"The Longxi Li Clan has suffered severe damage this time."
"Because our clan resides southwest of Jiankang City, near the frontline. Our surrounding properties were the primary target of the Longxiang Army's attacks."
"Our medicinal herb plantations are completely destroyed, and the warehouse for biological experiments has collapsed. After being excavated again, who knows how much can be restored..."
Wang Wanrou and Li Qingwan walked together, casually chatting about matters concerning their clan. Most of the time it was Li Qingwan talking while Wang Wanrou listened, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
"Our clan is in such a state, there's not much I can do to help," Li Qingwan frankly admitted, "Since the clan sent me to build ties with the Cheng Clan, I naturally have no reason to refuse."
"You have your own difficulties," Wang Wanrou nodded sympathetically.
After a pause, Miss Wang asked again, "If I remember correctly, didn't you teach some martial arts to Jinyang last time?"
"It's not exactly martial arts, just basic self-defense techniques," Li Qingwan replied with a hint of embarrassment, "And I haven't mentioned this to the clan."
"I'll ask him about it," Wang Wanrou hinted meaningfully, "Hmm, seems like the last session wasn't finished yet? Maybe he'd want you to stay and complete the teaching."
"Really?" Li Qingwan's face lit up with surprise.
Although the clan sent her here to gather information, her acquaintance with Cheng Jinyang was casual. Lacking confidence in her conversational skills, she had subtly expressed her woes to Wang Wanrou.
Unexpectedly, Miss Wang was willing to speak up for her, which was wonderful!
"Perfect, Jinyang is returning home from the hospital today. Why don't I take you to ask him now?" Wang Wanrou continued.
"Great! I'll leave it to you," Li Qingwan said gratefully, even unintentionally adding a respectful honorific.
The two headed towards the clan's council hall. Wang Wanrou walked ahead calmly, her demeanor not that of a guest but rather resembling the mistress of the Cheng Clan's territory.
Quietly trailing behind her, Li Qingwan speculated on the nature of the relationship between Wang Wanrou and Cheng Jinyang.
Arriving at the second floor of the council hall, just as Wang Wanrou was about to knock, they heard Cheng Jinyang's cry of distress from inside.
Wang Wanrou coldly chuckled to herself and pushed the door open abruptly.
Inside, they saw Cheng Jinyang lying on the floor, held down by Chu Qingqing and Xing Yuanzhi, while Cui Jinqi sat astride him. Her hands were clad in thick boxing gloves as she pounded forcefully on his chest.
"I'll beat you to death!" she shouted angrily.
"Ah, I'm dead," Cheng Jinyang immediately played along, tilting his head to the side as if dead.
"What are you all playing at?" Wang Wanrou asked coldly.
"Beating up a scumbag to let off steam," Miss Qingqing replied matter-of-factly.
"Childish," Wang Wanrou remarked.
The three girls then awkwardly avoided her gaze.
The situation was simple. Originally, Xing Yuanzhi and Cui Jinqi had gotten into a jealous argument, and then Miss Qingqing had joined in, suggesting that verbal sparring wasn't satisfying enough, so they should settle it with their martial skills.
Of course, young ladies from prestigious families wouldn't actually pull hair or tear clothes.
Instead, they wore the shock-absorbing boxing gloves provided by Miss Qingqing, equipped with springs and cushions.
Supposedly, even professional female boxers wouldn't cause any internal injuries with these gloves.
Xing Yuanzhi immediately agreed, after all, the Xing family's extraordinary abilities had a significant impact, especially in the realm of physical combat. Cui Jinqi hesitated, but at that moment, Cheng Jinyang spoke up:
"Hey, don't go too far!"
Cui Xiaoniang was immediately touched, surprised that he cared about her.
Then he added:
"At least no using abilities."
Cui Jinqi: ?
"Don't worry, no abilities." Xing Yuanzhi smirked, locking eyes with Cui Jinqi. "These gloves won't kill you. Of course, if you're too scared to play, the door's right there."
This sparked Cui Xiaoniang's anger. If she walked away now, wouldn't it be admitting defeat in a competition for a man?
"Come on!" She snatched the gloves from Miss Qingqing and put them on angrily. "I'll make you scream for mercy!"
A few minutes later.
"Oh my goodness, this woman can really fight, huh?" Cui Jinqi retreated to the corner, fists up to protect her face, her breathing and hairstyle disheveled, feeling sore inside.
Xing Yuanzhi moved with small steps, swiftly closing in. Then suddenly lunged forward with a hook punch at her unprotected abdomen.
Cui Xiaoniang, suddenly hit with force, instinctively bent over. Then she was snapped back to reality, feeling deeply embarrassed.
The gloves' shock absorption was excellent, and with Xing Yuanzhi controlling her strength, there wasn't much pain. But being rendered powerless like this was humiliating!
So she suddenly leaped up, claws outstretched towards Xing Yuanzhi.
At least she had to hit her once!
However, this uncoordinated attack posed no threat whatsoever. Xing Yuanzhi simply ducked swiftly, evading her assault, and then landed another punch, hitting Cui Jinqi's abdomen again.
Cui Xiaoniang stumbled backward, then clumsily sat down on the ground, her tears starting to fall:
"I give up!" She wore an expression of almost total frustration, biting her lip to remove the gloves. But her hands were stuck inside, unable to get them off. She was only able to cry out in frustration, "You can keep bullying me! Bullying the weak! Shameless!"
Xing Yuanzhi stood with hands on her hips. Feeling extremely helpless at her tantrum, she sighed:
"I admit to bullying the weak, but where's the shameless part? If you can't win, just don't fight..."
Seeing Cui Jinqi still whimpering, Xing Yuanzhi turned her head, hoping Cheng Jinyang would say a few words.
Then she saw Cheng Jinyang leaning back in his office chair, happily munching on a pack of beef jerky-clearly thoroughly enjoying the whole show.
"Ah, the joy of watching women fight... No, I mean, this beef jerky is really good."
Xing Yuanzhi: ?
When she realized what was happening, she immediately became furious.
"Cough, I still have work to finish." Cheng Jinyang saw the situation wasn't good, so he quickly got up to leave. But Miss Qingqing suddenly stood in front of the door, blocking his way.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Xing Yuanzhi approached with ill intent.
So the one-on-one challenge immediately turned into three against one.
To be honest, the gloves didn't really hurt that much. Xing Yuanzhi and Chu Qingqing both controlled their strength, while Cui Jinqi kept going all out each time, but her strength was naturally feeble, feeling like getting hit with a pillow.
Unable to escape, Cheng Jinyang decided to act like he was getting beaten badly, hoping to quickly get through this with the three girls.
Little did he know, they got even more enthusiastic, and in the end, they each held him down on both sides, taking turns to hit him.
It wasn't until Wang Wanrou brought Li Qingwan in that Cheng Jinyang managed to escape their clutches. He stood up to straighten his clothes, dusted himself off, and sighed with relief.
"Isn't it nice?" Li Qingwan looked at his disheveled appearance, murmuring.
Wang Wanrou turned back to look at her.
"I meant their relationship," Li Qingwan smiled and explained.