Chapter 40: Anatomy Model — A’Ming

“All right, Mr. Ding.

“My apologies. I had to deal with a small private matter just now.

“You said you had three conditions.

“You may state them now.

“I am all ears.”

“I...

“I’ll teach.”

He did not ask why they knew Wang Li.

He did not ask what any of this had to do with Wang Li’s family.

Nor did he indignantly demand to know why they were doing this.

Ding Hao simply compromised.

Agreed.

In a sense, he admitted defeat.

He could throw his own life away.

He could die without hesitation.

He could fear nothing.

He could even personally experience whatever so-called torture they wanted to use.

But his subordinate had just died in front of him protecting him.

Ding Hao could not make a choice that would drag the other man’s family into disaster as well.

Especially when

Wang Li’s wife might be pregnant.

More importantly, he knew the Blind Man before him was not bluffing.

Ding Hao had seen plenty of the world.

He was still good at judging people.

Besides, not long ago this blind man had casually killed a half-step Ninth Grade Martial Artist right in front of him.

The man’s expression, his words, his attitude all of them told Ding Hao one thing.

He was not bluffing.

And human life, in his eyes...

Fuck.

He did not even have eyes!

“Whew...”

The Blind Man Bei let out a long breath.

Then he immediately turned toward Feng Siniang.

“Fourth Lady.”

“What?”

“I thought about it.

“It was only one copper coin.

“Killing an entire household over one copper coin feels a little excessive.

“That would violate Master’s teachings to us.”

“Mm.”

“So forget it.

“Don’t kill them.”

“Fine.”

With that said, the Blind Man Bei sat up straight again.

His empty eye sockets turned toward Ding Hao.

He spoke with exceptional kindness.

“Fourth Lady, what did I tell you?

“We still have to persuade people through virtue.

“You shouldn’t spend every day thinking about torture and such.

“Far too crude.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Feng Siniang’s mouth.

At that moment, she very much wanted to stab every needle in her hands into the Blind Man Bei one by one.

But aloud, she still replied softly, “So that’s how it is.

“I’ve learned something.”

The Blind Man Bei waved a hand.

As though to say: basic procedure.

Then the Blind Man Bei leaned his upper body slightly forward, creating the impression that he wanted to get a little closer and “look” at Ding Hao.

“Now then.

“Since you have agreed to become our Master’s teacher, Sir, you may introduce yourself properly.”

Now that he had already agreed, Ding Hao no longer bothered posturing.

Because the blind man before him was obviously not the sort who would cooperate with some melodramatic performance.

“My name is Ding Hao.

“I was originally from Tiger Head City as well.

“At first, I served as Patrol Lieutenant Commander of Tiger Head City.

“Five years ago, I was transferred to Tuman City as an Inspection Lieutenant Commander...”

The Blind Man Bei rapidly processed the information.

The State of Yan had so many kinds of Lieutenant Commanders that they were nearly comparable to the countless Russian surnames ending in “-sky.”

But first, this was a Lieutenant Commander post in Tuman City, the commandery’s administrative seat.

Second, “Inspection” clearly sounded far more prestigious than “Patrol” or “Merchant Protection.”

So obviously, Ding Hao had once been a fairly significant figure.

Next, Ding Hao recounted everything that had happened to him.

From his grievance with the Liu Clan of Beifeng, to slaughtering his superior’s household, to becoming an outlaw, to everything that had just happened.

His attitude could be called extremely cooperative.

The Blind Man Bei was very satisfied with this.

Intelligent people liked dealing with intelligent people.

Knowing when to bow to circumstances was also a form of intelligence.

“Very good, Mr. Ding.

“From now on, you will live here.

“You understand that you are an important fugitive wanted by the imperial court, so I need not say much about what you should pay attention to.

“It would be best if you do not leave this residence.

“Keep your usual activities within a fixed area.

“As for food, clothing, and daily needs, we will have servants handle everything for you.

“You need not worry about that.

“The only thing you need to do is teach our Master everything you understand about the Martial Path, without holding anything back.

“So long as the quality and speed of your teaching satisfy us, the compensation you receive afterward will also satisfy you.”

“Compensation?

“Heh...”

Ding Hao gave a somewhat desolate laugh.

“What?

“Can you people actually make a cripple like me stand up again?”

“Mm...”

The Blind Man Bei made a show of thinking.

Then he said, “Theoretically, yes.

“In fact, it may even be possible to restore you to the level of strength you possessed before you were injured.”

Ding Hao’s eyes instantly reddened.

His whole body fell from the chair with a thud.

He sprawled on the floor, yet still strained to lift his neck and stare at the Blind Man in disbelief.

“You’re not lying to me?”

The Blind Man Bei pointed very seriously toward his own empty eye sockets.

Behind him, Feng Siniang saw him making that gesture again and helplessly covered her forehead.

“Look into my eyes.”

“...”

Ding Hao fell silent.

“Just kidding.

“Don’t mind me.”

“Uh...”

“So long as you teach our Master well, allow him to quickly become a Martial Artist, and even help him enter the grades as soon as possible—then you become one of us.

“And we have always treated our own people generously.

“Here, I give you my promise.

“The day Master enters the grades will be the day you recover.

“At that time, you may go take revenge on that so-called Liu Clan of Beifeng.

“Of course, if you can lick our Master—

“Cough.

“If you can truly build a good relationship with our Master, then so long as Master gives the order, all of us can help you seek revenge against the Liu Clan of Beifeng.”

At first, Ding Hao’s face filled with hope.

But soon, he gradually calmed again.

Still, this calm was far better than the deathly hopelessness he had shown before.

“I... still feel like you’re lying to me.”

The Blind Man Bei remained unmoved.

He replied, “A scam never depends on whether it is clever.

“What matters is whether the person facing it is willing, in their heart, to be deceived.

“Are you willing?”

“I am.”

At that moment, Feng Siniang, who had been listening beside them, felt her teeth ache.

“Tsk, tsk.

“This feels like the perfect moment to play a David Tao song.”

“If you want to hear one, you can bring over the erhu you gave me.”

“Come to think of it, you really do seem to like that thing.”

“I still prefer the piano.”

“Then next time a caravan from the West comes through, we can ask whether they’ve developed one over there yet.

“If they have, I’ll order one for you.

“If not, draw up the plans yourself and I’ll find craftsmen to custom-build it.”

“If I design it myself, it might not feel quite right.”

“We’re already stuck in this age.

“What are you still being picky about?”

Ding Hao listened to the two of them ramble on about bizarre things.

Finally, he could not help interrupting.

“When... can we begin lessons?”

Now the emperor was not anxious, but the eunuch was.

The Blind Man Bei, however, was extremely pleased with this kind of initiative.

“Master has already met you.

“But formal instruction will begin tomorrow.

“For the rest of today, I need you to first explain to us the cultivation of a Martial Artist—more precisely, your understanding of Martial Artist cultivation and the way it works.

“That will give us a foundation in advance.

“Then during your lessons afterward, we can better assist your student—our Master—in learning and improving.”

First the Seven Demon Kings would study.

Then they would tutor Zheng Fan.

The feeling was almost like seven elite graduates from Tsinghua and Peking University accompanying elementary-school student Zheng Fan to cram school.

Then after class, everyone still had to give Zheng Fan private tutoring, break all the elementary-school concepts into pieces, and feed them into the child one spoonful at a time.

This level of treatment was truly unmatched.

Ding Hao nodded readily.

“Good.”

...

The Blind Man Bei and Feng Siniang left the room together.

The Blind Man Bei spread both arms and stretched lazily.

At the same time, he said, “Fourth Lady, tell the servants to prepare food for Teacher.

“After he finishes eating, let him rest for two more hours—no.

“One two-hour block.”

“I already ordered it.”

“Good.”

“Speaking of which, Blind Man.

“I always knew you were sinister.

“But I never imagined you could be this ruthless.

“You actually threatened him with the lives of Wang Li’s entire household.”

“Uh.

“Wang Li had just died in front of him protecting him.

“What exactly was inappropriate about using Wang Li’s family to threaten him?”

Feng Siniang nodded as though it were obvious.

“Very appropriate.”

“Exactly.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“The problem is

Wang Li’s wife is pregnant.”

“Mm.

“Seems so.”

The Blind Man Bei sounded as though he had only just remembered.

“So your threat included your own child’s life too?”

“My child?”

“Haven’t you been sending that woman talisman-water for her swollen belly all this time?”

“Oh.

“Heh.”

The Blind Man Bei laughed.

Then he said with absolute certainty, “The child in her belly is definitely not mine.”

“You’re infertile?”

“...”

The Blind Man Bei fell silent.

“It’s fine.

“Among the seven of us, including Master, not one has a child.

“Liang Cheng and A’Ming have bloodlines as rare as Pixiu from antiquity.

“It would be extremely difficult for them to make a child even if they wanted one.

“So nobody is going to discriminate against you.”

“I never touched her,” the Blind Man Bei said seriously.

“Every time I gave her talisman-water, I simply had her drink it.

“At first, I used hypnosis.

“After recovering a little strength, I directly used mental power to regulate her emotions.

“Perhaps because her mood became calmer and she was no longer so agitated, she finally managed to conceive with her husband.”

“Oh.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?

“You made me think you were even willing to sacrifice your own child.

“You scared me.”

“I am pure and kind.

“Your own hearts are simply too filthy and evil.”

“Fine, fine.

“I know, I know.”

“Oh, right.

“Have A’Ming come over later.”

“What do you want him for?”

“Teacher just said that practicing martial arts requires circulating qi and blood through the body.

“There’s a specific route it follows.”

“Yes.

“He told us to find brush and paper and draw it down.”

“A flat drawing isn’t three-dimensional enough.

“Master would find it much harder to understand.”

Feng Siniang immediately covered her mouth and laughed.

“Hehehe.

“So you want A’Ming to come over because...”

“We have a ready-made human anatomy model.

“Might as well use him.

“Later, I’ll have to trouble you.

“Embroider the entire circulation route directly onto A’Ming’s body.”

“But getting pricked with needles hurts so much.”

“You can’t bear to do it?”

The Blind Man Bei asked.

“No.

“I can barely restrain myself.”

(End of Chapter)