Along the way, they encountered quite a few servants, and some of the younger, bolder maids curiously sized up Lin Tian. They had heard yesterday that a young, handsome bodyguard had arrived at the Xiao Family, and seeing him today confirmed it. Lin Tian, with his defined eyebrows and starry eyes, had a healthy complexion and a tall figure, which certainly made an impact on the ladies.
"Hmph!" Xiao Manxuan noticed Lin Tian was somewhat popular and huffed in displeasure. Seeing their Second Miss upset, the beautiful maids quickly lowered their heads and scurried away.
The two arrived at a single-story building. Xiao Manxuan opened the door and said to Lin Tian, "Come in with me." After leading the way in, a cunning gleam flickered in her eyes as she turned around.
The little girl had a scheme up her sleeve; her cunningness could not escape Lin Tian's eyes. Little girls just can't keep things secret; they show their intent on their faces even before anything happens. Lin Tian smiled nonchalantly and walked in, head held high and chest out.
Upon entering, he saw the room was spacious and equipped with various sports equipment—it was a gym. While Lin Tian surveyed the room, Xiao Manxuan unexpectedly locked the door.
"Miss Second, by locking the door, haven't we become a lone man and a single woman in a room? Aren't you afraid I'm a bad guy?" Lin Tian said with a chuckle, finding the somewhat foolishly cute little girl irresistible as he teased her.
Xiao Manxuan then realized her mistake, but still glared stubbornly at Lin Tian and said fiercely, "If you dare, my sister is very formidable. Be careful, or I'll have her beat you up." She finished her proclamation by waving her little fists menacingly.
"So, what did you call me here for? Bodyguards have rights too, you know. I'm not your slave who just follows orders," Lin Tian remarked, glancing at her harmless fists.
"Are you scared? I've learned some sword techniques from my sister. You'll be my sparring partner, but you have to blindfold yourself. No peeking, no dodging using speed, no..."
"Stop! All these 'no's, you might as well just have me stand here and take a beating," Lin Tian protested loudly, afraid he might get thrashed by the little girl if he relied solely on techniques.
"Weren't you all impressive yesterday? How come you're scared of a little thing like this, hmph. If you surrender, from now on, you'll have to obey me and do whatever I say!" Xiao Manxuan, armed with two wooden swords she had gotten from who knows where, pointed at him triumphantly.
As a proud man being ordered around by a little girl—this was out of the question. Lin Tian flatly refused and grabbed a wooden sword, saying, "Come on then. Blindfold me yourself, so there's no saying I cheated later!"
Xiao Manxuan's cunning plan had succeeded. She pulled out a black cloth and tiptoed to blindfold Lin Tian. Perhaps because she had just been exercising, he could smell the distinctive fresh scent unique to maidens emanating from her at such close proximity.
Even though the little girl had just exercised, her scent was as sweet as orchids. Lin Tian felt a slight intoxication in his heart; so charming at such a young age, she would be truly irresistible when she grew up.
"Alright, be careful not to end up with a swollen, bruised face," Xiao Manxuan said, completely unaware of Lin Tian's feelings.
Lin Tian, with his superior hearing, immediately knew Xiao Manxuan had stealthily moved behind him. "Whoo," she moved incredibly fast, her wooden sword aiming a straight slice at Lin Tian's back. Although Lin Tian wasn't afraid of bullets, let alone a wooden sword, getting hit by a little girl was still quite embarrassing.
So he instantly turned around, and his wooden sword parried her attack. Xiao Manxuan was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Tian to be so adept even blindfolded.
Her initial strike missed, so Xiao Manxuan changed her sword moves, pushing away his wooden sword, then launched a series of consecutive attacks. Thrust, tap, crush, sweep—her movements were like dancing, making her wooden sword flow as smoothly as drifting clouds. Lin Tian, previously constrained by her rules, could only parry based on the sounds of the wind. Anyone less skilled in martial arts would have succumbed to her attacks long ago; he was only holding up because of his quick reactions.
Unable to overcome him, Xiao Manxuan backed away. Lin Tian did not pursue her; frankly, he could handle tough fights, but sophisticated sword skills were indeed not his forte.
After retreating, Xiao Manxuan didn't attack but instead took off her riding boot and threw it at Lin Tian.
"What is this? Using hidden weapons now?" Lin Tian felt an object accompanied by the sound of the wind flying towards him and quickly swung his sword to knock it down; with a thud, the boot flew off into the distance. However, the sly Xiao Manxuan had already moved in with her sword, vibrating her wooden sword to produce a buzzing sound, and a flurry of sword shadows pounced on Lin Tian.
A continuous buzzing noise rang in Lin Tian's ears. The Ancient Martial skills taught by the Miss's master were indeed formidable; he couldn't discern where the sword was stabbing—it seemed to hit everywhere simultaneously.
Could he be defeated by this little girl? Would he have to listen to her orders from now on? Lin Tian had underestimated Ancient Martial skills; if the Miss's master had used a steel sword for this move, its power would undoubtedly surpass that of bullets.
For the sake of his happy life, Lin Tian's eyes flashed; his sight penetrating the thick black fabric and not only that, the incoming wooden sword slowed down like in slow motion. He thrust out his wooden sword like lightning, hitting right at Xiao Manxuan's sword hilt, "bang," the wooden swords couldn't withstand the force of the impact and broke into several pieces.
Xiao Manxuan was stunned, somewhat in disbelief. This move had even been praised by her older sister's master; the only deficiency was her level of skill, yet now it had been broken by a single sword strike from Lin Tian.
"You must be cheating! I'll bite you to death, you villain!" In her eyes, that master was an invincible existence; she had once seen the master split bullets with his sword.
In her emotional turmoil, she pounced on Lin Tian; he indeed had cheated and felt somewhat embarrassed. Distracted, he was unexpectedly tackled by the little girl who fiercely bit onto his shoulder and wouldn't let go.
This was outrageous; who was the zombie here, after all? An actual zombie being bitten, it seemed the little girl belonged to the dog category. Of course, she couldn't overtake Lin Tian with this bit of force, but he also couldn't use his shoulder to shake her off—doing so would most likely knock out her teeth. Lin Tian pulled off the black fabric, reached out, and grabbing Xiao Manxuan's slender waist, he was about to lift her up.
Feeling embraced around the waist, Xiao Manxuan's body stiffened, she released her bite and let out a panicked cry: "You villain, let me go, Little Hua, come out and save me!"
What is Little Hua? Could there actually be someone else hidden here? Just as he was pondering, a shadow darted from behind the nearby sports equipment; it turned out to be a dog the size of a calf. It immediately bit onto Lin Tian's trouser leg and with a "chuck" tore off the lower half.
"Damn, Second Miss, are both of you from the dog stock? You bite and then call another dog to bite!" Lin Tian released her and dodged to the side. This little girl must have planned this from the beginning, hiding the dog and letting it loose if she were losing the fight.
With her face turning red at Lin Tian's words, Xiao Manxuan still stiffened her neck and retorted, "Hmph, you big villain, it's your fault for cheating, and besides, Little Hua is a Tibetan Mastiff, don't underestimate him!"
No wonder the dog was so big; it turned out to be a Tibetan Mastiff. Tibetan Mastiffs are powerful and fierce, difficult to tame, but are extremely loyal to their masters. It is said that Tibetan Mastiffs have the bloodline of the Heavenly Dog, able to protect households and drive away Evil Demons.
Whether it could drive away Evil Demons or not, Lin Tian didn't know, but at the moment Little Hua was vigilantly staring at him, its white fur standing on end, revealing sharp canine teeth. True to the Tibetan Mastiff breed, almost as intelligent as a horse, it had sensed the zombie nature of Lin Tian. However, it didn't run away; instead, it stood guard closely beside Xiao Manxuan.
Lin Tian wanted to step back a few steps to avoid being misunderstood by Little Hua, but as soon as he moved his foot, Little Hua lunged at him, clearly thinking Lin Tian was about to attack.
"Little Hua, just tear his clothes, that should do." Xiao Manxuan cautioned from behind, worried that Little Hua might hurt someone.
However, Lin Tian wouldn't allow even his clothes to be torn, this little girl was too mischievous; he couldn't let her succeed. With a swift movement, he easily dodged the Tibetan Mastiff's lunge; it hadn't even turned around when Lin Tian jumped and pinned it down.
Pressing down on Little Hua's neck, the dog whined softly and fainted. Lin Tian dusted off his hands and stood up.