Wait, was I really that terrifying?
Duan Yu's cry of "ghost" had left Xu Xiao thoroughly disgruntled.
He had half a mind to kill him on the spot to vent his anger.
He knew his face was hideous right now, making him look like a vicious ghost. But knowing that was one thing; how could he allow someone to insult him to his face?
Repaying even the slightest grievance was a virtue Xu Xiao lived by!
But after seeing how the fallen man was dressed, reason made him cautious again. This scene seemed familiar!
A wealthy young master in the mountains, carrying an embroidered shoe!
He really was handsome, too. Could this guy be Duan Yu?
Xu Xiao had seen the contents of the USB drive, but this was a real world, so the people in it couldn't possibly look just like the actors from the television adaptations.
He looked over the fallen man's features. He truly was a rare beauty, with sword-shaped brows, starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and an air of nobility about him.
In the deep mountains in an age like this, he couldn't think of anyone it could be except Duan Yu.
So, to confirm the man's identity, Xu Xiao grudgingly forgave the insult to his appearance and waited beside him.
About ten minutes later, Duan Yu slowly woke up on his own.
He had fainted purely from the sudden fright and was otherwise unharmed, so he naturally woke up very quickly.
"Awake?"
The moment Duan Yu woke, he heard a voice by his ear and instinctively wanted to answer.
But remembering the monster he had seen before fainting, he immediately kept his mouth shut and quietly opened his eyes to look to the side first.
The sight made him shriek in fright all over again!
"Ghost!"
He scrabbled at the ground with his hands and feet, wishing he could put eight hundred meters between himself and Xu Xiao at once.
Xu Xiao, sitting nearby, had been about to lose his temper, but when he thought of his own appearance, he could only sigh softly and suppress his anger as he spoke:
"As the saying goes, the Master did not speak of strange happenings, feats of strength, disorder, or spirits. You've read so many books, yet you still believe in ghosts and gods?"
"Huh?"
Duan Yu had expected a vicious ghost to roar at him, but instead he heard a human voice, and the man was even reasoning with him.
Once he calmed down, he finally raised his head and took a careful look at the man.
A deep black robe covered his entire body, and his face resembled a skull, but a pair of bright eyes could be seen.
This was no vicious ghost from a storybook, merely an Inhuman with an unusual face.
Duan Yu felt ashamed. He had read so many books by the sages, yet he had still judged a man by his appearance.
He hurriedly straightened his clothes and headwear where he sat, then cupped his hands and bowed in apology:
"It was my fault. I am Duan Yu. I mistook your appearance, sir, and offer you my apologies."
Tsk, tsk, tsk! He really was a gentleman. That bearing wasn't bad.
As soon as this genuine scholar opened his mouth, the air of a modest gentleman swept over Xu Xiao, blowing away the little bit of displeasure in his heart.
Of course, the greater reason was that the man was Duan Yu, the protagonist and one of Xu Xiao's early targets.
Xu Xiao knew where the Northern Darkness Divine Art was: in the cave behind the Infinite Sect's Infinite Jade Wall.
He also knew that the lucky man before him would accidentally find his way inside and then easily comprehend the divine art all by himself.
So could Xu Xiao's earlier idea of learning martial arts be realized through him?
The answer was yes!
As the saying went, a gentleman could be deceived by appeals to his principles. Whether in the book or the television adaptation, Duan Yu could be considered a gentleman.
Of course, there was no helping his weakness for beautiful women.
Early on, when he lacked even the strength to truss a chicken, he still dared to step forward and speak up for justice, trying to stop martial artists from fighting.
Later, when he was drugged with an aphrodisiac and left alone in a room with Mu Wanqing, he still managed to resist with all his might. He could certainly be called a gentleman.
With someone like that, Xu Xiao didn't need threats or inducements at all. A little clever talk would be enough to make him obediently teach Xu Xiao martial arts.
For instance, now, while Duan Yu was apologizing out of guilt, Xu Xiao slowly spoke:
"You didn't know, so you're not to blame. You didn't mean any harm. The fault lies with the terrible illness afflicting me. It's only natural I ended up looking like this."
With those words, an image of a free-spirited, magnanimous man took shape in Duan Yu's mind.
"Well, sir, you are magnanimous, but I still feel ashamed." The more forgiving Xu Xiao was, the more ashamed Duan Yu felt.
In particular, hearing that the man's face was like this because of an illness made Duan Yu feel his earlier offense all the more keenly.
"I wonder what illness you suffer from, sir. If you are willing, perhaps I could recommend two good physicians in Dali. They might be able to cure you."
Duan Yu recalled that several of the imperial physicians in his country were quite skilled, and he intended to make up for his offense against Xu Xiao this way.
All in all, the current Duan Yu was a naive, sweet-natured gentleman.
"Physicians? There's no need. This isn't something ordinary medical skills can cure."
Xu Xiao shook his head, but thought to himself,
He really was a modest gentleman. He didn't even know my circumstances, yet he offered to recommend physicians. He was kindhearted.
"All right, then." Duan Yu wasn't discouraged when the man declined his offer.
He had only meant well. Now that he thought about it, the man looked like a skeleton, so it probably wasn't an ordinary illness. A trip to Dali City might not help anyway.
The most urgent thing was to find the Valley of Ten Thousand Enmities and get someone to rescue Miss Zhong.
Once his guilt had passed, Duan Yu's thoughts returned to his little Sister Zhong. He immediately stood and bowed again.
"In that case, I shall take my leave. When we meet again, I shall hold a banquet to make amends, sir."
With a wave of his hand, Duan Yu scooped up the embroidered shoe beside him and prepared to leave.
A pretty little sister was still waiting for him to find someone to rescue her.
But how could Xu Xiao possibly let him leave?
He had finally met the protagonist, and the gentlemanly Duan Yu at that. No matter what, he had to get him to help decipher the Northern Darkness Divine Art.
He immediately flashed forward and blocked Duan Yu with a wave of his hand. "Young Master Duan, please wait. I still need you to do me a small favor."
"A small favor?" Duan Yu paused, then asked,
"What kind of favor? Will it take long? I have an urgent matter to attend to."
Although he was anxious about his little Sister Zhong, Duan Yu still spoke kindly.
Those people had given him seven days, after all, so Zhong Ling should be fine for a little while.
When someone asked Duan Yu for help, his approach was to help whenever he could.
"I only need Young Master Duan to decipher some classical texts for me, and teach me a little about medicine and the meridians while you're at it," Xu Xiao said mildly.
"What? Decipher classical texts and teach you about medicine?" A troubled look immediately appeared on Duan Yu's face.
It wasn't that he couldn't or wouldn't, but that both would take quite a bit of time.
So he promptly refused:
"Sir, it isn't that I don't want to help, but I have a matter of life and death to attend to right now. I'm afraid I may not have that much time to help."
With that, Duan Yu cupped his hands and bowed again, once more preparing to leave.
But after only a few steps, he found that he couldn't move his legs. At the same time, Xu Xiao's voice came from behind him:
"You're only in a hurry to save your little sweetheart. Don't worry, I won't take up much of your time."
Duan Yu was shocked by these words and hurriedly turned around to ask:
"What makes you say that, sir? How do you know about my situation?"
Xu Xiao said nothing, merely smiling at him.