Chapter Sixteen: Do You Think You’re Guanyin or the Buddha Himself?

In Gu Long's novels, White Jade Capital says: There are three types of people in the martial world one should never provoke—beggars, monks, and women.

In modern society, we rarely encounter beggars or monks, and seldom see the real ones. Of course, there are plenty of panhandlers pestering pedestrians on the streets, but they hardly qualify as disciples of the great Hong Qigong. As for monks, they've become high-level white-collar workers drawing government salaries.

With the first two eliminated, the only ones left to beware are women.

Unfortunately, Qin Luo had provoked just such a woman.

If hand grenades were fifty cents apiece, Chen Xiaoxue would surely buy a dozen and throw them at him.

She hated the couple before her to the core. Whenever she recalled wetting her pants in front of everyone at the mall yesterday, her teeth ground audibly. It was the greatest humiliation of her life.

To make matters worse, Wang Hao’s phone had been unreachable ever since. He must have felt disgraced by her actions, and it seemed their relationship was doomed.

He was her benefactor. Now it was all over.

She hadn’t slept well for a day and a night—not because heartbreak had struck her, but because she was obsessing over how to ruin Lin Huanxi, that wretched woman.

Unexpectedly, the opportunity appeared right before her eyes. This pair of adulterers dared to stroll openly into the university campus.

This time, let’s see how you escape. I will make your scandal known to all.

“Why? Speechless now? As teachers, consorting with your own students—is that something to be encouraged? I wonder what the department head would think if he knew. What would your colleagues and students say?” Chen Xiaoxue spoke with the air of a conqueror, her face brimming with pride.

She had made up her mind—no matter what, she would report this to the department head. Moreover, she held evidence of their guilt; they wouldn’t be able to talk their way out.

Lin Huanxi raised her delicate brows, about to retort, but Qin Luo took her cold little hand in his.

Being held in public like this was a first for Lin Huanxi. Panic flustered her so much she forgot what she meant to say.

This gave Qin Luo the opportunity to set a trap. He feigned anger, glaring at Chen Xiaoxue. “What business is it of yours what happens between me and Teacher Lin? How have we offended you? Why do you always stand against us?”

“Me, always against you? Ask your dear Teacher Lin. It’s her who’s always against me.” Chen Xiaoxue pointed her silver-black polished finger at Qin Luo’s face. “You haven’t offended me? Wasn’t it you yesterday at New World—”

Chen Xiaoxue choked, unable to bring herself to admit wetting herself in the mall yesterday; it was worse than being slapped in the face in public.

She simply couldn’t understand how she’d suddenly felt such a strong urge to urinate.

Her stomach wasn’t upset, and she’d just been to the restroom at the café—

With no other excuse, she could only lay blame on this strange scoundrel. After all, he had deliberately approached her then.

“What happened at New World?” Qin Luo asked, feigning ignorance. His expression was so infuriating that anyone would want to slap him twenty times.

“You—you’re shameless.” Chen Xiaoxue trembled with rage. Had her makeup not been high-end, it would have slid off her face like dandruff.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about. How am I shameless? No need to throw accusations around,” Qin Luo continued to play innocent.

“Fine. Very well. That’s just great. Keep pretending—let’s see how I deal with you both.” Chen Xiaoxue sneered coldly, deciding to stop sparring with them. She planned to return to her office and show the evidence she’d gathered to the department head and colleagues.

As Chen Xiaoxue stormed off in a fury, Qin Luo called after her, “Are you talking about the New World incident? Don’t worry, we won’t spread that around.”

Chen Xiaoxue stumbled, nearly falling headlong down the stairs.

“Damn you. I’ll make sure you have nowhere to hide.” Chen Xiaoxue cursed through clenched teeth, eyes rimmed red, tears threatening to spill.

“Let’s go,” Lin Huanxi said.

Qin Luo looked at her and smiled. “Do you pity her?”

“She’s just a poor woman,” Lin Huanxi admitted indirectly.

“The pitiful often have something detestable about them. Don’t be quick to show mercy just because she’s a woman. The destructive power of such women rivals that of a group of men. Mark my words—by the time you return, everyone in the office will have heard about your ‘romance’ with a student. If they misunderstand you, bring them to my classroom,” Qin Luo shrugged.

Since people speak of equality between men and women, everything should be equal—rights, duties, love, and hatred.

If you can’t bear the consequences of failure, it’s best not to join the game.

Lin Huanxi nodded, seeming convinced by Qin Luo’s words. She hurried ahead, leading him through the sunlit campus of Yanjing Medical University.

Countless students pointed at their backs and whispered, some comments reaching their ears.

“Oh my, isn’t that our ‘Ice Queen’ teacher? Am I seeing things?”

“Yes, when did the Ice Queen thaw? I always thought Teacher Lin was frigid.”

“Who’s that guy? Looks cocky—wearing a robe—”

Qin Luo barely resisted the urge to turn around and give that guy a beating. Who says wearing a robe makes you cocky?

It’s called style. Style. Understand?

Forget it. A bunch of kids—they wouldn’t get it.

After crossing several stone paths, three koi ponds, and a basketball court, Lin Huanxi finally led Qin Luo into a luxurious office building.

A golden plaque hung at the entrance: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine Administrative Building.

They went straight to the third floor. Lin Huanxi pointed to a room at the end of the corridor. “That’s Director Guo’s office. Principal Li has already spoken to him. Go and check in—he’ll arrange your duties.”

“Alright. I’ll go myself. You get back to work. Remember what I said; if they give you trouble, bring them to my classroom,” Qin Luo reminded her once more.

He knew the situation would unfold just as he’d anticipated.

There are countless ways for good people to do good, but villains always resort to the same tricks.

“Understood.” Lin Huanxi glanced at Qin Luo before turning to leave.

Watching her voluptuous hips sway in the silver business suit, Qin Luo couldn’t help swallowing.

*********************************

Thanks to Principal Li’s strong recommendation, Director Guo was quite polite to Qin Luo. The School of Traditional Chinese Medicine lacked teachers for three courses: “Fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” “History of Chinese Medicine,” and “Diagnostics in Traditional Chinese Medicine.” Director Guo let Qin Luo choose which to teach.

Qin Luo chose “Diagnostics in Traditional Chinese Medicine,” as it was the easiest course for students to combine theory and practice.

As for the other two—important as they were, Qin Luo felt they should be taught by more talented and experienced teachers.

He declined Director Guo’s offer to personally escort him to the class, and carried his newly issued textbook to Classroom 306 in Building Two. Inside, a few dozen students sat scattered in groups, laughing and chatting.

Qin Luo, the new teacher, arrived without causing any stir.

Of course, at this point, no one probably believed he was a teacher.

Since class hadn’t started yet, Qin Luo took a seat in the first row.

Beside him was a girl wearing a baseball cap. Her long black hair lay smoothly over her shoulders, her cheeks were delicate and lovely, her eyes big, dark, and sparkling, with long lashes. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, like a porcelain doll.

Her skin was fair, her figure graceful. Sitting there, she even seemed taller than Qin Luo.

Of course, Qin Luo thought she only seemed taller because of the cap. It was cheating—if he wore a hat a meter tall, he’d tower over Yao Ming.

The girl wore a red hoodie, leaned back slightly, and listened to music with an enraptured expression.

Noticing a stranger had sat beside her, she took off her earphones and asked, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’m new here,” Qin Luo replied with a smile.

Seeing the boy smile, the girl couldn’t help but smile too. Her round eyes curved into crescent moons as she said, “Hello. My name is Wang Jiujie. You can call me Xiao Jiu or Ah Jiu.”

“Wang Jiujie? What an unusual name,” Qin Luo remarked.

“Tch. Outdated, huh? Naming after numbers is trendy—you just don’t get it. Besides, there’s a special meaning. My mom gave birth to me at exactly nine o’clock, nine minutes, on September ninth. So my dad picked this name.” Wang Jiujie rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed by Qin Luo’s comment.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Qin Luo.” Qin Luo gave a brief introduction before lowering his head to look at his textbook. He hadn’t prepared for the class and didn’t know what he was going to teach.

Noticing that the boy who dared sit beside her suddenly fell silent, Wang Jiujie grew curious.

“I heard a new teacher is coming to teach our Diagnostics class. Did you know?” she said, fishing for conversation.

“I heard,” Qin Luo nodded.

“So soon? I thought I was the most well-informed. Now I feel embarrassed,” the girl said, disappointed that her news wasn’t unique.

“I just found out myself,” Qin Luo replied. He really had only just learned he’d be teaching Diagnostics.

“Hmm. Even a new student gets the news fast—impressive.” The girl praised him, then added, “I wonder if this teacher will be any good. If not, maybe we’ll kick him out too.”

“Kicked out?” Qin Luo asked, surprised.

“Yeah. If you’re not skilled enough and dare to mislead students, of course we’ll chase you off. We’ve already driven away two teachers,” Wang Jiujie said proudly, not noticing Qin Luo’s odd expression.

“Were they that bad at teaching?” Qin Luo asked. Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose. He couldn’t afford to repeat their mistakes.

“Bad? Worse than bad. Couldn’t answer our questions—like they crawled out of some backwater. One student with acute appendicitis was misdiagnosed as having eaten something bad, nearly losing his life.”

“Such people can be teachers?” Qin Luo’s eyes widened.

“They had connections.” Wang Jiujie dismissed it with a disdainful pout—a gesture that, from her, was oddly charming.

“This new teacher won’t make that mistake,” Qin Luo assured her.

“Hard to say.” The girl shook her head.

Then, with a dreamy look, she added, “But I do hope we get a teacher who’s both talented and virtuous, preferably young and handsome.”

“You’ll see your wish come true,” Qin Luo said.

“You think you’re the Goddess of Mercy or the Buddha? Whatever I wish is granted?” the girl giggled behind her hand.

Qin Luo was about to answer when the bell rang.

“You’ll see your wish come true,” Qin Luo repeated.

Under the gaze of the entire class, he carried his textbook up to the podium and said, “My name is Qin Luo. Qin as in the Qin Dynasty, Luo as in Luo River.”

He turned and wrote his name on the blackboard, his calligraphy flowing like a dragon. His grandfather had forced him to practice since childhood, so he was confident in his handwriting.

“I am your teacher. From now on, ‘Diagnostics in Traditional Chinese Medicine’ will be taught by me. Let’s begin.”

The room fell silent. No one had recovered from the shock of the scene before them.

“Oh, my God! He’s actually the teacher? How can he be the teacher? Just let me die, please let me die,” wailed a girl, covering her face in despair.