The two continued training daily, their rivalry sharpening both of them. Fei grew more dangerous with every sunrise. Jin Mulan, stung by defeat, practiced with fierce discipline and refused to be left behind.
The forest clearing rang each morning with fists, spear strikes, and Luo He's endless criticism. Yet while his disciples struggled honestly their master had discovered something far more interesting.
A new skill from his system. Called 'Shadow Step.' At first glance it seemed simple move quietly, conceal presence, erase traces of intent. But Luo He immediately understood its true value.
Warriors did not rely only on sight or sound. Experienced fighters sensed aura, killing intent, subtle shifts in energy. Even hidden footsteps could be felt by the trained.
Shadow Step dulled all of it. With practice, he could become a gap in awareness itself. A man standing nearby whom others simply failed to notice.
Naturally, such a powerful ability should have been used for scouting, espionage, battlefield infiltration, and assassination.
Luo He considered all that seriously.
For nearly three seconds. Then decided to test it elsewhere first.
That afternoon, after training ended, the estate returned to calm routines. Servants moved through shaded corridors. Guards rotated posts. Fei collapsed somewhere to recover. Su Kim slept in her chambers.
And Jin Mulan went to bathe. Her private bathing court lay within high stone walls, open to the sky above, with polished tile floors, steam rising from a wide carved basin, and flowering vines hanging along the inner edges.
A place built for privacy. Unfortunately for architecture Luo He now had skills. He fully enclosed him self bringing out the armour and activated the full cloak.
His armor breathing in faint light with red and black gleaming design suddenly changed. Light bent around him. Colour disappeared and he became transparent as if he was no longer there.
Then, with Shadow Step layered over it, sound disappeared and his aura vanished. he moved like a rumor. One moment in the corridor. The next atop the wall. He sat there comfortably, invisible, looking down into the bathing court below like a man attending theater.
Jin Mulan entered with her attendants, who prepared oils and towels before leaving her alone with her personal handmaidan Bing. She loosened her hair, letting it fall across her shoulders, then stepped into the water with a quiet sigh.
Luo He nearly applauded the usefulness of his technology. He shifted slightly for a better angle. No sound. No presence.
Nothing. He was absurdly pleased with himself.
Below, Jin Mulan washed calmly, entirely unaware or so it seemed. Luo He tested the skill further. He plucked a flower petal from the vine beside him and dropped it dramatically into the water near her. She glanced at it. Then ignored it. Excellent concealment.
He leaned farther over the wall. Then decided to escalate. Using a thin branch, he slowly nudged her folded robe half an inch farther from where she left it. Again no reaction.
He was now conducting science. A few minutes later he slid one sandal two handspans away. Still nothing. Remarkable. He considered writing notes. Then Jin Mulan asked Bing to leave and spoke without looking up. "If you move one more thing, I will break your jaw." Luo He froze.
She continued rinsing her hair. "You breathe differently when amused." She said calmly. He was offended by the compliment to her skill. "I am invisible. Am I not ?" "You are childish." She said.
He dropped the stealth and became visible atop the wall, arms folded. "That is unrelated." He said. She looked up at him with total calm. "Come down." she said. He smiled. "Invitation accepted."
He said and inserted the armour beneath his skin. "I meant so I can drown you." She gave a cold remark. He remained seated on the wall.
Wise decision. She said glancing at him.
Still unwilling to surrender advantage, he used Shadow Step and his other skills to again vanishing from sight atop the wall.
Jin Mulan's eyes narrowed. A second later he reappeared behind a pillar near the bath. Then vanished again. Then appeared on the opposite side. Then beside her towels. Then behind her again. She turned sharply each time, unable to track him fully.
"What kind of ridiculous technique is this?" she asked confusedly. "The kind that wins wars and capture epic shots of women." He answered as if delited by her question. "You are using it to annoy your wife." "All great arts begin with testing."
He vanished once more.
This time reappearing just close enough to whisper near her ear "Very effective. Soon you won't be the only woman annoyed by ghosts." She splashed water directly at the sound. He had already disappeared.
The splash hit stone. He laughed somewhere unseen. For the next ten minutes the bath became a battlefield.
He stole her comb and returned it to the wrong shelf. He rearranged perfume bottles into military formations.
He made ghostly comments from random corners. "Your left shoulder is tense." "Your soap choice lacks ambition." "You missed a spot." "Die," she replied evenly and spread out her flames.
At last she stood from the water with dangerous calm, wrapped herself, and said "Keep using that skill like this..."
Before she could finish Luo He appeared immediately. At last he stopped, grinning shamelessly.
Jin Mulan stepped close, took his chin in one hand as if affectionately then kneed him hard in the balls. He staggered back.
"That was unnecessary." He claimed. "That was restrained." Jin Mulan said coldly.
Then suddenly a dangerous smile appeared on his face. Jin Mulan recognized it immediately. He remembered something. Luo He straightened, stepped closer, and lightly caught her wrist before she could walk past.
"Wife," he said in a tone of false patience, "have you forgotten the sacred laws of your family?" She frowned slightly.
"My family?" "Yes. The noble and ancient customs of the Jin family."
"I know my own family customs better than you." She said indifferently. "Clearly not." He leaned in closer. "You once told me yourself…" He paused for dramatic effect. "that the women of the Jin family never hit their husbands."
Jin Mulan froze for exactly one second. Then her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You remember that?" "I treasure your teachings." Luo He said casually.
Jin Mulan: "That was said during an argument."
Luo He: "Then it was spoken with honesty."
Jin Mulan: "It was spoken to stop you from being difficult."
Luo He: "It was spoken by tradition."
He placed one hand over his chest with dramatic sorrow.
Luo He: "I am wounded twice now. First in the balls. Then in my trust in you."
She stared at him in disbelief.
Jin Mulan: "You were spying on me while invisible."
Luo He: "A separate issue."
Jin Mulan: "You tormented me for half an hour."
Luo He: "I was conducting skill trials."
Jin Mulan: "You stole my comb."
Luo He: "I returned it."
Jin Mulan: "You moved my locations."
Luo He: "Tactically."
She took one deliberate step toward him.
Jin Mulan: "And now you lecture me on family values?"
Luo He: "Yes."
He looked sincerely noble while saying it, which only made it worse. Jin Mulan folded her arms.
Jin Mulan: "The rule means wives should respect their husbands."
Luo He: "Exactly. And hitting them where you shouldn't is basic respect."
Jin Mulan: "It does not apply when husbands deserve it."
Luo He: "That sounds like amendment, not law."
Jin Mulan: "It is interpretation."
Luo He: "It is out right corruption."
She nearly laughed at that, which only annoyed her further. Luo He noticed immediately. With the scent of victory. He pressed on.
Luo He: "I shall inform your mother that her daughter has abandoned ancestral virtue."
Jin Mulan: "You will do no such thing."
Luo He: "Do you know in your mothers' family members who betrayed the family cord were hanged and beaten to death."
Jin Mulan: "You need healing."
He stepped back as she advanced.
Luo He: "Violence again. Tragic."
She pointed directly at him.
Jin Mulan: "Listen carefully. The women of the Jin family do not hit good husbands."
He blinked once, then slowly nodded.
Luo He: "A dangerous revision."
Jin Mulan: "A practical one."
Luo He: "And what category am I in?"
She smiled sweetly.
Jin Mulan: "Probation."
He placed a hand to his heart again.
Luo He: "Cruel court."
She moved past him toward the chamber door.
Luo He: "If I improve conduct, can I regain legal protections?"
Without turning, she answered coolly.
Jin Mulan: "If you survive long enough."
She walked past him with royal dignity, wet footprints marking the tile. Without turning, she added "If you wish to watch me bathe again, ask properly." Luo He stood there rubbing his private place which was earlier touched by his princess.
Only people secure with one another joked this recklessly he thought then smiled slowly. Because despite the slight pain, he had definitely heard the important part.