Learn the master's own technique to counter the master.
Even as he was in agonizing pain, Liu Chengqi couldn't help but stare wide-eyed, shocked by Chu Huaixu's "divine move." This was clearly the first form of the 'Heaven and Earth Infinite Eight Trigrams Palm' that he himself had taught!
Lying on the ground, Senior Brother Liu was severely injured, with no strength left to fight back. He couldn't help but cough, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as sharp pains wracked his chest. But the way he looked at Chu Huaixu gradually changed, as if he were looking at a dead man.
"Don't look at me like that. I can guess you probably have some background," Chu Huaixu said, crouching down, his expression as normal as ever.
He raised his right hand and gently patted Liu Chengqi's right cheek. As he patted, he said, "Just teaching a bit of martial arts, and you had to bring 'not knowing what's good for you' into it."
"Didn't I pay? Hmm?"
"Answer me!"
With every sentence, Chu Huaixu gave his face a light slap.
How could Liu Chengqi have ever suffered such humiliation? Fire was practically about to shoot out of his eyes. He struggled to raise his right hand, still possessing a streak of ferocity despite his heavy injuries.
As a result, Chu Huaixu, who was crouching on the ground, was faster. With a crack, he disabled his arm as well.
"This was the hand that was getting grabby just now, right?" he asked, his tone still calm.
Senior Brother Liu, his arm broken, could only let out waves of miserable screams.
Han Shuangjiang watched from the side, her ten fingers unconsciously clenching into fists. This was the first time she had seen this side of Chu Huaixu.
Cold, ruthless, and decisive!
Since the other party had made the first move, he would show no mercy.
In her heart, those four words surfaced once again—heart of an owl, appearance of a crane!
Because Liu Chengqi had been about to extend his salty pig trotter of a hand, Han Shuangjiang felt not a shred of sympathy for him. Among the four protagonists of "Borrowing a Sword", she had the script of a strong female lead; she was naturally not going to be a nauseating, sanctimonious bitch. Since Chu Huaixu was standing up for her, she would make her allegiance clear.
After her brief shock, the little thought that rose in the poor girl's mind was still: "One session is one hour, we've only been learning for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. That was ten taels of silver, ten taels..."
The next moment, she saw Chu Huaixu extend his right hand, gently pat Liu Chengqi's cheek again, and stare at him. "Cancel the class, do you hear me?"
Seeing no reaction from Liu Chengqi, he just stared at him intently, his eyes growing colder and colder, the right hand patting his cheek subconsciously hitting harder with each tap.
Not long after, Chu Huaixu walked out of the small courtyard with Han Shuangjiang, contentedly putting the ten taels of silver back into his storage token. He had his own set of rules; he didn't take a single tael more.
...
...
After this little interlude, the two walked back to the marketplace.
It was now noon. Chu Huaixu saw a small stall and was about to sit down to eat, but he was pulled away by Han Shuangjiang. He glanced down at the slender, jade-like hand pulling his sleeve, and Han Shuangjiang immediately let go.
"Let's, let's just buy groceries," she still insisted.
Learning a bit of mundane martial arts had almost cost them 20 taels of silver. It was only because the other party had lecherous intentions that it was only ten. This made Han Shuangjiang feel even more strongly that their "surplus grain" at home was not much at all, and their financial situation was very unhealthy.
Chu Huaixu never would have thought that the great female lead Han Shuangjiang, beloved by countless female players in "Borrowing a Sword", would be so stingy at her core. Because it was all his money she was spending, when she expressed her opinion, her tone was no longer ice-cold, but rather one of discussion.
"Alright," Chu Huaixu agreed. This veteran companion even added, "As you wish."
Those two simple words brought joy to the poor girl's heart, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
While buying the ingredients, this ice mountain was also fussier than usual, insisting on comparing prices at three different shops. Even though she was usually so sparing with her words when interacting with him, before paying, she would put on a cold face and haggle as much as she could.
"She's actually quite good at managing a household," Chu Huaixu thought.
Along the way, the two also passed a tavern. Someone was hawking their wares outside the door, "Erlang Wine, top-quality Erlang Wine."
Han Shuangjiang watched with wide eyes as Chu Huaixu stopped in his tracks. A horrified thought instantly flashed through her mind.
—High-end consumption is coming!
"Erlang Wine, isn't this a famous wine from the Moon Kingdom?" Chu Huaixu paused and asked.
"That's right. I didn't expect this junior brother to be so knowledgeable. The earliest techniques for this wine came from Erlang County in the Moon Kingdom," the vendor said.
Chu Huaixu nodded slightly, reminded of the famous Lang-brand liquor on Earth. The reason Lang liquor was called that was because it came from Erlang Town in Sichuan province.
Due to the impending great calamity, the Mirror Kingdom and the Moon Kingdom, which used to have constant friction, had seen their relations ease in recent years. Even when they were at odds like fire and water, trade between the two countries was unavoidable. Now that they seemed to be entering a honeymoon period, trade had become even more frequent. Even the taxes had been lowered a bit. Therefore, it wasn't strange to see fine wine from the Moon Kingdom being sold. He even suspected this tavern was an official industry of the Dao Gate.
Chu Huaixu pondered for a moment, then, deliberately not even asking the price, said, "Give me a jar."
The ice mountain behind him was so shocked that she rushed forward and began to bargain. There was nothing she could do; the silver was his. At most, she had the right to suggest, not the right to decide.
Seeing Han Shuangjiang like this, the more he looked, the more amused he became. After teasing the World Protagonist, Chu Huaixu took the Erlang Wine from the vendor.
"Let's go, we're going home," he said.
Hearing the words "we're going home," Han Shuangjiang was stunned for a moment.
The two returned with their haul. Halfway there, Chu Huaixu suddenly stopped and looked to the east.
"If I remember correctly, Deacon Niu's courtyard is in that direction, right?" he asked, calculating the time in his head.
"Mn." The ice mountain had lost her lively energy again and just nodded in simple response.
"You take this jar of wine to Deacon Niu," Chu Huaixu instructed.
"I'll take it?" She frowned, perplexed. Han Shuangjiang wasn't rejecting being ordered around by him; she simply didn't understand. The money was clearly his, so why should she take it there alone?
Chu Huaixu didn't answer, just looked into her beautiful eyes, wanting to see if this World Protagonist could figure it out.
A few seconds later, she said, "Are you afraid..."
She trailed off.
Back at that courtyard, Chu Huaixu had told Liu Chengqi: I can guess you probably have some background.
From all the signs, Han Shuangjiang could also realize this.
At this moment, Chu Huaixu nodded at her, indicating that her thoughts were correct.
Instantly, Han Shuangjiang's pretty face sank. That incredibly unpleasant feeling surged up in her heart again. The incident had started because of her. No matter how the world was beautified, it was ultimately a world where the weak were prey for the strong. And being beautiful and weak was an original sin! This was one of the reasons she had always longed to cultivate, longed to be strong.
Unexpectedly, Chu Huaixu let out a sneer at this moment. "Oh, who are you putting on that face for? I'm this tall and handsome, you think I encounter any less trouble? You just get used to it!"
Hearing this, Han Shuangjiang just felt that this foxy face in front of her was so infuriating. She took the jar of Erlang Wine from Chu Huaixu's hands and, following his arrangement, walked towards the east.
After taking just a few steps, she suddenly stopped and called out softly, "Chu Huaixu."
"Hm?" Chu Huaixu turned to look at her.
"Why aren't you coming with me?" she asked.
Since they already guessed there might be potential danger, why split up?
Chu Huaixu looked at her as if she were an idiot. "Where's the logic in guarding against a thief for a thousand days?"
"If, and I mean if, Liu Chengqi wants to retaliate against us, and he definitely has some background, if he sees us visiting Deacon Niu's home today, will they make a move today?"
"But there's always tomorrow, you understand?"
"You can't be sure that he'll just swallow this insult, right?"
Hearing this, Han Shuangjiang felt it made sense. One couldn't place all their safety on the enemy's rationality.
Chu Huaixu had always believed that the world was a huge, makeshift troupe; there was no such thing as a character making an irrational decision just because they had an "intelligence-lowering halo" over their head. How many people in the world were rational their entire lives? In fact, the reason many people were even born was purely because their own fathers got impulsive while "rushing the hole."
Humans, in the end, are governed by emotions.
Chu Huaixu knew there would definitely be trouble, so instead, he chose to humiliate Liu Chengqi viciously. This way, he could both satisfy himself and make the other party come looking for trouble quickly. Everyone could have a quick battle and get it over with, saving them the mental energy of constantly being on guard.
At this moment, Han Shuangjiang looked at the young man standing not far away and spoke again. "So you choose to go home first by yourself, to bait them into coming after you, to deliberately put yourself in danger, and then have me go get reinforcements?"
"Yup!" Chu Huaixu grunted in affirmation.
"You're certain in your heart that Deacon Niu will definitely intervene?" Han Shuangjiang said.
"Certain," Chu Huaixu replied. He felt that old Niu would probably be more anxious than her.
"Alright," the cold-faced girl replied.
Then, she walked forward quickly, handed the wine jar to Chu Huaixu, and with a face full of seriousness and determination, said with immense insistence:
"I'll go home. You deliver the wine."