The story of the fairy falling in love with the cowherd was widely spread in the land of Shenzhou, therefore every famous aristocrat who had beautiful girls at home was wary of the cowherd outside.
Li Muyang was the cowboy the Cui and Yan families guarded against.
Li Muyang was dark but he was not stupid at all.
He and Cui Xiaoxin had been classmates for three years. Although he had never had a chance to speak to her before, he was clear about how outstanding Cui Xiaoxin’s appearance, temperament, and behavior were. There was a rumor that Cui Xiaoxin had a mysterious background. But at that time, Li Muyang was always dizzy. He was either sleeping or preparing to sleep, so how could he have the time to pay attention to these mundane things?
If he dared to say a word to Cui Xiaoxin, not to mention how the teachers and students would laugh at him, there would be the most exciting and funny story of a toad wanting to eat swan meat in the school.
Since they were attacked by a killer in the Beast-faced Pavilion, he had guessed that Cui Xiaoxin had an extraordinary background. How could a child from an ordinary family encounter such a dangerous thing?
Killers were very expensive, okay? Who would pay a killer to kill a pig for the Spring Festival?
Later, he sent Cui Xiaoxin home and saw the luxurious carriage. A man in a blue robe served her with the courtesy of a noble knight. People who owned high-ranking warriors as private knights had to be the well-known families in the capital of the empire, who had stood there for thousands of years and had not fallen.
Li Muyang had to confirm one thing. Cui Xiaoxin’s background was indeed extraordinary, and that they were from two totally different worlds.
Therefore, he was not surprised that Yan Xiangma would come to him today.
He had even expected that his reaction would have been more intense.
Otherwise, how could he, a cowherd, receive a profound lesson and give up?
“But I want to go to Xifeng University in the capital.” Li Muyang looked at Yan Xiangma with an honest face and said, “I have a date with Xiaoxin. We’re going to see the sunset at the Nameless Lake together.”
“You have a date?” Yan Xiangma was stunned for a moment before he burst out laughing. He tapped Li Muyang with his fan and said, “Li Muyang, I finally found out today that you are not only smart but also very interesting. You have a date with Xiaoxin to see the sunset at the Nameless Lake together? Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not,” Li Muyang said shaking his head. “We really have made an appointment. If you don’t believe me, you can go back and ask Xiaoxin. I study hard and don’t waste a minute because I want to go to Xifeng University—men should keep their promises. I’ve said that I’m going to Xifeng University. How can I break my promise?”
“Do you think you can pass the exam?” Yan Xiangma sniffed and narrowed his eyes with a smile.
“I don’t know.” Li Muyang shook his head. “But I have to try. How can I give up until the last moment?”
“Li Muyang.” With a snap, Yan Xiangma unfolded his fan, his patience was nearly gone. He really didn’t want to waste too much time on a nobody. Yan Xiangma talked to Li Muyang with such an attitude because Li Muyang had saved his cousin after all, and the Yan and Cui families were not ungrateful bastards. What’s more, Li Muyang had offered Yan Xiangma watermelon that was cooled in well water. This was the best watermelon Yan Xiangma had ever eaten. “I praised you for being a smart person, but obviously, you don’t understand some problems, or you don’t want to understand. Do you know who you are?”
“I know.” Li Muyang nodded and said, “I am sick, I am not handsome, and my studying is very poor. On top of that, I am a useless high school student.”
“Indeed.” Yan Xiangma nodded and said, “Do you know what kind of person Xiaoxin is?”
Li Muyang thought for a moment and said, “She is my friend.”
“A friend?” Yan Xiangma grinned and said, “Are you only friends? Don’t you have any feelings for her?”
“Yes,” Li Muyang said. “I like Cui Xiaoxin. This is a fact that I just found it out a few days ago.”
“So…” Yan Xiangma’s voice suddenly became tart and harsh. “Do you deserve it?” he asked.
“…”
“What’s wrong? Did I hurt your self-esteem?” Seeing that Li Muyang didn’t answer, Yan Xiangma slightly twitched the corner of his mouth and said, “But this is indeed a truth that no one can deny. You don’t know Cui Xiaoxin’s identity, and I can’t tell you either. But I am Yan Xiangma and my father is Yan Bolai, the Governor of Jiangnan City, and the most powerful official of this city. Even if Cui Xiaoxin is my sister, do you think our family will agree to marry her to a sick and ugly high school student who is good for nothing?”
“No, you won’t,” Li Muyang answered with certainty.
“So, let everything go back to the starting point. You are still you, and Xiaoxin is Xiaoxin. You accept this box and then leisurely wait for the admission notice of Jiangnan University. Tomorrow, when Xiaoxin comes to tutor you, you tell her that you don’t want to study and you want to give up. Isn’t this the smartest choice?”
“Yes,” Li Muyang said.
“So that means we’ve reached an agreement?”
“I don’t understand at all,” Li Muyang said.
“Which part you don’t understand?”
“I didn’t say that I want to pursue Cui Xiaoxin,” Li Muyang said in a low voice. “I just like her and feel that I like her a little bit. But I didn’t say that I will pursue her now. I just want to be a friend, even the most ordinary one. I will work hard and try my best to use all my strength. If I can enter Xifeng University with her, it will naturally be my luck. If I can’t get in, I can also accept such a fate.”
“I will make myself excellent to match Xiaoxin one day. I will impress her. I will make her like me a little bit. I know better than you that I don’t deserve her. However, this is not the reason I want to break up with her. If I can make her happy, I will ask her to accept my feelings. If I feel that I can’t do it, I will never feel that I am worthy of her. At that point, I would sincerely wish her to find a good husband. I think, before that, she will need some friends, right?”
“Xiaoxin is a very stubborn girl. If she decides to do something, she will definitely go all out, including tutoring me. She feels that I still have hope and should try my best to fight. So I have to work hard with her. For a dozen years, I have never been so eager to do one thing. At this time, how can I tell Xiaoxin that I want to give up?”
Yan Xiangma was silent for a long time. He looked at Li Muyang and said, “I am almost convinced by you. But if you insist, you may lose everything. You can’t go to Xifeng University, nor can you go to Jiangnan University. You will have nothing. At that time, do you think there is any possibility for you to be with Xiaoxin?”
“If I tell Cui Xiaoxin that I want to give up now, will there be any possibility for us?”
“At least you can go to Jiangnan University.”
“But, I want to go to Xifeng University.”
“Look, in this way, we won’t be able to continue our conversation,” said Yan Xiangma with a smile.
Crack—
Yan Xiangma waved the paper fan in his hand, and sharp thorns appeared from the iron frame.
The spikes flashed with black light as if they had been soaked in a toxic poison.
“This fan is called Breaking Dragon Spine. It is so sharp that it can break people’s bones. The old man at home told me that even a dragon’s spine can be broken.” When Yan Xiangma spoke, the black fan, which was as black as ink iron, rotated between his fingers as if it was flying. The wind howled, and a white light shone all around.
Crack—
When the handle of the fan touched the table, a corner of the table was cut off neatly.
Crack—
When the fan hit the table again, another piece of the bluestone table was cut off.
Clap!
Yan Xiangma folded up his fan and held it in his hand. He looked at Li Muyang with a smile and said, “Look, I can also use another way to negotiate with you. However, we are cultured people from a famous family… I don’t like those dirty tricks that gangsters use. So, are you going to think about it again?”
“Awesome.” Looking at the iron fan in Yan Xiangma’s hand, Li Muyang’s eyes gleamed with golden light and said, “It can cut clean through iron as though it were mud and through stone as though it were tofu. Your fan is really amazing.”
Yan Xiangma was the second expert he had met, just like the killer Crow he had seen last time.
Somehow, when he saw that someone was using this extraordinary ability, his blood rushed, as if he was summoned by some emotion.
Yan Xiangma was very satisfied with Li Muyang’s reaction and said, “You have thin arms and legs. If I hit you like this, I’m afraid all your bones will be broken. I, Yan Xiangma, can’t do such a thing. So, you’d better conduct yourself well. Let’s be kind and safe, shall we?”
Li Muyang held a corner of the table with his right hand. His face was slightly red, and his eyes were full of red light. Some reddish scales appeared on the back of his hand, and the scales were covered with rolling clouds and lightning.
Suddenly, he exerted force from his Dantian. With a cracking sound, a large piece of rock was ripped off from the table.
He shook his head and said to Yan Xiangma who was staring at him with his mouth agape, “You are more powerful. See, I can’t make a clean cut with my hand, as your fan did.”