Just as Murong Yunshu expected, after passing through the stone bridge from Mountain of Doom to the Undead Mountain, what awaits them was their biggest testâthe Li soldiersâshe preferred to call them uncivilized people, or âsavagesâ for short. As each of them was unclothed, with their faces painted in red and white face rouges like devil masks, straw hats on their heads, straw sandals on their feet, and a circle of straw mats around their waist, to cover the areas below the waist and above their knees. Besides, there were no extra decorations on their bodies.
In fact, when one got down to it, it was a bit unfair to call them uncivilized people. After all, they still knew how to cover up the lower half of their body, so they were considered semi-civilized people at best.
âWho are you? How dare you trespass on the forbidden land of Li Clan!â asked the man with a gray feather in his straw hat.
When Murong Yunshu heard what was said, she smiled lightly. Very good, their language was the same, so there would be no barrier in communication. Chu Changge, however, frowned, while holding a folding fan that was unknown where he had gotten it from, and he had been shaking it for a while.
The man noticed that Murong Yunshu was not only unafraid, but actually smiled in a calm and collected[1]Chinese idiom : showing no sign of nerves manner. He suddenly turned hostile and roared, âIâm asking you a question! What are you laughing atâŠ..â before the words even died down, a âpapâ sound could be heard, as a blinding redness appeared on the face of the man with the feather on his head, while blood was running from the corner of his mouth. Obviously, he had been slapped, but no one saw who slapped him, or even when the slap had been given. By the time everyone reacted, he had been solidly slapped.
The man stared at Chu Changge, with his eyes bulged out, and his throat was âgurglingâ, but he didnât say a word. It was because as soon as he opened his mouth, it was like ten thousand ants eating his heart, extremely painful and itchy, which was worse than death.
Chu Changge was no longer shaking the fan at this point, because the fan in his hand had been closed. A trace of blood flowed out from the corner of that manâs mouth, in a steady flow[2]Chinese idiom : an unending stream. There was a great tendency for the manâs body to be drained of all his blood since it didnât seem to stop streaming. It was only then that someone noticed that t on the edge of the fan in Chu Changgeâs hand was stained with some rouge.
It could be seen that the man was sweating like rain. His face was distorting painfully. He suddenly gritted his teeth, covered his face and roared wildly, âHow dare youâŠ..how dare you hitâŠ..â before he could even finish his sentence, another âpapâ sound could be heard, as he stumbled a few steps to the side, and the strange redness on his face also disappeared. Although the corners of his mouth still bled, it was not as surging as it did before. Now, it looked like a normal manifestation of bleeding after a normal person had been slapped by an abnormal certain martial artist.
âHow dare you hit me!â The man roared. After he roared, he suddenly quivered, and found out that besides the burning pain on his face, he couldnât talk as much as he used to. So he put away his anger and the expression on his face was replaced with a look of confusion.
The fan in Chu Changgeâs hand had been unfolded again this time. He shook the fan lightly, while leisurely smiled, and then casually said, âYou can continue trying to treat her even a bit worse, and you will know that I not only dare to beat you, but also dare to kill you.â
He said in a light-hearted way, but it was bone chilling to those who heard it. Especially to the leader with a feather on his head, as his legs began to tremble. In the face of such a threat from a man who could send himself to hell for a walk with just two slaps, how could he not tremble?
For Chu Changge to stick up for her, Murong Yunshuâs heart was naturally moved, but as moving as it was, there was still some concern. He had this âIâm the greatest in the worldâ attitude, and it really shouldnât continue to flourishâŠ..especially when you didnât know what the other party was capable of. It was always good to be a bit more reserved. Of course, she was only thinking of these thoughts in her mind. He would never be persuaded, since she herself was a person who also followed her own desires[3]Chinese idiom : do as one pleases, so she knew his behaviour very well.
If she had been the one with the unique skills, she would have been the first one to punch and kick the leaderâŠ..uh, punching and kicking seems to be something a street fighter would do. A master, like Chu Changge, would beat people without being known by god or ghost[4]Chinese idiom : without anybody knowing about it. As Murong Yunshu thought until here, she suddenly smiled. She really didnât have the potential to be a master of martial arts. Even her thoughts were on the same level as a street fighter who was like a three-legged cat[5]jack of all trades and only knew how to bully the good people but scare of the evil ones. When it came to learn combat aspects, she was the legendary piece of rotten wood, which could never be carved[6]Chinese proverbs : You cannot change the true nature of such thingsâŠ..
The savage people had never seen such a smile that they couldnât make a head or a tail of[7]Chinese idiom : baffled. Naturally, when combined it with Chu Changgeâs threat, they were reminded of the sneer that bandits would give out before they started killing, the sort that could make oneâs hair stood on end[8]Chinese idiom : absolutely terrifiedâŠ..
The leader shuddered and slowly trotted backwards. He backed up till he was next to his second-in-command and whispered, âBusi, Iâll hold them off. You go back and call for help.â
Without waiting for a reply from the man called âBusiâ, Chu Changge smilingly said, âIf you have something to say, just speak up. No matter how small your voice are, I can still hear you.â
Hearing this, Murong Yunshu shook her head helplessly. This person ah, was so afraid that others would not know that he was a master of martial arts.
The leader couldnât calm down, and with a shudder, the feather on his head was shook off to the ground. Busi hurriedly picked it up and plugged it back for him.
Feather was a symbol of status in the Li People. Just like the official seal of the Daye Dynasty, losing them would be punishable by death.
Murong Yunshu looked at the leader and said, âWe are just merchants, from the Daye Dynasty at the foot of the mountain. This barbarian act of intrusion to your clan forbidden area, isnât actually our choice but weâre really looking forward in meeting you all.â The correct way to communicate with reasonable people was through peaceful measures before using force[9]Chinese idiom : diplomacy before violence, while for unreasonable people, one should communicate with force first before peaceful measures. Although she wasnât sure if these savages were reasonable people, but, since someone had used âforceâ on them first, in that case, they could be considered unreasonable people by default. Of course, even if one didnât understand a sensible talk, one would instantly become a language genius, especially under a certain someoneâs intimidation, right?
So, in a way, someoneâs violent behaviour had greatly relieved her of the burden and saved her a lot of trouble.