45 – Water-colored Girl
An overwhelming city lies right before their eyes.
There is a towering city gate embedded in an endless city wall, whose end cannot be seen no matter if you look left or right.
As if an armor wrapping around the city, the city wall looks very thick. It"s wide enough to allow a large group of soldiers to walk side by side.
Atop the city wall, the outline of fearsome arcuballistas as well as countless soldiers patrolling can be faintly perceived.
The soldiers are armed with spears in their hands and greatswords hanging from their wait. Despite the great distance, you can still see the cold light coiling around the tip of the spears. They"re steps are reserved and eyes are sharp. They are obviously well trained, and may be some elites of an army. Bolts, fire oil, and other war materials must be piled up on the city wall.
Purely in terms of scale, there shouldn"t be a city grander in the Hua Dynasty than the one before Xue Qilin"s eyes…
Because it is called Chang"an, the imperial capital of the Hua Dynasty, the core of the state.
Xue Qilin"s gaze fell on the queue extending from the gate. She is currently in the middle section of the queue.
“It"s a bit slow …”
“Why don"t you think about where this is?” Xia Xue replied lightly to Xue Qilin"s complaint.
Unlike Jinling, Chang"an"s checks are clearly much more rigorous.
Well, it is the capital. Xue Qilin mused.
“That"s right!” Xia Xue looked like she suddenly remembered something, “Young Ancestor, after we go through the gate, you are my disciple.”
“What?” Xue Qilin suspected that she heard wrong.
Xia Xue sighed, looking a little impatient, “Young Ancestor, you should have a doctor check your ears… I said, after we go through the gate, you are my disciple, do you understand?”
“Why?” Xue Qilin didn"t bother about Xia Xue"s rude statement. In any case, she doesn"t care about etiquette, especially one that focuses on face.
“There is a time and place for people with different ident.i.ties. For better or for worse, you are someone from the ancestor generation. Is it appropriate for you to attend an ordinary admission a.s.sembly? Use your brain. Usually, only Elders are sent to admission a.s.semblies. If you really attend the a.s.sembly as the Merak Temple"s ancestor, what will others think?” Not waiting for Xue Qilin to speak, Xia Xue answered her own question: “Others will think we will bully them and hijack the enrollment!”
“There"s so much to pay attention to?” Xue Qilin looked surprised.
“What did you think? The world isn"t as simple as you.”
“Okay, I get it.” Xue Qilin spread her hands and replied.
Anyway, she doesn"t understand the ways of the Martial World, so she simply followed the instructions.
“It"s good that you understand. When we reach the Leisure Manor, change your clothes.”
“Change into what clothes?”
“What else if not sect clothes?”
“We also have sect clothes?”
“That, that… Young ancestor, what Junior Disciple Brother Qian [1] wears are sect clothes.” Before Xia Xue could answer, Gong Tianqing who has been listening quietly to the conversation of the two interjected at this moment.
Xue Qilin looked at Qian Duoduo who wore white supplemented with sky blue.
So those are the Merak Temple"s sect clothes? Xue Qilin suddenly realized.
Most of the ordinary disciples in the Merak Temple are dressed in blue and white.
However, the designs are different, so she never a.s.sociated the clothes with a standard. In her view, sect clothes should be the same as a uniform.
“I also wear sect clothes…” Gong Tianqing said with a shy smile.
Speaking of which, Gong Tianqing also seems to wear blue and white dresses.
“Why don"t Little Seven and them wear sect clothes?”
“Them” naturally refers to the Merak Temple"s Elders. Of course, the vice-Temple Master is no exception.
“Because there is no need.” After a pause, Xia Xue carried on: “When it comes to Ye Zhen, who doesn"t know that he is the Merak Temple"s vice-Temple Master?”
“That so… I see!”
In short, as the backbone of the Merak Temple, their names alone are enough to represent their affiliation with the Merak Temple. They don"t need sect clothes to prove their ident.i.ty.
“What about my sword?”
The mechanical sword Empyrean Universe is placed in the carriage. Xue Qilin didn"t take it with her.
“Carry it.” Xia Xue replied casually.
“Can"t I not carry it?”
“The Merak Temple"s disciples have their swords on them.”
“Can"t I change swords with you?”
If Xue Qilin carried Empyrean Universe on he back, the blade will definitely tower over her.
A little girl carrying a large sword much longer than she is tall, this image is rather comical.
“Why, do you regret it?” Xia Xue spoke in a teasing tone, “You can tell Senior Disciple Sister Li [2] that you regret it and want to change to another sword.”
She"s being deliberate! If I really told Little Ting [2] this, she"ll definitely be disappointed. Xue Qilin didn"t forget the expectation in Li Wanting"s eyes when the other party gave her Empyrean Universe.
“Hey, then I"ll just carry it!” Xue Qilin agreed gloomily.
There are nearly 20 people in front of them in the line. Clearly, they"ll still have to wait for some time.
Bored, Xue Qilin looked around, trying to find something interesting.
But the first thing to draw her attention isn"t sight, but…
“Young lady, why don"t you follow this gentleman from now on? You"re guaranteed to lead a good life.” A frivolous voice sounded.
These words aroused Xue Qilin"s attention.
The speaker is a middle-aged man not far behind her.
Dressed in luxurious clothes, the fat like a calabash middle-aged man exudes a sense of n.o.bility, of unbearably vulgar n.o.bility.
He"s probably a rich merchant.
Even though there is some distance between them, but she still can sense a stink from him, the stink of money.
No matter how pretty their garments, some people still can"t hide their shameless aura. This middle-aged man is such a person.
Oy, a real-life dressed-up beast! Xue Qilin rolled her eyes, her intuition telling her that there"s something fun there.
She began to observe the man"s surroundings and found two strong men who are obviously with the wealthy merchant.
From the distribution of their muscles, the two men should have learned martial arts, yet there is no trace of true qi in their body. They"re probably the guards of the merchant.
One on the left and the other on the right, the guards surrounded the man standing in front of the girl.
The moment she saw the girl, Xue Qilin"s eyes brightened.
… like water.
The girl is like water.
The long pale blue, nearly white hair glistened brightly under the sun; the fringe is combed back, revealing the medium-sized, clean forehead; the gentle facial features show no blemishes.
The clear and pure aura winding around the girl penetrated the s.p.a.ce around her and formed a unique, natural atmosphere, giving off the misconception that she is part of nature.
But what is most striking about her is not all of the above, but… the water-blue eyes.
The clear and spirited water-colored eyes are like dark blue lakes under the blue sky, dazzling, deep, and calm.
However, deep under the calm surface, there are swirling undercurrents.
Those eyes gave Xue Qilin feel of specious familiarity.
Have I met her? Xue Qilin was puzzled, but the new development interrupted her train of thought.
After a brief silence, a silk-like voice leaked out of the girl"s plump lips.
“What"s your name, Mister?”
She asked that?! Xue Qilin laughed despite herself and drew the sharp eyes of one of the wealthy merchant"s guards.
Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose, looked back at the other party, and mouthed silently: “What are you looking at?”
As expected, the other side showed a frightened expression and hurriedly looked away.
The imposing power hidden in the eyes of a Heaven Realm master isn"t something that can be endured by people who aren"t even in the Human Realm.
“Mhm, you can call me uncle.” Thinking of something, the wealthy merchant put on a dirty expression.
“Your last name is impressive.” The girl covered her mouth with her hand, seemingly rather astonished.
Hey, this girl is playing with him! Xue Qilin felt interested.
“Hara.s.sing a girl from a good family in public, don"t the soldiers care?” The queue advanced forward, and Xue Qilin followed suit. At the same time, she glanced at the unmoved soldiers at the gate.
“A girl from a good family?” Xia Xue couldn"t help laughing, “How does she look like a girl from a good family?”
“How doesn"t she?”
“Is there something wrong with your eyes? Look at what she"s holding.”
Following Xia Xue"s words, Xue Qilin discovered that the water-blue girl was holding a pipa [3].
A performer? She guessed.
However, that pipa looks a little too long, looks more than one meter long.
“What a sharp-tongued young lady!” It took the wealthy merchant a bit of time before he finally realized that the girl was playing with him deliberately, and his face darkened.
“Thank you for your appreciation, Uncle.” The girl smiled slightly and even bowed solemnly.
“Humph, state your price.” The face of the rich merchant froze, and then he held up his hands and uttered overbearingly.
“I"m a performer, not a prost.i.tute.”
“I don"t believe it, it"s just a matter of price.” The man revealed a smile of aspiration, “I"m so poor that I only have money!”
“Uncle, your wit is hollow.”
“That"s why I want you to help me fill it!” The wealthy merchant scrutinized the girl"s body, and his eyes stayed on the other party"s fair thigh for a few seconds.
“Do you belong to a brothel? I"ll send someone over right away.”
“I already said that I"m not a prost.i.tute. Uncle, didn"t you understand me the first time? Are you a stupid swine?” The girl still had a smile on her face, making people doubt that these vicious words came out of her mouth.
“I like her.” Xia Xue said with interest.
Do sharp tongues attract each other? Xue Qilin sn.i.g.g.e.red secretly.
“You …” The merchant sneered, “Don"t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!”
The middle-aged man was dissatisfied with the verbal aggression.
He took to action, but didn"t manage to grab the girl"s wrist. Because the girl took a step back.
“Uncle, a gentleman uses reason, not force.” The girl frowned slightly, and her eyes had a look of disgust that couldn"t be concealed.
“To h.e.l.l with gentleman. Do you think that I"m a gentleman?”
“No, you aren"t.” The girl tilted her head adorably, “Because you"re a pig, Uncle!”
“Okay, grab her! I"ll bring her back to warm my bed!” Indignant, the merchant actually ordered his two guards to grad the girl and bring her back to warm his bed right in front of everyone.
Although many people noticed the show, but no one stepped in to stop it.
In ancient times, people are so cold and indifferent... Xue Qilin sighed.
“Although we don"t want to bully a weak girl.”
“But we have to follow our Master"s words.”
The two guards spoke one after the other, and then said in unison: “I hope you"ll forgive us, girl.”
Then, the two men extended their hands and attacked the girl from the left and the right. But…
“Oh?” Xue Qilin"s eyes widened slightly.
The girl took a step back and evaded the guards just like that, shattering their attempt at seizing her.
That"s some kind of exquisite footwork.
Probably because the girl easily thwarted their attempt, the two guards revealed looks of astonished.
However, they reacted quickly and pounced at the girl again.
The girl walked and turned her body as if dancing, displaying a graceful bearing under the attacks of the two people. She didn"t even drop the pipa.
Unable to touch her, the guards became more and more anxious, and gradually lost the rhythm, and were led by the girl by the nose.
At this moment, the girl suddenly dodged, and the two guards who have lost their target knocked into each other, cutting a sorry figure. Having made a fool of themselves in public, the faces of the two turned red.
Then, they unexpectedly unsheathed the broadswords at their waist.
Looking at the two people who became angry from shame, the girl frowned.
Xue Qilin also frowned.
Two big men attacking a girl is already contemptible, but they still drew their swords against a defenseless girl?
As the two raised their swords and hacked at the girl, Xue Qilin drew a circle aimed at the two guards in the air.
“Bind!” Following a whisper from Xue Qilin, the two people stopped mid movement at the same time, as if frozen.
Despite looking like the two men suddenly stopping mid motion took her by surprise, but the girl didn"t hesitate. She tossed the pipa in her hands high into the air, and then shot forward, wrapped her hands around the guard"s arms, and twisted hard.
Crack… Two clear sounds of joints dislocating spread far and wide. The girl unexpectedly incapacitated an arm of both men at the same time.
The faces of the guard distorted from the pain, but it wasn"t over yet. The girl quickly executed a sweeping kick and knocked them away. After their posture collapsed, the two strong men fell on the ground.
Then… the girl stepped back.
The pipa dropped from the sky and fell precisely into her hands.
“Uncle, what do you think of this?” The girl deliberately deepened the smile on her face and stepped closer to the merchant.
But the merchant was so scared that he plopped down on the ground.
“You … don"t hit me, my father is …”
He didn"t finish speaking, because the girl stamped with her foot between his legs.
“You better watch out!” After she left this threat that sounded very old-fashioned in Xue Qilin"s ears, the merchant scrambled up from the ground and ran away, not paying any attention to the two guards who were still on the ground.
“Good job!”
Cheers burst out in a flash, and the girl just nodded slightly.
Then, she glanced at Xue Qilin.
Blinking her eyes, Xue Qilin watched the girl return to the queue.
Did she notice that I helped her?
[1] – Qian Duoduo from the last chapter. [2] – Senior Disciple Sister and Little Ting are Li Wanting from the Sword-casting Chamber
[3] – Pipa