What is this omen?
Ancestor?
Is he nearby?
The ancestor is awake!
The ancestor, who had slept for eight years, actually woke up at this moment!
The freshly awakened ancestor, meeting He Jiaqing here, greeted him, showing how he really valued this young man.
He Jiaqing quickly responded with his thoughts: "Ancestor, please save me!"
"Little Qingzi, it really is you from the sounds. What's going on? Were you caught with your pants down? How many people are there?" An old man's sharp and thin voice reached He Jiaqing's ears.
"Ancestor, there aren't many, just two. You could easily deal with them with a wave of your hand."
"I'm far away from you, and I can't just wave my hand around casually. Let me first take a look at these two... Oh, isn't this Ren Nianjing and Sun JiaoPi? How did you offend those two scoundrels? They're not someone at your level."
Ren Nianjing and Sun JiaoPi are nicknames for Ren Antian and Sun Peiyin; the ancestor is quite familiar with them.
"I accidentally provoked these two tough characters, Ancestor, please help me."
"Hold on a moment," the ancestor looked at He Jiaqing's method, "You rascal, something's not right. Your skills aren't at the earth skin level anymore,
What good stuff have you been eating lately? Your cultivation level has grown so quickly!"
Eight years have passed, ancestor, you have no idea what's happened in those years. It seems you just woke up.
He Jiaqing said, "I will explain the details later, please help me deal with these two people first."
"You young rascal, becoming increasingly audacious with your speech. Why should I help you? Even though I have a bit of a mentor-student relationship with you, you're not even my disciple; I can't just follow your commands because I value you, can I?"
"I certainly won't let you exert yourself for nothing, Ancestor, just say what you want!"
"I want you to be my disciple, will you agree?"
"I can't agree to that!" He Jiaqing refused.
"You rascal, it's your fortune that I'm willing to take you in, yet you're being coy with me."
It's not that He Jiaqing was being coy; to become this ancestor's disciple, he would have to pay a great price.
The ancestor proposed another condition: "If you don't want to be my disciple, find someone else suitable to become my disciple."
"I can't find such a person either!" He Jiaqing still did not agree. The ancestor has very strict requirements for disciples, and very few people meet the conditions to be his disciple.
"You rascal, you can't achieve anything, so why should I help you? I'll tell you one last thing, if you can't do this, you're on your own, I won't care for you anymore!"
"Please tell me, Ancestor!"
"Make me a ring, a lock-picking ring. I will tell you the material and craftsmanship method later. Deliver it within a month, for every day you delay, I'll take something from you, deal?"
He Jiaqing agreed; making rings is one of his specialties.
The ancestor said again, "How do you want me to help you? Don't expect me to come out and fight—I don't want to show myself now, at most I can help you steal something."
He Jiaqing already had a plan: "Ancestor, help me steal some paste from Sun Peiyin."
The ancestor laughed, "Do you need my help with that? Can't you steal it yourself?"
"Don't laugh, I don't even know how to steal it. I dare not touch her, any touch, and I'm in trouble."
"Your cultivation level has improved, but your skills aren't adequate, you still lack experience,
If you dare not act, even if I help you steal the paste, you wouldn't dare use it. Seems I'll have to give you a tool, I won't go far, just use what's available." As the words fell, He Jiaqing suddenly found a gourd in his hand.
This gourd came from a vine in the courtyard, suggesting the ancestor was in this courtyard, but no one knew where he was.
"You rascal, the gourd is filled with paste; use it as you see fit. Don't forget about the ring."
The ancestor left, unconcerned whether He Jiaqing won or lost.
He Jiaqing's form flickered as he tangled with Sun Peiyin and Hua Manchun. After a brief stalemate, He Jiaqing swung the gourd, spilling a glob of paste at Ren Antian's feet.
Ren Antian, focusing on dealing with Chu Yaoxian, was unexpectedly stuck to the ground by this glob of paste.
"Old lady, why did you spill paste under my feet?" Ren Antian thought Sun Peiyin made a mistake.
Sun Peiyin was equally puzzled, feeling that somehow some of her paste was gone, suspecting it was stolen by He Jiaqing, yet she found it hard to believe he had such skills.
She was unraveling the paste at Ren Antian's feet when He Jiaqing and Chu Yaoxian simultaneously attacked Hua Manchun.
This time, their cooperation was seamless. Hua Manchun first saw a flash of a skirt, then felt a coolness in his palm.
Looking down, the feather fan in his hand had disappeared.
A pain in his back, as three feathers pierced the skin and rooted in his back.
A series of maneuvers made Hua Manchun suffer greatly.
Sun Peiyin, having undone the paste, rushed with Ren Antian for support. He Jiaqing maneuvered for a while and then again spilled paste, restraining Ren Antian once more.
Whenever Sun Peiyin went to assist, He Jiaqing and Chu Yaoxian immediately surrounded and attacked the injured Hua Manchun. Whenever Ren Antian regained movement, He Jiaqing found a way to trap him with paste.
The strategy became increasingly smooth, and seeing the timing was right, He Jiaqing said to Chu Yaoxian: "Pull off!"
"Pull off" means to retreat.
Chu Yaoxian, growing braver in battle alongside He Jiaqing, was puzzled when he suddenly called for a retreat.