"Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Upon hearing Fang Wanhai's words, Zhou Xuan was still clueless about how to react. It was Fang Ruolin, standing beside him, who became anxious first.
Especially when she saw Lu Ling'er's gaze, which was almost ferocious, she felt so ashamed and indignant that she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.
At the same time, she secretly resented her grandfather, wondering why he would say such things in front of another person's girlfriend.
Didn't this make her look like a mistress trying to steal a man?
"Old Fang, it would be better if you didn't make such jokes in the future!"
"I already have a girlfriend, and who knows, we might even set a date and get married soon!"
"So, the agreement you mentioned with my master will probably have to be carried out by someone else!"
Hearing Fang Ruolin's voice, Zhou Xuan finally came back to his senses. He took Lu Ling'er's hand, winked at her, and then said solemnly to Fang Wanhai.
Lu Ling'er, on the other hand, felt her restless heart finally calm down a bit after hearing Zhou Xuan's reply.
"Heh heh, I see. It seems I was presumptuous!"
"I apologize, Miss. Old Fang was merely meeting his old friend's disciple for the first time and was a bit overcome with emotion!"
"That's why I spoke nonsense. I hope you won't mind!"
Looking at Lu Ling'er, whose hand was held by Zhou Xuan, Fang Wanhai finally noticed her presence.
He had been so focused on establishing a connection with Lin Yun that he had subconsciously ignored others around him, leading to this situation.
Even though Fang Wanhai was a man who had weathered many storms, he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward at this moment!
"It's alright, Old Fang. Ignorance is forgivable, and I don't mind!"
Upon hearing Fang Wanhai's apology, Lu Ling'er gave him a faint smile, appearing magnanimous.
However, only Fang Ruolin, standing beside them, knew that if Zhou Xuan hadn't spoken up to calm her down, the seemingly kind girl in front of them would have probably been unable to resist stabbing her with the fork she was holding.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore!"
"I just have one question. You mentioned earlier that my master was part of a special unit with you back then." "Why did he retire later?" "Did something happen in between?" Seeing that both sides had reconciled, Zhou Xuan didn't dwell on the matter further. Instead, he turned to Fang Wanhai to inquire about his master's situation.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan felt a bit ashamed. Despite being Xu Tianhua's disciple, he knew very little about his nominal master!
Besides knowing his name, the only thing Zhou Xuan could confirm was that he was the person who treated him best in this world and would never do anything to harm him.
As for anything else, Zhou Xuan knew very little, including his past life and social interactions.
It wasn't that he hadn't put in the effort to find out. It was just that whenever he asked about such things, Xu Tianhua would only respond with silence.
Over time, Zhou Xuan stopped trying to gather information from him.
But today was different. He had finally met someone who knew his master from back then, and Zhou Xuan couldn't possibly let this opportunity slip away to gather some intelligence!
"That's right, some things did happen before your master left the unit!" "And these were the reasons for your master's sudden departure!"
Seeing Zhou Xuan pursing his lips as if preparing to ask something else, Fang Wanhai waved his hand, signaling him to quiet down, and then continued.
"I still remember, it was not long after we had successfully engaged in battle with the country of Eagle, and we were preparing to return to the capital!"
"Our special team suddenly received orders that a unit of the Eagle country was stationed not far beyond our country's border!"
"To prevent this unit from the Eagle country from causing unnecessary threats to our border civilians, our special team was specially dispatched to drive them away!"
"We didn't think anything was unusual when we received such orders, as it wasn't the first time we had been assigned a mission by our superiors!"
"But just as our team, full of confidence, was preparing to complete the mission early and go home for the New Year!"
"We never expected this to be a conspiracy specifically targeting our special team!" "When my master, you, and about a hundred other members of the team arrived at the destination, we discovered that the intelligence stating the opposing force had only about a hundred men was utter nonsense!" "The other side had deployed at least a division's worth of troops to deal with us!"
"And under such circumstances, being outnumbered and ambushed beforehand, our team essentially suffered a devastating blow the moment we made contact with the enemy!" "Besides your master and me, only three other members of the entire team managed to escape alive!"
"And after experiencing such betrayal, your master, as the captain of our special team, naturally couldn't let it go at that!"
"So, without informing any of us, he single-handedly stormed the highest war command center in Shangjing City and proceeded to 'greet' all the high-ranking officials there, from their ancestors to their descendants!"
"Although after your master caused such a scene, the matter was thoroughly investigated, and the betrayers were brought to justice, your master was directly expelled from the military for offending too many powerful figures!"
"Otherwise, with his military achievements, he should at least be a division commander or something by now!"
"I know that with his personality, he wouldn't really care about this!"
"The reason he became so taciturn afterward was probably still out of guilt for those fallen comrades!"
"He always likes to shoulder everything himself. This habit of his has never changed over the years!"
With a sigh, Fang Wanhai slowly recounted the buried past of those years. Zhou Xuan felt a pang of sadness upon hearing that his master had carried so much on his shoulders.
No wonder he always remained silent whenever Zhou Xuan asked about his past. His heart must have been bleeding during those times!
"Old Fang, do you know who exactly expelled my master from the military back then?"
After a moment of silence, Zhou Xuan asked faintly.
"This matter happened decades ago. How would I still know!" "If you want to investigate, you'll probably have to go to the national archives!" "But as an elder, I must remind you that although the punishment for your master was rather harsh, it is an undeniable fact that he forcefully entered a crucial national institution and insulted high-ranking national leaders!"
"Therefore, if you intend to vindicate him, this matter is likely impossible!" Looking at Zhou Xuan, Fang Wanhai reminded him with a slightly low tone.
However, upon hearing his words, there was no change in Zhou Xuan's expression!
He didn't know about other things, but simply the fact that Xu Tianhua was his master was enough reason for him to feel obligated to seek justice for him.
Even though Zhou Xuan also knew that he might not necessarily need it.
But this, this was the due diligence of a disciple!