Chapter 63: The Falling Flowers Are Beginning to Dazzle the Eyes

Lingxiang had just said she would help everyone cultivate, and when Xiaomaidong heard this, she didn't even offer half a refusal, agreeing without the slightest hesitation.

Wasn't this a situation she had been wishing for? This way, she could get close to Xinyi; why wouldn't she be happy to do so?

Therefore, when Long Qi and Xiaomaidong returned to Zhuyuan together, the first thing everyone asked wasn't how Lingxiang's injuries were, but rather why Xiaomaidong had come.

The most awkward person was Xinyi. This girl had been very enthusiastic toward him before, and now, he had no way to voice his grievances. Looking at Xiaomaidong's burning gaze, he always had the illusion that he was the livestock on the chopping block.

However, just as Lingxiang had said, Xiaomaidong was truly formidable. After several sparring sessions, Long Qi, Liu Xia, and Zhao Wuyang had all been defeated.

Especially Long Qi; after blocking one of Xiaomaidong's Flying Leaf Palm strikes with his sword, the hand holding his sword was left tingling in the web between his thumb and index finger, and the Longyuan Sword hummed incessantly for a long time.

Such strange strength was truly astonishing, shocking Zhao Wuyang into sighing inwardly: "A woman as fierce as a tiger."

But when it was Xinyi's turn, the situation was quite different. If one were to say Xiaomaidong was going easy on him, the force was still the same force—it was so powerful that even the area to the side had been smashed by her—yet she could never land a hit on Xinyi.

It was truly a joke; seeing Long Qi and the others beaten until they were covered in bruises, how could he let Xiaomaidong touch even a fraction of him? He couldn't dodge fast enough, and fighting back was definitely out of the question.

The two of them were like a cat playing with a mouse, a sight that made Liu Xia yawn repeatedly.

Xiaomaidong was getting anxious now. She had wanted to put on a good performance in front of Xinyi, but she hadn't expected him to be so nimble, dodging away every time she was about to touch him.

Just after brushing past his sleeve for the last time, Xiaomaidong rolled up her sleeves, gathered her Qi, and leaped into the air. Suddenly, falling flowers flew about like butterflies, and illusions emerged on all sides.

It was actually the Falling Flower Palm. This was a technique she had recently comprehended, meant to bewilder the mind and deliver an unexpected strike.

And Xinyi seemed as if he were truly bewitched, staring at Xiaomaidong without moving a muscle.

Xiaomaidong immediately felt smug: "How about that? You're so dazzled by this young lady's graceful bearing that you can't take your eyes off me, right!"

Thinking this, she withdrew her technique and did not land the final palm strike.

Yet at this moment, Xinyi was still staring at Xiaomaidong, his eyes full of disbelief...

"Brother Lu! Let's go to the stove and roast peanuts; the manor just sent over a lot of raw peanuts a few days ago, and they're all in the kitchen now." The little girl shook the two small buns on her head and hopped in from outside.

The "Brother Lu" she spoke of was currently practicing his calligraphy in a horse stance; hearing her voice, he looked up with a smile.

"Mother doesn't allow us to play by the stove; if we aren't careful, we might start a fire. Later, the kitchen maids will boil them and send them to each room. You should wait patiently for a while."

Upon hearing this, the little girl pouted:

"Oh, boiled ones aren't as fragrant as roasted ones. We'll just be careful, nothing will happen."

"But I'm currently practicing my cultivation..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the little girl tugging on his sleeve and swaying it back and forth.

"You can practice tomorrow! But if we don't go now, there won't be any left to roast..."

The young boy smiled, raised his hand to pat the girl's head, and helplessly agreed: "Alright..."

Before Xiaomaidong could stand steady, Xinyi stepped forward and grabbed her, asking urgently:

"Why do you have a tattoo on your left arm?!"

Xiaomaidong was stunned. Could it be that Xinyi didn't like her tattoo?

"I've had this since I was little. My master said there must have been a wound here, and it was probably tattooed over to cover it up..."

Upon hearing this, Xinyi's eyes turned red instantly. Looking at the wheat-ear tattoo on Xiaomaidong's forearm, his thoughts came flooding back.

"What did I tell you! Why don't you listen to me?!" the woman said, and the ruler in her hand landed heavily on the young boy's hand.

Another woman nearby hurriedly put down the little girl and stepped forward to stop her.

"Sister, don't be angry. If you want to blame someone, blame this dead girl for being so playful and getting herself hurt; how can you blame anyone else!"

The little girl also cried as she stepped forward, sobbing: "Aunt, don't blame Brother Lu. It was all my fault; I insisted on dragging him to roast peanuts."

The woman holding the ruler hurriedly pulled the little girl over, supporting her hand and blowing on it gently: "It hurts terribly, doesn't it? A burn like this will leave a scar, and it won't look good later." As she spoke, she wiped the tears from the girl's face.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, Brother Lu has to marry me when he grows up, so I'm not afraid of being ugly!" The little girl said this, but then started crying again—it really hurt!

The other woman nearby scolded her: "You're always hanging this on your lips all day long; you're so young and yet you have no shame!"

The little girl answered while crying: "This... what is there to be ashamed of? I must say it often, especially in front of Brother Lu, so he doesn't forget to marry me later..."

This sentence amused both women, and the young boy kneeling to the side, though he kept his head down, had the corners of his mouth turned up.

"But it's not good for a girl to have a scar. Your brother has someone under him who is skilled in embroidery; why not have him sent over to tattoo a flower on the girl to cover it?" the woman asked after laughing.

But the little girl was unhappy now: "Aunt, Aunt, I don't want a flower tattoo. I want a wheat-ear tattoo; that lychee and oatmeal porridge is so delicious..."

"When my master found me, it was the middle of winter. Seeing the wheat-ear tattoo on my hand, she gave me this name." Xiaomaidong said this and tried to pull away from Xinyi—he was pinching her a bit hard.

Xinyi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this before letting her go, then turned and walked into the room...

It was her! It was actually her!

His Guining was actually still alive!

For a moment, Xinyi didn't know how to face this; his heart was filled with both wild joy and trepidation.

He needed to be alone for a while...

Everyone was bewildered by Xinyi's behavior. Zhao Wuyang was the most curious, but he didn't dare ask Xiaomaidong—this woman was too fierce, and the place where he had just been hit was still throbbing with pain. He clutched his chest and asked Liu Xia in a low voice what Xiaomaidong had done to make Brother Xinyi so dejected, but Liu Xia didn't know either, only shrugging while clutching his own chest where he had been hit—it really hurt!

Long Qi, however, didn't pay much attention to what had happened, only thinking about what Lingxiang was doing right now.

What could Lingxiang be doing? Nothing more than lying on the bed waiting for Fuyin Zhenren to change her bandages.

"You really don't stand on ceremony," Fuyin Zhenren said, carefully wrapping fine cloth for Lingxiang while laughing as he spoke of her, "You even have to order my little Xiaomaidong to train your own disciple, making this old bag of bones run around for you."

Lingxiang hissed upon hearing this and said: "How can Brother say that? We are fellow disciples, why distinguish between 'yours' and 'mine'? Besides, you know what that girl Xiaomaidong is like; she doesn't know her own strength. My delicate feet have suffered quite a bit from her these past two days."

"You only know how to spout nonsense," Fuyin Zhenren tied a knot and began unwrapping the fine cloth on Lingxiang's other foot, "Little Xiaomaidong's medical skills were learned directly from me, yet you still slander her. It seems the one who should be injured this time is that mouth of yours."

"Speaking of which, this injury really was quite unjust. If Linglong were still in my hands, I wouldn't be suffering this living torment!"

Lingxiang seemed to say it casually, but Fuyin Zhenren's hands paused for a moment, though he immediately continued unwrapping the cloth.

Yet this small movement was seen by Lingxiang.

"Senior Brother, do you have something you are hiding from me?"