Journey IX

The two children assumed their stances again.

The match immediately drew over many sailors and crewmen, including Chief Administrator Su. Everyone had risen full of energy that morning with nothing to pass the time, and upon spotting something interesting, they swarmed over in a crowd.

Wang Peng, the fat Fei Pengzi, Qiu Ling, Xiao Yu, and Rong Yan all gathered together to watch the fun.

"Daring to bet against my lord? Don't lose so badly you don't even have pants left to wear." Wang Peng shook his head speechlessly. Though he had never truly made a bet with Lin Xin, his instincts told him that if he went up against His Highness, he would be the only one to lose.

"My lord won't lose." Xiao Yu's expression was firm.

"Why are you so certain? Little fox, no one in this world is omnipotent or always right. Even my lord might stumble before the horse, no? After all, my lord isn't personally making a move." Qiu Ling asked curiously.

Xiao Yu merely shook her head and sighed.

"Because even if my lord loses, he definitely won't admit it..."

The group thought it over, recalling Lin Xin's usual so-called image, and found it so reasonable that they had no words to refute it.

While they were talking here, the match had already begun over there.

Lin Xin stood to one side, his lips moving slightly. He was clearly transmitting his voice directly to the little girl.

Unable to bear watching, the woman at the side also moved her lips slightly, transmitting instructions to her little boy disciple.

The young boy and girl charged straight at each other.

The boy threw a side kick, his left fist ready to strike at any moment. Rings of spiritual energy continually surged across the surface of his fist. That was not from his own cultivation, but an innate feature of the gauntlet weapon he wore after reaching Heart Level. This was also a characteristic of Heart Level in the Central Prefecture.

"See that? Every one of his movements actually revolves around the area of an invisible little ball in front of you. As long as your movement locks down that position, all his moves will collapse without an attack."

Lin Xin's transmitted voice kept slipping into the little girl's ears.

Once the boy attacked, she stood motionless where she was. She merely held out her right hand, palm facing him, as though she had not finished preparing—or as though she wanted to stop her opponent with the strength of one hand alone.

Yet, to the astonishment of every spectator, after changing through a series of follow-up moves, the boy's attacking fist actually struck the girl's palm all by itself.

Puff!

Their fist and palm met, and both retreated a step.

It happened to be the moment when the boy could not exert his full strength, and he crashed into her palm. Even he found it unbelievable, but that was the result.

It was as if she had seen through every move and follow-up move he possessed. She had merely stood there waiting quietly, yet he had foolishly delivered himself right up to her for that exchange.

With ease awaiting exertion, even his slightly superior strength had been leveled out. They were evenly matched.

"What was that?!" The woman froze. "Was it an accident?"

But from the other side's manner, it was obvious that she had completely seen through every trajectory of Cloud Piercing Palm's follow-up moves and directly found its greatest flaw. Then she had used stillness to restrain motion and erupted with full force.

A grave expression gradually appeared on the woman's face. She glanced at Lin Xin, who was still relaxed, then once more quietly transmitted words into the little boy's ears.

The boy nodded. Knowing he had encountered an expert, his little face became solemn.

His hands drew four circles in succession, then he suddenly leaped forward, his body tracing a semicircular arc as he viciously slammed a fist toward the girl.

"Zhao Yuegui!"

With a low shout, white light flared from his fist. Then, in an instant, his entire body blurred. Still in midair, his speed was far faster than it should have been while descending, as if he had suddenly accelerated forward again in the air.

Caught off guard by those two bursts of acceleration, the little girl immediately grew flustered. Only then did she realize that he had not used his full strength earlier.

"Swing your fist upward to the right front."

Suddenly, that voice entered her ears again.

Without hesitation, the little girl took a step forward and threw an uppercut toward the upper right.

There was clearly nothing there. She hesitated for an instant, but still decided to strike out just like that.

Yet what happened next left her utterly dumbfounded.

The spot that had just been completely empty suddenly produced the boy's blurred figure. He threw a fist toward her shoulder, at exactly the same position he had chosen before.

"Hit!"

Someone in the crowd apparently provided the sound effect.

As the little boy leaped, he happened to meet the girl's punch head-on. It struck him squarely in the chest, sending him tumbling down. He staggered back more than ten steps before slowly steadying himself, his face somewhat pale as he gasped for breath.

"She really saw the flaw..." The woman was somewhat stunned. The little girl's two actions just now had both involved standing still and letting her disciple crash into her on his own. Such precise calculation, such difficulty—it was simply unimaginable!

Cloud Piercing Palm was a genuine fourth-grade martial art! Though it was also because the little fellow's cultivation was insufficient and he had not mastered it, to see through its mysteries and find its flaw in such a short time... that kind of discernment...

It was simply terrifying!

"Do you believe it now?" Lin Xin smiled. "However, I should also apologize to you. I should not have casually judged another sect's martial arts. I was inappropriate, and I hope you will be magnanimous."

"All right, all right. Since Mr. Lin has apologized, let this matter end here. Both of you are honored guests aboard my ship. If any real conflict arises, it will be difficult for me as an administrator as well."

Su Mu stepped forward to smooth things over. He knew Wang Peng was a third-grade expert. As Lin Xin's master, being able to see through a low-level fourth-grade martial art practiced incompletely by a child was hardly strange.

The woman merely snorted coldly. Her heart had begun to prickle with unease, and that snort was only to preserve some face. Without another word, she took the still-dazed little boy away.

The little girl withdrew her Inner Qi and ran over to Lin Xin.

"Thank you for helping me, sir."

She cupped her hands toward Lin Xin.

"You're too polite, little one." Lin Xin spoke gently. "Your movements were very precise. Why are you traveling alone? Where are your parents?"

She looked only twelve or thirteen. Family members ought to have been traveling with her.

Yet he swept his gaze around and could not spot any of the girl's relatives anywhere.

"My family is nearby, but they just haven't shown themselves for now. They went to take care of something." The little girl's eyes darted as she answered obediently.

The little girl was as exquisite as if carved from pink jade. She wore a white dress, with two little buns tied atop her head, while the rest of her black hair fell behind her to her waist. Her slender waist could be encircled in one hand. Just from her appearance, one could tell she was a beauty in the making.

"If uncle hadn't stood up for Sha Sha just now, Sha Sha would have been bullied by that vicious woman."

"How exactly did you end up crossing paths with those two?" Lin Xin could tell at a glance that this little one was nowhere near as obedient as she appeared. She was simply good at putting on a pleasing act.

"Sha Sha was very good..." the girl said softly, her expression shifting slightly as she put on a look as though she were about to cry.

"They were the unreasonable ones. They insisted on falsely accusing Sha Sha..." Her voice fell as well, her expression pitiful and utterly dejected.

"My lord."

At this moment, Wang Peng and the others also came over.

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you all too."

Lin Xin replied.

"You were here long ago, so why didn't you come out to speak for me? Everyone knows how to watch a show."

"Wasn't it because we saw my lord having such a good time?" the fat man added ingratiatingly.

"You certainly have a sharp eye." Lin Xin laughed. "Tell me, what exactly happened just now?"

"We didn't see clearly either. The moment we came onto the deck, we saw that little boy grabbing this little girl and refusing to let go. Then the two sides started arguing. After that, they exchanged blows." Wang Peng explained. "We had only come up to get some air and have breakfast."

The others nodded as well.

"It was all their fault!" The little girl pursed her lips and immediately looked as though she were about to cry. "I didn't do anything, yet they grabbed me and falsely accused me. Not only did they refuse to give me a chance to explain, they even wanted to hit me!"

Lin Xin merely smiled and casually swept his gaze over the girl's chest, then turned away with a meaningful look.

"Let's eat first. We can talk while we eat."

Su Mu also came over to find their group. As for the woman's side, an assistant steward had been arranged to soothe them.

Accompanied by the Chief Administrator, the group went down to the second level and took their seats in Peacock Hall for their meal.

When the girl saw that Chief Administrator Su himself had come to accompany them, surprise and cunning flashed through her eyes. Realizing she had latched onto a big fish, she immediately began calling everyone uncle, sister, and brother in an affectionate manner.

Lin Xin could also see that the little one intended to mooch food and drink, but he did not expose her. Her dress did look beautiful, yet it was clearly not the best fit for her. Combined with his earlier observations,

he had formed a few guesses in his heart.

Since there was nothing else to do, he simply brought the little one along for the meal.

After everyone took their seats, Su Mu smiled bitterly and raised his cup to Lin Xin.

"Mr. Lin gave us a splendid lesson early this morning, seeing through a fourth-grade martial art like Cloud Piercing Palm. It truly opened our eyes. Everyone, let us raise a cup to Mr. Lin."

Besides Lin Xin's group and the little girl Sha Sha, the main table also held his two assistants. Naturally, they gave him face and raised their cups for a sip.

"Miss Sha Sha, it is time to return that guest's item, isn't it?" Lin Xin looked at the little girl with a half-smile and spoke softly.

Sha Sha froze.

The others were stunned as well.

Su Mu looked at Sha Sha suspiciously. Clearly, even he did not know the full story.

Seeing Wang Peng and the others look at him, he could only smile bitterly.

"Don't look at me. My men only saw her rush out, then get stopped by those two guests, after which they came into conflict. I don't know what led up to it either."

He realized that ever since encountering Lin Xin's group, he had smiled bitterly more times than he had in the entire year combined.

Sha Sha put on a tearful little expression. Her delicate little face was already cute and obedient-looking, making her appear like an innocent little girl at first glance. Now, paired with her masterful, lifelike expression, even Lin Xin was somewhat deceived and wondered whether he might have been mistaken.

"It was clearly my item. That little boy took a liking to it, then grabbed me and wanted to bet with me. He said something... something about how, if they won, I had to hand over my treasure. But that was clearly the last thing my mother left me before she died..."

The little one looked so pitiful that anyone would feel some heartache upon seeing her.

"I'm sorry, uncle. I lied... I boarded the ship alone..."

She raised her little face and spoke softly.

Lin Xin unconsciously lowered his voice as well.

"Then where are your parents and family?"

"They... it is better not to speak of them..." A trace of gloom and sorrow appeared on Sha Sha's face.

"Don't speak of your ass! I'm not dead yet!" Before her words had even faded, a rough, furious voice came from outside the doors. "You little wretch, Sha Sha! You actually dare curse your father dead! Just watch me drag you back and teach you a proper lesson!"