Chapter 146
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Gu Qingyuan raised his hand. “No need to plead for Gu, ending this life early might be a kind of relief for me.”
Lu Xiao completely ignored him, sternly addressing Seventh Brother, “Blame it on my impulsiveness. Seventh Brother, spare him this time. In the future, let someone keep him under control.”
Lu Qian glanced at Sixth Brother, then turned to Senior Brother. “Since Big Brother intercedes for you—”
Gu Qingyuan pretended to be fearful, nodding, ready to be pardoned from the death sentence.
“Then let him be executed by dismemberment,” Lu Qian said with an evil grin.
Gu Qingyuan: “Pfft…”
“Seventh Brother!” Lu Xiao glared.
Gu Qingyuan looked up, suppressing a laugh as he stared at the Junior Brother.
Lu Qian grabbed his front collar and showed it to Senior Brother, laughing. “Big Brother tore your grandpa’s clothes.”
Lu Xiao finally realized these two troublemakers were teasing him. He immediately flicked his sleeve, huffily turned around, and left.
“Angry? Hmm? Hmm—” Gu Qingyuan caught up, attempting to apologize, but Lu Xiao shook him off. He turned and strolled back to the junior martial brother. “Your brother is upset. It’s my fault this time. Next time, I’ll treat you both to drinks to make amends.”
“You angered Sixth Brother and still want to invite your grandpa for a drink?” Lu Qian’s gaze turned icy.
Gu Qingyuan quickly suppressed his laughter.
“Shouldn’t I be the one inviting you?” Lu Qian grinned, revealing a set of small white teeth.
“Hahaha!” Gu Qingyuan lifted his arm, embracing his Junior Brother.
The two martial brothers reunited like old times.
Xue Yao did indeed enter the palace as usual that day.
Lu Xiao felt a mix of joy and nervousness as he covertly observed A’Yao and Seventh Brother’s behavior and conversation. It seemed unchanged from their usual interactions, easing his concerns.
Around noon, Lu Xiao seized an opportunity to speak with Xue Yao.
“Seventh Brother bothered you yesterday?” Lu Xiao anxiously studied Xue Yao’s subtle expressions. “This kid is oblivious to reading signals. You don’t have to mind him. Since you’re unwell, take a few more days to rest.”
“No problem, all good now.” Xue Yao wasn’t actually sick. He just pretended to avoid Lu Qian. Since there was no need to hide anymore and he had been deceived into a limp, he decided to abandon the pretense of treatment.
“That’s good, that’s good…” Lu Xiao’s expression grew even more tense.
The question that tormented him throughout the morning kept pounding in his chest. He wanted to ask but knew he shouldn’t.
Unable to meet Xue Yao’s gaze, he lowered his head, feeling utterly lost, much like when a cheat sheet accidentally dropped near the invigilator’s feet during an exam.
He felt Xue Yao had probably figured out he was in a rivalry with Seventh Brother. His image as a peaceful and magnanimous older brother had been shattered.
“A’Xiao?” Xue Yao lowered his head, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you? Is something bothering you? Did the prescription I provided for your Mother Consort show any improvement?”
“Oh!” Lu Xiao finally found an opening. “Yes, yes! Mother Consort… she’s been actively telling the nanny what dishes she wants to eat recently!”
“Really?” Xue Yao was thrilled. This high-tech formula, worth over six hundred Whitewashing Points, seemed truly worthwhile. In just a few days, it had shown results. Normally, Mother Consort was forced to eat, but now she was expressing her own preferences.
“You truly are my—” Lu Xiao, caught in the moment, looked at Xue Yao. Snapping back to reality, he corrected himself, saying more subtly, “You truly are my mother’s savior. It seems any difficulty can be effortlessly resolved in your presence.”
Xue Yao waved his hand. “Just some folk remedies, not something I invented. As long as it works, that’s good. I’ll prepare a few more packages for you another day.”
“Thank you, A’Yao.”
“Aiyo, why be so formal?”
“Thank you for not avoiding me because of what happened before. Thanks for still being willing to be my friend.”
Xue Yao looked earnestly at Lu Xiao. “We will always be friends.”
Lu Xiao nodded. “I’ll make sure Seventh Brother respects your decision. We’ll be like we were in childhood, not putting you in a difficult spot.”
Xue Yao paused, suddenly remembering his previous conversation with Lu Xiao about not agreeing to Lu Qian.
Unexpected facepalm moment!
“What’s wrong?” Lu Xiao noticed Xue Yao’s anxious expression.
“Nothing.” Xue Yao pondered how to explain.
Lu Xiao jokingly probed, “Seventh Brother mentioned you kissed him last night…”
Xue Yao instinctively lowered his head, avoiding eye contact.
Lu Xiao felt an instant heaviness in his chest, took a deep breath silently, then casually provided his own excuse after a pause, “A’Yao, Seventh Brother… is no longer a child. You might not be used to it yet, and I also still treat him like he’s small. But he has indeed grown up. In the future, when we comfort him, a pat on the shoulder and verbal praise should suffice. Otherwise, he might get the wrong idea…”
“I’m sorry.” Xue Yao lifted his head, meeting Lu Xiao’s gaze directly. “My feelings for Prince Ning…”
“I understand,” Lu Xiao abruptly interrupted, displaying a gentle smile, feigning preparedness. “I guessed it. You like Seventh Brother. That kind of liking started when Seventh Brother returned to the palace, right? I guessed right, didn’t I?”
In that moment, a mountain-like sense of guilt suddenly overwhelmed Xue Yao.
It was as if he had returned to that afternoon over a decade ago when he had kicked the cuju ball onto Lu Xiao’s face. Lu Xiao covered his face, holding back tears, then looked up, smiling and deceiving the attendants around, saying he was just scaring everyone and wasn’t actually hurt.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Xiao swallowed, suppressing the sour taste in his throat. With a forced sunny expression, he raised an eyebrow at Xue Yao. “Why are your eyes red?”
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s there to apologize for?” Lu Xiao pursed his lips and shook his head. “Arranged marriages sometimes don’t work out. It’s a common thing. As long as Seventh Brother is serious and it’s your sincere choice,” Lu Xiao whispered, “I’ll accept defeat willingly. Originally—” he laughed with resignation, “I can’t compare to Seventh Brother in any aspect, just… my archery skills are decent.”
He wanted to salvage some dignity, but Xue Yao kept his head down, not looking at him. This prompted him to inquire again, “My archery skills aren’t bad, right?”
It was his only boast-worthy advantage, and he didn’t want A’Yao to miss it.
Xue Yao hurriedly looked up at him, revealing a smile uglier than tears, nodding vigorously in forced encouragement. He took a deep breath before finding his voice again. “A’Xiao, you excel in so many ways. Your only flaw is that you don’t realize how great you are, which leads to your lack of confidence and insecurity. You mistake your dependency on me for that kind of affection.”
Lu Xiao looked at Xue Yao in silence for a moment, eventually revealing a disappointed, wry smile. “Am I really that great? Mother Consort also says I’m good at everything, so good that none of you dare to keep me.”
“We will always be good friends.” Xue Yao grabbed Lu Xiao’s shoulder. “No one will abandon you. After your Mother Consort recovers, she will return to your side, and I, along with your brothers, will stay by your side for our entire lives.”
Lu Xiao looked at Xue Yao in confusion for a moment, then softly confirmed, “Our entire lives?”
“Our entire lives. At least your Seventh Brother will, because he’s healthy and has a long life. As for me,” Xue Yao promised, “I’ll try to live two or three days longer than you, alright?”
Lu Xiao laughed through his tears. “Silly.”
After opening up, Xue Yao felt like Lu Xiao’s mood had suddenly lightened a lot. It was hard to tell if it was genuine or just an act.
During the afternoon martial arts practice, the warm baby actively requested to spar with Hero Gu. His attacks were unusually fierce, as if venting, forcing Gu Qingyuan to step back repeatedly.
Xue Yao noticed that when facing Hero Gu, the warm baby always exhibited a sensitivity different from how he treated others, as if there were genuine emotions… hatred.
“Stop, stop, stop! Can’t you hear me?” Gu Qingyuan finally couldn’t take it anymore. With a bit of force, he knocked the sword out of Lu Xiao’s hand, forcibly halting his attacks. “You’re using the Mandarin Ducks Crescent Axes, relying on internal strength that counters hardness with softness. This ‘softness’ is about neutralizing the opponent’s attacks, not actually being soft and yielding.”
“You’re the soft one!” Lu Xiao retorted aggressively.
“Can’t you be a bit nicer to someone who almost faced immediate justice because of you?” Gu Qingyuan expressed his dissatisfaction.
Seeing Lu Xiao about to erupt again, Gu Qingyuan quickly raised his hand to stop him. “Hold on, hold on. I’m talking business with you. When you execute a move, you can’t always be thinking about an escape route, you know? Tai Chi seems passive, but it’s actually a strategy to lure and counter. You need to pay attention to the opponent’s vulnerabilities. Instead of thinking about how to retreat with each move, focus on your opponent. Even if you’re not purely on the offensive, at least have some killer instinct. Are you just fooling around with this self-defense stance? Trying to lure me into fighting you?”
“When did I think about retreating…” the warm baby muttered ashamedly, lowering his head. He knew the old cunning guy had seen through him.
Every time Xue Yao listened to Hero Gu correcting Lu Qian, he felt he hit the nail on the head. He didn’t expect that in their first spar, Master Gu could pinpoint the warm baby’s biggest issue. Truly deserving of the title of Little Sword Saint.
After Master Gu’s guidance, the warm baby surprisingly showed noticeable improvement in his next moves. Even Xue Yao, a bystander, could see it.
At the end of the round, Xue Yao, filled with admiration, personally handed water to Hero Gu. “You’re really amazing, Senior Brother!”
Gu Qingyuan proudly smirked. “Want to learn? With your scholar material, I could even make you a disciple.”
“Really?” Xue Yao’s eyes lit up.
【System Warning: Lu Qian’s acid level +20】
“Yaoyao!”
The lemon sprout suddenly let out a loud roar on the side, startling Xue Yao, who quickly snatched back the water cup he handed to Senior Brother!
Xue Yao turned around and was pulled behind by Lu Qian.
Senior Brother wasn’t allowed to look at his own beautiful fiancee.
Lu Xiao had just finished his tea and walked over, asking Xue Yao with confusion, “Why did you address that surnamed Gu as Senior Brother? Did you know each other before?”
Xue Yao was stunned, then turned to look at the warm baby. “No, you didn’t know? Senior Brother Gu is the Sword Saint’s…”
Cough! Cough! Cough! Hero Gu suddenly had a severe coughing fit, as if Mount Tai was pressing down on him!
Startled, Xue Yao turned to see that both Gu Qingyuan and Lu Qian were staring at him with intense gazes, subtly… shaking their heads in unison!
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