Dou Akou knew Xu Liren's temper, but she couldn't get angry at him no matter what. When she thought about how he had been poisoned since childhood, suffered so much over the years, and was only going to live to be thirty, she softened.
As Dou Akou watched Xu Liren's departing figure, she thought to herself, "God is so unfair. Such a handsome person, who also plays the zither so well, is so unlucky."
"Miss, are you feeling sorry for her?"
She was lost in thought when her husband casually asked her a question.
Dou Akou was startled and quickly shook her head: "No, no. I just felt sorry for him."
She wasn't sure if her husband had seen through her, and nervously twisted her fingers.
The man glanced at her, then turned and walked away on his own.
Tomorrow is Qingyong City's annual disciple trial. Disciples from each sect are not allowed to use their own sect's unique skills, but only the martial arts taught in Qingyong City. Those who pass the trial can represent Qingyong City in the martial arts tournament on March 25th.
This was quite a big event in Qingyong City. The disciples were all excited and made plans to take a bath together to relax and recharge so they could win a prize the next day.
For a time, the area in front of the bathhouse in Qingyong City was bustling with activity. People with towels draped over their shoulders and wooden basins were emerging from the bathhouse, their faces flushed and steam rising from their heads.
Dou Akou had been waiting at the door for Tang Xunzhen to go in and shower together for almost half an hour. She didn't see Tang Xunzhen, but she did see Pi Xiaoli. Pi Xiaoli was a member of the Pangbo Hall and was skilled in flint and explosives. After causing several explosions in the Pangbo Hall, he was thrown into Qingyong City by the hall master on a fast horse.
She wasn't idle in Qingyong City either; she caused trouble several times, including blowing up the city's canteen.
Dou Akou greeted her warmly: "Little Thunderbolt, you're here to take a bath too?"
This child works in a dangerous profession; his hair is frizzy and yellowish-brown, like a clump of withered grass that has been bombed.
Pi Xiaoli was startled, turned around and saw it was her, then breathed a sigh of relief: "Akou, it's you. You wash, you wash, I'll leave."
She walked furtively, muttering to herself, "Almost there, almost out."
Dou Akou was wondering what was coming out when she heard a loud bang beside her ear. A wave of air, carrying heat, rushed towards the entrance. She was stunned and saw that a corner of the roof of the Qingyong City Men's Bathhouse was slowly collapsing.
A group of men rushed out, howling like ghosts. Some of the lucky ones managed to grab a towel and a wooden basin amidst the chaos and used them to cover their private parts as they rushed out. Others came out completely naked.
Dou Akou stood at the door, staring wide-eyed at the scene of the naked man running wildly, her vision greatly shocked.
In the chaos, she kept hearing Pi Xiaoli, who was hiding behind a tree not far away, muttering, "Why isn't she coming out yet... Oh, she's out!"
Dou Akou glanced over and saw Fu Jiuxin coming out as well. Unlike the others, he was wearing a loose undergarment, the belt was not tied tightly, and the collar was open from the neckline to the waist. His black hair was wet and dripping water from his forehead.
Dou Akou was shocked, even more so than when she had just seen the private parts of many men running wildly. She had never seen such a sensual gentleman before. She swallowed hard, watching a drop of water fall from the tip of his hair, slide down his Adam's apple, collarbone, and onto his chest, slowly disappearing into the unseen place covered by his clothes.
"Ah..." came Pi Xiaoli's disappointed voice, "We blew him up too early... We should have waited until he was completely naked..."
As soon as Fu Jiuxin came out, he spotted the furtive Pi Xiaoli. This wasn't the first or second time she'd tried to take advantage of him, but now she was actually quite bold!
Fueled by anger, Fu Jiuxin was about to get up and chase after him when he caught a glimpse of Dou Akou, who was staring blankly out of the corner of his eye.
He was startled. In that chaotic moment, how many things had she seen that she shouldn't have seen?
Dou Akou was parched and stunned. She saw her husband walking towards her with a serious expression. She knew she should look away, but her mind was filled with the image of him emerging from the bath.
"Akou, you—" Fu Jiuxin was a little worried; why were her eyes fixed on something?
“Sir…” Dou Akou began, her voice dazed, “…none of theirs are as big as yours.”
"..."
None of them saw that Xu Liren, who was in the distance, was looking thoughtfully at the small birthmark exposed on Fu Jiuxin's chest, and frowned.
Fighting in the ring
The next day, Fu Jiuxin stood at Dou Akou's door and knocked.
"Miss, get up. Today is the disciple's trial; you must not be late."
After a rustling sound inside, Dou Akou opened the door, rubbing her eyes: "Sir, my eyes hurt, they're both painful and itchy."
Fu Jiuxin took her hand away and looked at her eyes. There was a small boil on her eyelid, which was red and swollen.
"You have a sty," Fu Jiuxin said coolly.
Dou Akou was shocked: "Sir! Is it because I've seen so many of my fellow disciples' bodies that I got a sty?"
It would have been better if she hadn't brought it up, because the moment she did, Fu Jiuxin's face darkened, and so did her heart: "What? Haven't you copied the Qingxin Sutra enough yet?"
Dou Akou was about to rub her eyes again when she heard this, so she immediately shook her head and said, "That's enough, that's enough."
Yesterday she was just telling the truth: the master was indeed older than them. Now that she thinks back, the master's expression at the time was very complicated. Later, he punished her by making her copy the Heart Sutra.
Seeing Dou Akou's tired and pained appearance, Fu Jiuxin realized that she had been copying the Heart Sutra until late at night yesterday, and now she had boils on her eyes. He couldn't help but soften his heart: "Don't rub your eyes. I'll ask Mingkong Sanren to prescribe some medicine for you later."
"Oh." Dou Akou obediently followed behind Fu Jiuxin, blinked, and felt itchy again. Just as she was about to rub it, her husband's voice came from the front: "Miss."
Dou Akou thought, "So, the gentleman has eyes in the back of his head too."
They arrived at the Elephant Dance Platform, where a ten-foot-high arena had been erected in the center, surrounded by disciples from Qingyong City, all of whom looked very excited.
Tang Xunzhen squeezed through the crowd to Dou Akou's side: "Akou, have you drawn your lots yet? My first match is against Hu Fang'er, and Gu Huaibi is against a disciple from the twelfth row. Only you and Fu Jiuxin haven't drawn yet."
Upon hearing this, Dou Akou squeezed to Mingkong Sanren's side to draw lots.
She drew the opponent Yin Yan, the one skilled in ribbon dancing. Tang Xunzhen laughed: "Akou, you'll be fine. Yin Yan's moves are all show and no substance, good for fooling men, but in a real fight, she's definitely no match for you."
Dou Akou gripped her knife, feeling relieved. She stood on tiptoe, craning her neck to look at the slip of paper in Fu Jiuxin's hand: "Sir, who are you fighting against?"
She could already see the black ink stains on the paper. Fu Jiuxin suddenly folded the paper and turned to look at her: "Nobody's here."
"Oh." Dou Akou didn't press further. She knew her master's sword was very powerful, so she wasn't worried.
Their turn was scheduled for later. At first, Dou Akou was interested in squeezing into the crowd to watch the competition, but later she got tired and sneaked out of the crowd to find Xu Liren.
Xu Liren was playing the zither in the open space in front of the house, or rather, he wasn't really playing, he was just casually plucking the strings. He heard Dou Akou arrive, and turned to look at her: "Aren't you going to take the trial?"
"It's not my turn yet. When it's my turn, Xu Li can come and help me out, okay?"
"Hmph." Xu Li shrugged, remaining noncommittal.
He strummed the strings for a while, then suddenly spoke thoughtfully: "Dou Yacai, did you and your husband grow up together?"
"Yes. When the gentleman came to my house, he was already ten years old. We grew up together."
"So your husband... the birthmark on his chest, was it there when he was a child?"
Dou Akou had no doubt about Xu Liren's intention in asking this question. She frowned and tried her best to recall that since she was a teenager, her husband had never bathed with her again. And when they could bathe together, she was too young. She thought for a moment and remembered that her husband had a very faint scar on his chest. It turned out to be a birthmark.
"Oh. Yes, there are."
Xu Li remained silent. After thinking for a long time, he smiled. It was truly an effortless stroke of luck.
Dou Akou looked at Xu Liren's sudden smile with bewilderment, and suddenly became nervous: "Xu Liren, could it be that you...you...you've also taken a liking to the gentleman?"
She only found out yesterday that so many people were after her husband, especially that guy, Pi Xiaoli, who was incredibly arrogant.
Xu Liren was stunned for a moment, then angrily said, "What nonsense are you talking about!" He smashed his zither and left, leaving Dou Akou completely bewildered.
When Dou Akou arrived at the Elephant Dance Platform, it was just her turn. Her lightness skill was not good enough, and she didn't know how to get onto the ten-foot-high platform. Fortunately, her master used his internal energy to help her get on the platform. She was quite embarrassed when she jumped onto the platform. The crowd below burst into laughter and pointed at her.
Dou Akou touched her nose, not caring, and looked around for her rival, Yin Yan.
Suddenly, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Dou Akou looked in the direction of the sound and saw Yin Yan flick her wrist. A seven-colored ribbon flew out from her sleeve and wrapped around the wooden stake on the arena. She used the momentum to leap up from the crowd and landed on the arena, swaying gently with the ribbon. The ribbon then retracted, like a rainbow disappearing into her sleeve.
She stood gracefully on the stage, and countless fellow students cheered her on from below.