Chapter 41

Liu Ling still wore men's clothing, but it was somewhat disheveled. The neck that was originally tightly wrapped now showed a small gap, revealing a glimpse of fair skin. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger, ready to scold Liang Xiao. But after hearing Liang Xiao's words, she was somewhat surprised, her eyes softening, and even a hint of inexplicable joy appeared in them.

"Are you waiting for me?"

"Ah?" Liang Xiao was taken aback, his eyes darting around as he quickly tried to cover up. "Didn't you say you would come back once you figured out the swing, no, Qianqiu's problem? I estimated it would take you at most a day or two, but I didn't expect it to take so long."

"A day or two?" Liu Ling thought of the hard work of the past few days and felt deeply wronged. To solve this puzzle, she had spent a lot of effort, racked her brains, and conducted repeated experiments to confirm this obviously counterintuitive conclusion. She had rushed over excitedly to visit Huan Jun, but before she even entered the door, she was belittled by Liang Xiao. She couldn't help but retort, "Was this problem so easy?"

"Not easy. But you're so smart, I didn't think it would be a problem for you."

"Am I very smart?" Liu Ling's eyes curved, a hint of pride in her voice.

"Of course. If you weren't smart, how could you have disguised yourself as a man for so long?"

"Hehe." Liu Ling covered her mouth and laughed, a bit embarrassed, glancing at Liang Xiao. Then she realized something was off and her face turned serious. "Did you know I was a woman all along?"

Liang Xiao had already calmed down, knowing that this question couldn't be hidden and would eventually come to light. It was better to address it now. He dusted off his clothes, climbed out from behind the carriage, and got down. He then turned to look at Liu Ling.

"I didn't know at first, but when you bowed in front of Huan Jun's door, if I still couldn't tell, I might as well gouge out my eyes and give up archery."

Liu Ling was taken aback. She had always wanted to ask Liang Xiao this question. In her mind, there were only two answers: he knew or he didn't. But Liang Xiao not only admitted to knowing but also explained the reason, which was vague and not direct. She instinctively had to consider what Liang Xiao was saying and momentarily forgot to question him.

Taking this opportunity, Liang Xiao got out of the carriage, hid behind it, and secretly looked at the inner gate.

Tuhua had already rushed out with a broom, but seeing the grand procession and the tense atmosphere, her bravado vanished. She fell to her knees with a thud and began to kowtow repeatedly.

"Please spare me, noble sir, please spare me. I didn't mean to offend you, noble sir..."

Liu Ling leaned out of the window and saw a poorly dressed woman kneeling in front of the carriage, kowtowing incessantly. She was puzzled. "Who are you, and why did you offend my carriage?"

Tuhua, though fierce, had never seen such a grand scene. To her, anyone who could ride in a carriage was a noble. The Hu family was already beyond her reach, let alone a noble whom even Hu Lai had to serve. Hearing Liu Ling's question, she became even more nervous, stammering, "Noble sir, it's not that I'm bold, but... but Liang Xiao..."

She stopped halfway, remembering that this noble was visiting Liang Xiao and his master. Was it appropriate to speak ill of them? Thinking of this, she quickly shut her mouth and dared not say another word, only kowtowing.

Hearing her mention Liang Xiao, Liu Ling turned to look at Liang Xiao, who was hiding behind the carriage, looking guilty. A mischievous idea came to her. She said gently, "What about Liang Xiao? Did he bully you? Don't be afraid, speak up, and I'll stand up for you."

"Uh..." Tuhua's eyes darted around, and she stammered, "He slandered me, saying I'm a shrew, making it impossible for me to get married, and causing my family to look down on me and my neighbors to despise me." She then kowtowed repeatedly.

Liu Ling couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth, at the sight of Tuhua's earlier bravado. She waved her hand, signaling Tuhua to step back. Tuhua didn't dare to argue and retreated meekly. After a few steps, she hesitated and came back.

"What are you doing?" Hu Lai snapped irritably.

Tuhua timidly pointed at the broom under Hu Lai's foot. "My... my broom."

Hu Lai looked down, and with a flick of his foot, he kicked the broom towards Tuhua's face. His mood had been bad since entering Qingyun Lane, and someone had dared to offend the carriage before it even stopped. If he were blamed, he would be considered negligent as a bodyguard.

Tuhua, already terrified, screamed "Ah!" and only knew to cover her face, not daring to catch the broom. Just as the broom was about to hit her face, Tuniu rushed over, grabbed the broom, and shouted, "Who dares to bully my sister?"

Hu Lai, seeing Tuniu, sneered. "Your sister doesn't know her place..."

Before Hu Lai could finish, Tuniu, enraged, swung the broom down. Hu Lai, taken aback, drew his sword to defend himself. He had fought Tuniu many times and didn't take him seriously, but he didn't know that Tuniu had undergone intense training over the past few months and was no longer the same. Before his sword was even out of the scabbard, the broom struck his face hard.

"Ah!" Hu Lai screamed, retreating two steps and crashing into the carriage.

The broom, made of bamboo, didn't kill, but it hurt a lot. Hu Lai's handsome face was marked with several bloody stripes, a sight too gruesome to bear, and he screamed in pain. Tuniu, having landed the first blow, didn't stop. He stepped forward, the broom spinning and aiming for Hu Lai's chest.

With two light "swish" sounds, Lei Bei stepped in front of Hu Lai, his long sword flashing, cutting off two pieces of the broom, leaving only a bamboo handle. Tuniu, surprised but not panicked, used the bamboo as a sword and thrust at Lei Bei. In a few exchanges, Tuniu's bamboo handle was split into several pieces, leaving only a few inches in his hand, but he retreated unscathed, his bull-like eyes sizing up Lei Bei with delight.

"Lei Jun truly lives up to being the top swordsman of Huainan, excellent swordsmanship."

Lei Bei was astonished. A few months ago, when he saw Tuniu's skills on Jinkui Mountain, they were worlds apart from what he saw now.

"Who is your master?"

"My master is..." Tuniu, about to speak, remembered Zhongli Qi's warning and clenched his fists, swallowing the rest of his words. "I can't say."

Lei Bei laughed, but didn't press further. He flicked his wrist, sheathed his sword, and gave Tuniu an appreciative look.

Liu Ling was amazed. She turned to look at Liang Xiao again. "Is he also Huan Jun's disciple?"

Liang Xiao blinked and shook his head. Liu Ling was even more puzzled and was about to ask for an explanation when Huan Jun came out of the inner gate. Seeing the scene outside, he frowned. "Why are you here again?"

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Second update, please recommend and collect!

There's more today.

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