"Ah!"
A shriek echoed through Lin Fan's entire residence.
Nalan Yanran stood there, completely stunned!
This guy is bathing again?!
Does he have some kind of weird fetish?
Why does he like bathing in broad daylight so much?!
The two of them locked eyes.
In that moment, time seemed to freeze.
An awkward atmosphere permeated the air.
Why does this scene feel so familiar?
It was a full three breaths before Nalan Yanran finally snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly turned around, her delicate face flushed red.
"You—! Why are you always bathing in the daytime?!" Nalan Yanran protested, face still bright red.
Lin Fan was dumbfounded.
What the hell?
Why don't you ever knock?
This is the second time already!
Do you seriously not know the meaning of the word 'awkward'?
"Heh, can't you just get into the habit of knocking before you come in?" Lin Fan didn't bother arguing. He calmly continued putting on his clothes.
Though he hadn't enjoyed the bath to his heart's content, there was no helping it now.
What a pity—he hadn't fully absorbed the Xuanling Jade Marrow Liquid yet.
"Hmph! Like I care!" Nalan Yanran huffed coldly. "Who would've guessed you had a thing for bathing in broad daylight?!"
"At the very least, have some basic manners, would you? This isn't your house," Lin Fan said, speechless.
This young lady was obviously used to having her way; reasoning with her was pointless.
"Besides, what does my daytime bathing have to do with you not knocking?" Lin Fan shot back.
"I just forgot to knock!" Nalan Yanran replied haughtily.
"Fine, fine, I'll take your word for it," Lin Fan shrugged. He wasn't bothered—as long as he wasn't the one at a disadvantage.
Hearing Lin Fan's tone, Nalan Yanran hastily said, "I did forget!"
By now Lin Fan had finished getting dressed. "All right, you can turn around now."
"Hmph!" Nalan Yanran turned around and gave Lin Fan a fierce glare.
Lin Fan could only shake his head helplessly.
You barge in without knocking and then blame me?
Really?
"Next time, remember to knock. Don't 'forget' again," Lin Fan reminded her.
Nalan Yanran pretended not to hear, turning her face to the side.
Unbothered, Lin Fan poured himself a cup of tea and asked calmly, "So, what brings you here?"
"Come outside. I want to spar with you!" Nalan Yanran said bluntly.
Lin Fan blinked. "Didn't we just spar yesterday? You're here again?"
He thought she came with something important, but it turned out this girl had just come to spar—again. Only a day had passed!
Is she addicted to sparring or something?
"Didn't you hear? Yesterday, the Grandmaster said you lacked actual combat experience," Nalan Yanran said. "So I'm helping you gain some!"
"The sect tournament is right around the corner. I don't want you dragging me down!" she added forcefully.
Of course, that was just an excuse Nalan Yanran had come up with to justify her desire to spar with Lin Fan.
But truth be told, it was an airtight excuse—Grandmaster Yun San had said exactly that yesterday.
Lin Fan thought to himself, Yeah, Yun San said that, but don't you think you're overdoing it a little?
Once a day—is your body even up for that?
"I just finished bathing, and now you want to fight? Wouldn't that make the bath pointless?" Lin Fan said.
"Then just bathe again!" Nalan Yanran replied impatiently. "Are you sparring or not?"
"How can I refuse, when even a proud young lady like you personally invites me?" Lin Fan said helplessly.
"Then let's go!" Nalan Yanran walked out to the courtyard.
Lin Fan sighed and followed her out.
The courtyard was spacious enough—plenty of room for the two of them to spar.
"This time, you won't be so lucky!" Nalan Yanran declared. "I won't go easy on you!"
She's really competitive.
Well then, I might as well test out the first strike of the "Dragon Abyss Wave-breaking Sword" that I just learned today.
"If you're ready, then let's begin."
Nalan Yanran didn't waste time. She reached for her sword—but placed it aside.
Seeing this, Lin Fan said, "This time, let's use our swords."
With that, he drew the 'Yun Qing Sword' and held it firmly in hand.
Nalan Yanran paused for a moment. "You're sure?"
She knew that Lin Fan had only received that sword from the Grandmaster yesterday, and hadn't even learned the sword technique yet—what could he possibly do with it?
If they fought with weapons, her strength would see a significant boost.
"I'm sure," Lin Fan said calmly.
"Swords have no eyes—if I end up hurting you, that would be bad," Nalan Yanran warned. "You only just got the sword yesterday—do you even know how to use it?"
Though she was arrogant, she wasn't completely unreasonable.
"It's fine. I want to try out the sword technique I learned today," Lin Fan replied.
"Heh!" Nalan Yanran scoffed. "You just learned a sword technique, and you already want to use it in combat? I've gotta admire your guts."
"No need for more words. Let's begin," Lin Fan said with a shake of his head.
"Fine—but don't regret it later!" With that, Nalan Yanran retrieved her sword once more and gripped it firmly.