Chapter 112
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“You still find it amusing!” Xue Yao protested with severity. “Before, Your Highness claimed not to want to see me, so why chase me now?”
“That was before. Now, I want to see you.” Lu Qian adopted a somewhat rouge demeanor, reminiscent of a wanderer.
Xue Yao was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the rebellious brat to learn the art of sophistry!
However, within this sophistry lay Lu Qian’s vulnerability. Over a decade of companionship had made it clear to Xue Yao when he could rely on favor and raise his tail in arrogance, just like when the chubby cub showed weakness.
In the past, the chubby cub’s weakness had distinct characteristics, such as switching from “your grandpa” to “your son” in self-reference.
In the past, if one made the chubby cub practice calligraphy a bit more, he would inevitably bargain, “Your grandpa will write another sheet for one more piece of cake.” When it came to mealtime and he hadn’t eaten enough, he would ask, “Is your son still hungry?” Very easy to discern his emotions.
At present, as the cub had grown, he was no longer the chubby cub who was like a blank sheet before. However, Xue Yao could still sense his emotions from his words and tone.
Every move, every glance of Lu Qian had become ingrained in his life, pulsating along with his heartbeat, connecting with the rhythm of his heart.
Hence, the response before about not wanting to meet caused Xue Yao’s heart to tremble. At this moment, he didn’t easily let it go because of Lu Qian’s weakness. “I’m not someone Your Highness can see just because you want to! If Your Highness says you don’t want to see me, I’ll disappear immediately!”
“At your speed, I can still see you for quite a while.”
“I can run fast too!” Xue Yao issued a somewhat unconvincing threat.
“Your grandpa is faster.” Lu Qian shifted his eyes away from the face of the little reader-in-waiting towards the distant alley entrance.
“From here,” Lu Qian raised his hand, pointing to the end of the alley, his sleeves creating a gust of wind, “to Renxiang Gate. Count to ten, and your grandpa will cover the distance.” He turned to Xue Yao, a hint of provocation in his eyes. “Believe it or not?”
Xue Yao noticed that the chubby cub’s attitude had unexpectedly become somewhat similar to Prince Ning in the novel.
He wondered if his combat prowess had also become similar to the novel.
So, with anticipation, Xue Yao asked, “Counting to ten allows you to run that far?”
A slightly proud expression crossed Lu Qian’s face. “Been practicing this lightness skill for over a year.”
The chubby cub had actually learned to be modest?
An unprecedented form of sophisticated communication!
Excitedly, Xue Yao picked up on it. “How come you’ve only learned lightness skill?! I’ve heard Prince Rui say that the other day at the Temple of Heaven, Your Highness shattered a hidden arrow with a flick of your fingers, as if launching stone cannonballs from your hand!”
“Indeed, that arrow was broken by a stone.” Lu Qian pulled out a two-inch-long copper tube from his sleeve and handed it to Xue Yao to inspect.
Taking the copper tube suddenly offered by the chubby cub, Xue Yao initially thought it was some kind of miniature musical instrument. After fumbling around, he discovered the tail seemed to be movable, so he tried pressing it…
Lu Qian across from his instantly grabbed his wrist and swung it to the side.
With a “thud,” the stone that had almost hit Lu Qian was deflected into the nearby palace wall.
Xue Yao’s face turned pale. He looked at the chubby cub with his mouth agape. “Is this a concealed weapon? Why did Your Highness suddenly give me a hidden weapon?”
“This is what broke the arrow,” Lu Qian explained.
This copper tube was a unique concealed weapon of the Qinglong Sect, with a firing mechanism at the rear and the capacity to hold three stone bullets.
The concealed weapon had decent power. At close range, it could penetrate leather armor but not iron armor.
“You could have at least explained before giving it to me!” Xue Yao had nearly harmed his own cub!
So, Lu Qian explained the construction of the concealed weapon to him.
Xue Yao furrowed his brow in confusion. He thought the chubby cub, with his training in lightness skill over the past year, wouldn’t need hidden weapons to injure others. Instead, he should wield inner strength to manifest invisible sword energy, just as described in the novel!
Could it be… the chubby cub wasn’t being modest when he mentioned practicing lightness skill for over a year just now?
Was he truly just a being honest?
“Your Highness really… only practiced lightness skill?” Xue Yao asked in astonishment.
“And the introductory techniques of the Sword Sect and Qinglong Sect,” Lu Qian replied.
“Is Your Highness slacking off?”
Lu Qian cast him a sidelong glance. “Your grandpa worked hard.”
Xue Yao couldn’t believe it. The progress in martial arts for Prince Ning in the novel in a year was definitely more than just lightness skill. “On the ship that day, the Sword Saint said Your Highness should be able to master superior lightness skill and a set of sword techniques within a year. It’s been a year and five months now.”
Lu Qian showed a weary expression.
In this year and more, for the first two months, Lu Qian’s attempts to find the Khitan King were fruitless.
In the subsequent month, secretly returning to the capital, he sensed a change in the Nine Gates Inspector, so he didn’t go back to the palace. He discovered the critical situation in the court from the northern garrison and promptly returned to Baixing Mountain.
During this period, he secretly infiltrated the palace six times.
Afterward, he traveled extensively in Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Henan, persuading regional feudal princes.
Lu Qian’s lightness skill was cultivated amid this web of intricate actions, all for the sake of safely entering and leaving the palace in secrecy.
In fact, a year ago, unable to locate the Khitan King, Lu Qian sulked by his masters’ side for a few days before returning to the palace. However, the situation in the palace was unfavorable to his eldest brother, which reminded Lu Qian of his experience of being imprisoned by his third brother in the military camp. Therefore, he returned to Baixing Mountain to make a long-term plan.
At that time, His Highness was full of confidence, asking the two masters how long it would take to master sword techniques and behead his third brother amidst a thousand soldiers.
The Sword Saint had said, “Given your talent, it’s quite easy. Eight years would suffice.”
Eight years were too long, so His Highness immediately said, “Let’s learn something that prevents a thousand soldiers from catching up with your grandpa first.”
Hence, he chose lightness skill.
In this past year, aside from mastering impeccable lightness skill, Lu Qian also learned things not taught in the sage’s books. Or rather, he discovered that the principles of conduct and dealing with others in the books were impractical in real-life situations.
Without the identity of a prince, without endless silver, and without absolute strength, those military and civilian officials who once professed loyalty to the sovereign, even blood-related feudal princes, did not adhere to etiquette and noble principles when addressing His Highness.
Most of them only spoke of interests and would don various grand disguises. The truths from the sage’s book became their outer garments for masquerading. This led Lu Qian to hit walls everywhere, almost wasting half his time, banging his head until he broke through the splendid thick shell of people’s appearances, revealing the ugly interior.
During this period, Lu Qian also encountered true gentlemen like his eldest brother, untainted and ethereal. Despite their loyalty to the sovereign and their commitment to serving the ruler, these individuals, driven by Lu Qian’s legitimate heir status, spared no effort to raise funds and build military strength. Unfortunately, in the end, they all met untimely fates.
Those who survived were ironically the fake gentlemen.
Children raised under Xue Yao’s protection weren’t suitable to confront such a dirty reality, especially those who had just experienced the pain of losing a father.
Yaoyao and big brothers could leave just as suddenly as Father Emperor did, because only the fake gentlemen seemed to embrace the notion that “the victor becomes the rulers.” This was a notion that Lu Qian deemed uninteresting.
Lu Qian’s indifferent gaze puzzled Xue Yao. What had the chubby cub been doing over this past year?
If he slacked off in martial arts, there was no reason for a successful weight loss, right?
Could it be that the Sword Saint, that old rascal, didn’t feed his cub well?
How infuriating…
Old Fifth and Old Sixth also approached, using their eyes to inquire of Xue Yao what had possessed their seventh brother. Why had he returned after a year of training and become so fierce?
Just as Xue Yao was about to ease the atmosphere among the three brothers, he suddenly saw the rebellious brat in front of him swiftly dart behind his own back.
This kind of situation usually occurred when His Highness faced a danger he couldn’t handle, like when he encountered his third brother in his youth or when Consort Xi caught him red-handed stealing pastries…
Xue Yao turned his head and indeed saw Consort Xi approaching with a gloomy expression.
As Consort Xi approached, the rebellious brat behind Xue Yao lifted him up like a shield, adjusted his position, and faced the direction of Consort Xi.
“Since Your Highness declined this mistress’ summons, I have no choice but to personally visit.” Consort Xi, chilly and stern, initiated the death-warning mode towards the disobedient cub behind Xue Yao.
The disobedient cub played dead.
Xue Yao, forced to intercept Consort Xi’s anger, said with a smile, “Recently, the Tong family rebellion has just been pacified. His Majesty and Prince Rui have many matters that require His Highness’ assistance and decision-making. His Highness has just returned from Nansan Hall.”
“Is that so?” Consort Xi, gritting her teeth, took a step forward, yanking her son out from behind Xue Yao. “I want to know not only what Your Highness has been busy with these days but also what Your Highness has been busy with for over a year. Busy to the point of forgetting this mistress, right?”
“Seventh Brother went to Baixing Mountain to learn martial arts from a master!” Old Sixth, though upset about his seventh brother’s indifference, instinctively stepped forward to defend him in a crucial moment. “The renowned Sword Saint in the martial world is Seventh Brother’s master. If he hadn’t learned from the Sword Saint, Seventh Brother couldn’t have broken through the resistance of the Tong family rebels and rescue our eldest and second brothers from among tens of thousands of forbidden troops!”
Consort Xi was momentarily stunned and asked Lu Qian in surprise, “You broke through the city gate?”
Lu Qian glanced at his boastful sixth brother, then at Mother Consort’s murderous gaze. Hesitating for a moment, he nodded, feigning depth.
“Effortlessly!” Old Fifth also spared no praise for his youngest brother.
Xue Yao, who already understood the chubby cub’s capabilities, waved his hand at Old Fifth, indicating him to stop boasting!
Consort Xi, doubtful, squinted at her son. “What sword techniques did the Sword Saint teach you? How powerful is it?”
Lu Qian, to save his life, boasted, “The White Tiger Nine Swordsmanship. The first sword technique can accurately pierce through a falling leaf, the second sword technique can pierce an apple, the third sword technique can pierce… something like a pumpkin. It gets more powerful like that.”
Consort Xi, hearing that her son spent a year learning to stab pumpkins, struggled to maintain her kind expression, but a hint of murderous intent began to spread.
“Hahaha!” Old Fifth suddenly burst into laughter. “Old Seventh is getting more amusing. Your Highness, don’t be upset. He’s just joking with you!”
Sixth Prince: “The Sword Saint’s martial arts are enough to sweep through a thousand troops. If Seventh Brother were to sweep with a sword within three yards, no one would survive! Without mastering such a skill, how could he dare to return to the capital to deal with the rebels!”
Xue Yao despairingly lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Consort Xi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is it true?”
Lu Qian furrowed his brow and nodded reluctantly.
Consort Xi took a sharp breath, almost in awe. “So that’s how it is. I thought you were just playing around outside this past year. Mother Consort misunderstood you!”
Lu Qian lowered his head and waved his hand, speaking in a low voice, “It’s fine. In the future, don’t ask about sword practice.”
Consort Xi, delighted with her promising son, said, “Got it. Then, demonstrate a few moves for Mother Consort to see.”
“No way,” His Highness decisively refused.
“Too dangerous,” Xue Yao covered for Lu Qian, “The sword energy is too strong. Consort Xi might get injured. It’s not convenient to watch.”
“This mistress will stand farther away.”
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