Chapter 69: Picking Teeth Off The Ground
In the Flower Hall, the ladies were gathered around the day’s guest of honor like stars around the moon: Xie Min, the eldest daughter of the Xie Clan Leader, drinking tea and chatting.
Xie Min is forty years old this year. Her husband passed away a few years ago, and she has been living in seclusion in Cuihe Garden. Every so often, she invites her female companions for wine and gatherings, and Cuihe Garden quickly became a stronghold for the aristocratic ladies of the Capital City. Many considered it an honor to be invited by Xie Min, seeing it as a mark of recognition from the top circles.
In reality, the vast majority of those invited were merely there to fill the seats. The center of the gatherings was always Xie Min and the ladies of the direct lineage. This was the case at the moment; Xie Min was chatting and laughing with several ladies of noble birth, while everyone else merely smiled along and listened, occasionally interjecting a remark to liven things up.
Madam Lu belonged to the group of accompanying guests. Although Lu Xin had recently gained a lot of attention, in the eyes of the true direct lineage of the great Noble Clans, he was still insignificant. Madam Lu was also reclusive and taciturn. After the initial pleasantries, she sat to the side, unable to join the conversation and largely unnoticed. If Madam Cui hadn’t spoken to her occasionally, she would have been completely forgotten.
Madam Cui, as the daughter-in-law of the Cui Clan Leader, was naturally one of the few who could sit beside Xie Min and chat casually…
At this moment, someone told a joke, and a group of women were laughing heartily when suddenly there was a commotion outside. Young men and women, three layers deep, surrounded several people in the middle.
Xie Min glanced at the maid beside her. The maid quickly went to inquire and returned a moment later, reporting softly, “Third Young Master is in conflict with a young man named Lu Yun, and it seems they are about to duel.”
“Why is he always bullying people!” Madam Xie, the mother of Xie Tian and daughter-in-law of the Xie Clan Leader, frowned instantly. “Call him in.”
Xie Min, however, stopped Madam Xie. She had no son and had always doted on her nephew, Xie Tian, as if he were her own child. Xie Min looked at the crowd in the hall and asked, “Whose child is Lu Yun?”
“He’s Seventh Sister’s son,” Madam Cui said with some concern for Lu Yun. “That child is very good.”
“Oh,” Xie Min nodded and said indifferently, “Let the children have their squabble. What are we interfering for, right Seventh Sister?”
“Seventh Sister, quickly call Lu Yun back,” seeing that Xie Min was unwilling to get involved, Madam Cui hurriedly looked at Madam Lu and said, “He’s so delicate, don’t let him get bullied.”
“It’s a wonder if he doesn’t bully others…” Madam Lu said expressionlessly.
Madam Xie frowned upon hearing this, displeased. “Seventh Sister, if Xie Tian injures your son later, don’t come crying to me.”
“Don’t worry, Elder Sister-in-law. If he’s less skilled and acts recklessly, he deserves to be crippled,” Madam Lu said calmly.
“Since Seventh Sister also says so, let’s not meddle in other people’s business. Boys will be boys, after all,” Xie Min finished, and the other ladies stopped paying attention to the commotion outside, continuing their conversation.
.
In the courtyard, the young men and women formed a circle, watching with great interest as the Third Young Master of the Xie family played with his prey. By this time, they had learned Lu Yun’s identity and knew he wasn’t of the direct lineage of the Lu Clan, so he wouldn’t learn their superior Cultivation Methods. How could he possibly be Xie Tian’s opponent?
They looked at Lu Yun’s handsome face with either schadenfreude or pity, all guessing that Xie Tian, that Pervert, would surely take the opportunity to disfigure Lu Yun. Everyone in the Capital City knew how jealous Xie Tian was; every time he fought someone better-looking than him, he would seize the chance to leave scars on their face.
“Kid, you said it yourself. Be it a verbal or martial contest, it’s up to me.” Xie Tian was actually quite good-looking, his lineage from a prominent family evident, but his face was marred by a sinister and fierce aura. He sized up Lu Yun, his jealousy growing with every glance. How could anyone be so good-looking in this world? It would be an affront to Heavenly Principle not to destroy it. With this thought, he said fiercely, “Then it’s a martial contest!”
“Just as expected, he’s going to disfigure this kid…” The onlookers gasped. Although Xie Tian enjoyed indulging in elegant pursuits, he was inherently brutal and fond of fighting. Moreover, his talent was not low; it was said his Five Virtues Five Elements Technique had already reached introductory level, and he could even contend with those of the Black Rank!
Lu Ying also rushed over upon hearing the news, squeezing into the crowd and coming to Lu Yun’s side. She whispered with a worried expression, “Don’t kill anyone…”
“Don’t worry, Elder Sister, I know what I’m doing,” Lu Yun replied softly.
Only the siblings could hear each other’s voices. Xie Tian, opposite them, thought Lu Ying was worried that Lu Yun would suffer. He laughed heartily, “If you’re worried about him, then have him kowtow to me three times and crawl between my legs… ” He paused, then leered at the suddenly appeared elegant and intelligent young woman. He chuckled sinisterly, “Then you serve me wine as an apology, and I’ll let him off this time!”
“Haha! Third Young Master is showing mercy to the ladies again!” The two young noblemen behind Xie Tian burst into laughter at the remark. “You can’t bear to hit your future brother-in-law!”
Lu Yun, who had initially just wanted to teach Xie Tian a lesson, was instantly enraged by this. He strode forward, looking coldly at Xie Tian and saying, “From today onwards, you’ll be living on gruel!”
“What do you mean?” Xie Tian was taken aback.
“Because I’m going to smash your teeth out!” Lu Yun flexed his fists and approached Xie Tian step by step.
“Dream on!” Xie Tian was very experienced in fighting and wouldn’t let Lu Yun get the upper hand. Saying this, he threw a punch towards Lu Yun’s face!
“It’s starting!” The crowd excitedly shouted.
Who knew that before his words even fell, Lu Yun dodged Xie Tian’s fist and, with his own fist, struck back.
Xie Tian felt a gust of wind rush towards him, his mouth took a heavy blow, and he immediately let out a miserable cry, flying backward a zhang and crashing heavily to the ground…
The crowd watched in stunned silence as Xie Tian, clutching his mouth with both hands, writhed and howled on the ground, all of them petrified.
No one had expected that this gentle and frail young man would fight with such violence, one punch reducing the arrogant Xie San Shao to chewing dirt…
Indeed, he was truly chewing dirt; the young men and women watching clearly saw that as Xie Tian flew through the air, his spitting blood contained at least five or six teeth…
“My mouth, my teeth!” Xie Tian, rolling on the ground, howled and covered his mouth, his speech now severely slurred.
Lu Yun did not advance, only looked at his right fist, and shook his head with dissatisfaction. To others, this was clearly putting on an act; what could he be dissatisfied with after knocking Xie San Shao to the ground with one punch? But Lu Yun was genuinely unsatisfied… although he had successfully controlled his punch to the Yellow Rank level, due to excessive control, it had fallen far short of his expectations.
His intention was to knock out all of Xie Tian’s teeth with one punch, but now, he had only knocked out about five or six teeth…
He needed to quickly get used to this low-level combat, and not let his excessive control affect his performance too much.
As Lu Yun was reflecting, Xie Tian jumped up from the ground, spat out a mouth full of blood, and roared with a ferocious expression, “You bastard, how dare you treat me like this! I’ll tear you to shreds!”
Hearing his slurred speech, some young masters and misses couldn’t help but chuckle. This further enraged Xie Tian, who roared and lunged at Lu Yun!
In his current shame and anger, Xie Tian used all his might. Lu Yun, however, neither dodged nor ducked, blocking all his moves. Then, seeing Xie Tian’s attack falter, Lu Yun swept Xie Tian’s arm away with his left hand and, with a sudden flick of his right hand, a hook punch landed squarely on his left cheek!
Xie Tian’s body contorted like a twisted rope, half his face flattened like a thin pancake, and his left upper and lower molars flew out!
At this moment, Lu Yun’s left hand delivered another hook punch, hitting Xie Tian’s right cheek heavily. Xie Tian’s body twisted in the opposite direction, his right half of his face flattened into a thin pancake, and his right upper and lower molars also flew out.
