Chapter 21

Dugu Qiubai didn't talk much and had a proud personality, always giving off an air of being the best in the world and you being second. However, there was one thing others might not know: Dugu Qiubai had a thick skin. When he got the *Yi Jin Jing*, he just glanced at it twice before tucking it into his chest. As for returning it, was it even necessary?

Zhao Yougong was stunned. He had thought that someone as arrogant as Dugu Qiubai would disdain to take what others had left behind, but this guy had silently claimed it for himself. What was even more infuriating was that he didn't even say thank you.

"Help me out!"

The wutong tree was rather quiet, with nothing but the sound of the wind. Dugu Qiubai's sudden three words made Zhao Xiaogong's face turn black. What was going on? Dugu Qiubai got the *Yi Jin Jing* and didn't even say thank you, and now he was asking for help? How could he have the nerve to say it? Zhao Yougong always thought he was shameless enough, but Dugu Qiubai's shamelessness surpassed his. Oh, did the master make a mistake? Could this Dugu Qiubai be a fake? But a person can be a fake, but martial arts can't be faked...

"What kind of help?" Zhao Yougong replied with a pout.

"This..."

Dugu Qiubai was actually at a loss for words. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that his face was slightly red, and his eyes were avoiding contact. Embarrassed? This piqued Zhao Yougong's interest. He moved closer to Dugu Qiubai and chuckled, "Dugu, just say it. How can I help if you don't say?"

Dugu Qiubai was still at a loss for words, as if his throat was blocked. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and forced out two words, "Women!"

Women? Dugu Qiubai had a spring in his heart? This... could he have heard wrong?

"Dugu, you want to win a woman's heart? You've come to the right person. Let me tell you, there are three tricks to winning a woman: boldness, attention to detail, and a thick skin. And then..."

Zhao Yougong spoke non-stop, but he didn't notice that Dugu Qiubai's face was getting darker and darker. "Enough!" Dugu Qiubai's voice wasn't loud, but it was infused with internal energy, piercing Zhao Yougong's eardrums.

Only then did Zhao Yougong realize he had misunderstood. It turned out that Dugu Qiubai was so charming that he was being pursued by a woman.

It turned out that Dugu Qiubai had bought a small courtyard in the west of the city, and next door was the Meng family. The Meng family was a wealthy household, but unfortunately, they had a famous daughter, Meng Jinling. Meng Jinling, the only daughter of the wealthy Meng family, was only twenty years old. Despite her young age, Meng Jinling had already been married three times. At fifteen, her father arranged a match with a scholar, but the groom died on their wedding night from excessive drinking. Meng Jinling, who hadn't even consummated the marriage, was brought back home by her father, who couldn't bear to let his young daughter become a widow.

A year later, when Meng Jinling was sixteen, her father arranged a match with a wealthy family in Rongyang. This time, he didn't choose a scholar, thinking the scholar might have been weak. The groom, Cheng Mengji, was a young and wealthy man. They thought this would be a good match, but the groom fell off his horse and died on the way to the wedding in Bianliang.

Two marriages, two dead husbands. Meng Jinling's reputation was now well-known. People said she had a curse that killed her husbands, and even fortune-tellers said there was no cure. But Meng's father didn't believe in such nonsense. If scholars and merchants didn't work, he would find a warrior. Despite his disdain for warriors, he cared about his daughter's happiness. Through an introduction, he learned about Chen Lixiong, a military supervisor from Xinyang. Chen Lixiong, a seasoned warrior who had killed over ten people, didn't believe in such superstitions and was also attracted to Meng Jinling's beauty. They got engaged, but before the wedding, Chen Lixiong went to Luoshan to suppress a bandit uprising and was killed by a falling rock.

With Chen Lixiong's death, Meng Jinling was left with no hope of marriage. However, she was a strong woman. Despite the many setbacks, she didn't break down and even went out to learn business. In two years, she became a successful businesswoman. Unfortunately, her father fell ill and died within a month, further tarnishing her reputation. She was now known as a woman who brought death to men.

Zhao Yougong was almost laughing out loud. He never thought Dugu Qiubai would end up as a neighbor to this famous woman from Tokyo.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, people believed in such superstitions, and even the emperor called himself the Daoist Emperor, showing how strong this belief was. Zhao Yougong had heard of the Meng family's daughter but never thought he would have any interaction with her.

Dugu Qiubai's bad luck started on his first day in the new house. As soon as he went out, he startled Meng Jinling's carriage, causing the horse to run wild and throwing Meng Jinling out of the carriage. Despite his cold personality, Dugu Qiubai couldn't let a woman die for no reason. He caught her mid-air, and in that moment, Meng Jinling was already smitten with this strange man with a sour face and white hair.

Dugu Qiubai had killed, fought, and cursed people, but he didn't know how to reject a woman. For the past two days, Meng Jinling had been visiting his courtyard, bringing chicken soup and blankets. Dugu Qiubai felt like he was going crazy.

So, he had no choice but to seek help from Zhao Xiaogong. Zhao Yougong, of course, had a solution. He stroked his chin and said seriously, "I can help, but Dugu, you have to help me too!"

"Speak!"

"Watch over Yingshi for me. I'm afraid something might happen to her!"

"Okay!" Dugu Qiubai nodded seriously, but then he tilted his head and asked stiffly, "Why not tell her?"

"I'm afraid it won't be convincing!"

"True!"

Changing his posture, Zhao Yougong exhaled and smiled, "Now, let me teach you how to deal with Meng Jinling. Want to get rid of her? Go to Xiefanglou and find a courtesan. Just act it out, and she'll back off!"

"Will it work?"

"Of course! Trust me!" Zhao Yougong patted his chest confidently and looked up at the sky.

With nothing else to do, Dugu Qiubai flipped over and landed lightly on the ground. He walked towards the river without looking back, while Zhao Yougong shouted, "Dugu, my *Yi Jin Jing*!"

Shrugging, Dugu Qiubai waved his hand casually, "We'll see after I finish reading it!"

"..." Shameless! We'll see after he finishes reading it? The problem was that with Dugu's personality, he wouldn't say anything even after finishing it. Truly infuriating. Zhao Yougong's eyes darted around, and he jumped down from the tree, letting out a long whistle, "Six Pulse Sword, Shangyang Sword!"

How powerful was the Six Pulse Sword? Dugu Qiubai instinctively dodged to the right, and a cold wind sliced through the air, leaving a piece of bark on the ground. When he turned back, the wutong tree was already empty.

The day passed quickly. Yingshi was still living her small life in the side courtyard, Nvnu was preparing for the flower queen competition, and Zhao Yougong was also thinking about the peonies.

Night fell, and the tired people fell into a deep sleep. At midnight, a "coo" sound came from outside the window. Zhao Yougong opened his eyes, observed for a moment, and immediately pointed at the twin sisters' sleeping points.

Still the same wutong tree, Dugu Qiubai in his white clothes looked like a ghost in the night. Sometimes, Zhao Yougong really wanted to say that a white-clad figure in the night was really scary.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Zhao Yougong said irritably, "What's up?"

"Um, I failed!"

"Failed?" Zhao Yougong was shocked. How could his plan fail?

It wasn't Zhao Yougong's fault. He just ran into the Meng family's daughter. By noon, Meng Jinling was supposed to come with food, so Dugu Qiubai spent money to hire two courtesans. When noon came, Meng Jinling arrived on time and saw the two women next to Dugu Qiubai. She just frowned slightly.

Just as Dugu Qiubai thought Meng Jinling would be furious and leave or scold him, she took out some banknotes from her sleeve, waved at the courtesans, and said cheerfully, "Six hundred guan, three hundred each. Leave now, and the money is yours!"

Before Dugu Qiubai could react, the two courtesans had already taken the money and left, thanking him profusely.

After hearing the whole story, Zhao Yougong was speechless. Dugu Qiubai had gone through so much, and Meng Jinling was so devoted. She didn't even care about this. What else could she care about?

"Dugu, can you kill Meng Jinling?"

"No!"

"Then if you say you're afraid of being cursed to death, will she leave?"

"She said she would die with me!"

Zhao Yougong's eyes widened, and he threw up his hands, turning around, "Dugu, don't come to me. Either kill her or take her!"

Zhao Yougong walked away without looking back. At this point, what could he do? Meng Jinling was so in love that she wanted to be with him in life and death. What else could be done? Unless Dugu Qiubai could bring himself to kill her, but it seemed he couldn't. This showed that Dugu had some feelings for her. Otherwise, with his personality, he wouldn't care whether you were male or female; if you upset him, he would make you disappear from this world.

Good and evil, human life as trivial as grass, this was Dugu Qiubai. Unfortunately, even Dugu Qiubai couldn't escape the issue of love.

Two days later, south of Kangmen Bridge, Youqing Valley.

April 17th, the valley was full of people, mostly young men in brocade robes, and some women as well. The annual flower queen competition began today. Not just the young men of Tokyo, but even people from Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Luoyang came. The late Northern Song Dynasty was a strange time. The people in the east and north were suffering, while the coastal areas were in turmoil due to the flower stone disturbances. Yet, the area around the capital was prosperous. Were the people poor? Yes, but where did they get the money for the flower queen competition? If they weren't poor, why were there uprisings in the east and north?

The complex Northern Song, an era hard to understand.

Songs and dances, grass and birds, Zhao Yougong in a brown brocade robe, waving a fan, smiling, ready to show everyone the real Nvnu in the flower queen competition!