After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Jiang Xiaoqi completely forgot the words she had just spoken to her senior brother, and used her small size and agility to avoid the pedestrians on the street.

Following the direction Ouyang Zheng had just left, they carefully searched along the way.

He's not the kind of voyeur who pries into other people's privacy, but only if it doesn't involve his own safety.

My master is, after all, a former official of the previous dynasty. His arrival in the prefectural city clearly indicates that he is here to see someone. I hope it is not what I am thinking.

If that's the case, he must first consider protecting himself. He has a family and a career, and he can't be innocently implicated in some inexplicable matter.

Even if that person is your mentor, it won't work!

He served her three meals a day and went to great lengths to prepare medicine, and he felt he was worthy of the title of master and disciple.

But if his master disregards the bond between master and disciple and drags him into danger, he will not sit idly by and wait to die!

After sifting through several streets, he finally caught the attention of an extremely ordinary little courtyard.

The reason is simple: the disguise of this courtyard is too perfunctory. What was originally intended as a cover-up to avoid attracting attention has instead become a feature that draws attention.

This person doesn't seem to be one of Mr. Ouyang's early disciples.

After looking around and making sure no one was around, Jiang Xiaoqi darted into the yard.

The courtyard was quiet and looked like no one lived there.

He cautiously approached the main house, wanting to peek inside through the window.

Just as he was about to reach the window, he suddenly heard a slight noise behind him.

Jiang Xiaoqi was startled and immediately turned to be on guard. A figure emerged from the shadows—it was Ouyang Zheng!

Ouyang Zheng looked at Jiang Xiaoqi with a smile, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

He said softly, "I didn't expect your tracking skills to be no less than your lightness skill. I underestimated you."

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't know whether these words were a compliment or an sarcasm, so she could only pretend to be stupid for the time being: "Master, why did you abandon me and my senior brother?"

This is our first time in this prefectural city. Did Master leave us behind and come out to sneak a bite to eat?

Ouyang Zheng was taken aback, then burst into laughter. His little apprentice was quite interesting; compared to his eldest apprentice, this little apprentice seemed to resemble him more in his youth.

"Alright, stop pretending. You specially changed your clothes and styled your hair in a weird way. Did you come here to follow your teacher or what?"

"Um, well, this..."

Miscalculation! He was still wearing coarse cloth shorts and had completely forgotten about it.

"Stop with all that, let's go, come inside with me!"

Ouyang Zheng flicked his sleeves and walked straight toward the main house. A lot of dust fell as he opened the door, but he nimbly dodged it.

Jiang Xiaoqi stopped pretending to be stupid and followed quickly. When they reached the door, they waited for all the dust to settle before stepping inside.

He doesn't have his master's skills; he can dodge even dust.

The room was a bit dark, so the two of them simply left the door open. Although there was a lot of dust when they opened the door, the tables and chairs inside were quite clean.

Ouyang Zheng magically produced three cups and then poured out three cups of tea from the gourd he carried with him.

"What are you standing there for? Sit down!"

“Yes~” Jiang Xiaoqi sat down obediently, looking at the third cup of tea, waiting for her master to say next.

"You, now that you're here, why don't you come with me to meet your martial uncle?"

"Uncle-Master? Is he your junior brother, Master? You seem to have never mentioned him before."

Jiang Xiaoqi felt a little relieved. Since it was her martial uncle, the chances of him being a bad guy could be reduced to a certain extent, but it wasn't entirely trustworthy.

"Alas, I haven't seen him for many years since the new dynasty was established, and I don't know what he looks like now."

My heart, which had just begun to relax, started racing again. More than a decade had passed, and everything had changed. My uncle, whom I had never met before, could be in any position now!

Since they are fellow disciples, they must be skilled in both literature and martial arts, possessing unique abilities. I wonder if he and his master, working together, can defeat their opponent.

Just then, a steady footstep sounded outside the door, and a large figure blocked the door completely, plunging the room into darkness.

Ouyang Zheng stood up abruptly, his expression solemn.

"Senior brother, long time no see! How have you been?" The voice was booming as the newcomer strode in and embraced Ouyang Zheng.

Jiang Xiaoqi was a little worried that the thin old man would be broken in the next second by the hairy-faced strongman.

Finally, they let go, and the two sighed again, realizing that time waits for no one.

Jiang Xiaoqi took advantage of the break between his fellow disciples to observe his uncle properly. He looked to be around forty years old, but was much younger than his master.

He was tall and imposing, with striking eyebrows and fierce eyes. He wore a long black robe and had a long sword hanging at his waist. He exuded a bloodthirsty aura from years of military campaigns.

These are soldiers!

"Mingfei, come here quickly and greet your Uncle Peng Qing!"

Jiang Xiaoqi quickly regained his senses, stepped forward and bowed: "This junior, Mingfei, greets my martial uncle!"

"Good, good, good. I didn't expect you to have such a good mindset in your later years, senior brother. You've taken on a young disciple to teach and guide, which means your mantle has been passed down. Otherwise, it would be a waste of all your skills!"

Peng Qing looked Jiang Xiaoqi up and down, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He could tell that Jiang Xiaoqi, at such a young age, already possessed martial arts skills.

Ouyang Zheng pulled Peng Qing to sit down, and after another round of reminiscing about the past, it seemed they were about to get down to business.

Jiang Xiaoqi was afraid that her master would find an excuse to send her away, so she held her breath and pretended to be invisible.

To his surprise, his master actually put him aside, perhaps because he was so excited about catching up that he forgot about him.

"Senior brother, the northern border is now in imminent danger. The enemy has captured three cities in succession. Baoshuo Pass is our last line of defense. Are you really still unwilling to come out of the mountains?"

I possess only martial arts skills, and while I'm adept at killing enemies on the battlefield, I'm truly not good at outsmarting them, winning with fewer troops, or using clever tactics. Senior brother, for the sake of the people of the Northern Border, you…”

"Aqing, has the northern border really come to this? Your marshal has always been a capable commander, how could he have lost three cities in a row?"

"This... is a long story. My abilities don't go that far. It's just that the Marquis of Chengen is involved, and the army is no longer under my command alone."

"The Earl of Cheng'en? The Empress's brother?"

"He's not a proper elder brother, just someone adopted from the clan. He's not close to the Empress. I don't know what method he used to get this position as a military supervisor."

He was supposed to be supervising the army on behalf of the emperor, but once he arrived at the camp, he repeatedly caused more trouble than he helped. It would be more accurate to call him a spy sent by the enemy! It's infuriating!

Jiang Xiaoqi listened quietly from the side. When he heard the words "Earl of Chengen", he was stunned and recalled his own cautiousness when he took the imperial examination.

And there was the young master in brocade robes who was furious and venting his anger on the middle-aged steward in front of the list.

Deliberately fabricated public opinion, an ambush on the way home, and a deadly poison dripping down like threads.

And I can still recall the dull pain in my buttocks during my fifteen days of traveling day and night to seek a master.

The Earl of Chengen, he really is a persistent ghost.