Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

His debt was great now. From the moment he had made that promise, Yang Ce had decided that he could never again be indifferent to this girl. Whether Zhou Yanning woke or not, Yang Ce would care for her, forever.

If possible, he would even put a wedding dress on her—this too was a promise he had made her, a man's promise, a promise for a lifetime. Though at the time, much of Yang Yanzhou's reason for saying it had been to keep Zhou Yanning holding on until she reached the hospital; it could be called a white lie.

But as for words he himself had spoken, Yang Yongjin would not go back on them even if he wanted to. Though Yang Duo admitted he was no gentleman, he was not the sort to grow fat on broken promises either.

Yet although Yang Ce now felt deep remorse toward Zhou Yanning, he had not fallen in love with her. Matters of the heart do not simply appear on demand. Yang Ce did not understand Zhou Yanning at all—he could not even fathom why Zhou Yanning liked him. So he could accept Zhou Yanning, but truly falling in love with her would have to wait until he came to know this girl.

"Jiajia, wake up soon. I will keep the promise between us," Yang Ce said softly, holding Zhou Yanning's small hand tightly.

But Zhou Yanning showed no change of expression at all. Yang Shuo did not expect it to work on the first try; he had seen similar scenes on television. This was slow, painstaking work, and one could not rush it.

Just as he was speaking, the ward door was pushed open. Yang Puqi looked up and saw Wang Xue walk in.

"Eh? Yang Ce, you're here?" Wang Xue asked, somewhat surprised.

"Wang Xue, why are you here too?" Yang Shuyu said. Wang Xue was on good terms with Zhou Yanning and was also Tian Yan's girlfriend, so he nodded to her amicably.

"I've been coming often these days," Wang Xue said with a sigh. "Jiajia is my good friend. Seeing her like this makes me very sad, so I come to talk with her whenever I have time."

"Mm, thank you," Yang Ce said. He now regarded Zhou Yanning as his own woman, so he was naturally courteous about Wang Xue's gestures.

"Why thank me?" Wang Xue was puzzled. "If anyone should be thanked, it's Aunt Hua."

"Nothing, ha ha." Yang Ce laughed dryly, suddenly feeling he had been rather self-important. Indeed, apart from Xia Xue, no one knew of the promise between Zhou Yanning and himself, so it was only natural Wang Xue did not know.

"By the way, Yang Ce," Wang Xue suddenly paused and said, "I have something to give you."

"Something for me?" Yang Puqi was startled, then looked at Wang Xue suspiciously.

"It's like this—Aunt Hua asked me to help pack up Jiajia's things from the dormitory," Wang Xue said, opening her carry bag. "While packing, I found a diary. I thought this thing would be better given to you."

"To me? Why give it to me?" Yang Ce took the diary Wang Xue handed over, perplexed, and glanced it over—it even had a lock. "And it's locked, too."

"Because Jiajia and I were together every day, I have a rough idea what she wrote in her diary," Wang Xue smiled. "I couldn't find the key—who knows where that wretched girl put it. You'll have to figure out how to open it yourself. I didn't peek, I swear."

"Thank you." Yang Ce immediately understood what Wang Xue meant—there were probably some secrets of Zhou Yanning's in this diary. Yang Ce had been wanting to understand Zhou Yanning better, so he gladly accepted it.

After chatting with Wang Xue a while about Zhou Yanning's condition, Yang Ce rose to take his leave once Mother Zhou returned. Old Buffon already knew of his return and was waiting for him at the hotel in a frenzy of impatience.

Yang Ce still felt quite apologetic toward Old Buffon. The man had helped him enormously, and though Yang Ce was nominally his master, it was a title in name only—he had never taught him anything.

After leaving the hospital, Yang Ce drove to the Moon Island Hotel where Old Buffon was staying. Hearing Yang Ce was coming, Old Buffon had been waiting at the entrance for a long while. Catching sight of Yang Ce, he immediately came trotting over, all eagerness: "Master!"

"Keep your voice down, don't let others hear," Yang Wenru said with a frown.

"I know, I know." Old Buffon immediately looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "I know to keep it secret. We martial artists all prefer to keep a low profile."

Yang Xu shook his head helplessly and went upstairs with Old Buffon. Once the room door was closed, Yang Ce put away his smile, sat down on the bed, and said to Old Buffon with a serious face, "Old Buffon, I now formally take you as my disciple."

"Thank you, Master!" Though Old Buffon had long known Yang Ce had agreed, hearing him say it so solemnly with his own ears filled him with irrepressible joy. He hurriedly knelt down according to the discipleship rites he knew, and respectfully knocked his head three times.

Seeing Old Buffon, at his age, kowtow to him, Yang Ce felt some reluctance in his heart. But in martial arts there is no seniority of age—the capable become the teacher. Such was the rule, and everything had to be done by the rule. Yang Shuo could only accept it with composure.

"Don't celebrate too early. There are some things I must make clear to you first," Yang Ce said with a wave of his hand, his tone mild.

"I know—is it the school rules? I will follow them, Master, rest assured," Old Buffon said, nodding hurriedly.

"The school rules are one thing, but the main point is that I can only take you as an outer disciple." Yang Mo looked at Old Buffon with some apology. "Given your age and aptitude now, inheriting my legacy is out of the question, so I will only teach you some practical skills and exercises to strengthen the body."

"I understand, Master. I know my own situation," Old Buffon nodded.

"Good. Then I'll teach you some practical skills right now," Yang Ce said. "Would you rather learn combat techniques or acupoint sealing?"

"Acupressure? Oh heavens, Master, are you serious? You're going to teach me acupressure?" Old Buffon's eyes brimmed with delighted surprise.

Yang Ce nodded slowly. "I can teach you a few crude basics. A systematic study is out of the question—the meridians of the human body can't be mastered in a short time. I can only teach you a few simple, easily identifiable major points. For instance, points that, once struck, can make a man laugh uncontrollably or briefly rob him of his mobility."

Those profound acupressure techniques Yang Ce could not pass on freely without Fang Tian's permission, so he could only pick out the cruder, simpler things to teach Old Buffon.

To be continued

665. Bring Shu Ya Back

After taking that phone call, Xiao Qing began to feel restless. She had thought the matter was long over, done with, and that person had not contacted her for a very long time—yet unexpectedly, a call from that person had come again.

Xiao Qing had a splitting headache, unable to guess what she wanted with her now. Did she still want to keep up that kind of relationship? Ever since she had been with Yan, Xiao Qing had cut off all contact with that person.

She had done her best to forget the whole affair, but now, after that call, Xiao Qing had no idea what to do for the best.

To meet or not to meet? Xiao Qing was torn. At the time, afraid Yang Ce could not accept it, she had never told him about the matter—but now she was truly afraid. To be honest, she did not want to see that person again; yet if she refused, she feared that person would come pestering her. And if Yang Ce found out—what then?

But then again, if she did meet her and she still clung to her, what then? Either way, Yang Ce would find out sooner or later.

For a moment Xiao Qing could not make up her mind. Yang Ce, knowing nothing of Xiao Qing's troubles, drove from Old Buffon's place straight to Nightless Sky.

"My uncle's Nanming City—what do you make of it?" Yang Ce asked Hou Lin and Bao Lin.