Chapter 34 - Xin Shisiniang

Chapter 34 - Xin Shisiniang

Flushing red, An Renjie said, "I tried to be nice but you seem to not appreciate it. I am not holding back anymore."
"Are you sure you want to behave that way in front of me?" The woman's hand reached out to An Renjie and gently drew a circle. Her hands were as fair as her feet. With a gentle touch, An Renjie was on cloud nine.
An Renjie lowered his head to see a pair of long beautiful legs being lifted up slowly as if there were no joints attached to it. In an unfathomable angle, the legs kicked on his abdomen.
He felt like he was on cloud nine earlier on but right then, he literally flew away.
Further and further away from the ground, An Renjie was filled with fear. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the peak. He would definitely not survive in one piece to be falling from such height.
Of course, he fell. However unexpectedly, he survived the fall without any injuries. Reason being, a sword had cushioned his landing.
Like a master painter working on his masterpiece, Shen Lian skilfully channeled his energy into the ebony sword.
An Renjie fell right on and stumbled over some tables and chairs. He dared not to approach again, of course. He knew that this woman was not an easy catch.
A normal woman would not have such flawless features. She had no scars, fine lines, blocked pores, not any impurities.
Neither was she using any foundation.
Unless she practiced any art similar to "taming the white tiger" or "slaying the red dragon". If so, she was not just any ordinary human being.
"You, are Mister Yu," with a lovely face she pointed.
Her tone was naive yet genuine without a hint of pretense.
"My family name is Shen but I am probably the Mister Yu that you're looking for."
"So your family name is Shen. Then why would they call you Mister Yu? But I have heard of a poem that describes people like you, 'Strangers are like jade horses, there won't be a second person like you in this world'. I think the name Mister Yu sure suits you."
She analyzed Shen Lian seriously and seemed to have developed a particular interest towards his face. Her eyes were filled with admiration yet it didn't seem too desperate.
"Well, who are you and why are looking for me?" Shen Lian did not feel awkward by her scrutinization and calmly questioned her instead.
He tried to figure out her background but he could not come up with any answers. His instinct told him that there was something dangerous about her but he was not disgusted by it.
"My name is Xin Shisiniang. I was sent by my father to invite you to be our guest."
"Did you walk in the snow to get here?" Shen Lian asked abruptly.
"Hell yeah! I don't have the ability to stop snow from falling neither should I be nosing into that." Xin Shisiniang was not unapproachable. She was just very frank and straightforward.
She did not call An Renjie, Mister Zhu, to insult him but because he reminded her of a pig.
And she was just being defensive towards An Renjie's offense.
"I've pretty much figured out that your father is non-human and so are you." Shen Lian finally confirmed something as Xin Shisiniang arrived from the snow without any traces of the snow. That was not something achievable by martial arts.
Even if someone had very strong Qigong, it would still be difficult for them to sustain their power in such long journey.
There were no sights of horse carriage nearby, so it was safe to assume that Xin Shisiniang walked here.
Furthermore, if she did use her Qigong, she would have been burnt out from shielding herself against the snow storm. There was no way she would look as calm and energetic as she was.
The kick that she gave An Renjie was out of pure strength, no inner strength was detected.
If she was just an ordinary woman, her petite figure would not be able to produce such explosive strength.
With all that reasons stated, it was obvious that she was not a human. Her father was certainly non-human too.
"Of course I am not a human. The fact that you were able to tell it with one look, you're indeed special."
"I couldn't tell by looking, I guessed it." Shen Lian was honest with his answer. He did not see the point of self-praising.
"You eat how much you own", the wisdom saying since ancient times.
"Then, you are brilliant."
"I don't deny that." Shen Lian smiled as if spring just breezed through.
"On the fifteenth day of this month, my father would like to host you at the Qielan Temple. It is also my birthday so please don't show up empty-handed."
The woman left as her voice faded away.
An Renjie touched the spot where Xin Shisiniang kicked as if he was reliving moments. "Brother Lian, what on earth is this beauty? She seems pretty ferocious."
"Didn't I say that she's not human? Were you even listening?"
"Non-human...could it be that she's a monster?"
If it were not for that kick, An Renjie would have referred her as a goddess instead of a monstress. Just like his words, he was a very frank person.
"I am not sure about that. It's just that Qielan temple was being abandoned after Ling Chongxiao chased away the temple monks. I've never heard that this father and daughter has taken over the temple. Uncle Wu, do you know about it?"
Shen Lian asked Steward Wu who was next to him.
"I've never heard about people taking over the Qielan temple. There were rumors of people hearing strange sound around there. Bodyguards who passed by the area too didn't have the guts to enter. Considering that you said that she's not a mortal, could it be that monsters reside in the temple?"
The thought scared Steward Wu. It was still not too bad if Xin Shisiniang was from the Jianghu. But if she was a monster?! He felt the need to advise Shen Lian against attending the invitation.
"Since she has invited me, should I attend the function?" Shen Lian seemed like he was asking himself but could also be asking the people surrounding him.
"Don't go, of course!"
"You should go!"
The one who discouraged him was Steward Wu while the one who encouraged was An Renjie.
"Forget about it. When the time comes, I will decide to go or not to go."
"Brother Lian, if you do go, will you bring me along?"
An Renjie asked with a pleasing smile. If he had a tail, he would be shaking his tail right now.
"Do you have amnesia? If it wasn't for me earlier on, you would have to stay in bed for the next three months."
"But I'll have you around. Just like what dad says, you are Jianghu's number one when it comes to martial arts."
"I can bring you there but you have to give me your family treasure."
"That is the life of my old man. He will beat me to death if I sneak it out!"