The next morning, Chen Hao went down early to knock on Ye Yuqiao's door. Soon after, Ye Yuqiao opened the door with a gloomy face, still looking angry.
Chen Hao greeted her with a smile, took Ye Yuqiao's hand, and said, "Ye Yuqiao, let's go to school!"
Ye Yuqiao let out a cold snort, shook off Chen Hao's hand, and then quickly left.
"Hey, don't be mad!" said Chen Hao, who had thought he could smooth things over, to Ye Yuqiao's retreating back. He didn't understand her temperament very well yet, but one thing he was sure of was that good-looking girls loved to sulk.
Once downstairs, Ye Yuqiao walked even faster, practically flying, which forced Chen Hao to run to keep up. After ten minutes, Chen Hao had fallen quite a distance behind Ye Yuqiao and, panting heavily, he stopped and watched her receding figure as he gasped, "What's going on? She walks faster than I can run!"
"Ye Yuqiao, wait for me! Can't you see I admit I was wrong, I'll listen to you from now on!" Finally, Chen Hao expressed his stance on yesterday's incident.
It was then that Ye Yuqiao stopped her rapid pace, turned her head to look at Chen Hao with an expressionless face. She extended her left hand and crooked her index finger, signaling for Chen Hao to come to her quickly.
Seeing this, Chen Hao was overjoyed. He steadied himself by placing his hands on his waist and wobbled his way toward Ye Yuqiao.
Once he reached Ye Yuqiao's side, they walked side by side for a few meters, then several familiar faces blocked the path ahead. Seeing the threatening stance of the Four Little Overlords, Chen Hao suddenly showed a look of panic. Because of his grandfather's matter, he had forgotten about the warning Xie Xiaofeng had given them two days ago when the Four Little Overlords had surrounded him.
"Chen Hao, I thought you had transferred schools since you didn't show up yesterday," Lin Yifei said with a mocking tone, his playful smile irking Chen Hao.
At that moment, Xie Xiaofeng stepped forward until he was in front of Chen Hao and Ye Yuqiao and asked, looking at Chen Hao, "Ye Yuqiao, have you decided to be my girlfriend yet?"
Xie Xiaofeng didn't dare to look at Ye Yuqiao while asking because two days ago he had seen terrifying green light in her eyes.
"Xie Xiaofeng, dream on, she's my girlfriend!" Chen Hao immediately rebuked.
Xie Xiaofeng was furious and bellowed, "If that's the case, why did you still come to school? Haven't I warned you already?"
"Hmph," Chen Hao scoffed disdainfully, "We'll come if we want to. What right do you have to interfere? You warned us, but who's afraid of you four little bullies!"
After speaking, Chen Hao pushed Xie Xiaofeng away. Then, taking three steps forward, he addressed the other three members of the Four Little Overlords, "You Four Little Overlords are nothing but cowards, only good at hiding behind others to outnumber and bully the few. Have the guts for a one-on-one fight with me!"
Chen Hao was deliberately provoking them, hoping his taunts would incite a one-on-one fight with the Four Little Overlords. He suddenly remembered he had a mysterious power in his left eye and even if the Four Little Overlords joined forces, he could beat the four of them by activating the power in his left eye. If it was like the situation from two days ago when he was surrounded by dozens, his single hand would not stand up to the barrage, so his only option was to provoke and anger the Four Little Overlords!
Seeing the three in front of him glare in rage after being provoked, Chen Hao secretly gloated, hoping to himself that they'd quickly agree to the fight—today he was ready to give them a thrashing!
Just as Niu Dawei, leader of the Four Little Overlords, was about to accept the challenge, Xie Xiaofeng quickly interjected, "You trash aren't worthy of us lifting a finger personally!"
Confused by Chen Hao's sudden bold provocation, Xie Xiaofeng recalled how, a few days earlier in the restroom, Chen Hao knocked him out with one punch; it made him wary, thinking he absolutely must not fall for Chen Hao's goading.
Chen Hao could tell that Xie Xiaofeng was wary of him, which pleased him immensely. So, with his hands on his hips, he let out a "haha" and laughed twice, mocking "Xie Xiaofeng, I see you don't dare to fight me one-on-one. A few days ago, who was it that I knocked out in the restroom?"
"Xie Xiaofeng, don't tell me you're afraid of this loser," Niu Dawei could not contain his anger.
"Dawei, don't bother with this loser, hitting him would just dirty our hands," Xie Xiaofeng quickly advised with a frown.
Hearing this, Chen Hao laughed even louder. However, standing behind him, Ye Yuqiao's eyes clouded with worry. She bowed her head slightly, hoping just like Xie Xiaofeng that Niu Dawei would not accept Chen Hao's challenge to fight one-on-one.
"Trash, I'll take you on one-on-one!" Niu Dawei said angrily, stepping in front of Chen Hao.
Ye Yuqiao sighed helplessly.
Sometime later, six of them arrived at a nearby park. In a deserted clearing, Niu Dawei and Chen Hao prepared to fight. Niu Dawei limbered up, big and muscular like an ox; whereas Chen Hao opposite him was thin as a reed.
However, from Chen Hao's relaxed demeanor, he seemed confident of victory. A hint of a smile that he could barely suppress played on his lips.
"Ready to die?" Niu Dawei glared at Chen Hao and asked.
Chen Hao raised his index finger and chuckled, "Come on, hit me!"
"Hmph!" Niu Dawei charged at Chen Hao with his fist raised.
Chen Hao lifted his left hand, raised two fingers, and with a determined stab, poked his left eye. An overwhelming sourness swept over his left eye instantly and tears began to flow unrestrainedly. Chen Hao did this to activate the power in his left eye following the method taught by Ye Yuqiao.
The other three of the Four Little Overlords watching the fight exchanged puzzled looks, wondering what Chen Hao was up to. Niu Dawei's fist was almost upon his face, so why hadn't Chen Hao made a move yet, instead sticking his fingers into his own eyes?
Chen Hao revealed a sly smile as he waited for the power in his left eye to burst forth. However, as Niu Dawei's fist drew closer, Chen Hao felt no surge of strong power within his blood. He, who had remained calm and composed, was now anxious. He turned his head to look at Ye Yuqiao beside him, throwing her a questioning look with his eyes.
Ye Yuqiao had a gloomy expression, helplessly shaking her head at him.
"What's going on? Could it be that Ye Yu is deceiving me?" Chen Hao inwardly questioned himself.
A bad premonition descended, and darkness fell before his eyes. He was gripped by a sharp pain that spread from his left cheek throughout his body. Niu Dawei's fist brutally connected with his left cheek, causing him to feel dizzy, as if the world were spinning around him.
..
Three minutes later, with a judo throw, Niu Dawei slammed Chen Hao to the ground. He stood on Chen Hao's abdomen, sneering, "You trash think you can take me on in a one-on-one fight? I'm not going to cripple you today, but if I see you at school again, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
After speaking, Niu Dawei spat on Chen Hao, a gesture of profound contempt in his heart. During the previous three minutes, Chen Hao had been thrown around, punched, and kicked by Niu Dawei without any means of fighting back.
After Niu Dawei left with his people, Ye Yuqiao walked up to Chen Hao, bent over, and looked expressionlessly at Chen Hao lying on the grass.
"Ye Yuqiao," it was a while before Chen Hao opened his eyes and hoarsely spoke, "didn't you tell me that I could activate the power in my left eye by poking it? Were you lying to me?"
"Hmph!" Ye Yuqiao glared coldly at Chen Hao, "I didn't deceive you. It's because you practiced the Yin Yang Arts spell to increase mana on your own yesterday, which caused the Yang Energy in your body to run wild, suppressing the Yin Qi power in your left eye!"
"So that's what happened!" Chen Hao suddenly realized, and though he had just taken a beating from Niu Dawei, he now felt much recovered and not badly hurt. He reached out for Ye Yuqiao's helping hand with a playful smile, "Darling, give me a hand!"
After Ye Yuqiao helped him up, Chen Hao suddenly embraced her. He always felt refreshed whenever he held Ye Yuqiao close. He whispered, "How can I activate the power in my left eye again then?"
"It's simple, give up practicing the Yin Yang Arts, and I'll teach you how to train this power in your left eye."
"With the power in my left eye, how long will it take me to fulfill the conditions set by Niu Tou and Ma Mian to get my grandfather back?"
Ye Yuqiao thought for a moment and in a low tone said, "Depending on your talent, it may only take three months or half a year, possibly even longer."
Hearing this, Chen Hao let go of Ye Yuqiao and shook his head, "Then I can't give up on the Yin Yang Arts. I can't gamble with my grandfather's life!"
"Do you think you can fulfill the conditions set by Niu Tou and Ma Mian with the Yin Yang Arts you'll learn in half a year?" Ye Yuqiao countered.
Chen Hao stared at Ye Yuqiao and said, "The night my grandfather was taken away, he told me to find the diary he left in the drawer to train with. He believed I could fulfill Niu Tou and Ma Mian's conditions with the help of that diary. So I should also believe in my grandfather's words and concentrate on studying the spells in that diary!"
"You!" Ye Yuqiao stepped back, her eyes wide open, and said, "Well then, you just focus on practicing your Yin Yang Arts. I won't bother with you anymore!"
After saying that, Ye Yuqiao turned and strode away. Chen Hao didn't go after her; he couldn't compromise with Ye Yuqiao on this matter. Only after Ye Yuqiao's figure had disappeared into the distance did he raise his hand to brush off the dirt and grass from his clothes. To his surprise, the pain from the spots where Niu Dawei had hit him was completely gone, and he felt no pain of swelling or bruising when he touched them.
Leaving the park, Chen Hao naturally couldn't go back to school and went home instead to continue practicing the Yin Yang Arts to improve mana. In the evening, the phone rang at home, waking Chen Hao who was meditating in a trance-like state. He got up to answer the phone.
"Who is it?" Chen Hao asked.
"Haozi, it's me, Grandfather Xie. Is your grandfather at home?" The voice on the phone was that of Xie Xiaofeng's grandfather, Xie Da. Xie Da, a long-time close friend of Chen Che's and the Vice President of the Yin Yang Master Association in Y City, usually assigned tasks within the association.
"Grandfather Xie, my grandfather is hospitalized and still in a coma. He won't be waking up anytime soon!"
"What!" Xie Da was quite shocked, "Then why didn't you tell me earlier, Grandfather Xie? Which hospital and room is your grandfather in? I'll go see him right away."
"Grandfather Xie, my grandfather is in the intensive care unit right now. You can visit him once he's moved to a regular room," Chen Hao tactfully declined Xie Da's kindness. Then he changed the subject with a question, "Grandfather Xie, did you call to assign my grandfather a task?"
"Yes!"
Chen Hao said excitedly, "Grandfather Xie, I can do it too. Please let me handle it?"
"Can you handle it? Your grandfather said..."
"I can, really!" Chen Hao cut off Xie Da before he could finish, desperately needing the job.
After a while, Xie Da finally replied over the phone, "Alright, come to the association first to go through the induction process."