Dou Akou blushed. Sometimes Xu Liren would come over when she practiced her sword skills and play a tune to her rhythm. He saw all of her clumsy sword practice.
She scratched her head: "I haven't mastered it yet. Besides, even if I haven't, it's enough to deal with those who bully you."
Xu Liren remained noncommittal: "Then let's go."
Dou Akou became serious and earnestly explained the key points of the Twelve Forms of Slaying Peak. She demonstrated a few moves for Xu Liren to see. Xu Liren practiced the moves for a few moves, then suddenly clutched his chest and frowned.
Dou Akou was already very familiar with Xu Liren; she knew that Xu Liren had fallen ill again.
She squatted down in front of Xu Liren, patiently waiting for him to recover.
Xu Li gritted his teeth in pain. This time, the poisoning lasted longer than before, but the intervals were getting shorter. He knew this couldn't go on; he had to implement his plan as soon as possible. Even if he only lived to thirty, he would bring that person down before he died, and have him accompany him on his journey to the underworld.
He impatiently threw the knife back to Dou Akou: "What's the point of practicing swordsmanship when I'm about to die like this!"
Dou Akou didn't know how to comfort him, so she could only say, "Xu Li, don't worry. I'll go to Xilie Fort to participate in the martial arts tournament on March 15th. I'll go to Siyou Kingdom then to find that Qianjin Liangfang (a medical text), maybe it has a prescription for treating your poison. Besides, the Ding family from Baicao Jing (another medical text) will also be there. The Ding family's medical skills have always been excellent, we can have them take a look at you first."
Xu Liren looked at Dou Akou and deliberately gave her a seductive smile: "Dou Yacai is quite well-behaved. She always thinks of me. That's good. If you like me, you should do things for me and listen to me."
Dou Akou felt there was something wrong with his words, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She wondered to herself, was this really love? If it were her husband who was sick, she might have already rushed to the ancient kingdom of Siyou.
So, what exactly is liking?
bathhouse
The day of the Qingyong City disciples' trial is drawing ever closer.
Tang Xunzhen was very nervous and dragged Gu Huaibi to accompany her to practice martial arts every day.
The Jianghu Yiyantang (a powerful and influential group) excels at intelligence gathering and analysis, knowing the secrets that various sects in the Jianghu (martial arts world) don't want others to know, which has offended many people. However, Yiyantang is not proficient in martial arts, which is why they sent their young lady to Qingyong City to learn martial arts. Tang Xunzhen knows that if she fails in the trial, she will inevitably be ridiculed by other sects.
As she thought this, she attacked even more fiercely with her whip, which coiled around Gu Huaibi's Autumn Water Blade like a snake. Gu Huaibi could have easily cut Tang Xunzhen's whip in half, but he twisted his wrist to avoid it, and the end of the whip swept across his face.
"Gu Huaibi!" Tang Xunzhen cried out anxiously, pulling back her whip and lunging forward. "Is your face injured?"
Gu Huaibi grinned: "No. A man with more scars is more spirited."
Didn't you always complain that I was too delicate-looking?
Tang Xunzhen felt a little guilty: "I was too hasty just now..."
"You can even hurt me, so what are you worried about in the disciple trial?" Gu Huaibi said with a grin. "Even if you fail, it's not a problem. When you become the wife of the Lord of Xilie Fortress, who will dare to say a bad word about you?"
"Get out!" Tang Xunzhen snapped at Gu Huaibi, though there was little anger in her voice.
Gu Huaibi then bowed solemnly and said, "I was rude and offended you, Miss. Please forgive me."
While dealing with Fu Jiuxin's advances, Dou Akou also kept an eye on Tang Xunzhen and the others. She could clearly see that Tang Xunzhen was feigning anger, but Gu Huaibi still apologized and coaxed her in a serious manner.
“Miss.” Fu Jiuxin’s sword stopped just an inch from Dou Akou’s side. He gently tapped Dou Akou with the blade of his sword, and Dou Akou fell backward. “You were distracted.”
The gentleman calmly looked at the swaying Dou Akou, making no attempt to help her up.
Dou Akou fell to the ground with a cry of pain. She got up and scratched her head, asking, "Sir, why did my senior brother apologize to her and try to coax her when she wasn't even angry?"
"Because he likes her," Fu Jiuxin stated calmly.
"Oh." Dou Akou was puzzled. Xu Liren had also said he liked her, but why did he act so differently from Gu Huaibi?
Her question didn't last long before it was lunchtime.
Tang Xunzhen stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth, swallowed it with difficulty, and then patted his chest and sighed, "I've been working too hard practicing martial arts these past few days, I need to eat more meat."
She looked at Dou Akou and asked in surprise, "Akou, why don't you eat meat?"
Dou Akou sullenly picked at the slices of meat in the vegetables: "Xu Li said I'm too fat. He doesn't like me being too fat. He told me to eat less."
Dou Akou thought that being willing to give up meat for him was a sign of liking someone? Well... she really didn't want to!
Tang Xunzhen was stunned for a moment, then slammed down her chopsticks and prepared to overturn the table, but Gu Huaibi stopped her with one hand. He shook his head at her, and the two of them looked at Fu Jiuxin together.
Fu Jiuxin's expression was calm, as if he hadn't heard those words. He reached out his chopsticks and carefully picked out all the shredded, diced, and sliced meat from Dou Akou's bowl, then took away her chicken leg and meatballs: "Miss, you don't eat meat anyway."
Dou Akou watched helplessly as all the meat in her bowl was emptied, tears streaming down her face: "Sir, that chicken leg..."
I was planning to eat it.
Fu Jiuxin glanced at her indifferently: "Hmm?"
"N-nothing," Dou Akou said, too afraid to speak.
Fu Jiuxin ate the chicken leg slowly and elegantly, but Dou Akou always had the feeling that he was like a beast enjoying its prey.
Dou Akou watched as the chicken leg slowly disappeared into Fu Jiuxin's mouth, leaving only a bare bone. She swallowed her saliva and tears at the same time.
Tang Xunzhen and Gu Huaibi exchanged a glance. Gu Huaibi cleared his throat and said tenderly, "Xunzhen, no matter how fat you get, I will never dislike you."
He placed a lion's head meatball into Tang Xunzhen's bowl in a flattering manner: "Little Zhenzhen, come on, eat. Eat as much as you like."
Tang Xunzhen got goosebumps all over, but in order to enlighten the clueless Dou Akou, she resisted the urge to beat up Gu Huaibi and said with a coquettish smile, "Little Huaibi, I knew you loved me. If you truly love someone, you won't think she's too fat and won't even give her meat to eat."
Dou Akou was stunned. She had a piece of green vegetable in her mouth and it took her a long time to suck it in.
Fu Jiuxin glanced at the two still-playing fools, put down his chopsticks, and left.
Dou Akou then realized that she seemed to have upset her husband again. He wouldn't even give her a chicken leg!
That night, Dou Akou, unusually, did not go to see Xu Liren. She lay in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about Tang Xunzhen's words. One moment she thought of Xu Liren, the next she thought of Fu Jiuxin, and finally she thought of the chicken leg she had missed. She fell asleep with a feeling of endless melancholy.
On the second day of the second lunar month, the spring breeze was like scissors. By the time Dou Akou had mastered the Twelve Forms of Cutting Peaks to the point of having half the power of the Wine and Meat Hermit, the girls in Qingyong City had already changed into their beautiful spring clothes.
Dou Akou put on a newly made pale yellow spring dress and went to Fu Jiuxin to curry favor: "Sir, sir, look at my new clothes."
Fu Jiuxin nodded: "Mm." Then his gaze fell on the two pom-poms on her earlobes, "These should be replaced too."
“Ah…” Dou Akou followed Fu Jiuxin’s gaze, reached out and touched the earrings, somewhat shyly, “No, I really like the earrings that you gave me, sir.”
A brilliant light flashed briefly in Fu Jiuxin's eyes, like a small ripple suddenly rising in a calm stream, but when looked at again, everything was calm and still.
"Hmph, it's becoming more and more like a yellow sprout." Xu Liren walked by and coldly mocked.