“What are television and novels?” Qin Ke Xuan was puzzled, the force of her grip loosening.
Yin Xu Dong gagged, “Cough cough cough! The heck! What the hell was that? All I’m asking is for you to teach me some moves, do you need to go as far as murdering me? Cough cough cough, I swear I’ll freaking die in your hands sooner or later!”
Qin Ke Xuan: “Put a sock in it with your nonsense. Explain, properly. From what television or novel did you hear about the rules of the Pugilistic Realm and the Martial Arts?”
Yin Xu Dong was so depressed he had the sudden urge to bang the wall, except that he was unable to move his body, “Da Jie, there are countless television and novels about it, how the heck am I supposed to remember all of them? Like Jin Yong, Liang Yu Sheng, but those are all fictional, no one actually takes them for real. “
(T/N: “Da Jie” = 大姐; big sister. Yin Xu Dong is using the term “big sis” to highlight his exasperation, similar to saying “dude” when you’re frustrated and exasperated with someone, except with a gender reference.)
(T/N: “Jin Yong” and “Liang Yu Sheng” are famous Chinese WuXia novel authors.)
“Jin Yong?” She did not know him.
“My shit! If I hadn’t witnessed your Xiao Li Flying Daggers and Sunflower Dian Xue Hand personally, I would have really believed these martial arts moves were completely made-up by the (very OP) authors.”
Qin Ke Xuan quietly collated the information, not replying him.
Yin Xu Dong continued pitter-pattering on a huge lot about it, only to realise the other party was not even listening and pursed his lips crestfallenly, “Oi, Qin Ke Xuan, hurry undo the acupuncture, I can already feel my body going numb.”
Qin Ke Xuan swept a disdainful look in his direction, “You can’t even handle this, and you want to learn martial arts?”
Upon hearing this, Yin Xu Dong’s eyes lit up, and asked excitedly: “You, are you saying you’ll take me as your disciple? Oh yeah! Honoured Shi Fu, allow me to pay my respect.”
(T/N: “Shi Fu” = 师父; master)
Qin Ke Xuan cast a sidelong glance at the paralysed Yin Xu Dong on the ground, saying leisurely: “You want to become my disciple? Simple.”
“How? How? No matter what you need me to do, I’ll do it!” Yin Xu Dong replied excitedly.
“My condition is that you shall do everything I ask of you to do, else…”
“Else what?”
“I will kill you.”
“…”
Yin Xu Dong’s enthusiasm was quickly extinguished. He had observed Qin Ke Xuan very properly, and he could tell from her expressionless face that she was being serious. Moreover, after the few recent interactions with her, he was clear that Qin Ke Xuan was not joking around. That girl ain’t kidding!
“… it’s illegal to kill someone.” Yin Xu Dong swallowed.
“So?”
“…”
Yin Xu Dong inhaled deeply, “Alright, I promise.”
His reply surprised Qin Ke Xuan, “You think I won’t kill you?”
“No. I’m not worried about you killing me, because I will obey your orders unconditionally.” Yin Xu Dong was very confident.
Qin Ke Xuan questioned: “Anything?”
“Yeah!”
“Including licking my foot?”
Yin Xu Dong felt his blood freezing as he stared at Qin Ke Xuan, who was looking every bit serious, and glanced at her foot. Fortunately, it appeared sparkling and nice-looking, forget it, let’s just treat it as crystal chicken feet! “Come! I’m ready.” He was all prepared to face death with equanimity.
Qin Ke Xuan stretched out her leg, kicking at him. “You passed.”
Yin Xu Dong stayed unmoving.
“The acupuncture was undone.” Qin Ke Xuan looked at Yin Xu Dong, puzzled. It was impossible for her to undo it wrongly.
Yin Xu Dong inclined his head 45 degrees upwards, and stared at the ceiling. “… too numb, I can’t move…”
Yin Ke Xuan started doubting herself, whether or not she incorrectly taken a stupid disciple, but never mind that, she had only wanted to find a subordinate, one that would put in his all, to aid her in this foreign environment. Whether he would be able to learn would have to depend on his aptitude, and that outside her scope of concern.
“I want you gone in three.”
“Ha?”
“One.”
“Wait wait wait!” Yin Xu Dong struggled to get up.
“Two.”
“You’re counting too fast!” Yin Xu Dong half-crawled-half-rolled out in frenzy, heading straight for the balcony.
“Three.”
Yin Xu Dong jumped across, into his own balcony, in time just as she reached the third count.
Qin Ku Xuan sat with her legs crossed on the ground and started her cultivating her Inner Qi for the day, till the wee hours of the day before wrapping up and turning in.
(T/N: “Inner Qi” = 内功 (nei gong); refers to the set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice associated with Chinese martial arts)
The next day, Qin Ke Xuan refused Qin Shu Hua’s offer to send her to school, picked up her bag, and left the house.
At the entrance, she saw something unexpected—the dog she saved yesterday, to her surprise, laid beside the doorway. It raised its head upon hearing someone approaching, after which, some vigorous tail-wagging and powerful exertion in getting up shortly followed, before it staggered towards her side, rubbing its head against her leg, “woof” ing away.
Qin Ke Xuan squatted down, and patted its head, murmuring: “You actually followed me all the way here.”
The dog stuck out its tongue and licked her hand.
At that moment, the metal door next door creaked open and out walked a middle-aged lady. She saw Qin Ke Xuan, and immediately asked her amiably: “Xuan Xuan, going to school?”
“Mmh.”
“Qin Ke Xuan!” Yin Xu Dong dashed out from inside excitedly.
Qin Ke Xuan carried the dog and pushed it into Yin Xu Dong’s arms, “Bring it home, wash it, and feed it.”
Yin Xu Dong held the dog reluctantly, reproaching discontentedly: “Why is it me doing this?”
Qin Ke Xuan swept him a glance, and Yin Xu Dong immediately surrendered, “Yes yes, your highness, I will do so accordingly. Gosh, don’t look at me like you’re looking at a dead person!”
The middle-aged lady knocked Yin Xu Dong’s head, berating him: “This boy! Watch your words, look at how you’re talking!”
Yin Xu Dong turned and passed the dog to his mother, “Mom, do me a favour, help me bathe the dog, and also feed him while you’re at it.”
Mother Yin frowned, taking the dog, “This fella’, now you’re ordering your mother around?”
Yin Xu Dong turned back, wanting to ask when Qin Ke Xuan was going to start teaching him the Xiao Li Flying Dagger and Sunflower Dian Xue Hand, “Qin Ke Xuan… huh, where did she go?”
“She’s long gone.” Mother Yin said, with a tinge of sarcasm, behind him, and carried the dog back, leaving the abandoned Yin Xu Dong feeling depressed and dejected.
Upon her second time stepping into this private school, she immediately felt the finger-pointing and whisperings from the surrounding students.
Just as she was about to disregard the bunch of them, a figure suddenly appeared before her.
Qin Ke Xuan squinted her eyes, “Get out of the way.” Her words was coloured with an aura of danger.
“Qin Ke Xuan, let’s talk.”
Qin Ke Xuan raised her head, “Move.”
Cao Lin Wei frowned, “Qin Ke Xuan, I did not do anything wrong to you. I just want to urge you to stop being stubborn, what is there for you to give a cold shoulder?”
Qin Ke Xuan started, and detoured past him, walked a few steps more before stopping, asking earnestly: “Who are you?” Memorise his face. If she saw him again in some isolated corner, she would make sure to warn him how idiotic of him it was to disregard her words, and twice at that, and block her way.
Cao Lin Wei: “…”
Qin Ke Xuan grabbed a male student brushing past her, and pointed at Cao Lin Wei: “Who is he?”
“He’s Cao Lin Wei! Hurry let me go, I’m almost late for class!” The student swept a glance in Cao Lin Wei’s direction hastily.
Qin Ke Xuan glanced at Cao Lin Wei meaningfully before turning away.
Her meaningful look was hence unexpectedly spread around, rumored to be a heartfelt glance brimming with tender feelings, coupled with grief tinged with an undying spirit.
Walking into the classroom, after Qin Ke Xuan had just sat down at her seat from yesterday, Zhou Jing came and sat at the seat in front of hers, greeting her smilingly: “Ke Xuan.”
Qin Ke Xuan surveyed the classroom blandly. This girl was such a nuisance.
“I heard from the teachers that you weren’t staying in the dormitories anymore, why not?” Zhou Jing asked Qin Ke Xuan, pouting.
Ding Jie Yun, sitting at the other end of the classroom, happened to overhear this, sneered: “How would she dare stay in the dorms? Won’t it be bad if she were to accidentally reveal her scars when changing?”
The Qin Ke Xuan today wore a long sleeved shirt, as usual. One would be able to discover, if they looked close enough, that she was actually wearing, not one, but two layers of clothes under such a sweltering weather. This undoubtedly proved the “truth”—that she had scars—valid.
Qin Ke Xuan cannot be bothered to explain herself to the bunch of shamelessly-attired girls, hence considered to have acknowledged their assumptions.
Zhou Jing frowned, “Ding Jie Yun, can you not be like this?”
Ding Jie Yun replied sharply: “Me? What did I do? I just find her existence a pain in the ass, you got a problem with that? I just don’t like how you put on an act to suck-up to her, you got a problem with that?”
Zhou Jing bit her lips tightly, and stared firmly at Ding Jie Yun silently, her face pale.
Completely disregarding the arguing pair, Qin Ke Xuan took out a book from her school bag and started flipping. In order to survive in this foreign environment, she had to collate information about this place. After the many days of observation, she realised the possibility of her returning to where she had come from was low.
As to all the strange situations happening to her, she has yet to make sense of it, and she had wanted to do so through reading the books, which can, perhaps, help her deepen understanding. In that case, if she had wanted to retrieve information from these books, which she did not understand, studying was unavoidable.
To someone who had been trained to be a killer from young, coming to studying in a private school was absurd. Thankfully, no one here seemed to know or recognize her, or else she should just die in embarrassment and retire from the world of assassination.
She had endured through four consecutive lessons in the afternoon. With the exception of literature, a subject she could sort of understand, she had blurred through everything else in a state of confusion.
After lessons had ended, Qin Ke Xuan brushed past an excited looking Zhou Jing, who had been looking at her with anticipation, and headed towards the place that was allegedly known as the canteen.
After walking past a small trail, a few people scuttled out all of a sudden, blocking Qin Ke Xuan’s way.
Qin Ke Xuan’s eyebrows rose. There sure were lots of people blocking her way today. After surveying the surrounding, unlike the bustling school gates in the morning that made punching people inappropriate, the remoteness of this place dissolved her qualms.
The head of the little gang of girls pointed at Qin Ke Xuan: “You lowly wench! Why the hell are you still bothering Cao…”
The girl had not finished her piece as Qin Ke Xuan forcefully cut her off. One hand gripping her collar, she pulled her down, shortly followed by a quick push, forcefully flinging the girl about six metres away. That girl laid on the ground, incessantly groaning in pain.
The other two, after witnessing such a terrifying scene, were not given a chance to react before Qin Ke Xuan dumped them, as well, in the direction of the first girl. The groaning moans of pain resounded continuously.
Upon seeing this, Qin Ke Xuan was a little disappointed. She had thought she would be able to test her agility and exercise a bit, who knew they were so weak, not even able to withstand a move, without utilizing her Inner Qi, from her.
Qin Ke Xuan left, disappointed.
“What are television and novels?” Qin Ke Xuan was puzzled, the force of her grip loosening.
Yin Xu Dong gagged, “Cough cough cough! The heck! What the hell was that? All I’m asking is for you to teach me some moves, do you need to go as far as murdering me? Cough cough cough, I swear I’ll freaking die in your hands sooner or later!”
Qin Ke Xuan: “Put a sock in it with your nonsense. Explain, properly. From what television or novel did you hear about the rules of the Pugilistic Realm and the Martial Arts?”
Yin Xu Dong was so depressed he had the sudden urge to bang the wall, except that he was unable to move his body, “Da Jie, there are countless television and novels about it, how the heck am I supposed to remember all of them? Like Jin Yong, Liang Yu Sheng, but those are all fictional, no one actually takes them for real. “
(T/N: “Da Jie” = 大姐; big sister. Yin Xu Dong is using the term “big sis” to highlight his exasperation, similar to saying “dude” when you’re frustrated and exasperated with someone, except with a gender reference.)
(T/N: “Jin Yong” and “Liang Yu Sheng” are famous Chinese WuXia novel authors.)
“Jin Yong?” She did not know him.
“My shit! If I hadn’t witnessed your Xiao Li Flying Daggers and Sunflower Dian Xue Hand personally, I would have really believed these martial arts moves were completely made-up by the (very OP) authors.”
Qin Ke Xuan quietly collated the information, not replying him.
Yin Xu Dong continued pitter-pattering on a huge lot about it, only to realise the other party was not even listening and pursed his lips crestfallenly, “Oi, Qin Ke Xuan, hurry undo the acupuncture, I can already feel my body going numb.”
Qin Ke Xuan swept a disdainful look in his direction, “You can’t even handle this, and you want to learn martial arts?”
Upon hearing this, Yin Xu Dong’s eyes lit up, and asked excitedly: “You, are you saying you’ll take me as your disciple? Oh yeah! Honoured Shi Fu, allow me to pay my respect.”
(T/N: “Shi Fu” = 师父; master)
Qin Ke Xuan cast a sidelong glance at the paralysed Yin Xu Dong on the ground, saying leisurely: “You want to become my disciple? Simple.”
“How? How? No matter what you need me to do, I’ll do it!” Yin Xu Dong replied excitedly.
“My condition is that you shall do everything I ask of you to do, else…”
“Else what?”
“I will kill you.”
“…”
Yin Xu Dong’s enthusiasm was quickly extinguished. He had observed Qin Ke Xuan very properly, and he could tell from her expressionless face that she was being serious. Moreover, after the few recent interactions with her, he was clear that Qin Ke Xuan was not joking around. That girl ain’t kidding!
“… it’s illegal to kill someone.” Yin Xu Dong swallowed.
“So?”
“…”
Yin Xu Dong inhaled deeply, “Alright, I promise.”
His reply surprised Qin Ke Xuan, “You think I won’t kill you?”
“No. I’m not worried about you killing me, because I will obey your orders unconditionally.” Yin Xu Dong was very confident.
Qin Ke Xuan questioned: “Anything?”
“Yeah!”
“Including licking my foot?”
Yin Xu Dong felt his blood freezing as he stared at Qin Ke Xuan, who was looking every bit serious, and glanced at her foot. Fortunately, it appeared sparkling and nice-looking, forget it, let’s just treat it as crystal chicken feet! “Come! I’m ready.” He was all prepared to face death with equanimity.
Qin Ke Xuan stretched out her leg, kicking at him. “You passed.”
Yin Xu Dong stayed unmoving.
“The acupuncture was undone.” Qin Ke Xuan looked at Yin Xu Dong, puzzled. It was impossible for her to undo it wrongly.
Yin Xu Dong inclined his head 45 degrees upwards, and stared at the ceiling. “… too numb, I can’t move…”
Yin Ke Xuan started doubting herself, whether or not she incorrectly taken a stupid disciple, but never mind that, she had only wanted to find a subordinate, one that would put in his all, to aid her in this foreign environment. Whether he would be able to learn would have to depend on his aptitude, and that outside her scope of concern.
“I want you gone in three.”
“Ha?”
“One.”
“Wait wait wait!” Yin Xu Dong struggled to get up.
“Two.”
“You’re counting too fast!” Yin Xu Dong half-crawled-half-rolled out in frenzy, heading straight for the balcony.
“Three.”
Yin Xu Dong jumped across, into his own balcony, in time just as she reached the third count.
Qin Ku Xuan sat with her legs crossed on the ground and started her cultivating her Inner Qi for the day, till the wee hours of the day before wrapping up and turning in.
(T/N: “Inner Qi” = 内功 (nei gong); refers to the set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice associated with Chinese martial arts)
The next day, Qin Ke Xuan refused Qin Shu Hua’s offer to send her to school, picked up her bag, and left the house.
At the entrance, she saw something unexpected—the dog she saved yesterday, to her surprise, laid beside the doorway. It raised its head upon hearing someone approaching, after which, some vigorous tail-wagging and powerful exertion in getting up shortly followed, before it staggered towards her side, rubbing its head against her leg, “woof” ing away.
Qin Ke Xuan squatted down, and patted its head, murmuring: “You actually followed me all the way here.”
The dog stuck out its tongue and licked her hand.
At that moment, the metal door next door creaked open and out walked a middle-aged lady. She saw Qin Ke Xuan, and immediately asked her amiably: “Xuan Xuan, going to school?”
“Mmh.”
“Qin Ke Xuan!” Yin Xu Dong dashed out from inside excitedly.
Qin Ke Xuan carried the dog and pushed it into Yin Xu Dong’s arms, “Bring it home, wash it, and feed it.”
Yin Xu Dong held the dog reluctantly, reproaching discontentedly: “Why is it me doing this?”
Qin Ke Xuan swept him a glance, and Yin Xu Dong immediately surrendered, “Yes yes, your highness, I will do so accordingly. Gosh, don’t look at me like you’re looking at a dead person!”
The middle-aged lady knocked Yin Xu Dong’s head, berating him: “This boy! Watch your words, look at how you’re talking!”
Yin Xu Dong turned and passed the dog to his mother, “Mom, do me a favour, help me bathe the dog, and also feed him while you’re at it.”
Mother Yin frowned, taking the dog, “This fella’, now you’re ordering your mother around?”
Yin Xu Dong turned back, wanting to ask when Qin Ke Xuan was going to start teaching him the Xiao Li Flying Dagger and Sunflower Dian Xue Hand, “Qin Ke Xuan… huh, where did she go?”
“She’s long gone.” Mother Yin said, with a tinge of sarcasm, behind him, and carried the dog back, leaving the abandoned Yin Xu Dong feeling depressed and dejected.
Upon her second time stepping into this private school, she immediately felt the finger-pointing and whisperings from the surrounding students.
Just as she was about to disregard the bunch of them, a figure suddenly appeared before her.
Qin Ke Xuan squinted her eyes, “Get out of the way.” Her words was coloured with an aura of danger.
“Qin Ke Xuan, let’s talk.”
Qin Ke Xuan raised her head, “Move.”
Cao Lin Wei frowned, “Qin Ke Xuan, I did not do anything wrong to you. I just want to urge you to stop being stubborn, what is there for you to give a cold shoulder?”
Qin Ke Xuan started, and detoured past him, walked a few steps more before stopping, asking earnestly: “Who are you?” Memorise his face. If she saw him again in some isolated corner, she would make sure to warn him how idiotic of him it was to disregard her words, and twice at that, and block her way.
Cao Lin Wei: “…”
Qin Ke Xuan grabbed a male student brushing past her, and pointed at Cao Lin Wei: “Who is he?”
“He’s Cao Lin Wei! Hurry let me go, I’m almost late for class!” The student swept a glance in Cao Lin Wei’s direction hastily.
Qin Ke Xuan glanced at Cao Lin Wei meaningfully before turning away.
Her meaningful look was hence unexpectedly spread around, rumored to be a heartfelt glance brimming with tender feelings, coupled with grief tinged with an undying spirit.
Walking into the classroom, after Qin Ke Xuan had just sat down at her seat from yesterday, Zhou Jing came and sat at the seat in front of hers, greeting her smilingly: “Ke Xuan.”
Qin Ke Xuan surveyed the classroom blandly. This girl was such a nuisance.
“I heard from the teachers that you weren’t staying in the dormitories anymore, why not?” Zhou Jing asked Qin Ke Xuan, pouting.
Ding Jie Yun, sitting at the other end of the classroom, happened to overhear this, sneered: “How would she dare stay in the dorms? Won’t it be bad if she were to accidentally reveal her scars when changing?”
The Qin Ke Xuan today wore a long sleeved shirt, as usual. One would be able to discover, if they looked close enough, that she was actually wearing, not one, but two layers of clothes under such a sweltering weather. This undoubtedly proved the “truth”—that she had scars—valid.
Qin Ke Xuan cannot be bothered to explain herself to the bunch of shamelessly-attired girls, hence considered to have acknowledged their assumptions.
Zhou Jing frowned, “Ding Jie Yun, can you not be like this?”
Ding Jie Yun replied sharply: “Me? What did I do? I just find her existence a pain in the ass, you got a problem with that? I just don’t like how you put on an act to suck-up to her, you got a problem with that?”
Zhou Jing bit her lips tightly, and stared firmly at Ding Jie Yun silently, her face pale.
Completely disregarding the arguing pair, Qin Ke Xuan took out a book from her school bag and started flipping. In order to survive in this foreign environment, she had to collate information about this place. After the many days of observation, she realised the possibility of her returning to where she had come from was low.
As to all the strange situations happening to her, she has yet to make sense of it, and she had wanted to do so through reading the books, which can, perhaps, help her deepen understanding. In that case, if she had wanted to retrieve information from these books, which she did not understand, studying was unavoidable.
To someone who had been trained to be a killer from young, coming to studying in a private school was absurd. Thankfully, no one here seemed to know or recognize her, or else she should just die in embarrassment and retire from the world of assassination.
She had endured through four consecutive lessons in the afternoon. With the exception of literature, a subject she could sort of understand, she had blurred through everything else in a state of confusion.
After lessons had ended, Qin Ke Xuan brushed past an excited looking Zhou Jing, who had been looking at her with anticipation, and headed towards the place that was allegedly known as the canteen.
After walking past a small trail, a few people scuttled out all of a sudden, blocking Qin Ke Xuan’s way.
Qin Ke Xuan’s eyebrows rose. There sure were lots of people blocking her way today. After surveying the surrounding, unlike the bustling school gates in the morning that made punching people inappropriate, the remoteness of this place dissolved her qualms.
The head of the little gang of girls pointed at Qin Ke Xuan: “You lowly wench! Why the hell are you still bothering Cao…”
The girl had not finished her piece as Qin Ke Xuan forcefully cut her off. One hand gripping her collar, she pulled her down, shortly followed by a quick push, forcefully flinging the girl about six metres away. That girl laid on the ground, incessantly groaning in pain.
The other two, after witnessing such a terrifying scene, were not given a chance to react before Qin Ke Xuan dumped them, as well, in the direction of the first girl. The groaning moans of pain resounded continuously.
Upon seeing this, Qin Ke Xuan was a little disappointed. She had thought she would be able to test her agility and exercise a bit, who knew they were so weak, not even able to withstand a move, without utilizing her Inner Qi, from her.
Qin Ke Xuan left, disappointed.
