When this title was shouted, Xue Shuangtao's expression froze, here in the Xue Family, where the eldest Miss of the Xue Family and the youngest Guest Elder in thirty years had come out together, which was already a very eye-catching event.
Li Guanyi calling her "Miss Xue" openly naturally drew many curious glances.
The young lady initially thought it was no big deal.
It was just a title, after all.
Bright and open.
But somehow, when everyone around looked over, it unexpectedly made her cheeks feel hot.
Looking at the shy and innocent youth in front of her, she knew in her heart this appearance was just the young man's act, a response to being called older than him, yet her cheeks still felt hot. She pointed at him with her finger, her teeth clenched, stuttering "you, you, you" several times without being able to speak, then stomped her foot and said,
"Come early tomorrow, you'll see what's coming to you!"
She then turned around, her skirt flaring out like a blooming lotus and then gathering again as she started to run away, lifting her sleeve to cover her white jade-like cheeks, with only her eyes showing, her forehead all red, she quickly walked away.
The young man smiled slightly, murmuring to himself, "Youth, indeed."
"Such a cute girl."
The people around watched this unfold.
Spring was just right for the growing grass and flying swallows, a heroic youth, and a girl whose cheeks were reddened.
They looked at the youth with a bow on his back and a knife hanging from his waist, musing internally, "Truly youth, innocent and romantic."
Li Guanyi got into the carriage, and Zhao Dabing drove from the side of the Xue Family's carriage driveway, exiting through a side gate onto a main road, the carriage wheels rolling as they merged into the crowd, Li Guanyi exhaled, and took off his knife, placing it on his knees.
His demeanor reverted to being warm and calm.
It was only a young girl, but even so, he felt somewhat embarrassed, feeling a bit warm.
He stretched out his hand to tug on his collar.
"It's quite hot today."
Zhao Dabing looked up, eyeing the fully cool sun of the third of March.
He grinned, but did not reply.
He took out some salt-baked peanuts wrapped in a handkerchief, shared them with Li Guanyi, and also took out a large water bag with tea soaked in fat sea, pulled out a tea bowl for Li Guanyi to use, drove quite a distance, then thought for a bit and still said,
"Li, brother has a word to say, just listen."
"You and the young Miss are close in age, needless to say about the Miss's looks, and you being a young talent, but..."
He hesitated, then said, "You should not harbor any other thoughts towards the Miss."
Li Guanyi smiled and said, "Why would brother think I have such thoughts?"
Zhao Dabing said, "Good if you don't. Even though you are a Guest Elder, a Guest Elder is still just a guest of the Xue Family. The Guest Elders of the Xue Family are divided into three tiers, and even the highest tier, the senior house Guest Elders, marrying into a branch line of the Xue Family is already extraordinary."
"Do you know, the second eldest aunt of the Miss, who is the daughter of the old family head?"
Li Guanyi quietly listened as Zhao Dabing discussed the family gossip, Zhao Dabing lowered his voice and said, "She caused scandal in the Capital City in her youth, getting close with a highborn playboy, and was severely punished by the old family head. After the Second Miss grew up, she still followed the head's instructions."
"She married Prince Jing, becoming a concubine."
"People didn't understand, back then Prince Jing was just a leisurely prince, the Xue Family is not a major noble family, but it is still a prominent rich merchant family, becoming a concubine is a loss of face, but the old family head was adamant, back then people thought maybe the old head was seeking a peaceful life for the Second Miss."
"Later the former Emperor passed away, in those intervening years, after which Prince Jing ascended the throne..."
"The Second Miss then became the noble concubine."
Li Guanyi said, "The Xue Family is... the Imperial Merchant."
"What about the previous Miss?"
Zhao Dabing hesitated, then in a low voice said, "Now don't you go speaking of this, these are long past events, back in the day, the Miss traveled the Martial World, met a man and eloped, that man was a War General from Ying Country, the old family head was furious beyond measure, declared he had cut off father-daughter ties with her."
"It's said that the man was extremely grateful to the Miss."
"Now living in Ying Country, he once contended with General Yue."
"Later drove the Turkic northward, expanded the horse roads westward, becoming renowned far and wide."
"Now he is Ying Country's National Guardian Great General, during those years when he had good relations with our Chen Country, he wanted to come back to meet the old family head, but was still driven out, the Miss was pregnant then, knelt on a rainy night, nearly fainting, and the old family head didn't see her."
"Back then, the people of Jiangzhou said the old head was too heartless."
"Even the current Emperor Chen said he could be a bit more tolerant, but the old head didn't care, said that his daughter married into an enemy state, he treated her as if she did not exist, even once willingly went to jail, asking the authorities to supervise him, it was only when the current Emperor issued an imperial edict to comfort the old man that he returned home."
Li Guanyi's chewing paused.
Zhao Dabing detailed Xue Daoyong's resentment thoroughly, with absolute certainty, filled with pity for the former Miss and confusion and awe towards Xue Daoyong, but Li Guanyi subconsciously felt that Xue Daoyong was putting on an act, the purpose probably to deceive Emperor Chen.
Perhaps because he was an outsider; perhaps because in a previous life he could view many histories, he could view Xue Daoyong's actions more fairly.
The old man had his eldest daughter marry the Great General of Ying Country, let his second daughter become a noble concubine, his son had trade routes to the Dangxiang people of the Western Regions from Jiangzhou, while the Emperor of Chen Country harbored no suspicions, the Great General of Ying Country felt endless guilt towards his eldest daughter, her favor increased.
And he himself, carrying the White Tiger, backed by a Divine Weapon.
In the Xue Family, he built a lotus pond with lots of lotus flowers and carp, named it the Wind Listening Pavilion.
Enjoying his grandchildren, fishing in the lotus pond.
Listening to what wind?
Zhao Dabing took Li Guanyi back to his residence.
The youth watched Zhao Dabing's carriage leaving far behind before returning to the courtyard, talking with his aunt about the day's events, warming up some yellow rice porridge he brought back from the Xue Family for his aunt, and suddenly recalling the moment he held the Divine Weapon today, his mind troubled, he seemed to recall his Aunt's zither music.
He usually disdained practicing the zither, yet today he took it up willingly.
Under the reassuring gaze of his aunt, who remarked fondly that "Li Nu'er has grown up", he was told to play chess. During the game, Murong Qiushui played the zither for Li Guanyi, pointed out his mistakes in the music, and simultaneously dictated his chess moves, utterly defeating him.
Murong Qiushui slowly finished the game and said with a sly smile,
"Li Nu'er's chess skills are still quite ordinary, but much improved from before."
"You need to work hard to beat your aunt."
Li Guanyi: "......"
Playing chess had become a rare pastime in this era.
But always losing was different.
Li Guanyi was labeled by his aunt as a hopeless chess player, having never won a single game. His aunt forbade him from playing outside, saying if he couldn't even beat a mere woman like her, he would only lose more and become a laughingstock.
Li Guanyi couldn't refute her.
Today, after taking hold of the Divine Weapon and receiving its legacy, he was extremely tired. After his aunt played the zither for him, his mind was much more vacant. Following a chess game, which drained his spirit, Li Guanyi washed up, then collapsed into bed and quickly fell asleep, waking only when the moon was high in the sky.
He sat up, practiced his breathing, opened his inner garment, and saw the bronze tripod on it.
The Red Dragon and the White Tiger Dharma Form were imprinted upon it.
Unfortunately, only one head could appear at a time, and when the Red Dragon came out, the White Tiger couldn't, and vice versa. When the White Tiger emerged, the Red Dragon would be firmly pressed against the body of the tripod, turning into the imprint.
Li Guanyi looked at the Perfect Jade Liquid.
Ninety-eight percent came from Xue Daoyong, with the remaining two percent from the Divine Weapon, the Breaking Cloud Sky-shattering Bow.
Who knew what would happen?
Li Guanyi closed his eyes, regulated his breath several times, and then his divine consciousness touched the bronze tripod.
The body of the tripod swayed and tipped to one side.
The Jade Liquid suddenly dropped. Within him, the "Breaking Formation Song" Inner Strength had reached the twelfth level of perfection; as the Jade Liquid circulated, it did not affect the "Breaking Formation Song." Today, after gripping the Divine Weapon, the inscribed text lit up again in Li Guanyi's mind—
"Threefold Method of Entering Realm"!
"A Single Arrow Chills the Light"!
The second door of archery Absolute Skill suddenly brightened, with the Jade Liquid falling into it.
The Divine Charm transformed into a Divine General, still displaying this Absolute Skill, but this time, it didn't achieve Great Success as effortlessly as before; the path seemed blocked, preventing the Jade Liquid from entering. Li Guanyi watched as the Divine General demonstrated the cultivation technique and gradually became engrossed in it.
Watching the Divine General draw the bow, observing the Jin Qi circulate, the Dharma Form accompanying it, and firing an arrow.
In the end, even the Divine General disappeared, leaving only the lit meridians and acupoints.
Li Guanyi subconsciously manipulated the "Breaking Formation Song" Inner Qi within him.
After many attempts, he completed a transformation similar to the Divine General's internal Inner Qi circulation.
"So, it's about maneuvering Inner Qi, coordinating with the Dharma Form, using one's own Inner Qi to power the Dharma Form, and then relying on the Dharma Form for attack, making the Dharma Form into a weapon."
When he fully realized this, the path for the Jade Liquid seemed unobstructed once more.
It swiftly fell, continuously completing within Li Guanyi's body the circulation of "A Single Arrow Chills the Light."
In his mind, it seemed like a thundering White Tiger roared.
Xue Family's Absolute Skill of Dharma Form · "A Single Arrow Chills the Light."
Achieved!
Xue Family· Wind Listening Pavilion.
Thirteen fist-sized Luminous Pearls floated in the air, making the room as bright as daylight.
An elderly man was reading letters, looking over the last message from his son about a friend coming to Guan Yi City to discuss a significant business deal with him.
He finished reading the letter, and with a clasp of his hand, it turned to ashes.
At that moment, he sensed something amiss. The night air was oddly calm, even the chirping of late-spring insects had vanished, and the air felt heavy like water, causing an inexplicable unease. The elderly man appeared in the front hall where the Divine Weapon was kept.
The Breaking Cloud Sky-shattering Bow was still well stored there.
The elderly man breathed a sigh of relief, placing his palm on the bow. Suddenly, the thought of that young man holding the bow earlier startled him; he almost believed the youth could lift it.
The old man slightly smiled, but as his palm brushed over the bowstring, a slight pain arose, and blood trickled down from the fingertip. Xue Daoyong was slightly shocked to see the Breaking Cloud Sky-shattering Bow tremble slightly, like a fierce tiger that had stretched its limbs after many years, finally opening its eyes.
The elderly man's eyes slightly widened.
"This is…"
The next moment, the heavy air was torn apart like silk.
The bowstring of the Breaking Cloud Sky-shattering Bow vibrated violently, shattering each droplet of water in the lotus pond outside Wind Listening Pavilion into mist, which then gathered, forming the semblance of a White Tiger, roaring thunderously toward the sky.
The tiger's roar shook heaven and earth—
The twang of the bowstring explosively burst forth, resounding persistently.
Ranked first among martial world Divine Weapons in the category of bows.
The Breaking Cloud Sky-shattering Bow, awoken!