Twins

Being told by a six- or seven-year-old girl that she would protect him made Li Nuo feel a little strange.

But remembering how she had bravely stepped forward just now, Li Nuo still felt a little moved.

Children's thoughts were often the purest. This adorable little girl truly considered him a friend.

He smiled to show that he didn't mind and said, "Let's keep playing shuttlecock."

"Okay!"

Song Mu'er nodded and tossed the shuttlecock over. Li Nuo kicked it back with a spinning midair kick. Song Mu'er leaped lightly, her little skirt twirling with her, and before Li Nuo could make out what she'd done, the shuttlecock came flying back.

Soon, Li Nuo realized that this little girl was also a shuttlecock-kicking expert.

Not only did she kick with speed and precision, her movements were exceptionally graceful, and she learned quickly, too. She could soon copy the moves Li Nuo performed without thinking—and do them better and more beautifully.

If Li Nuo guessed right, she had a foundation in the Martial Dao, because many of her movements were beyond what ordinary people could manage.

Song Mu'er was truly happy that evening.

At home, aside from a few maids, no one was willing to play with her. But those maids were so unskilled that they couldn't even catch the shuttlecock she kicked to them. This big brother was different. They'd been playing for ages, and the shuttlecock hadn't hit the ground even once.

"I'm done, I'm done..."

After a little while longer, Li Nuo stopped the shuttlecock on his foot. Bending over and panting hard, he said, "I can't kick anymore..."

The frailty of this body had taken him by surprise. On top of that, he had a wound on his shoulder, and after only a short while of kicking, it was already starting to ache. The little girl, meanwhile, had nothing but messy hair—there wasn't even a bead of sweat on her forehead. Li Nuo was a little embarrassed.

"All right..."

Song Mu'er still wanted to play a little longer, but seeing how tired Li Nuo was, she obediently nodded, picked up the shuttlecock, and put it back in her little bag.

While they'd been playing, her hair ribbon had come loose, and she couldn't tie it back herself. She could only look at Li Nuo pleadingly. He took the ribbon from her and was about to fix her bun when, the moment he touched her hair, countless ways of arranging and braiding hair suddenly surfaced in his mind.

These were obviously not Li Nuo's own memories. He looked again at Zhang Xiaoyun's portrait in the Code of Law.

He'd initially thought the Code of Law would let him master just one skill from each criminal, such as the female assassin's calligraphy or the thief's Thievery Technique. But the truth seemed different from what he'd guessed. Kicking shuttlecock, styling hair, and Steward Zheng's concubine's talents—he'd already mastered two of them.

Any skill the Code of Law deemed worthy of note was extraordinary.

The female assassin's calligraphy had been praised by the Magistrate of Chang'an as "rarely matched."

And that goateed thief's Thievery Technique had gone unnoticed by both Steward Wu and his wife, despite their being at the fourth Martial Dao realm. He was surely one of the finest thieves around.

As for that adulterer, Cui Ze, he was so mediocre that he hadn't even qualified to have his portrait lit up by the Code of Law.

But Steward Zheng's concubine had two skills recognized by the Code of Law. That meant she was at the pinnacle of her craft, whether kicking shuttlecock or styling hair.

Still, no matter what the skill was, it would stop working at this time tomorrow. Not wanting to waste his talent, Li Nuo said to Song Mu'er, "How about I give you a new hairstyle? One even prettier than the one you had before..."

What girl didn't want to look prettier, even if she was only six?

Song Mu'er didn't doubt Li Nuo for a second. She nodded eagerly without even hesitating. "Yes, yes..."

Li Nuo set the ribbon aside and moved his hands swiftly through her hair. He didn't need to look or even think; it was all as effortless as muscle memory repeated thousands upon thousands of times. Before long, a beautiful Flying Immortal Hairpin adorned Song Mu'er's head.

There was no denying that a hairstyle had a major effect on a person's looks and bearing.

Before, Song Mu'er had looked like a pretty young lady from a prominent family. But with this new hairstyle, she instantly seemed more noble and otherworldly. The two hair loops trembled with her slightest movements. Add a few more ornaments, and she would truly look like a little fairy.

Song Mu'er left Li Nuo behind and rushed back to her room, eager to see her new hairstyle. Just then, Li Nuo spotted Song Jiaren walking this way with a beautiful woman.

The woman was lovely, and appeared to be in her early thirties. But the crow's-feet at the corners of her eyes suggested that she was actually older than she looked.

Song Jiaren brought the beautiful woman over to Li Nuo and said, "This is your aunt. You've met her before."

Li Nuo bowed to the woman. "Greetings, Aunt."

Old Madam Song had four sons and one daughter. Her only daughter was named Song Zhen, her third child.

The beautiful woman stared at Li Nuo. There was surprise in her eyes, but even more delight. She glanced at Song Jiaren and asked uncertainly, "He's really not a fool anymore?"

Song Jiaren nodded. Judging from his behavior over the past two days, he really wasn't a fool anymore.

In fact, he could even be called smart.

The beautiful woman couldn't help reaching out to pinch and prod Li Nuo here and there. As she did, she said, "I knew it. How could Li Xuanjing's son be a fool..."

She tugged at Li Nuo's cheek and sighed. "I have to say, you really do have a bit of your father's youthful charm."

Li Nuo was like a toy in her hands, left to be squeezed and pinched. The worst part was that he couldn't say anything about it. After all, she was his elder, so all he could do was stand there awkwardly.

Even more awkwardly, women in Great Xia dressed rather openly. She wore a high-waisted dress, a beaded necklace resting at her throat, beneath which a patch of snowy-white skin was exposed. She was standing so close to Li Nuo that he didn't know where to look. He kept his eyes fixed on the tip of his nose, then the tip of his nose fixed on his mind. Yet a strange thought still rose in his heart. People said nieces took after their aunts, but his own wife hadn't taken after hers in the slightest...

"I don't care! I don't care! I want one too!"

A girl's wailing came from a distance, drawing everyone's attention and rescuing Li Nuo. Seeing the beautiful woman and his wife look toward the commotion, he let out a breath, stepped back to put some distance between himself and the woman, and turned to look as well.

The one sitting on the ground and crying over there was a little girl.

She was six or seven, as lovely as a carved doll, but she was crying bitterly, kicking her legs as she sobbed.

When Li Nuo's gaze landed on the girl's face, he froze. Wasn't that Song Mu'er, the girl he'd just played shuttlecock with? But strangely, the Flying Immortal Hairpin he'd just made for her had turned back into a little bun.

His gaze shifted again, to another little girl standing beside her with her hands on her hips and a smug expression on her face. She wore a Flying Immortal Hairpin and looked both beautiful and noble...

Why were there two Mu'ers?

Li Nuo was utterly bewildered.

By then, the beautiful woman was already hurrying toward the crying girl. As she walked, she complained, "Who gave Mu'er such a pretty hairstyle? Didn't they know Ninger would throw a fit when she saw it? Last time Mu'er was sick, Ninger had to have a bowl of medicine too. Isn't she going to turn the house upside down this time?"

Li Nuo understood. There weren't two Mu'ers. They were twins.

Li Nuo knew all about twins.

His university advisor had a pair of twins at home. As the advisor's student, hired hand, and babysitter, Li Nuo sometimes had to take on the task of dropping the children off at school and picking them up.

Whenever there were two children in a family, their parents had to keep things fair; with twins, this was even more important. If the older sister got something, the younger sister had to get it too. Their clothes had to match, their hair ornaments had to match, and they needed two of everything they ate or played with—two identical things, at that. If the older sister took a sip of cough syrup, the younger one had to take a sip as well, just to keep things fair...

The tiniest difference was enough to turn the household upside down.

Just thinking about that experience gave Li Nuo a headache.

If he'd known Mu'er had a twin sister, he absolutely wouldn't have helped her style her hair...

By then, Song Zhen had already walked over. She said to the woman beside the crying girl, "Who styled Mu'er's hair? Have them give Ninger an identical one right away. Old Madam's birthday banquet is about to begin. We can't be late..."

The woman looked at the several maids beside her and snapped, "Who did it?"

The maids from Song Manor all shook their heads. The servants of the Song Family knew better than anyone how to treat the two young ladies. They would never do such a thing.

Song Zhen waved her hand. "Forget who did it for now. Whoever knows how to style this hair, hurry and give Ninger one too, or there won't be time."

If she hadn't been raised as an eldest young lady, she would have styled it herself.

The maids exchanged glances. At last, an older maid spoke up. "Eldest Young Lady, the hairstyle on Miss Mu'er isn't an ordinary Flying Immortal Hairpin. Whoever did her hair made many complicated changes to the original style, making it look more dignified and elegant, yet still graceful and noble. None of us knows how to do it..."

To untie a bell, one had to find the person who tied it. Song Zhen rubbed her temples, crouched down, and smiled at the smug girl with the beautiful hairstyle. "Mu'er, tell Aunt who styled your hair so beautifully."

Song Mu'er snorted at the crying girl and turned her head away.

Ever since they were little, Song Ninger had wanted to snatch everything from her. She wasn't about to share Brother Li Nuo with her.

Brother Li Nuo could only do her hair. Song Ninger could forget about it!

At that moment, a guest in the crowd pointed in a certain direction and said, "I saw that young gentleman styling Miss Mu'er's hair just now..."

At his words, all the women immediately turned to look where he was pointing.

At the end of their gaze, a handsome young man was doing his best to hide himself in the shadows...

I have a closed-door Youth League training session to attend during the day today, so I've moved the update to after midnight. The training lasts three days, so the updates for the next three days will probably all be after midnight.