When she was disguised as a man at Shaolin Temple, Deyun was considered her master, but the one who truly taught her martial arts was Huide. In Hua Chongyang's memory, Huide's martial arts skills, even if inferior to Ji Chong's, were not far behind.
Rong Chenfei's martial arts skills have improved too quickly.
She suddenly remembered the time more than a year ago when he saved Bo Jiang at Lake Moon Villa.
If that's the case, then if he really did learn some martial arts, it must have been before he cooperated with Lan Wuxie, unless he already had dealings with Lan Wuxie at that time—is that possible?
But the most prevalent rumor at the time was that Lake Moon Manor was wiped out by Lan Wuxie, so how could Rong Chenfei cooperate with Lan Wuxie?
Just as he was lost in thought, he heard Huang San sigh to Hua Chongyang from the side:
"It seems Rong Chenfei will snatch the top prize in this year's martial arts tournament. Sigh, I still can't stand Rong Chenfei."
Hua Chongyang raised an eyebrow:
"So, who do you find pleasing to the eye?"
Huang San glanced at her and muttered to himself:
"...To be honest, I find Lan Wuxie more pleasing to the eye than him. If you hadn't driven Lan Wuxie away, would that pretty boy Rong Chenfei have gotten his hands on her..."
One sentence reminded Hua Chongyang, and she turned sharply to glare at Huang San:
"Oh no! Where's Arlu! She--"
"Don't worry, don't worry! She can't get away!" Huang San rolled his eyes at her, annoyed. "Chu San is with her."
Hua Chongyang breathed a sigh of relief:
"I was out of my mind today. I shouldn't have slapped him so hard."
"You're doing this for her own good. If Lan Wuxie really took action, he'd just kill her." Huang San shook his head. "Bai Lu has that childish temper; she'll suffer for it sooner or later. It's only because Lan Wuxie is giving you face that I'm allowed to be scolded like this; I would never let it go."
After being told off by Huang San, Hua Chongyang lost all interest in watching the martial arts competition. All he could see in his mind's eye was Lan Wuxie throwing down his sword and swaying as he walked off the stage with his back turned.
He sat there motionless until the final match, which turned out to be between Bo Feng and Rong Chenfei.
Huang San had a look of anticipation on his face.
"This is getting interesting. Rong Chenfei dared to mess with Bo Feng, definitely because Lan Wuxie is backing him up."
Hua Chongyang stared at Bo Feng on the stage for a long time, then shook his head:
"Bo Feng doesn't look his age at all. He must be fifty, right? He looks like he's in his forties—Sister Huang, why are you looking at me like that?"
Huang San glared at her:
"How old do you think Bo Feng is?"
"Fifty... His son, Bo Qing, should be thirty by now, right? He must be in his forties."
"...Where did you hear that from?"
"Just look at Bo Qing and Bo Jiang—that person standing behind Bo Feng over there, isn't that Bo Qing?"
Behind Bo Feng's seat was a young man who looked to be close to thirty. He was tall, thin, and slightly dark-skinned. He was looking at the stage while talking to Situ Qingliu.
She turned to look at Huang San:
"Isn't that Bo Feng's son, Bo Qing? If I'm not mistaken, am I?"
"That's right. Bo Qing is thirty-one."
"Isn't Bo Feng almost fifty?"
"Lack of experience really does kill you." Huang San looked at her helplessly. "Bo Feng is thirty-six this year. Look at him, you still dare to say he looks young? A thirty-six-year-old looks forty. Pshaw."
Hua Chongyang looked astonished.
"Bo Qing and Bo Jiang are his adopted son and daughter. Bo Feng himself has never married," Huang San said, then suddenly lowered his voice, "so there have always been rumors."
"What rumor?"
"Hehe," Huang San chuckled twice, always adept at spreading gossip, his face full of ill intent, "I heard Bo Jiang is having an affair with Bo Feng and Bo Qing."
"……"
Before they could finish their gossip, the outcome of the duel was already decided on the fighting stage.
The risk is low, but the outcome is better than Rong Chenfei.
Rong Chenfei had a bloody claw mark on his right forehead.
Although Bo Feng won the competition, he lost face. In his pursuit of victory, he used a particularly vicious move against Rong Chenfei, almost blinding Rong Chenfei's right eye. As a senior in the martial arts world, such treatment of a junior is bound to be criticized.
The martial arts tournament ended abruptly.
However, those on and off the stage felt somewhat bored. To paraphrase Huang San: "With Lan Wuxie gone, what's the point of their competition? They're just vying for second or third place."
Bo Feng sent someone to invite Hua Chongyang to a celebratory banquet at his residence. However, given the commotion she'd experienced with Lan Wuxie and Bai Lu on stage that day, Hua Chongyang was quite annoyed and unwilling to attend, so she politely declined with a smile. The crowd dispersed instantly, and she absentmindedly followed Ye Laoqi and Huang San back. Just as she left the venue, a figure draped in a bright red cloak approached her, softly calling out:
"Master Hua."
Before he even looked up, Hua Chongyang could tell it was Bo Jiang just by smelling it.
This was her first encounter with Bo Jiang, a fact she had made in public since assuming a certain level of respect. Inwardly cursing, Hua Chongyang forced a smile and looked up:
"Oh, it's Miss Bo. I don't know—"
Before Bo Jiang could speak, Huang San, the old man beside her, interrupted her:
"The original poster is mistaken. What 'Miss Bo' or 'Miss Hou'? She's now the Crown Prince's consort! How can she still be called a 'Miss'? Besides, only those sold in brothels are called 'Miss'!"
Huang San's cloyingly sweet voice was so disgusting that Hua Chongyang got goosebumps all over. His facial muscles twitched as he forced a trembling smile and shouted at Bo Jiang:
"How rude of you... Crown Princess."
Bo Jiang's expression changed slightly, then he raised an eyebrow and chuckled:
"I heard that Master Hua and Master Lan had a duel this afternoon? I wonder who won and who lost?"
Huang San answered first:
"Of course, our host wins."
"Indeed." Bo Jiang smiled at Hua Chongyang. "A night of marriage is worth a hundred days of kindness. Pavilion Master Lan should at least give way to Pavilion Master Hua. Pavilion Master Hua really got a good deal; her ranking on the martial arts list will never be lower than Pavilion Master Lan's."
Hua Chongyang smiled and raised an eyebrow:
"Miss Bo, you flatter me."
She deliberately emphasized the words "Miss Bo".
Bo Jiang's expression changed again. He stepped closer, hooked his finger on Hua Chongyang's light red gauze sleeve, and smiled:
"It's been a year, and you've become even more beautiful, Master Hua. Not only beautiful, but you've also become even more feminine."
"You flatter me."
"If things continue like this, and all the heroes of the martial world were as sentimental as Pavilion Master Lan, then with her beauty, Sect Leader Hua could easily become the number one brothel owner in the martial world in a few more years."
That was a well-hidden veil of barbs.
Hua Chongyang sneered and stepped forward to retort, but Huang San smiled and blocked his way:
"Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"
Huang San's smile remained unchanged as he turned to look at Bo Jiang, raising an eyebrow as he approached:
"Miss Bo."
She was tall, large, and fat, and looked down at her with her head slightly lowered.
"You really know how to curse, and you even use roundabout methods. Unlike me, I always curse directly; you can tell I haven't studied the Four Books and Five Classics just by listening."
Bo Jiang looked away and sneered:
"Who are you? I'm speaking to your master, what right do you have to interrupt? You ill-mannered servant!"
As she spoke, a maidservant came over to pull her away.
Huang San, true to his name, shoved the girl aside with one hand, put his hands on his hips, and faced Bo Jiang with his round, chubby face:
"You want to talk to our OP? Really, too bad our OP never talks to [illegible characters]."
Bo Jiang sneered:
"You people from a brothel, how dare you call others bastards!"
"Hey, what's wrong with our brothel? All our girls are pure and innocent! So what if I'm talking about you? I'd like to ask you something else!" Huang San moved closer and closer, directly asking Bo Jiang's face, "People say you served your father and then your brother, is that true?"
Ye Laoqi, who was standing to the side, burst out laughing.
Bo Jiang's expression completely changed, and she raised her hand to slap Huang San. Huang San grabbed her arm and asked with a smile:
"It's all about fathers and brothers, and now they're even trying to get into the bed of the Pavilion Master Lan and the Crown Prince. They're all gathered in Hangzhou now, Miss Bo, don't you feel a backache?"
Even one of Bo Jiang's female disciples burst out laughing, and Ye Laoqi immediately covered his face and turned away.
Bo Jiang's face turned pale with anger, and he trembled all over. Hua Chongyang, standing to the side, was suppressing his laughter so hard that his face cramped and his whole body trembled. Seeing that Bo Jiang's lips were trembling and he couldn't utter a word, he stepped forward and pulled Huang San aside:
"Sister Huang, you're asking too many questions. Miss Bo, we have to go now."
62. Qing Ling...
Hua Chongyang nearly suffered internal injuries from suppressing his laughter, and dragged Huang San along, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. Situ Qingliu and Bo Feng were also walking behind them. After all, Bo Jiang was Situ Qingliu's wife, and if they bumped into each other, it would probably not look good on either side.
But Huang San shook off Hua Chongyang's hand, insisting on completing the whole ritual. He held a handkerchief in his hand and wiped it across Bo Jiang's face before turning around with a grin and graceful movements.
"Miss Bo, we'll be going now. I'm not one to speak bluntly, so please don't take offense!"
He had only taken a few steps after turning around when he heard a loud slap behind him. Old Man Ye turned back, looked around, and then sighed softly:
"Tsk tsk! Bo Jiang went too far; the girl who laughed just now even had blood on her lip!"
"Mind your own business!" Huang San sneered. "It's better if she kills them all herself; it'll save us the trouble!"
After saying that, she smiled and leaned closer to Hua Chongyang:
"How about that? Does that make you feel better? Damn it, first you provoked Lan Wuxie and then you monopolized Situ Qingliu. I think Bo Jiangtian was born to oppose you."
Hua Chongyang remained silent for a long time, then chuckled softly.
"I think Bo Jiang is not simple."
Huang San raised an eyebrow:
"That's true. I just yelled at her like that, and she held back her hands so hard they were trembling, but she didn't lay a hand on us. If it were me, I would have slapped her across the face. Her ability to endure what others cannot is truly remarkable."