Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

When Song Tingnan looked up again, the man who had been carrying her on his back, Sanmazi, turned around and said, "That girl eating... isn't she a bit ugly?"

"Ugly? What's so ugly about her? She's a girl, she could be a wife. I looked around and didn't see any adults with her, she's eating wontons alone. Great, she's all alone, we can make a pair, it's on our way, and we can split the profits when we sell her." The shop owner retorted.

"Alright, I'll go try to get some information out of him," Sanmazi said as he got up.

"Wait a minute," the owner of the general store called out to Sanmazi, "It's easy for a grown man like you to get suspicious if you go up there to try and get information from a young girl. Take the child with you. Remember to be gentle and speak nicely. This is a rare opportunity, don't mess it up."

"Big brother, it has to be you, you're quick-witted." Sanmazi obediently pulled a child from the inner room and was giving him instructions with his back turned.

Uh, from what I heard, it seems like they were talking about her. Is she ugly? She definitely isn't pretty now.

Whose fault is it? It's all because her two masters got together during the New Year and focused on the results of her research.

One day after dinner, Gao Haoran started a conversation: "Old Liu, look at our Tingnan, she'll be nine years old soon. She's been exercising well and getting plenty of nutrition, and she's grown into a beautiful young lady."

Liu Dayong agreed, "That's right, beautiful!"

"Do you think it's a bit dangerous for a girl like her to be out and about all the time?" Gao Haoran rubbed his hands together, his face full of worry.

“Master, I’m just a child, I have no money, and I haven’t offended anyone, so what danger could I possibly be in?” Ting Nan said dismissively.

“What do you know, kid? People’s hearts are unpredictable, and the world is a dangerous place. There are always some people with ulterior motives,” Liu Dayong chimed in.

“Yes, I’m always worried about her running around. Although she has some martial arts skills, she’s not bad-looking. I’m just afraid that she might encounter someone who uses underhanded methods, or if there are too many people around, she won’t be able to fight back. If she were less attractive, I would feel more at ease.” Gao Haoran clapped his hands, completely embodying the mindset of an old father—his own daughter is a treasure, and many people care about her.

"Old Gao, do you think you're being cunning?" Liu Dayong seemed to understand. "Is it really necessary? Ting Nan is also my apprentice. I'll pass on these skills to her sooner or later."

"Haha, the sooner the better, spread it, spread it quickly, while there's nothing else to do in this winter." Gao Haoran wasn't embarrassed at all.

And so, Liu Dayong was "on the shelf" again, and Tingnan began to learn the art of disguise from Master Liu.

Liu Dayong was truly amazing. With just a few eyebrow pencils and some powder, he seemed to casually draw and manipulate Tingnan's eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and face, and Tingnan looked completely different, even her temperament changed. Then he had Tingnan coordinate some movements, posture, tone of voice... Tingnan had practiced these beforehand, so he just used them on the spot.

After this back and forth, people who weren't familiar with her really couldn't recognize the original Tingnan. What's infuriating is that the two masters had the same goal—to make her look ugly.

Ting Nan was truly exasperated by them. In the end, she pleaded repeatedly, "Masters, please have mercy! It's too ugly; it will affect our business." She was genuinely afraid of scaring away customers, so she reluctantly accepted a moderately ugly one, at least presentable enough.

Ting Nan accepted it and had no choice but to learn it herself so that she wouldn't be so ugly that even her grandmother wouldn't recognize her.

What a coincidence! I heard Nan put on ugly makeup and went out, and she still got targeted? If her masters find out, she'll get scolded. Where is justice?

Ting Nan pondered this in her heart, but didn't show it on her face, continuing to eat, taking things one step at a time. Since she started learning martial arts, she didn't seem to have ever faced off directly? Ting Nan found herself surprisingly a little excited.