Book 12: Chapter 44

Gifted with decent memorisation abilities, Song Chi didn’t remember this place being this structured five years ago. “It can’t be him. He’s not this attentive to details.” Song Chi shook his head with a smile.

Although it had been years since they last saw each other, it was something Song Chi had to bear with for the sake of the bigger picture. He stopped at the door for a while prior to uneasily knocking. Song Chi assumed there’d be several obstacles to overcome in order to meet, but the door was opened immediately. As the two taken aback individuals looked at each other, Song Chi chose to break the silence. “Long-time no see.”

***

Shen Kuang remembered a different Shen Yiren when their parents were still by their side. While her love for martial arts, fighting and cussing were a tad far from “normal”, his sister was pretty much a normal kid. Once the inferno left them with nothing but their sibling who was practically their spitting image, his sister began to shine so bright that there seemed to be no hiding.

Shen Kuang was supposed to be on the run, yet he couldn’t – rather, he chose not to – stop reflecting whilst he was resting against a wall. The thoughts weren’t something that pervaded his mind recently but always. Sensing sword qi on his neck, Shen Kuang frantically evaded a Flying Thrust.

Given “Flying Thrust” was a signature technique of Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary’s, the assailant had to be confident they wouldn’t embarrass their clan. By extension, it couldn’t have been an impulsive decision resulting from desperation.

Shen Kuang tested his opponent, then wisely adopted a hide-and-seek strategy. Alas, the difference in their levels, even in qinggong, was too different for him to shake off his pursuer.

“Yo, yo, yo, what’s the point of this running and hiding? Do you really think I could bear to kill you? I can’t bear to ruin your smooth, cute face.” Ling Shaoxuan stepped out from behind the wall whilst sheathing his sword and shaking his head.

One might question why Bai and Jin families wouldn’t worry about their daughters joining three other men. Song Chi was a gentleman who valued reputation. Xun Feng might’ve been somewhat crazy, but he knew where to draw the line. Anyone who knew Ling Shaoxuan well would’ve known that the two girls were safer with him than any other man. The ones in peril were Song Chi and Xun Feng.

Ling Shaoxuan’s original mission was to intimidate and provoke; however, once he set eyes on Shen Kuang, he couldn’t help licking his lips. Since Shen Kuang wasn’t particularly formidable, Ling Shaoxuan decided to get playful.

“Why are you running? I’m not going to eat you. Come have some tea with me. It’s just a chat. I promise to be gentle.”

It wasn’t Shen Kuang’s first time dealing with men ogling him. The difference between this time and previous times was that Ling Shaoxuan knew he was a man!

Shen Kuang sprinted off again. Ling Shaoxuan, a fan of chasing his target, gracefully gave chase.

Shen Kuang’s aptitude for athletic endeavours, martial arts included, paled drastically in comparison to his sister. Whatever physical development he was endowed with today was the product of his resilience and his sister’s pressure. To be clear, Shen Yiren never demanded Shen Kuang excel; he merely used the pressure of being compared to his sister as fuel to improve.

Shen Yiren learnt everything quickly as their father did. When she lost her temper, she’d lash out as her mother did. Tending to worry about others was alike both of them. As a matter of fact, Shen Kuang should’ve been concerned for her health, but the bliss of familial love would always stop him. He wasn’t as intelligent as his father, decisive as his mother and didn’t feel he was as kind as them.

“Oho? Not bad.” Ling Shaoxuan thought he could dismantle Shen Kuang’s straight palm thrust with his scabbard, only for Shen Kuang to secure his wrist.

Shen Kuang attempted to ride the momentum to disarm Ling Shaoxuan, but Ling Shaoxuan trapped his fingers, preventing Shen Kuang from spreading them. The difference in strength was too great for Shen Kuang to possibly break Ling Shaoxuan’s hold.

“Hahaha.” Ling Shaoxuan strapped his sword to his chest with one hand whilst pinching the back of Shen Kuang’s hand with his other. “While you’re not half bad, your strength is lacking. If you drink with me, I’ll gift you a quality internal mental cultivation discipline.”

Shen Kuang silently retreated three steps, then, in a low voice, warned, “It’s in your best interests to not come near me.”

Ling Shaoxuan smiled. “Hmm?”

Though Shen Kuang didn’t predict he would be locked, his attempt to disarm Ling Shaoxuan wasn’t on the spur of the moment. He never expected to have success with a straight attack, so he disguised it as one.

Inside of Ling Shaoxuan’s sleeves were two explosive balls. Among the firearms that the imperial court researched, these explosive pills were among the three most lethal. The incredibly light balls would explode the moment they made contact with flames. Unfortunately, it was costly – time and resource wise – to produce them, not to mention the rate of success was less than 1%. For the reason that they couldn’t be mass produced, they were used as personal hidden weapons.

Liu Shan Men was given a hundred explosive pills.

The location Shen Kuang led Ling Shaoxuan to was the “backyard” of many residential homes. He wasn’t sure if two balls were enough to take his opponent life. Howbeit, they would be enough to draw attention. If that didn’t work, a fire could also draw attention. If a cluster of homes were ablaze, the local magistrate would notice.

Shen Kuang would be granted indemnity for working at Liu Shan Men without an official post. Setting houses on fire, though, wasn’t going to be swept under the rug. The first crimes he could think of being persecuted for was arson and inflicting harm on others. What about the innocents involved? As aforementioned, Shen Kuang never considered himself kind.

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