Xu Qi’an’s eyes were blank, having no idea why she was suddenly angry.
Then, as if thinking of something, he made out like he was responding carelessly while secretly watching her.
“I overexerted myself last night and felt tired, so I came for a bath. National Teacher, have you had lunch?” Xu Qi’an said with a smile.
At the words “overexerted,” a blush crept over Luo Yuheng’s fair cheeks. She glared at him in feigned annoyance.
“I was just about to find you for lunch.”
The two of them soon returned, entering the bedroom, which was as warm as spring. Qingxing Gardens’ maid brought in a long table laden with porridge, meat buns, pastries, fried dough sticks, pickles, and other breakfast dishes.
Luo Yuheng ate nothing else, holding just a bowl of plain porridge, delicately pinching the porcelain spoon between her fingers, eating with small mouthfuls.
This should be the emotion of ‘Anger’, meaning she’s irritable and short-tempered. I’ll have to handle this carefully…
Xu Qi’an pondered and observed her at the same time.
The National Teacher remained the National Teacher, cold and beautiful, with a spot of vermilion between her brows, like an immortal untouched by the mortal world.
Everything from last night seemed but a dream.
However, Xu Qi’an had already learned how alluring and tempting the National Teacher’s figure was, how delicate and soft her skin was, and how supple she felt.
I actually slept with the National Teacher of the Great Feng, the beauty the Yuanjing Emperor failed to win… Even now, recalling last night, things still felt slightly unreal to Xu Qi’an.
“Have you stared long enough?”
Luo Yuheng raised her eyes, glaring at him with a mix of coyness and annoyance.
We’ve already slept together, so what’s the matter if I look a few more times… Xu Qi’an muttered inwardly, his gaze settling on the National Teacher’s full bosom.
Thunk!
A chopstick shot through the air, stabbing into the table in front of Xu Qi’an.
“I’ll eat, I’ll eat!” He withdrew his gaze and silently drank his porridge.
After breakfast, the two exchanged neither words nor glances. Any time Xu Qi’an tried to admire the National Teacher’s face or figure, whether surreptitiously or openly, she would flare up in anger.
Luo Yuheng put down her bowl and chopsticks, stood up with an indifferent expression, and walked gracefully towards the bedroom.
Her robe swayed lightly as she walked, making her seem all the more light and enchanting.
“Don’t disturb my cultivation unless it’s necessary,” she said lightly.
The bedroom door was ajar. Xu Qi’an turned to look and found that the bedding from last night had already been changed.
A white lotus-embroidered chest wrapping and a pair of soft white silk trousers hung from the screen.
Bang!
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Luo Yuheng shut the door with a particularly loud thud.
It feels like this ‘anger’ has made her even more distant, always glaring at me. It’s as if I’m just a tool for her…
It’s like she’s really my aunt now, or maybe an English teacher…
He leisurely grabbed a clean towel, wiped his hands and mouth, then walked to the bedroom door and knocked.
Luo Yuheng ignored him.
So Xu Qi’an took the liberty of pushing the door open and glanced around, suddenly realising those close-fitting trousers and chest wrapping were gone.
Luo Yuheng was sitting cross-legged on the bed, glaring at him. “Did I not tell you not to disturb me?”
The old Luo Yuheng had been cool and composed, rarely letting her emotions show, making her seem noble and aloof to Xu Qi’an.
Now, though, she was quick to anger and lose her temper. Though her mood was hardly good, at least it made her seem more human.
“The karmic flames have subsided, you can consolidate your cultivation a bit later. How about we go for a stroll in the garden?”
Xu Qi’an moved to her bedside, took her soft, delicate hand.
He thought their relationship was like an arranged marriage, first the wedding chamber, then developing feelings.
Luckily, Luo Yuheng didn’t dislike him. In fact, she rather liked him, though it fell short of being passionate.
But now that they truly knew each other, he needed to change mindsets and work at deepening their relationship.
After all, I can’t expect Luo Yuheng to chase after me… Xu Qi’an thought. Suddenly, he caught a flash of anger in her eyes. Instinct warned him, and he tried to jump clear.
But found he couldn’t move.
“National Teacher?” Xu Qi’an quickly said, “Let’s talk this over.”
Luo Yuheng glared at him. “What did I tell you last night? This is just a transaction. Don’t assume you’re my Dao companion just because we dual cultivated. Don’t take liberties.”
“I was out of line.” Xu Qi’an apologised immediately.
With a snort, Luo Yuheng let him go and closed her eyes to meditate. “Leave.”
The angry personality is far harder to deal with than the original National Teacher, volatile and prickly. If I hadn’t apologised quickly just now, I might be flying out of the room with her sword in me…
She’s also even prouder and more aloof… Xu Qi’an let out a breath.
He left the bedroom and enjoyed the fresh air. As he passed the window, it suddenly banged open. Luo Yuheng sat cross-legged on the bed and called out coldly,
“Where are you going?”
“To a brothel,” Xu Qi’an replied, curling his lip.
“What did you say?” Luo Yuheng’s brows drew together in anger. “Say that again.”
Xu Qi’an snorted, deliberately provoking her. “Does the National Teacher care whether I go to a brothel? There’s nothing between us, it’s only a transaction.”
Luo Yuheng’s chest heaved in anger, and she slammed the window shut.
“So I really am going to a brothel?” Xu Qi’an shouted at the window.
“Get lost!”
…
Xu Qi’an did not leave Qingxing Garden immediately. He asked the maidservants to prepare some food, clean clothes, washing supplies, and so on.
He found an empty room, took out the Stupa tower, and tossed it lightly.
The Stupa tower swelled and grew bigger, the spire almost piercing through the roof. With a single thought, Xu Qi’an entered the tower.
Arriving at the third floor, he saw Mu Nanzhi sitting face-to-face with the spirit of the tower, imitating the monks by pressing her palms together and meditating with her eyes closed.
What’s going on here… Xu Qi’an put the bundle aside and said, “Nanzhi, I brought you some clothes and food.”
Mu Nanzhi remained unmoved, continuing to meditate with her eyes closed. The little white fox darted over, twitching its nose as it sniffed, mumbling:
“No fruit? I want to eat fruit.”
Xu Qi’an slapped it away and said angrily, “Get lost.”
If it weren’t for this little thing messing things up, I wouldn’t be facing this asura battlefield, the princess consort would still be waiting for me innocently at the inn.
The little white fox, having been hit again, began to cry and said:
“I don’t want to eat your food. You’re no good at all; you only bully us.”
It dejectedly went back to Mu Nanzhi’s side. With effort, it leaped up, its front paws catching on to the table, then clawed with its hind legs to climb up onto the desk.
It sobbed for a while until Xu Qi’an placed the pastries in front of it.
The little white fox glanced at the pastries and stubbornly turned its head away.
“Are you not going to eat?”
“Hmph!”
“Then I’ll eat it myself… Mmm, it’s delicious, soft, moist and sweet. Wonderful… And this meat bun, the juices are overflowing and the dough is so chewy. Ah, only the last piece left.”
The little white fox’s ears twitched.
“It’s a pity that a certain little fox won’t eat, so I’ll have to finish it off myself.”
“I’ll eat, I’ll eat.”
The little white fox’s resolve vanished. It turned back around, dove into Xu Qi’an’s arms, and said coquettishly, “I want some, I want some.”
Xu Qi’an patted its head, fed it breakfast, and seeing that Mu Nanzhi was still cold-faced, he sighed, put down the little white fox, and left.
He actually had many ways to deal with Mu Nanzhi, but the dual cultivation wasn’t finished yet. Most likely, whenever he coaxed her well, they would clash again.
Or perhaps, she took this chance to insist on severing ties with Luo Yuheng, forbidding further contact after dual cultivation.
…
At this time, the martial assembly was being held on schedule in Yongzhou city, with the venue set at the southwestern Dajiao Square.
The tournament was open to the entire Jianghu of Yongzhou (provided they had no criminal record with the authorities). The first stage was the open selection, anyone who signed up could participate.
After the selection, the top hundred contenders would be chosen.
The second stage was the top hundred, where these hundred victors would compete for ranking.
This system imitated the Central Plains Jianghu Top 100 Leaderboard.
The lord of Longshen Castle, Lei Zheng, and the master of the Gongsun family, Gongsun Xiangyang, were both experts ranked 71 and 80 on the Jianghu’s top 100 leaderboard.
Xu Qi’an changed his appearance again, disguising himself as a nondescript man, and blended into Dajiao Square.
This place was originally the barracks for the city garrison but had been abandoned and disused for years. Though dilapidated, it was very spacious.
Reaching the arena, he gazed out, oceans of people as far as the eye could see.
Xu Qi’an stood at the edge of the crowd and glanced from a distance at the newly built platform. At that moment, two young heroes were duelling with sabres.
Their techniques and methods were ruthless and underhanded, with no sense of martial virtue, determined only to defeat the opponent and win.
It was somewhat dirty, but at least there weren’t any melodramatic or debate-based swordsmanship tricks common among unorthodox fighters.
“There are so many people. If I search here every day, I’ll definitely find a Dragon Qi host…”
He clutched the Earth Book fragment in his palm, sending his spiritual senses outward like ripples.
Very quickly, the “scenery” around him was fed back into his mind in detail.
To the south, a burly man stared at the stage, his body pressed close to a woman, his rough hand kneading the woman’s plump rear.
On the burly man’s left, a thin, small man silently sliced open the man’s money pouch with a blade.
A young man to the north was also engaged in pickpocketing.
Setting aside these various people and incidents, Xu Qi’an caught sight of a Dragon Qi host in the crowd, arms hugging his knees, watching the fight with obvious disdain.
“It’s a Dragon Qi fragment host…”
Xu Qi’an did not act rashly, unable to determine whether the man was a wild host or a decoy.
In Yongzhou city, unless it was one of the nine main Dragon Qi hosts, he would rather give up than take risks.
His spirit swept through the onlookers and spread towards the barracks area. Soon, another Dragon Qi host appeared in his senses.
It was a two-courtyard residence, extremely dilapidated, seemingly abandoned for years.
A group was seated in the front hall, and the host was among them.
“It’s another Dragon Qi fragment host. Even with a grand event like this tournament, even though Yongzhou has more than one Dragon Qi host, for two to appear here at the exact same time is not a normal probability…
“Of these two Dragon Qi hosts, at least one is bait, maybe both… Hmm? Gongsun Xiangyang?!”
Xu Qi’an spotted Gongsun Xiangyang among the group.
In the front hall, Gongsun Xiangyang sat in a large chair with Gongsun clan members standing behind him.
Sitting as his equal was a young man with gentle eyes and a warm smile, giving off an approachable aura.
Behind this young man, from left to right, stood: a cold-faced young man with a spear; a beautiful and charming young woman; an old, slovenly Taoist in worn robes; a Southern Marches man in a colourful robe with green eyes; a flirtatious and lively beauty; a burly, imposing man with a powerful presence.
And a middle-aged man carrying a sword on his back, expressionless, but with a look of resignation in his eyes. He was the Dragon Qi host.
Who are these people… Xu Qi’an’s eyes lingered briefly on the young woman.
She was under twenty, her figure already showing the allure of a young woman, with big, round eyes, thick lashes, and that unique, pointed chin of youth.
Just like Xu Lingyue, a very pretty girl, though Xu Lingyue belonged to the gentle girl-next-door type, at least on the surface.
This young lady, however, was cold and serious, already showing signs of being a strong-minded woman. In a few years, she would likely be the same type as Huaiqing.
Then, he turned to examine the other beautiful woman. This one was charming but not vulgar, gorgeous but not gaudy, with a unique aura.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before, but something about her feels familiar… as if we’ve met somewhere… Xu Qi’an mused. At that moment, he heard Gongsun Xiangyang politely laugh and say:
“How should we address you all, heroes?”
Lei Zheng was a martial fanatic and disliked handling affairs, so the tournament host was Gongsun Xiangyang. He had just delivered his opening speech when this group invited him here.
This group was truly formidable. Even at peak fifth rank, Gongsun Xiangyang could only barely assess the depths of the spear-wielding youth and the slovenly old Taoist.
As for the rest, he could not see through them at all.
Gongsun Xiangyang had a bold thought: most of these people must be fourth rank experts.
This idea was frankly shocking. In the Jianghu, fourth rank experts could dominate a region. Only in places like the capital, crammed with experts, would so many be seen together.
In the Thirteen Provinces of the Great Feng, a single province had a population in the tens of millions, sometimes even more, yet only a handful of fourth rank experts emerged.
“Ji Xuan.”
The only one seated, the gentle-tempered young man, smiled.
“Hero Ji!”
Gongsun Xiangyang cupped his hands repeatedly.
Ji Xuan… Xu Qi’an’s brows knitted. The surname “Ji” made him especially alert.
The young man who introduced himself as Ji Xuan smiled and said, “We are from Qingzhou. Hearing that Yongzhou is hosting a martial assembly, we came to see the fun and broaden our horizons.”
After a pause, he pulled out a portrait from inside his jacket and laid it on the table, saying:
“Master Gongsun is a famous figure in Yongzhou. I’d like to ask for your help.”
Regardless of whether Gongsun Xiangyang agreed, he continued, “If you help me find the person in the portrait, there will be handsome reward.”
Gongsun Xiangyang, of course, would not refuse. He accepted the portrait with both hands, examined it carefully, and said with a smile:
“No problem at all. If we receive any news, we’ll definitely inform everyone.”
It was only a matter of finding someone. A trivial matter, it was not worth making enemies with these people for it.
Ji Xuan nodded with satisfaction and continued: “There’s also one more small favour.”
Gongsun Xiangyang adopted a listening posture.
“I’d also trouble Master Gongsun to keep an eye out for someone. He has no portrait, his name is Xu Qian.”
Ji Xuan took a sip of tea.
Xu Qian… Gongsun Xiangyang suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
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