With curious mind Xu Ziling pushed the door and walked in. His eyes lit up instantly, for this room was unusually spacious, with adequate illumination, and all four walls were lined up with bookshelves and bookcases. There was also a large desk by the window.
A young woman, in the prime of her youth, wearing purple-red clothes, was sitting on the desk with her back facing him, leaning over the desk as if she was hard at work. Her long, shiny, jet-black hair hung down to her back, giving him a soft, delicate and charming feeling.
Xu Ziling bowed to salute and said, "Xu Ziling pays his respect to Princess!”
Turning her head slightly, the woman only gave him a quick, cold glance, before turning her attention back to the desk and continued writing fine and dense characters on the file in front of her.
Xu Ziling, on the other hand, was shaken to his core. Not only because her beauty was extremely startling, but also because she invoked a familiar feeling, as if he had seen her not too long ago.
The glance she was giving him just a moment ago exuding some kind of loathing look, which made Xu Ziling felt even more that something was not quite right.
This moment he was standing behind her back, staring blankly; he felt that speaking was inappropriate, leaving was even more not appropriate; he was in a very awkward situation.
Dong Ming Princess' voice was heard, "Why switch from arrogance to deference? Just based on this fact alone, it is clear to me that you are a despicable man.”
Xu Ziling was startled, "Have I really met Princess?” he asked.
Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing suddenly stood up and turned around. Her beautiful and elegant eyes were shooting deep hatred as she stared mercilessly at him, "Aren't you Zhang San or Li Si? How come you have forgotten this easily?”
Xu Ziling was shaken. "My Niang, so it is you!” he exclaimed.
Yesterday the two boys had just arrived at Pengcheng, they went to a restaurant to have a meal, and came across a woman who disguised herself as a man. They thought she was an enemy sent by Shen Luoyan to swindle them, hence they treated her without any trace of politeness at all. How could they know that unexpectedly she was the Dong Ming Princess in his presence right now?
Involuntarily Xu Ziling's eyes wandered toward her pair of long legs, which evoked his memory.
"What are you looking at?” Shan Wanjing angrily said.
Agape and tongue-tied, Xu Ziling stammered, "I … hey! The other day we thought …”
Shan Wanjing regained her calm instead; she said indifferently, "No need to explain; even if you do, I won't listen to you. I called you to come here this time, is because I want to tell you in person that even though you have given our Sect a huge favor, but we have also saved you, the two little kids, from Du Fuwei's hands. Tit for tat, let's consider we are even.”
Seeing that she treated him as the enemy, and was unwilling to listen to explanation, Xu Ziling was rather put off by her capricious muleheadedness. Yet looking at her poetry-like, sunshine-like, graceful and alluring jade countenance, he simply could not get angry with her. He could only waved his hand in a ‘not-a-big-deal' way and said, "It is best that we consider it even, then we all go our separate ways; hereafter clear gratitude and absolute justice have nothing to do with each other. Ha!”
The last ‘ha!' exclamation was because he recalled that the last sentence was Kou Zhong's pet phrase.
But Shan Wanjing's jade countenance turned cold; she spoke furiously, "Gratitude is considered done, now is the time we ought to consider the grudges.”
Xu Ziling was shocked, "What grudges to consider?” he asked.
Shan Wanjing took a deep breath and said, "I really don't understand why Niang thinks so highly of you, two kids who are covered all over with vulgarity. The first time I saw you, I already loathe you.”
Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, "If elegance and vulgarity became the criteria, we certainly don't have any qualifications to be measured by Princess' elegant eyes. But if Princess uses elegance and vulgarity to determine gratitude and grudges, I am afraid Princess would have grudges against most people walking down the street.”
Actually, even Shan Wanjing herself did not understand why she had so much hatred toward the dignified young man in front of her. "Don't blather!” she angrily said, "I am referring to the insulting remark you hurled at me the other day. Others greeted you politely with good intention, yet you unexpectedly could be that rude.”
Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, "This will be easier to deal with,” he said, "That day was just a misunderstanding. We thought …” His gaze landed on the desktop, immediately he was shaken and shut his mouth.
Heavens! Isn't that the account book we are supposed to steal?
But Dong Ming Princess thought that he was unable to put forward any convincing arguments, so it was hard for him to continue. Her face turned as cold as water as she said, "You have nothing to say then don't say it! Now I am going to strike you with one palm, the target will be the pit of your stomach. If you cannot evade it, you'll pay for it with your life.”
Xu Ziling came to his senses. Terrified, he said, "We did not have past enmity, we do not have current hatred, Princess must not use violence.”
Shan Wanjing calmed down. She said indifferently, "I am about to strike.”
Xu Ziling was so scared he took two steps back; waving his hand he said, "Any problem we can talk it over slowly. Ah!”
Shan Wanjing's body suddenly shot forward with raised right palm; lightly it floated indeterminately toward the pit of his stomach.
Xu Ziling did not have time to think; focusing his attention to the palm, he saw that this jade palm, which appeared, soft and powerless, without raising any gust of wind at all, as if she only wanted to touch him, was actually following certain subtle striking trajectory toward him, yet it continuously changed, so that it was very difficult to pin down.
The strange thing was that he seemed to be able to clearly grasp her changes, so much so that he could grasp her next move.
But he also knew that if he let her hit the pit of his stomach, he might really die, finished, met his worst fate.
Right in this moment between life and death, he did not dare to be careless. His broadsword left its scabbard and lightning fast it chopped toward her jade palm.
Shan Wanjing let out a cold sneer and darted faster forward, while raising her left hand high, the back of her hand swept across the blade of the saber; it was indeed a very ruthless move in close-combat.
Who would have thought that Xu Ziling's saber suddenly changed direction? He abruptly pulled out the back of the saber to slice the opening on the wrist of her right palm, which has not changed its attacking direction.
Shan Wanjing did not expect him to be able to use the saber with such agility. If she wanted to evade, it would be as easy as a hand's turn; but she already said that she would only send one palm strike, how could she fail to hold on to her words? Clenching her silver teeth, her left hand changed, now she wanted to grab and snatch the blade of the saber, while at the same time she leaned sideways to butt herself against Xu Ziling's chest. Her right hand magically changed into millions of palm shadows; she was unleashing her real skill to the fullest.
Although earlier she said that she had malicious intention, the reality was that she only wanted to beat him up that he would fall with all four limbs facing the sky; hence she could vent the resentment in her heart. But now that she was forced to go all-out, it was hard to attack and defend as she wished.
Xu Ziling recalled the house lizard he saw as he woke up this morning, instinctively he evaded by sliding sideways. Not only Shan Wanjing's left hand grabbed an empty air, his saber actually sliced the millions of her right palm shadows, which filled the air.
Shan Wanjing had never expected that his response was so brilliant and quick; it was even harder for her to hold back. Exerting her most refined, outstanding technique, first, her palm slapped the blade of Xu Ziling's saber and attached itself on it, like a shadow the palm followed wherever Xu Ziling moved his saber; while the back of her other palm struck Xu Ziling on the pit of his stomach.
Xu Ziling let out a miserable scream as he was thrown backward and crashed through the door, until finally he landed on the hallway outside. While he was still on the air he already spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, all the way until he fell heavily on the carpet outside the door.
Shan Wanjing was shocked.
As she was about to run out to see the outcome, Madame Dong Ming's voice already arrived, "What happened?”
Shan Wanjing halted her steps and coldly said, "This man had offended daughter; even he's dead he deserves it.”
Madame Dong Ming appeared on the door; she wore a lake-green colored beautiful gown, her beautiful, thick hair was rolled up in a bun high on her head, her overall appearance was graceful and elegant, but her face was covered with a layer of thin gauze, like a dense fog concealing her countenance.
From the other side of the hallway came more voices; apparently the sound of fighting had alerted the others.
After staring at Shan Wanjing for quite a while, Madame Dong Ming looked down to examine Xu Ziling.
After his qi was blocked, Xu Ziling slowly regained his consciousness. When he was struck by her palm a moment ago, he felt as if all the channels in his entire body were about to burst open, the pain was like ‘one Buddha came into being, two Buddha ascending the heaven' [not sure what it means], but after sprouting a mouthful of blood, the qi at the sole of his feet was unimpeded, the pain lessened considerably.
Hurriedly he crawled up and while massaging the pit of his stomach, he said with a bitter smile, "I am alright, Princess is indeed formidable. Ha!”
Unexpectedly he laughed and staggered away. The only thing in his mind was that tempting account book lying around on her desk.
At first he did not feel comfortable in this stealing-the-account-book matter, but now he the mental barrier was no longer there.