Whoever can strike me hard will be rewarded handsomely.

Because Fang Yanqing didn't know his identity or how good his cheap second senior brother's acting skills were, and he was worried that he might give himself away in front of the teacher, Qin Ji didn't intend to reveal his identity. He thought he could keep it a secret for as long as possible.

He didn't send any ingredients to fetch the person; he only summoned Biandou to find out Fang Yanqing's location, then found the right direction and headed straight for him.

Fang Yanqing and Gu Zhenhe finally managed to persuade everyone to go down the mountain and enter the city by taking advantage of the fact that it was getting dark and the city gates would be locked, so that none of the students could enter the city and would have to spend the night outdoors.

Unfortunately, after they descended the mountain and boarded Gu Zhenhe's carriage, the students didn't let them off the hook either. The carriage was surrounded on all four sides by horses or carriages of students from good families.

The group rode side by side on the official road toward the city.

Gu Zhenhe lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked around.

Good heavens, they were completely wrapped up from all sides, with not even a crack for the two of them to squeeze through.

Gu Zhenhe exclaimed, "As expected of Jiang the Great Scholar, his influence is terrifying."

Fang Yanqing was already used to this, and he held the book box, pondering a way to escape.

Surrounded by so many people, going directly to their teacher would be impossible; exposing their teacher's secluded residence would disrupt their peace in the capital.

Going to the senior brother's place wouldn't be a good idea either, since everyone knows about the relationship between the senior brother and the teacher.

If the senior brother's address is exposed, how far is it from exposing the teacher?

If you stay at a guesthouse...

Fang Yanqing hugged the book box tightly, feeling a pang of heartache, and shook her head to banish the thought of wasting money from her mind.

Gu Zhenhe, on the other hand, did not have these worries.

He didn't know Jiang Daru's address. Even if these students followed him to his house, they would eventually find out that he had no contact with Jiang Daru and would naturally disperse.

At the same time, he also noticed Fang Yanqing's predicament.

Unlike the other students, he was the only one who could confirm that Fang Yanqing and Jiang Jibai had a close relationship.

Although he failed to become a disciple of Jiang Daru, cultivating good relationships with his disciples was still a way to achieve his goal indirectly.

So he took the initiative to extend an olive branch, saying, "These students are surrounding my carriage, and they probably won't disperse easily anytime soon. It might not be very convenient for you to go to Mr. Jiang's residence, Brother Fang."

Hearing Gu Zhenhe bring this up, Fang Yanqing could already vaguely see an olive branch being offered. His heart, which had been heavy with regret, eased. Following Gu Zhenhe's words, he said with difficulty, "Yes, I originally planned to stay with my teacher for a while, but now it's inconvenient. It's getting late, and I don't know if I'll be able to find a place to stay before curfew once we enter the city?"

Gu Zhenhe then extended an invitation: "If Brother Fang doesn't mind, why don't you stay at my house for a while? Once these students are sure that we haven't been in contact with Mr. Jiang, they'll get bored and naturally let the servants who were keeping watch leave."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yanqing smiled warmly and grasped Gu Zhenhe's hand. "Brother Gu, you've truly saved me from a dire situation! Good brother, I'll remember your help today!"

If we could put in a good word for him with Jiang Daru, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, several setbacks taught Gu Zhenhe that one must take things one step at a time and not be too hasty.

Just as they were about to exchange a few polite words, the carriage suddenly stopped without warning, the carriage shook violently, and a commotion erupted outside.

"What's going on?" Gu Zhenhe lifted the carriage curtain.

Suddenly, an oxcart carrying hay appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the group of students, startling several horses.

The drivers tried to calm the frightened horses.

The owner of the oxcart kept apologizing.

Gu Zhenhe saw that the matter was not serious and could be resolved quickly, so he prepared to lower the carriage curtain. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed into his carriage.

Fang Yanqing was picked up and carried like a little chick.

Gu Zhenhe had just seen the person's face clearly and hadn't even reacted yet to say anything to the other person.

Jiang San lightly touched the ground with his foot and dashed away like a gust of wind, not forgetting to stomp on his foot again.

Gu Zhenhe: "..."

The students naturally witnessed this turn of events, but lacking martial arts skills, they could only watch helplessly as Fang Yanqing was abducted.

Someone shouted, "Hold onto Gu Zhenhe! We absolutely cannot let him escape again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the students rushed from all directions onto the carriages and blocked Gu Zhenhe inside.

Gu Zhenhe: "..."

When Qin Ji carried Jiang Jibai, he would still worry about whether his teacher would be uncomfortable from the jostling. But when he carried Fang Yanqing, he had no such concern at all, as if he were carrying a sack.

Fang Yan was so dizzy from being thrown around that he couldn't tell if his head had hit a tree trunk or something else several times. His mind was buzzing, and only his hands remembered to hold tightly to the book box on his back, afraid that the contents inside would be thrown out.

After shaking off the students, Qin Ji unceremoniously threw them to the ground.

Fang Yanqing's face turned pale, his lips turned white, his cheeks puffed out, and he vomited while supporting himself on his knees.

Qin Ji disdainfully tapped his foot and floated away a distance.

After Fang Yanqing finished vomiting, he rinsed his mouth with water from his water pouch, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his mouth clean, and finally came to his senses. He looked at the person who had carried him all the way and asked, "Junior Brother?"

The students of Mangshan had never seen "Jiang San" in person, but Fang Yanqing had. He also knew that "Jiang San" was none other than Bian Yushu, the junior brother whose courtesy name was Feibai, whom his teacher had mentioned in his letter.

For some unknown reason, even though he had already given his name at the foot of the mountain, his junior brother did not acknowledge him.

Surely it's not that the teacher didn't introduce himself to him?

And that series of shoving and ramming just now, it didn't seem like they were being very friendly to him at all.

No matter what, he is the senior brother, how can he be so petty about the little junior brother's "oversight"?

Fang Yanqing stepped forward with a beaming smile, "Junior brother, it's a pleasure to meet you. Our teacher has mentioned you to me quite a few times in his letters."

Qin Ji initially didn't want to pay him any attention, but upon hearing this, his ears perked up. "What are you talking about me for?"

Fang Yanqing gave a thumbs up, "Of course, he praised him highly, saying he'd taken on a great disciple!"

Qin Ji remained outwardly calm, but his fingers were already circling beneath his sleeves. He asked reservedly, "Is that so?"

"Of course!" Fang Yanqing showered her with compliments as if they were free.

After listening to a few words, Qin Ji felt that Fang Yanqing had over-embellished the story and lost its authenticity, which made him slightly displeased.

His gaze swept across Fang Yanqing's face, and he then noticed the bruises on Fang Yanqing's forehead and cheekbone.

Qin Ji's heart tightened, and he put his right hand behind his back. The sleeve that fell down swept across a certain hot spot, and that spot suddenly throbbed with pain several times.

Fang Yanqing saw that his junior brother, Fatty Sheep, was staring intently at his face. Following his gaze, he reached out and touched it, then gasped, "Hiss—"

Qin Ji stepped forward, took out the Jade Complexion Cream from his sleeve, scooped out a large dollop into his palm, aimed it at the two bruises, and quickly spread it evenly.

Fang Yanqing winced in pain, "Junior Brother?"

Qin Ji tossed the face cream back into his sleeve and said without changing his expression, "Your face is a little red from the bump. I applied some good ointment for you. It's not serious; it will go away in a little while."

The pain didn't seem like just a minor bruise, and Fang Yanqing was skeptical, but since he didn't have a mirror with him, he had to suppress his doubts for the time being.

...

Second update delivered, double updates tomorrow!