You Are the Mute [Comprehensive Martial Arts] - Chapter 9

In an instant, Master Li, who had been gasping for breath and looked on the verge of collapsing, suddenly appeared completely recovered. His complexion flushed with health, his posture straightened, and he looked perfectly capable of delivering twenty or thirty blows with a wooden staff to Li Xunhuan.

“Oh, right, I have a parting gift for you,” Qiao Yiying said, her smile mischievous as she gazed at the visibly shaken Li Xunhuan. “Young Li, the Tanhua, will live a long and prosperous life. Despite enduring countless hardships, he will ensure the continuation of the Li Family lineage. So, you see, he’s unbreakable. Master Li and Elder Li, you have nothing to worry about.”

Li Xunhuan immediately snapped out of his daze, casting a resentful glance at Qiao Yiying. Still young and with his father and elder brother by his side, his temperament remained relatively lively. The Li Xunhuan of later years would likely never have reacted this way.

Qiao Yiying met his gaze with a blink and a smile. She didn’t believe she had said anything wrong. Li Xunhuan was indeed remarkably resilient—unbreakable, in fact. After all, he was the protagonist. As long as he survived, everything would turn out fine.

Compared to Li Xunhuan’s resentment, Master Li and Li Laoda appeared far more agitated. Li Laoda, in particular, seemed to be itching for a fight.

“Thank you, Miss Qiao,” Master Li said, his voice strained. The thought of his gentle, considerate Shiyin enduring such a miserable life—all because of Li Xunhuan—sent waves of fury surging through him. He wanted to rush home and beat his son right then and there! “We have urgent matters to attend to and must take our leave.”

Though he knew patience was a virtue, Master Li felt that disciplining his son couldn’t wait. Otherwise, he’d likely die of anger.

Qiao Yiying opened her mouth to speak, then remembered she’d finished her divination. She tapped the table with her jade flute.

Chief Escort Wang, still reeling from the revelation, snapped back to attention. “Master Li, please wait.”

Master Li looked puzzled. “Why?”

Chief Escort Wang’s smile turned awkward. “This is Miss Qiao’s request. As for the reason, I’m afraid I don’t know.” Miss Qiao hadn’t explained, but he knew everyone present needed to hear all three divinations before leaving.

Though he didn’t understand why, Chief Escort Wang knew one thing: Qiao Yiying’s wishes must be treated with utmost respect and care.

Master Li still desperately wanted to go home and beat his son, but with Qiao Yiying’s intervention, he couldn’t immediately excuse himself. He reluctantly sat back down, his face burning with embarrassment. Ah, what a disgrace in front of outsiders! It’s all that good-for-nothing youngest son’s fault.

Li Xunhuan felt somewhat wronged. Although everyone called Qiao Yiying the Divine Calculator, what if she had made a mistake? Even if he wanted to repay a debt of gratitude, he could never let his cousin bear that burden. He would never do such a thing—absolutely not!

Despite these thoughts, Li Xunhuan couldn’t shake a nagging unease. He desperately wanted to deny it, yet a strange intuition told him Qiao Yiying’s words were a glimpse into the future. Cousin… would she truly suffer so terribly because of him?

He would rather endure the pain himself than let his cousin suffer. How could he ever give her up? The young Li Xunhuan couldn’t comprehend such a possibility, nor did he want to. He had already resolved never to let it happen.

If that day ever came, he would rather die than accept the so-called life-saving benefactor.

At that moment, Li Xunhuan swore an oath in his heart. Years later, when he actually encountered a life-saving benefactor who fell in love with Lin Shiyin at first sight, his expression immediately darkened. He offered to repay the debt of gratitude, but made it clear that some things were absolutely off-limits.

His daily and nightly warnings against letting the prophecy come true had become a knot in Li Xunhuan’s heart. Only after that person appeared did the knot begin to slowly unravel.

Master Li and Li Laoda had originally been brooding over Li Xunhuan’s failure to achieve the Zhuangyuan title. Coupled with their already frail health and excessive worrying, they had passed away prematurely. However, after learning of Qiao Yiying’s divination, they became consumed with plotting how to discipline Li Xunhuan, leaving no room for idle thoughts. When illness struck, they diligently followed the doctor’s instructions, and their health surprisingly improved.

Master Li could now chase Li Xunhuan across the entire Li Garden, brandishing his wooden staff, while Li Laoda had even begun practicing swordsmanship. Their health was thriving, albeit at the cost of Li Xunhuan’s occasional beatings—a bittersweet yet ultimately welcome development.

However, these events would unfold much later.

At this moment, Master Li and Li Laoda felt deeply ashamed to face anyone. Yet, at Qiao Yiying’s insistence, they sat uneasily in the main hall, their discomfort palpable.

What’s the point of having two sons? they thought. What good is it if everyone praises them, only for them to bring disgrace upon the family?

Though Yuan Dongyuan prided himself on his magnanimity, the constant pity and sympathy surrounding his blind son still stirred resentment when facing Master Li, who had two accomplished sons.

Seeing Master Li humiliated because of Li Xunhuan, Yuan Dongyuan couldn’t help but feel a secret satisfaction, even though he knew it was wrong. My son is still the better one, he thought. Even blind, he’s the Young Manor Lord praised by everyone in the Jianghu.

As his father, Yuan Dongyuan knew his son best. He would never be a wastrel like Li Xunhuan, easily manipulated by others. In Yuan Dongyuan’s eyes, Li Xunhuan, who had given away Li Garden, was no different from a prodigal son.

As for Yuan Suiyun, he held Li Laoda in utter contempt and paid him no attention. However, he couldn’t ignore Li Xunhuan. Li Xunhuan was not only handsome and well-read, but also skilled in martial arts, already gaining a small reputation in the Jianghu and poised for even greater fame.

Such an exceptional young man in the Jianghu—a young man with perfect vision—was Yuan Suiyun’s greatest source of resentment. Everyone else could see, could possess good eyes, yet he was denied this. How could he not hate it?

Seeing Li Xunhuan humiliated today, how could Yuan Suiyun not feel a secret joy? Yet he was always adept at concealing his true feelings, so no one could detect the slightest hint of his satisfaction—except for two people.

One was Qiao Yiying, who had always known Yuan Suiyun’s true nature and harbored no affection for him. Her face remained impassive from the moment she appeared, her smiles always tinged with sarcasm, so no one noticed her disdain for Yuan Suiyun.

The other was Li Xunhuan, whose keen intuition told him that Yuan Suiyun harbored ill will toward him, despite everyone praising the Young Manor Lord’s virtues. Though he couldn’t explain why, the malice was undeniably real.

Li Xunhuan reasoned that it was only natural for him to be disliked, as nothing in this world is perfect, and dismissed the matter. He was far more concerned with the divination Qiao Yiying had given him than with Yuan Suiyun’s feelings.

Sigh.

Qiao Yiying glanced at Yuan Dongyuan and his son, Yuan Suiyun, and tapped her jade flute against the table.

Chief Escort Wang immediately asked, “What would the Former Manor Lord and Young Manor Lord like to divine?”

“The divination is my father’s wish, Miss Qiao. Please follow his instructions,” Yuan Suiyun replied. Though blind, he turned toward the speaker as if making eye contact. His voice was gentle, his expression warm, giving the impression of a man with an exceptionally mild temperament.

Qiao Yiying merely glanced at him, showing none of the admiration that others displayed.

Yuan Dongyuan felt a flicker of displeasure but suppressed it. He asked, “Miss Qiao, will my son ever regain his sight?”

“Regain his sight?” Qiao Yiying raised an eyebrow, a cryptic smile playing in her eyes. “Yuan Suiyun will meet a wretched end, his body left unburied. It will be a fitting punishment, divine justice made manifest. He deserves it. Regain his sight? Everyone else in the world might regain their sight, but not him. He is unworthy.”

If Qiao Yiying’s earlier mention of Li Xunhuan had carried a hint of mockery, her words about Yuan Suiyun now dripped with loathing. The intensity of her disgust was palpable, shocking everyone present.

What kind of future could possibly inspire such hatred in Qiao Yiying toward Yuan Suiyun?

Yuan Dongyuan leaped to his feet, slamming his palm down and shattering the table beside him. “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

In an instant, a fan pressed against his throat, a blue-glowing blade extending from its edge. “Quiet down, or you’ll be silenced permanently.”