Zheng Fa looked at the Seventh Young Master’s face, and the expression on his face was more playful than anything else.

Glancing at the silent Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, the Seventh Young Master stood up, lazily clapped his hands, and said, "You two discuss it, I'll come back later."

He said to discuss, but both Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan understood; he was more or less saying, "Fight it out, I want to watch."

The Seventh Young Master swaggered out of the study.

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan stood in place, unmoving.

No one spoke.

Zheng Fa turned his head and looked out the window, deep in thought about the Seventh Young Master’s intentions.

Whether there was one study attendant or two, it made no difference to him. But for Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, the difference between the two would tear apart the already shaky relationship between them.

"Stay."

Zheng Fa was suddenly interrupted by Gao Yuan’s soft voice.

"Hmm?"

This sentence surprised Zheng Fa. He turned to look at Gao Yuan, whose expression held a bit of self-mockery, and some dullness.

Gao Yuan didn’t look at him but stared at the full bookshelf.

"If we really have to choose a study attendant, it should be you," Gao Yuan said calmly. "You’re more talented than I am, both in martial arts and in studies."

Zheng Fa shook his head.

To be honest, if it weren’t for modern times, he couldn’t really say his talent was better than Gao Yuan’s.

Moreover, would someone like the Seventh Young Master care about the study attendant's talent?

"I’m injured." Gao Yuan's next sentence made Zheng Fa understand why he suddenly gave up.

"It’s kind of funny. I wanted to compete with you," Gao Yuan said, a touch of self-deprecation in his tone. "You entered the Pine Crane Stance in three days. I trained for three, even four hours a day, not listening to my father’s advice. Now my leg’s meridians are injured, and I need six months to recover before I can train again."

"So, I’m not giving it to you, I just don’t want to humiliate myself anymore."

Gao Yuan’s gaze finally met Zheng Fa’s, with pain in his eyes but also a bit of relief.

Zheng Fa was about to speak when Gao Yuan interrupted him.

"Don’t pity me. Even if I go home, my father will make plans for me. If you go home, you’ll have nothing left."

Zheng Fa: …Very convincing.

When the Seventh Young Master came back in, his eyes curiously scanned between Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan.

He seemed to be probing if the two had fought.

To his disappointment, their faces were calm, their clothes neat, and the atmosphere between them was even more harmonious than before.

"So, what did you two discuss?"

"Seventh Young Master, my learning is shallow, and I willingly..."

"Stop!"

The Seventh Young Master raised his hand, interrupting Gao Yuan.

"Who said you two could decide who stays and who goes?"

"…"

"My study attendant is, of course, someone I pick myself!"

He looked at both of them, his eyes narrowing as if enjoying the manipulation of their hearts. "Actually, if you two had fought earlier, maybe I would have been entertained and let you both stay."

"But now, I didn’t get to see the show I wanted, so I’m not happy." He crossed his legs and sat back in the chair in front of the desk. "How about you two just both get lost?"

"You!" The Seventh Young Master squinted at Gao Yuan. "You haven’t even entered the Pine Crane Stance yet, right? Wait, your leg’s injured?"

He swept his gaze over Gao Yuan’s leg and immediately noticed.

Gao Yuan lowered his voice. "Yes."

"You seem to have some talent?" The Seventh Young Master turned to Zheng Fa. "You entered the Pine Crane Stance in three days."

This person, usually silent when it came to Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, seemed to know everything about them.

"Even Instructor Xu said you were a talent and wanted to take you as his disciple." The Seventh Young Master tapped the desk with his fingers, smiling. "But the Pine Crane Stance is too weak, and you started martial arts too late. You’re not qualified to stay by my side."

Zheng Fa didn’t even know Instructor Xu had wanted to take him as a disciple.

The Seventh Young Master stood up and circled around Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan.

"One’s injured, and the other only knows two or three basic techniques…" He shook his head, then suddenly said, "Gao Yuan!"

"Yes!"

"I don’t want him, but you, I’m giving you another chance! Didn’t you steal those talismans from that fool before? How are they?"

"Seventh Young Master…"

Gao Yuan’s face went pale, not expecting the Seventh Young Master to know even about this.

He even knew about the study attendant who had secretly copied the talismans Gao Yuan had been studying all day. Perhaps the Seventh Young Master had known all along.

Now Zheng Fa had a suspicion that those pictures might have been intentionally leaked by this Seventh Young Master.

"If you can learn something from them, don’t even mention your leg injury. Even if you were a cripple or a fool, I’d still keep you by my side!"

The Seventh Young Master’s gaze was unexpectedly serious.

Zheng Fa knew that this was something he truly cared about.

The Seventh Young Master grabbed the talisman book he always kept close and flipped it open, placing those very familiar pictures in front of Gao Yuan.

He took out paper and brush and motioned for Gao Yuan to try.

"You’ve been looking at them for so many days, what have you learned?"

Gao Yuan looked at him, his expression complex, a little hopeful, but more resigned.

He knew that as long as he showed a little talent in this, he could stay.

But...

"I’m foolish..." Gao Yuan lowered his head without even picking up the brush.

"Fool!" The Seventh Young Master shook his head, somewhat uninterested. "You two..."

Zheng Fa suddenly stepped forward and picked up the brush in front of Gao Yuan.

"Hmm?"

The Seventh Young Master frowned, looking at Zheng Fa.

He knew Gao Yuan had studied those pictures for several days.

But Zheng Fa… had only glanced at them a few times!

On the white paper in front of him, Zheng Fa quickly drew two simple strokes, drawing the same two patterns from the pictures the old professor had shown him earlier.

Gao Yuan watched from the side, seeing that Zheng Fa had drawn two simple strokes, which seemed to bear no relation to the original complex images.

Was he just drawing randomly?

But seeing the Seventh Young Master’s face, Gao Yuan immediately realized it wasn’t so!

The Seventh Young Master frowned, staring at Zheng Fa’s brush tip, as if it revealed something he hadn’t expected. After a long while, he shifted his gaze from the paper to Zheng Fa’s face.

"Did you figure this out on your own?" His voice had an unusually sharp tone.

Even Gao Yuan could see that the two patterns Zheng Fa drew must be extraordinary. He couldn’t help but bitterly smile inwardly. It seemed he was being overly sentimental… Zheng Fa probably didn’t need him to help.

"No."

Zheng Fa put down the brush, as if it was just a casual sketch.

"Who taught you?" The Seventh Young Master hurriedly asked.

"No one taught me, I was just studying with Brother Gao," Zheng Fa smiled at the side and glanced at Gao Yuan. "Right?"

"Ah?" Gao Yuan stared blankly at Zheng Fa.

"Oh?" The Seventh Young Master squinted his eyes, staring at Zheng Fa for a long time, then suddenly spoke to Gao Yuan, "Go, bring me my lunch. Oh, and give him an extra portion!"

He pointed at Zheng Fa.

Gao Yuan hesitated, looking at Zheng Fa, who nodded before he stood up and walked out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com