Nation of Beauty
Could it be that the female college student has developed Stockholm Syndrome and fallen in love with him?
No, it should be said that she resigned herself to her fate. So many years have passed, what's the point of coming out of seclusion or not? There's no possibility of her being saved anymore.
I imagine the Weaver Girl State of Mind the same way.
Of course, the way of thinking of the ancients is different from that of modern people. Judging the ancients with modern values is a very painful thing. The reason why I thought of this is because Si Ming also feels very painful now.
He hadn't even considered things like Cowherd, Li Xiaoyao, Nobita Nobi!
"Um... here are your clothes, put them on quickly so you don't catch a cold."
Following normal logic, Si Ming picked up the clothes that were placed on the rocks by the lake and handed them to the other person.
"Oh? Oh, thank you..."
The blonde girl's gaze was somewhat unfocused; her brain seemed unable to keep up with the pace of reality.
"Then I won't disturb you while you change. There's a banquet up the mountain, and quite a few people are waiting for me."
"Okay, then you should go quickly, lest others get impatient waiting."
Until we meet again.
"Farewell... Death penalty!"
The blonde girl put on her clothes, then suddenly realized what was happening and stopped following Si Ming's lead. She slapped the surface of the hot spring lake with her right hand, creating a wave that transformed into a water monster midway through its flight. It opened its mouth and lunged at Si Ming. At the same time, she caught a drop of water with her left hand, flicked it with her finger, and the tiny droplet shot out with the sound of a bullet leaving its barrel.
Upon seeing this, Si Ming knew that these were martial arts techniques from the "Water Moon Precious Mirror." The former was called "Hundred Beasts Illusory Dance Palm," and the latter was called "Stone-Striking Force," which came from a story in the "Book of Documents: Shun Dian"—when Emperor Shun appointed Kui as the official in charge of music, Kui replied, "I strike and pat stones, and all the beasts dance."
Although he could withstand these two attacks with his own body without much harm, he had just practiced the "Water Moon Precious Mirror" and felt itchy to use his skills. He immediately activated the Ethereal Cloud and Mist Palm, using the "Absorb" technique to draw in a large amount of water vapor, which condensed into water in his palm. Then he also activated the "Hundred Beasts Illusory Dance Palm" and the "Stone-Striking Force" to confront them head-on.
The two water droplets collided in mid-air. The blonde girl, with her superior Internal Cultivation, shattered Si Ming's water droplet. When Si Ming used the technique of the Fire Talisman Jade Subtle Needle to conceal a burst of fire energy within the water droplet, it erupted upon impact, evaporating the girl's water droplet in mid-air.
At the same time, Si Ming used the Hundred Beasts Illusory Dance Palm to conjure an eagle from the water vapor. The eagle flapped its wings and swooped down, its sharp claws piercing the water python's vital spot.
"You scoundrel! You actually stole our family's secret technique!"
Because of the hazy atmosphere and the intense events that had occurred, her memory became blurred. The blonde girl couldn't see Si Ming's face clearly at first, only knowing that he was a man. Although the young clan leader had announced that male members of the clan were allowed to study the "Water Moon Precious Mirror," that was only yesterday. It was impossible for someone to have mastered the martial arts in the treasure mirror to such a level in just one day; he must have been secretly learning it for a long time.
Filled with righteous indignation, she became even more ruthless in her attacks. The Stone-Striking Force was like a powerful crossbow bolt, becoming increasingly dense and shooting incessantly. With her right hand, she spread her palm to control the water vapor, transforming it into a fierce tiger that pounced on the eagle.
Under normal circumstances, a land tiger would be no match for a flying falcon, but at this moment, both of them were formed from water vapor and had no concept of flying. The tiger pounced and smashed the falcon to pieces, turning it into water droplets that splashed everywhere.
Seeing this, Si Ming activated the Ethereal Cloud and Mist Palm with his right hand, using softness to neutralize the opponent's Stone-Striking Force. With his left hand, he drew water vapor and transformed it into a bear, smashing the tiger to pieces with a single slap.
The blonde girl transformed into a dragon and soared into the sky, gracefully descending. With a flick of its tail, it smashed the bear. Si Ming remembered a Law Treasure from the novel "Investiture of the Gods," so he conjured a Big Scissors and cut the dragon in half.
The two used the Hundred Beasts Illusory Dance Palm to conjure up various magical and ferocious beasts, fighting with great enthusiasm, when suddenly a rustling sound of footsteps came from the outside.
"Miss Ruo, what happened? Why are there sounds of fighting?"
Si Huaruo came to her senses and was about to shout, but at this moment, the water vapor in the air had been sucked away by Si Ming. Without any obstruction, she saw Si Ming's appearance clearly and recognized him immediately.
"It's you! You're Si Jingyu's younger brother..."
Si Huaruo's expression changed several times, from confusion to shock to sadness. Finally, she sighed and said, "I understand now, so that's what happened... You should find a place to hide quickly, I'll help you cover it up."
Si Ming thought to himself that this person was probably quite intelligent, and most likely had heard or sensed something from her mother and deduced the truth based on the current situation.
One has to admire how ruthless Si Huamu; she actually used her own daughter as a honey trap. She's really going all out. It's true what they say: you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, and you can't catch a lecher without risking your daughter.
In a typical anime plot, Si Ming would jump into the hot spring, dive underwater, and hide behind Si Huaruo for a steamy encounter. But since he already planned to use this opportunity to get involved with Si Huaruo, there was nothing wrong with deliberately giving her a handle to use against her.
Too lazy to hide, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Indecent assault! Help!"
Si Huaruo looked completely bewildered, as if she were wondering if she was dreaming. She couldn't understand the logic behind what was happening at all.
Before long, a group of people surrounded Si Ming and caught him red-handed. However, these people had the same expression on their faces as Si Huaruo, and they couldn't understand what had happened.
The thief cries "Stop thief!"—trying to turn the tables and frame others?
But you, a clean man, are standing on the shore, while she, a wet woman, is standing in the water. Isn't it obvious who assaulted whom?
At this moment, Si Ming said apologetically, "It's my fault. I didn't stay where I was. After hearing the noise, I wandered around and ended up bumping into Miss Si Huaruo who was bathing. I couldn't help but take a few extra glances. I'll be like Cowherd, bah! I'll take full responsibility. You can hit me or scold me, I'll accept it all."
Chapter 283 Nation of Beauty
Despite feeling that something was amiss, Si Huamu continued to push forward with her plan, using the fact that he had spied on her daughter while she was bathing as leverage to blackmail Si Ming into making compensation. The compensation was that Si Ming would protect Si Huaruo's safety during this period—she wanted to create an opportunity for the two of them to be alone together.
Incidentally, the person who gave Si Huamu the advice was actually an inside agent planted by Si Jingyu. Moreover, because this agent was shrewd and decisive, he became Si Huamu's confidant. Therefore, the actions of the opposition have always been under Si Jingyu's control.
Despite Si Huamu's constant attempts to signal to her daughter throughout the banquet, Si Huaruo remained sullen and refused to rise to toast Si Ming. The banquet ended in a manner that was both harmonious and discordant.
Two days later, it was time for Si Huaruo to return to school, and also the day for Si Ming to act as her personal bodyguard to protect her on her way to school. Si Ming thought that given Si Huaruo's uncooperative attitude towards her mother that day, she would most likely leave him behind and go to school alone. However, when he arrived at the gate of the Water Mirror Manor, he found that she was already waiting there.
"I do dislike my mother's approach, but if I directly refuse, she'll definitely come up with other methods. Rather than that, it's better to appease her for now; that way, you'll avoid a lot of trouble."
This is the explanation given by Si Huaruo, which shows that she is not a stubborn person, and Si Ming is happy to cooperate with such a person.
After arriving at the shore from the Water Mirror Manor by boat, the two did not transfer to a carriage, but instead boarded another boat and sailed down the river to the Emperor Peak Luofu Academy.
The Nation of Beauty is a country rich in water resources, especially its capital, which is traversed by many waterways. Its architectural structure is similar to that of Venice, making it a water city known as the "City of a Hundred Islands." Traveling within the city is much more convenient by boat than by horse-drawn carriage.
The Nation of Beauty has no obvious adversaries in its diplomacy. Even the Military School, Legalist School, and Mohist School, whom they ridicule for their complete lack of artistic talent, have decent relations with it. In fact, they are simply not qualified to be rivals of Nation of Valor, France, and the Su State.
The Nation of Beauty is geographically located in the south, not a Military School important location, and its land is not particularly fertile. Its people are mostly art lovers, so there is little benefit in attacking such a country. Therefore, even the most warlike Military School have no motivation to attack the Nation of Beauty. In contrast, Nation of Valor preferred to invade the agriculturally developed Su Kingdom.
The Nation of Beauty has a weak military, and the government is well aware of this. However, for various reasons, they are too lazy to spend money to build a powerful army, so they simply create a showpiece. When it comes to real fighting, they rely entirely on mercenaries and private armies of the Aristocratic Clan. It must be said that after adopting this policy, their win rate in battle has actually increased significantly.