âWhat? You refuse?â Yan Xiangma said in a arrogant tone while glaring at Chen Xingyu.
ââââ Chen Xingyu obviously refused to obey. This is Tiandu. Itâs the imperial capital. Itâs where tigers crouch and dragons coil. Itâs where nobles and wealthy families as well as many members of the Royal family live. Itâs where the Kingdomâs most powerful or influential people gather; besides the man on the throne who would comply with anyone else?
Of course, he did not dare to say it out loud.
He knew very clearly that this bastard did not lie, he really can handle ten of him with one handââ
Dressed in luxurious Chinese-style clothing, Yan Xiangma coldly scanned the audience, saying in a clear voice: âIâm telling you, as Jiangnan cityâs most famous hedonistic young master, thereâs nothing I canât do. Starting today, I will protect Li Shinian. If someone is not satisfied, come find meâRemember, my name is Yan Xiangma, my dad is Yan Bolai.â
Yan Xiangma needed to be arrogant and unruly. He needed to maintain a high profile. He needed to attract all the attention.
Since heâs going to help, then he must eliminate all of Li Shinianâs worries about future consequences and her fear of trouble.
This is Tiandu, where imperial power exists. And itâs precisely because this is Tiandu and where there is imperial power, that it gives rise to some powerful people who disregarded the law. These people would dare to do anything.
He would not allow others to hurt Li Shinian. No one could.
âYan Bolai?â Chen Xingyu paused for a minute, thinking that the name sounded a bit familiar.
Of course, with his knowledge, he would not the names of the dozens of governor of each province and the lord of each city in West Wind Kingdom.
The local dragon is not as powerful as a strong snake. Chen Xingyu decided to endure silently and patiently wait for a chance to retaliate in the future.
Therefore, despite Yan Xiangmaâs provocation and how obnoxious he was, he remained unmoved and indifferent. To be successful one must not be bothered about trifles. He is a man who wants to dedicate his life to West Wind Kingdom.
Li Shinian bowed slightly to the classmates, one after another, and said in an earnest voice: âthank you, thank you for your sense of justice and for speaking out forthrightly. Thank you for your kindness and love. Shinian is unable to repay the favour and can only bow to express my gratitudeâToday everyone saw what happened, Shinian had no better option. We are still classmates, please look after me.â
âShinian classmate donât take this matter to heart, weâll definitely take care of youâââ
âAnyone who dares to bully Shinian classmate will have to answer me firstâââ
âShinian classmate, we are your backup teamââ
Li Shinian once again expressed her gratitude to the crowd, before she turned and walked onto the road into the distance.
Yan Xiangma followed her with quick strides and stretched out his arm to wrap around Li Shinianâs shoulder but instead was slapped away by Li Shinian.
âGive me some face, many people are watching.â Yan Xiangma whispered.
âGive it a rest.â
Yan Xiangma attempted to drape his arm around her again. âIf my status is unverified, Iâm afraid some people wouldnât be convincedââ
Paâ
Li Shinian once again slapped away Yan Xiangmaâs perverted hand.
âWe donât have that kind of relationship anyway.â
âCome on, I said Iâm your flower guardianâif you pretend to be my girlfriend, no one would dare to bother you.â
âThen, only you can bother me?â
âHow could you think of me like that?â Yan Xiangma said irritably: âI am the son of the lord of a city, Jiangnan cityâs most famous hedonistic young master. What woman can I not bother? Would I only bother you?â
âThen go find them, why did you come here?â
âI donât â like to demean myself.â Yan Xiangma said with a grin. âShinian, youâve no idea how happy I was when I heard that you came to Tiandu. After our farewell in Jiangnan I thought I would never ever see you again. I felt so sad for months. I even thought about breaking the cage of home and come all the way to Jiangnan just to see you.â
âHow come you did not come?â Li Shinian curled her lips and said mockingly.
âI was worried of getting lost.â Yan Xiangma sheepishly said.
ââââ
Li Shinian could not be bothered to talk to this guy anymore. Because what he says is rubbish most of the time.
âHowever, Iâm so happy you came. So happy that I almost caught fire. After I heard about your school, I immediately ran here to find you, but I did not expect to run into an idiot looking to take advantage of you âare you someone other people tarnish as they please? Anyone who dares tarnish you, I will cut off their fingers.â
ââââ
âShinain, how come youâre at Tiandu?â
âBecause my family is here.â
âHow come you live in the Liu mansion?â
Li Shinian shot a wary glance at Yan Xiagma before she answered: âIf youâre asking me, then who should I ask?â
ââââ
âAlthough our family and the Liu family bear grudges against each other but it has nothing to do with you. Wherever you live, I will be happy. As long as you are in Tiandu, as long as you and I are living in the same city under the same starry skyââ
âIf you say things like that again, I will break the cage of home and head back to Jiangnan miles away.â Li Shinian said.
ââââ
Imperial View High School is situated right in a central area, so both sides of the street were very lively and noisy.
A man and a woman walked side by side in the middle of the street surrounded by tides of busy strangers.
Yan Xiangma tried to stay in front, shielding Li Shinian from the crowd and preventing Li Shinian from being shoved aside.
âEver since you came to TianduâHave you seen Xiaoxin?â Yan Xiangma asked aloud.
âNo. Is Sister Xiaoxin well?â Li Shinian finally showed some interest, said with a smile: âI always wanted to look for her. But Iâm not familiar with Tiandu and have been busy with school recently, so I had to delay my visit. But once I settle down, I will immediately go see her. After all, she is the only friend I have in this city.â
A bitter smile crossed Yan Xiangmaâs face. âA person is standing right in front of you, am I not considered as your friend?â
Li Shinianâs jet-black eyes swept back and forth, observing Yan Xiangmaâs face, before she said aloud: âdonât know why but I think youâre a bad person.â
ââââ
âBut thank you anyway.â Seeing Yan Xiangmaâs hurt expression, Li Shinian cracked a smile. âIf it wasnât for you, there would have been so much trouble today. That Chen Xingyu is so cunning; many people would have been easily tricked. I have nothing against him and we only met for the first time but he used such dirty tricks, it proves he lacks good moral character.â
âExactly. That guy is shifty-looking, he disgust me.â Yan Xiangma said with a murderous look: âif he dares to mess with you, I will make him try Yan familyâs powerful Flame Fist.â
âAlright. I admit youâre my second friend in Tiandu.â Li Shinian said with a smile.
âGreat.â Yan Xiangma grinned. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, his expression changed. âShinian, I thinkââfor the time being, perhaps you should not see Xiaoxin.â
Li Shinianâs smile froze on her face, then faded. âI understand. Friends should support each other, I should not be a burden to her.â
âShinian, you misunderstood what I meant. Xiaoxin is also not that kind of person you think she is.â
âWhat does that mean?â Li Shinian asked in a puzzled tone. âIf sister Xiaoxin is not the kind of person I think she is, then why did you stop me from seeing her? Weâre all from Jiangnan, to be able to meet at Tiandu is a rare fate. Since we know each other shouldnât we meet up?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYou really donât know?â
âHow would I know if you donât tell me?â
âBecauseââ Yan Xiangma carefully inspected Li Shinianâs facial expression, until confirming that she really did not know he whispered: âbecause your brother killed her brother.â
âWhat are you talking about?â Li Shinian looked frightened, staring wide-eyed at Yan Xiangma.
âLi Muyangâkilled Cui Zhaoren.â Yan Xiangma said in the lowest voice possible. âLi Muyang is your brother, this is the truth. Cui Zhaoren is Cui Xiaoxinâs brother, this is also the truth. Therefore, you and Xiaoxinâ-itâs best if you donât see each other for the time being. While Iâ-of course, I wonât be affected by these things. The things I, Yan young master wants to do who dares to stop me.â
âHow is that possible?â Li Shinianâs face turned ashen. She knew about Cui Xiaoxinâs background; she knows that she was born in one of Tianduâs most prominent families and that many strong people who shine throughout the starry sky are from that family. âMy brother, how can he kill Cui Zhaoren? How would he kill sister Xiaoxinâs brother? He does not even dare to kill a chickenââ
Yan Xiangmaâs face grew serious as he looked at Li Shinian and asked: âShinian, do you really thinkââLi Muyang does not dare to kill a chicken?â ââ ââ
âââââââââââââââââââ
âKill it.â Xiahou Qianbaiâs finger pointed at an Mt Gongâs multi-coloured chicken as he said aloud.
Li Muyang desperately shook his head: âI donât dare to.â
âTo study martial arts and cross the threshold, you first need to have a firm and unswerving determination and mind. Kill wolf and fight tiger, behead demon and slay dragons, what sort of things canât be done? You canât even kill a chicken, how can you think to become a dragon slayer?â
âTeacher Xiahou, Iâve never done this kind of thing beforeâWait, why donât you do it?â Li Muyang passed the hatchet over.
âMe? What is my identity? Iâm a teacher of Starry Sky, Iâm your teacherâsuch inelegant jobs should be left for disciples, you actually want me to kill a chicken?â Looking furious, Xiahou Qianbai roared.
âOtherwise, why donât we cut it some slack and eat something else today?â
âDo you think itâs for eating? Us Taoists are kind, not discriminative and we never kill the innocent. In our eyes, all things are spiritual. Humans are spiritual and chickens are spiritual. If weâre thirsty we eat fruits and if weâre hungry we eat spiritual fruit. These kind of dirty, greasy foods are hard to swallow. In order to exercise your mind, I gave you this problemâIf you canât pass this obstacle, donât even mention building your foundation.â
Li Muyang clenched his teeth, gripped onto the hatchet and ruthlessly swung down at the Mt Gongâs multicoloured chicken.