Outside the outhouse, Young Master Xiu said, "You can keep this dim-witted cousin for yourself."
*Pfft...* Someone in the outhouse let out a fart at just the right moment.
Young Master Xiu's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly left.
Knowing that Gongzi Xiu had left, Hua Wuduo came out of the outhouse and saw Gongzi Yi smiling brightly. Gongzi Yi said, "Your ventriloquism is quite good; you almost fooled me too."
Hua Wuduo glanced at Gongzi Yi and said calmly, "Who said it was ventriloquism? I ate some fried soybeans for lunch today, so I couldn't help myself just now..."
Gongzi Yi hurriedly covered her nose, muttered, "Are you even a woman?", and left in a panic, not caring that it was already too late.
A smile flashed across Hua Wuduo's eyes before he left.
At night, it was Master Zhang's turn to teach astrology. Due to the weather, the two classes were able to gather together for the rare occasion. They climbed up to the astronomical observatory, lay down side by side, looked at the starry sky, and pointed at each other.
Wu Ban's son, Kuang, looked at the stars and suddenly murmured a very thought-provoking question.
Gongzi Kuang gazed at the stars, half-asleep, and murmured, "How can I get a woman?" He seemed troubled by this question, asking it only on a whim.
Master Zhang happened to overhear this question and asked with interest, "What kind of woman?"
Knowing he had misspoke, and seeing the teacher's keen interest, Gongzi Kuang could no longer hide the truth and quickly and respectfully replied, "She is a female knight-errant."
The Master stroked his goatee, and in the darkness, he smiled slyly, saying in a low voice, "The whereabouts of people in the martial world are unpredictable and they don't care about trivial matters. The quickest and most effective move is naturally: to force oneself on someone."
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
That night, Hua Wuduo noticed a faint, eerie smile in the eyes of the young master Yi beside her. Hua Wuduo broke out in a sweat. If she hadn't known that he was poisoned by the "Silent Poison" and couldn't do anything to her, she really wouldn't have dared to sleep that night.
Since that night, Gongzi Yi has become particularly fond of astrology.
The days passed peacefully, and three more days went by in the blink of an eye. In such comfortable days, Hua Wuduo became more and more confused as to why Gongzi Yi had hired her as a bodyguard at such a high price. She noticed that the "silent" poison in his body was slowly dissipating. She was both happy and worried. She was happy that Gongzi Yi's skills were slowly recovering, but worried because this "silent" poison was a constant reminder that things would not be so easy and simple.
Today is the Spring Outing Festival, so the academy is closed for the day.
Early in the morning, Young Master Yi instructed Xiao happy to get ready and, together with Hua Wuduo, went down the mountain.
On the way, they met Gongzi Qi. The three of them rode down the mountain, chatting and laughing all the way. During their conversation, Gongzi Yi and Gongzi Qi mentioned the back mountain of the rainforest at the same time. They smiled at each other and understood each other without saying a word. It seemed that everything was understood without words.
Hua Wuduo was puzzled, only feeling that the two were laughing somewhat... □, so he didn't bother to ask any more questions.
After descending the mountain, Gongzi Qi explained that he had something to attend to and left first. After Gongzi Qi left, Gongzi Yi and Hua Wuduo went into the town at the foot of the mountain together.
The small town at the foot of the mountain was unusually lively today. Along the way, they encountered students from Nanshu Academy in twos and threes. However, Gongzi Yi had no intention of lingering. He simply led Hua Wuduo and Xiao Xi through the town and rode eastward.
Hua Wuduo asked Gongzi Yi where he was going. Gongzi Yi replied that he was going to the back mountain of the rainforest, looking impatient.
Hua Wuduo had no idea where the rainforest behind the mountain was, so he could only follow Gongzi Yi and ride eastward at full speed.
After tying up the horses and instructing Xiao Xi to watch over them, Gongzi Yi led Hua Wuduo along a winding path to the top of the mountain. The sound of water flowing down the mountain could be heard. Gongzi Yi climbed onto a rock and secretly looked down. Hua Wuduo followed his example and looked down as well. They saw a group of women bathing in the shallows of the stream below...
Hua Wuduo looked at Gongzi Yi with a strange expression, only to see him staring intently with excitement. Hua Wuduo couldn't help but sigh softly.
After lying there for a while, Gongzi Yi saw that the woman below was just soaking in the water and not coming ashore. He couldn't help but get anxious and set a trap to lure Hua Wuduo. He offered her ten taels of silver if she went down to steal a piece of clothing.
Hua Wuduo remained silent.
Gongzi Yi then advised, "Anyway, she's a woman, and it's not a big deal for a woman to steal another woman's clothes."
Hua Wuduo remained unmoved.
Young Master Yi then conceded, saying that he would give her twenty taels of silver for stealing only one piece of clothing!
Hua Wuduo finally fell for her.
By the stream, Hua Wuduo, with weeds on her head, lay sprawled on a rock, using a branch to hook onto the nearest green silk shirt on the rock below.
Suddenly, a woman screamed loudly. Hua Wuduo was startled, and the rock she was hooking on slipped from her heel, causing her to fall into the spring. Immediately afterward, a group of women pounced on her and began to beat her mercilessly without saying a word.
It really is talent!
Hua Wuduo immediately covered her head and cried out, "Sisters, spare me! I'm a woman!"
A woman immediately tore open Hua Wuduo's clothes, looked at her, nodded in surprise, and hurriedly said, "Sisters, it's a misunderstanding, she's just a woman dressed as a man."
Everyone was relieved.
At this moment, a woman pointed to Young Master Yi, who was watching the commotion excitedly on the hillside, and asked, "What about him?"
Hua Wuduo replied in a dry voice, "She's my sister, they're both women."
Because they were still quite far apart, they could only see a person dressed as a man, and could not make out his appearance.
A woman shouted, "Why are you sneaking around spying on us while we're bathing?!"
"Yes, we're all women, why don't we just come out confidently?" someone asked.
It turns out their whereabouts had been discovered long ago; no wonder these women didn't come ashore but stayed in the water.
Hua Wuduo replied, "Because my sister and I were disguised as men, we originally planned to bathe here as well. However, seeing all of you bathing here, we were worried about disturbing you, so we thought we would wait there for a while until you were all finished before coming out. We didn't expect that you would discover us first..."
"Then why did you steal our clothes?!" someone questioned again.
Hua Wuduo lowered her head and replied, "We waited for a long time, and seeing that the ladies had no intention of leaving, we thought that stealing their clothes might scare them away quickly."
One of the women said, "I see. Sisters, we've been hogging this stream for too long. It's almost lunchtime, let's pack up and leave."
The other women nodded and said, "Okay."
After a few questions, the women saw that Hua Wudu answered readily and had an honest and kind face, so they didn't press him further.
Without any further hesitation, the women all got up naked and began to dress without any awkwardness.
At this moment, Hua Wuduo looked up at the hillside, her bright eyes fixed on the many sisters, and her head began to spin.
She really wanted to tell her sisters that there was a big-eyed toad on the hilltop, but in the end she didn't have the courage.
The women, dressed neatly, paid little attention to Hua Wuduo and left with smiles on their faces.
Seeing that everyone had gone far away, Young Master Yi on the mountaintop excitedly ran down, shouting as he ran: "Flower Bud, you are really amazing. You actually made them naked in front of me without any shame. It was really worth bringing you here today. Here, this is a reward from me."
Hua Wuduo took the twenty taels that Gongzi Yi handed to her and thought to herself: Does this count as aiding and abetting evil?
Gongzi Yi was still incredibly excited and said, "It's a pity that Qi didn't come this time. Next time, I will definitely invite Qi, Kuang, and Yu along."
Next time? There's going to be a next time?
Hua Wuduo suddenly recalled a scene: facing a group of naked women, she pointed to several men on the mountain and shamelessly declared, "They are all my sisters, we are all women!"
××××××××××
After leaving the rainforest, Hua Wuduo used his internal energy to dry his clothes in a short time, and the three of them rode to Daming Prefecture.
On the way, they passed through the town again. The market had closed and it was a bit deserted. The three rode by on horseback. Gongzi Yi said, "Hua Gudu, two months from now, you will continue to stay by my side as my bodyguard."
Hua Wuduo said, "Let's talk about it in two months."
Gongzi Yi snorted, looking somewhat displeased, and said, "Flower Bud, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're too arrogant."
"Young master, could you please stop calling me Flower Bud?" Hua Wuduo said, trying to suppress his emotions.
“No,” Gongzi Yi replied readily.
They were almost at Daming Prefecture. From afar, Hua Wuduo noticed a servant who had been peeking out from outside rushing into the prefecture gate.
As soon as they reached the door, Steward Chen rushed out with several servants and beautiful maids, eagerly helping Young Master Yi dismount.
Young Master Yi hadn't exaggerated; the maids serving him were indeed all beautiful and captivating. Hua Wuduo, standing among them, was thankfully dressed as a man; in women's clothing, she would have been utterly unrecognizable, almost unworthy of carrying his shoes. However, this was precisely why she was kept on as Young Master Yi's bodyguard. Everyone believed that even if she were glued to Young Master Yi for every single moment of the day, there was no need to worry about anything happening between them—because someone like her simply couldn't!
Young Master Yi returned to Daming Prefecture, where he enjoyed good food and drink, and was served by beautiful maids, living a life like that of a god.
Hua Wuduo, dressed in men's clothing, stood guard at a distance that was neither too close nor too far. Fruits and tea were served by special servants. In fact, Young Master Yi treated her quite well and never mistreated her.
As the sun set and dinner was finished, Young Master Yi reluctantly left Daming Prefecture.
The three of them strolled along leisurely, and the sky gradually darkened.
At this moment, at the foot of Qifeng Mountain, the area was sparsely populated, and a gentle breeze was blowing. Hua Wuduo, who had been in a good mood, suddenly sensed a murderous aura. He abruptly pushed off with his feet, leaping towards Gongzi Yi in front of him, shouting, "Watch out!"
At this moment, three darts came flying at them from different directions. Xiao Xi ducked and dodged them, while Hua Wuduo flicked his whip to knock down the other two. At the same time, he jumped off his horse with Gongzi Yi in his arms and hid behind the horse.
The following hidden weapons all pierced the horse's belly, causing the horse to neigh and collapse.
At this moment, Xiao happy took something out of her bosom and shot it into the air. It exploded in the dark night with a dazzling red light.
At the same time, five men in black silently attacked them.
Xiao happy fought two against one, while Hua Wuduo protected Gongzi Yi, fighting three against one.
Of the three, two wielded swords with fierce swordsmanship, while the third used palm strikes with profound internal energy.
In a one-on-one fight, none of the three could defeat Hua Wuduo. However, when the three joined forces, Hua Wuduo couldn't find a weakness for a while. With Gongzi Yi behind him getting in the way, he couldn't use his skills for the time being. Fortunately, the silver needles in his sleeves had a significant advantage in the darkness, and his opponents couldn't gain any advantage for a while. His opponents seemed not to have expected to encounter such strong opponents. Knowing that time was running out, they exchanged glances and changed their moves.
The men in black bypassed Hua Wuduo and launched attacks towards Gongzi Yi behind her. Hua Wuduo, caught off guard, retreated repeatedly. At that moment, one of the men in black secretly struck Gongzi Yi with a palm strike. Gongzi Yi dodged backward but tripped and fell. The man in black followed up with another palm strike. However, Hua Wuduo's golden threads were entangled in the weapons of the other two men and couldn't be pulled back. Seeing that the palm strike was about to hit Gongzi Yi, Hua Wuduo, in a moment of desperation, suddenly bent down and took the blow for Gongzi Yi, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto him. Simultaneously, a palm strike and two swords arrived from behind. Without thinking, Hua Wuduo turned and flicked her sleeve, sending silver needles piercing the palm of the first man in black and shooting them towards the throats of the two sword-wielding men in black—a suicide attack.
Suddenly, three hidden weapons were shot at the man in black from behind. The man in black turned around, swung them down, and retreated rapidly, giving Hua Wuduo a moment to catch his breath.
At this moment, three men in brocade robes flew out of the woods and engaged the men in black in battle.
Gongzi Yi, who had been pinned underneath, struggled to help Hua Wuduo up and asked, "Are you alright?"
Hua Wuduo quickly steadied his breathing, shook his head, and indicated that he was alright. Looking around at the situation, Gongzi Yi said, "Let's go first. Xiao Xi will take care of the rest."
Hua Wu nodded, then picked up Gongzi Yi, leaped onto his horse, and the two rode off towards the mountain.
The horse lurched along, and for the first time in his life, Gongzi Yi was held tightly in a woman's arms. He strongly felt her unwavering devotion and protection. He couldn't help but be slightly lost in thought.
The warmth of her chest brushed against his back, yet for the first time, this intimate friction did not arouse any desire in him.
Gongzi Yi said softly, "You're injured... You could have just..."
Hua Wuduo's voice came from above, deep and resonant: "Your life is mine."
Gongzi Yi's heart stirred, and he closed his eyes, concealing a strange feeling that even he was unfamiliar with. When he opened them again, he was calm and composed. He snorted and continued, "Foolish woman, you could have easily used your internal energy to shake him off, but you insisted on taking the hit with your back. Your skills are not bad, but your ability to adapt to the situation is really too poor."
Hua Wuduo was taken aback, his body involuntarily stiffening. Gongzi Yi noticed this and then heard Hua Wuduo sigh, "You were right. I've never encountered this situation before." There was a hint of inferiority in his voice.
Upon hearing this, Gongzi Yi couldn't help but secretly smile. He really hadn't expected this woman to have such low self-esteem.
“However, concern can cloud judgment, which also shows that you care about me. I forgive you this time,” Gongzi Yi said, unable to hide his smugness.
"Yes, for my monthly salary of 100 taels of silver and that life-and-death contract, of course I care about you," Hua Wuduo replied helplessly.