Chapter 94: The Educator’s Rise, Part One

Miss Nine continued, “I absolutely won’t allow you to wander around aimlessly every day, wasting time with Xiao Yu, Qu Buping, and those others. Right now, you’re nothing but a weakling. Once you leave here, anyone outside can easily deal with you—they don’t have my patience. When they discipline you, it won’t be gentle like me; just one hit could cost you your life. That’s why I insist you train diligently every day. If you don’t master your skills, you’re not allowed to leave.”

Xiao Yun asked, “When can I leave here?”

Miss Nine smiled and said, “As soon as you’ve mastered your martial arts, you’ll have a chance to leave.”

Xiao Yun inquired, “How will I know when my skills are good enough?”

Miss Nine replied, “It’s simple. The day you can defeat me in a fight, that means your skills are good enough.”

Xiao Yun thought to himself that all this talk boiled down to one thing: learning martial arts. How hard could it be? He secretly wished for it. But the real question was whether Miss Nine was truly a master. If she wasn’t skilled enough or was holding back, then no matter how long he trained, he’d never beat her. She’d just say he wasn’t trying hard enough and keep making him her punching bag. If that happened, he’d be stuck here forever, and everything would be lost.

With that in mind, Xiao Yun couldn’t help but ask, “What if you’re not a good teacher and I still can’t beat you after several years? What then?”

Miss Nine said, “That’s easy. I’ve decided to teach you for three years. If after three years you still haven’t mastered my martial arts, it means you really are a hopeless case. At that point, even if you don’t want to leave, I will make sure you go.”

Seeing Xiao Yun’s dumbfounded expression, Miss Nine added, “So our relationship isn’t set in stone yet. You’re not truly my husband. If you really want to marry me, you must train hard for these three years. If you don’t want to marry me, or if you are indeed a hopeless case, then feel free to be yourself.”

Xiao Yun smiled bitterly, “I thought the die was cast, but who knew the swan I was about to catch would fly away.”

Miss Nine said, “Starting tomorrow, you must train seriously. I’ll have you train alongside Xiao Lan. If you can’t even beat Xiao Lan in the future, it means you’re either lazy or just plain stupid.”

In the days that followed, Xiao Yun recalled Xiao Yu’s words—not exactly profound wisdom, but there was some truth in them. In any case, his days turned miserable. After all, he was Miss Nine’s little brother-in-law. Just consider me a hopeless case, and when the three years are up, just kick me out.

“What? You’ll just let me kick you out after three years? Such a lack of ambition!” Miss Nine scolded.

Xiao Yun pleaded, “If three years is too long, then one year or even one month is fine. As long as you let me sleep soundly, you can kick me out whenever you want.”

Miss Nine sighed, “If you want to be a hopeless case, that’s your choice. But I don’t want my husband to be one. Sigh! It’s only the first day and you’re already too lazy to get up. Looks like I’ll have to treat you like a disobedient child.” Saying this, she suddenly grabbed Xiao Yun by the ear.

Poor Xiao Yun—when Xiao Hong first met him, she liked to tap his head; Xiao Cui pinched his cheeks; now it was Miss Nine’s turn to tug his ears. Under her stern threat, Xiao Yun had no choice but to get up obediently.

At the garden training ground, Xiao Jing and Xiao Lan were already practicing martial arts. Miss Nine began by helping Xiao Yun stretch and loosen his muscles, then she started teaching him the mantras of internal martial arts—how to sit quietly and practice the breathing techniques.

Xiao Yun had a good memory, so he quickly memorized the mantras. But sitting upright for long periods and practicing the breathing exercises tested his patience. Soon, he felt an aching stiffness in his back and waist and couldn’t endure it any longer.

He lost track of time, but when he looked up, dawn had not yet broken, and he was already nodding off. His head grew heavier and slowly drooped.

Before long, he abandoned all thoughts of breathing techniques. Relaxing his mind, he let his head fall as he drifted into sleep.

The phrase Miss Nine had said earlier—“stand like a pine, sit like a bowl”—had, in his case, turned into “stand like a bow, sit like a worm.” But dozing off outside wasn’t pleasant either. The cold wind bit at him, and Xiao Yun sat there like a wilting willow or a turtle pulling into its shell. He wished he could tuck his head inside his clothes.

Suddenly, something sharply pricked his face, pain so sudden he nearly cried out.

He shook his face, forced his blurry eyes open, and touched his cheek, finding nothing. He glanced at Miss Nine, who sat still like a meditation master, eyes closed, motionless.

Xiao Yun had suspected she’d used a needle on him, but seeing her unmoving, he felt confused. Sleepiness overcame him again, and he lowered his head once more.

No sooner had his head drooped than something pricked his face again. This time the pain made him cry out, “Ouch! Who’s pricking me with a needle?”

He opened his eyes to find Miss Nine staring at him with a half-smile.

Annoyed, Xiao Yun asked, “Was it you who pricked me just now?”

Miss Nine smiled slyly, “I haven’t even stood up. How could I have pricked you?”

Seeing she truly hadn’t moved, Xiao Yun’s suspicion grew. He looked carefully around, and now that dawn was breaking, he could see the ground clearly. He noticed several long pine needles scattered there.