Soon, Li Yang understood that Lu Qing Wan was not hospitable; she was simply excited to have found free punching bags.
The arrivals were extremely arrogant. Before Lu Qing Wan could even pull the door shut after kicking the door panel away, it was kicked open. If Lu Qing Wan hadn't moved quickly, she would have been hit in the face by the door.
The moment the door was opened, a group of men dressed as household servants rushed in, cursing, "Qing Quan Mountain Villa is searching for an assassin. What are you dawdling for?
If you delay Lord Lin Villa Master's important business, you'll face consequences..."
Mid-sentence, the leader saw Lu Qing Wan's face and compared it to the portrait in his hand.
Upon seeing this, his ferocity erupted. "It's her! Seize her!"
With a command, the household servants behind him surged forward and surrounded Lu Qing Wan.
The thugs from the small Qing Quan Mountain Villa carried an air of importance that surpassed even the Five City Patrols in Shangjing.
Lu Qing Wan sneered, "You want to capture me? You'd better see if you have the ability!"
Before her words could fully land, she raised her leg and kicked the leader out. The tall, burly man was sent flying out of the corridor by Lu Qing Wan's kick, landing directly in the main hall.
Those who came with him saw their favored subordinate being beaten and thought, "How dare he!"
This was their chance to curry favor. He shouted, "Brothers, attack!"
Drawing their swords, they charged towards Lu Qing Wan. Li Yang and the others saw this and intended to rush forward to help Lu Qing Wan, but Feng Xi Wu stopped them.
"Master!"
Li Su called out to Feng Xi Wu urgently. While the Princess Consort was skilled, she lacked internal energy.
Lin Qing Quan was a martial artist, and his henchmen were quite capable. Lu Qing Wan was in danger of being at a disadvantage.
"No hurry. We are all here. What could possibly happen?"
Since Feng Xi Wu had said so, Li Yang and the others could only suppress their worry for Lu Qing Wan.
Then, they discovered that they should be worrying about the henchmen of Qing Quan Mountain Villa rather than Lu Qing Wan.
Just as a henchman gripped his sword hilt, about to unleash threats, Lu Qing Wan had already kicked his sword handle.
Her raised leg deftly kicked twice in the air. The first kick sent the sword back into its scabbard, and the second kick landed directly on the man's knee with a sickening crunch, the sound of a shattered knee echoing.
The man cried out in pain, clutching his knee. Seeing this, the others no longer dared to approach alone and surrounded Lu Qing Wan, seven or eight of them attacking her.
Lu Qing Wan, however, showed no fear. Instead, she grew more excited as she fought, her fists and kicks landing with unreserved power.
As a henchman thrust his sword towards her chest, and danger pressed from behind, Lu Qing Wan was attacked from all sides. In her desperation, she silently recited her cultivation technique, channeling her energy. Then, with a light step, Lu Qing Wan was overjoyed to find her vision reaching unprecedented heights.
However, her body soon lost control and began to fall. Indoors, leaping high only reached about ten feet, and there was no time to maintain balance.
Lu Qing Wan braced herself for injury the moment she lost control, only to feel a tightening around her waist. Her body was then uncontrollably pulled further into the room, and she landed in a familiar embrace.
Turning her head, she met Feng Xi Wu's composed gaze. Lu Qing Wan inexplicably felt calm as well. "Did I just fly?"
"Didn't you always want to learn Qing Gong? Remember that feeling, and you've already taken the first step."
Lu Qing Wan then realized that in her moment of desperation, she had unknowingly learned Qing Gong.
"I know Qing Gong?!"
She could hardly believe it. She jumped up and looked at her feet, which were indeed the same feet, but they felt as if they were enhanced by wind fire wheels. She adored them no matter how she looked at them.
Like a child, she stomped her feet and twirled, her joy overflowing. Feng Xi Wu watched her indulgently. "It's just Qing Gong, why are you so happy?"
"Of course, I'm happy!"
Lu Qing Wan tilted her chin with a sense of righteousness. "To be strong, one must first be capable!
No matter how powerful you and your guards are, there will be times when I am alone. Martial arts are my foundation for navigating the jianghu. Why shouldn't I be happy?"
Feng Xi Wu was momentarily speechless.
At the doorway, Li Yang and the others had accepted Lu Qing Wan's battlefield and had quickly beaten the people from Qing Quan Mountain Villa out.
Li Yang then stepped forward. "Your Highness, Shen Tang Zhou may not enter the city until evening. Perhaps I should go meet Lin Qing Quan first, lest he be so foolish as to disturb you and the Princess Consort again."
"No need."
Feng Xi Wu said slowly, "If he cannot even handle such a trivial matter, then Shen Tang Zhou has no business staying in the Half-Moon Pavilion.
Go, gather some of Ye Yu City's local delicacies. The Princess Consort must be hungry."
Li Yang: ...
Fine, since he had volunteered, it didn't matter what he did as long as it was running errands for his master!
He responded with a resigned sigh and went to find snacks for Lu Qing Wan.
Lu Qing Wan leaned back against the window, idly watching the competition. The protagonists of the arena matches changed faster than Lu Qing Wan could have imagined.
"Are you sure these are martial artists sparring, or are they just thugs fighting over territory?"
She had seen none of the imagined flashing blades, bloody storms, or fierce battles. All she saw were people hurling threats at each other.
The critical point was that after exchanging threats, they should at least have a decent fight for everyone to witness. Instead, it was just one person shoving another, one person kicking another. Some of them didn't even draw their weapons.
To call this a martial arts sparring match, Lu Qing Wan felt it was an insult to martial artists.
Feng Xi Wu couldn't understand why Lu Qing Wan, a young lady from a noble family, was so interested in martial arts combat. He could only explain with a sigh, "This is just the arena for the Double Ninth Festival. It's for show, to entertain the crowds.
A true gathering of heroes would be held at the Number One Villa in the world. Lin Qing Quan doesn't have the qualifications for that."
"So, he's a scumbag who doesn't deserve it!"
Lu Qing Wan pouted in disdain. "If you had told me earlier, I would have understood. You wasted my emotions for nothing!"
She ducked her head, intending to go back and practice her skills, but her sharp eyes spotted an unexpected figure in the opposite restaurant.
"Look over there, is that Xiao Yue Ying?"
Feng Xi Wu came over at the sound and, after a closer look, immediately averted his gaze. "It should be her."
His reaction made Li Su and Ying Yi also come to look. In the opposite restaurant, Xiao Yue Ying, wearing revealing clothes, was being pushed and pulled by a group of drunkards like a toy.
As if on purpose, when the drunkards noticed them looking, one of them tore off Xiao Yue Ying's outer garment, revealing her fair shoulders.
Ying Yi awkwardly looked away, while Li Su calmly reminded Lu Qing Wan, "Princess Consort, they are doing this deliberately."