Chapter 48: Cracks in the Facade
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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During another martial arts class, Instructor Sun looked at Lin Xiu with surprise. “You’ve succeeded in guiding Qi?”
Lin Xiu nodded. “A friend who runs a martial arts school helped me.”
Guiding Qi required at least an Earth-ranked martial artist like himself. Instructor Sun hadn’t realized Lin Xiu had such a friend, but he didn’t press further. “Since you’ve succeeded in guiding Qi, your lessons will change today.”
The content of the martial arts class differed based on whether one had guided Qi successfully.
Those who hadn’t yet guided Qi, or whose physical condition was too poor, focused on improving their physique to prepare for future Qi guidance. Those who had succeeded, like Li Bozhang and Lin Xiu, focused on cultivating martial arts.
Their training emphasized the control of True Qi.
Things like channeling True Qi to a specific body part for an attack, or imbuing a weapon with True Qi, were still somewhat difficult for Lin Xiu. He only possessed a faint trace of True Qi in his body, and its circulation was slow. Charging an attack took a long time, and he couldn’t yet imbue a weapon with True Qi.
During a break, Xue Ninger approached from a distance. She took an invitation from her sleeve and handed it to Lin Xiu. “My birthday is in a few days, and there will be a banquet at my home. You won’t refuse me again this time, will you?”
Lin Xiu accepted the invitation with both hands, apologizing. “No, no, I won’t. I was truly too busy the past few days. I will definitely attend Ninger’s birthday banquet.”
Lin Xiu only realized after looking at the invitation that Xue Ninger would be turning eighteen in a few days.
It was hard to believe a girl not yet eighteen could be so well-developed. After standing her up so many times, Lin Xiu clearly had no excuse to miss this birthday banquet.
He smiled at Xue Ninger and asked, “Has Wang Wei bothered you these past few days?”
Lin Xiu mentioning this reminded Xue Ninger of the day he and Wang Wei had competed for her. The thought of Zhao Lingjun’s future husband dueling another man for her gave her a sense of accomplishment.
She felt secretly delighted, but feigned displeasure on her face. “Don’t even mention it! Why did you duel him? What if you had lost?”
Lin Xiu shrugged. “Didn’t I win?”
At this, a puzzled expression appeared on Xue Ninger’s face. She murmured, “Strange, why would Wang Wei make such a bet with you? He used to always hover around Qin Wan’er…”
Lin Xiu paused, his gaze sharpening slightly. He looked at Xue Ninger and asked, “Weren’t you and Wang Wei close before?”
Xue Ninger shook her head. “Not really. We barely spoke.”
Lin Xiu was silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. “In any case, it’s good that he hasn’t bothered you. I need to go back to class now. I’ll see you at the banquet…”
After parting with Xue Ninger, Lin Xiu held a wooden sword, repeating the same swinging motion as instructed by Instructor Sun, but his gaze drifted towards Wang Wei.
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Everyone, including Instructor Sun, and perhaps even Wang Wei himself, believed that the wooden sword he had chosen was weak, but only Lin Xiu knew that the sword was as sturdy as could be.
The blow Wang Wei had aimed at his head was a full-powered strike, without reservation.
If not for that, his wooden sword wouldn’t have snapped instantly. Lin Xiu’s initial plan had been to take a few hits, then pretend to accidentally knock Wang Wei unconscious. Wang Wei’s full strength, however, caused the wooden sword to break upon the first impact, unable to withstand the combined force.
Wang Wei had already cultivated True Qi. His full-powered strike, if landed on an ordinary person’s head, would at least cause a bloody head injury, and at worst, death.
Lin Xiu had initially thought he was blinded by Xue Ninger’s beauty, overwhelmed by jealousy, and had lost his reason, forgetting to hold back.
But Xue Ninger said they weren’t close at all, and that Wang Wei had never pursued her.
This meant that Wang Wei’s jealousy was a pretense; he had been targeting Lin Xiu from the beginning.
Lin Xiu didn’t know if the former son of Peaceful Earl had offended this person. Even if he had, what deep hatred could justify such a vicious attack during a martial arts class?
Or was he an extreme fan of his fiancée, unwilling to let his goddess marry him, and thus planning to eliminate Lin Xiu?
Lin Xiu didn’t think Wang Wei wanted to marry Zhao Lingjun himself. It wasn’t that he looked down on Wang Wei, but rather that Wang Wei wasn’t worthy.
At this moment, Lin Xiu’s thoughts went further.
Was that assassination attempt that night also related to this person?
After the assassin’s death, all clues had ceased. The Ministry of Justice couldn’t find anything and had sealed the case file. But in Lin Xiu’s mind, the matter wasn’t over.
After all, that person lurking in the shadows had wanted his life…
If it weren’t for Xue Ninger unintentionally mentioning that Wang Wei hadn’t pursued her, Lin Xiu might have continued to believe it was an incident caused by jealousy.
Wang Wei had disguised himself well, but unfortunately, he had revealed a flaw.
Just then, Li Bozhang came over. He looked at the invitation in Lin Xiu’s hand and sighed. “Brother Lin, you are truly amazing, even obtaining an invitation to Ninger’s birthday banquet.”
Lin Xiu looked at him and asked, “Didn’t she send you one?”
Li Bozhang gave him a resentful look. “Brother Lin, those words hurt. Of all the people in the martial arts class, you’re the only one who received an invitation. If she handed them out to everyone, the Duke Xue’s residence would be overflowing…”
Hearing this, Lin Xiu couldn’t help but sigh for the other male classmates in the martial arts class.
Simps, simps, simps to the end, and gain nothing.
They usually hovered around Xue Ninger, at her beck and call, yet in the end, they couldn’t even get a birthday invitation…
Lin Xiu glanced in a certain direction and asked, “Didn’t Wang Wei get one either?”
Li Bozhang said, “Wang Wei’s father is Marquis of Guangan, a Third Rank Marquis nonetheless, so he should have received an invitation. But didn’t he lose the challenge against you last time? According to the bet, he has to stay away from Ninger. Even if Ninger gave him one, would he have the face to accept it?”
Lin Xiu looked at Li Bozhang with surprise. “Brother Li seems to know a lot about these nobles in the Royal Capital.“
Li Bozhang smiled. “Naturally. The Royal Capital is filled with nobles. If commoners like us don’t know them, we might offend someone accidentally and die without even knowing how.”
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Li Bozhang’s words were true, but not entirely accurate. It wasn’t just commoners; even some nobles, if they offended more powerful nobles, would suffer a similar fate.
Then, Li Bozhang suddenly asked, “Has Brother Lin thought about what gift to give Ninger?”
Lin Xiu asked, puzzled, “Oh, do I need to bring a gift?”
Li Bozhang looked at him strangely. “Brother Lin, do you think attending a banquet is just about eating and drinking for free?”
Having gotten used to freeloading these past few days, Lin Xiu genuinely hadn’t thought about this.
Now he was in a bit of a predicament.
Xue Ninger was born into wealth and privilege. What good things hadn’t she seen? A cheap gift would be embarrassing, but an expensive one would hurt Lin Xiu’s wallet.
After all, making a living wasn’t easy for him. He worked hard to earn money, likely less than Xue Ninger’s allowance. A gift exceeding ten taels of silver required careful consideration.
Moreover, giving a gift worth only ten or twenty taels would also be embarrassing.
If only he still had the gold hairpin and jade bracelet the Noble Consort had gifted him. Her jewelry was all top-notch. Even someone as worldly as Xue Ninger probably wouldn’t be able to resist their charm.
This thought only flashed through Lin Xiu’s mind briefly. Such fine items were meant for Lingyin; he truly couldn’t bear to part with them for other women.
Finally, Lin Xiu looked down at the gold-embossed invitation in his hand and asked Li Bozhang, “Do you think I can still return this invitation?”
Li Bozhang took a deep breath. “Brother Lin, you’re going too far…”
Something others yearned for, he wanted to return. It did seem a bit inconsiderate. In the end, Lin Xiu kept the invitation.
He still had to give a gift, but it had to be economical. Knowing how to give a gift that was both affordable and satisfying to a lady was a basic skill of a qualified sea king…
An hour later, the martial arts class ended.
It was also lunchtime. The students, having just finished training, dragged their tired bodies out of the Unique Ability Academy, preparing for a big meal to reward their exhausted selves.
Picking Moon Tower was the most popular restaurant in the Royal Capital recently. Driven by herd mentality, most students chose to eat there. Although the prices were high, they all came from wealthy families and didn’t care about this small expense.
Only Wang Wei and a few others walked straight past the entrance of Picking Moon Tower and entered another restaurant not far away.
This was normal; perhaps the dishes at Picking Moon Tower didn’t suit their taste, or perhaps they found it too crowded and noisy. No one paid them any mind.
Except Lin Xiu.
He raised his head, watching Wang Wei enter Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, a thoughtful expression on his face…
Li Bozhang patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s go in, Brother Lin. You treated me last time, so it’s my turn this time…”
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