Chapter 281: A Beauty’s Thousand Faces
Lu Xian had long returned inside the room, and the bamboo forest was completely quiet.
Only Lu Yun was still entranced, mumbling to himself nonstop there while throwing punches and kicks, immersing his mind and body in comprehending the Nine Heavenly Strikes he had just learned!
When he came back to his senses, he found that it was already bright daylight, and the young attendant was holding a broom, pretending to sweep the courtyard.
Seeing Lu Yun finish his cultivation, the young attendant immediately tossed the broom into his arms and said angrily, “Look at all the bamboo leaves you’ve scattered everywhere—hurry up and sweep them clean!”
Lu Yun looked closely and saw broken twigs and leaves all over the ground under his feet—clearly knocked down inadvertently while he was practicing the forms. Thinking of how Master practiced the forms with ten times the power yet didn’t damage a single bamboo leaf, Lu Yun couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: this was the gap…
“What are you standing there for? Get to work!” The young attendant had already comfortably sat down on a bamboo chair, taking a wine gourd and drinking contentedly.
“Drinking wine at such a young age?” Lu Yun muttered, but he still obediently started sweeping the ground. He really couldn’t understand why Lu Xian would use this bizarre young attendant—it was impossible to tell who was serving whom.
“What does a little youngster know?” the young attendant said disdainfully. “You don’t know the universe in this wine.”
“You’re not even as old as me, okay?” Lu Yun frowned. The young attendant was only about twelve or thirteen, but he spoke with an air of great maturity, putting on quite the act.
“What was that about the capable going first?” The young attendant took a sip of wine and said with a deep breath, “With the Nine Heavenly Strikes Master taught you, you only got to the fifth form before giving up, right?”
“Uh…” Lu Yun looked at this wine-guzzling sleepyhead of a fake-mature little youngster in surprise, not expecting him to see through his progress so clearly.
“Tch, know you’re still green now, huh?” the young attendant said even more maturely. “Come on, kowtow to me, and I’ll give you some pointers.”
“Go play somewhere else.” Lu Yun rolled his eyes. He had seen Lu Xin push the young attendant flat on his back with one palm—there was no way he’d fall for that.
With that, Lu Yun bowed toward the bamboo house to take his leave from Lu Xian. As he passed by the young attendant, he suddenly reached out and tapped him virtually a few times; with a freshly learned Draw a Circle to Make a Prison, the young attendant was immediately unable to move, and the wine gourd fell from his hand.
“You must’ve overheard me muttering to myself just now and thought you could fool me?” Lu Yun exposed the young attendant’s brag, unlocked his acupoint with a backhand tap, caught the wine gourd with his other hand, stuffed it back into his grasp, and laughed, “Drink slowly, old timer—I’m not keeping you company.”
Watching Lu Yun’s departing back as he strode away, the young attendant jumped in rage and said, “What’s so great about a sneak attack? If you’ve got the guts, let’s face off straight-up—watch me use Five Peaks Press Down with my huge palm to slap you into a meat pie!”
“Settle down.” From inside the bamboo house came Lu Xian’s impatient voice: “You’re the most powerful, alright?”
“Of course! He couldn’t recognize a treasure right in front of him and mistook kindness for a donkey’s liver and lungs.” The young attendant plopped back onto the bamboo chair in a huff, chugged several mouthfuls of wine, then hugged the gourd and went off to meet Duke Zhou again…
.
Back at Jingxin Ward, over the next few days, Lu Yun stayed home without stepping out, wholeheartedly practicing the Nine Heavenly Strikes that Lu Xian had taught him. Everyone at home knew not to disturb him at this time—not even Lu Ying, who only chatted briefly with him each day when delivering his meals, and otherwise obediently left him undisturbed.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day before the Grand Competition. Lu Yun had finally mastered the fifth form Turn Clouds and Rain, and he had no time to practice the other four forms anymore. He was silently breaking down the first five forms of the Nine Heavenly Strikes over and over, trying to fuse them together, when he heard the courtyard gate creak open.
Without turning his head, Lu Yun frowned and said, “Why are you here?”
“How did you know it was me?” A crisp, lively girl’s voice brought the whole small courtyard to life.
Lu Yun glanced at Cui Ninger, dressed in a green ruqun with her ornaments jingling, and said flatly, “Those sneaky footsteps could only be yours.”
“Hateful.” Cui Ninger pouted coquettishly, covering her lightly powdered little face shyly. “You actually remember my footsteps so clearly.”
“In terms of facial mask thickness, among everyone I know, you rank second.” Lu Yun said expressionlessly.
“Then who ranks first?” Cui Ninger forgot to scold Lu Yun and instead cared about who could outrank her. Though this ranking was a bit shameful.
“Taiping Dao’s Saintess.” Lu Yun told the truth, but saw Cui Ninger blush furiously, looking extremely embarrassed.
“I’m not talking about you—why are you embarrassed?” Lu Yun looked at Cui Ninger strangely.
“Am I supposed to be proud of it?” Cui Ninger shot him a glare, itching with hatred.
Lu Yun remained unmoved and said, “Why are you here? Where’s my Elder Sister?”
“Elder Sister Lu Ying is preparing tomorrow’s dry rations for you.” Cui Ninger didn’t bother arguing with this blockhead and said with a grin, “She even specially told me not to disturb you.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Lu Yun immediately issued an eviction order. “I don’t have time to chat idly with you.” With that, he closed his eyes to continue his cultivation.
Who knew, one sentence from Cui Ninger nearly made his eyes pop out.
Cui Ninger walked to his side and brought her soft, tender powdered face close to his ear, whispering, “Husband, you promised me three conditions, you know.”
Lu Yun was struck as if by lightning, abruptly looked up, and stared hard at Cui Ninger, at this face that was cute and charming yet completely different from Su Yingxiu’s, enunciating each word: “Who exactly are you?”
“What a silly question, Husband.” Cui Ninger greatly enjoyed Lu Yun’s stunned look and covered her mouth in a light laugh. “Whoever you want me to be, that’s who I am?”
“Su Yingxiu!” Though the appearance was different, that demeanor and voice left Lu Yun certain: the other party was the number one thick-skinned one in his heart.
“That’s me.” Cui Ninger blinked her big, clear black-and-white eyes, cupped her little face with both hands, and swayed it back and forth in front of Lu Yun. “Surprised? Unexpected?”
“How did you do it?” Lu Yun suppressed the urge to peel off Cui Ninger’s facial mask and take a look, rapidly recalling every moment he’d spent with Cui Ninger in his mind—this direct daughter of the Cui Clan, granddaughter of the Pei Clan from her mother’s side, daughter of the Commandery Governor, was clearly no fabrication out of thin air, so how had she suddenly become someone else?
“I have my ways.” Cui Ninger played coy. “If Husband wants to know, I wouldn’t mind telling you.”
“Never mind.” Lu Yun refused flatly. He had never come out ahead dealing with this woman. Not wanting any more complications, he said in a deep voice, “Whoever you are, what do you want?”
“In this world today, alas, people are no longer sincere, and debtors have become the bosses.” Cui Ninger sighed faintly. “I came specially to cheer you on, but you show no consideration at all, so we’ll have to talk business.”
Lu Yun showed an “as expected” expression and said coldly, “Out with it—what do you want me to do?” He added a bit guiltily, “I said it upfront: you can’t force me if I can’t do it.”
“Don’t worry, Husband—how could I make things difficult for you?” Cui Ninger smiled slightly. “Trust me, with this first request, you’ll definitely do it desperately.”
“Heh…” Lu Yun sneered.
Cui Ninger said confidently, “My first request is that Husband must take Double First Place in the Grand Competition!”
“Uh…” Lu Yun was stunned. He never imagined that Cui Ninger—or rather Su Yingxiu’s—first request would be this. “Did I hear that right?”
