Chapter 27: The Reclusive Old Ancestor

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Reclusive Old Ancestor

It was 7:45 PM when Gu Qing arrived at the sports field.

There were still fifteen minutes until his eight o’clock meeting with Xia Shuran.

Gu Qing glanced around and quickly spotted Xia Shuran on the steps ahead.

This younger physical education student, as always, liked to arrive early.

Gu Qing mentally gave her a perfect score for being so punctual.

Xia Shuran spotted Gu Qing at the same time and immediately stood up, walking toward him with a bright smile.

"Senior, long time no see!"

"That’s an exaggeration. We just didn’t see each other on Saturday."

Gu Qing replied with a laugh.

Xia Shuran blinked. "Senior, that’s where you’re wrong. You know what they say: a day apart feels like three years!"

"If three years passed, I wouldn’t be at school anymore. I’d be out in the working world, getting beaten down by society."

"You could go to grad school, Senior."

Xia Shuran suggested with a serious expression, "As long as you get into the graduate program here, you could stay at Hai University for another three years."

She didn’t want Gu Qing to graduate next year; she wanted him to stay at Hai City University for three more years.

That way, Gu Qing could stay with her until she finished her undergraduate degree.

Just the thought of it felt wonderful.

In the time that followed, the two didn’t chat much longer.

They soon began practicing with the Red Tassel Spear.

The practice session flew by, and three hours passed in the blink of an eye.

[You have practiced martial arts with classmate Xia Shuran for over an hour] x3

[Martial Arts Techniques +1] x3

[Physical Strength +1] x3

[Accumulate 100 points in Physical Strength to obtain the Attribute—Muscle Knots]

[Current Points Acquired: 44]

Gu Qing glanced at the text notifications.

His favorite Attribute, Physical Strength, had now reached a total of 44 points.

’If I practice with Xia Shuran for another three hours tomorrow, and play three hours of basketball with Gao Fei, I’ll get another 6 points of Physical Strength. That’ll be just enough to hit 50, getting the progress bar past the halfway mark.’

That way, the progress bar for obtaining Muscle Knots wouldn’t look so daunting anymore.

It was as if the hulking, muscular Attribute of Muscle Knots was already within his grasp.

"Senior, come have some electrolyte water. You need to replenish your electrolytes and rehydrate."

Xia Shuran took a bottle of electrolyte water from her nearby backpack and handed it to Gu Qing.

Then she took out a bag of cookies, opened it, placed it between them, and said with sparkling eyes:

"Drink some electrolyte water, then eat some cookies to recharge. Perfect!"

"You really know how to live."

Gu Qing said with a smile, giving her a thumbs-up.

He didn’t stand on ceremony, reaching out to grab a cookie and start eating.

"Senior, are the cookies good?"

Xia Shuran looked at Gu Qing, her big, shimmering eyes full of anticipation. "Don’t they taste better than the ones you buy in stores?"

Gu Qing understood.

’She made these cookies herself.’

So, he decided to give her all the emotional validation she was looking for, showering her with praise.

"They’re delicious."

"More accurately, they’re incredibly delicious."

"By the way, where did you buy these? I want to get some for my parents and my little sister to try next time I go home."

This triple combo of overt and subtle compliments made Xia Shuran absolutely ecstatic.

She hadn’t expected her homemade cookies to receive such high praise from Gu Qing.

"Actually... I made this bag of cookies at home and brought them with me."

Xia Shuran’s eyes curved into crescents, a smile she couldn’t hide playing on her lips. "Senior, just tell me a day in advance the next time you’re going home, and I’ll make you a big bag. I can make any flavor, and I guarantee they’ll be better than store-bought."

"Cookies this delicious, and you made them yourself?"

Gu Qing feigned surprise, lavishing her with praise as if it cost him nothing. "You’re really something else. Not only are you good at martial arts performances, but you can also make desserts and cookies. You’re so multi-talented."

"Oh, it’s nothing special."

Xia Shuran felt a little embarrassed from the praise and complimented him in return. "You’re the amazing one, Senior! You’re great at your studies and at sports. I’ve never met a top student as well-rounded as you in my entire life."

The two of them exchanged a round of mutual compliments, both of them smiling.

Just then, Xia Shuran suddenly changed the subject.

"Senior, can you guess what I went home to do this weekend?"

"Missed your parents?"

"I did, but there was something more important. Guess again."

"A blind date?"

"Senior, you’re so mean!"

Xia Shuran said with mock indignation, "I just turned eighteen. How could I possibly be going on a blind date?"

She added, "Besides, when I get married, it’ll definitely be to someone I find myself, not someone I’m set up with."

Gu Qing thought for a moment, then made his third guess. "Was it something related to your family’s martial arts gym?"

"You got it!"

Xia Shuran said with a laugh, snapping her fingers.

She didn’t make Gu Qing guess any further.

Instead, she said with a mysterious expression:

"Senior, I’m going to tell you a secret. You can’t tell anyone."

"I promise I won’t. Go on."

Gu Qing’s curiosity was piqued. He perked up his ears, waiting for Xia Shuran to continue.

Xia Shuran scooted closer to him, leaned in, and whispered by his ear:

"You might not believe me, Senior, but those masters you see in wuxia films and TV shows... they actually exist."

"In this world, there are people who can really use traditional martial arts to fight ten, or even a hundred opponents at once."

"Senior, everything I’m telling you is something I saw with my own two eyes at the gym when I went home. There’s not a single bit of exaggeration."

Xia Shuran’s tone was very serious; she clearly wasn’t joking.

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow. He chose to believe the younger student for now and asked:

"What happened exactly? Tell me in detail."

Ever since his ’cheat’ had awakened, he wouldn’t find it strange no matter how bizarre things in the world became.

He would always leave room for belief.

Seeing that Gu Qing wasn’t expressing doubt and actually seemed to believe her, Xia Shuran was stunned for a moment.

She had been all prepared for Gu Qing to be skeptical, ready to prove her words with actions.

She never expected her preparations to be completely unnecessary.

After a moment, she collected herself.

Xia Shuran began to narrate in an unhurried manner:

"Well... my ancestor, who died hundreds of years ago, suddenly came back to life."

"Actually, ’came back to life’ isn’t right. To be precise, he ’emerged into the world’."

"According to our ancestor, he never actually died. He was in secluded cultivation, hidden from the world."

"It was only a few days ago that he successfully came out of seclusion, which is what he calls ’emerging into the world’."

"After he emerged, he quickly found us, his descendants, and demonstrated his power."

"Senior, do you have any idea how insane my ancestor’s power is?"

"My family’s martial arts gym has several dozen members. I can’t say they’re all amazing fighters, but at the very least, every one of them is strong and well-built, with solid muscles."

"You could say that with that many strong men, even an elephant would end up being carried to a pot and boiled."

"And yet, this ancestor of mine, who claims to have been in seclusion for hundreds of years, took down all several dozen of those men from the gym by himself."

"It wasn’t a gauntlet where he fought them one by one. He faced dozens of them all at the same time."

"It was just so insane."

"So insane that even now, I still feel like I’m dreaming."

Xia Shuran’s expression was animated as she spoke, becoming more and more energetic, her eyes filled with an excitement she couldn’t contain.

’Wait a minute. One man versus dozens?’

’Hidden from the world for hundreds of years?’

’Setting aside whether his combat power is really that high, can a person actually live for hundreds of years?’

’Could this be some kind of publicity stunt her family’s gym staged to get more attention?’

Gu Qing was skeptical.

...

PS: Holding out my bowl and begging for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!