Ultimate Skill
one,
The courtyard is deep and secluded, damp with dew.
Ban Lan had just finished applying the medicine when she lazily lay back down on the rattan chair in the yard, unwilling to move again.
She felt a little cold, but was too lazy to sit up, so she shouted Fang Huo at the top of her lungs.
Every day when he heard Ban Lan shouting his name, Fang Huo felt like a monkey with a headband on him, both dizzy and unable to ignore it.
He had to pay attention, not because Ban Lan was his senior, but because he discovered that Ban Lan had learned to be alone.
Ban Lan was not a woman who was afraid of being alone before.
Because at that time, she only knew boredom and didn't understand loneliness.
Oh my god! This girl has learned so many things she shouldn't have learned since she came down the mountain. Fang Huo sighed countless times. His sighs stemmed not only from some concern for his senior sister, but also from the helplessness of being called dozens of times every day.
Then one day, Fang Huo suddenly said to Ban Lan, "Go back to your room and get ready. One of my best buddies is coming to Fish Eye Valley in an hour."
Ban Lan said, "What does your best friend have to do with me? Why should I dress up?"
Fang Huo glared at Ban Lan and said, "Don't ruin the reputation of Yumu Valley. Besides, if you tidy yourself up, maybe someone will fall for you and come to Yumu Valley to offer betrothal gifts another day..."
Before Fang Huo could finish speaking, Ban Lan turned around and swaggered into the house.
What happened later made Fang Huo never think of matchmaking for Ban Lan again. He still remembered when he led his good brother "passing by" Ban Lan's courtyard, Ban Lan was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard picking her teeth.
That evening, Fang Huo stormed into Ban Lan's room, furious, and demanded, "Damn it, why don't you ever pick your teeth normally? But at this particular time, you're happily picking them with your legs crossed. And why do you have to pick them anywhere but sitting at the table in the middle of the yard?!"
Ban Lan rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Hmph, you dare bring this pretty boy here when even I can't stand him picking his teeth? Be careful, or I'll rip your skull open and let the west wind cool your head down!"
"Fang—Huo—" The second round of shouts rang out again, pulling Fang Huo's thoughts, which had wandered far away, back to reality.
Fang Huo walked into Ban Lan's courtyard with a mournful look on his face. He saw her curled up limply on a large rattan chair, looking like a snake about to hibernate.
"You brat, why are you walking so slowly?"
Fang Huo yawned and asked, "My senior sister, what's wrong now?"
"Go and bring the blankets from the bed inside the house. It's a bit cold in the yard." Ban Lan seemed to have caught Fang Huo's yawn and immediately yawned as well.
Fang Huo silently took out a blanket, covered Ban Lan with it, and asked, "Is the injury on your arm healed?"
"Hmm." Ban Lan responded, then continued, "How dare you ask me? You clearly saw that I was struggling, but you didn't come to help, and I ended up getting stabbed by that black-bearded man."
Fang Huo grinned and said, "You're the one who's looking for trouble, and you're blaming me for being slow to help? Look at you, you've been in Fish Eye Valley for eight years, and your skills are so bad that I wouldn't even be qualified to carry your sword for me. You still have the nerve to provoke people and cause trouble for no reason."
Ban Lan huddled under the covers, saying nothing.
Fang Huo suddenly regretted his words. Looking at Ban Lan's listless face, he realized that no matter how many times he went back and forth every day, he still couldn't erase the sadness in her eyes.
He recalled a midnight the other day when he was sound asleep when he suddenly felt someone shaking him. In his hazy state, he opened his eyes and saw Ban Lan sitting by his bedside, staring at him.
"Ahhh!!!" Fang Huo cried out subconsciously and reached for the sword beside his pillow.
"Call me 'Grandpa'!" Ban Lan said lazily after slapping Fang Huo on the head impatiently. "Move over a bit, I'm staying here tonight."
"Huh?!" Fang Huo's jaw nearly dropped in shock: "I, I'm a man!"
"I know."
"Then you still dare to share a bed with me?!"
"Then get off the bed, I'll sleep in the bed."
So that night, Fang Huo pitifully laid a thin sheet on the floor and lay down, full of resentment.
"Hey, if word gets out that unmarried men and women living together in the same room, don't blame me for ruining your reputation," Fang Huo said angrily.
After a long while, no one responded.
Fang Huo assumed she was asleep and remained silent. However, the brick floor was cold and hard, and after countless attempts, he finally gave up, no longer forcing himself to fall asleep. He then opened his eyes and looked at Ban Lan lying on the bed.
That one glance was something Fang Huo would never forget for the rest of his life.
He saw Ban Lan staring blankly at the ceiling, the tear tracks sliding down her cheeks, faintly gleaming in the moonlight.
That was the only time Fang Huo ever saw Ban Lan cry. Even when she was a child, she fell from a tree while picking fruit and dislocated her arm. She only cried out in pain and scolded Fang Huo for being useless and failing to catch her.
Fang Huo was thirteen years old at the time. He had known Ban Lan for a year and a half. He immediately recognized that this girl, who was like a bandit, was as strong as a hard and stubborn rock.
After that night, Ban Lan never went to see Fang Huo in the middle of the night again.
Because she discovered that no matter how many people were around her, she would still feel sad every midnight.
Fang Huo composed himself and was about to say something when he suddenly realized that the thin, frail figure lying on the rattan chair had vanished.
Fang Huo sighed deeply, picked up the quilt from the rattan chair, and went into the room.
two,
Ban Lan pushed open Wei Li's door.
"Master!"
Wei Li didn't look up: "You didn't even knock."
Ban Lan said, "That brat Fang Huo said my martial arts skills are not good enough."
Wei Li nodded: "Indeed." As he spoke, he dipped the brush in the jade inkstone.
"So, you have to teach me a few secret techniques!" Ban Lan didn't care whether Wei Li agreed or not, and went straight to the mahogany high-backed chair in front of the table and sat down.
Wei Li put down her pen and gave Ban Lan a deep look.
Unable to withstand Wei Li's probing gaze, Ban Lan could only say, "Uh, I got injured in a fight a couple of days ago, it was so embarrassing, so..."
Wei Li seemed not to be listening to her at all.
"That's good. When I'm busy, I won't have time to think about those messy things."
Having had her thoughts read by Wei Li, Ban Lan was at a loss for words and could only change the subject, saying, "That... ultimate technique..."
“You’ve already learned all of that,” Wei Li interrupted.
Ban Lan didn't believe it: "How could I, someone who has studied swordsmanship, be cut by one?"
Wei Li said, "Alright, use what you've learned. If you can defeat me, I'll teach you new moves."
Ban Lan spread his hands: "You are an unparalleled master, how could I possibly defeat you?"
That's definitely nonsense.
However, sometimes, nonsense is called nonsense not because it has no meaning, but because it is meant to distract others.
Ban Lan's nonsense belongs to the latter category.
Because Ban Lan slapped Wei Li with her palm halfway through her sentence.
If Fang Huo were there, he would definitely say, "Ban Lan, this is a rogue's fighting style."
Ban Lan would certainly admit that when she was fighting in the streets since she was a child, she always had a habit of shouting "Hey, what's that?" and then throwing all the bricks and tiles in her hand at the other person.
Fang Huo had scorned this habit countless times, but this was the first time he had used it in front of Wei Li.
She assumed Wei Li wouldn't be on guard.
In fact, Wei Li was indeed unprepared.
Ban Lan swung his palm out, moving with the speed of a rabbit, and in the blink of an eye, his fingers barely touched Wei Li's clothes.
succeed!
Ban Lan almost burst out laughing.
Just as she curled her lips into a smile, a white shadow flashed before her eyes. She heard a rustling sound as the force of the palm strike passed through a thin cotton shirt and vanished without a trace.
Ban Lan narrowed her eyes, a hint of cunning flashing across her crescent-shaped pupils.
She quickly turned around and then used the move "Parting the Clouds to See the Sun," attacking "Renying" above and striking "Shenque" below.
If there was any skill that Ban Lan had seriously learned, it was acupressure. In Ban Lan's view, acupressure was a skill that provided a permanent solution. Once she struck an acupressure point, the opponent would have no chance to retaliate and could only be manipulated and crushed at her mercy.
She made her move quickly, but Wei Li retreated even faster.
Wei Li was always a little bit faster than her. Even though it was only a little bit, it still made Ban Lan feel extremely frustrated.
Because Wei Li always watched her make her moves with a smile, and just when she was about to succeed, he would suddenly dodge away.
After Ban Lan's third attempt to attack failed, she lost her balance and, with all her strength, stumbled and fell forward.
Wei Li sighed, swayed slightly, and reached out to support Ban Lan.
Ban Lan smiled. Her eyebrows and eyes curved like the rising new moon.
She clung tightly to Wei Li's arm with both hands, then turned her head and bit down on Wei Li's forearm.
Looking at Ban Lan's current posture, like a small animal hanging on his arm, Wei Li couldn't help but shake his head helplessly and said, "Why are you using those shameless tricks again?"
Although the bite was hard, it didn't break the skin.
As soon as Ban Lan relented, she noticed Wei Li looking at her with a helpless expression, so she stuck out her tongue and jumped away.
"I guess you could say I... hit him?" Ban Lan blushed slightly.
Wei Li could only say, "If it were any other expert, a single burst of internal force would shatter you into nothingness, no matter how sharp your teeth are."
Ban Lan unconsciously rubbed the hem of her clothes and said, "I'm fighting with you, Master, so I know you can't bear to shock me..."
Wei Li smiled faintly. He glanced at the still-wet ink painting of mountains on the table, his eyes seeming to darken as the ink on the paper was reflected in them.