"Damn, crazy woman!" Ling Xiao cursed, turning around and hugging Bai Yuxi to his chest, taking the lash of the whip.
"Snap!" Suddenly, the skin on Ling Xiao's waist was torn and a long wound appeared, blood oozing out continuously.
"Hiss!" Ling Xiao couldn't help but gasp. That whip was truly brutal.
Luo Qingshuang didn't attack again, her expression grim.
"Young Master Ling truly cherishes the beauty of women. He'd rather hurt himself than let a maidservant get hurt. Truly admirable!" Li Guanghan sarcastically commented.
The giant man clutching the mace remained silent, merely observing Ling Xiao with interest.
"Master, you...you've lost so much blood!" Bai Yuxi's face paled, her beautiful eyes red as she gazed at the wound on Ling Xiao's waist. She felt a surge of remorse, for the Master had been injured saving her. "I'm fine, stay away." Ling Xiao pushed Bai Yuxi away, then tore a long piece of cloth from his own clothes and tied it around his wound. He then raised his gaze to Luo Qingshuang and said quietly, "Don't even think about leaving here until you give me an explanation today."
Damn it, so what if she's beautiful? If she's as venomous as a snake or scorpion, he'll beat her up anyway.
"Don't you remember what happened seven years ago?" Luo Qingshuang pouted.
"What happened seven years ago?" Ling Xiao searched his memory, then looked at Luo Qingshuang's face again, suddenly reminiscent of a certain memory.
"You, you're the little chubby girl, right?" Ling Xiao asked, startled.
At Ling Xiao's words, Luo Qingshuang's face flushed all the way to her ears, looking incredibly adorable. She stamped her foot and said angrily, "You, you're the little chubby girl."
Seven years ago, Ling Xiao and Luo Qingshuang were both ten years old. At that time, Luo Qingshuang accompanied her grandfather to the Ling family as a guest. Her grandfather arranged for Luo Qingshuang to play with the Ling children. At that time, she was chubby and adorable, and she became close friends with them. Only Ling Xiao, diligently cultivating nearby, ignored her.
She angrily said to Ling Xiao, "I want you to play with me."
Ling Xiao dismissively replied, "Little fat girl, I'll play with you if you can beat me."
Luo Qingshuang put her hands on her hips and angrily declared, "I'm not a little fat girl. If I beat you, I want you to play coward."
Ling Xiao asked, "What if I win?"
"If, if you beat me, I'll be your bride," Luo Qingshuang said.
"You're too fat. Not my type," Ling Xiao said, disapprovingly.
Finally, the two dueled. At that time, Luo Qingshuang was only a fourth-level martial artist, while Ling Xiao was already an eighth-level martial artist. The result was predictable. Ling Xiao naturally didn't take the childhood anecdote too seriously, but Luo Qingshuang remembered it deeply. Later, Luo Qingshuang diligently cultivated, hoping to one day defeat Ling Xiao and avenge the humiliation. At the same time, she sought out news about him. Every time she heard about him, she was both delighted and saddened. She was delighted that Ling Xiao had grown stronger, but saddened that she felt she was drifting further and further away from him.
Until two years ago, when she suddenly heard that Ling Xiao had been ambushed and crippled, her heart felt empty, as if she had lost something precious. She was deeply distressed.
Finally, she gradually accepted Ling Xiao's disability, but her cultivation speed also slowed. It took her two years to break through from a low-level Xuanzhe to a mid-level Xuanzhe.
She could never have imagined that seven years later, she would meet him in this restaurant, with a beautiful girl. She somehow became furious and wanted to teach Ling Xiao a lesson. "Hey, little fat girl, after all these years, you still remember that incident! Did you have a secret crush on me for seven years? Do you want me to marry you?" Ling Xiao jokingly said, seemingly oblivious to the pain in his waist.
"You, bastard!" Luo Qingshuang's face flushed red as if her secrets had been exposed, and she swung the purple whip again.
"Young lady, don't hit people so easily. It's damaging to your image. No one will want a tigress like you anymore!" Ling Xiao drew out the giant dragon sword and swung it around the long whip.
Instantly, the purple whip entwined the giant dragon sword like a snake.
"You're the tigress!" Luo Qingshuang shouted angrily, launching a flying kick at Ling Xiao's face.
Luo Qingshuang was a mid-level profound practitioner, possessing incredible strength and speed. She instantly struck Ling Xiao in the face. Fortunately, Ling Xiao was no longer a useless talent. He had opened up ten meridians, each brimming with profound energy. With his current abilities, he was equivalent to an eighth-level martial artist. While there was a significant gap between him and Luo Qingshuang, he had the martial arts skills and combat experience from his previous life to draw upon, so he wasn't necessarily afraid of Luo Qingshuang.
He calmly extended his arm and blocked Luo Qingshuang's attack.
Though the attack was neutralized, the power gap was significant, and Ling Xiao was still thrown back several steps.
"Have you recovered your profound energy?" Luo Qingshuang asked. She had already used half her full strength in that kick, even a low-level profound practitioner wouldn't dare confront her head-on, yet Ling Xiao was only knocked back a few steps. This was truly not the strength expected of a useless talent.
"If I had recovered my profound energy, would you still be so arrogant? But I'm more than capable of dealing with you now," Ling Xiao sneered. His palms were numb from the shock, and it was truly uncomfortable. He felt even more anxious to open up his meridians as soon as possible. "Then try! I'm going to avenge seven years of my actions right now. I hope you can hold off a few more of my blows," Luo Qingshuang said, shaking his whip.
"Hey, I can defeat you in one strike," Ling Xiao chuckled.
"Bullshit! If you can defeat me in one strike, you can do whatever you want to me. If you lose, you'll be my slave," Luo Qingshuang cursed, his face turning pale with anger.
"Okay, it's a deal. I hope you won't regret it," Ling Xiao replied firmly, his eyes gleaming.
"Stop talking nonsense! Come on!" Luo Qingshuang shouted, bracing himself for the fight.
"Okay, I'm coming!" Ling Xiao responded, leaping up like an eagle and swinging his mighty sword. Suddenly, a sky full of sword shadows rained down upon Luo Qingshuang, a sharp sword beam emitting tiny starlight, shattering the surrounding tables and chairs. "What a powerful move!" Li Guanghan, standing nearby, sighed as he felt the sharp aura coming his way and took a few steps back.
"Little sister, be careful!" the mace-wielding giant roared, swinging his mace toward the sword beams.
Luo Qingshuang felt a suffocating threat as the sword beams sliced hrough her clothes, ripping them in several places and revealing her delicate skin.
Luckily, the giant awoke her in time, his long whip swirling into spirals, offering the ultimate defense.
"Ding-dong."
"Snap."
"Snap."
...
The close combat erupted in a symphony of sounds.
The sword beams finally dissipated, and the scene returned to calm. "Puff!" Ling Xiao's single sword stabbed into the ground, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. He had clearly suffered internal injuries, more severe than the backlash from last night's powerful meridian attack. The ten meridians he had opened were constantly swelling, tearing, and causing him excruciating pain.
Across from him, Luo Qingshuang was in even greater distress. Only a short half of her long whip remained, with the rest broken into several pieces and lying on the ground. Her clothes were ripped in several places, revealing a good deal of her underwear. Fortunately, the wounds hadn't touched her skin, and no blood had flowed. A wisp of bangs slowly fell from her forehead. Had Ling Xiao struck her head with that blow, she would have surely perished instantly.
The giant man was in better condition, his clothes only ripped in two or three places, and his breathing was a little erratic, but otherwise normal.
"Ah, Master, are you okay?" Bai Yuxi cried out in alarm upon seeing Ling Xiao spitting blood. She quickly ran over to support him, and asked worriedly, tears of heartache welling in her beautiful eyes. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's go back," Ling Xiao replied, his face extremely pale. He forced a smile and, bearing the pain, allowed Bai Yuxi to support him as he walked down the stairs to the restaurant.
"I, I lost again!" Luo Qingshuang muttered to herself, as if she had lost her soul. It seemed that the previous move had been too much of a blow. Then, her eyes darkened and she fainted.
The giant immediately caught her and said to Li Guanghan, "Young Master Li, I'm sorry for today. Let's meet again another day." With that, he carried Luo Qingshuang out of the restaurant.
Li Guanghan nodded, then, with a dazed expression, he recalled Ling Xiao's previous attack and asked himself, if he had been in her shoes, could he have blocked it? The answer was no.
"No, I won't let this kid go!" Li Guanghan, sweat dripping from his forehead, gritted his teeth, and turned to run downstairs. He was determined to kill Ling Xiao, otherwise, when Ling Xiao grew up, the Ling family would be the sole ruler. Ling Xiao was supported by Bai Yuxi. His meridians were throbbing with pain, his face pale as death, and cold sweat streamed down his face.
"Young Master, don't scare me! I'll get you a doctor right away," Bai Yuxi sobbed through her tears.
"No, take me to the nearest inn, quickly," Ling Xiao said weakly.
"Okay, okay," Bai Yuxi nodded repeatedly, obeying Ling Xiao's orders.
Li Guanghan left the restaurant and immediately headed towards the Ling residence, intending to kill him before he could return. However, Li Guanghan didn't expect Ling Xiao to return at all, forcing him to wait an entire night on the road that led to the Ling residence.
Bai Yuxi brought Ling Xiao to the inn, instructed him not to disturb anyone, and then he immediately began to heal his wounds. Ling Xiao had squandered all of his profound energy, and his ten meridians couldn't withstand the backlash from the powerful attack. If he didn't quickly stabilize his meridians, they would be damaged again and rendered useless, and all his previous efforts would be in vain.
So, Ling Xiao didn't choose to return immediately, but instead found an inn to heal his wounds, which saved him from disaster.