Chapter Seventeen: It Is Discourteous Not to Reciprocate

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Even Feng Yumian’s request could be ignored by some people.

The swordsman seated beside Su Yanran rose directly and walked toward Xu Feng and Feng Yumian.

“Is it truly that you lack poetic inspiration, or do you simply not wish to compose?”

Xu Feng paid him no heed. The man was merely a third-rank martial cultivator and posed no threat to him. Besides, Xu Feng understood his intentions perfectly: he merely wanted to show off before the crowd. There was no killing intent in his eyes.

“I have no inspiration left.”

“Very well. Since that is the case, I shall perform a sword dance for everyone’s entertainment.”

Amid a chorus of cheers, the man drew his sword and began to dance before the assembled guests. At the same time, Feng Yumian introduced him to Xu Feng.

“Pay him no mind. Bai Yu is nothing more than a retainer of the Su family. With me here, he cannot do anything to you.”

The sight of such a petite girl thumping her chest and acting as someone else’s protector was rather amusing.

Xu Feng forcibly suppressed a laugh and nodded.

Who could have known that Bai Yu would grow increasingly insolent? Amid the applause, he gradually drifted about, slowly drawing nearer to Xu Feng.

Unable to bear having all the attention stolen by Xu Feng, he had evidently decided to use this opportunity to teach him a lesson and make him lose face in front of everyone.

Xu Feng sensed no killing intent and treated him as nothing more than a clown. Moreover, it would not be convenient for him to reveal his martial abilities in public.

Bai Yu pushed his luck further and thrust his sword straight at Xu Feng’s face. Xu Feng clenched both fists, considering whether he should strike back.

Yet in the next instant, Feng Yumian shoved him aside.

Bai Yu’s sword sliced across Feng Yumian’s arm. Her cultivation was not particularly high—a fact Xu Feng had already discovered when he had once fought her while disguised as the masked man.

“Look out!”

“Hiss… That hurts!”

Fortunately, the blade had only grazed her skin. Given Feng Yumian’s status, Bai Yu had indeed not dared to go too far; otherwise, even Su Yanran might not have been able to protect him.

Seeing that an accident had occurred, everyone immediately stopped cheering.

“Miss Feng, are you all right? Please forgive my recklessness. My foot slipped just now, and I accidentally thrust the sword. I had no intention of injuring you.”

Bai Yu approached with feigned concern, his expression utterly repulsive.

With so many people watching, Feng Yumian could not very well fall out with him. After all, one had to consider the owner before beating a dog—and Bai Yu was, in the end, merely a dog raised by the Su family.

“I’m fine. It’s only a minor wound. Please continue; don’t let this spoil everyone’s enjoyment.”

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Feng Yumian intended to let the matter pass, but Xu Feng had no intention of leaving it at that.

“A sword dance by one person is rather dull. Let me join you.”

When someone strikes, courtesy demands that one strike back. Xu Feng intended to teach him a lesson he would never forget.

“Lend me your sword.”

He had not brought a sword with him, so he could only draw Feng Yumian’s.

Before Feng Yumian could stop him, he had already rushed onto the floor. She was alarmed at once.

“Don’t be reckless. I told you I’m fine.”

Xu Feng’s body was astonishingly agile. His movements appeared disorderly, as though he were merely waving the sword about at random, yet every strike suppressed Bai Yu and left him unable to move with the same graceful ease as before.

After only a few exchanges, Bai Yu had already lost his rhythm. There were no true experts present, so no one could tell that Xu Feng had been dominating him from beginning to end.

On the surface, however, it still appeared that Xu Feng had fallen into a disadvantageous position. He kept retreating while Bai Yu pressed forward, seemingly driving him into a desperate corner. Yet only Bai Yu, standing opposite Xu Feng, understood what he was actually facing.

It was not a civet cat being held in someone’s arms and stroked.

It was a fierce tiger proudly laughing among the mountains and forests.

“Excellent! Truly magnificent! To exchange blows with Bai Yu so evenly, Young Master Xu must possess quite some attainments in the way of the sword.”

Su Yanran and the others could not see anything amiss. They simply continued cheering enthusiastically.

Only Feng Yumian, whose own swordsmanship amounted to little more than superficial skill, seemed to sense that something was wrong. She frowned and said nothing, a trace of doubt lingering between her brows.

She knew that Xu Feng had forcibly stepped in to defend her. At first, she had assumed he would soon be defeated. Yet the result was rather unexpected. He could actually contend with Bai Yu on equal terms.

Was Xu Feng truly the scholar everyone believed incapable of even subduing a chicken?

After several more exchanges, Bai Yu was drenched in sweat.

He was now caught in an impossible predicament. When the fight would end depended entirely on when Xu Feng was willing to let him go.

“Feng Yumian, didn’t people outside say that your brother-in-law was an ignorant good-for-nothing, a notorious failure? Yet after seeing him today, he doesn’t seem anything like the rumors described. Could it be that someone deliberately spread those lies?”

Although Feng Yumian often mocked Xu Feng at home, she was fiercely protective of him in public—especially after hearing the poem he had just written for her.

“Repeat a lie often enough, and people will believe it; public opinion can be terrifying. Have you ever seen a good-for-nothing who could both compose poetry and perform a sword dance?”

At the end of her words, she fell silent. Most of the rumors had originated with Feng Yuzhi. It was because of Feng Yuzhi’s tacit permission that the rumors had spread so widely. By now, all of Gusu knew that the Feng family had a useless live-in son-in-law.

Even she herself had once looked down on this brother-in-law.

Yet the closer she came to Xu Feng, the more she could sense the mystery surrounding him.

She always felt that Xu Feng was not as simple as he appeared. It was as though his entire being were concealed within a veil of mist.

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One day, sooner or later, she would tear away that mist and see the truth for herself.

Feng Yumian did not know that when a woman began to feel curiosity toward a man, it was already the beginning of her fall.

The sword dance gradually came to an end. Bai Yu was utterly exhausted, without the strength to move. In the end, he could only stand there, leaning on his sword with both hands, his legs trembling.

“How was it? Did you find it satisfying?”

Xu Feng’s face was ice-cold. Merely meeting his gaze made Bai Yu’s heart tremble with fear.

He knew that this was Xu Feng’s warning. The fact that Xu Feng had spared his life in front of so many people was already an act of great mercy.

“Th-thank you, Brother Xu, for showing mercy.”

“Mercy is too strong a word. I’m simply glad you enjoyed yourself.”

Hearing the sarcasm laced through those words, Bai Yu wished he could slap himself several times across the face. Had he known this would happen, he would never have stepped forward to play the hero. He should have stayed where he was, drinking and eating. Then he would not have suffered this humiliating loss.

What he found even more incomprehensible was that Xu Feng was clearly stronger than he was, yet his reputation in Gusu City was abysmal. Everyone said he was a good-for-nothing.

Had that not been the case, Bai Yu would never have taken the initiative to provoke him.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear apart everyone who had spread those rumors.

“Excellent! The two of you have certainly stolen the limelight today. This banquet was worth attending after all.”

“One performed a sword dance, the other composed a poem. We must drink a great toast to that!”

…

Bai Yu was mortified. This was hardly a case of two people stealing the limelight. Xu Feng alone had completely outshone everyone.

Bai Yu had been nothing more than a clown who thrust his face before Xu Feng and took several slaps for his trouble—yet he had not even dared to protest.

From that moment on, he no longer dared to underestimate Xu Feng. The pressure Xu Feng had brought to bear during the sword dance had felt just like the pressure of his own master instructing him in swordsmanship.

That alone was enough to make him understand the vast gulf between himself and Xu Feng.

Once the commotion ended, the banquet drew close to its conclusion.

Xu Feng had long since returned to his seat after sheathing the sword, while Bai Yu still stood where he was. He needed a moment to recover before he could move; in his present condition, he would likely collapse before even reaching his seat.