Difference
When Tian Zhongxi saw Zhang Xiaohua’s pleading face, a smile unexpectedly appeared on his wooden face and he said, “First bring over the bed sheets, where your new accommodation is will not be up to me.”
Zhang Xiaohua could not understand again and he asked, “Brother Xi, in that case, who will it be up to?”
Tian Zhongxi did not answer him and waved his hands, “Come, follow me. You’ll know when you reach there.”
After finishing his sentence, he pushed opened the door with the same neutral expression on his face.
Zhang Xiaohua’s head was wet with perspiration as he hugged his bed sheets and followed behind Tian Zhongxi out of the room.
Tian Zhongxi turned left after he exited his room and walked in the direction of Ma Jing’s room, and Zhang Xiaohua’s emotions became jumpy again. When Tian Zhongxi stopped in front of Ma Jing’s room, Zhang Xiaohua’s heartbeat sped up even faster as he lamented in his heart, “And you still say you won’t let me come here, you were just fooling around with me.”
Zhang Xiaohua could not see Tian Zhongxi’s face which had the slightest hint of a smile, the edges of his mouth curled up as he was enjoyed the moment and he only resumed his steps and walked onward when Zhang Xiaohua’s heart felt like it was about to pop out from his eyes.
The poor Zhang Xiaohua did not realized that he was being played a fool with, he heaved a sigh of relief and thank every G.o.d he knew from the bottom of his heart before following behind. Tian Zhongxi continued to walk until he reached the room at the end before stopping and knocked on the door. A very familiar voice came out from the room, “Who is it? Come in.”
It was actually He Tianshu’s room.
If we were talking about the number one person Zhang Xiaohua wanted to meet in Huanxi mountain villa, then the person had to be He Tianshu. While he initially expected to meet the person after dinner again, who knew that he would have met him earlier under these circ.u.mstances?
Zhang Xiaohua hugged his bed sheets as he followed Tian Zhongxi into the room, and when he saw the face that he missed for several months, Zhang Xiaohua suddenly felt the urge to burst into tears. This urge to cry did not even appear when Zhang Xiaohua woke up from his accident and saw Zhang Xiaohu’s face.
Tian Zhongxi looked at He Tianshu and said, “Squad leader He, I have brought Zhang Xiaohua over.”
Zhang Xiaohua stood at the door alone with his left hand hugging his bed sheet and shouted, “Squad leader He……”
Just like a child who had been bullied but did not dare to inform the adults, who swallowed his teeth into his stomach, a pleading expression appeared in Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes as though the other party was able to stand up for him.
He Tianshu looked at this stupid “disciple” whom he taught personally, and recalled his incomplete fist stances that were full of mistakes, and imagined him alone under the moonlight practicing his fist stances over and again, and thought of the courage that enabled him to stand up against a martial art expert to save his elder brother, exchanging his right hand for the life of his elder brother.
Even though He Tianshu was not there to personally witness the event, he could imagine the determined expression in Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes and the little fist that extended into a punch, and the feet in the position of a horse stance which he taught the latter personally.
However, He Tianshu did not spare a second glance at Zhang Xiaohua, he retracted his gaze and smiled towards Tian Zhongxi while saying, “Alright, thanks for your trouble, leave him to me.”
Tian Zhongxi nodded his head and did not stop to chat idly, he turned around to face Zhang Xiaohua and patted the latter’s shoulders while saying, “Zhang Xiaohua, you will follow squad leader He in the future, and take care of yourself.”
After finishing his sentence, he walked away without waiting for a reply.
Zhang Xiaohua did not understand the current situation as he stood in his spot thinking of what he should do next.
Fortunately, at that moment, He Tianshu walked forward and said in a warm tone, “Zhang Xiaohua, how are your injuries?”
Zhang Xiaohua recovered his senses then and smiled back, “Squad leader He, it is not a big deal. I can already do some light activities now.”
Following which, Zhang Xiaohua apologized, “Squad leader, I am sorry.”
He Tianshu was surprised, he asked, “Sorry? Why?”
Zhang Xiaohua felt strange and he said, “I have lost your face when I got injured from the match. You can scold or punish me, but please don’t throw me away.”
He Tianshu did not know whether to laugh or cry, he asked, “Who told you this?”
Zhang Xiaohua replied, “Isn’t that written in the books? Or is it not true?”
He Tianshu was surprised and inquired again, “I thought you can’t read? Did you hear it from someone?”
Zhang Xiaohua turned his small head up and said proudly, “Squad leader He, I can already read and even write now. I read all these from the books.”
He Tianshu grew even more surprised, he said, “You already know how to read with just a few months of study? Not bad, not bad at all.”
When Zhang Xiaohua heard the other party’s praise, his face turned red and said humbly, “It is nothing much, I only studied the children’s elementary material “Words explanation” and read some other compulsory books that they use.”
“What? The elementary “Words explanation”?” He Tianshu’s head was full of perspiration, “You said that you finished studying “Words explanation”?”
Upon hearing the other party’s response, Zhang Xiaohua felt apologetic and said, “Squad leader He, I was wrong again. I should not have shown off like this, I know that it is an elementary material for children to study, I won’t say it again.”
He Tianshu fell onto the ground with a “Dang”, followed by a flipping the carp motion as he stood back up in front of Zhang Xiaohua. Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes were full of stars and he thought secretly, “Idol-ah, idol. Such a suave movement, I wonder when I can learn it.”
The poor He Tianshu slapped his forehead and thought, “ ‘Words explanation’, children’s elementary studying material? Am I going insane?”
He Tianshu asked, “Where is the book? Let me see it.”
Zhang Xiaohua then remembered something and he said urgently, “Oh, I left it in Ma Jing’s room. I will get it right now.”
After finishing his sentence, he turned his tail and ran away.
He Tianshu immediately called out, “It is okay, Zhang Xiaohua, we’ll see about that in the future.”
Zhang Xiaohua obediently stopped in his tracks. He Tianshu said, “No matter where you heard that from, or if you read it yourself, you don’t have to treat it for real. Firstly, you are not my disciple, I am only teaching you fist martial arts that are widespread across Jianghu and are not unique to my school. You have not entered our school so I naturally cannot chase you away. Secondly, you have done well this time, and even if I were your master, I would not blame you for your actions.”
Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed and he said, “Really? Squad leader He, you also thought that I did well? However, I could not even take a palm from my opponent and still lost in the end.”
He Tianshu patted Zhang Xiaohua’s shoulders and said, “Fool, you have only learned some fist martial arts for a few days, and how long has he been learning for? What fist martial art did you learn, and what inner energy cultivation method did he learn? Even though the purple sand palm is not some high grade inner energy cultivation method, it is more than enough to deal with someone like you. It is just like an adult fighting with a new-born infant, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Oh right, let me see your injury.” He Tianshu lifted Zhang Xiaohua’s arm and said, “Put the bed sheets on the chair.”
Zhang Xiaohua followed his instructions and placed the bed sheets on the chair beside him, and the obediently let He Tianshu inspect him. Zhang Xiaohua’s right hand still had its bandage on, and He Tianshu did not unwrap them and only felt over the bandage carefully and after he was done, Zhang Xiaohua with his uncertain face, happily said, “Squad leader He, I am recovering quite well tight. The physician in the escort station had said that I cannot practice fist martial arts for the time being and have to wait a few days later. Sigh, I really can’t wait anymore, how I wish I can do the horse stance now.”
He Tianshu looked at Zhang Xiaohua’s excited expression and he broke his solemn silence. He smiled and said, “Alright, let’s wait for a few days and I will check your injuries, then we can all practice fist martial arts together.”
Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed and said, “Really, squad leader He, you are willing to teach me fist martial arts again? Aren’t you afraid that I will forget?”
Upon hearing his words, He Tianshu immediately collected himself and said regretfully, “About this… this…, I will let little second Nie teach you first, and after you have learnt enough, I will take over again.”
Zhang Xiaohua was elated and he said, “Then I will definitely learn properly like my second brother and clinch victory in my next match so that squad leader He’s face won’t be thrown again.”
He Tianshu forced a smile and said, “Alright, I believe you can do it.”
Following which, He Tianshu said, “However, before you practice any fist martial art, I will have to arrange an accommodation for you.”
“Oh, didn’t brother Xi say…” when Zhang Xiaohua spoke up to here, he suddenly froze and said in disbelief, “Squad leader He, could the person brother Xi said will arrange me future accommodations be you?”
He Tianshu smiled and said, “Didn’t Tian Zhongxi said that he will entrust you to me? Did you not hear it clearly? Or are you so foolish that you still cannot understand?”
Zhang Xiaohua said, “I am muddleheaded about these kind of things sometimes, of course I understand that you will be responsible for my arrangement. However, I still find it hard to believe, I am only an insignificant servant in the villa and you are appointed from Piaomiao sect to look after the herbs, we are poles apart from each other so how can I be under your responsibility? That is the part I do not understand.”
He Tianshu smiled as he scolded, “How do you know that you are only a servant in the villa? Your status is not just a servant of Huanxi villa, but a representative of Lotus escort as well, so you are not the same as the other azure robed little hats. Watching you mingle with them every day without any awareness of being part of the escort station, think about it. If you were just a servant, why would the villa master instruct me to teach you fist martial arts?”
Only then did Zhang Xiaohua understand the situation, he said, “Oh, I understand now. No wonder the waist token I got when I went out was different from elder brother Ma and the rest, so this was the reason.”
“Mm, it’s like this.” He Tianshu nodded his head and said, “When you first came here, you were indeed arranged to subst.i.tute Liu Er’s jobs. However, don’t you think that it is a waste of your thousand jin strength? The villa master will not waste human talent to let you do such ordinary jobs, you were only supposed to familiarize yourself with the environment here through that job. Unfortunately, plans cannot adjust fast enough to reality, and you met with an accident. I even thought that I will not get to see you anymore, but third master Qu from the escort station spoke up on your behalf and the villa master relented, thus she a.s.signed you to our team, do you understand now?”
Zhang Xiaohua was all smiles as he said, “I understand, squad leader He, I will have to listen to your instructions in the future. Oh right, I have not met elder sister villa master, she is a really kind person, I must thank her sometime in the future.”
He Tianshu smiled as he stroked Zhang Xiaohua’s head, “That’s right, you should indeed thank the villa master, she has treated you very well.”
“Alright, follow me. I will arrange your accommodation first since I still have to eat my lunch.” After finishing his sentence, He Tianshu picked up the bed sheets from the chair and just as he was about to step out, Zhang Xiaohua quickly used his left hand to s.n.a.t.c.h the bed sheet and said, “Squad leader He, I can’t let you carry it for me.”
He Tianshu did not agree, he smiled and said, “Your hands are quite inconvenient, I will help you carry them for now, it is only two steps to the next rooms anyway.”
Listening to He Tianshu’s logic, Zhang Xiaohua also agreed and did not insist anymore.
He Tianshu carried the bed sheets and brought Zhang Xiaohua out of the room, turned right to the fifth room and pushed the door to enter. There was no one in the room but it was spick and span, and the layout of the interior was the same as Zhang Xiaohua’s previous room. He Tianshu threw the bed sheet into one of the beds and said to Zhang Xiaohua, “Zhang Xiaohua, from today on, this room will belong to you. You do not have to work for now, just nurse your injuries and if you are feeling bored, you can follow little second Nie to the herb fields to look around.”
Zhang Xiaohua looked at the empty room and he asked in puzzlement, “Squad leader He, there is no other people in this room but me?”
He Tianshu smiled and said, “That’s right, our living accommodations are not the same as Tian Zhongxi and the rest, all of us have our own rooms each, little second Nie and the rest are the same. Unless you still want to live with them? However, even if you are willing, they may not be as well. You should just live comfortably and alone.”
Zhang Xiaohua scratched his head and said, “It’s nothing much, living alone is just living alone. However, I have not lived in a single room by myself since young, so I may take some time getting used to this.”
He Tianshu said, “Mm, just take your time. If there is any matter, or if you need anything, just look for me. You can ask me anything you don’t understand, or look for little second Nie and the rest. If you become more familiar with them, then there may be a likelihood that you will get bullied, haha.”
He Tianshu then slapped his stomach and said, “Zhang Xiaohua, it is already past noon, aren’t you hungry? I am already famished; shall we go have our lunch?”
Zhang Xiaohua said happily, “Alright, I have not eaten the dishes in the mountain villa for so long so I’ve missed them. Squad leader He, let’s go together.”
After finishing his sentence, they walked one ahead of the other to the canteen.
Upon entering the canteen, everyone was close to finish their lunches. He Tianshu’s entry did not attract anyone’s attention, but Zhang Xiaohua who was walking behind did.
Those azure robed little hats people who already finished their lunches stayed behind as though they were waiting for something.
When Zhang Xiaohua entered the hall, he walked naturally towards the two tables occupied by the azure robed little hats. However, he noticed that the tables were full without any empty seat, and he felt embarra.s.sed as though it was his first day again, were the people playing another joke on him? Zhang Xiaohua’s previous seat was originally Liu Er’s and now that the latter was back, he naturally reclaimed his seat again. The other people who had finished did not get up, so where could Zhang Xiaohua sit?
It seemed to be the reason why those azure robed little hat men did not get up after finishing their lunch.
Unfortunately for them, Zhang Xiaohua was not affected by their snide gaze as he walked towards He Tianshu’s table and sat down without hesitation. Everyone was surprised, who did not know that the Piaomiao disciples all looked down on them, and now that one of the new servants had sat in their midst, won’t he be kicked out ruthlessly?
Everyone was looking with antic.i.p.ation for Zhang Xiaohua to be “levelled into sand”, so they waited, and waited, and waited longer for the show.
While the few dozens of men fixed their eyes on the other table, the little second Nie from Piaomiao sect lifted up his hand, and the azure robed little hats counted in their hearts, “One, two, three, boom………” Just as they were expecting an altercation, little second Nie did not slap Zhang Xiaohua across the room as they had antic.i.p.ated, but his hand landed softly on Zhang Xiaohua’s shoulders as he smiled towards the boy and said, “Brother, you have finally returned, are your injuries better? Come eat the chicken drumstick, I heard that it is nourishing.”
It was followed by the “Ding, dang, boom, crash” of the azure robed men with little hats; those who had gla.s.ses dropped their gla.s.ses, those who did not dropped their eyeb.a.l.l.s, they were a complete mess and some even fell off their chairs.
When everyone was seated back onto their own seats and had rearranged their expressions again, they stood up lifelessly as though a lively show was just cancelled abruptly and walked out of the canteen. Some even looked up at the blinding bright sun and asked, “It is strange, did the sun rise from the west today?”
The azure robed men with little hats then turned their salty gaze onto Zhang Xiaohua as though they were looking at a traitor who almost took their lives, and stared vehemently at him before shuffling their feet and leaving. Some almost spat on the floor, but they did not because they were afraid of being found out by the duty aunty who would dock their pay. That would not be worth it at all.
Zhang Xiaohua was blissfully unaware of the thoughts of the azure robed men with little hats, he was fully focused on the delicacies in front of him. Even though the meal that the azure robed men with little hats was delicious to Zhang Xiaohua in the past, his taste buds had become more and more picky after being fed by Yu Deyi’s specially prepared meals, and thus Zhang Xiaohua was no longer as ignorant as he was before to actually think that the food He Tianshu and the rest ate was small in potion and not filling. Sigh, as the saying goes, food can never be too good, and ignorance is bliss.