After that one exchange, both of them stopped, neither moving again.
The moonlit courtyard fell deathly silent too, leaving only the sultry singing drifting over the rear wall:
"Those long, curving brows, so artfully drawn~ That trembling little handful of slender willow waist~..."
Linghu Qingmo's lashes trembled. Caught off guard by the sudden strike, his eyes had initially filled with shock and uncertainty, but he soon realized something was wrong-a large hand had taken a full handful of his chest...
?!
Once he realized what had happened, Linghu Qingmo's gaze instantly blazed with murderous intent!
Xie Jinhuan had his left hand pressed against Linghu Qingmo's chest. It felt excellent, but seeing that Miss Momo looked ready to devour him, he swiftly withdrew it:
"When we spar, physical contact is unavoidable-ble-ble~..."
"You shameless little scoundrel!"
Before the words were out, Linghu Qingmo's face flushed crimson. He seized Xie Jinhuan's left hand, blue-white light visibly flashing along his arm.
Crackle~
With his wrist clamped tight, Xie Jinhuan felt as though he were sitting in an electric chair. Even speaking was a struggle:
"C-can't you t-take a l-loss?!"
Linghu Qingmo's cool, beautiful face turned as red as sunset clouds. He dearly wanted to cleave this lecher who had taken liberties with him in two.
But he really had carelessly fallen for that move. Had this been a fight to the death, he would already have been dead, with no chance to strike back here.
Linghu Qingmo's chest heaved, and even his lashes shook with anger. In the end, though, he stopped his lightning-controlling technique and answered, his face still crimson:
"I come from a distinguished, upright sect. How could I be a sore loser? You're a martial artist-how could you ambush someone with the Thunder-Binding Sword?"
Xie Jinhuan had been shocked numb, but martial artists had thick skin and tough flesh. He recovered in an instant:
"I told you I'd learned a mixed bag of things. You're from Purple Emblem Mountain yourself, so why fear me pitting my weakness against your strength?"
Linghu Qingmo was momentarily speechless. After thinking it over, he demanded:
"If this was a spar, you should have stopped short. You already had victory assured. Why didn't you stop sooner?"
Xie Jinhuan replied with perfect confidence, "You haven't suffered a scratch. Doesn't that count as stopping short? You're a Purple Emblem Mountain Inheritor. Before the dust settled, how could I know whether you possessed some Daoist divine ability that let you shift forms and exchange shadows, turning substance into nothingness?"
Seeing that Xie Jinhuan had groped his chest and was now blaming him for lacking skill, Linghu Qingmo's anger surged:
"Your palm had already struck my chest. How could I turn substance into nothingness then? Could you?"
Seeing that Linghu Qingmo did not believe him, Xie Jinhuan offered no argument. Instead, he spread his hands:
"Come on. Strike me with your palm."
Humiliated and furious, Linghu Qingmo strode forward without hesitation and drove a palm toward Xie Jinhuan's chest and abdomen:
Thump~
The palm strike carried a muffled boom and considerable force, clearly mixed with a personal grudge.
But Xie Jinhuan neither dodged nor blocked. Instead, he slid his left foot back with the momentum, receiving the powerful thrusting palm with his chest and letting his body follow its force.
Boom-
The formidable force penetrated his body, but rather than erupting to batter his organs, it raised visible ripples across his chest, spreading along his chest, back, and arm until it reached his left hand behind him.
Bang-
The force vented outward, blasting a fan-shaped clearing through the swirling leaves behind him and sending fallen leaves flying throughout the courtyard!
Yet Xie Jinhuan remained entirely unharmed!
?!
At this sight, Linghu Qingmo's cold, murderous eyes instantly went round!
After all, even if he did not understand the intricacies, he understood that Xie Jinhuan had used some profound method akin to "Receive, Transform, and Release" to contain the force entering his body and discharge it behind him without harming himself. It looked as though Linghu Qingmo had been forced to strike an ox through a mountain.
Linghu Qingmo was the Purple Emblem Mountain Sect Leader's direct disciple, and she had seen plenty of Martial Dao experts at the princely estate. But she truly had never seen such a supreme Martial Dao technique. Deep bewilderment appeared in her eyes:
"What move was that?"
With his chest muscles being touched, Xie Jinhuan did not look mortified. His gaze resembled that of someone instructing an inexperienced disciple as he explained earnestly:
"This move is called 'Cautious Dragon, No Blame,' one of the Silver Dragon Eight Forms. Its essentials lie in 'avoiding the edge and concealing your sharpness, letting spirit follow the movement of energy, and borrowing force to counter force.' If I wanted, I could actually return that palm strike to you in full."
The flush of shame and anger had vanished completely from Linghu Qingmo's face. Only shock and uncertainty remained in his eyes as he thought:
Silver Dragon Eight Forms...
I've never heard of it. What an overpowering Martial Dao divine ability...
He's about my age. How could his martial skills possibly have reached this level?
At that thought, Linghu Qingmo asked another question:
"Which school or sect did you train under?"
Xie Jinhuan actually felt that he had worked out these martial skills himself. But making such enormous progress in three years sounded rather outlandish, so he could only make something up:
"Wind Spirit Valley, of the Hidden Immortal Lineage. You probably haven't heard of it, miss."
The Hidden Immortal Sect was also a Daoist branch. Its members remained hidden year-round among mountains, rivers, and vast marshes, emerging only in troubled times. No one dared say for certain just how many elders were concealed within it.
For Xie Jinhuan to possess such strength at such a young age, it was indeed possible that he came from the Hidden Immortal Sect. But Linghu Qingmo had never heard of Wind Spirit Valley, so he asked:
"Where is Wind Spirit Valley?"
Xie Jinhuan assumed an inscrutable expression:
"I wouldn't dare let outsiders disturb my elders' secluded cultivation. I hope you'll forgive me, miss."
"..."
Linghu Qingmo knew the Hidden Immortal Lineage's customs and did not press further. His gaze gradually grew complicated.
Although he had suffered a great loss, Xie Jinhuan himself could counter a move with "Receive, Transform, and Release," so it was only natural that he had not stopped before his palm reached Linghu Qingmo's chest.
But in that case, hadn't he taken a beating today for nothing, had his chest groped for nothing, and now still had to thank the man for his instruction?
Didn't that make him some sweet, naive fool who had delivered himself to the door for free?
Seeing the cool, aloof Linghu Qingmo's gaze keep shifting while he stood motionless for a long time, Xie Jinhuan added:
"I touched your chest once, and you've been touching mine for so long. That makes us even... hiss~"
Before he could finish, the fair, jade-like hand on his chest suddenly pinched hard, squeezing his chest muscle out of shape between slender white fingers.
After giving him a vicious pinch, Linghu Qingmo swiftly retreated several steps and held his sword before his chest:
"Fine. You're the better fighter. Neither of us owes the other anything. Farewell."
With that, he turned to leave.
Xie Jinhuan rubbed his chest, unbothered by Linghu Qingmo's repayment in kind. But seeing him about to leave, he called out:
"Wait."
Linghu Qingmo stopped, his eyes wary:
"What else do you want?"
"Coo~"
Before Xie Jinhuan could speak, Coal Ball landed in front of the bamboo basket holding the fallen leaves and bobbed its head in indication.
"A bet's a bet. You have to sweep the courtyard clean."
"You!"
Hearing this, Linghu Qingmo's icy face turned positively green as he thought:
You injured me during the day and groped my chest at night, and I still have to sweep your courtyard?
Do you take me for some downtrodden little wife who won't fight back when beaten or answer back when scolded?
But he had walked straight onto the blade himself when he got beaten, had been groped because his skills were inferior, and had made the sweeping wager himself...
Linghu Qingmo was in the wrong at every turn and could not find a single argument against it. After holding it in for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth, turned toward the corner of the courtyard, picked up the bamboo broom, and began sweeping up the leaves and dust.
Swish, swish, swish-
He swept so forcefully that Xie Jinhuan felt a little sorry for his broom.
Since he had no real grudge against Linghu Qingmo, and the young lady had already been chastened into withdrawn silence, Xie Jinhuan did not play the lord either. He took out a feather duster and began cleaning the doors and windows.
Coal Ball was very well behaved too. Seeing Linghu Qingmo sweeping through gritted teeth, it carried fallen leaves in its beak and hopped over to him, helping put them into the bamboo basket:
"Coo-cheep~"
Linghu Qingmo's teeth ground audibly. But seeing that the man and bird were cleaning too, rather than treating him like a maid, his anger slowly subsided. After a little consideration, he asked:
"How did you find those bandits today? Were there any other leads?"
Xie Jinhuan had been tricked into going there by that great succubus Ye today. Now he answered casually:
"I went to find Constable Yang and happened to run into them. I heard them say they'd already gathered enough Dragon Whisker Grass, so there wasn't much left to do. Oh, right... they also said the corpse by the river had drawn the authorities' attention..."
"The corpse by the river?"
Linghu Qingmo considered carefully. "Do you mean the floating corpse found at Huai River Bay five days ago?"
Xie Jinhuan was baffled. "I hadn't even arrived in Danyang City five days ago. What kind of corpse?"
"An unidentified floating corpse, so badly decomposed that its sex couldn't be determined. Its origins are difficult to trace, and the investigation is still ongoing. If that corpse was connected to the demonic bandits too, this case may be even bigger than we imagined..."
Having suddenly obtained a lead, Linghu Qingmo could hardly stay put. He set down the broom and hurried outside.
Xie Jinhuan frowned at the sight:
"What? Walking off the job?"
Eager to interrogate the surviving captive, Linghu Qingmo leaped onto the courtyard wall without looking back:
"I have to go back and investigate. Don't worry. I come from a distinguished, upright sect, and I keep my word. Once I'm done, I'll definitely clean this place until it's spotless."
With that, he leaped out of the residence and vanished from sight.
"A workaholic, too."
Xie Jinhuan still needed to level up as quickly as possible and bury that great succubus Ye again. He stopped cleaning as well and continued working on his mighty "Upside-Down Candle" technique.
Meanwhile, the clamor beyond the rear wall had continued from beginning to end:
"Clang, clang, clang~..."
"My dear sir~ Are you feeling terribly shy..."
Before you continue