I Can See Your Combat Power

Hua Ji forcefully suppressed the pain in his heart and managed a smile that looked worse than a cry. He said to Xing Yu, “Xing Yu, it’s me, your Aji. I’m back. Have you forgotten me?”

Hua Ji pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, embroidered with two cute black mandarin ducks.

“I’ve always carried this token you gave me, Xing Yu. How could you pretend not to know me?”

The hand holding the handkerchief was trembling. He seemed like a prisoner awaiting judgement.

Seeing Hua Ji in this state, Xing Yu felt a pang in her heart. She knew, however, that they would never be able to return to their old times.

“Hua Ji, you have a splendid future ahead of you and I am just a lowly servant.” Xing Yu bit her lip, struggling to hold back tears, “You should forget about me.” She bowed deeply to Hua Ji, her heart filled with pain, but thankful that he still remembered her.

The day that Tang Luo took Hua Ji away, the news quickly spread in the servant’s quarters about the pauper’s meteoric rise. Her friends had congratulated her, teasing that she was about to become the wife of the new shopkeeper.

Upon hearing the news, however, steward She Niang coldly said, “When he was the lowly Aji, Xing Yu, you were his treasure. But now that he is shopkeeper Hua, you are just a handmaid.

“Do you think a man who has gained power will still remember the lover he had when he was down? Stop dreaming. Outside the Tang Mansion, there are many young misses eager to marry a young steward like him. They are beautiful, refined, and come with hefty dowries. Do you think Hua Ji would still come looking for you? Wake up, girl.”

Although Xing Yu did not dare to refute her, she felt a deep resentment inside. She believed Aji was not like this. She believed that Aji would remember their promise.

Months passed in this manner, with no news from Hua Ji.

Xing Yu, originally envied by others, had become a object of pity, a girl who had been abandoned.

Xing Yu was still a handmaid while Hua Ji was now the shopkeeper.

It seemed that their love was destined to end the day Tang Luo appeared.

No one knew the vast range of emotions swirling in the young handmaid’s heart – the initial anticipation, the subsequent disappointment, desolation and acceptance – and how it had all been replaced by numbness.

Finally, she accepted their reasoning, since the reality was becoming evident.

She Niang was right. Even if she did, in fact, marry Aji, he would never be happy.

He’s already a shopkeeper, his future unknowable, while she was just…

A lowly handmaid, lacking in grace and refinement. How could she ever be with him?

Even if Aji hadn’t forgotten her, it wasn’t right to hold back Aji from marrying those graceful and beautiful ladies.

After all, Aji was so exceptional.

The young handmaid hid her love for Aji deep in her heart, never mentioning it to anyone. Every time she saw a shooting star in the night, she made a wish, “I hope Aji finds a beautiful and graceful wife and that she loves him for life.” Xing Yu had given up on her dreams of marrying Aji.

But surprisingly, after half a year, he was standing in front of her door.

Her refusal of him was only to help him find a better future.

Xing Yu bowed her head, tears swirling in her eyes.

“How could 1 forget?” Hua Ji murmured painfully, his voice trembling. “If the price I have to pay for my success is losing you, I’d rather take off these fine clothes and go back to being a servant who chops wood in the Spirit Beast Garden.”

Xing Yu bit her lip and hung her head low, afraid that if she looked up, she wouldn’t be able to resist throwing herself into Hua Ji’s arms.

“At this moment, you just need to embrace her, you know!” Bellowed a voice, startling them both and causing them to look up quickly.

There was Tang Luo leaning against a tree ahead, a smile on his face.

Having just returned from the Jiang Forest, he heard that Hua Ji had returned to the mansion looking for Xing Yu. As the master of the shopkeeper, he felt he had to witness this epic reunion.

“Greetings, young master.” The two quickly bowed to Tang Luo.

Xing Yu, finally lifting her head, had red, swollen eyes. The trails of tears drawn across her face made her look like a little kitten.

“No need to worry about me, I’m just wandering around.” Tang Luo rubbed the back of his head, deciding to give Hua Ji one last piece of advice. If that still didn’t work, then the kid deserved to be single.

“The young lady is crying this much, you’re not just going to watch holding that handkerchief, are you?”

Hua Ji startled, quickly turned around, looked at his lover with tears streaming down her face, staggered a few steps forward, and gently wiped the tears from the girl’s face with the handkerchief.

There’s nothing like physical contact between lovers to understand their love for each other. Feeling Hua Ji’s tenderness, the maid who had been suppressing her tears let them flow like pearls on a broken string, continuously pouring from her watery big eyes.

The sudden stream of tears overwhelmed Hua Ji, and he panickily said, “Xing Yu, don’t cry, it’s my fault for not visiting you. I’m sorry, please don’t cry.” Watching her flustered lover, Xing Yu’s six months of grievances welled up in her heart, her tears flowing even more freely.

After a long while, Hua Ji wiped away all of Xing Yu’s tears, tucked the soaked handkerchief into his pocket, and tightly embraced the maid.

Her head buried in Hua Ji’s shoulder, she complained, “Brother Aji, I missed you so much.”

Hua Ji’s nose tingled, and he buried his head in his lover’s hair.

“I missed you too, Xing Yu.”

The feelings of young boys and girls, always pure and straightforward, are heartwarming.

Even if they suffered setbacks, a single embrace was enough to forgive and forget, and return to their original state.

Youth is a wonderful thing. Tang Luo smiled and quietly left.

When the loving couple recollected that the young master was standing not far away, they couldn’t see him anymore.

Dining Hall

”My son, you seem in high spirits. Is it because of the duel this morning?” Xu Shuhui, grinning, placed a large piece of bone into Tang Luo’s bowl.

“Brother, you’re so cool!” The young lad hadn’t gotten over the awe of Tang Luo, every time he thought about it, he was still thrilled.

If I could be half as cool as brother, I would be able to spank Tang Zhen! The lad held grudges in his heart.

“Thank you, Mother. Not because of the duel, but because a pair of lovers finally got married.” Tang Luo replied with a grin.

Seeing her son so nonchalant about driving away the pride of the Mi Clan, Xu Shuhui felt nothing but pride.

“Bro, if you and Mi Shen had fought, who would’ve been stronger?” The lad asked. Youths care a lot about strength.

Tang Luo chewed his food, swallowed it, and casually said, “Of course, I’d be stronger.”

The opponent, without his spiritual armor, was defenseless. How could a mortal peak who needed to breathe be his opponent? There was no need to be modest about this.

Upon hearing Tang Luo’s words, the lad was excited again. His eyes were dreamy, his hand holding the chopsticks shaking, probably daydreaming about something.

“Son, if Mi Shen accepts your duel, would you kill him?” Xu Shuhui was a little worried. She used to think her son was too calm, which was a disadvantage as a warrior.

But today, seeing the indifference on her son’s face when he held a head, she was afraid that her son would be too bloodthirsty and turn into a killing maniac.

A mother’s worry about her child is endless. In their hearts, you’ll always be a child who needs to be cared for.

“He won’t accept it,” Tang Luo explained to Xu Shuhui. “He thinks he’s smart, and smart people always think about the bigger picture and are willing to back down.”

“So even if he wanted to fight me at that moment, once it escalated into a life and death duel, his rationality would stop him.”

Xu Shuhui seemed to understand. She believed her son defeated Mi Shen with wisdom. As for the fact that he said he was stronger than Mi Shen, it was probably just his competitive spirit talking.

“So you knew he wouldn’t accept the duel if it were a matter of life and death.

But what if he did accept it?”

“Then I’d kill him,” Tang Luo put down his bowl and chopsticks, casually said.

The entire dining table suddenly became quiet, except for Tang Sen who was still eating, even Little Nuannuan was taken aback by the murderous intent in Tang Luo’s words.

“Wouldn’t this lead to a war between the Tang and Mi Clans?” Xu Shuhui asked incredulously. She believed that her clever son Tang Luo must have thought of thic