On the summer solstice, the Hundred Flowers Festival kicked off as scheduled, and the Imperial Capital was buzzing with excitement. The streets were filled with lively crowds, basking under the three bright suns during a season that felt warm but not too hot—pretty much perfect for a festival stroll.
It truly felt like a worldwide celebration!
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue were cashing in while also plugging the gaps in the national treasury. The common folks were enjoying the sights, and Little Li was reaping the rewards from his investments, filling his pockets to the brim.
Not just from investments, but even the Void Multicolor Tower surged an incredible four floors in value.
Now, everyone in the city was saying it’s all thanks to him that the Hundred Flowers Festival was such a grand affair.
With the gathered strength of the crowd, he was even able to summon the Great Sage’s brilliant outfit for a full fifteen minutes.
“This thing really earns money fast but spends even faster!”
Li Mo mused as he touched the Void Multicolor Tower.
Good news: the Great Sage’s getup was a real looker and formidable at the same time.
Bad news: it was painfully expensive, and right now it could only serve as a last-resort method.
Worse news: once he donned the outfit, an itch developed at the back of his head, as if he was about to sprout a horn.
The more he wore it, the more he wanted to poke a hole in the heavens.
But then he paused, thinking, with Ming Jiao’s bloodline causing such a stir, how intense could the Great Sage’s getup be?
As he pondered, Li Mo flipped open the Ice Chunk edition of the Thousand Forms Secret Art, hoping to dive into the inner realm soon.
Moments later, Zhong Zhenyue burst through the door, anxious.
“Sir, you’ve got to take a look! If we’re late, Wind Moon Small Residence might get smashed!”
“Huh?”
Little Li wasn’t angry, just puzzled.
As everyone knew, even the Fourth Prince wouldn’t dare stir up trouble at Wind Moon Small Residence, especially with Zhong Zhenyue and Xie Xuan stationed there.
Not even they could hold the fort?!
“Who’s the brave soul making trouble?” Li Mo asked, guarded.
Zhong Zhenyue replied, “Your master.”
Li Mo: “…..”
The moment the words “Combat King” popped into his head, everything made sense.
As he stood up to head downstairs with Zhong Zhenyue, he inquired, “What happened? Who’s she fighting?”
“Initially, she got into a spat with a passerby who mistook her for the technician at Wind Moon Small Residence. Elder Han He stepped in to stop her from causing a scene in the Imperial Capital.”
“And then?”
“She planned to take Elder Han He down with her!”
“…..”
By the time the two reached the Wind Moon Small Residence, they were met with sheer chaos.
Inside, Shang Wu in a flaring red dress was aggressively wielding a bottle and chasing a hulking man around the room.
Elder Han He’s beard was quivering with rage as he stood among the arriving constables, one eye sporting a nasty bruise.
Leading the constables was none other than Zhao Jing, the familiar face from the time they had her tied up in a secret chamber.
“Boss Li, you finally made it! This ruffian is quite the handful.”
“Uh, that’s my master.”
“Ah? We’d better hurry up and save her; if we wait too long, someone might get hurt…..”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jing couldn’t sit still.
“Yeah, if we delay, she might just knock someone out cold.” Li Mo covered his face.
Zhao Jing: “??”
She turned to look.
Smack—
Just then, in the terrified gaze of the escaping man, he was caught by Shang Wu, who yanked him backward. He struggled valiantly, but in the end, all he achieved was a chilly breeze against his lower half as Shang Wu unceremoniously flung his trousers aside in disdain.
“…..”
Zhao Jing thought to herself, no wonder she could tutor Li Mo.
If the law were strictly enforced, the Qingyuan Sect would surely have a thorough investigation…
“Stop hitting him!”
Warm reminder: If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don’t lose track next time!
“Just because you say stop doesn’t mean it stops?”
“Don’t hit! It’s me!”
“I don’t care who you are… hey? My precious disciple, ah!”
Shang Wu dropped the bottle and instantly transformed from a fierce woman into a softie, but after seeing her previous violent act, everyone recoiled slightly, as if they’d been struck by lightning.
A woman like this—can someone really handle her?
Oh, a wife’s little tyrant, then it’s all good!
It’s worth mentioning that Little Li happily obtained the title of the Swordsman, but perhaps he felt the previous two titles were just right, and losing either would be a pity.
So, he got both titles at once.
Unbeknownst to him, Little Li had no idea about this recent turn of events. The folks around him also didn’t dare bring it up.
The chaotic scene finally calmed down with the appearance of the wife’s little tyrant.
Upon returning to Wanchun Courtyard, while the beauties of Bai Yi were rehearsing, Li Mo finally learned the reason behind her little tantrum.
She too had the guts to shine, ready to join the Hundred Flowers Festival.
But the moment Li Mo heard her say the words “guts,” he unhesitatingly brought out the fine wine he had been saving and asked if she preferred the wine or her guts.
What a delightful outcome!
That night, Wanchun Courtyard closed its doors to guests but remained brightly lit.
The stage in front of the noon gate was set up, and any missing details could be replaced with the Mirage Pearl; tonight was to be the final ‘rehearsal.’
Li Mo stood in the main hall, finally catching his breath.
“Hey, Master, did you not have any guts from the start and just wanted to trick me into buying you more wine?”
“As a teacher, how could I do that? You wouldn’t want to regret it now, would you?”
Shang Wu pouted, looking as if the bitter wine was stinging her heart.
“…..”
“Hmph, I rarely see you like this.”
Elder Han He was applying medicine to his bruised eye, quite unbothered.
“Our Qingyuan Sect has you and Little Ice Girl shining across Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and we finally ranked first in Hidden Dragon—after this, she’ll be hoping to cling to you for support. Would you really reject your poor relatives?”
“What nonsense.”
Li Mo waved his hand, feeling his master probably didn’t consider this too deeply.
She just sensed that soon enough, she might not be able to wrestle him down, so she was preemptively conceding to strategy rather than force.
Don’t be fooled by Shang Wu’s carefree demeanor; she’s quite perceptive, not to mention she invented the notorious Combat King technique herself.
“Elder Han He, if I can’t handle Little Mo, how could I not handle you?”
Shang Wu shot a threatening glance at Elder Han He.
“Hmph, the old man won’t stoop to your level!”
Rarely did Elder Han He back down.
Li Mo then noticed something unusual during his examination of the fateful eyes: “Master, you broke through?”
“Yep, it happened that day. I had a bit too much to drink and ended up in a fight with the sect leader, and voilà, I reached the fifteenth realm.”
Shang Wu giggled without a care in the world.
Li Mo pondered briefly, “Is the sect leader still around?”
“He’s alive.”
“Well, then that’s good.”
His master trained like she never took things seriously, yet she could fight and advance at an astounding rate.
At her age, reaching the fifteenth realm was shocking enough to turn heads in the Imperial Capital, let alone possibly breaking into the seventh realm.
Li Mo studied her fate further with keen eyes.
He noticed that the color in her fate section had dramatically shifted:
【Gold】.
Changing colors in fate wasn’t new for Li Mo, but from a purple hue to gold was quite the leap—which definitely indicated some life-altering event had occurred.
Yet, nothing seemed extraordinarily different about her, and it shouldn’t be tied to her clinging to his thigh; his own fate was still a question mark, so it wouldn’t impact anyone else.
Just as he was about to press for answers, the rehearsal began.
…..
P.S.: Just sorting through the plot; the overdue chapter will be topped off tomorrow!
