Although he had some dissatisfaction with Xue Jing for some reasons beforehand, Zong Jinkui couldn't help but smile when faced with such a vigorous congratulations from such a handsome, talented and energetic young man.
"Okay, okay, good boy."
He took out two red envelopes from his arms and placed them in the hands of Xue Jing and Meng Qingjiao respectively.
Xue Jing took it and said with a smile, "We are blessed by the old owner. We two younger generations will make a lot of money."
Zong Jinkui laughed loudly: "You are such a talkative kid. Come, sit down quickly."
He patted the chair next to him.
Then he turned to Meng Qingjiao and said with a pleasant face:
"Qingjiao, you sit down too."
Meng Qingjiao nodded and sat down in the seat next to Xue Jing.
After Xue Jing sat down, he took out the elegant scroll that Li Qi had given him, unfolded it, and revealed five large characters written in brush on it.
[A good teacher produces good students].
"This is a birthday gift from my master to the old owner. He was unable to come because of his disability. Please forgive me."
Xue Jing started to laugh.
"A good teacher produces good students... Humph, this old man Li really understands my intentions."
Zong Jinkui nodded, reached out to take the scroll, and looked satisfied.
The proudest thing in his life so far was that he had trained a good apprentice. At this moment, these five words could be said to have touched his sore spot, making him happier than giving him any expensive gifts.
Meng Qingjiao had already picked up the chopsticks and began to pick up the dishes on the table silently.
After handing the scroll to the disciple beside him to take away, Zong Jinkui glanced around and frowned:
"Where's Chan'er? Why hasn't she come back yet?"
"Hurry up and send someone to look for her. It's true. She even said she wanted to take Xiao Jing as her master. Now that the master is here, she's not here. She doesn't know the etiquette..."
The disciples of the Hupo School nearby all had strange expressions on their faces.
Who was it just now who said he wanted to test Xue Jing in an attempt to make things difficult for him
"I've sent someone to look for it, Master."
A muscular disciple nearby spoke in a low voice.
"Call a few more people." Zong Jinkui frowned.
"Yes." The disciple replied.
Zong Jinkui turned to Xue Jing and said with a smile, "Come on, Xiaojing, have some food."
He pointed at the table.
"This is 'Dragon and Tiger Champion Soup', a secret medicine of my Tiger Soul School that is extremely beneficial for increasing strength. Old man Li used to come to my place every day to eat for free, just for this soup. You have to drink a few more bowls..."
…
On the other side, in a remote warehouse inside the Hupo Stadium.
A little girl with tape wrapped around her mouth and her hands and feet tied up tightly with steel cables as thick as chopsticks woke up faintly while lying on the ground.
It was Zong Shichan.
"… What happened?"
She looked around a little dazedly. In the dark environment, she couldn't see anything around her. She just moved her nose and faintly smelled a bad smell.
After moving her hands and feet and feeling the restraints, she immediately exerted her strength and pulled hard, but the steel cables wrapped around her hands and feet were too tough, so she gave up after trying for a while.
Zong Shichan was just wondering what to do when suddenly a fire started.
She suddenly turned her head to look towards the light source, only to see a young man with dark circles under his eyes, holding a lit lighter in his hand.
"Yuyan, you're awake."
The young man spoke in a soft voice, looking at Zong Shichan with eyes full of fascination.
"Look, I just finished another piece of work. The martial arts you taught me have improved again."
He pointed to the corner next to him.
Zong Shichan looked at his hand, and then he realized that the young man's fingers... were dripping with blood.
Her pupils shrank, and she looked in the direction of the finger, and immediately trembled all over.
Zong Shichan had seen the carcasses of sheep with their entire skin peeled off displayed on market stalls.
At this moment, the thing in the corner reminded her of the sheep's corpse.
No, it's not a sheep, it's... a person.
A person whose entire skin has been peeled off.
His entire body was pink, white, and red, without a single bit of skin, just all kinds of bloody and flesh fibers that made one want to vomit.
"Look, Yuyan."
"I'm so happy to see you 'over here' that I couldn't help but show off my progress to you."
The young man smiled.
Zong Shichan closed his eyes.
"Yuyan, don't you always praise my craftsmanship? Why don't you look at me or say anything?"
"Oh, my bad, I forgot about that..."
The young man reached out and tore off the tape on Zong Shichan's mouth.
"You can speak now, Yuyan."
Zong Shichan opened his eyes and gave the young man a cold look.
Then, she took a deep breath, circulated the energy in her body, and concentrated it in her throat.
"-save-"
An extremely loud sound came out of her mouth, but only one word was uttered before the young man, whose face changed, covered it with his hand.
“Mmmmm—”
"Yuyan, what are you doing? This will attract others to come and disturb us."
"I see. You must have just woken up in this world, so you're still a little confused, right? It doesn't matter. We have enough time now. Come, let's go to another place..."
The young man with dark circles under his eyes whispered softly as he put the tape back on Zong Shichan's mouth.
Then, he carefully picked it up as if it were a rare treasure, walked out of the warehouse, and then took a step, moved left and right, and quickly left the Hupo Dojo by flying over the eaves and walls.
Zong Shichan looked anxious.
what to do?!
…
"Where is Senior Brother Zhang?"
In the banquet hall, the disciples of Jinfeng Dojo sat around a table. Chen Wenyan frowned and spoke.
"I don't know. He disappeared in the blink of an eye... Maybe he went to the bathroom?"
Su Bijing said casually.
Chen Wenyan inexplicably had a bad feeling.
At this time, in the entire banquet hall, all the masters who had practiced their organs and had excellent hearing were startled as they heard a strange sound.
At the main table in the center, Zong Jinkui, who was chatting with Xue Jing, suddenly frowned, slapped the table, and stood up abruptly.
“It’s the sound of cicadas!”
"Something happened!"
"Quick, go find it!"
He gave orders anxiously, and all the disciples around him immediately responded and dispersed.
Then, Zong Jinkui didn't bother to say any polite words, he burst out with all his strength, smashed the wall with a bang, and rushed quickly towards the source of the sound.
Upon seeing this, the guests present looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What's going on?"
Xue Jing had a lot of skills and excellent hearing, so he also heard the sound. He narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and whispered to Meng Qingjiao who was eating at the table next to him:
"Sister, something is not right. I'll go take a look."
Meng Qingjiao's mouth was stuffed with food on both sides. When she saw Xue Jing disappear in a flash after he finished speaking, she blinked, reached out and grabbed two big chicken legs from a plate of roast chicken, then stood up and followed Xue Jing.
…
The remote warehouse is where the sound comes from.
Xue Jing walked in the warehouse with his eyes burning with black flames. The dark environment did not block his sight at all.
At this time, Zong Jinkui and other masters and disciples of the Hupo Dojo had already been here, but they didn't find anyone, so they left in a hurry and went to look for him somewhere else.
"Interesting... Skinned man? That's quite a coincidence."
He looked at the skinless body in the corner and muttered to himself.
After thinking for a while, he closed his eyes.
As he began to visualize everything around him, all the details were reflected in his mind, every detail was clear.
In the consciousness space, he began to simulate the scene that had just happened based on all the details.
A disciple from the Hupo Dojo was standing outside the warehouse, yawning out of boredom.
Then, a man about 1.8 meters tall came here holding something and waved his palm knife...
As more and more details appeared in my mind, the visualized scene was gradually completed.
Xue Jing opened his eyes, walked out of the warehouse, looked around, and then quickly rushed in one direction.
If the young man with dark circles under his eyes saw this scene, he would be surprised to find that the location of Xue Jing's footsteps and all his movements were exactly the same as his, without any difference.
…
More than half an hour later.
The young man held the Zong Shichan in his hand and sped stealthily and quickly through the city. Before he knew it, he had arrived at Nancheng District from Dongcheng District.
"We're almost there, Yuyan."
He lowered his head and spoke gently.
Zong Shichan's mouth was blocked by footsteps and he could not speak, but his eyes gradually became desperate and tears seeped from the corners of his eyes.
'Someone can...save me...'
'Grandpa... Xue Jing...'
'Save me...'
The little girl cried in her heart.
At this time.
On the other side of the dark night.
A colorful firework like a meteor, with a long tail, came rushing from the horizon.
At that moment, all the passers-by looked up and admired the beauty of the fireworks.
At that moment, the young man with dark circles under his eyes was caught off guard and his most precious treasure was taken away. He was furious.
At that moment, the little girl who was rescued by the colorful shooting star and held in her arms, stared blankly at the pair of silver-white eyes that she had been thinking about day and night.
The flames stretched across the night sky, lingering for a long time.
This eternal scene was engraved in Zong Shichan's young heart.
"… You were kidnapped by such a pervert. I hope you can forget this experience as soon as possible and don't let it leave a shadow on you. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to achieve great success in martial arts in the future."
Xue Jing smiled, reached out to tear off the tape on the little girl's mouth, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.