CHAPTER 196: 196-

"Your grandson?" Fang Yuan’s brows rose, genuine surprise slipping through his composure. "I didn’t know you had a grandson."

The fact that a benefactor of the Fang Clan had a family of his own, a family he had never once been told about, caught even the clan head off guard.

Doctor Mu chuckled, the lines on his weathered face deepening. "I adopted one a while ago."

Fang Yuan tilted his head, studying him with curiosity. "Adopted a grandson... but you didn’t bring him here to live with you?"

The old physician’s eyes gleamed with dry amusement. "Hah. That boy refused. Said he had no wish to stay in a cramped hut with an old man."

Fang Yuan’s lips twitched in a half-smile. "Which is precisely why I’ve told you again and again to move into the core area and accept a proper mansion."

But Doctor Mu only waved him off with a soft laugh. "No, no. I like this place. I like this hut. Too much noise in the core."

The clan head glanced around the modest, worn room, then exhaled a long breath through his nose.

He clicked his tongue softly in defeat.

"...Hmph. True enough. This place is more peaceful."

After a pause, he nodded, resolve firming in his tone. "Very well, then. I’ll take your grandson in as my personal disciple. But I expect him to be genuinely dedicated. He must have an eagerness to learn... and the willingness to listen."

Doctor Mu’s grin widened, mischief sparking in his aged eyes. "Don’t worry about that. If he doesn’t listen, you can even beat him."

Fang Yuan was mid-sip of tea and nearly choked.

He coughed, sputtering as a spray of tea escaped him, startling Fang Lian who had been sitting in polite silence until now.

Doctor Mu leaned back smugly, stroking his beard as if he had planned the moment. "and if, just in case you break a bone or two from that boy, it’s fine. I’m a doctor for a reason."

Fang Yuan set his cup down with deliberate calm, though his eyes still held a glint of amusement.

"Surely you jest, Doctor Mu. I do not strike juniors, unless it’s during battle."

Doctor Mu lifted his own cup and sipped leisurely, his smile sly.

"And every day is a battle, Clan Head Fang. Every single day." He repeated it, nodding to himself as though imparting a life truth.

Fang Yuan arched a brow at the old man’s dramatics, then turned toward Fang Lian.

She was cradling her cup in both hands, sipping carefully. When she noticed his gaze, she blinked up at him in mild confusion.

"Worry not, disciple," Fang Yuan said, his voice steady, almost solemn. "No matter what happens, I will never raise my hand against you."

Doctor Mu barked out a laugh before she could respond. "And you had better not! Lay even a finger on her, and I’ll make sure you regret it!"

His words were blunt, but his eyes were filled with the warmth of an old man protecting his own blood.

For Fang Lian, it was nothing new.

Doctor Mu had raised her as though she were his own daughter, teaching her medicine, crafts, and the small, steady skills of survival long before cultivation had entered her life.

She ducked her head quickly, hiding the small smile tugging at her lips as she took another sip of tea.

"So," Fang Yuan said at last, his tone dry, as though confirming the absurdity he’d just heard, "it’s acceptable to strike the boy... but not the girl?"

Doctor Mu snorted. "Of course! That boy’s skin is thick enough to take a beating. But this one..." he gestured at Fang Lian, his eyes softening as they landed on her, "how could anyone even think of laying a hand on such a fragile girl? Hah! The very idea is outrageous."

Fang Lian flushed faintly, lowering her gaze to her tea.

Fang Yuan fell silent, caught between exasperation and amusement. For once, words failed him.

He could only shake his head, utterly speechless before the old man’s shameless partiality.

Doctor Mu leaned back with a mischievous grin, the lines on his weathered face deepening.

"What’s this, Clan Head Fang? You act as if you’ve never tasted a good scolding. Didn’t your elders thrash you when you were a brat?"

Fang Yuan’s lips curved ever so slightly.

He set his cup down with care, his gaze distant for a breath.

"During my youth," he said evenly, "I was already ahead of the elders in cultivation. Even if they wanted to hit me, they couldn’t."

For a moment, silence fell.

Then Doctor Mu threw his head back and laughed, the sound rich and unrestrained, filling the little hut like rolling thunder.

"Hah! No wonder you turned out like this! The heavens really are unfair."

Fang Lian blinked between the two men, caught between awe at her master’s casual statement and amusement at Doctor Mu’s mirth.

Doctor Mu shook his head, chuckling as he sipped his tea.

"Mm, then I suppose I’ll just have to make sure my apprentice here isn’t spoiled in the same way. If she grows up half as arrogant as you were, Fang boy, I’ll drag her back to this hut myself."

Fang Yuan’s lips curved into a faint smirk.

"Heh... I’m not arrogant. In fact, I’m the most humble person you’ll ever meet. Don’t worry—your favorite and only apprentice will learn humility from me, better than anyone else."

Doctor Mu froze for half a breath before bursting into raucous laughter, nearly spilling his tea.

"You truly are humble, humble enough that you need to declare it aloud! Hah! Now I’m suddenly worried for poor Fang Lian."

He let out a long, exaggerated sigh, though the glimmer of mirth in his eyes betrayed it for the act it was.

Beside them, Fang Lian lowered her cup, blinking between master and doctor with exasperation bubbling in her chest.

(...Hey. Do I not get a say in any of this?)