Chapter Seventy-Six: A Tremendous Surprise

A few days later, Fubao received a letter from her mother, along with a small gift from Gu Li. As for the surprise Gu Li mentioned in his letter, she still had no idea what it was.

A few more days passed, and Fubao noticed that her cousin Bai Jie had taken to lingering in the back garden to practice his martial arts. She’d never seen him so diligent before!

One day, Fubao brought the little ginseng sprite along to find Bai Jie and play. As they approached the archway to the garden, the little ginseng was suddenly overcome by a sense of foreboding and absolutely refused to go any further.

Dragging the reluctant ginseng through the gate and turning the corner, Fubao was met with the sight of Gu Yun, happily gnawing on a chicken drumstick.

Fubao was baffled. How did the big fellow end up here?

Nearby, Bai Jie was practicing his breathing techniques, focused and silent. He thought to himself that whatever his father had taught him before was nothing compared to what his chosen master could offer.

Gu Yun had been picked up by Bai Jie. Bai Jie had found him in a secluded corner, dressed decently, clutching a broken bowl that he’d probably stolen from somewhere, competing with a blind beggar woman for scraps.

Bai Jie was utterly perplexed.

At first, he thought the man was seriously ill. But then he overheard talk that a noble family was distributing food and porridge. The moment Gu Yun heard the words “meal,” his ears pricked up, and he vanished in a gust of wind, leaving the blind beggar alone, fumbling about.

Bai Jie was even more bewildered.

So Bai Jie made his decision. He strode over and dragged Gu Yun, still locked in competition for food, back to the mansion with a chicken drumstick.

Thus, the scene before them unfolded. Bai Jie hadn’t expected that his little cousin would know Gu Yun. It was astonishing!

“Big fellow, how did you get here? Are you also here to seek out relatives?” Fubao adopted a scene from a picture book recently narrated by Sister Huahua—a destitute young man arrives in the capital to find family, robbed of his money and forced to beg along the road.

In an instant, Fubao imagined Gu Yun as the fallen nobleman, and herself as the wealthy heiress who saved him.

Bai Jie: Wasn’t he the one who saved him?

Maid Huazhi: This plot sounds awfully familiar!

Gu Yun: Sizzling! The young master instructed him to smoothly make his way to Miss Lin’s side and protect her, all while occasionally reporting back with the latest news. And as for that wild boy who appeared out of nowhere, he was to investigate him thoroughly!

Indeed, Gu Yun was a spy sent by Gu Li, tasked with protecting Fubao and keeping the wild boy at bay.

The process of his “smooth arrival” at the Bai mansion may have been slightly off-script, but the result was satisfactory. He was here safely, wasn’t he?

“Big fellow, what’s the great surprise my brother promised me? I’ve been waiting so long!” Fubao remembered the letter Gu Li sent days ago, promising a big surprise, but nothing had happened after all this time.

Gu Li: “……” Can I reveal that I am the surprise?

From then on, Gu Yun took up residence in the Bai mansion as a teacher, of course instructing martial arts. Bai Jie managed to keep him there with the lure of several chicken drumsticks.

The little ginseng sprite lived in constant terror. With the big fellow back, that feeling of being stalked by a shadow returned. It refused to leave Fubao’s jade pendant, convinced that venturing out would mean getting snatched and chopped up.

That day, Young Master Han Zixuan from the Han family visited the Bai mansion. The skinny boy, now recovered from his eating disorder, had become a seeker of culinary delights. Crystal pork knuckle no longer satisfied him.

His appetite grew, and so did his girth. Fubao looked at Han Zixuan’s noticeably plump cheeks and exclaimed, “Hey~ what have you been eating? You look so chubby now!”

“Not much, really. Just pork knuckle, roast chicken, roast goose…”

“Enough, stop talking!” Fubao’s mouth began to water uncontrollably. She wanted her chef uncle back! Without pork knuckle, Fubao was thoroughly unhappy.

Han Zixuan pouted in silence.

Meanwhile, Gu Yun was on high alert, activating a level twelve warning. The chubby boy before him was precisely the “little thief” his master had instructed him to guard against. Though, in terms of looks, he still couldn’t compare to the young master! (Author: They’re both just kids, how can you even judge their looks?)

“Hey! Han Zixuan, what are you doing here?” Bai Jie suddenly emerged from some obscure corner, his face smudged with dirt, his clothes torn and ragged.

The three children stared at him: What on earth have you been up to? Did you get mugged right here at home?