“Ugh…”
Upon hearing this, Li Qianfan felt a twinge of anxiety in his heart, but he managed to appear very natural on the outside. If someone were to find out that he was pretending to be blind, the likelihood of him being expelled from the Four Seas Martial Pavilion was quite high.
After all, pretending to be blind could lead others to believe there was a problem with his character.
Suddenly, Li Qianfan remembered a saying, “Once you tell one lie, you have to cover it with a countless number of lies.”
Speaking the truth, that was really tiring!
However, he had no choice. He had only done this out of fear of further retaliation from the village tyrant.
If he wanted to stop pretending to be blind, he would have to find an opportunity to declare that his eyes had been cured.
Yes, that was the only way to go!
“Li Qianfan, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Zhao Tianjie sized up Li Qianfan’s face as he asked.
“I am wondering why you would suddenly ask such a question,”
Li Qianfan replied as if it were no big deal.
“I just felt that the way you target acupoints is so smooth, it doesn’t seem like you’re blind at all,”
Zhao Tianjie spoke truthfully.
Li Qianfan simply smiled lightly and said, “Remember, a blind man is only blind in eyes, not in heart. Although I can’t see, I can feel everything happening around me, and that’s also why I can defeat you.”
These words left Zhao Tianjie in silence. For a moment, he remembered a story the pavilion master had once told, about many blind people who could become martial arts experts because they could rely on special techniques to sense everything around them.
After a long silence, Zhao Tianjie nodded gently, “Hmm, I understand now!”
“Let’s get going. Take me to see your sister.”
Knowing that the more he said, the more he could potentially slip up, Li Qianfan quickly changed the subject.
“Okay, I’ll take you!” Compared to whether Li Qianfan was blind, Zhao Tianjie was more concerned about whether his sister could get better. He immediately set out with Li Qianfan, hailed a taxi, and departed.
“Instructors from the Four Seas Martial Pavilion earn a decent income, why don’t you get yourself a car?” Find more chapters on empire
Li Qianfan asked while sitting in the taxi.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianjie showed a bitter smile and said, “I need to pay for my sister’s medical treatment. The amount I spend yearly on doctors and medicines is a hefty sum. I don’t mind telling you, I have no money, and I’m deep in debt.”
As he spoke about his troubles, Zhao Tianjie, feeling gloomy, lit a cigarette and rested his arm on the car window, letting the breeze whisk the smoke away.
Looking at Zhao Tianjie’s worried face, Li Qianfan fell silent. Although he didn’t get along with Zhao Tianjie, having only met a few times and fought on each occasion, his opinion of Zhao Tianjie shifted somewhat after learning about his sister’s situation.
No matter what others thought of him, to his seriously ill sister, he was her only support.
Because Zhao Tianjie had spent all his money on his sister’s medical treatment over the years, he didn’t live in the county town but rather rented a small courtyard in a village called ‘Xiangye Village’ beneath Taoyuan County, where the rent was much cheaper than in the county.
Xiangye Village was half an hour’s drive from the county center.
Soon, the two got out of the taxi at the entrance of the small courtyard.
“Brother, is that you?”
When they heard the door open, a girl’s voice came from inside the courtyard.
The voice was very sweet, soft, and melodious, like a swaying wind chime, possessing the magic to rid one of worries.
Entering the courtyard, Li Qianfan saw a girl squatting on the ground, washing clothes.
She appeared to be around twenty years old, wearing simple attire, with black lustrous hair tied into a ponytail resting on her thin back. She was petite, standing just about 1.6 meters tall, with a sallow complexion clearly resulting from illness, which involuntarily elicited a protective desire.
Even so, her perfect, delicate features could not be concealed. Her upturned nose was perfectly proportioned, she had cherry lips, and as her eyes blinked gently, they shone like the brightest star in the night sky.
“`
In a daze, Li Qianfan felt that this girl bore some resemblance to a certain ‘Liu’ surname celebrity who was referred to as a fairy sister by her fans.
If this girl were to recover her health, she would definitely be extraordinarily beautiful.
“Susu, you haven’t recovered yet, why are you washing clothes again? The water is too cold, it’s not good for your health.”
Seeing his sister washing clothes, Zhao Tianjie felt a tightening in his heart, immediately stepped forward to take the clothes from her hands, and while wiping her hands with a towel, he reproached her, “I’ve told you before, you can’t do household chores while your body is still recovering. Just rest at home. Moreover, your illness has just relapsed today. The doctor said you must rest in bed.
Why won’t you ever listen?”
“Brother, I won’t wash them anymore, don’t be angry.”
Susu looked up at Zhao Tianjie, her waxen little face showing a touch of grievance, “You used to come back only in the evenings, why did you come back so suddenly today?”
Seeing Susu’s grievous expression, Zhao Tianjie suddenly softened, his stern face became much more gentle, “I’ve brought back a doctor to treat you. This is Li Qianfan, quickly say hello to Brother Qianfan.”
A doctor??
Normally, patients would be very happy to hear that a doctor has come.
However, Susu’s face showed a hint of terror. She immediately hid behind Zhao Tianjie and looked at Li Qianfan with a face full of fear, saying, “Brother, I don’t want to be treated, let him go.”
“How can he just leave?”
Zhao Tianjie, with a stern face, said, “Susu, your illness is getting more and more serious, we can’t delay any further. We must treat it as soon as possible.”
“Brother, I don’t want you to spend any more money,” whispered Zhao Susu, her head hung low.
“It’s okay, I can earn money. Do you know who your brother is? I’m a Fourth Rank Martial Artist at the Four Seas Martial Pavilion. I make tens of thousands a month. Plus, I can take on many tasks. In a few days, I’m going to work as a bodyguard for a big boss.
I can earn a hundred thousand in three days. You’re about to start school soon. We should properly treat your illness, and then I will send you to college, okay?” Zhao Tianjie said, trying to sound impressive.
“Brother, I’m a bottomless pit, my illness can’t really be cured. Don’t spend any more money on me. You could have a wonderful life, live in a big house, drive a luxury car, and even find a wife as beautiful as a flower. Don’t waste money and energy on me anymore. Ever since I was young, I’ve been sickly.
Our parents went to earn money for my treatment and died in a car accident while driving trucks, and you’ve gotten into huge debts for me…”
“I know that to make money, you’ve gone to the underground boxing ring to fight. You’re a Martial Artist at the Four Seas Martial Pavilion. You should be proud and spirited, but for me, you are willing to become a tool for a bunch of rich people, getting beaten into a swollen mess amidst their wanton laughter.”
While saying this, Zhao Susu’s eyes reddened slightly, her voice already carrying a crying tone, but she stubbornly didn’t let the tears fall.
“Zhao Susu, it’s none of your business what I do!”
Zhao Tianjie suddenly became angry when his sister brought up all the things he had been hiding, and he scolded her, “How I make money is not your concern. You just need to focus on getting well. I promised mom and dad that I would cure your illness. If I can’t, I won’t have the face to see them.”
“Brother, I’m just afraid you’re working too hard!”
Zhao Susu finally couldn’t hold back anymore, and large tears began to roll down her face.
Seeing his sister in tears, Zhao Tianjie’s eyes suddenly reddened, but he still maintained a very stern demeanor, “Susu, we have to treat our illness. Mom and Dad are gone; you are now my only family. If you were gone too, even if I had mountains of gold and silver, what use would they be?”
Watching the siblings, Li Qianfan fell into thought, and his respect for Zhao Tianjie grew. Perhaps in many people’s eyes, Zhao Tianjie was not a successful man, nor an excellent mentor.
But in the eyes of Zhao Susu, he was absolutely a good brother.
Seeing Zhao Tianjie’s resolute expression, Li Qianfan no longer felt any aversion towards him; instead, he even felt some admiration for the young man.
The previous grudges between the two men dissipated in that moment, accompanying the sounds of Zhao Susu’s crying.
“Ah… it hurts, my stomach hurts so much!”
Suddenly, Zhao Susu, who was crying in Zhao Tianjie’s arms, showed a look of agony on her face.
At the same time, Li Qianfan distinctly felt an extremely sinister aura emanating from her, even thicker and more sinister than the one in the morning.
“Li Qianfan, my sister…”
Seeing this, Zhao Tianjie turned around sharply and looked at Li Qianfan with pleading eyes.
“Leave it to me, don’t worry!”
Li Qianfan strode over to Zhao Tianjie, took Zhao Susu’s wrist in his hand, and with a thought, he silently activated “Dragon and Phoenix Mystery Skill.” He injected a stream of True Qi into Susu’s body, and his expression immediately changed…
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