815 Sniffing Around (1/2)

In an open space of the army camp, Tie Linglong was busy cultivating the Balanced Power and practicing the Gu family sabermanship. When she finished, she switched to the Jueyin Finger Techniques that Han Wuxian had taught her. She found that she preferred the latter more.

She was making very slow progress in her cultivation of the Balanced Power. The Dragon King had once reiterated that when she practiced this kung fu on her own, she had to focus on taking small baby-steps. And regarding the Gu family sabermanship, she had never understood itst esoteric parts. But the Jueyin Finger Technique was different. It seemed as if the Daoless Divine Power and the Jueyin Finger Techniques were made for each other. Every time she practiced these two kung fu together, she made considerable progress in both of them as if they were two small trees growing rapidly in front of her.

But Tie Linglong still practiced the former two kung fu techniques with a happy mindset, because the Dragon King had imparted them to her. Thus, they were different from any other kung fu technique as she was the only one who had learned them.

'When I'm a few years older, the Dragon King will see me differently,' she thought. Then the image of Chu Nanping inexplicably popped up in her mind. She put on a cold face and said to that illusion in a low voice, ”I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of expression you will have on your face then.”

”Nice sabermanship,” someone complimented from the side.

Tie Linglong instantly whirled around, only to see Shangguan Ru and Red Bat watching her and clapping from about a dozen steps away. She unexpectedly hadn't noticed them at all.

”What kind of sabermanship is that? It looks familiar,” Shangguan Ru asked.

Tie Linglong smiled and walked over. She liked Shangguan Ru and was not jealous of her at all. ”Sister Ru must be kidding. The Dragon King taught me this sabermanship. He said that it was from the Gu family of the Central Plains. I've been practicing it for some time, but I don't think that it's very good.”

Shangguan Ru suddenly remembered why this sabermanship seemed familiar. Back then, she had been deeply impressed by Marshal Yang's martial arts and she still recalled his moves vividly. Tie Linglong's sabermanship was exactly the same as the old man's.

”This is an advanced sabermanship, and if you keep practicing it, you'll eventually uncover its secrets. I once saw a kung fu expert defeat several Golden Roc killers at once with this kung fu.”

”And then?” Tie Linglong's eyes lit up.

”That's it.”

Tie Linglong didn't quite believe her as she said, ”Then that kung fu expert was assassinated, wasn't he? Alas, why is the Dragon King teaching me this kind of useless sabermanship?”

”Because all normal people hate killers, and even those who hire killers are guarded against them. And you're an adorable little girl who even the Dragon King doesn't have the heart to make into a killer.”

A smile as bright as the morning appeared on Tie Linglong's face. ”I'll be seventeen next year, so I'm no longer a little girl.”

Red Bat gently slapped her forehead as she joked, ”Ouch, I'll be twenty-seven next year. Am I already an old woman?”

The three laughed.

”Where are you going, Sister Ru?”

”Someone asked me to drink with them. Um, do you want to join?”

”Me? The Dragon King doesn't allow me to drink.”

Red Bat put her arms around Tie Linglong's shoulders as she teased, ”Did the Dragon King say that you had to be seventeen to be old enough to drink?”

Tie Linglong blushed slightly and said, ”I'll go. It's just drinking. Sister Ru can do it, and so I can do it as well.”

”And this time we won't just be drinking. We have a task as well,” Shangguan Ru whispered into Tie Linglong's ear. ”We're going to collect intelligence for the Dragon King.”

”Then I'm definitely going.” Tie Linglong became even more excited upon hearing Shangguan Ru's words. ”What do I have to do?”

It was only after she had seen Tie Linglong that Shangguan Ru had come up with this idea. ”I might need you to display your kung fu for me. Just show me your best moves.”

”But try not to kill anyone,” Red Bat added hurriedly. She was always uncertain about killers.

”The Dragon King doesn't allow me to kill people either,” Tie Linglong said downheartedly. ”This is an inviolable order.”

Second Consort had returned to normal by now. She had successfully maintained her face, subjected the leader of the Naihang Tribe, and forgiven Zhe Su and Duo Ercha afterwards during an appropriate occasion. However, she knew that she had also paid a heavy price for her actions.

”Who's this little sister? Why haven't I seen her before? Are all the women from the Land of Fragrance this beautiful? I'm starting to think that maybe I should go live there for a couple of years.” As soon as the Second Consort saw Tie Linglong, she had grabbed her hands and started looking her up and down.

Tie Linglong flushed even redder. Nobody on the Dragon King's team or the Waning Moon Hall had ever praised her as beautiful. Even Chu Nanping had only occasionally said a few honeyed words to her; most of the time, he had been as silent as wood.

”I'm not from the Land of Fragrance. I'm the Dragon King's bodyguard, Tie Linglong.”

The Second Consort seemed very surprised, and her eyes swept through Tie Linglong and Red Bat like a broom. ”You two seem like biological sisters, but are actually not even village mates.”

In fact the two didn't have much in common. But Tie Linglong had green eyes and Red Bat was born with barbaric looks, so they did seem similar from other people's perspective.

The Second Consort turned around and faced Shangguan Ru. ”The Dragon King's been hiding such a little beauty around him. You'll have to be careful.”

Shangguan Ru burst into laughter as she said, ”I'm here to drink alcohol, not jealousy. Where's the booze? I haven't gotten drunk in quite a long time.”

The feast started right away. Second Consort summoned two middle-aged women to be their drinking companions. After the Khan's death, they had nowhere to go, so the Second Consort had taken them in. Serving as drinking companions, livening things up, and flattering guests were their forte, so the atmosphere quickly grew uproarious.

Tie Linglong had thought that she would be just a foil during the feast, but unexpectedly, she had become the protagonist. The Second Consort seemed to be particularly interested in her and kept asking her all kinds of questions. She even borrowed her narrow saber to look at it and marveled at how skilled a woman could be at kung fu.