Ye Xiaxuan had been about to leave, but Su Yi's attitude made her somewhat uncomfortable. Although she had already turned away, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Are you really Su Yi?"
Ye Xiaxuan's brows drew tighter and tighter. Logically speaking, since her grandfather had sent her here to become his disciple, surely he knew who Su Yi was?
Besides, even Bai Miaomiao had come here yesterday, which meant an expert must live in this courtyard.
As for how high an expert he was?
At least eighteen stories high, surely.
Su Yi had not intended to bother with Ye Xiaxuan, but he had nothing to do anyway. Suddenly feeling a little bored, he asked, "Do you really want to become my disciple?"
"If you're Su Yi, I'll become your disciple." Although Ye Xiaxuan had no idea what the young man before her's background actually was, she felt she could not go wrong by listening to her grandfather.
"All right, I'll take you!" Su Yi lazily sat up and said, "Once you've performed the discipleship ceremony, you'll be my disciple."
"Discipleship ceremony?" Ye Xiaxuan's eyes widened. "How do I do that?"
"By kneeling and offering your master tea, of course!" Su Yi said as though it were only natural.
It had been some years since he had last accepted a disciple. Taking one in to help tidy the house on ordinary days would be nice, too.
"Kneel?" In Ye Xiaxuan's mind, a discipleship ceremony involved, at most, bowing and addressing him as Master. She had not expected Su Yi to demand that she kneel and serve him tea.
"Not willing?" Su Yi could not help laughing. "Then forget it. Go back where you came from. I only planned to take in a disciple for fun because I had nothing to do."
Ye Xiaxuan clenched her delicate fists and stared fixedly at Su Yi. In all her years, she had never knelt to anyone, not even her grandfather or her parents.
Su Yi reclined in his chair, closed his eyes, and simply stopped talking.
Over the years, those who wanted to become his disciples had been as numerous as carp crossing a river. For most, he had merely offered a word or two of guidance. He had only truly accepted a scant handful as disciples.
Those who had the opportunity to offer him a cup of discipleship tea could be counted on his fingers.
Now, Su Yi had given Ye Xiaxuan this opportunity not because he valued her talent or beauty. After all, there were countless talented people in this world, and Ye Xiaxuan was nothing special.
He was truly just bored. Someone happened to show up, so he would treat it as a way to pass the time.
"Xuanxuan, why are you here again?"
Just then, a young man in a suit and leather shoes, wearing designer labels from head to toe, entered the courtyard. Seeing Ye Xiaxuan standing there looking rather angry, he hurried over.
"Jiang Chao, I told you not to follow me." Ye Xiaxuan turned and shot him a glare. Perhaps out of pique, she glanced around and walked into Su Yi's house.
Jiang Chao glanced at Su Yi and asked, "Kid, where are your elders? We came yesterday, too. We're here to pay our respects to your elders."
Su Yi lay there without moving, ignoring the young man outright, much less responding to him.
Although he was not particularly lustful, talking to a beautiful woman naturally put him in a pleasant mood. What was there to discuss with some young stranger?
"I'm talking to you!" Jiang Chao was even more displeased with Su Yi's attitude. He was, after all, someone of note in Qingzhou City. Although he could not compare to prestigious families like the Yu family, the Bai family, and the Ye Family, he was still fairly well placed. What sort of important person could possibly live in this shabby little courtyard?
Su Yi still ignored him. At that moment, Ye Xiaxuan came out of the house.
"I've put the water on. I'll serve the tea once it boils." Ye Xiaxuan had finally made up her mind. Walking up to Su Yi, she asked, "May I ask, Master, what can you teach me?"
Su Yi lifted his eyelids slightly and said indifferently, "What do you want to learn?"
"Medicine! Can you teach me that, Master?" Ye Xiaxuan had just been inside Su Yi's house. It was very ordinary, and she had not seen any medical books or anything of the sort.
"I can, but whether I teach you depends on my mood." Still reclining in his chair, Su Yi said, "While the water's heating, tidy my house first."
"I..." Ye Xiaxuan truly had no idea where Su Yi got such arrogance, but she endured it anyway. She turned back, went into his house again, and began tidying up.
"What the fuck? Kid, do you know who she is?" Jiang Chao was utterly dumbfounded now, but he could see that his goddess was being bullied. Could this kid have something on Ye Xiaxuan?
Su Yi frowned and said coldly, "Get lost!"
At that cold shout, Jiang Chao felt his chest tighten. His face went deathly pale, soybean-sized drops of sweat rolled down, and his legs gave way, sending him straight to his knees before Su Yi.
Su Yi had only released the slightest trace of his pressure, but he really had little experience dealing with ordinary people. That mere trace of pressure had frightened Jiang Chao so badly that his heart had nearly stopped.
Dropping to his knees had been a purely instinctive reaction.
The inexplicable terror inside him had turned both his legs to jelly. Being able to kneel rather than lie on the ground was already quite an accomplishment.
Su Yi also realized that he seemed to have "used too much force." Taking a shallow breath, he said, "I told you to get lost, not kneel!"
Jiang Chao trembled all over. When he looked up at Su Yi again, he nearly cried. "I... I can't stand up..."
Su Yi sighed. Not bothering with him any further, he continued reclining in his chair and said indifferently, "Kneel if you like. Once you're done, hurry up and get lost."
Jiang Chao's legs really had gone weak, to the point that he was almost losing all feeling in them, and he could not stand. Yet kneeling before Su Yi was humiliating. Most importantly, Su Yi filled him with incomparable terror. If he stayed here any longer, he truly feared he would die, so he could only struggle to crawl out of the courtyard.
Less than a minute later, Ye Xiaxuan came out of the house.
The reason she had agreed to go inside was actually that she wanted to see just what Su Yi was capable of.
From what she knew of Jiang Chao, this rich wastrel was bound to clash with Su Yi. Since her grandfather held Su Yi in such high regard, surely he could handle a mere Jiang Chao?
She had also thought that if Jiang Chao really did teach Su Yi a lesson, he would deserve it. Who told him to be so arrogant?
But when she came out, she saw an unbelievable sight.
Jiang Chao was actually sprawled on the ground, struggling to crawl out of the courtyard.
"What... did you do to him?" Ye Xiaxuan naturally knew that for someone truly skilled in medicine, dealing with an ordinary person was as easy as turning a hand. Striking someone's vital points with a raised hand was simple, too.
Without even opening his eyes, Su Yi said, "Nothing much. I just gave him a little scare. Have you finished tidying the house?"
"There wasn't really anything to tidy in your house." Ye Xiaxuan walked over and gave Jiang Chao a searching look. His condition did indeed resemble someone who had suffered a fright.
But she had only been inside for a short while, and all she had heard was Su Yi shouting "Get lost." Wasn't this guy afraid of neither heaven nor earth? How had he been frightened into such a state?