No one could pull themselves out of the shock they had gotten.
An Zhenhua, who had been seriously injured in the clash, stood up and looked at Lou Qianxue with envy and respect.
“Miss Lou, I admit defeat. However, I have no regrets fighting for my sister.”
An Linglong’s eyes instantly turned red as she sprinted to her brother. “Brother… Brother, are you alright?”
She worriedly glanced at An Zhenhua, then glared at Lou Qianxue. Just when she was about to throw a temper and scold Lou Qianxue, An Zhenhua gently pushed her away. “Linglong, you have always been unruly and arrogant. After the disaster today, you should’ve realized that no matter how capable you are, there’s always someone better than you out there. Don’t be so rash again in the future.”
After taking a pause, An Zhenhua emphasized. “Remember, my injury today is not because of Miss Lou. It’s because of you. If it weren’t for you, why would I challenge Miss Lou?”
Tears instantly welled up in An Linglong’s eyes. She looked at An Zhenhua and said, “Brother, I was in the wrong. It’s my fault. Sorry!”
An Zhenhua shook his head. “Step back first.”
An Linglong reluctantly moved backward.
With the longsword in his hand, An Zhenhua walked toward Lou Qianxue. He suddenly bent his waist and brought his sword in front of Lou Qianxue. “Miss Lou, since I destroyed your sword, it’s only natural that I compensate you for it. This second stage Spirit item, the Frost Sword, is my apology. Please accept it.”
Lou Qianxue frowned instead of taking the sword. “I have already sensed that this sword has been carved with the ‘Frost Inscription’. I had used the Lightning sword intent because I wanted to resist the power of the inscription. Why didn’t you make use of it? Why did you use a Spirit item as an ordinary sword?”
“This…” An Zhenhua became hesitant. He raised his head and glanced at An Shaoning, who was standing amongst the crowd. When he saw An Shaoning nodding, he finally explained his reasons.
“I shall not hide the truth. Miss Lou. My cousin, Shaoning, had planned to give you this Frost Sword.”
“Huh?” Lou Qianxue was surprised. She looked at An Shaoning, whose handsome face held a gentle smile.
Lou Qianxue had never come into any contact with this young master from the An family, yet he wanted to give her something so valuable.
This chain of events drew out gasps from the crowd.
“Since you wanted to give it to me, why did you challenge me?” Lou Qianxue asked the question that everyone was also puzzled about.
An Zhenhua did not reply this time. An Shaoning slowly walked out and smiled as he said, “I’ll answer this question.”
His embroidered clothes gave an even more gentlemanly appearance to his tall stature.
“I had hoped to be on good terms with you, Miss Lou, but I then heard that my cousin had a conflict with you. Hence, I had prepared the ‘Frost Sword’ to offer you as compensation!
“As for why I had Zhenhua challenge you, I have two reasons. First, Zhenhua and I are no match for you. I wanted to make use of this opportunity to teach Linglong a lesson to be less impulsive in the future. Second, I could tell that your sword techniques were extraordinary. Therefore, I asked Zhenhua to use the Spirit item to challenge you. Due to it, you would surely draw your sword. As long as you did it, the Spirit item would’ve turned your iron sword useless. It would then become justifiable for Zhenhua to compensate you with the Spirit item. How is it, Miss Lou? Is this ‘Frost Sword’ to your liking?”
“F*ck! An Shaoning is too smart. That’s killing three birds with one stone. Not only did he teach his cousin a lesson, he also resolved the grievances with Miss Lou, and even became friends with her… ”
“So intelligent!”
“I withdraw what I had said earlier about letting An Shaoning. He’s not a fool. I am the darned fool!”
Everyone echoed the same sentiments.
“I’m the darned fool!”