Chapter 25: A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life

Zhu Xiaofeng was jolted awake from his stupor, and sure enough, he found that his fainted disciples and the SUV were blocking the entire road. He urgently ordered his eldest and fifth disciples, who were still conscious: one to drag the others to the roadside, the other to drive the vehicle onto the wasteland beside the road, clearing the way for the sports car.

Once the sports car disappeared from sight, the eldest disciple, his finger still bent at a right angle, hurried over to Zhu Xiaofeng, his face full of confusion. "Master, that young man..."

Slap!

Zhu Xiaofeng cut him off with a swift slap to the neck. "What do you mean, 'that young man'? If you really want to talk about it—"

His words stopped abruptly. He suddenly realized something crucial: since Qin Chuan hadn't used his power to intimidate them before the fight, he clearly wished to keep his identity concealed for now; therefore, Zhu Xiaofeng must also keep it secret.

At first, Zhu Xiaofeng had doubted Qin Chuan's true background. After all, his own father was renowned in the martial arts world—countless people knew his name. But for Qin Chuan to reach such terrifying heights in his twenties, it couldn't just be innate talent; he must have had guidance from a master. Apart from those hidden elders, Zhu Xiaofeng couldn't imagine who else could have nurtured such a prodigy.

"What did you want to talk about?" the eldest disciple pressed, still bewildered.

Zhu Xiaofeng replied curtly, "Don't ask what you shouldn't. Once your injuries heal, you all need to find work with the Lan family."

"Why?" his disciple was even more confused. They were currently martial arts consultants for the Guo family—a cushy job with generous pay. Why go to a strange place for employment?

"You ask a lot today! If you don't want to go to the Lan family, you'll be expelled from the sect. All of you." Zhu Xiaofeng barked angrily.

Seeing their master was truly upset, the two shrank back and quickly promised to apply for security jobs at the Lan family tomorrow.

"That's more like it!" Zhu Xiaofeng nodded with satisfaction.

"Master, we've suffered such a loss today. Should we ask Grandmaster to avenge us?" The second disciple, just regaining consciousness, asked through gritted teeth.

Zhu Xiaofeng's fleeting smile vanished, replaced by an icy glare. "If you want to die, go ahead and ask."

"Third Brother, shut up," the eldest disciple said sternly.

As the most quick-witted among them, Feng Sanbao sensed something was amiss. The man called Qin Chuan was likely someone neither their master nor even the grandmaster could afford to offend.

"Master, calm down. I'll gather the three younger brothers for a meeting later. Tomorrow, besides applying to the Lan family for security, I'll find a way to formally apologize to Mr. Qin." Feng Sanbao assured, patting his chest.

Zhu Xiaofeng was deeply gratified. "Sanbao, I've always thought you had promise. This awareness shows my years of careful teaching weren't wasted."

Feng Sanbao felt as if struck by lightning, charred outside and tender within. His suspicions were confirmed: Qin Chuan was not only unmatched in personal strength, but likely had a terrifying background as well.

"I didn't say anything too offensive to him, did I?" Feng Sanbao mused, staring at his crooked finger.

"Insults aren't a capital offense, right?"

"Breaking my finger—surely that great man vented his anger."

He silently comforted himself.

Meanwhile, in the sports car.

Lan Jin slowly awoke.

"Playing dead in danger is one thing, but you really fell asleep? Aren't you worried about your man's safety? Even if we’re pretending to be a couple, you should at least act the part!" Qin Chuan bombarded her with criticism.

Lan Jin was bewildered, rubbing her sore neck and quickly recalling the recent events as her thoughts cleared.

"Wait, Brother Chuan, didn't you knock me—"

Before she could finish, Qin Chuan interrupted, "Didn’t you? You wanted to watch me get beaten. That’s a textbook case of plotting to murder your husband."

Lan Jin’s lips twitched. When it came to playing the victim and twisting the truth, Qin Chuan claimed second place, and no one would dare claim first. She clearly got knocked out by him—how did it turn into her plotting against her husband?

Wait… husband?

"Whose husband are you, anyway? Why accuse me of murder?" Lan Jin looked at Qin Chuan with a hint of grievance, puzzled why mentioning this stirred a strange, sour feeling inside her.

Qin Chuan smiled awkwardly, realizing his words weren't entirely unreas