Senior Brother

Before Qin Fang could speak, his master's wife's voice came from behind: "Who is it?"

The young man paused, ignoring Qin Fang, and leaned forward with a smile: "Mistress, it's me."

"Is that Little Xing? Come in, come in quickly."

The mistress stood at the kitchen doorway, smiling as she greeted Zhou Xing.

Zhou Xing responded with a smile, carrying some items in his hands as he stepped inside.

Qin Fang stepped aside and closed the door.

Zhou Xing chatted happily with the mistress, clearly very close to her, and the mistress was evidently fond of him as well, beaming after only a few words.

Qin Fang followed quietly, not interrupting.

Seeing Qin Fang, the mistress smiled and introduced him: "This is your senior brother, Zhou Xing... Little Xing, you haven't met your junior brother yet, have you? This is your master's new disciple, Qin Fang."

Qin Fang exhaled lightly, bowing slightly: "Qin Fang, greetings, Senior Brother."

"A junior brother?"

A flash of surprise crossed Zhou Xing's eyes, and he naturally thought of the identification papers his master had given him a few months ago.

At the same time, he thought of something else, and almost instinctively, his gaze swept over Qin Fang's left hand.

The injury on Qin Fang's left hand had healed somewhat... but since it had been broken, and only two months had passed, it was still somewhat swollen.

This, of course, could not escape Zhou Xing's eyes. His pupils constricted slightly, but he quickly smiled: "So it's a junior brother. I hadn't heard Master mention it before."

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Qin Fang's right leg...

The intelligence obtained from Lan Gui Fang suggested that the last wounded person to disappear was suspected to be the culprit who had used a ruse of self-inflicted injury...

That injury was on the right leg.

These two movements were extremely subtle.

But Qin Fang knew that Zhou Xing was a man of the yamen, and he also knew from his master that he was in charge of the Wang Long case. Meeting for the first time, he was naturally very careful to observe the other's expression.

So, when the other's gaze swept over his left hand and right leg without a trace, his heart tightened slightly.

However, he didn't say anything more, instead looking a bit embarrassed: "Actually, I'm not a formal disciple yet... just a nominal one."

The mistress smiled gently: "What formal or nominal? Do you think your master runs some grand sect? Since your master brought you home and you've called me mistress, you're family."

Qin Fang felt a warmth in his heart and lowered his head: "Yes..."

Zhou Xing scanned the surroundings and immediately deduced what Qin Fang had been doing here...

The snow had been cleared, firewood was piled by the door, and there was still sweat on his forehead; he was clearly helping the mistress with chores.

He smiled gently: "Mistress is right. Since you've entered this home, you're family."

"However, Master has always been like this, not fond of high profiles. He has some connections in True Martial, so if he held a grand initiation ceremony, it would cause too much of a stir, which is why he chose to keep it low-key... You don't need to overthink it. Given Master's temperament, bringing you home means he has accepted you."

Qin Fang hadn't expected Zhou Xing to comfort him. Not knowing what to say, he took a deep breath and said earnestly: "Master's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. If not for him, I would likely be dead... If I can truly earn Master's approval, I will be at peace."

Zhou Xing nodded with a gentle smile.

Seeing the two brothers chatting naturally, the mistress smiled: "Alright, you two talk. I have a few more dishes to finish before we can eat... You two should have a drink later."

"Mistress, how could I let you do all the work? Let me, let me." Upon hearing this, Zhou Xing laughed and hurried toward the kitchen.

"Enough, enough, you stay out of it... with your cooking, don't waste my ingredients," the mistress teased.

"Uh..." Zhou Xing froze, then said, speechless: "Mistress, the junior brother is right here; you could at least give me some face as the senior brother..."

The mistress just smiled without a word, waved her hand, and went back into the kitchen to continue her work.

Rejected, Zhou Xing couldn't enter, so he turned to Qin Fang and smiled: "Junior Brother, let's talk more later. I'll go put these things inside."

He gestured to the items in his hands.

Qin Fang quickly said: "Of course, Senior Brother."

Zhou Xing smiled at him again and turned to enter the house.

Qin Fang returned to the kitchen doorway and continued chopping wood.

The smile on his face faded, and his eyes flickered with hidden thoughts.

...Zhou Xing definitely noticed something.

He wasn't familiar with Zhou Xing and wasn't sure what his next move would be.

But for him, this was definitely not a good thing.

As the person in charge of the case, if the other party insisted on being impartial, it would be a disaster for him.

Setting aside whether the other party had evidence...

Just the fact that he was a displaced person meant he had no power to resist if the other party really wanted to pursue him.

His stay in True Martial could be considered illegal.

Under normal circumstances, the yamen had the authority to arrest him on the spot.

If Zhou Xing really wanted to do something to him, he would be completely defenseless.

The other party wouldn't even need to lift a finger; if they just mentioned a word in front of Wang Hu... he would likely face a catastrophe.

Qin Fang's heart suddenly felt heavy.

His expression flickered between light and shadow.

On the other side, after entering the room, the smile on Zhou Xing's face faded, and his brows furrowed tightly.

As he set down the items in his hands, he fell into deep thought.

So, Master really does know the killer.

Not only does he know him, but he even took the killer on as a disciple...

The worry from that day has come true.

His brows remained tightly knit.

A moment later, he heard the clack-clack sound of firewood being chopped outside the door.

He turned his head to glance at the courtyard, fell silent for a moment, and then let out a soft sigh.

...Let's wait and see.

He thought.

Clack...

Clack...

Unsure of Zhou Xing's attitude, Qin Fang was somewhat distracted, chopping wood while pondering his next move.

Before he knew it...

"Junior brother, have you already started practicing martial arts?"

Zhou Xing's voice suddenly came from beside him.

Qin Fang was startled and snapped back to reality.

He turned his head to see Zhou Xing standing behind him, looking at him with surprise.

"Ah, Master passed down the foundational method to me the day before yesterday, and I've just started the stance..." Qin Fang replied instinctively.

"Just started the stance?"

This sentence made even Zhou Xing pause in surprise. He instinctively narrowed his eyes as he looked at Qin Fang, leaving the latter feeling baffled.

Suddenly, he asked, "Did he pass down the Wild Ox Qi Force Stance?"

Qin Fang was stunned, then nodded, "Yes."

"He only passed it to you two days ago?" he asked again.

Qin Fang nodded once more.

Zhou Xing suddenly said, "Can you perform the stance for me to see right now?"

Qin Fang was dazed... He had spent half the day guessing, but he never expected that Zhou Xing would actually make such a request.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Fang let out a soft sigh and stood up.

"Alright."

Although he didn't know why he wanted to see him perform the stance.

But before he was certain of Zhou Xing's attitude, Qin Fang decided to observe him first.

As the senior brother, it was reasonable enough for him to watch him perform the stance.

After all, in any era... the status of the eldest disciple in a sect was always very high.

"Come over here."

Zhou Xing beckoned.

Qin Fang nodded, walked over to the area he had already swept clean, and took a deep breath.

"Please correct me, Senior Brother."

With that, he assumed the posture and began the Wild Ox Qi Force Stance.

As Qin Fang adjusted his breathing rhythm and the sound of his skin and membranes drumming—faint to the point of being almost imperceptible—emanated from his body, a look of clear astonishment appeared in the depths of Zhou Xing's eyes...