A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 63 There are horns on the head

These days, the number of people coming to paint is sometimes less than ten.

Even though Duan Rong has used hunger marketing and tried his best to spread the popularity of the product, the number of target customers is limited, and it is only a matter of time before the business starts to weaken.

Duan Rong was not actually in a hurry. Firstly, he had expected this, and secondly, his wallet was already bulging, so he did not need to worry about the money for cultivation in the short term.

Even if there are few people, Duan Rong will sit there until the evening hour and only close the stall when the time comes.

Duan Rong closed his stall and returned to Yuanshun Escort Agency. He placed his things in the dormitory, went to the cafeteria to have dinner, and then went to the corner of the martial arts field and started standing still.

Duan Rong stood there for about an hour when suddenly a crisp and delicate voice sounded in front of him.

"Foolish boy!"

As soon as Duan Rong heard it, he knew who else was calling him except Zhu Xiaoqi. Before he even opened his eyes to disperse his energy, a smile appeared on his face.

Duan Rong opened his eyes and dispersed his energy. Sure enough, he saw Zhu Xiaoqi standing under the swaying shadows of the trees in front of him. The dim light and the shadows of the trees intertwined on her body, creating a hazy beauty.

Duan Rong's smile also added a sense of ambiguity in the night.

"Silly!" Zhu Xiaoqi scolded him and said, "The Second Miss woke up this morning and asked me to come and find you!"

"I went to the martial arts arena twice today, but I didn't see you. Where else did you go to fool around during the broad daylight hours instead of practicing in the martial arts arena?" Zhu Xiaoqi looked at Duan Rong suspiciously, as if waiting for his explanation.

Duan Rong was stunned for a moment. He couldn't tell Zhu Xiaoqi that he was hiding in the dormitory during the day, practicing the Cloud Snake Step.

Duan Rong smiled and said casually, "I went to a customer's house today to paint for him."

“Painting in someone’s house?”

"Yes! This is called door-to-door service." Duan Rong said sincerely.

Zhu Xiaoqi glanced at Duan Rong, and accepted the explanation. He did not pursue the matter further and said, "Come and see the Second Miss tomorrow morning!"

Xiao Baijiao was tired and had just fallen asleep.

"Did the Second Miss say anything?"

"It seems like he wants to thank you in person..."

Duan Rong understood as soon as he heard it.

It seems that Xiao Zongting told Xiao Baijiao about his acupuncture.

As soon as Xiao Baiqiao woke up, Xiao Zongting told her about Duan Rong's acupuncture. He believed that the Xiao family had a clear distinction between gratitude and resentment, and it was not right for them not to know who saved them.

But Zhu Xiaoqi was not aware of this.

When Zhu Xiaoqi saw Duan Rong's understanding expression, he became even more puzzled.

When Xiao Baiyue said this, she thought that Duan Rong had sent her sweet-scented osmanthus cake and candied fruit, so she wanted to thank him. But when she thought about it later, she felt that it was not right.

There was no need to call him over and thank him in person for such a small matter. Seeing Duan Rong's expression, he felt that there was something else going on, so he asked, "What did you do that the Second Miss wants to thank you in person?"

"Nothing." Duan Rong laughed casually.

"Forget it." Seeing Duan Rong like this, Zhu Xiaoqi turned around and left.

"It's getting dark, I'll take you there!" Duan Rong immediately took a few quick steps and shouted behind Zhu Xiaoqi.

"What are you sending me off for? It's just a few steps away! Why are you being so pretentious!" Zhu Xiaoqi walked away without even turning his head.

Duan Rong grinned. "This girl..."

Duan Rong stood at the edge of the tree shadow, watching Zhu Xiaoqi's figure disappear at the alley entrance, then walked back into the depths of the tree shadow and started standing again.

I stood at this station until midnight before returning to the dormitory to sleep.

After breakfast the next day, Duan Rong only performed a few routines. Seeing that the time was almost up, he walked to Xiao Zongting's courtyard.

As soon as Duan Rong walked into the front yard, he saw Zhu Xiaoqi washing clothes by the well in the front yard.

Her sleeves were rolled up high, and her little hands were soaked red by the cold well water.

As soon as Duan Rong entered the courtyard, Zhu Xiaoqi saw him. He was about to give him a cold look, but when he saw Duan Rong's expression, he immediately became very happy. Zhu Xiaoqi put one hand on his waist and chuckled, "Why are you so funny? When did you grow a horn on your head?"

Duan Rong touched the bulge on his forehead, smiled awkwardly, and said, "I bumped into it accidentally while walking."

"Where did you hit? Did you hit a tree?"

"I hit the wall."

"You have chicken shit in your eyes, you might bump into the wall when you walk!"

Duan Rong knew that he couldn't explain it clearly if he continued, so he just smiled foolishly and said nothing.

Zhu Xiaoqi stood up, wiped his wet hands on his apron, put down his rolled-up sleeves, and led Duan Rong to the inner courtyard.

Duan Rong saw that Xiao Zongting was not in the flower hall or the main room of the inner courtyard, so he asked, "Where is Mr. Xiao?"

"He went out. He went out very early in the morning. I don't know where he went. He was so mysterious."

Duan Rong said "oh" and his eyes moved. It was rare to see Xiao Zongting going out so early in the morning.

Xiao Zongting's martial arts skills were completely wasted. He only taught apprentices in the Yuanshun Escort Agency and was in a semi-retired state. He basically cut off contact with people in the martial arts world...

Zhu Xiaoqi led Duan Rong to the inner room on the east side, to Xiao Baiqiao's boudoir.

Before the two entered the door, Zhu Xiaoqi shouted, "Second Miss, look, how funny this guy is! He didn't know how he got a horn on his head. If he hits another one, he'll almost become a sika deer..."

Xiao Baijiao was sitting in front of the window in a daze. When he saw Duan Rong coming in, he turned around and smiled bitterly.

She saw the bump on Duan Rong's head, chuckled, and said to Zhu Xiaoqi, "Xiaoqi, how dare you laugh at Senior Brother Duan like this?"

"Who laughed at him? Is it funny?" Zhu Xiaoqi couldn't help laughing.

Xiao Baiqiao couldn't do anything about her and could only shake his head secretly.

Duan Rong saw Xiao Baiqiao looked tired, so he asked, "Second Miss, are you feeling better now?"

"The serious illness is over, but I just feel heavy and weak all over." Xiao Baijiao's voice was as thin as a mosquito and weak.

Duan Rong's heart sank slightly, coupled with Gu Suxiu's hesitant look as if he wanted to say something the day before, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

"It's always like this when you recover from a serious illness. You'll be fine after resting for a while." Duan Rong said in a comforting tone.

"Xiao Qi, ask Senior Brother Duan to sit down and bring some snacks." Xiao Baiqiao ordered when he saw Duan Rong still standing.

Duan Rong sat next to the coffee table. Zhu Xiaoqi made him some tea and brought a plate of osmanthus cake and candied fruit that he had bought a few days ago and placed it in front of Duan Rong.

After Zhu Xiaoqi finished doing this, he turned around and left, leaving Xiao Baiqiao and Duan Rong to talk alone.

Xiao Baijiao looked at the sunny courtyard outside the window for a long time without saying anything, and suddenly said: "The fate of some people is just like the chilly spring weather outside the window. It looks sunny, but it is actually freezing cold."

Duan Rong was shocked when he heard this. Xiao Baiqiao might have already felt his condition.

"Second Miss..." Duan Rong wanted to say something to comfort her, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to say them.

Xiao Baijiao turned his head, gave a sad smile, and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Duan, for bringing me back from the gates of hell!"

Pull it back once, but what about the next time?

"No, it's you, Second Miss, who are lucky." Duan Rong smiled modestly.

Both of them felt heavy in their hearts.

Xiao Baijiao took out a sachet from her sleeve and handed it to Duan Rong, saying, "I just embroidered it a few days ago. I'm giving it to Senior Brother Duan as a token of my gratitude and as a keepsake."

When Duan Rong heard the words "leave a thought behind", he felt that Xiao Baiqiao had something else in mind. He took the sachet and felt uncomfortable for a moment.

In his previous life, Duan Rong had been in society for many years and had become accustomed to being slippery.

But at this moment, he felt as if his tongue was tied and he couldn't speak.

(End of this chapter)