Chapter 33 (1/2)
Xiao Chen returned to his courtyard and found Lil Ruo standing alone outside in the moonlight. Her long streaming hair veiled her pretty face, falling on her shoulders. Xiao Chen asked her, smiling, “Why are you not resting in your room, Lil Ruo?”
“I am afraid, Young Master… I could not sleep knowing you’re not around…”
Xiao Chen laughed softly and went to her. He reached out and stroke her hair, saying gently to her, “All is well. Off you go to bed.”
Lil Ruo looked up and him, her long eyelashes trembling now and then as she murmured, “Young Master… I…”
… …
The next morning before the sun was up, Xiao Chen was already meditating and training outside in the courtyard. The supply of Spiritual Qi there was hardly enough for him to increase his powers, but they were sufficient for him to strengthen his mastery.
He continued for another quarter of an hour until the sun began peeking over the mountain peaks. There was the creaking of a door opening. Lil Ruo came out slowly, still wearing a dress of white, her hair let down over her shoulders. Softly, she asked, “Are you going to the Sky-gazing Gorge again, Young Master?”
“Yes. I will go when the sun is up,” said Xiao Chen who turned over to face her with a smile.
“Oh…”
Dawn had only come, but the Sky-gazing Gorge was already filled with almost all the disciples there to train. They returned to their respective places and continued their meditation, as was Xiao Chen and his companions, who did not go to the empty areas at the center of the gorge.
With the abundance of Spiritual Qi, he could consume as much of it as possible to try for higher levels. At noon, Lil Ruo came with a food carrier as she usually did, only this time, the food carrier was noticeably larger than the one she used before.
“What a kind girl you are, Sister Lil Ruo. Every day you come bearing food for us.” Prince Zhao was the first to scoot over to her. This time, Lil Ruo no longer put herself in between of him and the food carrier anymore.
The mouth-watering aroma of the delicious meat escaped into the air as soon as the lid of the carrier was opened. Princes Qi and Yan each took a bite off their drumsticks, chewing ravenously while Prince Zhao chomped furiously on an entire chicken.
Xiao Chen shook his head and laughed, “I’m beginning to wonder if you are really princes.”
Mumbling incomprehensibly through his food, Prince Zhao said, “I have almost gone sick after living only on dried buns… By the way, you have great cooking skills, Sister Lil Ruo. Why don’t you become one of my consorts when I stop my studies here?”
A shade of red burned on Lil Ruo’s cheeks that instant as she turned away from him, “No way!”
Prince Zhao placed down the chicken he had eaten halfway and continued, “I am serious. I will ask my father to write a letter seeking a union by marriage between our families…”
The scarlet patch on Lil Ruo’s face grew redder and redder by the moment. Frantic with embarrassment, she hastily changed the subject, “Eat up, Young Master or the food will get cold.” She opened the bottom level of the food carrier. There were fish, duck, and chicken inside; all neatly sliced and arranged with an assortment of beautiful fruits. There was also fruit juice that she had made herself.
“Wow…” The three princes were astounded. Prince Zhao spoke sourly, “It’s no wonder people always say the grass is greener on the other side. Not even my own sister has treated me with such kindness…”
Once he had finished devouring the chicken, Prince Zhao licked at his fingers as he then said, “We will be given a break next year to go home. How about coming to see me, Senior Brother Xiao? You can bring Sister Lil Ruo along. I’ll show you around the palace.”
Princes Qi and Yao both quipped as well, “You can also come to visit us, Senior Brother.”
Prince Zhao interjected, “The imperial chef of my court makes very good deep-fried loquats; very much better than the ones we have here…” He turned to Lil Ruo, “Have you tried any deep-fried loquats here? They’re good to be eaten with noodles.”
Feeling absurd and silly, Lil Ruo gasped, “I-is… is that even edible?”
The after-lunch banter continued joyfully only to be broken by a deafening crash. Pandemonium and chaos followed swiftly.
“What’s going on!” Xiao Chen exclaimed as he stood himself before Lil Ruo to shield her from danger.
There were people frantically running around and screaming at a distance away from them. A young man in robes of white was tossed suddenly into the air, with blood pouring from his mouth. Xiao Chen recognized him. He was Zhuo Wuhen, the leader of the gang, North Mountain, who possessed the powers of Lv 2 Qi Refining Realm.
Zhuo Wuhen fell back to the ground. Immediately, a wraith-like figure appeared and kicked him up for meters into the air. The figure then took into the air and landed another kick that smashed Zhuo Wuhen back into the ground once more, throwing dust and earth into the air.
Blood gushed uncontrollably from Zhuo Wuhen’s mouth. Still, he taunted frostily, “You dare kill me here, Ye Fei?”
“Not here,” said another man who face was dark with malice. With eyes as pitiless as a predator and a nose as sharp as a hawk’s beak, the person hissed ominously, “But I can slice off your arms.” He waved his hands, and two bolts of white radiance shot forward.