Medicine Master Disciple’s Cultivation Notes

Chapter 105: I Wish to Pledge Myself to Young Master Qing

Xu Qing came out through the gate with a dark expression. Catching sight of this scene, he couldn't help but stop and watch for a few extra moments.

He had no goodwill toward Zeng Mingming whatsoever. In that whole business before, he himself had done nothing particularly wrong. Who could have known that Meng Ping had lost his mind and gone out of his way to provoke this idiot, which only escalated the whole affair.

Afterward, both the Tang family and the Hu family had expressed their apologies. The black jade pearls that Boss Tang had sent over in particular had dissolved every last drop of resentment in Xu Qing's heart.

It had just been a misunderstanding. Why should he hold anything against two adorable little girls?

Zeng Mingming was another matter. That fool had fought, had caused trouble, and had somehow escaped any punishment whatsoever. And since that incident, he had shown not the slightest inclination toward any kind of reconciliation.

So who exactly was your father? Where did all this backbone come from?

Xu Qing was curious about this question too, but didn't dare ask around.

He was still in a probationary period. Master Qin had only let him through the door. Nothing had been said about restoring his student status.

His days now consisted of keeping his head down in cultivation, staying out of the spotlight, watching every word and action, terrified of giving anyone cause to find fault with him.

Who knew which classmate might bear a grudge from the way he had conducted himself in the past? He had been far too conspicuous, and had offended no small number of people.Not looking for trouble didn't mean he was unwilling to stop and appreciate a bit of entertainment at Zeng Mingming's expense.

He had no idea where that wild boy had come from, but he was close to being beaten to death by Zeng Mingming.

If someone actually ended up dying, he wanted to see whether Zeng Mingming's background was truly solid enough to make Master Qin turn a blind eye.

If the favoritism was that blatant, then he wouldn't hesitate to go and file a complaint through his sister.

That boy was like a stubborn plaster that refused to come off. Even beaten black and blue, he still wouldn't admit defeat, getting back up each time to keep going at Zeng Mingming. Only at the end, when Zeng Mingming grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the stone steps, did he finally go still.

That was a vicious move.

Zeng Mingming stalked off in a huff. He wanted a worthy opponent who could match him, not a useless wretch who couldn't fight back and could only be knocked around at will.

This fight had left him deeply unsatisfied.

The spectacle was over and the fun had ended. The crowd dispersed, stepping around the boy lying unconscious at the bottom of the steps.

Xu Qing walked past him. The boy suddenly opened his eyes, shot upright, and rasped in a hoarse voice, "Are you Young Master Qing?"

What?

Xu Qing instinctively stepped back, thinking even in this condition you want to have a go at me?

But the boy said, "Young Master Qing, I came here specifically to pledge myself to you. I heard this person had shown you disrespect at the county school, so I thought I'd beat him up as a gesture of loyalty. I didn't expect him to be this capable. I couldn't beat him at all."

What?

Xu Qing felt his whole body go numb.

What were you saying? Were those human words?

What did "pledge myself" mean? What did "gesture of loyalty" mean? Did you think you were joining a bandit gang?

Feeling the gazes of the surrounding students converging on him, Xu Qing felt the world going dark before his eyes and a chill spreading up his back.

Don't drag me into this, you idiot!

At that moment, someone in the crowd muttered, "So Young Master Qing has been secretly training personal assassins..."

There are absolutely none! None whatsoever! Stop saying these things!

Xu Qing's legs nearly buckled in that instant. But he recovered his wits quickly, stepped back three more paces, waved both hands, and said, "Young friend, we have never met. Are you perhaps looking for someone else?"

The boy smiled and said, "I haven't got the wrong person. I've been waiting here for you for several days. Back home I heard that Young Master Qing is a generous and righteous person who stands up for others..."

"Wait a moment!"

Xu Qing had, after all, spent his time as the county magistrate's nominal brother-in-law and was not the sort of completely inexperienced greenhorn who could be thrown off entirely. Under pressure his mind moved quickly. He grabbed the boy's hand and spoke rapidly, "Young friend, this is not the place to talk. Take this ingot of silver and wait for me at the teahouse across the street. Would that be alright?"

Having finally managed to send away the boy whose name he still didn't know, Xu Qing stood rooted to the spot with his mind a complete blank.

Now what? With all these eyes watching him... it was like mud had fallen into his trousers. Whether it was what they thought or not, it might as well be.

Li Qiuchen was standing nearby with the two young misses, watching the spectacle. Seeing Xu Qing standing there glassy-eyed and at a complete loss, he stepped forward and offered some advice, "Young master, why are you still standing there? It doesn't matter what others say. You should go explain yourself to the teacher first, before any misunderstanding takes hold."

"Right!"

Xu Qing slapped his forehead, came to his senses, shot Li Qiuchen a look full of genuine gratitude, turned around, and walked briskly back inside.

What others thought didn't matter. What mattered was Master Qin. If he didn't explain things promptly and the teacher heard about it secondhand, this would become very difficult to sort out.

Xu Qing practically ran the whole way back, found Master Qin sitting under a tree drinking tea, and did his best to explain the full sequence of events from beginning to end.

"This student does not know this person and has no idea why he would say something like that. Teacher..."

Master Qin raised a hand to signal him to pause and catch his breath, and pushed a cup of tea in front of him.

"What do you intend to do about it?"

Xu Qing calmed himself down and thought it through, then said quietly, "I think this person has probably been taken in by rumors going around in town..."

"What rumors?"

"Well... this student doesn't know specifically, but I imagine there must have been some misunderstanding. Explaining the situation clearly to him should be enough."

Master Qin looked at him with a mild expression and shook his head, "All those years of study really have been wasted on you. You haven't grown at all."

Xu Qing was so aggrieved he was nearly in tears.

Why are you saying that? Where did I go wrong this time?

Surely just because I happen to be the county magistrate's nominal brother-in-law doesn't mean every bucket of filth in the world has to be dumped over my head.

"This student doesn't understand. Would the teacher please explain?"

"Since this person came to pledge themselves to you of their own accord and out of admiration, find him some small task to keep him occupied, bind him with proper rules and expectations, and don't let him go wandering around outside causing trouble and ruining your reputation."

Xu Qing had a moment of clarity.

Of course. Why overthink it? It wasn't any great problem. Just follow the normal procedure.

In the jianghu, reputation was everything.

Having someone seek you out out of admiration and offer their loyalty was, in truth, not an unusual thing for Xu Qing. Any number of people wanted to use his connections to whisper in the county magistrate's ear at the pillow. Naturally there were also those who wanted to use his connections to land some post at the county government.

There were also those who came specifically for him personally, like Meng Ping, though it was a pity that one would never be coming back.

For people like this, you had to receive them properly. If you beat them and drove them away, who would ever follow you again?

Xu Qing had plenty of experience handling this sort of thing. As long as there was no misunderstanding on the teacher's end, it wasn't a significant matter.

With Meng Ping gone, he had been feeling a distinct emptiness at his side.

This boy was a bit reckless, but having a straightforward, uncomplicated mind wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

As for Zeng Mingming, he hadn't come out the worse for any of this. He could take care of himself.

So the next day, every student in the inner hall knew that Young Master Qing had acquired another fierce dog, by the name of Bai Ke.

Strength unknown. Heart kind. Mind questionable. Prone to standing up for others at the slightest provocation.

In the private conversations of the students, the general consensus was that this was a fresh flower planted in a pile of dung.

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