Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1813 - Something happened to Shen Huang!

When Qing Shui saw Shen Huang’s look which seemed like she had abandoned herself, he felt unusually uncomfortable. He said in a slightly concerned tone, “You mustn’t act like this. You have to look into this problem carefully.”

Her ignorant attitude was precisely what Qing Shui didn’t like about her. When he saw her standing up and was about to leave, he quickly extended his hand and grabbed her tender arm.

Her arm felt warm like a jade. At the same time, both of them were stunned. Qing Shui could feel Shen Huang’s body trembling momentarily. It was very obvious, this kind of tremble came from within her body. He wanted to let go, but he was worried that if he really did do so, it would cause a huge impact on her. This was a tiny feeling which came from within his heart. Sometimes, the fluctuation taking place within one’s mind could indeed be very mysterious.

“Let go!” Though her body trembled, Shen Huang still tried to retain her calm tone as she spoke.

Qing Shui wasn’t trying to take advantage of her, but since he was already grabbing her, he mustn’t let go as this would intensify her feeling of loneliness.

He was able to tell just from her reaction, that no one had ever held her hand like that. Hence, it was the more reason he shouldn’t let go now.

“No!” Qing Shui looked at her with his tranquil eyes.

Peng!

The woman immediately landed her palm on his chest.

Qing Shui didn’t intend to operate his qi to withstand it. The heart was the weakest organ in a human’s body. Despite his great defense, the strength of the woman in front of Qing Shui was still fearsome. Furthermore, she also exerted quite a lot of strength in her attack.

A piercing pain passed through his entire body. Nevertheless, Qing Shui didn’t let go.

“Let go!” Sheng Huang’s face looked very cold.

Peng!

Qing Shui insisted not to. A trace of fresh blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. Eventually, the woman chose not to land her next palm that was already in mid-air. As she looked at the man who was already looking a bit pale, she dropped her hand.

“What exactly do you want that you wouldn’t let go? Do you seriously want me to kill you?” Shen Huang lowered her head and stopped looking at Qing Shui.

Her heart had already begun to undergo slight changes. It was a kind of change that even she herself was unsure of. A man, a man whom she didn’t hate… Not only did he hold her hands and worried about her, he didn’t even try to resist as she tried to hurt him… So much that he didn’t even fear to die in her hand…...

She felt a sense of warmth and belief in her heart. She also felt something which she couldn’t describe in words. If he was to hold her hand once more, she wouldn’t resist as much as she did before.

At this moment, Qing Shui finally let go of her hand, “I am sorry, the intention to blaspheme you has never once crossed my mind, I just wish that you can walk out of your difficult situation as soon as possible.”

For now, Shen Huang was feeling really weird. Though he might have let go, she felt like she had lost something. In fact, she didn’t even know what exactly happened today… No one had ever dared to do that to her.

“In the future, if you ever dare to do that again, I will definitely kill you.” Shen Huang sounded a bit helpless when she was saying that.

It was to the point where she started to wonder if she had run into her nemesis. Ever since she was here, she really liked this place and its atmosphere. She could feel the warm atmosphere around the family, even by merely looking at it, she would already feel very good about it. Hence, she would never kill Qing Shui. If she had wanted to do it, she would have done it before.

“I won’t ever do it again. Huang`Er look at that. In the future, this will be yours. You can come whenever you want since we are all friends, how do you feel about it?” Qing Shui said.

Taking advantage of her was truly not Qing Shui’s intention. He just wanted to let her feel a warm presence in her heart. If a person had never been blessed with family love, they must have friends, true friends, friends that were like a family.

“Huang`Er? Do not ever call me that, you filthy brat.” Shen Huang looked at Qing Shui with an extremely surprised look.

“Huang`Er, calling a man a filthy brat is something very insulting. You can ever say to them… I am a man……” Qing Shui pushed his chest outwards.

“Are you alright? Let me examine your injuries.” Shen Huang noticed that Qing Shui was still looking a bit pale. There was also some trace of blood on the corner of his mouth. Nevertheless, he still insisted on easing her from her anxiety. She knew how much Qing Shui cared about her and she was also aware of the force she used when hitting him.

“Don’t worry about it. I have a very tough body.” Qing Shui quickly said to her.

Shen Huang just tried to express her concern for him. If he had really taken off his clothes for her to examine, he might end up getting hit one more time by her.

“Why are you willing to go to such extent for me? I know and I also understand what you are trying to say. Thank you.” Shen Huang stopped for a while and looked at Qing Shui.

“I believe you may be starting to think that I am going after you?” After a moment of thought, Qing Shui asked her back.

“If it had been someone else, yes, I would have made such an assumption. But I can see that there are no such intentions in your eyes. Actually, throughout all these years, there has never been anyone who harbored such desire towards me.” Shen Huang shook her head and said.

“That’s because they feel that they are not suitable for you. There is too huge of a gap between you and them. They will never stand a chance in dominating you.”

“You bastard. The only thing you are good at is talking nonsense.” Shen Huang said grumpily when she heard the word “dominating”.

She didn’t realize that in between herself and Qing Shui, there was already a kind of informality which came from their true friendship. Also, the change taking place now was something which had never happened in the past. She was a woman and this was the nature of a woman that she was supposed to have. Unluckily, she only got to express it now.

“I will take my leave now.” Shen Huang said softly.

“Watch out for Jin Feng.” After a moment of hesitation, Qing Shui spoke.

“I know, you too, be careful of him.” Shen Huang’s face looked perfectly normal. It seemed that she expected some moves from Jin Feng.

……

Very quickly, a week passed peacefully. Qing Shui satisfyingly spent his time in his home. His wives and children also felt that their home was warmer than ever before. The time when the family was together was filled with joy and laughter.

“Nuo`Er, you are certainly improving in your martial techniques.” Qing Shui smiled and said to Qing Nuo when he walked into the backyard of the martial art training ground.

“Daddy!”

When she saw him, Qing Nuo approached Qing Shui happily and embraced his arm. During this time, this girl was finally able to recognize him as her father. When he first came back, she used to act very formally and cautiously around him. After all, back then, they were still unfamiliar with each other.

However, as expected of a family bond, they managed to get familiar with each other very quickly. During his stay, Qing Shui not only guided them through their training but also taught them bits of knowledge about some martial arts and told them stories about warriors across the continent. Slowly, he managed to remove the gap between himself and Qing Teng, Qing Nuo, and Yan Lang.

After all, since young, they had all grown up while listening to their father’s story. In their heart, they regarded their father as their hero and also a formidable warrior. Often, they would also see their father’s portrait. Hence, subconsciously, they would still feel a bit familiar with their father.

The day was still early, all of his children also woke up fairly early. They knew that they must be hardworking and strive to be better. Above them, they had their father and mother as their role model, while ahead of them, it was their brothers and sisters. Role model played a prominent role in deciding the attitude of the children.

At noon, Qing Shui received a letter from a person. However, it was given to him by Huoyun Liu-Li.

“Where is the person who delivered the letter?” Qing Shui asked casually as he took over the letter.

“He is gone. It’s just a normal person, Old Man Wu. According to him, a stranger passed it to him and told him to give the letter to you.” Huoyun Liu-Li said.

On top of the letter was written “Qing Shui, Confidential Letter”.

Qing Shui then proceeded to open the letter. The only thing he saw was a few simple words written on it.

“Head to the Phoenix Sun Valley located at the Dancing Phoenix Mountain if you want Shen Huang alive. If you fail to arrive within six hours, it is not guaranteed what will happen to her body and her life”.