Chapter 10: A Hundred Years of Cultivation

Yun Ling walked out unhurriedly, followed by her meddlesome wet nurse. Seeing it was Uncle Zhang, the wet nurse immediately beamed, "Oh, it's Brother Zhang!" She kept smiling at him enthusiastically. "Quick, quick, quick, come in and sit! Yun Ling, go pour some water for your Uncle Zhang!"

With a single sentence, Yun Ling dismantled Mother Lin's attempt at hospitality: "Mother, Uncle Zhang didn't come here today to drink water!" As she spoke, she looked up and glared directly at Old Man Miao, who was acting pitiful with his bald head, frowning in disgust. "I say, when exactly are you planning to leave, old man?"

"I'll leave whenever you agree to become my disciple and learn my martial arts," Old Man Miao said, negotiating with great sincerity. "My reputation as Old Man Miao is quite formidable. If anyone tries to bully you in the future, use the skills I teach you to bully them back! And if you truly can't fight back, just shout my name. I guarantee they won't dare touch a single hair on your head—in fact, they'll have to call you 'Great-Aunt'!"

Yun Ling's heart stirred, but her expression remained unchanged. Maintaining her usual look of disdain, she signaled her extreme skepticism toward his words: "You can't even outrun me, and you want me to learn your martial arts? That's hilarious!"

Old Man Miao didn't back down one bit: "It's a fact that I can't outrun you, but you can't beat me either! Are you going to do nothing but run away every time something happens in the future?"

"Of course not!" Yun Ling said high-spiritedly. "I have plenty of ways to get my revenge!"

Old Man Miao glanced at her and shook his head repeatedly: "You child... what's the fun in seeking revenge later? I was born with a love for bullying others!"

Dominant!

Yun Ling nodded inwardly. Over the past two or three days, she actually had considered asking this old man to be her master, but people are naturally wary. Moreover, having come from the fierce struggles of the twenty-first century, she had never quite believed in things like "sincerity."

In her view, the only way two people could coexist peacefully was if they shared the same interests—either through cooperation, exploitation, or suppression. No one ever treated another person well without a reason. Furthermore, this Old Man Miao's motive was so obvious; he had been eyeing her self-created footwork with predatory intent for a long time.

Uncle Zhang, listening from the side, was completely lost. He didn't understand anything about the "Jianghu," the imperial court, or enemies; he just wanted to ask how Yun Ling intended to handle the fact that this old man had chased away the piglets that his sow had given birth to less than twenty days ago!

Yun Ling decisively had her wet nurse return to the room to fetch some silver scraps to serve as compensation for Uncle Zhang. Soon, only the old man and the girl were left in the courtyard of Wan Sheng Yuan.

"I wonder if you've heard the saying: 'Once the disciple is taught, the master starves'?" Yun Ling crossed her arms. Unexpectedly, catching her off guard, Old Man Miao's figure flashed forward. With a *pa* sound, he struck her acupoints, rendering her unable to move or speak, and then began transferring internal energy into her body.

Yun Ling's bones creaked and popped, the true qi within her body leaped and danced, and her blood vessels felt as if they were about to burst.

*This damn old man won't stop!*

She thought hazily. Then, the heat in her back suddenly vanished. Her body went limp, and she actually fainted. Before losing consciousness, she thought through gritted teeth that she would definitely have Little Sister Eight reward him with a jar of... filth!

Half an hour later, Yun Ling's phoenix eyes snapped open, and she leaped up—er, she had only intended to stand up, but unexpectedly, this leap sent her straight onto the roof. She stumbled for a long time before managing to stand steadily in terror.

"Girl." Old Man Miao had regulated his breathing. He opened his eyes and smiled. From her position on the roof, Yun Ling could see clearly that the sharp glint in the old man's eyes had faded significantly.