Chasing You Like a Tenacious Falcon

In the courtyard.

Zi Ling was still enthusiastically recounting amusing childhood stories about Quan Zhisui to the three of them, who seemed unable to get enough, asking question after question.

Wei Shixu, in particular, was practically itching to hear every detail of Quan Zhisui's life from childhood to the present.

At that moment...

Whoosh!

The tea room door suddenly swung open, and a figure dashed out.

She was running as if her life depended on it, sprinting to a large rock in front of the house, leaping onto it, and in a few quick movements, she climbed onto the roof. Then, with a graceful jump, she disappeared from everyone's sight.

Zhuge Ying was stunned. "Was that Quan Zhisui?"

Kong ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‍Mingze blinked. "I think so? It was so fast I couldn’t see clearly."

She really is a little monkey! Climbing roofs and causing mischief!

Wei Shixu set down his teacup and glanced toward the tea room.

Fan Shiliu stood at the door, fuming, his beard practically bristling with anger, a cane in hand.

Zi Ling quickly spoke up, "You all chat, I’ll go see what’s going on."

Though he said this, he couldn’t hide the excitement on his face.

Zi Nian’s in trouble again, hahaha!

The tea room door closed again.

Zi Ling ran to his master’s tea table, glanced around, and observed Fan Shiliu for a moment before asking, "Master, should I gather the brothers to catch Zi Nian and bring her back?"

One-on-one, few could match her, but with the number of people at the Martial Arts School, and everyone trained in martial arts, they could surely handle her!

Fan Shiliu waved his hand dismissively and sat back down. "I’m going to develop a stomach ulcer because of her one day."

Zi Ling gleefully leaned in. "What did she do this time? I’ll scold her for you, through the wall if I have to."

Fan Shiliu grumbled, "Stubborn as ever!"

"Exactly!" Zi Ling fawned over his master, stoking the charcoal fire. "She really is... huh? Huh???"

He stared at the ashes in the charcoal basin and asked, "Master, who are you burning offerings for? This doesn’t look like joss money. What is it?"

Fan Shiliu replied, "Zi Nian’s birth chart."

Zi Ling was shocked and almost reached out to sift through the ashes, but it was too late—everything had turned to blackened remnants, indistinguishable.

"Master!" he exclaimed, frustrated. "Why didn’t you show me before burning it?"

Fan Shiliu shot him a glance. "Why would I show you?"

Zi Ling explained, "The twenty-something of us disciples made a bet! Back then, we didn’t have Zi Nian’s birth chart, so each of us tried to deduce it, and we all came up with different answers. Now, we finally have the answer! This is a ten-year bet we’re talking about!"

Fan Shiliu snorted. "Daring to gamble on her birth chart? You’re all asking for trouble."

"That serious?!" Zi Ling was both surprised and thrilled. "Did I guess right? Is her chart a rare formation?"

Fan Shiliu, now somewhat calmer, asked with a smile, "What did you guess?"

Zi Ling’s eyes lit up. "Could it be the top-tier formation within the Yang Ren pattern—Yang Ren subduing the Seven Killings?!"

Fan Shiliu smiled without confirming.

"No way!" Zi Ling jumped up. "Master, do you know? Out of all twenty-something disciples, only Zi Yin and I guessed correctly! Hahaha, that’s twenty meals on them!"

Fan Shiliu continued to smile, offering no further explanation.

Zi Ling pounded the table excitedly. "I knew it! Zi Nian has always shown the traits of Yang Ren and Seven Killings—resolute, decisive, and fiercely bold. The conditions for Yang Ren subduing the Seven Killings are so stringent, one in a million. Why couldn’t it be her?"

Fan Shiliu chuckled. "She has a top-tier chart. Why are you so happy?"

Zi Ling laughed, hands on his hips. "Yang Ren subduing the Seven Killings leads to great wealth! Even if she doesn’t build a fortune from scratch, she’ll at least marry into riches. We’re all waiting to strike it rich!"

Thwack!

Fan Shiliu immediately grabbed his cane and swung it at Zi Ling!

...

Outside in the courtyard.

Zhuge Ying and Kong Mingze exchanged glances, unsure whether they should intervene. Clearly, Quan Zhisui had caused trouble—again.

Was it really okay to anger her master on her second day back?

Wei Shixu, however, remained calm, casually peeling a peanut to eat.

Then, to their surprise, the tea room door opened again, and Zi Ling came running out in a panic.

Just like Quan Zhisui earlier, he was sprinting at full speed, shouting as he ran!

Fan Shiliu was hot on his heels, cane in hand...

This time, not only were Zhuge Ying and Kong Mingze stunned, but even Wei Shixu was momentarily taken aback.

Did these two plan this? Taking turns to anger their master?

Impressive!

Once the two had disappeared in their chase...

"Psst..."

A strange sound caught their attention.

The three looked up to see Quan Zhisui perched on the roof, peeking out and waving at them.

"Come on! Let’s go play!" Quan Zhisui called excitedly.

Zhuge Ying was dumbfounded!

Kong Mingze glanced between the tea room and Quan Zhisui, utterly confused.

Wei Shixu, however, stood up with a smile, grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts, and walked out of the courtyard.

The courtyard led to the back of the mountain, where a path Quan Zhisui had carved out as a child wound its way up.

When the three found her, she was lounging on the roof, waiting impatiently!

Getting down was easy for her—she simply jumped with a soft "thud," landing effortlessly without a scratch.

Zhuge Ying gave her a thumbs-up. "You’re something else, angering your master like that and then casually going out to play?"

Quan Zhisui waved it off. "He’s used to it."

Kong Mingze quipped, "I thought you were going to say *you’re* used to it!"

Wei Shixu asked, "Did you and Zi Ling plan this?"

Quan Zhisui shook her head. "Not at all. He’s not that kind. He probably got carried away, and Master was already in a bad mood."

Wei Shixu chuckled. "Your master’s going to grow numb to all the anger you two cause."

Zhuge Ying sighed. "Zhisui seems so normal at school, just a bit scary when she’s angry. But back in the mountains, it’s like she’s possessed by a mischievous monkey. So playful!"

Quan Zhisui grinned. "Let’s go! I’ll take you all to chase deer in the mountains!"

Kong Mingze waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no. I remember the Martial Arts School rules—never follow you into the mountains."

Quan Zhisui reassured them, "I won’t run ahead. I’ll wait for you."

Wei Shixu raised an eyebrow. "But you said we’d chase deer."

Quan Zhisui thought for a moment. "Well... how about you watch me chase them?"

In the end, the four of them headed into the mountains, but they hadn’t gone far when Quan Zhisui’s phone rang.

It was Zuo Zichen calling.

As soon as she answered, Zuo Zichen’s panicked voice came through. "Sis! Come back quick! Dad’s gone crazy! He couldn’t find you and stormed into your room, smashing everything!"

Quan Zhisui’s expression turned icy. "What did he smash? Did he smash the little bear on my nightstand?!"

As she spoke, she glanced at the agarwood bracelet on her wrist.

If Zuo Zhiyu dared to destroy her birthday gift, she’d rip his head off!

Wei Shixu, who had been walking ahead, paused.

Zuo Zichen quickly clarified, "No! No! He didn’t go into your room. He just went berserk in the living room, smashing things, and then stormed out to call the police."

Quan Zhisui relaxed. "Oh, so he smashed the Zuo family’s stuff, huh?"

Zuo Zichen hesitated for a moment before catching on. "Right, he didn’t touch your personal belongings. He just destroyed the TV, tables, and stuff."

Quan Zhisui asked, "How did he find out I was gone? Didn’t you cause a scene?"

Zuo Zichen replied, "I did! I’ve been causing trouble every day, even went to his company to stir things up! But he still found out. You haven’t come out for meals in two days. I told him you were just traveling, but he didn’t care—he still went crazy!"

Quan Zhisui sneered. "He’s really paying attention to me, huh?"

Zuo Zichen added, "More than that! Your leaving is like a death sentence to him!"

"He called the police, saying someone had kidnapped his daughter. When the police arrived and asked how old his daughter was, he said 17. I explained that you were just traveling."

"The police were very serious, worried it might be some kind of scam, so they asked where you went. I said Wudang Mountain, and I mentioned you grew up there and were just visiting... That’s when Dad went completely insane! He almost hit the police officer!"

"Sis, you should’ve seen the look on the officer’s face! He looked at Dad like he was a lunatic!"

Quan Zhisui shrugged. "Let him call the police."

Zuo Zichen added, "Oh, and after he realized the police couldn’t help, he started ranting about getting a nationwide warrant for you."

Quan Zhisui scoffed. "What kind of nonsense is that?"

Zuo Zichen asked, "Aren’t you coming back?"

Quan Zhisui replied, "Nope."

Then she hung up.

Zhuge Ying, who had been listening, asked, "Zhisui, did you not tell your family you were leaving?"

Quan Zhisui said, "I told Zuo Zichen."

Zhuge Ying hesitated. "But your dad..."

Quan Zhisui cut her off. "Oh, he’d never agree, so why bother telling him?"