Chapter 41: The Kingdom’s Seven Major Families
Lu Feifei was intrigued. “Who is she? Is she beautiful?”
Qi Ying was clearly infatuated, to the extent that he would even turn down her advances. As such, the object of his affection had to be quite an extraordinary woman.
Qi Ying raised his head and he seemed to be thinking about something. After a long silence, he finally replied, “She... is someone I can see, but not reach! Is she beautiful? I’ve never even dared to look directly at her face. However, no one is more beautiful in my heart, not even you... In any case, she’s very kind and I owe her my life. I can only dedicate the rest of my life to her as a means to repay that debt.”
“Oh? What’s her name?” Lu Feifei’s interest was further piqued.
Qi Ying replied in a slow voice. “Her surname is Qin, and her name is Susu. Qin Susu.”
“Qin Susu...” Lu Feifei murmured to herself, and a look of disbelief appeared on her face, “Qin Susu?! Which Qin Susu is this? Where is she from?”
“She is from the Qin family of Yun Xiao City.”
“Hah? Hahaha!” Lu Feifei was initially stunned before bursting into laughter, “You... you sure dare to dream! Qin Susu is the young mistress of the Qin family, one of the seven major families of Yun Xiao City! She is an extraordinary prodigy who reached the Spirit Martial Stage at just fifteen years of age! Countless young masters in Yun Xiao City are seeking her hand in marriage... I thought I was already mentally prepared, but I didn’t think she would be the woman of your dreams... What a joke!”
She felt that Qi Ying was foolish to the point of being adorable.
Qin Susu was the crown jewel of the Qin family, one of the seven major families of the entire kingdom! She was sixteen years of age at present and her cultivation base had reached the Third Spirit Martial Stage. She had not yet fully matured, but one could already tell that she was going to be an exquisite beauty further down the track. She was sought after by countless young men in Yun Xiao City, but only an exceptional handful had a realistic chance with her...
Meanwhile, who was Qi Ying supposed to be? He was just a no-name kid from a no-name city. Yan Thirteen did state that he had some social status, but how could he compare to the likes of Qin Susu?
There could be mutual love between the two, but there was no way that would evolve into anything. The social norm in the kingdom was that men had to preside as heads of their families. The Qin family definitely wouldn’t allow some insignificant brat to approach their young mistress.
historical
The seven major families, consisting of the Qin, Qi, Yan, Chu, Han, Zhao, and Wei families were the ones at the tip of the pyramid in the kingdom! Those were colossal powers that had existed for thousands of years; the four major families of the Celestial River County were completely incomparable to them. In fact, the Duan, An, Wang, and Sun families probably weren’t even good enough to be accepted as servants to those families.
How utterly laughable.
Qi Ying glanced at Lu Feifei, whose bare, delicate shoulders were still out in the open, and he draped a thin veil robe over her body before saying in a slow voice, “In your eyes, this whole thing may be hilarious. Other people will probably think the same. I’m also aware of the gulf between her and myself. However, I also believe that I will be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her someday! Mother Yu has told me that nothing is difficult if I set my mind to it! At the very least, I must fight to achieve my goals.”
Qi Ying spoke in a very resolute and serious manner, without any hint of pretentiousness.
Lu Feifei could tell that he wasn’t trying to put on a serious facade. Instead, those were words that came straight from the bottom of his heart.
She was suddenly feeling even more attracted to him.
In the past, she was trying to subdue him for the sake of the conquest. However, she was starting to like him as a person.
‘I must have him! I may have failed this time, but there’s always next time!’
Lu Feifei thought to herself.
...
Lu Feifei only put on her clothes and left his room when daylight appeared. As she left, she turned to him with a suggestive look. “Stay here for another day! You can go straight to the Colosseum tomorrow.”
“...”
Qi Ying didn’t reply.
Lu Feifei gave him a cheeky smile before exiting the room like a spritely young woman.
The two guards outside were shocked to see that. ‘Madam Lu stayed with that kid for an entire night! Among all the men she has brought back with her, she had only two or three hours with them at most... That kid; what a lucky guy!’
At that moment, Qi Ying also made his way out of the room.
The two guards immediately stood in his way. “Madam Lu has issued orders that you are not to be allowed to leave the Lu mansion.”
Qi Ying came to a halt.
He recognized those two guards. They were twin brothers who looked almost identical. One of them was Lu Zuo, who was the talkative one with a mole on the left corner of his lips; the other one was Lu You: the quiet one with a mole on the right corner of his lips. Those two were the personal bodyguards Madam Lu had brought with her from home, and both of them were unfathomably powerful. Qi Ying speculated that they were most likely among some of the most powerful Energy Martial Stage warriors.
Thus, it looked like he wouldn’t be able to escape by force!
Qi Ying smiled and said, “I only wanted to cultivate in the courtyard. I have no intention of leaving the mansion.”
“That’s good to hear.” Lu Zuo nodded and said, “We’re only following Madam Lu’s orders, so please don’t make our job more difficult than it has to be. If you want to cultivate, we can give you some tips. Madam Lu has told us to satisfy your needs to the best of our abilities.”
Qi Ying was elated to hear that. “That’s great! I just so happen to have a battle technique that I’m having a little trouble with, please give me some guidance.”
Lu Zuo’s brows furrowed slightly.
He had only said that out of politeness, and he didn’t think that Qi Ying would actually take him up on the offer.
‘You’re just a kid at the Eighth Strength Martial Stage; of course you can’t use any battle techniques...’
However, he couldn’t go back on his word, so Lu Zuo cleared his throat and responded. “Ahem! Alright, I will do my best to help you.”
“Alright.”
Qi Ying pulled out his spatial ring from his glove, and brought out the Flowing Shadow Strike battle technique before handing it to Lu Zuo. “This is the one.”
“Flowing Shadow Strike?” Lu Zuo murmured to himself as he looked at the book in his hands, “This is a very practical Yellow Tier Intermediate-Rank battle technique, but it’s very difficult to master! Besides... you’re only at the Strength Martial Stage, why are you asking about this?”
“Oh...”
Qi Ying only realized then that he wasn’t at the academy, so there was no need to hide his cultivation base. Thus, he deactivated his Energy Concealment Mantra, and the aura of an Energy Martial Stage warrior instantly emanated from his body.
“So you concealed your power...” Lu Zuo’s brows furrowed again, “Alright, then let me give you some guidance.”
“Thank you!”
...
In the courtyard.
Lu Zuo had his hands clasped behind his back as he delivered a lecture to Qi Ying. “The three major components of the Flowing Shadow Strike are all contained in its name. ‘Flow’ refers to movement techniques; there are thirty-six combinations of movement techniques involved in the Flowing Shadow Strike. Since approaching the enemy in a full-frontal assault will often result in failure, technique is required. The ‘shadow’ refers to afterimages and in conjunction with the movement techniques, these can be used to confuse the enemy. In a battle of life and death, just a split second of indecision or misjudgment could prove to be fatal. Finally, the ‘strike’ naturally refers to the final strike to kill the enemy!
“I haven’t ever tried this cultivation method before, but I should be able to get to the elementary level this morning, then instruct you after that... You don’t need to thank me either. Just put in a good word for me when you see Madam Lu. Hopefully, she’ll give me a few days’ break so I can go and have some fun at the Myriad Spring Brothel...”