Clang! Crash! Bang!
“For goodness’ sake, are those two fighting again!?”
Several disciples of the sect gathered at the compound of Qian Jian Peak to watch. In all honesty, not too many of them were from the peak themselves. They’d flown over from their own peaks just to enjoy the excitement and place bets.
Xin Long had just returned to his peak the day before from his mission and was told by his peak master to visit all the other peaks to pay respect to his martial aunts and uncles. Of course, Qian Jian Peak was one of them – but as it came to pass, his number one enemy and rival, Qian Huang, also happened to be a disciple of that peak.
Xin Long and Qian Huang were like water and oil. On the surface, most people would think that they were the sort to get along well, since they were both in par with each other when it came to martial arts, but those two argued very often.
“Is your sword all you can talk with?” taunted Xin Long, his tanned large muscles bulging with adrenaline. “I haven’t seen you in so long and you’re still as arrogant as always.”
“Shut up,” retorted Qian Huang, flicking his sleeves. “You’re a boor who can only talk with his fists. What right do you have to lecture me?”
“Plenty!” Xin Long rolled his eyes. “I only touched your shoulder once and you’ve bristled up and lost your temper immediately. You’re just like a maiden!”
“Who are you calling a maiden!??” Qian Huang shouted and slashed at the man wildly. Xin Long, who sported long braids, nearly had a few sliced off.
“HEY! Watch my hair!” Xin Long shouted back angrily. “You nearly cut them off! It took me all morning to get them right!”
And indeed he had spent all morning adding beads to his locks to go with his accessories. The disciples on Xin Jin Peak wore gold, but Xin Long personally liked a lot of colour and so adorned himself with brightly coloured beads and exposed most of his upper body and muscles proudly.
This was in stark contrast to Qian Huang, who appeared more often clad in robes of dull grey with a neat crown or a simple hairpin. He didn’t like exposing much skin at all and often furrowed his brows at Xin Long’s exhibitionism.
Even when it came to looks, the two were like night and day.
To the onlookers’ surprise though, Qian Huang suddenly lowered his sword. His brows were still furrowed, but he didn’t swing like a madman anymore. More so, he seemed to be aiming much lower than usual and less at the head…
Min Yi, who was there, nudged at Li Mei with a secret smile.
“Li-Li, did you also notice that?”
Li Mei nodded. Most enemies would aim for the head even more after seeing a weak spot, but Qian Huang had deliberately aimed lower and away from it. It was a little suspicious.
“Hmph! Your hair, your hair – is that all you care about?” snorted Qian Huang, floating a distance away. “You only care about your looks. What about other things?”
“Hey, I care about other things too!” replied Xin Long. “For example, how strong I am.”
Qian Huang’s brow twitched. “You’re a man who loves his own reflection!”
“And you’re a man who needs to look at his reflection a bit more!” Xin Long barked back. “Hmph! You’re not someone who should lecture others. You dress like an old man all the time. What waste of a handsome face!”
Qian Huang started, his eyes nearly popping out.
“You think I’m handsome?”
Xin Long scratched his head in confusion. “I mean, how are you not?”
“……” Everyone else was silent.
Truth be told, Qian Huang was very good-looking. His brows were like swords and his eyes were like that of a phoenix’s and his lips were like plum blossoms. However, it was also true that he dressed like an old man. The robes that he wore were old-fashioned, extremely plain and boring. It was as if a beautiful maiden had put herself in a garbage bag.
Nobody knew what Qian Huang saw when he looked into the mirror in the morning. Whatever it was, it was an eye-opener for him all the same.
“Look, I’m sorry I touched your shoulder without asking first, okay?” sighed Xin Long. “It was just that I’d gotten something for you during my journey back here, so I wanted to give it to you in person. Honestly, you get so angry easily. Why are you always like that?”
Qian Huang put away his sword and twisted his lips. But no matter how reluctant he looked, it seemed as if peace had returned to the garden at last.
Xin Long took out a small lacquered box from his horse skin bag and pushed it into Qian Huang’s hands.
“For you,” he said, as he waved and walked away casually. “Now that I’m done here, I’m going.”
Seeing as nobody won the fight, everyone who had flown over to place bets earlier crowded around to the side to get their money back. As for Qian Huang, he merely gripped the box tightly before opening it.
In it was a single belt tassel, gaudy and encrusted with beads.
Li Mei stared at the scene from afar, trying to see what the gift looked like. Suddenly, sparks of light enveloped the area around her. Glancing sideways, she noticed that they were slowly seeping into Min Yi’s body. Min Yi opened her eyes and smiled at her gently.
“This is my aesthetic,” explained Min Yi. “These two fight very often and then make up again, so I’ve had many opportunities to cultivate. Li-Li, our shixiongs and shidis1Shidi - Younger disciple brother. Not related by blood. are precious in every way, and we must not forget that.”
Li Mei nodded gratefully, smiling. Unsheathing their swords and jumping on them, the two peacefully flew back to their peak.
