232: Chapter 12 You bastard

The next morning.

After Wang Yuyan finished washing up, she went to the dining room but didn't see Li Qingluo, which she found strange.

Usually, Li Qingluo would be waiting for her there by this time.

Why was she nowhere to be seen today?

Feeling puzzled, she asked the maid nearby, "Where is my mother?"

The maid replied, "The Madam hasn't woken up yet. She said she went to bed late last night and was a bit tired, so she wanted to sleep a while longer and asked the Young Miss to have breakfast first."

Wang Yuyan didn't suspect anything, gave a soft "oh," and began eating breakfast.

Once she finished breakfast, she instructed the maid, "I'm going to my cousin's place to learn Martial Arts. If my mother asks, tell her."

"Yes," the maid replied with a bow.

Not long after Wang Yuyan left, Li Qingluo arrived.

Not seeing her daughter, she instinctively asked, "Where is Yu Yan?"

The maid replied, "The Young Miss finished breakfast and went to the Young Master Cousin's place to learn Martial Arts."

Hearing the words "Young Master Cousin," Li Qingluo immediately thought of something. A flash of shame and resentment crossed her eyes, and she couldn't help but curse, "That bastard!"

The surrounding maids and sturdy women heard this and were somewhat confused, but they didn't pay it much mind and certainly didn't dare to ask.

Because Li Qingluo was sometimes moody and would scold people for no reason.

If they were to stick their noses in and ask now, they would likely be punished.

After Li Qingluo finished cursing, she didn't say much else and sat down to eat breakfast.

The maid nearby hurried over to serve her.

But as soon as she approached, she said in surprise, "Madam, you seem a bit different today than before."

Li Qingluo's heart skipped a beat as she looked at the maid and asked, "What's different?"

The maid thought for a moment and replied truthfully, "Your complexion is much better than before. You look radiant, like a parched flower that has been watered."

"Is that so?" Li Qingluo breathed a secret sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Perhaps it's because I slept until I was fully rested."

"Alright, I don't need you to serve me here. You may leave."

"Yes." The maid didn't think much of it and left as ordered.

Li Qingluo touched her face, feeling that her skin was indeed in better condition than before, and felt a slight joy in her heart.

But in an instant, she thought of something, and her joy was quickly replaced by shame and annoyance. She secretly cursed "bastard" again. Then, she reached out, grabbed a bun, and took a fierce bite out of it, as if she wasn't biting a bun, but the person she had just cursed.

...

After Wang Yuyan arrived at Canhe Village, she was greatly surprised to find an extra person there.

"A Zi, why are you here?" she asked in astonishment.

A Zi replied with a smile, "Because my sister is here."

"Your sister?" Wang Yuyan was puzzled.

A Zhu spoke up to explain, "Cousin Miss, A Zi is my younger sister. It happened like this..."

As A Zhu told the story, Wang Yuyan soon understood.

She said happily, "So, your sisters being able to reunite is all thanks to Cousin."

"Cousin, you're really amazing!"

Meng Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

As expected of a fangirl, she would praise or flatter him at every opportunity.

Then, he tapped Wang Yuyan's forehead with his finger and laughed softly, "Even if you praise me as being unique in the world, I won't show any mercy. If today's examination doesn't satisfy me, you can expect to have a little turtle drawn on your face."

Wang Yuyan pouted and said, "I wasn't just praising you; you really are amazing, Cousin."

Hearing about "drawing a turtle on the face," A Zi immediately became interested and clapped her hands, saying, "I'm the best at drawing turtles. Let me do it when the time comes."

Wang Yuyan turned her head to stare at her with a somber gaze.

A Zhu turned around and scolded with a stern face, "A Zi, don't be rude to the Cousin Miss."

A Bi stood nearby, smiling without saying a word.

Meng Li looked at A Zi and said, "Sure, but you have to beat Yu Yan first."

Following Meng Li's lead, Wang Yuyan said, "For A Zhu's sake, I'll give you a three-move head start."

"However, if you lose, I'm going to draw a turtle on your face."

"Do you dare to compete?"

A Zi's eyes darted around, and she put her hands on her hips, saying, "I'll compete!"

Wang Yuyan was about the same age as her and was a rich young lady, so she surely wouldn't want to endure hardship. Even if she had learned Martial Arts, her level couldn't be that high.

Even if an accident happened and she lost, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

With the matter settled, A Zi and Wang Yuyan walked to a nearby clearing, stood facing each other, and struck their poses.

Then, A Zi shouted as she swung her palm at Wang Yuyan, completely without any technique.

The result was a defeat in a single move!

Refusing to believe it, she turned and continued to attack, but she ended up panting heavily without managing to win even a single exchange against Wang Yuyan. During this time, Wang Yuyan didn't even use her Martial Arts seriously; she just dodged as needed and struck at A Zi's openings.

The gap between the two was evident.

Finally, A Zi sat on the ground and complained, "This is unfair!"

"You have Martial Arts and I don't, so of course I can't beat you. If I learn Martial Arts, I'll definitely be able to beat you!"

Meng Li glanced at A Zi, guessed what she was planning, and ignored her.

Wang Yuyan, however, said, "We didn't say that just now. You must accept your loss. I'm going to draw a little turtle on your face."

As she spoke, she reached out to grab A Zi.

A Zi quickly dodged and hid behind A Zhu.

Wang Yuyan tried to grab her, but A Zi used A Zhu as a shield.

For a moment, the three of them looked like they were playing a game of eagle catching chicks.

Seeing this, A Bi couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Meng Li patted her head and called for Wang Yuyan and the others to stop, "Alright, stop messing around. It's time to practice."

Wang Yuyan stopped immediately.

A Zhu took A Zi's hand to make her settle down.

Then, Meng Li specified, "A Zhu and A Bi, continue practicing the Bibo Palm Technique. Yu Yan, practice the Luoying Divine Sword Palm."

"What about me?" A Zi asked, seeing that she hadn't been mentioned.

Meng Li glanced at her and asked instead, "How much schooling have you had?"

A Zi was taken aback and then replied, "I haven't had any schooling."

Ruan Xingzhu had given her to a farming family that couldn't afford to send her to school. The few characters she knew were learned by listening and observing while wandering around.

Meng Li said, "Then you should first study and learn to read."

"Why?" A Zi guessed the reason but was still a bit defiant.

Meng Li tossed a booklet to her.

A Zi caught it and exclaimed in surprise, "Huagong Great Technique?!"

Then, Meng Li said, "Read the contents inside to me."

A Zi was confused for a moment but did as told, opening the Secret Manual and reciting the contents: "This divine skill was created by the Xingxiu Sect Ancestral Master, the Old Immortal of Xingxiu, Ding Chunqiu. It is the supreme Cultivation Technique of the Xingxiu Sect and possesses infinite power. Once mastered, one can naturally..."

After reciting just a couple of sentences, she stopped because she didn't recognize the characters that followed.

Meng Li took the Secret Manual, looked at it, and continued reading, "Once mastered, one can naturally travel across the world and be invincible in the Jianghu."

"I gave you the Secret Manual, but you can't even recognize all the words. How are you going to practice?"

"If you just guess and practice blindly, you'll most likely suffer Qi Deviation."

"When that happens, at best you'll be injured, and at worst, you'll die suddenly."

"If you want to learn Martial Arts, first study and learn to read to build a good foundation."

...