In a windowless room stood two men. The room was filled with bottles and jars of various sizes. All the windows in the room were sealed, and thick curtains blocked out the sunlight from outside.
The only source of light in the room was four candles on the wall. The dim light made the room look extremely eerie.
"Master, Liao Che has gone to Nancheng. We can't insert our people there. And he has already met his parents. What should we do next?"
"What should we do? You still have the nerve to ask me? You couldn't even catch a kid. A bunch of useless idiots."
"It's my fault for not handling things well. Please punish me, Master."
"Punishment? If this matter is exposed, even if I kill you ten times, it won't be enough. Punishment is definitely inevitable, but before that, go and get rid of Liao Che immediately. Also, clean up all the loose ends. Eliminate everyone around Nancheng. Don't alert Lin Yao. If you're sure you can quietly kill his daughter, deal with her too."
"Yes."
"Before we're completely sure, don't touch Lin Yao's daughter. We can't expose ourselves for now."
"Understood, Master."
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"Miaomiao, where did you pick up this kid? He has good talent!"
The old master took a couple of sips of tea, smacked his lips, and sighed.
Miaomiao obediently told the old master how she met Liao Che and what had happened this time.
After hearing about Liao Che's identity, the old master was silent for a long time before gradually showing a smile.
"I didn't expect that with his way of teaching, there would still be a disciple defecting. It seems that even the strictest management isn't airtight. It's a good thing you brought this lad back!"
It would be a lie to say that the old master had no grudges against Liao Che at all. After all, he had suffered so much in the past. In the end, the disciple - or rather, the former disciple - of his enemy came to him to learn martial arts. It was a bit of a sore point.
But then he thought that his enemy had been betrayed by his own disciple, who then defected to his own side. It seemed that he had the upper hand. Moreover, Liao Che had really had a hard life. Considering all these, those small grudges didn't seem so important anymore.
Anyway, he would only take Miaomiao as his last disciple in this lifetime. The martial arts that other disciples learned could probably be learned in any Taijiquan gym. It didn't involve the secrets of the sect's boxing techniques, so it didn't really matter.
"Go, go and train with them. Give your senior brothers and sisters a good lesson."
The old master patted Miaomiao on the shoulder and sent her to the training ground.
If it was just about the moves without using internal energy, Miaomiao could hold her own against her master in a fight.
However, Miaomiao was still young. She lacked internal energy and fighting experience, and wasn't very good at adapting to situations.
The old master didn't even plan to teach Miaomiao any strategies or tactics. After all, with her straightforward way of thinking, she would never understand them. It would be better for her to train for a few more years and work harder. When her internal energy was strong enough, she could overpower any opponent with brute force.
All conspiracies and tricks were like paper tigers in the face of absolute strength. This was an eternal truth.
Miaomiao answered and dashed to the training ground. She started to "abuse" her senior brothers and sisters. Although she had to hold back a lot of her strength when fighting them, she was happy as long as she could fight.
In the evening, after returning home and having a good meal, Miaomiao hummed a tune and strolled alone in the community to digest her food.
There were still many elderly people taking a walk in the small square at this moment. The whole community was filled with laughter and joy.
Just as Miaomiao passed by a man, she suddenly turned around. She felt something was off.
The man was walking in a hurry with a hat on. He didn't seem to be taking a walk but looking for something purposefully.
Miaomiao lifted her heels and walked on her toes to reduce the sound of her footsteps. She quietly followed him.
Just from that brief moment of passing by, she could tell that this man was definitely a martial artist!
Miaomiao was familiar with almost everyone who took a walk in the community at this time. She had never seen this man before.
Although it was possible that he was a new resident, Miaomiao's intuition told her that it wasn't that simple.
The man walked around the community in a roundabout way. In the end, he didn't enter any building. After just walking around a few times, he turned around and left the community.
Miaomiao stared blankly at the man's back, not knowing what he had come here for. But since he had left, she didn't take it to heart. After returning home, she didn't mention this strange man to her silly father.
"Miaomiao, just now Grandma called and said she misses you very much. Lin Chenghui is on holiday and is back. Do you want to go to Grandma's house tomorrow to see Grandma, your brother, uncles, and aunts? They all miss you."
When Lin Yao saw Miaomiao come back, he put down his work and asked.
"Yes! I miss Grandma too!"
Going to Grandma's house meant there would be delicious food. And if her brother was back, it meant she could eat the specialties he brought back.
Food was the motivation!
Food was the source of all happiness.
Miaomiao readily agreed and danced with excitement.
Last year, the eldest brother, Lin Chenghui, had graduated from high school and been admitted to the top university. He had lived up to the Lin family's genetic heritage.
The second brother, Lin Chengshan, was just starting his senior year in high school and was very busy. They hadn't seen each other for a long time. The third brother, Lin Chengzhi, had just graduated from junior high school and would be busy when school started.
Thinking that she would have less time to see her brothers in the future, Miaomiao couldn't wait to go to Grandma's house and enjoy the happy time with her brothers.
The next day, Miaomiao got up very early. She urged her silly father to get up and wash up. She dragged Lin Yao out of the house.
"You're so eager to go to Grandma's house? Dad only went to sleep at 3:00 last night." Lin Yao sighed helplessly after getting in the car.
He had been dealing with work until the early morning. It was only 7:00 in the morning now. Miaomiao really didn't care about her father for the sake of Grandma.
"It's okay, it's okay. Dad can go back to sleep after we get to Grandma's house!"
Miaomiao couldn't wait to see her dear Grandma and brother. She didn't understand how her silly father was feeling at all.
"Okay, I'll go back to sleep after we get to Grandma's house." Lin Yao sighed deeply. He really shouldn't have sent his daughter to his mother's house during the holidays just to make things easier.
Look, look. Now his mother had brainwashed the kid into this!
Where was his place as a father in her heart!