Water Margin: Gao Yanei is actually a Gal Genius

"This..." Gao Qiu hesitated for a moment, "...How about Daozi plays along with Tuizhi for a bit?"

The old Taoist priest chuckled: "That's not difficult, but I'm afraid of hurting the Grand Commandant's beloved son, which would look bad on us."

"That's alright. I'm tough and resilient, just like I was when I was young. I can definitely endure hardship. Daozi, feel free to do whatever you want. Even if you break his arms and legs, it's his own fault. He can recuperate in bed for a few months and avoid going out and messing around with shady people."

"Then please forgive my rudeness, Grand Commandant." Chen Xizhen took a stick from the weapon rack, went to the open space, and twirled it with the stick.

Gao Jin glanced at it, then grabbed a stick and charged straight at Chen Xizhen.

The old Taoist priest dragged his stick and turned to run away. Gao Jin smiled contemptuously, swung his stick, and chased after him.

Chen Xizhen suddenly turned around and swung his stick down from above. Gao Jin saw the stick coming and hurriedly used his stick to block it.

The old Taoist priest didn't strike down, but instead pulled his staff and thrust it straight into Gao Jin's chest. With a twist, the staff flew out of Gao Jin's hand, and his eight-foot-tall body fell backward.

Seeing this, Chen Xizhen quickly put down his stick and stepped forward to help the fallen Gao Jin, saying, "Tuizhi, how are your Uncle Chen's skills?"

Gao Jin's face flushed red. He stammered for a moment, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He was a man who could accept defeat. He cupped his hands in surrender and said, "Uncle Chen, you have a good way with me."

Gao Qiu also entered the training ground. He first scanned Gao Jin up and down, and only when he saw that Gao Jin was unharmed did he relax. "You bastard, now you know that there are always people more capable than you, right?"

"Got it, Old Deng."

"Don't go to that Dongyue Temple these next few days. Your Uncle Chen rarely has a few days off, so you stay at home and ask him to teach you martial arts!" After scolding his adopted son, Gao Qiu turned to Chen Xizhen, "Brother Daozi, what do you think?"

Chen Xizhen looked troubled, but secretly she had a plan. It turned out that the old Taoist priest had become curious about Gao Yanei's strange appearance yesterday and wanted to find out why. Since her daughter didn't approve, she could just turn down the marriage on her behalf.

"Old Deng, what about my brothers?" Gao Jin was a little unhappy, afraid that if he missed these few days, Lu Zhishen's favorability would drop back, and who knows if his "innate superhuman strength" would be taken back.

That muscular physique is so cool!

"Stop this nonsense! Your Uncle Chen rarely has the time to go out, yet you don't appreciate it and are still thinking about your shady friends! If you dare to step out of the mansion these next few days, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Gao Qiu paused, noticing the troubled look on the old Taoist's face.

"Brother Daozi, is there something troubling you? With our friendship, what's there to be ashamed of?"

"Grand Commandant Meng is too kind. He sent a matchmaker the other day to propose marriage. Given your son's talent and our past relationship, we should be even closer. But my daughter..." The old Taoist sighed, then continued:

"...My daughter has become possessed by a demon these past two days. She wants to kill anyone she sees. I'm afraid that I, as her father, have made a mistake in my cultivation and have attracted a demon."

"Now that I've left the manor, I'm trying to contact my fellow disciples and find a way to exorcise the demons." Anyway, Chen Xizhen's fellow disciples are all famous Taoist cultivators, so once the marriage is called off, the demons will naturally disappear.

At this time, most people believed in ghosts and gods, and Gao Qiu was also frightened when he heard this: "Your daughter is in such a state... Brother Daozi, is there anything I can do to help you? I will give up all my wealth to help your daughter escape danger."

"When a demon possesses a body, it's beyond the help of ordinary people. I can only wait for my fellow disciples to provide a solution. However, I fear that this will delay your son's recovery, which is why I have come to the Grand Commandant's residence today to apologize."

"What crime has Brother Daozi committed? It's my fault for not knowing your daughter's recent situation..." Gao Qiu was filled with lingering fear, realizing that he had almost brought about the extinction of the Gao family bloodline.

Listening to the two elders talking, Gao Jin understood something. The ancients often described mental illness as demonic possession, no wonder that girl named Chen Liqing behaved so strangely. She was already sick, so it wasn't a big deal for her to shout that she wanted to kill people.

Thinking this, Gao Jin couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the girl.

On second thought, I realized that I was the one who almost had the worst luck in the world?

Gao Jin felt a wave of fear, only feeling that the Bodhisattva had protected him. He also thought of the "Good Fortune" skill he had glimpsed when he drew Lu Master's skill yesterday.

The lucky koi is actually Master Lu? What a pity, I can't try to ride his coattails these next two days. Hopefully, I won't lose favor with him. After Old Deng leaves, I'll have someone go and inform Lu Zhishen that he'll be confined for the next two days. The great monk is always generous; he probably won't mind.

By the way, besides Master Lu, who's a lucky charm, this old Taoist priest is also a good person. If someone else's daughter got sick, they'd be eager to send her away as soon as possible, but he's so worried about delaying others. If he's not a good person, who is?

Gao Jin cast a grateful glance at Chen Laodao's retreating figure, then suddenly froze.

[Gao Qiu's favorability rating: 89.] He already knew this. But he could only pretend not to see it, because he really couldn't think of a way to get the cheap old man to call him brother.

[Chen Xizhen's favorability rating: 40.] This isn't right, is it? I've only met this Taoist priest twice, and yesterday it was 0, how did it get to 40 today?

Gao Jin suddenly remembered the scene when he almost fell during the fight. The old Taoist priest reached out and grabbed his hands. Logically speaking, the old Taoist priest did not use much strength, and with his physique, the worst that would happen if he fell would be an unsightly mess.

As an elder, he had absolutely no need to reach out and help him. Unless... Gao Jin shuddered.

He quickened his pace and caught up with the old man behind him, tugging at Gao Qiu's sleeve. The Grand Commandant and the old Taoist priest chatted idly, but their disapproving gazes turned to Gao Jin.

Gao Jin hurriedly whispered his discovery to Lao Deng.

Gao Qiu stopped in his tracks, frowning as he looked at Gao Jin. "You scoundrel," he said, "what were you babbling about again? Didn't you see your Uncle Chen and I were having a conversation? How can you be so rude?"

It turns out that Gao Qiu hadn't heard Gao Jin's words clearly.

Gao Jin exclaimed urgently, "Old Deng! He's giving it to me, he's giving it to me!"

Gao Jin couldn't help but be anxious. Gao Qiu's previous words implied that the old Taoist priest would be alone with him for the next few days, and he was no match for the old Taoist priest.

If we keep quiet about it now, and something really goes wrong, the Song Dynasty won't be able to find a proctologist.

"You scoundrel, what nonsense are you spouting now!..." Gao Qiu reprimanded him sternly, but seeing that Gao Jin's expression seemed genuine, he could only look at the old Taoist priest with a troubled expression, "...Brother Taoist, what do you think of this..."

"It's alright. I haven't visited the Grand Commandant's residence in a long time. That artificial hill in front seems to have some Taoist charm. I'll go there and try to understand it." The old Taoist priest left calmly and stood near the artificial hill to study it.

After Chen Xizhen had gone some distance, Gao Qiu turned to Gao Jin and said with a serious expression, "If you can't give me a proper explanation, don't blame your father for being ruthless."

Gao Jin honestly told everyone his guess.

Grand Commandant Gao frowned and said firmly, "Chen Daozi is definitely not that kind of person. I have never heard of him having homosexual tendencies before."

"You can know a person's face but not their heart, old Deng," Gao Jin said.

Gao Qiu looked up and gazed intently at Gao Jin for a few moments. "My son is such a magnificent man, it's not impossible... but I just finished a discussion with that old Taoist Chen. Wouldn't it be a laughingstock to refuse now?"

Gao Jin gritted his teeth. Old Deng really doesn't know what's important. Is my backside more important or his face?

"How about I stay here and keep watch over you instead of going to the palace for the next few days? Although that old Taoist Chen has some eccentricities, his martial arts skills are among the best in the city of Tokyo, and he is also good at teaching. It would be a real pity if my son didn't learn something from him."

"Old Deng, don't joke around. If you don't go to work, who will protect the Gao family? The emperor only recognizes you."

"It's all your fault, you scoundrel! I told you to show your face in front of the officials before, but you refused and insisted on hanging around on the streets. And now look what's happened! This old man in his fifties is running around doing all this for you."

Gao Jin suddenly had an idea. "Old Deng, I've taken two brothers at the Dongyue Temple. Both are incredibly brave. One is named Lu Zhishen, and he's the head of the vegetable garden at the Xiangguo Temple..." Fearing Gao Qiu would find it offensive, he added, "...originally a military officer under General Zhong, who fled here to become a monk after accidentally killing a villain."

"One of them is Lin Chong, who is the martial arts instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards under Old Deng. If I bring these two into the manor to practice martial arts with me, that old Taoist priest will not dare to act recklessly."

After pondering for a moment, Gao Qiu said, "That's not advisable. Old Daoist Chen has a younger brother named Chen Xiyi. Lin Chong was seriously injured while vying with him for the position of instructor, and died not long after. Since then, Old Daoist Chen and Lin Chong have become enemies. If you summon Lin Chong, Old Daoist Chen will definitely not be willing to teach you wholeheartedly."

"Could that monk Lu alone stop Old Taoist Chen?" Gao Qiu made no mention of Lu Zhishen's killing.

Gao Jin thought for a moment and replied, "With Lu Zhishen blocking the way and me providing support from the side, we're still in this mansion, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Alright, send someone to summon him. Once this is done, you can ask him about his aspirations. If he still wants to join the army, I can find him a minor official position in the Imperial Guard."

"Old Deng, what we brothers talk about is loyalty, not profit."

"You bastard, how many years have you lived? How much wisdom do you know? There's no such thing as loyalty in this world; in the end, it's all about self-interest."