Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, Could this chick know lightness kung fu? Is she turning the tables on us with a little Wave-Treading Footwork? A beauty really is a beauty-even falling over, she does it in style.
When the girl in red saw the lake beneath her, she let out a scream loud enough to split quite a few eardrums, then plunged into Emerald Cloud Lake with a twisting backward dive. Her entry was far from perfect: her backside clearly hit the water first, sending up a great white spray. Two ducks swimming and foraging nearby innocently received a faceful of lake water. They stared pitifully at the splashing surface, then waggled their plump bottoms and hurried away.
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The scene suddenly fell quiet. Nearby visitors came hurrying over at the news. Noble young gentlemen and literary types pointed at the spot where the girl in red had fallen, shaking their heads and wagging them sagely, but not a single one volunteered to jump in and save her.
Naturally, Hu Xiaotian squeezed into the crowd too. His four servants cleared a path through the people around him and brought him right to the lakeshore, securing an excellent viewing spot.
What a splash! Who would have thought that girl in red could make such a commotion falling into the water? Going in backside-first really is a cardinal sin in diving-there's obviously no controlling the splash. With that level of skill, if she entered the Olympics, every judge would hold up a zero.
Splash, splash... Water churned as the girl in red surfaced with her hair hanging loose. Her hands flailed wildly, and her head shook nonstop, as though she had taken ecstasy. "Help... glug..." The girl's name wasn't Glug; she had been trying to cry for help, but before she could finish, she swallowed a mouthful of lake water. Distance lent beauty. Emerald Cloud Lake needed to be admired from a certain distance. Get too close, and not only did it cease to be beautiful, it became dangerous-especially for a genuine land duck like the girl in red.
Beside Hu Xiaotian, Liang Dazhuang chuckled. "Young master... this chick can't swim!"
Hu Fo frowned, looking deeply puzzled. "How strange. She was perfectly fine-how did she suddenly fall into the lake?" Of course he knew the reason, but when a life was at stake, nobody wanted to admit having anything to do with it.
The other two servants also stood there grinning with their mouths wide open. Those foolish grins were gloating too. It wasn't that the Hu Family's people lacked compassion. Who told her to have eyes yet fail to recognize Mount Tai, daring to provoke their family? Did she know who their master was? Lord Hu, the current third-rank official and Minister of Revenue. Even when beating a dog, you had to consider its owner, yet she had dared to hit their young master. She deserved it! A domineering master had equally domineering servants; a treacherous minister's household bred plenty of wicked lackeys.
Quite a crowd had come to watch the excitement. Someone shouted, "A beauty's fallen into the river! Hurry and save her!"
The loudest shouter stood just to Hu Xiaotian's right. While urging other people to jump in and rescue her, the fellow kept both eyes on Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian looked right back at him. Fuck, you're shouting with plenty of enthusiasm. Why don't you jump in yourself? Hostility-far too much hostility. He had never liked swearing before! He couldn't help sighing. "Human hearts are cold, and the world is colder still!"
The girl in red's head emerged from the lake again. With her hair plastered wildly around her, she had lost every trace of beauty and grace. She looked exactly like the female ghost crawling out of The Ring. This time, she couldn't even cry for help. All she had left was glugging.
Hu Xiaotian glanced left and right. "Save her!"
Liang Dazhuang swallowed. Glug! Hu Fo and the other two servants swallowed after him, producing another three glugs. All four servants were land ducks.
Hu Xiaotian was utterly exasperated. "Fuck, you're all useless! Idiots!" He had no choice but to take off his blue-green robe and thin-soled boots.
Liang Dazhuang hurried forward and grabbed his arm. "Young master, the water's deep and dangerous! With your distinguished status, there's no need to risk yourself for a spoiled little brat!" Hu Fo and the three servants all nodded.
"Go cool your heels somewhere else!" Hu Xiaotian snapped. He quickly stripped down to his shorts, then jumped into the clear lake under everyone's gaze. Liang Dazhuang had only made a show of trying to hold him back. He knew how well this young master could swim. In the Hu Family's newly dug pond, the young master swam back and forth for two hours almost every day. When the mood struck him, he would even float spread-eagled on the surface. Swimming skills like that put him firmly in the seasoned-duck class.
The lake was much shallower than Hu Xiaotian had expected. When he swam to the girl in red, he saw that she was still struggling, though clearly running out of strength. He discovered that the water there was only about seven chi deep. Judging by her height, she had to be at least a meter sixty-five, meaning the water barely covered her nose. How had she managed to half drown herself like this? Hu Xiaotian scooped her out of the water and cradled her in his arms, then walked toward shore step by step with his feet on the lakebed. The girl in red was obedient now, lying motionless in his arms, one arm dangling and swinging through the air. She looked like a corpse laid out stiff.
The spectators on the lakeshore began whispering among themselves. Had the girl drowned?
Of course, Hu Xiaotian knew she wasn't dead. She had merely choked on water and passed out. When the women watching nearby saw him walking ashore step by step with his upper body bare, they blushed and felt their hearts race, turning their heads away one after another. His four months of exercise hadn't been wasted. His skin was glossy chestnut brown, and his muscles had handsome contours, full of resilience and strength.
In this feudal age, even men rarely displayed their bodies in public. The April weather was still slightly chilly, and students and sons of distinguished families alike wrapped themselves in robes of every description. Only fluttering broad sleeves could show off their scholarly elegance. Each era had its own standards of beauty, but appreciation of a beautiful body was eternal.
Hu Xiaotian was displaying his athletic physique in public, a rare sight indeed. Though the women watching felt shy and considered it indecent, they still itched to look. Women had the right to appreciate beauty too, and the same desire to do so. The more furtively they stole a glance or two, the more they blushed and their hearts raced with excitement.
More than a dozen pleasure boats also gathered in these waters because of the sudden incident. Many daughters of wealthy and official families concealed inside peered through beaded curtains and gauze drapes at Hu Xiaotian's muscular back. The lake water had soaked his shorts completely, leaving his firm, full buttocks half revealed beneath the wet fabric. Naturally, this brought a springtime shimmer to quite a few beauties' eyes. Bolder girls had already lifted their beaded curtains to admire him openly, and plenty of others were quietly asking about his background.
Hu Xiaotian hadn't meant to show off the results of his workouts. He had never been an exhibitionist. With no time to put his clothes on, he carried the girl in red into the shade of a tree and ordered the four servants to disperse the spectators. The four stood with their backs to him, screening him and the girl from view.
A healer had a compassionate heart. Although Hu Xiaotian had decided never to be a doctor again after recovering his memories, when he actually encountered someone who needed saving, he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
The first thing Hu Xiaotian did was undo the girl's sash. Cinched waists were fashionable these days. Her waist was already slender enough, yet she had bound it tightly with a palm-wide brocade belt decorated with gold and tortoiseshell. Undoing it was a real nuisance.
While driving away the onlookers, Liang Dazhuang stole glances at his young master. Seeing Hu Xiaotian undoing the girl's belt left him rather dazed. This was broad daylight, with everyone watching! Young master, please have a little decency! Only a fool would dare do something like this under these circumstances. Once the clothes and belt come off, the next step is... that...
Hu Fo had reached the same conclusion. He pursed his lips toward Liang Dazhuang, signaling him to intervene, but Liang Dazhuang pursed his lips right back. What kind of person was their young master? Wasn't he precisely a fool? He had been simpleminded for sixteen years. There was no telling what outrageous thing he might do; otherwise, the minister wouldn't have ordered the four of them to watch him without leaving his side. But the minister had only told them to protect him closely, not to stop him from doing things. Better to let him be.
Although the onlookers had stepped back, they continued watching from a distance. All four servants were solidly built, but they still couldn't completely block Hu Xiaotian and the girl in red from view.
Someone spotted Hu Xiaotian undoing the girl's sash, and indignant muttering broke out. "Utterly shameless! How dare he do something so wicked in broad daylight!" "Is there no justice left? Is there no law...?"
Some already knew who Hu Xiaotian was. "Better one less problem than one more. He's the son of Hu Buwei, the Minister of Revenue. I hear he's an idiot. Even if an idiot does something, he doesn't have to go to prison..." "This is absolutely outrageous!"
Some cursed under their breath, some pointed, some stopped to watch, and some waited to feast their eyes. Yet not a single person dared step forward to stop the wicked deeds of Hu Xiaotian and his servants. If it didn't concern them, they hung it high out of reach. Offering a few words of condemnation already counted as a tremendous sense of justice.
Hu Xiaotian cleared several strands of aquatic weeds from the girl's mouth, then plucked a few snails clinging to her face. Clearing debris from her mouth and nose was a necessary step. Seeing that her belly was slightly swollen, he knew she had swallowed a good deal of lake water. He knelt on one knee and bent the other leg, laid her abdomen over his raised thigh, then supported her head so that she faced downward while pressing her back with his other hand.
People watched from afar. Though they couldn't see clearly, they could still make out the minister's son holding the girl in red. What a shameless fellow, committing such an indecent act in broad daylight! Ah, what a disgrace to cultured society! Truly too much to bear watching! Yet not one of those noble young gentlemen and literary types shut his eyes. They cursed and condemned him in low voices while nursing a little anticipation. The scene really was quite lively.
On the first day of a new book, the gate stood lonely, with few horses and carriages calling. I can't promote it in the old book, so my longtime brothers and sisters don't even know Octopus has opened up shop here. My heart feels ice-cold. Brothers and sisters who have found this new book, please help spread the word, add it to your favorites, and vote. Support this little seedling of Octopus's. Well then, Octopus offers you a respectful bow. Thank you!
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