Volume 4: Hidden Struggles, Chapter 224: The Old Shield

The mad scholar shuddered as he thought about it. Looking at the girl across from him, still filled with infatuation, and remembering that she was the great-aunt of his beloved disciple’s fiancée, his fear grew even greater. A strong premonition told him that things were about to get serious—there was no time to leave!
The others, including Tai Nianran who arrived last, all stared in shock at the two parties involved, listening to the great-aunt recount the past stories—starting from the tale of that young girl and progressing to first-person narration, with her affectionate and yearning tone, as if they were reliving those moments once again, witnessing the mad scholar’s confident arrival and departure…
Tai Nianran never expected that the scholar her great-aunt had always talked about would turn out to be Chu Tianyu’s master. Even with her intelligence, she felt overwhelmed—one problem after another!
Though everyone present was shocked, aside from Tai Nianran’s complicated emotions, Chu Tianyu was probably the most affected. He didn’t know what to feel—overwhelmed with mixed emotions, both happy and worried. He was happy that it seemed he wouldn’t be involved for now; otherwise, without the mad scholar and Tai Nianran’s great-aunt, he would surely have been the focus of criticism. After all, judging by the intensity with which Tai Nianran’s great-aunt had come knocking at first, she must have come to confront him on Tai Nianran’s behalf. And since Chu Tianyu himself felt guilty about his emotional issues, he would likely just nod in agreement and endure the criticism.
As for worry, his relationship with Tai Nianran still hadn’t been resolved. He had originally planned a roundabout approach, believing that Tai Nianran would eventually understand. But now, with the addition of the great-aunt and his master involved, things that had once seemed clear became once again murky and full of uncertainties. It was hard to predict what would happen next!
Judging from the current situation, the mad scholar’s charm should be enough to influence Tai Nianran’s great-aunt—provided he could “communicate” well with her. Otherwise… Chu Tianyu dared not think about what would happen next. It would likely involve two crimes plus one more. Tai Nianran’s great-aunt might turn her love for the mad scholar into hatred and direct it at him. And then his relationship with Tai Nianran would be over, even if she agreed to him—such a relationship would still be unfortunate!

“You haven’t changed at all; you still have the same charm as before. That’s why I recognized you right away when you opened the door,” Qin Nianran’s great-aunt continued, slightly shyly.
“Hehe, now that you mention it, I remember too. Ah, it’s been so many years—things and people have really changed!” The mad scholar took the opportunity to chime in, feigning emotion. “Yes, I’ve grown old, but you haven’t changed at all!”
“By the way, um, this… that…” The mad scholar suddenly realized he didn’t know how to address her.
Seeing him hesitate, Qin Nianran’s great-aunt, being intelligent and perceptive, immediately understood. After waiting for him to finish stammering, she quickly said, “My name is Tai Ziqi. You can just call me by my name!”
“Oh, okay. Hehe, Ziqi… I was just saying you don’t seem old at all. You still look pretty much the same as before!” the mad scholar complimented politely.
Hearing his casual praise, Qin Ziqi’s eyes immediately lit up, and she seemed to glow with joy. She touched her face and said excitedly, “Really? In your eyes, do I still look the same as before?”
“Mm, yes, exactly. Oh, by the way, have you practiced that secret manual since then?” The mad scholar really couldn’t think of any other topic.
When the topic of the manual came up, Qin Ziqi became excited again, gazing at him affectionately. This made the mad scholar feel overwhelmed—he wanted to slap himself. Why bring it up again? Clearly, she regarded that “manual” as a special token, and he kept bringing it up—truly causing trouble for no reason. Even though that “manual” had had special significance for him back then…

“You know, it’s thanks to this precious manual you gave me that I truly understood what cultivation and skill mean. Later, I connected it with my own special abilities, and to my surprise, I reached an unprecedented level—my skills improved greatly. Look, Nianran has already surpassed me and reached the seventh level. It’s astonishing! She started practicing from a young age, with a higher starting point than mine. All of this is thanks to that precious manual you gave me!” Tai Ziqi seemed to have endless things to say to the mad scholar, as if she had a heart full of emotions to share. Her tone in certain moments was like that of a close friend chatting casually, so friendly and relaxed—far from the impression that they had just met. Even at the end, her affectionate gaze conveyed endless words, words that could never be fully expressed… Others might find it strange, but Tai Nianran understood deeply—how many times had her great-aunt said these words and thought about them when alone?

Seeing her great-aunt as excited as a little girl in love, Tai Nianran’s eyes unexpectedly filled with tears. She was happy for her great-aunt, thrilled that her long-cherished wish had come true, and all at such an unexpected moment. How could she not be happy and excited?

“Come, Nianran, come and meet your scholar grandfather!” When mentioning Tai Nianran, Tai Ziqi seemed to remember something and quickly took her hand, speaking excitedly. At that moment, she acted like a little girl showing off her treasure, as if to say to Tai Nianran, “See? I was right, wasn’t I?” And after all these years, he was still so carefree, so charming, so full of appeal…

“Ah-choo!” Chu Tianyu suddenly sneezed loudly, ruining the atmosphere, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He quickly rubbed his nose, indicating it was his nose causing the trouble and asking them to continue.

After giving Chu Tianyu a reproachful look, Tai Nianran properly bowed to what her great-aunt called her scholar grandfather. The mad scholar quickly said, “Good, good! What a truly good girl. Don’t be so formal; we’re not strangers. Ziqi, from now on, don’t call me ‘little scholar’ or ‘scholar grandfather.’ Just call me the mad scholar!”

“Crazy Scholar… Crazy Scholar… Good, what a great name! Truly, the person reflects their name and demeanor—there’s indeed a sense of boldness and pride in striding forward with a sword in hand. Excellent!” Tai Ziqi murmured, savoring each word, as if every phrase spoken by the Crazy Scholar was incredibly precious, pleasant to hear, and worth pondering.

It wasn’t a big deal that Qin Ziqi spoke so absentmindedly, but it left the “praised” Crazy Scholar extremely embarrassed. He thought to himself, “Sigh, though her words were nice, in front of so many younger people, one should be more low-key and reserved! If this continues, who knows what else she might say? It’s best to quickly shift the focus! That troublemaker Chu Tianyu just sneezed and already forgot about me. You brat, don’t think you can just watch from the side—it’s time to turn the attack back on you!”

At these thoughts, the Crazy Scholar perked up, coughed to draw everyone’s attention, and then asked Qin Ziqi, “Hehe, Ziqi, to be honest, I’m really happy to meet an old friend from decades ago today. It’s such a coincidence to meet again here—it must be fate! By the way, Ziqi, are you here to look for someone?”

Earlier, Chu Tianyu had listened with interest to see how his master would deceive her, but unexpectedly, his master shifted the focus directly onto him. Chu Tianyu inwardly lamented, “My master would do such a thing? He truly lacks any sense of chivalry! To protect himself, he even throws his disciple into the river.”

With these thoughts, Chu Tianyu cast a resentful glance at his master. The Crazy Scholar, seeing this, gave him a helpless look, as if to say, “Tianyu, don’t blame your master. He’s quite old now and can’t handle such stress anymore. His role as a shield has worn out, and they were originally looking for you. Now your master is just returning you to them—take care of yourself!”

After giving this hint, the Crazy Scholar turned his face aside and casually picked up his tea cup to savor it as if nothing had happened.

“Disloyal!” Chu Tianyu spat in his heart before helplessly preparing to face what was about to happen.

Sure enough, prompted by the Crazy Scholar, Qin Ziqi seemed to suddenly remember the purpose of her visit and asked, “Who… who is Chu Tianyu?”

“I… I am!” Chu Tianyu replied, raising his hand bravely.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ziqi sized up Chu Tianyu from head to toe. Everyone else also eagerly anticipated the exciting story to unfold, even the Mad Scholar held his tea with excitement, keeping a watchful eye on the situation. As for Chu Tianyu and Tai Nianran, they watched Qin Ziqi nervously, trying to guess what storm would come next. To everyone’s surprise, after examining Chu Tianyu, Qin Ziqi simply said, “We’ll talk about your matter later; I’m not free now!” With that, she turned her face back to the Mad Scholar, her eyes full of affection, and said, “Mad Scholar, can we find a quiet place to talk properly?” “Pfft!” The Mad Scholar immediately spat out his tea… “Great! Excellent! Zi Yi, hurry up and prepare the study! Let the two elders have a good talk—be quick!” Chu Tianyu was filled with mixed emotions. Seeing this, he quickly spoke up excitedly, fearing more complications might arise. It seems that in critical moments, the old shield still works!