Opening a Detective Agency Together

A string of titles, befitting a professional-level individual.

But in Lin Xiaosu's eyes, he was merely a pretty boy.

However, with different perspectives and heights, their views naturally differed completely.

Ms. Sun quickly reviewed all the materials, her face lighting up with joy: "This is what a teacher should be like! If Curator Zhou can really invite him, I can introduce a few more people to you."

"Then it's settled. I'll message him now."

The message was sent, and a reply came back quickly: "Okay!"

The entire incident in the office, from its beginning to its calm resolution, took only half an hour.

Old Zhou and Ms. Sun both thought this was a secret issue between them, but they were wrong.

Lin Xiaosu had not only heard the entire conversation but had also seen the chat content on the phone.

What about Miao Ruolan?

She appeared to be practicing a horse stance ten meters away, but her expression changed, mirroring the conversation indoors...

After a class ended and the children dispersed, Miao Ruolan walked into Old Zhou's office and smiled shyly: "Curator Zhou, I've thought about it, and I still feel I'm not suitable for this job. Thank you for thinking highly of me, but tomorrow, I think I should withdraw. There's something going on at home..."

Old Zhou was overjoyed internally, but he had to feign hesitation on his face...

After a few polite exchanges, he went with the flow: "You've taught 15 classes here... As agreed, 50 yuan per class, totaling 750 yuan. Please take it."

Miao Ruolan accepted her half-month's salary, 750 yuan.

The salary was very low, yet even with such a meager wage, she still couldn't manage to be competent.

Miao Ruolan tilted her head back, letting out a soft sigh.

She stepped out lightly, exiting the martial arts hall. Before leaving, she even greeted the security guard at the door.

Outside, two students also greeted her proactively. She patted their heads, her face full of warmth. Once the two children boarded the bus, the warm smile vanished from Miao Ruolan's face. She sighed silently and turned to walk towards her electric scooter...

By the electric scooter, a man emerged from behind a tree, smiling slightly: "Ruolan, I'm Lin Xiaosu, Li Diandian's classmate and neighbor."

Miao Ruolan stopped in her tracks, sizing him up. A smile slowly spread across her face: "I know you. Diandian talks about you all the time. Why are you here?"

"I came specifically to find you."

"Has Diandian returned?"

"No, she won't be back anytime soon..."

Lin Xiaosu repeated what he had told his second aunt the previous night. Miao Ruolan was silent for a while, then chuckled softly: "That's wonderful. She's the one most suited to join the national martial arts team. She's finally found her path."

Lin Xiaosu said: "Yes, she's found her most suitable path. What about you? Where is your path?"

Miao Ruolan's eyes flickered slightly: "What? Worried I'll starve to death?"

As her eyes darted, Lin Xiaosu suddenly realized how lively they were. A slight turn of her gaze seemed to make people forget her ordinary appearance.

"How could that be? If a master like you could starve to death, then this society would be too terrifying!"

Miao Ruolan's gaze fixed on his face, lost in thought...

"I was inside just now! Others couldn't see your strength, but I could!" Her voice was very low.

Miao Ruolan let out a soft breath: "I actually saw you."

"You not only saw me, but you also heard the conversation between Old Zhou and Ms. Sun," Lin Xiaosu said. "Extraordinary senses, that's the power of Ancient Martial Arts, isn't it?"

"The power of Ancient Martial Arts is boundless, but I've only scratched the surface. The most critical thing is that this era cannot accommodate Ancient Martial Arts."

"No, this era is all-encompassing. There are no skills it cannot accommodate, only misplacements!" Lin Xiaosu said, "I've come to find you today because I want to cooperate with you on something."

"Do what?"

"I want to open a detective agency. I can't do it alone, so I'm looking for a partner."

Miao Ruolan was surprised: "Detective agency? What does that do? Private investigators?"

"Yes!"

"Is that allowed? I thought it was only permitted abroad?"

"The regulations have been revised. Great Xia permits it, but not many people are willing to do it. In fact, you could say not many people have the ability to do it." Lin Xiaosu said, "But we can!"

Miao Ruolan was tempted...

She possessed great skill, but lacked a platform.

Her situation was actually more difficult than Li Diandian's.

Li Diandian was proficient in external martial arts, which were visible and tangible. Moreover, Great Xia had martial arts as a sports event. Her path was actually quite broad. Even if Li Diandian was a bit "reckless" and courted disaster often, she could still return to her small hometown to open a martial arts gym and teach people to fight.

Modern martial arts were attractive to parents of students.

It was for exercising and keeping fit.

But what about her, Miao Ruolan? Ancient Martial Arts were very specialized and incredibly difficult to learn. They were not something children aiming for physical fitness could learn.

The children couldn't endure that hardship.

Even if the children could endure the hardship, the parents wouldn't agree. Everyone only believed what they could see. Who would believe in internal energy, which was difficult to explain and understand?

They were paying hefty tutoring fees, watching their child endure rigorous training through the coldest winter and hottest summer, yet achieve nothing. Whether the child suffered was one thing, but the key point was that they felt their hard-earned money had been thrown into a bottomless pit...

Therefore, Miao Ruolan's path was extremely, extremely narrow.

Indications suggested that if she relied on this for a living, she'd likely starve.

Today's events were proof of that.

And now, Lin Xiaosu had extended an invitation to her...

"I'm not familiar with this line of work at all, I might not be able to do it." Although Miao Ruolan was inwardly excited, she was an honest person.

"I am!" Lin Xiaosu said.

"Then... what can I do to help you?"

"What you can do is very important. In the detective business, you inevitably offend people. If someone comes to break my head or overturn our stall, you can stand up and protect our detective agency!"

Miao Ruolan chuckled, "Don't be silly, there aren't that many situations that require fighting."

"When we're not fighting, you can manage the finances, guard the shop, and take on cases."

The smile disappeared from Miao Ruolan's face, and her usually lively eyes became still as she looked at him quietly, "Are you serious?"

"Of course, I'm serious!"

Miao Ruolan's eyes seemed to bloom with two little flowers, "Then boss, how much are you planning to pay me?"

"How much can you accept?"

"2000... 1500 is also okay! A month!" Miao Ruolan said.

Lin Xiaosu laughed, "Your demands are really low, but unfortunately, I can't agree even to such low wages!"

Miao Ruolan was a bit confused...

Lin Xiaosu said, "As I said earlier, we are partners. So, I'm not your boss. We are all shareholders, with equal rights and profits shared equally, and expenses like rent and utilities split."

Miao Ruolan understood, "That won't do, really. I'm not familiar with this line of work at all, I can't do anything..."

"You can help me fight! If there's a need..."

"Even if I fight, my skills aren't worth much. As you saw just now, they're only worth fifty yuan per lesson..."

"That's because Old Zhou has no foresight!"

"Anyway... anyway... I can't take advantage of you!"

"Then can I take advantage of you a little?"

As Lin Xiaosu's last sentence came out, the conversation abruptly stopped...

Miao Ruolan's mouth hung slightly open, unable to utter a sound.

Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered, and he thought to himself, 'Holy crap! Did I say the wrong thing? Did it cause ambiguity?'

"Forget it, let's be frank!" Lin Xiaosu carefully chose his words, "I'm... cough... I'm very interested in Ancient Martial Arts. If it's possible, I mean, if it's possible..."

Miao Ruolan's heart seemed to land from the clouds, "You want to learn Ancient Martial Arts?"

"Ahem... I actually know the saying, 'The Dharma is not lightly transmitted.' But in modern society, many things have been overturned. If a miraculous method isn't learned by anyone, in the words of the ancients, it's like 'a pearl covered in dust,' which is a great pity."

Miao Ruolan smiled...

Her smile was infinitely pure...

Lin Xiaosu couldn't interpret her smile, but he could tell it wasn't mockery.

Miao Ruolan said, "In modern society, many things have truly been overturned. You'd never guess, my dad once had a crazy idea. He wanted to put our family's 'Spring Return Skill' online for everyone to practice."

Lin Xiaosu was dumbfounded, "Why?"

"It all goes back to an incident five years ago..."

Five years ago, no, the incident started ten years ago.

Ten years ago, a young man was passionate about Ancient Martial Arts. He found her dad and asked him to teach him.

What did her dad say?

Actually, he had always had a dream of passing down the family's martial art. In modern society, there were few people learning martial arts. Now that one finally appeared, he was overjoyed and immediately accepted the young man as a disciple, teaching him meticulously.

However, after practicing for a full five years, the young man hadn't achieved anything.

Gradually, the young man became impatient.

Eventually, he fell out with her dad and went around telling people that her dad was a fraud, that he had been deceived for five whole years, cheated out of over a thousand yuan in New Year's gifts, and even four old hens.

Her dad was furious. He personally went to return all the New Year's gifts and the four old hens. He returned home amidst the ridicule of the villagers and sat in the yard smoking all night.

The next morning, the old man found Miao Ruolan, who was still in college, and asked her with red eyes, "Daughter, is it okay if we put our 'Spring Return Skill' online?"

Miao Ruolan didn't understand at the time, "Dad, why is that?"

The old man said, "I don't believe there isn't a single person in the entire Great Xia who can practice it! As long as an outsider can master it, our Miao family won't be considered frauds!"

He cared deeply about his reputation in the village and couldn't bear the title of fraud.

Therefore, he truly dreamed of someone learning the 'Spring Return Skill.'

What about 'the Dharma is not lightly transmitted'? He wanted to pass it on, but he just couldn't find anyone...

Thus, Lin Xiaosu wanting to learn the Miao family's 'Spring Return Skill' was not a problem in the new era...

Lin Xiaosu was delighted, "So, you're saying I can go home with you right now and meet my martial arts master?"