knife

Chapter 128 Habits Become Second Nature

As night fell, lights gradually illuminated Qiyue Island, and a bright moon slowly rose over the distant river. Luo Hua accompanied Li Dachui as they walked slowly along the winding cobblestone path on the island.

The island's architectural style is a rare Jiangnan courtyard style found in the Northeast.

It is said that Yan Dong's wife came from Jiangnan. He met her when he traveled to the south in his youth and brought her back with him. In order to alleviate his wife's homesickness, Yan Dong spent a lot of money to perfectly restore his wife's original home on Qiyue Island.

However, Yan Dong and his wife, along with their child, have all perished.

"Qianli and I live in Mingyue Hall." Luo Hua pointed to a house with its eaves peeking out from behind a bamboo grove on the right. "Ningyu usually lives in Wangyue Residence!"

Now that they had entered the manor, Luo Hua no longer bothered to hide anything and spoke frankly.

Li Dachui nodded, looking in the direction Luo Hua was pointing. That was the highest point of the village, where towering, massive rocks jutted far into the river. A wooden building was half on top of the rock, and the other half beneath it.

"Are we heading to Wangyue Residence?" Li Dachui asked, looking in the direction the two were heading.

Luo Hua covered her mouth and laughed: "Of course, didn't you come to see Ning Yu?"

Li Dachui coughed a few times: "It's mainly because Xiao Hei misses Xiao Bai."

Seeing Luo Hua's somewhat mocking smile, he continued, "Of course, you can also visit her. She's fine too. The main thing is that her injuries haven't fully healed yet. Duanmu Miaomiao's Blood Jade Technique is extremely evil, so we absolutely dare not leave even a trace of seed in her body, otherwise it might flare up again at any time."

"I heard from Ningyu that you are practicing a technique that combines strength and gentleness, yin and yang. That's really a coincidence. It can solve the major flaw of Ningyu's Heaven-Slaying Technique."

"So this is fate!" Li Dachui laughed.

Luo Hua smiled without saying a word and led Li Dachui up to Wangyue Residence.

Open the window and you can see the roaring waters of the Qingshui River rushing past your feet.

The river has begun to thaw. On the surface, huge chunks of ice from upstream are crashing into other chunks of ice, making a rumbling sound. The splashes of water fly high into the air, hit the rocks, and shatter into countless droplets before falling back into the river.

“Her taste is always unique. This place is suitable for a tall, burly man with a bold and unrestrained personality to live in.” Li Dachui said, “If he bangs on an iron plate and sings a line from the poem ‘The Great River Flows Eastward, its waves sweeping away countless heroes of the past,’ it would be even more fitting.”

Luo Hua's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "You can tell Ning Yu the first few sentences yourself, but the part after that, 'The great river flows eastward, its waves sweeping away countless heroes of the past,' is really good. Is it a poem? Did you write it?"

"No, no, no, it wasn't me. I heard it from Master Yu when I was young. I thought it was very heroic, so I wrote it down."

“That’s true!” Luo Hua nodded. “I heard from Ning Yu that your literary skills are terrible, and your handwriting is so bad it’s like a dog scratching its head. You shouldn’t be able to write such good lyrics.”

These words made Li Dachui choke and fall head over heels. Does Xiao Changche really know how to badmouth people behind their backs?

However, thinking back on some official documents exchanged with Xiao Changche in the past, and recalling the other party's handwriting, it seems that he did indeed have the right to look down on me.

“Xiao Changche is a woman who has loved playing with weapons since she was a child. I’m afraid she hasn’t read many books. I, on the other hand, am a student of Master Yu. Even if I went to Chang’an, a city with a flourishing literary culture, I could still make a living with that reputation!” Li Dachui said irritably.

"Ningyu is a prodigy in martial arts, but she's also an expert in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and lyrics—she excels in everything." Luo Hua said earnestly, "When we were little, we were all so jealous of her. Not just the girls, but the boys were jealous too!"

"You two grew up together since you were little?" Li Dachui keenly noticed the information revealed in Luo Hua's words.

Luo Hua nodded sadly, "Yes, we were practically a large family, even though her surname was Xiao and mine was Luo, our families weren't far apart. They're all dead now, let's not talk about that. Those two lines you just recited were really good, do you remember them all?"

Li Dachui shook his head violently, "I only remember these two sentences, I can't remember anything else."

Luo Hua said with great regret, "How could you forget such a good phrase? What were you thinking about?"

"Of course, I'm thinking about how to make money!" Li Dachui closed the window, shutting out the river and moonlight. "Your Xiao Ningyu is a big spender, spending money like water. Do you know how much the supply list she gave me during this period of troop building cost?"

"how much is it?"

"A full 500,000 taels, and this is just the beginning!" Li Dachui said, "How can I support her if I don't think about making money?"

These words had a double meaning, but Luo Hua seemed to understand them and couldn't help but giggle.

"You're right, raising my Ningyu is indeed not an easy task!"

The two sat cross-legged beside a low table, and Luo Hua skillfully began to boil water and brew tea.

“We’re eating very casually, but I know that Young Master Li is a person who is particular about the finest and most exquisite food, so the kitchen will have to prepare it for a while. Let’s have some tea first, and wait for Ningyu!” “Alright, I’m very impressed with the jasmine tea that Miss Luo prepared.” Li Dachui said with a smile. “Besides drinking flower tea, what other hobbies does Ningyu have?”

Luo Hua looked up and gave him a meaningful look, saying, "Ning Yu doesn't have any particular hobbies. Every day, besides practicing martial arts, she reads and ponders military strategies. Her days are incredibly boring."

"Before the incident, she must have had some preferences, right? Since Miss Luo grew up with her, she should know that very well, shouldn't she?"

"Why is Young Master Li asking about this?"

"Just curious, just curious!" Li Dachui picked up the teacup that the other person pushed towards him and covered his face.

Luo Hua laughed and said, "When we were little, I remember Ning Yu liked to make all kinds of spices. She stopped doing it later. The little skill I have now is something I learned from her when we were little."

"Where's the food?"

"She must have loved sweets when she was little! I could often find candy in her pockets!"

"Really? Miss Luo, tell us about her childhood!"

"Why are you asking about this?"

Li Dachui laughed and said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. The more you know about her little secrets, the more confident you will be when fighting in the future, and the more targeted your attacks will be."

"Are you asking me to betray Ning Yuluo? Do you think that's possible?"

"Why not?" Li Dachui laughed. "I think it's possible. If Miss Luohua can reveal these little secrets, I will thank you handsomely!"

Luo Hua pondered for a moment, "Upon closer reflection, it really is possible!"

Li Dachui laughed loudly: "We're on the same wavelength!"

"It's an unspoken understanding!"

The two exchanged a smile, raised their teacups, gently clinked them together, and drank them down in one gulp.

it is more than words.

Outside Wangyue Residence, the sound of horses' hooves could be heard. The two got up, walked to the side facing inwards from the island, opened the window, and saw Xiao Changche leap off her warhorse and rush towards them. More importantly, she was carrying a long spear.

The door was pushed open with a bang, and Xiao Changche appeared in the doorway with a slightly angry expression.

"You're back?" The two people inside had already sat down again, but now they turned to look at Xiao Ningyu at the door and asked in unison.

Xiao Changche casually leaned the gun against the door and strode over, glaring at Li Dachui: "Your broken leg is all healed now? Always running around like this. Why don't you spend your time making more money?"

“Walking is no problem!” Li Dachui said, “Making money is a simple matter for me. And Ningyu, as a leader, it’s not a good thing to do everything yourself. You need to learn to cultivate and train your subordinates, so that they can take on responsibilities and dare to take on responsibilities. This way, you will not only be more relaxed, but you can also do things better. Before, you only had three thousand men, so you could naturally lead them to charge. But now you have more soldiers under your command, at least ten times more. Are you still going to lead the charge? That’s not how a leader is! But when it comes to reorganizing the army, you come up with a big strategy and then let your subordinates carry it out. If they do well, they get promoted and receive a raise; if they don’t, they get a spanking and their pay is docked. Look at me, I have Gu Xiaoman, Fang Xiaomao, and Xia Zhi to lead the charge in battle, Mao Daxian and others to manage the local affairs, Li Kaixin and Li Pangzi to manage internal affairs, and Qian Jia and Zhou Yi to gather intelligence. This is the benefit of focusing on cultivating subordinates. I’m just saying this casually, take it with a grain of salt. If you agree, correct it; if not, keep it in mind. Haha, hahaha!”

Xiao Changche gritted his teeth and glared at Li Dachui: "Are you done lecturing me? You came all this way just to teach me a lesson?"

"No, no! It's just that I'm a little..." Seeing Xiao Changche's unfriendly expression, he immediately changed his tune: "It's just that Xiao Hei misses Xiao Bai, so he came to see her. Don't you also hope that Xiao Bai and Xiao Hei can have a few divine steeds? They're separated more often than they can be together, how can they have any?"

Seeing that Xiao Changche's eyes kept glancing at the spear by the door, Li Dachui quickly said, "Actually, there are a few more important things I need to discuss with you. Now that we're living together, we need to discuss things beforehand. Otherwise, if I just do it directly, you'll feel uncomfortable, and it will hinder our future cooperation, right?"

After a series of explanations, seeing Xiao Changche's expression soften, Li Dachui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He's gotten so used to criticizing Xiao Changche that it's become second nature to him!

Luo Hua, who had been watching the two of them with his eyes darting around, couldn't help but chuckle.

Li Dachui and Xiao Changche turned their heads at the same time and glared.

Luo Hua immediately stood up and said with a charming smile, "You two talk first, I'll go to the kitchen and take a look. It's rare for Young Master Li to come all this way, so we should at least cook some good dishes. You can have a good drink today!"

"Thank you for your trouble!" Li Dachui said.

(End of this chapter)