Chapter 136: I Am the Disciple

"Enough, enough," Master Guo said, "let's just say we both know what kind of person he is. Bullying a cripple isn't a good look for me as a master if word gets out. Congratulations, Old Ma, on taking on such a fine apprentice."

I sneered and retorted haughtily, "If your apprentice gets beaten by a cripple, it’s certainly not a good look for you as a master. After all, you’ve dragged the reputation of our founding masters through the mud!"

Master Guo’s face turned pitch black, and he shouted in anger, "What did you say!"

"Enough, enough," Old Ma waved his hand at me, "let's just keep our knowledge of what kind of people they are to ourselves. Bullying the old, weak, and disabled is a laughingstock if it gets out! You must remember, you are my apprentice, and by seniority, you are one generation ahead of this Master Guo."

"I will remember that, Master!" I replied.

I kept my expression neutral, but inside I was stunned. One generation ahead of this old man? If that were true, Old Ma would be of the same generation as his master’s master. Master Guo didn't look much younger than Old Ma, so how could there be a two-generation gap?

Master Guo’s face shifted between green and white, and Yun Mutian glared at me, grinding his teeth.

Yang Guangyu had remained tactfully silent throughout our exchange. Only when we finished did he say, "Master Guo, I will leave this matter to you. How do you intend to proceed?"

Master Guo said coldly, "First, we go and assess the situation. If it’s straightforward, we’ll handle it immediately! If it proves thorny, we’ll devise a strategy. In any case, we won't resort to something as foolish as burning down the mountain! Go prepare, we’re heading into the mountains shortly!"

With that, he turned and stormed off, while Yun Mutian shot me a cunning look before following him.

As Yang Guangyu and his group departed, the villagers looked at us with deep anxiety. "Old Ma, what should we do now? If they don't burn the mountain, does that man really have the ability to deal with those snakes?"

Old Ma squinted as he watched them leave, saying meaningfully, "He certainly has the ability to deal with them, but it will lead to even bigger trouble! Luo, get ready, we’re heading into the mountains too!"

Heading into the mountains... My heart sank. Although I had won the verbal battle, my condition made the trek difficult. But I gritted my teeth—no matter what, I couldn't let those two punks laugh at me! Even if my leg was injured, I would walk in there with my head held high!

Old Ma turned toward his mud-brick house. I followed him and asked, "Master, who exactly is that Master Guo?"

"He used to be part of our lineage. He was Old Chen’s junior fellow apprentice. If you really want to trace it, he would be your martial uncle."

"Wait! Didn't you say I was a generation above him? How could he be my martial uncle?"

"If you are my apprentice, you are indeed a generation above him. But don't forget, when you made your vow before the ancestral tablet, you were the seventh generation, and Old Chen was the sixth. Nominally, you are my apprentice, but in reality, you are a generation younger than Old Chen. So, while Mr. Guo is your junior in terms of lineage, he is also your martial uncle. However, he has already left the school, so you needn't concern yourself with that title," Old Ma explained.

What a mess! He was both a junior and a martial uncle!

I asked, "Why did he leave the school?"

"When he was young, he challenged someone to a duel and lost to a blind man. He had wagered the honor of our founders on that fight. Having lost all his dignity and feeling he had no face to remain in the school, he left."

So that was it. No wonder he was so furious when I made that remark earlier.

"And then?" I asked.

"Then he went into 'alchemy'."

"Alchemy?"

Old Ma snorted coldly, "It’s the dark arts of medicine! Remember this: no matter the reason, a crooked path is still a crooked path! Heretics and practitioners of evil arts are not of our kind!"

No matter the reason, a crooked path is still a crooked path... But I couldn't just abandon Sister Yan. I only wanted to help her recover and help her soul find peace.

I looked at Old Ma and hesitated before asking, "Master, if I may ask, how old are you?"

He glanced at me. "Old enough to be older than your grandfather!"

Everything prepared, the group headed deep into the mountains. In addition to Yang Guangyu’s party, there was the village chief, who was acting as a guide, and a thin, gaunt middle-aged man named Yang Baoshu. He hadn't wanted to come, but since no one else dared to go and he was close with the village chief, he had no choice but to tag along.

Yang Guangyu was truly fearless in his ignorance. He ignored all the villagers' warnings and insisted on bringing his entourage. He claimed he just wanted to find his mother and bring her out. I understood his filial piety, but this was reckless to the point of insanity!

Before we set out, I had inquired about him in the village. It was said that since his freshman year of college, he had worked hard and started his own business. While others were playing cards or chatting, he was washing dishes, sweeping floors, and handing out flyers. By his sophomore year, he had co-founded a small company with friends, operating it with great care until it grew larger and larger. By his senior year, it was already quite substantial.

College entrepreneurship wasn't rare, but it was truly rare for someone to be as "successful" as he was. Hiring people like Master Guo cost a fortune—at least six figures. And according to Old Ma, Master Guo wasn't easy to hire, so it was likely seven figures or more. Unless he was making tens of millions a year, he couldn't afford it.

He was a college student from a poor background with no connections or capital. No matter how hard he worked, achieving an annual income of ten million just one year after graduation seemed highly suspicious.

Furthermore, the villagers said he had been sending a lot of money back to the village—otherwise, they wouldn't have helped him hide the matter of the living corpse all this time. With that burden, he couldn't have saved up that much capital. What exactly was this guy doing?

One of the men following him tilted his head slightly to look at me, then quickly turned away. I narrowed my eyes, observing him. From the start, one of the faces in his group had seemed familiar, but I couldn't place where I had seen him.

These people following him were also strange. They didn't look like friends or company employees; they looked more like henchmen.

Master Guo and Yun Mutian were still in a foul mood, especially Master Guo, whose face remained dark after I had inadvertently reopened an old wound.

"The mountain path is treacherous. You’d better be careful with that leg of yours. It would be a laughingstock if you tripped and killed yourself!" Yun Mutian said contemptuously.

I retorted, "Don't trouble yourself. You should watch your own step. If a man with perfectly good legs trips and dies, even the dead would laugh themselves back to life!"

You couldn't be polite to people like him; the more polite you were, the more arrogant they became.

"Oh! Then let’s see who trips and dies first!" He strode forward, only to catch his foot on something and tumble to the ground. He scrambled up immediately, furious, and marched ahead.