Chapter 12: Wants to Become Her Martial Arts Disciple

Jiang Jiuyue looked at him crying like that with some disgust and didn’t want to go near.

Zhao Kun also realized she was annoyed by him. He sniffled a few more times and stopped crying, instead staring at her with shining eyes.

“Granny Jiuyue, you’re amazing! You just killed that wolf like it was nothing?”

Zhao Kun seemed to completely forget that he was her hostage. After she saved him, all he felt was admiration for her skills.

Jiang Jiuyue felt creeped out by his stare. She quickly untied him and reconnected his dislocated leg.

“Your father-in-law is out there looking all over for you. Do you know what to say when you get back?”

At the mention of his father-in-law, Zhao Kun flared up. If that old man hadn’t tricked him into targeting Jiang Jiuyue, he wouldn’t have ended up nearly becoming wolf food. Fortunately, she showed up in time—otherwise, he’d be nothing but scraps now!

“Granny Jiuyue, don’t worry! You saved my life—I won’t let you suffer for it!”

Jiang Jiuyue gave him a mental thumbs-up. This guy really had a masochistic streak—after all she put him through, he still saw her as a savior. His brain clearly didn’t work properly.

“Come on, let’s head down the mountain.”

She didn’t care whether his newly fixed leg could walk or not—she turned and left the cave without looking back.

Zhao Kun’s leg was indeed still numb and painful, but he didn’t dare stay behind. Gritting his teeth, he hobbled after her.

All the way down the mountain, Zhao Kun wouldn’t shut up—chattering nonstop about how much he admired Jiang Jiuyue, even begging her to take him as a disciple to teach him martial arts.

Jiang Jiuyue gave him a sideways glance a few times. With his scrawny frame, learning real martial arts was probably out of the question. But teaching him a few self-defense moves wasn’t impossible.

“You want to learn? Pay tuition, and I’ll teach you some self-defense techniques. At the very least, you’ll be able to take a beating without going down so hard.”

Zhao Kun pouted.
“I’m a constable! What good is just self-defense? I want to learn something powerful!”

Jiang Jiuyue gave him a look of disdain.
“You’re already too old for real martial arts. Your body’s weak. You’re lucky if I teach you some basics. Take it or leave it.”

Zhao Kun grinned sheepishly.
“Learn, learn! Master Jiuyue, I’ll bring silver tomorrow. Starting then, I’ll be your student in self-defense!”

Even if he couldn’t learn anything fancy, just having some practical defense moves was worth it. With Jiang Jiuyue’s abilities, her so-called “self-defense” could probably outperform most martial arts in a real fight!

They continued down the mountain together. Zhao Kun was panting, his leg growing number by the step, and he couldn’t help but curse.

“All that damn old man’s fault! I’m going straight back to settle this with him!”

Jiang Jiuyue found it a bit funny. Zhao Kun was truly something else—she hadn’t even had time to brainwash him yet, and he’d already done it to himself.

Once they reached the bottom, Zhao Kun went straight to his father-in-law’s house.

With nothing better to do, Jiang Jiuyue decided to tag along to watch the drama unfold.

As they stepped into the village chief’s house, Yang Xianglan—who was anxiously waiting for news in the main room—spotted Zhao Kun and rushed over.

“Husband! You’re finally back!”

Zhao Kun immediately dodged, letting her miss her mark. Then she saw Jiang Jiuyue right behind him.

Yang Xianglan’s expression changed instantly.
“Jiang Jiuyue! What are you doing here?!”

Before Jiang Jiuyue could speak, Zhao Kun shoved Yang Xianglan aside.
“You silly woman—how can you talk to my master like that?”

Yang Xianglan was stunned. Master? Who’s calling who master?

Zhao Kun gave her the answer right away: he bowed and scraped before Jiang Jiuyue, respectfully gesturing her inside with full flattery.

The village head sitting in the main hall was stunned. Were his old eyes playing tricks on him? Did he just see his son-in-law politely invite Jiang Jiuyue into his home?

Zhao Kun led Jiang Jiuyue into the hall with the utmost respect, then immediately turned to point at the village head’s nose and started cursing.

“You old bastard! Were you trying to get me killed? What did I ever do to deserve you tricking me into a death trap?!”

Zhao Kun looked at the village head like he was his mortal enemy, itching to punch him just to vent his anger.

The village head was utterly confused. Why was his son-in-law suddenly treating him like they had some deep-seated grudge?

“Zhao Kun! How can you talk to my father like that?” Yang Xianglan was jumping up and down with anxiety on the side.

Zhao Kun ignored her and questioned the village head directly:
“You knew my Master Jiuyue could fight. No one in this whole village can beat her, right?”

Though Zhao Kun acted like a groveling servant in front of Jiang Jiuyue, he was all arrogance in front of others. Faced with his aggressive questioning, the village head could only nod tremblingly.

“Son-in-law, I… I just wanted you to teach that shrew a lesson. You’re an officer—she wouldn’t dare hurt you…”

Zhao Kun slammed his fist on the table.
“Bullshit! You nearly got me killed! If my Master Jiuyue hadn’t shown up in time, I would’ve been eaten alive by wolves!”

At the mention of being eaten by wolves, Yang Xianglan turned pale with fright and rushed to check his body for injuries.

Zhao Kun brushed her off.
“I said Master Jiuyue got there in time. She saved me—the wolf didn’t get a scratch on me!”

Yang Xianglan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately started thanking Jiang Jiuyue profusely, nearly causing the village head to faint from rage.

One after another—how was everyone suddenly treating that wicked woman like a savior?!

Watching the village head nearly pass out from anger, Jiang Jiuyue patted Zhao Kun’s shoulder.
“Bring your tuition tomorrow. I’ll teach you self-defense.”

Zhao Kun immediately replied,
“Absolutely, Master Jiuyue! I’ll bring plenty of silver first thing in the morning. I won’t let you down!”

Jiang Jiuyue gave him a nod and finally left the village head’s home.

---

The next morning, Zhao Kun really did show up—with silver.

And not just a little—he brought twenty taels.

Jiang Jiuyue figured he probably got it from the village head. Zhao Kun had only been back for a couple of days; it was unlikely he’d brought that much money on his own.

Twenty taels of silver was a decent amount for Jiang Jiuyue, and since she’d been paid, she got serious about teaching him.

Self-defense techniques were simple to learn. They didn’t require much physical conditioning. As long as Zhao Kun picked up the principles of leveraging strength and basic combat moves, he could take on opponents stronger than him.

That said, these techniques were strictly for defense. Using them to bully others was difficult—they only shined when your opponent was skilled enough to trigger the moves properly.

Still, Zhao Kun was a diligent student. By the end of the morning, he’d already picked up several moves and looked quite the part.

While he trained seriously in the courtyard, the members of the Liang family cowered inside the house, not even daring to speak loudly. They were terrified the constable might try his new skills on them.

In the dilapidated room, Du Jinhua was both furious and anxious. Even a government official had been roped in by Jiang Jiuyue—was there anyone left who could deal with her?

The more she thought about it, the more hopeless she felt. The idea of splitting the family became clearer and clearer in her mind. Worst-case scenario, she’d just give that wicked woman more money—if she couldn’t fight her, she could at least avoid her!