Chapter 187: “What if I Can’t Even Do the Small Things?”
Shui Miao Miao’s mind instinctively conjured up an image of Bai Feng. This wasn’t surprising; after all, the only male she interacted with the most at the Heavenly Sword Sect was him.
Especially with Bai Feng’s labels—genius, handsome, Young Master of the White Family, and a pretty decent personality—he was practically the perfect candidate for marriage.
Wait, wait, what am I thinking?!
Shui Miao Miao quickly shook her head. She still had a bit of hope regarding love.
Plus, Bai Feng might not even be interested in her; apart from her princess status, she didn’t have anything particularly special to offer. Well, maybe her dragon horn counts for something.
“Why not just go for something smaller?”
Shui Miao Miao pondered for a few seconds and then slapped her forehead—no more weird thoughts!
And if she ignored talents and family backgrounds, she was actually more interested in Teacher Chun Qiu. Like, how about asking him to draw some of those spicy pictures she liked…
“Forget it, it’s not like I’ve even started anything yet; I’ll take it one step at a time.”
She sighed. Maybe one day the internal conflicts in the Eastern Continent would end, and everything would return to normal. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about being sent over for a marriage alliance with the Monster Tribe.
A few seconds later, she struggled up from her bed—better stop daydreaming! If she didn’t do something soon, she’d really be sent to the Monster Tribe. Especially after reading about them in books, they were all a bunch of morally questionable characters. Going to their territory would surely lead to a bad end for her!
“Let’s go find Senior Sister and Senior Brother Bai!”
Building a good relationship with the White Family had its benefits, plus she could learn some sword techniques for self-defense!
With that thought, she flung open her door and headed toward where Bai Yu Mo and Bai Feng lived.
A few minutes later…
“Junior Sister Shui, you want to practice sword techniques?” Bai Feng looked up from his work, a smile lighting up his face. “You came at the right time! I just made a few training puppets. Come and try them out!”
“Puppets?”
Shui Miao Miao wore a puzzled expression. Why was Senior Brother Bai back to making puppets again?
“Yep, this one can only do simple combat for now,” Bai Feng explained as he stood beside a puppet that was about the same height as him. “Later, I’ll build some special terrains to pair with the puppets for simulated combat.”
“Oh…” Shui Miao Miao nodded, a bit curious as she stepped forward to touch the puppet. “But I thought puppets were usually pretty slow?”
“No need to worry! I enhanced it with an array,” Bai Feng quickly provided his prepped excuse. “Plus, it can mimic my moves. Want to give it a try?”
“Yup, yup!”
Shui Miao Miao nodded vigorously, genuinely curious about this puppet.
“Alright, let’s get started.”
Bai Feng stepped back a few paces to watch the fight between Shui Miao Miao and the puppet.
This puppet was an ordinary wooden puppet and only had the basic sword techniques from the Heavenly Sword Sect uploaded, but even so, Shui Miao Miao was getting beaten back mercilessly.
‘Is this puppet way too agile? Is it really a puppet?’
‘Why does it feel like the puppet’s moves are just like Senior Brother Bai’s? Wait, is Senior Brother Bai controlling it?’
‘Ah… he’s still watching me! If I lose to a puppet, what will he think? Will I end up being unable to do even the small things? Maybe I can only… No, no! Focus, brain!’
But Shui Miao Miao’s struggles didn’t help much. Before long, she found herself sitting on the ground with her wooden sword knocked away.
“Was the difficulty too high?”
Bai Feng thought about it, noticing that Shui Miao Miao seemed to space out occasionally during the fight. If it weren’t for that, she wouldn’t have lost so quickly.
Then he saw Shui Miao Miao still sitting on the ground, seemingly with no intention of getting up.
‘Did she lose so quickly that it hurt her pride?’
He hurried over, only to find her hugging her knees, mumbling something incoherent.
“Junior Sister Shui?” Bai Feng squatted down and waved in front of her face. “You alright?”
“Ah… ah!” Shui Miao Miao quickly looked up, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. She shook her head rapidly. “N-no, I’m fine! I’ve just been busy these past few days, so I’m a bit out of practice.”
“If you’re tired, it’s better to rest a bit.”
Shui Miao Miao quickly waved her hands. “No, I just got careless! I’m back in the groove now!”
Bai Feng knew her situation and decided not to press further, nodding instead. “Then, I’ll be your opponent this time, just in case something goes wrong, I can stop it in time.”
“Okay, okay!”
Shui Miao Miao stood up and patted her head—no more silly thoughts!
Afterward, there were no more surprises. Once Bai Feng saw that Shui Miao Miao was in a better state, he asked her to help test a few more puppets, gathering plenty of valuable data.
“Thanks for helping me test, Junior Sister Shui.”
Bai Feng offered a hand to the exhausted Shui Miao Miao. She glanced at his long fingers, caught up in a thought, and her eyes briefly averted. Quietly, she placed her small hand in his.
“So big…”
She mumbled as she touched Bai Feng’s hand.
Bai Feng: “?”
Shui Miao Miao suddenly jolted, her face turning bright red as she stammered, “N-no! I meant, your hand is really big!”
“…”
Just don’t explain it; if you didn’t, I wouldn’t think so much.
After Bai Feng helped her up, she stood there blushing, wishing she could find a hole to hide in forever.
“Junior Sister Shui, I’d like to ask you for a favor.” Bai Feng was examining the puppets for damages while speaking to her.
Shui Miao Miao quickly perked up. “What is it, Senior Brother?”
“I need help testing the strength of these puppets.” Bai Feng turned to her with a serious expression. “I’ll be setting up a more complex training area soon, and things could get unpredictable, so I need someone to test it out.”
What he really meant was he needed a somewhat weak ‘tool’ for testing strength, and Shui Miao Miao’s skills were just right. If she could get through, it meant most disciples could too.
“Oh, sure! Leave it to me!” Shui Miao Miao bravely patted her chest.
Not only would she get to be guided by Bai Feng in sword techniques, but it would also strengthen her ties with the White Family. She had to seize this opportunity!
“Thank you, Junior Sister. If you run into any difficulties on the sword path in the future, feel free to look for me. I’ll do my best to help you,” Bai Feng said.
…
After sending off her new ‘tool,’ Shui Miao Miao, Bai Feng packed away the puppets in the yard.
“Bai Feng.”
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from nearby. Bai Feng froze mid-motion, turning to see Yun Yue Yao perched on the courtyard wall, watching him.
“What are you doing here?”
Bai Feng watched her hop down from the wall, her skirt lifting slightly and revealing lace underneath.
“What’s the matter?” Yun Yue Yao tilted her head, a hint of mischievous amusement playing on her face. “Did you see something?”
“… You don’t seem to be trying to cover up at all, do you?” Bai Feng stared directly at her. “You didn’t come here just to tease me, did you? Is there something else going on?”
Yun Yue Yao didn’t answer. Instead, she hurried over to Bai Feng and pulled out a red piece of paper from her storage bag. “Yes, there’s something very important that needs your signature.”
Bai Feng, looking at the red paper, pretended he didn’t understand. “Let me guess, it’s not a marriage certificate, is it?”
Yun Yue Yao didn’t answer, instead turning her gaze away.
Bai Feng sighed. He couldn’t help but grumble, “I mean, you could at least try to disguise it a little, right? Even if you hid the marriage certificate under some other paper, I’d consider that you made an effort.”
Yun Yue Yao nodded earnestly. “Okay, I’ll remember to hide it better next time.”
“…”
“By the way, there’s something else I need to tell you,” Yun Yue Yao seemed to remember something as she linked her arm around Bai Feng’s and led him into the house. “Let’s talk inside.”
“Let’s hope you actually have something to tell me.”
