Chapter 1242 - 1242: The Old Man with Jet-Black Temples

A light breeze carried fine snowflakes, neon lights kept the night sky company.

In front of the villa gate, a slender figure stood in the wind and snow.

Her lips were already turning purple; if you got closer, you could even hear her teeth chattering.

And yet, even though her delicate body was shivering, she still forced herself to hold back, not shrinking her neck, nor pulling her clothes tighter.

Lin Bingqiao could feel her fingers no longer listening to her, while her feet didn't feel that cold, just itchy and numb.

At this moment, she couldn't control the way her gaze started to lose focus, and her thoughts began jumping around.

One moment she was a child, the family of three eating around the round table, and the next moment they were separated by death, and she was standing before her parents' graves, crying her heart out.

Gradually, her body began to sway, and her eyelids were fighting each other, as if she could collapse to the ground at any time.

Just then, an old, hoarse voice reached her ears.

"Girl, over here…"

Lin Bingqiao instantly snapped awake. Just as she was wondering if that voice she'd just heard was an illusion, the old voice sounded again.

"Girl, over here."

She turned her head and saw a hunched figure standing under a streetlamp not far away, beckoning to her.

The man was wearing a raincoat. Through the swirling snow, she could vaguely see half a face hidden under the hood.

"O-old sir, y-you're calling me… do you need something?" Lin Bingqiao asked in a trembling voice.

"What?" The old man seemed a bit hard of hearing. He tilted his head and said, "Speak up."

Lin Bingqiao had no choice but to start again: "Sir…"

However, she had only said three words when the old man answered, "Eh!"

"…" Lin Bingqiao.

So does his hearing have a problem or not?

"Girl, come over here to the streetlamp, it's warmer here."

"N-no need, it's so late, you should hurry home."

"Sigh… what home is there anymore."

Hearing this, Lin Bingqiao frowned and asked, "You don't have any family?"

"Might as well not." The old man seemed to mock himself as he said, "Didn't my son just kick me out? Still, he counts as filial—he even gave me a raincoat and told me to get lost as far as I could."

A sourness rose in Lin Bingqiao's heart. She grabbed her right hand with her left and reached both hands into her pocket, pulled out a stack of cash, and held it out to the old man. "I've got some money here, you should find a place to stay for the night."

The old man hunched over and walked toward her. After taking the money, he said, "Thank you, girl. On such a cold day, what are you doing standing outside?"

"Of course I have my reasons. You're old, you should first…"

At this point, Lin Bingqiao suddenly stopped, then widened her eyes. "How come your hair…?"

When she was farther away just now she hadn't noticed, but now that she was closer, she saw that the old man's temples were actually covered in black hair.

Looking at the wrinkles and age spots on his face again, Lin Bingqiao's big eyes were filled with curiosity…

This old man who had suddenly appeared in the wind and snow was, of course, Xiao Feng.

The goal was simple: trick Lin Bingqiao into leaving, so she'd stop pestering him endlessly to take her as a disciple.

Otherwise, knocking her out every time wasn't exactly a long-term solution.

As for the hair color—there was nothing he could do about that. He hadn't brought a full set of Disguise props before coming, so a few flaws were inevitable.

Xiao Feng coughed twice, pounded his waist, and explained, "A couple days ago I went to a barber shop to beg for food, and the little apprentice in the shop dyed it for free. Said it would make me look younger."

The corner of Lin Bingqiao's mouth twitched twice; she really didn't know what she was supposed to say.

Age, identity, social status, outward appearance—these things have to match to feel reasonable, otherwise they just give people a sense of disharmony.

Like a first-grader carrying a beer bottle, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Or like a kind-faced old Monk with women in both arms, speaking with the tone of some street thug.

And right now, that was exactly the kind of feeling Xiao Feng's appearance gave people. Fortunately, the hood of the raincoat covered him a bit, so it didn't look too obvious.

"Girl, the snow's coming down harder and harder. Were you kicked out of your house too?" Xiao Feng asked casually.

Lin Bingqiao froze, then forced a smile. "More or less."

"Then why'd they kick you out?" Xiao Feng pressed.

"I… don't have any family, so wherever I go, that's home."

"Then you really have it rough, girl!"

Seeing that she still had no intention of leaving, Lin Bingqiao casually asked, "Why did your son kick you out?"

"Sigh, when you get old, you become a burden."

Xiao Feng sighed with feeling. "They say you raise sons so they can take care of you when you're old, but when it comes to me…"

Lin Bingqiao opened her mouth, just about to say a few comforting words, when she heard Xiao Feng continue, "To be honest, I really didn't want to lay a hand on him. Otherwise, just based on my skills, I'd cripple him for sure!"

"You…" Lin Bingqiao's expression turned complicated; she was already too tired to even roast him.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Xiao Feng suddenly got fired up; his back immediately straightened. "If you don't believe it, I'll show you a couple of moves, take a look!"

As he spoke, under Lin Bingqiao's incredulous gaze, he lifted his right foot and stomped heavily in the snow, letting out a deep shout from his mouth.

The thin layer of snow instantly rippled outward, like waves spreading across the surface of a lake.

Facing into the wind and snow, Xiao Feng began to run through moves, each punch and kick flowing like clouds and water, as if every movement contained countless variations.

Lin Bingqiao's eyes went wide on the spot, and she felt the old man's techniques were getting more and more ingenious!

She had no idea that this set of moves was something Xiao Feng had learned from a Taiji master.

Not only were the moves gorgeous, but as for actual combat… ahem, chances were he wouldn't even make it to the third move before getting flattened.

In fact, Xiao Feng himself had been fooled by this set of fists back then. On a whim, he learned it, and it took him an entire afternoon.

It might be useless in a real fight, but it was extremely deceptive.

After finishing the entire set, Xiao Feng looked at Lin Bingqiao.

As expected, her expression looked properly shocked.

Riding the momentum, Xiao Feng patted his chest and said, "Girl, you look like you still don't believe I know kung fu. How about we trade a couple of moves? On a cold day like this, a bit of exercise and you won't feel cold anymore."

"I've trained a bit myself. Are you sure you can handle it?" Lin Bingqiao asked.

Just from those words, it was obvious she was already thinking about sparring.

Xiao Feng laughed to himself and nodded in agreement.

"Wait a second, let me warm up."

With that, Lin Bingqiao started stretching her arms and legs to loosen up.

However, after a whole day without food or water, she hadn't even finished her warm-up when her legs suddenly buckled and she collapsed into the snow.

The corner of Xiao Feng's mouth twitched wildly. Seriously, with things going like this, was all his effort going to be for nothing?

He naturally wasn't willing to let it all go to waste, so he suggested, "How about we find a place to grab a bite before we spar?"

Hesitation showed on Lin Bingqiao's face. She looked toward the villa, as if wondering whether she should leave.