“Mother!” Just as Chen shi’s spoon was about to touch her lips, she was suddenly stopped by Chen Yu.
Chen shi was startled. When she raised her head, she happened to see that Chen Yu had an anxious and worried appearance. She could not help but comfort her, saying: “Good daughter, do not worry. Your uncles will not let Feng Yu Heng off. She definitely will not live to be married off at fifteen!”
Feng Chen Yu’s mind was in turmoil for a while. She became conflicted, as she desperately hoped this mother would no longer be a stone that she would stumble over; however, when Chen shi went to drink the soup again, she stopped her: “Daughter just remembered that I forgot to add salt to the soup. Mother, please wait for a while before drinking. Daughter will go prepare another bowl.” Quickly taking the bowl from Chen shi’s hands, she escaped from the room.
Chen shi had yet to understand what had just happened, but she simply watched Chen Yu’s figure disappear, saying: “My dear daughter, all of the good things in this world should belong to you. All of mother’s wealth, all of it is to be left to you.”
That night at around 9, Ban Zou returned.
He placed something before Feng Yu Heng’s eyes, and Feng Yu Heng picked it up to inspect. It was an old hairpin.
“That granny has a fifteen year old granddaughter. She is the Chen family’s third master’s ninth concubine. This servant retrieved one of her hairpins. Its appearance is old and seems to be from her past.”
Feng Yu Heng nodded. So it really was like that.
She just felt that granny Sun’s betrayal must have had some sort of reason; otherwise, how could she change sides in just three years. She had followed Yao shi over as a dowry from the Yao family, after all.
But granny Sun hid her own granddaughter very well. She had raised her to the age of fifteen, yet Yao shi did not know about it.
She handed the hairpin back to Ban Zou and toldhim: “Tonight, deliver that hairpin to granny Sun.”
“Understood.” Ban Zou nodded. He seemed to still want to say something, but his expression suddenly changed, as he said: “His Highness has come.” Finishing these words, his body swayed, as he vanished.
Feng Yu Heng froze from shock on the spot. Wang Chuan pushed her while smiling: “Ban Zou said that his Highness has come. Young miss, quickly go out and see.”
Finally reacting, she quickly got up and ran a few steps towards the door before stopping. Turning around, she asked Wang Chuan: “Are my clothes ok?”
As soon as these words left her mouth, she looked down upon herself. When exactly did that man with the purple lotus flower on his forehead catch hold of her heart?
Perhaps there would never be an answer to this question, but her heart knew that it was the first night she arrived in this world. It was when she waved farewell that her heart began to feel reluctant to leave.
“No matter what you wear, it looks good.” A voice came from the back window, but before she could turn around, she covered her mouth and smiled.
Following the sound, she turned to look through the window. Under a tree that was not far away, there was a man wearing a purple robe and sitting in a wheelchair. As before, he had a golden mask covering his face. She, however, could immediately see the purple lotus flower through the small opening.
“Heng Heng, come here.”
This voice seemed to have some magical power, tempting Feng Yu Heng over to the window. Gliding through the window, she lifted her dress and ran over.
“Why did you come?” Her eyes were bright and shone like a sparkling spirit. In Xuan Tian Ming’s eyes, they were like the stars in the sky. When they twinkled, they could shock anyone.
“I came to see you.” He grabbed hold of her hand and swept her up onto the wheelchair. He then pushed off with a single hand and flew towards the peak of the mountain.
Feng Yu Heng could only hear the whistling of the wind in her ears. It was as though she were sitting on a flying carpet and experiencing a magical journey.
She had one hand hugging Xuan Tian Ming’s neck and the other reached out, happily reaching for the trees along the way. She was just like a little child.
Xuan Tian Ming had never seen her with this sort of expression. On one hand, he found it surprising, and on the other, he felt that this was what a twelve year old child looked like.
The two spent the night like that. Just like this, they soared in the empty sky with the use of qing gong, their eyes met and the feelings of tenderness surged forth.
Finally arriving at the peak of the mountain, the wheelchair steadily landed. His concentration was rewarded, as a slight bit of sweat could be seen on his forehead.
Subconsciously, she raised her sleeve and wiped it. Xuan Tian Ming froze but did not avoid it. Only after Feng Yu Heng had finished wiping did he say: “That was my first time seeing a girl use her sleeve to wipe sweat away for someone.”
“Uh… I should have used my handkerchief, right?” She felt around her body, “I didn’t bring my handkerchief.” Changing the topic, she sincerely exclaimed: “Too cool! Xuan Tian Ming, this is the so-called qing gong, right?”
He really enjoyed being called Xuan Tian Ming by her. Although this name was his, it felt very unfamiliar. Hearing her call it, he once again found a sense of belonging.
In this world, only she called him Xuan Tian Ming. Un, very good.
Feng Yu Heng hopped off the wheelchair and happily wandered around on the mountain peak. When she stopped and looked at Xuan Tian Ming, she felt the cloudiness of the past few days swept away. In her eyes and in her heart, all that remained was that pitch-black hair that was swept up by the wind and the purple lotus flower that appeared indistinctly under the moonlight of the night.
She pondered. A girl coming to like a boy first should be considered a loss, right? She recalled some comrades had told her about love. Whoever falls in love first is the one who lost.
But now, she was sincerely convinced that she had lost.
“Do you want to learn?” Xuan Tian Ming became helpless under her stare, “I am talking about qing gong. If you want to learn, I can teach you.”
Feng Yu Heng, however, shook he head, “Not going to learn. It’s too hard. Look at how busy I am everyday. With just the people and matters of the Feng manor, I have enough to do. I also have to read medical books and research medical herbs and take care of managing the businesses outside. Where would I have time to learn qing gong.”
She was a bit gloomy, but in an instant she opened her arms and ran over to grab Xuan Tian Ming’s sleeve. As though presenting a treasure, she said: “But I do know a bit of martial arts.”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded, “At that time in the mountains, when I saw you thwarting your enemies with some rocks, I knew that you weren’t completely without ability.”
She grinned and poked at his golden mask with a finger: “But it’s not just a little bit of ability! Although my body is a bit weak right now, this is all just temporary. I will eat better in the future. I will also find some time in the future to practice, and I will be able to recover very quickly. Although I can’t return to my peak condition that quickly, when it comes time to battle, I will not drag Huang Quan and them down.”
Xuan Tian Ming did not understand what she meant. What did she mean by peak condition? Did she mean that she once had very good skills but has since regressed?
But he still nodded very seriously and told her: “Since you have a foundation, do not waste it. Even if you have someone at your side protecting you at all times, it is still good to have just in case. I am always worried that something will happen to you. Today, I heard Ban Zou say that you ran in to people from Yama’s Palace again. I was worried about you, so I rushed over.”
She had allowed Ban Zou to go out for work. Since the Chen family was in the capital, Ban Zou would naturally need to return to the capital.
Feng Yu Heng was not at all angry that Ban Zou had passed along her circumstances to Xuan Tian Ming. Instead, she was extremely happy that he had come because he was worried about her.
“Do you want to try?” She mischievously retreated a few steps and maintained a certain distance from him.
“Try what?” Xuan Tian Ming was slightly startled then came to a realization. So this girl wanted to compare abilities with him? But no matter how he looked at it, it would seem like he was bullying a little child.
But he did not have the heart to sweep away her joy, so he nodded, “Fine.” He merely took it as accompanying her in getting some exercise.
Feng Yu Heng happily widened the gap and with a smooth movement of her feet, she sneaked around behind him.
Xuan Tian Ming’s reaction was not slow. Pushing off his wheelchair, he flew a long way sideways.
Feng Yu Heng hollered: “No using qing gong!” She threw forth an attack.
Xuan Tian Ming had learned an ancient martial art. The moves and patterns were ones that Feng Yu Heng had never experienced before.
As for Feng Yu Heng, she used the wrestling and grappling techniques that she had learned in the 21st century with the Marine corps. These placed an emphasis on subduing or killing the target in a short amount of time. Put together, it was simply military combat, but it had been slightly adjust by her so that it could be used more flexibly.
The more Xuan Tian Ming fought, the more he became surprised. Although Feng Yu Heng was as she had said, her little body truly did not make a great showing. Her strength was weak, so he did not dare come in to direct contact with her, fearing that he would hurt her; however, the techniques she used were ones that he had never seen nor never heard of.
Feng Yu Heng’s techniques could not be described as elegant, much less good looking. The usual girl that learned martial arts would choose qing gong or swordplay, as these were beautiful martial arts. The techniques used by Feng Yu Heng, however, were almost entirely close quarters combat. Each move was harsh and forceful, yet also tricky and practical.
Xuan Tian Ming believed. If Feng Yu Heng’s physical condition improved, using these abilities, she could fight any first-rate expert to a draw. Moreover, he vaguely felt that this girl’s martial arts seemed to have no internal power supporting them. From a practical standpoint, there must be a matching method of internal cultivation, but it seems she still had not practiced it.
The two fought a hundred times before they settled down. Feng Yu Heng was a little tired, her two hands using her knees as support, as she gasped for air. As she gasped for air, she waved a hand to Xuan Tian Ming: “I’m done. I’m done. This poor body became tired after just a little bit of playing around. Allow me to rest a little. There were still so many techniques that I had yet to use.” She sat down on the ground as she said this, giving herself some time to rest.
He turned the wheelchair and moved beside her, taking his cloak off and covering her shoulders, “The mountain winds are cold at night. You just worked up a sweat, so take care not to catch a cold.” He pondered a little then added: “You shouldn’t have cultivated the internal power for those techniques, right?”
Feng Yu Heng nodded. It didn’t matter if it was an ancient person or a modern one, so long as they practiced martial arts, they knew. Relying solely on outer power was pointless. The most important part was combining it with internal power.
On this point, the ancient people called it internal cultivation. The modern people all knew it as qi gong.
“My set of fighting and grappling techniques also incorporates military combat.” She could see the curiosity from Xuan Tian Ming and took the initiative to explain: “They are all techniques used for close quarter combat. There is no real character worth seeing, but each move is very practical. Furthermore, combining them with the technique’s internal power, I call it hard qi gong.”
“Hard qi gong?” He pondered a little and used his own ideas to reach a conclusion: “When I watched you fight, your power was very good. This so-called hard qi gong, if you learn it successfully, and then if a normal person caught it, it would break their arm, right?”
Feng Yu Heng nodded, “More or less. It will depend on what degree I’ve mastered it. However, even if I am successful in learning it, there will still be a large gap when fighting you.” She could not help but admit the extensive knowledge of ancient martial arts, “You know how to use qing gong and how to use a long weapon. These things added together put me at a disadvantage. From the two battles, there has only been one outcome.”
Xuan Tian Ming nodded in agreement and looked at her. His gaze was a bit inquisitive, as he changed the topic and asked: “Who did you learn this from?”