200.1 – The Meaning of Strength
She thought that he would say something along the lines of “since I saw it, I can’t turn a blind eye”, but what he said in the end was —
“I won’t deny it.”
Luo Hong’s voice was a little indistinct, as if he was talking across a piece of paper.
Xue Qilin’s mouth was blocked by the other party’s honesty.
After a moment of silence, Xue Qilin sighed helplessly.
“… you are quite frank.”
“It’s a fact, there’s nothing to hide.”
Xue Qilin exhaled heavily.
“So there’s nothing to talk about, right?”
Luo Hong gave a short yet vigorous reply — “right”. As a result, Xue Qilin massaged her temples, troubled.
She has a headache.
Although she anticipated that she would be hindered, but Luo Hong’s appearance was beyond her expectation.
Just my luck… Xue Qilin sighed inwardly.
For her, the most difficult opponent is not someone who is good at close combat, but someone who is good at suppressing breath.
Magic stresses resonance with spiritual qi of the outside world. Xue Qilin, who practices magic, has thus a somewhat more outstanding perception ability than ordinary martial practitioners. She can keenly sense the fluctuations of true qi and spiritual qi.
She can handle all kinds of tricky moves in close combat. Apart from relying on Discerning Eyes, which enhances her vision considerably, she largely depends on her perception ability to judge the direction of the opponent’s attacks.
In other words, those who are good at suppressing breath can weaken her advantage and make it harder for her to cope with them. In the Heavenly Sword Gate, she suffered a surprise attack from Luo Hong for this reason. At the time, although she had focused almost all her attention on dealing with Hua Tianji, but she still paid some attention to her surroundings. Yet she was entrapped nevertheless.
If only Little Phecda were here… Xue Qilin suddenly missed the noisy Phecda. With Phecda’s help, she has 100% certainty that she can defeat Luo Hong.
However, at this moment, she doesn’t have Empyrean Universe in her hand. After changing her clothes, she didn’t even carry many talismans. Her only weapon is Luo Qing’s sword — as we all know, her level of swordsmanship is subpar.
Under these circumstances, even if she runs away without fighting, she isn’t sure if she can lose Luo Hong.
Besides, what bothers her even more is —
“Old Master Gong, aren’t you tired of eavesdropping We are having such a pleasant conversation, why don’t you join us?”
Xue Qilin looked into a corner of the courtyard.
There was nothing there originally. But when the lass’s voice sounded, Gong Jing suddenly appeared from the shadows.
At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly parted and a huge moon appeared.
Bathed in moonlight, the huafu [1] he is wearing and his gray hair are shining with a silver gloss. His majestic breath is on full display.
To some degree, the old man is similar to Ye Zhen.
When they eavesdropped, they release their breath, informing others of their presence. Although it is contradictory and feels self-deceptive, but they both like to eavesdrop openly.
“In my eyes, Old Master Gong is a nobleman of integrity.”
When Gong Jing reached five meters away from Xue Qilin, he stopped, took a look at Gong Tianqing, who is wrapped in a quilt, lying on Xue Qilin’s shoulder, then proceeded to laugh in spite of himself and shake his head.
“This old one didn’t expect Lady Xue to have such a high opinion of him. Lady Xue is overpraising…”
“Oh, is that so?” Xue Qilin turned her eyes in thought, “Then how do you intend to respond to my assessment?”
Feeling amused, Gong Jing made an “oh” sound.
He asked while stroking his neatly-trimmed, slightly long beard, “How does Lady Xue think this old one should respond?”
“Let me take Little Qing away.”
Gong Jing shook his head in response to Xue Qilin’s proposal.
“Lady Xue, this joke is a little too much.”
“Oh, really?” Xue Qilin spread her hands, “As expected.”
Next, she tilted her head and pondered for a moment.
“Then how about this? When two armies confront each other, isn’t it customary for officers to duel before the battle?”
“Yes, it is a common practice to boost morale.”
“Well, shall we have a duel? Me and you, that is.”
“Lady Xue surprisingly wants to have a duel with this old one…” Gong Jing shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, “However, this old one is really being underestimated. Does Lady Xue believe that this old one is not as good as Commander Luo?”
Upon hearing Gong Jing’s words, Gong Tianqing’s struggles suddenly became vigorous once again, as if telling Xue Qilin off for insulting her grandfather.
Traitor… Xue Qilin pouted.
“Old Master Gong, don’t take it as a personal attack! That’s not what I meant. However, as you know, everyone has things they are good at and things they are not good at.”
“Oh, what does that mean?”
“I’m not afraid to tell you.”
Xue Qilin pointed to Luo Hong, and then to Gong Jing.
“I’m not good at dealing with him. As for you, Old Master Gong, I have some assurance.”
“I see.”
“So, what do you think?”
After contemplating for a while, Gong Jing cast Xue Qilin a look of regret.
“Personally, this old one would really like to swap pointers with Lady Xue. But years of experience in the army have taught this old one not to underestimate the enemy. Even if it is a rabbit, you still have to go all out against them…”
Gong Jing took a deep look at Xue Qilin.
“What’s more, Lady Xue is a tiger, not a rabbit.”
“Even if Great General Gong agreed, this one still would not. Great General Gong is related to the safety of the northern border. Great General Gong must not be harmed.”
Luo Hong suddenly frowned and butted in, solemnly expressing his firm opposition.
However, Xue Qilin didn’t pay him attention. Instead, she continued to have a dialogue with Gong Jing. She asked with a shameless smile, “Old Master Gong, you use tiger to describe this lovely girl?”
“If the girl before me is a heaven Realm master…” Gong Jing smiled and uttered two words, “… then yes.”
“How bothersome…”
With a sigh, Xue Qilin put Gong Tianqing, who was placed over her shoulder, down.
A fight is inevitable.
With two against one, she can’t attend to Gong Tianqing. She had no choice but to place her aside first.
“So, are you going to gang up on me?”
With that, Xue Qilin put her hand into the secret pocket in the waistband and grabbed a few talismans, ready to strike first and gain the upper hand. She, who dislikes to be passive in a fight, even stood on tiptoes of her right foot to draw a magic array on the ground at any time. At the same time, she moved her remaining right hand to the handle of the sword hanging horizontally from the back of her waist.
To be honest, Xue Qilin doesn’t think she has a chance of winning. What’s more, she promised Qi Qiqi that she would retreat once things went south. Nevertheless, she still intends to fight.
It can’t be helped.
She can’t stand Gong Tianqing staying in the Gong Clan another second. She is afraid that a mere second will claim Gong Tianqing’s life.
I must take Little Qing away now! From the moment she made up her mind, fighting was Xue Qilin only option. If she cower at this time, then what’s the point of her strength? To use it to defend when it is time to defend, that is the meaning of strength.
However, before the battle started, there is a question Xue Qilin had to ask.
She has to get it out of her chest.
“Old Master Gong, I want to ask you a question.”
Xue Qilin’s voice cut through the gradually dignified atmosphere.
