Chapter 12

"Ah-choo!" In Shanyang County, Luo Fan, who was walking along the river embankment while humming a song, suddenly sneezed for no reason.

"Who's thinking about me?" Luo Fan looked around in confusion, and his gaze fell on the divine eagle that was walking beside him, its head buried in a fish. Speaking of which, this eagle was quite peculiar. Ever since it had eaten the roasted fish from Luo Fan's feast, it had been constantly pestering Luo Fan for more. If Luo Fan didn't give it any, it would look at him with a pitiful expression, making Luo Fan feel like he was mistreating it all day. What made Luo Fan even more speechless was that this creature had recently learned to act cute, which forced Luo Fan to sigh to the sky every day, wondering why a bird that was so well-behaved in Yang Guo's hands was such a joker in his.

"Co-co!" The divine eagle noticed Luo Fan looking at it with a suspicious eye, raised its head, and called out, its black eyes filled with innocence.

"Damn, don't look at me like that. Anyone who doesn't know would think I'm mistreating a protected animal!" Luo Fan's face was filled with frustration, and he ignored the people around him who were pointing at the divine eagle, continuing to walk forward.

It was autumn, and the grass and trees on the river embankment were mostly withered and yellow. The bleak autumn wind blew the yellow leaves around Luo Fan, but it couldn't blow away his joy. At that moment, he was strolling in the golden morning sunlight, feeling the warm golden rays envelop his entire body. Luo Fan's previous frustration vanished, and he began to hum a song again.

At that moment, the divine eagle, with its belly full, was also very happy. It seemed to have a good sense of music, cooing in response to Luo Fan's singing. Luo Fan sang a line, and it cooed once; he sang another line, and it cooed again, enjoying itself immensely.

"Damn!" Luo Fan looked at the divine eagle, which was ruining his singing with its hoarse voice, and was speechless again.

"Co-co!" The divine eagle, splattered with saliva, pulled back its neck and looked at Luo Fan with a委屈 (wronged) expression, seemingly unaware of what it had done wrong.

"Master, doesn't that person look a bit like...?" On the blue stone street, a young female Taoist with a double sword on her back said to the beautiful Taoist beside her.

Li Mochou looked in the direction Hong Lingbo was pointing and saw a young man in white, carrying a long sword, walking leisurely on the river embankment, followed by a majestic eagle. The morning sun cast a dreamy golden glow on them, making the scene so beautiful that no one wanted to disrupt it.

Of course, Li Mochou was an exception!

"Little thief Luo, prepare to die!" With a delicate cry, Li Mochou used her lightness skill to leap onto a rooftop. Then, she lightly stepped on the black tiles and her delicate body shot toward Luo Fan like an arrow from a bow.

The divine eagle glanced to the side, its black eyes noticing something flying toward them. It flapped its iron wings, swatting at the incoming figure like it was swatting a fly. A strong wind suddenly blew, and Li Mochou, unable to find a foothold, was blown off balance and fell from the sky with a scream.

"Ouch!" Luo Fan tried to dodge, but after recognizing the person, he hesitated for a moment and was tragically knocked to the ground by the falling figure.

"Miss Li, what a special way to greet me!" Luo Fan held the figure in his arms, his smile somewhat awkward.

At that moment, Li Mochou was both embarrassed and angry, wanting to raise her hand to kill this hateful little thief. However, the male scent from Luo Fan made her body feel weak and powerless. In the original story, even being hugged by the young Yang Guo made her feel weak all over, let alone being held by a grown man like Luo Fan. Well, I admit that our Luo Fan is not yet a man.

Seeing Li Mochou, who struggled slightly but refused to get up, Luo Fan thought, "Is this girl already subdued by my aura? This development seems a bit too fast, doesn't it?"

"Pervert, let go of my master!" On the other side, Hong Lingbo had already caught up.

Hearing Hong Lingbo's shout, Luo Fan immediately protested, "Miss, don't wrong a good person. It was your master who wouldn't get up from me. Why blame me? You should call your master a pervert!"

"Little thief Luo, I'll kill you!" Li Mochou was so angry that her face turned green. She mustered her last bit of strength and struck Luo Fan with a palm.

"Ah!" A red light suddenly burst from Luo Fan's body, and Li Mochou was thrown back along with her hand.

"What... what kind of strange skill is this?" Li Mochou's mouth was bleeding, and it was unclear whether it was from anger or from being injured by Luo Fan's Nine Yang Divine Skill.

"Do you want to know?"

Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo nodded in unison.

"Guess!"

"I'll kill you!" Realizing she had been tricked again, Li Mochou was furious, and her palms whirled as she attacked Luo Fan.

"Right deltoid muscle first, then the biceps, this angle... it's attacking my chest, got it!" With her mind in chaos, Li Mochou was no match for Luo Fan. With the experience from the Nine Swords of Dugu and Luo Fan's improvements, he quickly saw through her attack. He reached out and grabbed her hand, which seemed to offer itself, pinning it to his chest.

"Left triceps, then the radial muscle, biceps, flexor... it's attacking my abdomen, got it!" Even through the clothes, the subtle vibrations and movements revealed a lot. Li Mochou's attack was instantly seen through by Luo Fan!

"Slap!" Li Mochou's left wrist was also grabbed by Luo Fan.

"Hmm? Left shoulder moving? Foot!" Before Li Mochou could lift her left foot, it was already stepped on by Luo Fan.

"Right shoulder moving?" ...

Soon, Li Mochou's limbs were all restrained.

Their eyes met, and they were in a somewhat ambiguous position, with a fierce fire burning in Li Mochou's eyes. If looks could kill, Luo Fan would have died thousands of times.

"Let me go!"

"No way! Unless you swear not to hit me!" Luo Fan's face was full of determination.

Li Mochou felt her body weakening again. In a panic, she bit Luo Fan's shoulder.

"Ouch!" Luo Fan let out a painful cry and quickly let go, inwardly lamenting, "Dugu Qiu, why isn't there a mouth-breaking technique in the Nine Swords of Dugu?"

Li Mochou was extremely angry but knew she couldn't defeat him. Her Five Poison Palm had been deflected, and she didn't know what strange skill this boy had practiced to become so powerful. She could only swallow her anger and say through gritted teeth, "Little thief Luo, we'll see. I will definitely kill you one day!"

"Miss Li, can't we talk nicely? We are civilized people, can we avoid fighting?"

"Spit!" Hong Lingbo also spoke up, "Pervert, bullying us, you'll regret it!"

Watching Li Mochou and her disciple leave with their lightness skill, Luo Fan sighed, "Damn! What did I do to deserve this?"

"Co-co!" The divine eagle, seeing them leave, cooed triumphantly, but was slapped on the back of the head by Luo Fan, "Co, co your sister."

Luo Fan turned and left, leaving the stunned eagle standing there, looking confused...

Li Mochou, who had already left, was also full of frustration. She didn't understand why every time she met that little thief, she seemed to have bad luck. That boy's skills were becoming increasingly strange, and she was now completely helpless against him.

"I should avoid him as much as possible in the future," Li Mochou thought, somewhat helplessly. She wasn't stupid; even if her mind wasn't in chaos, she probably wouldn't last many moves against Luo Fan.

As for the tough words she had just said, they were just to maintain her dignity. She knew that unless she wanted to leave the martial world, she would never have the chance to carry them out.

Li Mochou's figure on the blue stone street suddenly seemed somewhat desolate...

A few days later, a young man in white, accompanied by a large eagle, appeared in a small town at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.

Seeing the familiar blue stone street, familiar villagers, and familiar Quanzhen disciples, Luo Fan felt a sense of familiarity.

"Who is it?!" A few guard disciples, noticing a young man in white with such a large eagle, became alert and drew their swords slightly.

"Is that you, Li nephew? Haven't seen you in a year, don't you recognize me?" Luo Fan smiled at the leading Quanzhen disciple with a mustache, whom he had met several times when he went down the mountain to find the Nine Yin Manual.

"You are... Uncle Luo!" After a closer look, the leading Taoist finally recognized Luo Fan. Compared to a year ago, Luo Fan had changed a lot. He had changed from a Taoist robe to a white shirt, and his face had become more mature and resolute, with a hint of weathered experience. He was no longer the somewhat naive young man he had been a year ago, so it was no wonder the Taoist didn't recognize him at first.

"How is my master and the others?" Seeing that he was recognized, Luo Fan asked about Wang Chuyi's recent situation. Although Wang Chuyi hadn't taught him much, he was still his master, and it was impossible for Luo Fan to be completely unconcerned.

"Grandmaster is well, and he often mentions you. He heard that you have earned the title of 'Gentleman Sword' in the martial world, and he is very proud of you."

"Damn, the 'Gentleman Sword' title has even reached my master's ears?" Luo Fan stumbled, almost falling to the ground.

...

In the main hall of Chongyang Palace.

Except for Qiu Chuji, who was on a mission, the other seven disciples were seated. Wang Chuyi stroked his beard and said, "Fan, you went down the mountain to do good deeds and earned the title of 'Gentleman Sword.' I am very pleased."

"Can we not mention the 'Gentleman Sword'?" Luo Fan felt like crying but kept a straight face, "All thanks to Master's guidance, I have achieved what I have today."

Wang Chuyi nodded, "Not arrogant, very good. I heard that you also obtained a divine eagle on this trip. Is that true?"