Chapter 8: Little Cutie

“When did you come back?”

Surprise appeared on Yang Shifei’s face, and his gaze quickly fell on the table.

It was a black cloth bundle.

“Just now.” The little girl’s pretty face was full of smiles. “I went back to get my clothes.”

Yang Shifei smiled as well when he heard this. “So, Miss, you really do intend to stay?”

“I’ll stay in the room next door.”

The little girl lifted her delicate chin and shook her small hand again as if urging him.

“Bite me~”

Looking at the tender hand waving back and forth before him, as well as the girl’s slightly expectant, watery eyes, Yang Shifei restrained his impulse and quickly said, “I still haven’t asked clearly. Do you know what this cold air inside me is?”

He pointed at his right arm. “The cold air that entered me after I ‘bit’ you.”

The little girl blinked twice and tilted her head. “I don’t know.”

Yang Shifei froze. “You don’t know where the cold air comes from? Wasn’t it absorbed from you?”

But the little girl pouted her pink lips and swung her little feet beneath her skirt. “I’ve had it since I was born.”

“…”

Yang Shifei was momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t obtained by cultivating some technique, but something she was born with. Could it be so-called innate true qi?

“But is it really all right for me to absorb this aura?”

Yang Shifei frowned hesitantly. “Will it make you uncomfortable? Will your body feel weak or unwell?”

The little girl stared at him for a while, and the corners of her lips lifted into a smile again.

“It doesn’t feel bad. It feels very comfortable instead.”

“?”

Yang Shifei was a little dumbfounded.

So when she said “comfortable” before, she had really meant it literally?!

Did this girl truly have some unspeakable strange fetish?

Yang Shifei scratched his hair, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

“Can you describe what the ‘comfortable’ feeling you mentioned is like?”

“My body becomes lighter, and my head becomes clearer?” The little girl smiled brightly. “But no matter how you put it, my whole body feels comfortable.”

Yang Shifei gave a quiet sound of surprise, vaguely sensing that something was off.

That didn’t sound like a description of having internal energy drained away. It sounded more like…

A huge increase in cultivation? The unlocking of shackles?

He examined her again, secretly pondering.

Could it be that his absorption of this girl’s cold air not only did her no harm, but was actually beneficial to both sides?

“Hey.”

The little girl raised her hand and clawed lightly at the air like a cat, tilting her head. “Still not biting me?”

Yang Shifei let out a long breath and smiled helplessly. “All this biting back and forth sounds really strange. Let’s call it something else next time.”

He took her right hand and quickly concentrated. A wave of coldness instantly burst from his palm.

An aching soreness that seemed to tear through flesh appeared, making him grit his teeth.

This time, he managed to endure for more than ten breaths before finally reaching his limit and trembling as he withdrew his right hand.

“Huff—”

Feeling the cold air once again fill his entire body, Yang Shifei felt incomparably refreshed. When he looked at the little girl before him again, her bright eyes were shining, and a lovely rosy blush had spread across her fair cheeks, making her look especially tempting.

Even though he considered himself to have decent self-control, at this moment, he could not help feeling a little dry-mouthed as he looked at her.

That pink, tender skin—he wondered what it would feel like to touch…

Cough!

Yang Shifei hurriedly shook off the distracting thoughts.

“If we don’t call it biting, then—”

But the little girl blinked up at him. “Then call it ‘sucking’ or ‘slurping’?”

Yang Shifei: “…”

Was this little girl deliberately making dirty jokes to tease him?

But seeing the pure innocence all over her face, he could only cough twice. “Let’s just call it training.”

The little girl pouted. “Not fun.”

Damn it. She really was teasing him.

The corner of Yang Shifei’s mouth twitched. He could only pretend nothing had happened and continue, “Since you intend to stay here, Miss, why don’t we first get to know each other?”

“I know you.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up. She quickly placed both hands on her knees, cleared her throat, and began singing in a theatrical tone, “A hidden dragon bears lonely ambition; he travels a hundred li by night in search of fragrant traces. This is the Luo family’s live-in son-in-law, Yang Shifei!”

“?”

Was she singing opera?

Wait, did ancient times also have Dragon-Aotian live-in son-in-law plays?

“How was it?”

The little girl leaned forward slightly, her face full of curiosity.

For a moment, Yang Shifei could only laugh and cry.

He had originally thought this girl was mysterious and unfathomable. But after meeting her twice, why did she seem more and more eccentric, like a mischievous child?

“Not bad?”

“Hee hee~” The little girl smiled in satisfaction.

Then she stood up and stretched lazily.

“My name is Yuerui. Don’t forget it.”

The little girl gave a small yawn. “I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed.”

“?”

Yang Shifei froze, then looked back at the sky outside. The sun had not even set yet.

“I’m going.”

Without waiting for a reply, Yuerui casually picked up the bundle beside her and shot out of the room like a ghost.

Yang Shifei stared in shock for a while, then hurried out of the room. He only had time to see the neighboring room’s door close with a creak.

Just now, that girl had flown out through the air…

No, she had only tapped the ground lightly with the tip of her foot.

“Is this what they call a movement technique?”

That was practically no different from teleportation!

Yang Shifei was both shocked and delighted, thinking he might be able to secretly learn from her later.

But on second thought, this girl named Yuerui was truly young and inexperienced. He had “plucked wool” from her three times now, making it feel as if he were luring an ignorant little girl.

“…Forget it. I’ll slowly build a good relationship with her first.”

Yang Shifei rubbed his face and collected himself, then returned to his room and changed into the coarse cloth shirt and trousers he had brought from the village, intending to train more before nightfall.

If he wanted to make a name for himself in this world, he could not afford the slightest laziness, even with the aid of the cold air.

Rather, precisely because he had this cheat-like cold air, he had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and take control of his own life.

In the vast jianghu and the hundred years of life, if one could not live freely with clear grudges and debts, and if one carried no lofty ambition, it would be a pity.

To put it plainly, if his fists weren’t big enough, his heart would be terribly uneasy.

The moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and the night wind gradually rose.

“Huff—”

Yang Shifei had already sprinted dozens of laps around the courtyard, a thin layer of sweat seeping from his forehead.

After eating the dinner Tanxiang had brought, he rested briefly before beginning his second round of training.

Recalling the black-clothed man from last night, his steps shifted, and he suddenly flipped through the air.

The instant his toes touched the ground, his legs abruptly tightened and exerted force. His body moved sideways several zhang as if sliding horizontally, and his left arm swung back with an elbow strike as he turned.

The force transformed into wind, shaking his sleeve with a sharp flutter.

Yang Shifei panted twice and thoughtfully rotated his arm.

Although he had no technique guiding him, last night’s real battle had allowed him to remember, more or less, the moves the other man had used.

More accurately, he had remembered the methods of exerting force.

How to apply strength while running, how to gather power while punching—every step and fist technique was worth savoring carefully.

For Yang Shifei, who had never come into contact with martial arts before, the more he pondered, the more interesting it became. It was as though the gate to the martial path had opened before him. Even glimpsing the tiniest fragment brought endless gains.

“But the most stunning part of that man’s skills was still those few blade strikes. Their edge was fully revealed and very difficult to defend against.”

Yang Shifei looked toward the long blade weapon placed not far away and frowned slightly.

He did indeed still clearly remember the posture of those few strikes from the black-clothed man. But his right arm’s blade wound had not yet healed, so it was not convenient to exert force.

“I’ll try with my left hand first—”

Knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door.

Yang Shifei wiped the sweat from his face, put on his outer robe, and quickly went to open the door. But the person standing outside the courtyard was not Tanxiang. It was an unexpectedly graceful figure.

“…Miss Luo?”

“Forgive me for disturbing you, Young Master.”

Tonight, Luo Xian’er wore a simple and elegant ruqun, with a hanging gauze shawl draped over her arms. Her refined, dignified jade-like face remained cool and distant.

Yang Shifei quickly stepped aside. “Miss Luo, please come in. May I ask why you have come to visit at night?”

“Young Master need not be so formal.”

Luo Xian’er moved with lotus-like steps, her graceful figure swaying as she entered the courtyard. “I have been somewhat busy these past few days and only rarely managed to spare a little free time. But then last night’s accident happened as well. Coming and going like this, I have truly neglected you, Young Master. That is my fault.”

Yang Shifei laughed despite himself. “Miss Luo, you exaggerate. I’m not that delicate.”

“…Mm. That is true.”

Luo Xian’er nodded slightly, her gaze soon drifting to the long blade not far away. “That is… the weapon dropped by last night’s assassin?”

“Yes.”

Yang Shifei brought the girl into the main hall. “It had fallen into a patch of weeds at the time, and I only picked it up this morning. I heard Miss went to the government office today. Do you need to take this blade back as evidence?”

“No need. This matter has already been resolved. Young Master need not take it too much to heart.”

Luo Xian’er smoothed her long skirt and sat with dignified bearing. “In the future, the Feilin Gang absolutely will not come trouble you again.”

Yang Shifei smiled. “Then I must thank Miss for protecting me.”

“Apart from last night’s assassin, I also heard about Qingyue Tower from Tanxiang.”

Luo Xian’er took out an account book from within her gauze sleeve and handed it to him. “In the future, if Young Master serves as the accountant for Qingyue Tower, I will feel much more at ease.”

“…”

Yang Shifei solemnly accepted the account book, his expression serious.

After a moment of silence, he looked straight into her deep, beautiful eyes and said in a low voice, “No matter how one puts it, I only arrived at the Luo Residence a few days ago. Miss Luo, can you truly trust me?”

“Young Master has been quite good these past few days. What reason would I have to doubt you?”

Luo Xian’er blinked. “Besides, Qingyue Tower is not very important to me. It is only a little money.”

Yang Shifei: “…”

Looking at his subtle expression of wanting to speak but stopping himself, Luo Xian’er’s eyes shifted slightly, and she took out a small booklet from her sleeve.

“What is this?”

Yang Shifei carefully accepted it, his face filled with doubt.

But when he saw the words “Triple-Folding Forest-Piercing Art” written on the cover, his expression immediately changed in shock.

“I heard Young Master visited quite a few sects these past two days, so I imagine you are rather interested in practicing martial arts.”

Luo Xian’er pressed her lips together and said softly, “When that assassin was detained, this secret manual was found on him. I thought I would bring it back for you, so you could try practicing it.”

Yang Shifei was speechless for a while, inevitably moved.

This ghostly young lady was simply a treasure.

Even if she revealed her frightening true form right now, he would still want to go up and hug her.

“Young Master, do not be happy just yet.”

But Luo Xian’er shook her head. “I came here tonight because there is still one matter I would like to ask of you.”

Yang Shifei paused, then quickly smiled. “Please speak, Miss.”

“I would like Young Master to help me establish a sect.”

“…Huh?”

(End of Chapter)