young Master Qin.
Only after this reminder did Zhou Liu-lang and Young Master Qin seem to notice that Li Dashao was holding the knife in his left hand—not the right hand he was accustomed to using.
Young Master Qin’s face gradually turned pale. His body wavered slightly as he took a few steps back, leaning on his crutches.
“I don’t believe it,” he said.
Zhou Liu-lang also understood what was going on, his face turning ashen.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at him.
“I thought I could, but… I didn’t,” she said.
“Shut up!” Young Master Qin shouted.
But her words were not stopped.
“I didn’t!” She raised her voice, stepping forward. Her hoarse voice grew sharper and carried a hint of bitterness. “I lied to you! I can’t heal your leg at all!”
Young Master Qin stared at her.
“I don’t believe it,” he said. Before he finished speaking, his whole body collapsed backward.
The courtyard instantly erupted into chaos with a loud crash.
