Ling Chen halted his steps, inwardly groaning that this woman was relentless and seed intent on holding him accountable. Fearing his eyes might offend her once more, Ling Chen responded without turning back, "That... it was really a misunderstanding. It wasn’t intentional."
"Just stand here for now," said the woman in an indifferent tone. Imdiately after, Ling Chen heard the sound of the bedroom door closing.
In less than a minute, the woman’s voice rang out again, "Sit down."
Hearing this, Ling Chen turned around and found the woman already seated behind the curtain. Since she had spoken, Ling Chen dared not disobey; he was at fault, after all. He thought to himself that he should apologize sincerely later; maybe she would forgive him.
With that thought, Ling Chen honestly took a seat outside the curtain.
"What’s your na?"
"Ling Chen."
"Ling Chen?" The woman behind the curtain chuckled lightly, as if talking to herself, "So you’re Ling Chen."
Ling Chen asked in surprise, "You know ?"
"I’ve heard of you. The Heavenly chanism Pavilion initially planned to place you on the Newcor List, but after thorough consideration, they decided not to include you."
As I thought!
Ling Chen nodded inwardly, confirming his guess that this woman was also a mber of the Heavenly chanism Pavilion, although he didn’t know her status within it.
"When you ca in just now, didn’t you see the warning sign outside?"
"I did."
"Yet you still entered?"
"Well..." Ling Chen touched his nose awkwardly, explaining, "I didn’t an to barge in. I just wanted to find soone."
"There’s only living here, so were you looking for ?" the woman asked.
"I..."
Before Ling Chen could finish speaking, the woman behind the curtain cut him off, continuing, "Never mind, I won’t pursue it since it’s your first offense. Since we’ve t, it must be fate. Take a seat and we can chat."
Ling Chen was secretly relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. He was indeed afraid that this woman would hold him accountable and that it would affect Qiu Yong and the others, especially since this was soone else’s territory.
As he heard the sounds of washing tea utensils coming from behind the curtain, Ling Chen completely relaxed and asked with a smile, "I still don’t know what to call you."
"I have no na. People have referred to by various titles, but no one has ever called by my na. Over ti, I’ve forgotten it. A na is just a label; you can call whatever you like."
Ling Chen cracked a smile, finding the woman’s personality quite similar to that of porridge girl.
Thinking of porridge girl, an idea flashed through Ling Chen’s mind, and he grinned, "Since you don’t care for titles, I’ll call you Tea Girl."
"As you wish."
As they spoke, a pair of smooth and fair hands erged from behind the curtain, offering a cup of steaming tea.
Ling Chen hurriedly took it, thanking her.
"Did you co to the Heavenly chanism Great Ceremony this ti to broaden your horizons, or is there another purpose?" asked Tea Girl.
"Settling so issues of enmity and gratitude."
Tea Girl seed to sigh as she said, "People in the Martial Arts can never escape these words of enmity and gratitude. Despite the evolution of the ages, this has never changed."
Ling Chen laughed, "Where there are people, there will be grievances. Tis change, but human nature does not."
"You seem to have a deep understanding," Tea Girl said with a hint of admiration in her voice.
"One learns from experience."
"Who is your opponent?"
"Yi Shuiyan."
"Is it him?" Tea Girl seed surprised and peered at Ling Chen through the curtain, asking, "Are you confident you can defeat him?"
"To be honest, no."
"Then why still go through with it?"
Ling Chen sipped the tea. The bitterness spread through his mouth but quickly transford into a sense of clarity and invigoration.
"Good tea." Ling Chen’s lips curved upward as he smiled, "Many things aren’t done based on certainty, but on necessity. If I believe it’s the right thing to do, no matter how strong the opponent, I will not back down. To put it simply, you could say it’s a man’s pride."
"You’re quite frank. But I know Yi Shuiyan well; his martial arts are exceptional. On the Newcor List, aside from Song Ge who ranks first, Han Yu in the second place, Qu Jinxian in third, and Yi Shuiyan in fourth, their abilities are quite close. The reason why Han Yu is ranked second is that the Heavenly chanism Pavilion sees potential in him." Pausing with a playful tone, Tea Girl asked, "Do you want to know how the Heavenly chanism Pavilion evaluates you?"
Ling Chen’s eyes lit up with curiosity, "What’s their evaluation?"
"diocre talent, diocre martial arts, diocre background, but the one thing that’s quite good is your charm with won."
Er...
Hearing this, Ling Chen’s face turned red, and he awkwardly scratched his head. He had to admit, the Heavenly chanism Pavilion’s intelligence capabilities were quite impressive to have such a clear grasp of his popularity with won.
He coughed lightly, masking his embarrassnt, and laughed, "At least there’s one good thing."
"If you don’t mind, would you tell what Internal Cultivation thods you practice?"
Ling Chen puzzled, "Why ask that?"
"Nothing much, just to assess the gap between you and Yi Shuiyan. When masters contend, besides external skills, the most important is Inner Strength. The types of Internal Cultivation thods are many, so strong, so weak, each with different effects. As far as I know, Yi Shuiyan doesn’t practice the inherited ntal thod of the Dangyang Sect; instead, he practices a type of robust Inner Strength. This thod paired with his unique sword technique is highly complentary, rendering it extrely powerful."
"My Internal Cultivation thod is quite special; it’s called the Prajnaparamita Sutra. Have you heard of it?" Ling Chen didn’t hide it, as it was just the na of the thod and not the content; there was no harm in telling her.
"The Prajnaparamita Sutra?" Tea Girl sounded surprised from behind the curtain.
Noticing the change in Tea Girl’s tone, Ling Chen asked, "Do you know of this thod?"
"Hundreds of years ago, there was an exceptional individual in Buddhism who, before his conversion, was a wanderer in the Martial Arts with high skill, having exchanged moves with the past several Pavilion Masters of the Heavenly chanism Pavilion, neither of them superior. This wanderer was free and unbound, known for many good deeds. However, he had one bad habit."
"What habit?"
"He..." Tea Girl seed reluctant to speak, hesitated for a mont, and then said, "That person liked to seduce daughters from noble families and virtuous won. Moreover, his actions were worse than a rapist: not only did he take their bodies, but he also took their hearts, a true heartbreaker. Later, no one knows why he suddenly changed his ways and converted to Buddhism. In less than ten years, he transford into a high monk and even served as a Buddhist abbot."
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