Lu Qi was helpless, so he went with it anyway, but he kept his eyes fixed on Lu Xiao Shu.
Meanwhile, the others could not wait any longer as the two of them got into a sparring position. Cricket called out and attacked, swinging his fists towards Lu Xiao Shu.
Indeed, his martial arts was quite good but it was nothing compared to someone who had extensive experience with various types of martial arts in her past life. The only disadvantage she had was the fact that she was still too young and her body was not strong enough compared to him.
Cricket’s flying fist sent Lu Qi into a deadlock as worry washed over him. He was tempted to rush forward but Lin Fang gave him a tug and he snapped out of his daze. However, in that moment, Lu Xiao Shu evaded Cricket’s attack by dodging and throwing punches at Cricket in retaliation.
Their exchanges had Lu Qi and Lin Fang in amazement as their eyes were wide and their mouth hung open. In front of them, the two exchanged punches with fast and agile moves without wasting any second of opportunity.
They were used to seeing Cricket’s martial arts, yet they had never seen Lu Xiao Shu’s every move. It was sharp, precise and clean without any unnecessary movement.
Lu Qi’s eyes shone with wonder as he watched with his heart in his throat.
From his side, Lin Fang tugged on his sleeves and exclaimed, “I can’t believe Xiao Shu is so talented! Who, who did she learn from?”
“I have no idea!” Lu Qi forced a smile.
While they were chatting, a yell resonated and caught their attention. Cricket fell unceremoniously onto the ground as Lu Xiao Shu placed her foot on his waist with a vivid expression.
“You lost!” She put her foot down with a giddy look.
Cricket was livid as he got to his feet, “That doesn’t count! I wasn’t ready!” It was too humiliating to lose a fight while his young master watched. Besides, he underestimated his opponent. It seemed like the girl was an experienced fighter even though her every move was foreign and weird to him. She only focused on her defense and offense without minding what move he made!
“A lost is a lost” Lin Fang glared at him. At the moment, Lu Qi and him only had their mind on Lu Xiao Shu. Naturally, they would not care about Cricket much.
“Young Master, does it mean I won’t ever serve you after this? No way! My parents and brothers are all at the Lin Family’s Manor!” Cricket started to weep.
Only then, Lin Fang and Lu Qi remembered about their bet. They exchanged glances seeing how Lu Xiao Shu was so immensely proud of herself.
“Erm… Xiao Shu, you see here… Ha ha… can we use another—”
Without allowing him to complete his sentence, Lu Xiao Shu shook her head, “Nope!”
Lin Fang stuttered and gaped, “I, fine then… A gentleman never goes back on his word, so—”
“No way!” Lu Qi hastily interrupted, “Xiao Shu, that’s enough! You’re a little girl, how could you force a male servant to follow you around?”
“He’s right! Why don’t I send you two girls to serve you instead?” Lin Fang got excited.
“Who would want some girls?” Lu Xiao Shu pouted, but she replaced it with a toothy grin, “Actually, I never asked Cricket to follow me everywhere. He can still follow you around, but if I call for him, he needs to be there for me immediately. He can’t be late! So how about that?”
“But—”
“I think that settles it! That sounds workable!” Lin Fang cut Cricket off with a glare, and smiled, “I must say that Xiao Shu is always the brightest! Props to you for thinking of such a good idea. Cricket! Greet your new Lady now!”
Cricket was dismal as he just became a servant for another master, yet he did not dare to go against Lin Fang’s order. So, he reluctantly turned to face Lu Xiao Shu and bowed, “I am ready to serve Lady Lu.”
“Get up!” Lu Xiao Shu waved her hand as a signal without any awkwardness. It was natural to her since she had been a rich girl in her past life.
That sent Lin Fang into his thoughts: Seeing how she carries herself, she’s definitely born to be a lady!
Once Cricket got up, Lu Xiao Shu ordered, “There’s no need for you here. Go hunt and catch us some fish or anything to roast in the afternoon.”
“What are you waiting for?” Lin Fang sent Cricket a glare. With a distressed sigh, Cricket nodded and headed into the forest.
“Xiao Shu, your martial arts—”
“Who taught you that?”
Lin Fang and Lu Qi were too excited as they ambushed her with questions. In their haste, one cut off another without allowing him to finish.
Lu Xiao Shu smirked, “I should be asking you the same question. I can’t believe both of you are so daring. Beware of Mr Wu punishing you for what happened today!”
Their expressions took a turn as Lin Fang laughed nervously, “You don’t scare us. Mr Wu is out running an errand today and he won’t be back for the entire day. Even if he did come back early, I could say that I didn’t feel well and went home early.”
Then, Lu Xiao Shu gave her brother a look, meaning to ask: What about you? What excuse do you have?
Lu Qi coughed and cleared his throat, “I’ll see what happens then. I guess I could say that I went home to work. Gosh, Xiao Shu! Stop beating around the bush! Where did you learn those moves? How come I never knew?”
Instead of feeling like she had been exposed, Lu Xiao Shu pouted and replied as a matter of fact, “You never knew? Huh, it seems like you never cared about me! It’s a secret who I learned it from because my master forbids me to tell anyone. However, he didn’t care if I taught it to anyone. So, shall we teach each other?”
“Yes! That’s great!” Lin Fang nodded enthusiastically, completely forgetting the fact that his family’s elders forbade the Lin Family’s martial arts to be taught to someone outside of the family. Anyway, he had already taught it to Lu Qi, what difference would it make to teach another person?
“That settles it!” Lu Xiao Shu clapped her hands happily and asked impatiently, “What does the Lin Family expertise in? Do you know qing gong?”
Lin Fang nodded, “Qing gong? Of course, but we Lin Family focus on swordsmanship and punching techniques. You want to learn qing gong? I’ll go ask the old master to teach me when I get home…”
The trio sat down on the grass field as they chatted and discussed. Lin Fang’s eyes shone with pride when they talked about his family’s martial arts while Lu Qi thought to himself, He’s such an idiot. Soon, my sister would find out everything about his family including his ancestry, yet he still couldn’t catch on!
Indeed, Lu Xiao Shu never imagined that the Lin Family was so well off. She was extremely envious because she was a girl, making it impossible for her to seek for a master and learn any martial arts. She knew all too well that her mother, Miao Cui Lan, would give her a severe dressing down. However, she could still learn it secretly!
“Lu Qi, since you hate studying anyway, why don’t you tell father and mother that you want to quit the academy and learn martial arts with the Lin Family? That would be great so that it would save the trouble on both sides.” Lu Xiao Shu cupped her chin innocently as she suggested in complete seriousness.
“Quit the academy? To learn martial arts with the Lin Family?” Lu Qi was stunned. To be honest, the thought did come across his mind sometimes, yet he had always ignored the idea as he never made any move to make it happen. Of course, his mother would never allow it and she would skin him alive if he ever said something so preposterous!
“Okay! I hate studying too. We should start learning martial arts from now onwards and hang out together all the time. Imagine how fun that would be!” Lin Fang was on cloud nine at her suggestion. He patted his chest and assured, “Don’t worry, my father and brothers love me the most, as long as I ask for it, my father will definitely take you in.”
“Lu Qi, isn’t this a great opportunity?” Lu Xiao Shu urged Lu Qi with a bright smile. Once her brother is a part of the Lin Family, she, as his sister and Lin Fang’s friend, would probably be able to go over to play whenever she wished to. Whenever it came to the ancient martial art and syndicates, Lu Xiao Shu heart skipped with excitement immediately.
“This— do you really think this can work? Father would probably allow it but I’m afraid that mother—” Lu Qi was thrilled, but his happiness quickly turned into sorrow.
“How would you know if you never tried?” Lu Xiao Shu retorted, “Since you’re not study-material, you won’t achieve a juren or a jinshi even if you continue studying! We already have our uncle in our family. I guess that should be more than enough unless Mother wants our family to have two juren or jinshi. Fat chance!”
“You, you, you— Xiao Shu, that’s very rude of you!” Lu Qi might not be anything like a true disciple of confucius, but he still had an image to keep. Being criticized by his sister was very humiliating.
Meanwhile, Lin Fang doubled over in laughter, “Xiao Shu, you’re absolutely right! It would be enough to recognize a few words and be smart enough to not be abducted by anyone. To be honest, there are a few students from the village who think this way. You can see it from the ever changing faces in Mr Wu’s class. Besides, how many families would keep providing money for their children’s education?”
“Exactly!” Lu Xiao Shu nodded before adding, “What’s more, Mr Wu has never been strict to you. It’s obvious that he treats all of you like goats that could roam freely and independently. If you say you want to quit, I’m confident that he wouldn’t refuse to let you go.”
With the brainwashing he was getting from Lu Xiao Shu and Lin Fang, Lu Qi finally gave in and agreed confidently, “Alright, I’ll tell father and mother tonight! Xiao Shu, you must back me up!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be on your side!” Lu Xiao Shu nodded generously since this would benefit her too.
Soon, Cricket came back with a wild chicken and two huge fishes. Thus, they got to work, clearing out the fish guts with their bamboo swords and cleaning the fish as well as the wild chicken at the little stream. Cricket had collected a bunch of firewood and lit them up before roasting the chicken and fish on sticks using the fire he created. A moment later, the fragrant smell of roasted meat filled the air together with the smell of flowers. The fat wild chicken was golden brown as the fragrant fat and oil dripped down from it, making their mouth water at the sight of it.
Lu Qi tore the drumstick off and used the bamboo sword to cut it up before passing it to Xiao Shu. She mumbled while chomping into the aromatic drumstick, “Give me both the wings…”
Lu Qi chuckled, “Of course! You always want both the wings, but it’s all just bone and so little meat. Who would want to steal them from you?”
“He’s right!” Lin Fang added.
