Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 326: Late night visitor

”It seems that the Princess also has a ‘Chastity Guardʼ.” Song Qingshu showed a fox-like smile, ”But as a princess, Iʼm afraid that you donʼt need it.”

”None of your business.” Only then did Zhao Min realize that he was just teasing her, and blushed, ”Anyway, even if I wonʼt need it, itʼs impossible to give it to you like that woman.”

”I also donʼt understand what she meant by giving this to me.” Song Qingshu said speechlessly.

”She’s interested in you.” Zhao Min snorted.

”Uh…” Song Qingshu quickly changed the subject, ”Princess, you know the Jin Empire quite well, so tell me what kind of character this Madame Tang is. She seems to have quite the high status.”

”Iʼve been wondering about that as well…” Zhao Min frowned, apparently she also had no idea, ”Usually, the wife of a mere Chongyi Army General shouldn’t be able to make the Kaifeng city guards act like that.”

”Is it possible that she comes from a powerful family?” Song Qingshu asked.

”I sifted through all the powerful and influential people in the Jin Empire, and I couldnʼt find anyone who had anything to do with Madame Tang.” Zhao Min shook his head slightly.

”Her surname is not necessarily Tang, maybe it’s her husbandʼs family name.” Song Qingshu said.

”Impossible…” Zhao Min thought for a moment, and said, ”Although there are many Han generals in the Jin Empire, the status of Han generals is not that high, and it is even more impossible for Jin nobles to marry Han people. This Madame Tang has all the featured of a Jin, and her husband, who is a general can never be a Han, so how could his surname be Tang?”

”Your surname is Zhao.” Song Qingshu murmured.

”Hmph, Iʼm considered an exception on the prairie, and I prefer Han culture, not to mention that I have to deal with people from the Wulin, so itʼs more convenient to have a Han name.” Zhao Min gave him a stern look, ”The Jin people easily defeated the Northern Song Empire, and they also don’t think highly of the Han people, so how could they take a Han name?”

”Then how do you you explain Madame Tang’s attitude towards us?” Song Qingshu said while feeling a headache.

”She should be using an alias in order to get close to you… hmph!” Zhao Min begrudgingly said.

”At first she was more interested in you, okay?” Song Qingshu said depressingly.

Thinking of the way Madame Tang looked at her at the beginning, Zhao Min felt a chill run down her spine, and quickly said, ”Anyway, she knows that I am a woman now, and she will only be interested in you. You should sacrifice a bit for the greater good, and try to find out her real name.”

”Am I the kind of person who would do something like that?” Song Qingshu said speechlessly.

”I think so…” A sly smile appeared on the corners of Zhao Minʼs lips, ”Didnʼt you taint that that saintess from before, which caused her to chase you down for thousands of miles?”

Song Qingshu was taken aback, and quickly denied it, ”Who told you that I tainted her, nothing like that happened.”

”Really?” Zhao Min walked slowly to the edge of the table with her hands behind her back and sat down, ”But she admitted it herself.”

”How is that possible?” Song Qingshu was at a loss, and wondered, ‘Is Ren Yingying pure to the point that she thought that she had lost her chastity from me just touching her calf?’

Seeing that Song Qingshu didnʼt look like he was telling a lie, Zhao Min felt relieved for some reason, thinking that it would be best if he wasnʼt a perver*ted man, otherwise she might really have to use the ‘Chastity Guardʼ during the next few days.

After a while, seeing that Song Qingshuʼs face was still a bit gloomy, Zhao Min chuckled, ”Alright, so what if you tainted her purity, that’s not big deal.”

Seeing that Song Qingshu was about to open his mouth to explain, Zhao Min impatiently interrupted, ”Is that Yang Miaozhenʼs spearmanship really so good?”

”It’s really quite unpredictable.” Song Qingshu nodded and gave his own evaluation.

”But she still lost to you.” Zhao Min looked strange, ”Your way of bragging is really very high level.”

Song Qingshuʼs face became hot, and he said, ”You misunderstood, the reason why I could beat her is more because I took advantage of my movement technique. My speed is too fast, and she had no chance to display the subtlety of her spearmanship to the fullest. In this world, the people who can contend with my level of speed can be counted on one hand. So she is not bragging when she calls herself ‘a Pear Blossom Spear, invincible in the worldʼ.”

”Heh… still not ashamed to put gold on your own face.” Zhao Min rolled her eyes at him, and asked with suspicion, ”You also saw the martial arts of my subordinates in the inn. From what you can see, are they not as good as a Yang Miaozhen? ”

”There are only a few among your subordinates who can be called real masters. The martial arts of Ah Da, Ah Er, and Ah San have long been ruined by your ‘Brother Wuji’, so letʼs not talk about them.” Song Qingshu found that when he mentioned Zhang Wuji, his heart remained completely calm, and he was no longer full of resentment as before. It seemed that his state of mind had indeed gotten much better than before.

Hearing Song Qingshu imitate her voice and call ”Brother Wuji” in a strange tone, gave Zhao Min goosebumps. She gave him a stern look, and urged him to continue talking.

“As for the Xuanming Elders, if they face Yang Miaozhen alone, they will surely die within a hundred moves.” Song Qingshu said in a deep voice, ”However, those two have been active as martial artist for years, so I doubt they would do that. The two of them have been brothers for decades, and they have already reached a high level when it comes to cooperation. When they join forces, their combined strength has the capital to deal with Yang Miaozhen. But it’s a pity that the two Xuanming Elders only excel in their palm techniques. It would be difficult for them to perform well in front of Yang Miaozhen’ Pear Blossom Spear, so even if the two teamed up, at best they can barely protect themselves.”

”Are they really that weak?” Zhao Minʼs face sank. The two Xuanming Elders could be considered as the top masters belonging to the Ruyang Palace. For many years, as long as they took action, there were no martial art master that couldn’t be dealt with.

Even Zhang Wuji, who had mastered the Nine Yang Divine Art and the Heaven and Earth Great Shift, had suffered serious injuries when he first fought against the two Xuanming Elders. Zhao Min really didnʼt want to believe that a woman in her twenties could be more powerful than Zhang Wuji.

”Itʼs not that they are weak, the combined strength of the Xuanming Elders can definitely challenge any top master in the Wulin…” Song Qingshu recognized the strength of the two, ”Itʼs just that the Pear Blossom Spear of that Fourth Lady is too powerful. The world is really quite big, and it really hides many tiger and dragons.”

”What about Monk Jinlun?” Zhao Min asked, still feeling a bit unconvinced, ”Monk Jinlun is our state teacher, and I am certain that only the state teacher Basiba can stand against him in the entire grassland. I donʼt believe that he will lose to a young woman.”

”Monk Jinlunʼs cultivation might be higher than Yang Miaozhenʼs, but as far as I know, Monk Jinlunʼs actual combat strength is not that high, and he is not good at dealing with complicated and intricate moves.” Song Qingshu simulated the two fighting in his mind, and thought that Monk Jinlun would be at a disadvantage.

”The State Teacher is not good at actual combat? Where did you hear that from?” Zhao Min frowned and asked.

Only then did Song Qingshu realize that he was only speculating based on the information he had from the books, and it was understandable that Monk Jinlun would be at a slight disadvantage against Guo Jing, who was the protagonist. Even while facing the young Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu and even Li Mochou, although his martial arts was far superior to them, Monk Jinlun continued to suffer defeat. In the later period, after reaching the tenth-level of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Technique, he thought he could sweep the world, but in the end, he died under Yang Guoʼs awesome martial arts.

Suddenly, Song Qingshu figured out the reason why Monk Jinlun performed so poorly in the book, ‘Could it be because of the plot armor of the protagonists such as Yang Guo and others? If I continue to apply the same logic from the novel in reality, I might end up dead in the future without even knowing why.’

Thinking to that point, Song Qingshu broke out in a cold sweat.

”Hey, Iʼm asking you something, why are you in a daze!” Seeing Song Qingshu stand in place in a daze, Zhao Min couldnʼt help but feel slightly angry.

”Ah, itʼs nothing…” Song Qingshu said, ”I was biased in my judgment of Monk Jinlun before, but now that I think about it again, if the two of them were really fighting to the death, it could go either way, and the outcome would be unknown.”

”That doesn’t give me anything!” Zhao Min gave him a dissatisfied look. ”Then you beat Yang Miaozhen easily, so arenʼt you much better than Monk Jinlun?”

”It wasn’t that easy. Donʼt you see that my chest is still bleeding?” Song Qingshu pointed to the thick bandage on his chest, and said with an aggrieved expression on his face, ”If I didnʼt rely on my movement technique, I might’ve died from her spear stab.”

”That stab was indeed really scary…” Zhao Min thought back to Yang Miaozhenʼs move at that time, ”But even though you always emphasize your movement technique, in my opinion, your swordsmanship is clearly stronger.”

”Really?” Song Qingshu looked strange, ”Iʼd feel embarrassed if you praise me like that.”

”Hmph, Iʼm the kind of person who sometimes likes to talk nonsense. Didnʼt I also say that Taiji Swordplay is not that special?” Zhao Min snorted, and suddenly fell into reminiscence, ”In the past, on the Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng temporarily handed his responsibility over to Zhang… Zhang Wuji, and Zhang Wuji also used a wooden sword to defeat Ah Da, who was wielding a treasured word, and even cut off one of his arms.”

Thinking of the situation that day, Zhao Minʼs expression turned a bit ugly, ”After we went back, we summoned the masters in the Ruyang Palace to carefully study the Taiji Swordplay . Although the Taiji Swordplay is exquisite, in the final analysis, it just uses defense to block the enemyʼs offense. It’s only useful to bully an opponent whose martial art is not as good as yours, but if you meet a master of the same level… hehe, although you’ll not lose, but you’d also find it hard to win.”

”Later on the Spirit Serpent Island, Zhang Wuji was helpless when he faced the three envoys of the Persian Ming Cult, and on Shaoshi Mountain, he was helpless when he faced Sanduʼs Vajra Evil Subduing Ring. That is a clear proof.”

Hearing Zhao Minʼs words, Song Qingshu thoughtfully said, ”Although I used to be a disciple of the Wudang Sect, I have never practiced the Taiji Swordplay, so I donʼt know if what you said is right. But as far as I know, Taiji Swordplay relies less on sword moves, more on heavy sword intent. When encountering an opponent who is not of equal strength, it allows the user to dominate the opponent. But when encountering opponents of the same level or better than the user, it seems that it is indeed a little weak.”

Considering that he and Linghu Chong both were able to easily defeat Daoist Chongxuʼs Taiji Swordplay, although Song Qingshu didnʼt arrogantly think that the Taiji Swordplay was nothing special, but he did feel that it might have been because Daoist Chongxu was not their equal in terms of internal energy. If the opponent was Zhang Sanfeng himself, even if he knew that the Taiji Swordplay had a flaw, would he dare to attack directly like he did in the past?

However, if the Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai came back to life, and fought Zhang Sanfeng, he might be able to break the Taiji Swordplay with a single attack. So in the final analysis it depended on the internal energy level of the person using the sword.

Seeing that Song Qingshu had agreed with her opinion, Zhao Min couldnʼt help feeling a little excited, ”You also use a wooden sword, but your swordsmanship gives me a completely different feeling.”

”How do you feel?” Song Qingshu asked curiously.

Zhao Min was about to speak, but Madame Tangʼs incomparably charming voice was heard from outside the door, ”Is the Young Master still awake?”

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