Chapter 15 The bamboo pole hit her waist

"You have to kowtow to get your New Year's gift too?"

Morax continued Qiao Xi's words in a nonchalant manner.

Qiao Xi was still standing there, bewildered and embarrassed, not realizing for a moment that Morax was responding to her recent offer to give him a New Year's gift.

Qiao Xi remained silent for a while. Just then, the fish on the hook swayed back and forth twice and jumped into the water and escaped.

With a "thump," Qiao Xi pursed her lips, thinking inappropriately that Jin Lan wouldn't be able to kowtow to her now.

Morax walked over, looked at Qiao Xi, his expression was not much, but he sounded slightly regretful: "It looks like the gift got away."

Qiao Xi forced a laugh and said, "I'll prepare it for you next time."

Morax looked at her and said calmly, "So what you just said was really directed at me?"

Qiao Xi quickly explained, "No...no, it's Jinlan. I thought you were Jinlan."

“Oh,” Morax nodded, glancing calmly at the hole in the ice. “That was pretty strong.”

Qiao Xi wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt like Morax was playing tricks on her.

But Morax, the Emperor of Liyue, who appears calm and magnanimous, would he have such a sense of humor?

Qiao Xi was a little suspicious, but she still tried to explain to Morax in the manner of a good student: "It's Jinlan too, he's strong."

Qiao Xi felt a little guilty. Did their behavior count as damaging the environment? And was she betraying Jin Lan?

Fortunately, Morax didn't pay attention to this. He just glanced at the sword next to Qiao Xi. Unlike Yi Xiao, Morax was thinking that this child even brought her sword to practice when she came out to play. She really loved learning.

So, not wanting to disappoint Qiao Xi's love of learning, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and generous: "Since you intend to practice your sword here, I will also guide you here. Come."

He waved to Qiao Xi.

Qiao Xi was stunned. The sword was pulled out and poked at the ice before being thrown aside. She looked at the sword, then at Morax. Qiao Xi couldn't understand how Morax could think that she was here to practice swordsmanship.

If Master Yixiao saw this, he would definitely scold her for not studying properly.

Now, facing Morax, Qiao Xi struggled internally for a moment, sighed, and bent down to pick up the sword from the ground.

As she bent over, the scabbard on her back slid down and hit her head hard. Qiao Xi fell to the ice with a "plop" from the pain. She thrashed a few times but couldn't get up.

The hood of the cloak fell down, completely obscuring Qiao Xi's view.

She was dressed like a ball, all red like a hawthorn skewer rolling around here.

Morax looked down and couldn't help but smile slightly.

He walked over, squatted down next to Qiao Xi, picked up a bamboo pole, and gently lifted the hat covering her head.

The hat was attached to the cape, which was also a bright red and surrounded by a circle of fluffy white fur.

Qiao Xi's eyes lit up. When Morax looked down at her and their eyes met, she was reminded of the time when Morax held a spear and used the tip to lift her veil.

"Hello, Morax." Qiao Xi was a little embarrassed. She smiled, her firm little face pressed against the ice, and her lips were forced to pucker when she turned her head to speak.

Morax tilted his head to look at her, his tone calm: "Yes, you too."

Qiao Xi laughed again: "Well, if you don't help me up soon, I might turn into an ice sculpture."

Upon hearing this, Morax stopped observing the little girl.

He initially wanted to offer her his hand directly, but remembering how Qiao Xi had shyly and awkwardly said she had never held a man's hand before when they first met, he couldn't help but abandon the idea of ​​using his hand directly.

He glanced at the bamboo fishing rod in his hand and then handed it to her.

As Morax handed over the bamboo pole, his gaze was gradually drawn to Qiao Xi's chubby face. So, the bamboo pole, which was originally pointing downwards, changed direction as if by magic and finally poked Qiao Xi's chubby face.

Qiao Xi blinked, staring at Morax with a questioning look, her eyes full of incomprehension.

Morax blinked, but his hand exerted a little force, poking a small indentation into Qiao Xi's face. The blood around the indentation was driven away by one end of the bamboo pole, making her face look elastic and easy to pinch.

Qiao Xi: "You..."

Morax frowned slightly, his gaze shifting from Qiao Xi's face to his own hand. He then picked up the bamboo pole, and the dimples on Qiao Xi's face instantly returned to normal, the color returning, and that area even became more rosy.

Morax suppressed the urge to poke her again, believing he shouldn't have done that. He handed the bamboo pole to Qiao Xi and helped her up.

Qiao Xi stood on the slippery ice and patted her clothes.

"Luckily, I was dressed warmly enough that I wasn't cold lying on the ice." She looked up at Morax and smiled.

Morax looked down at her and thought to himself that it was indeed thick; from a distance, it would look like there was a ball on the ice.

He grunted in agreement, turned around, and walked slowly toward the center of the ice: "Come here."

Qiao Xi, carrying her sword, slid across the ice, carefully following behind Morax.

Looking at Morax's back, Qiao Xi became somewhat certain of a previous thought: Morax had a rather strange and interesting side.

She rubbed her face. Otherwise, why would someone poke her with a stick? And it seemed to be the first time she had ever poked someone's face. She had no control over the force at all. It hurt!

Thinking this, Qiao Xi raised her sword and made random gestures at Morax's back, as if she were taking revenge for the stab to the face from afar.

Coincidentally, Morax turned around at that moment, like playing a game of "Red Light, Green Light," and Qiao Xi quickly stopped, almost falling down on the spot again.

Morax reached the middle of the lake and faced Qiao Xi, watching the girl move her limbs haphazardly toward him.

When Qiao Xi arrived at the destination, Morax couldn't help but ask, "Who taught you your balancing technique?"

Faced with such accusations, the clever Qiao Xi knew that Morax was the superior of her two masters. Her apprentice, determined not to betray her masters, took all the blame upon herself, saying, "I taught them everything, it's just that I'm too stupid."

Morax: "I'll teach you later."

Qiao Xi looked puzzled.

Did she just dig a hole for herself and then happily jump into it?

Even with Master Yixiao's good temper, she was so annoyed by his teaching that she wanted to turn into a deer and jump off a cliff. I wonder what Morax would be like when he gets angry.

Qiao Xi helplessly hoped that Morax was a good-tempered person.

"Well, thank you." Qiao Xi's smile was forced.

Morax smiled: "You're welcome."

*

Sword practice emphasizes harmony and coordination between form and sword, with powerful yet light and smooth movements, ultimately achieving a unity of person and sword, and mastery of the skill.

After stabilizing herself on the ice, Qiao Xi gripped the hilt of her sword and gave Morax a standard sword salute. Then she turned around, hung her sword, thrust, and performed a series of inside and outside flourishes, followed by a back flourish, and finally finished with a slash.

Her movements were clean and crisp, showing that she had practiced. However, she usually used bamboo instead of a sword, so when she held a real sword, the difference in weight inevitably made her movements less powerful than before.

Morax stood by with his hands behind his back, watching. Qiao Xi's sword dance was completely different from her usual self. Morax saw this and thought that giving her this sword was the right choice.

Qiao Xi sheathed her sword and smiled at him: "How was it?"

Her laughter came so suddenly, it was almost too beautiful to be real.

Morax paused slightly.

“Your movements are fairly standard, but,” he said, stepping forward and using the bamboo pole in his hand to support Qiao Xi’s wrist and lift it up, “the height should be kept at this position.”

After Morax adjusted Qiao Xi's posture, he moved the bamboo pole away.

Unexpectedly, after the bamboo pole left, Qiao Xi's arm also began to descend slowly and steadily, eventually settling at its original height.

Qiao Xi looked at Morax with an awkward smile.

Morax frowned, looked at Qiao Xi, and adjusted it for her again.

This time, Qiao Xi descended to the same height as before, without any deviation.

Morax looked at her, puzzled: "Can't you even hold on for a moment?"

Qiao Xi didn't say anything, just looked at him and smiled, a smile that looked like she was suffering a lot.

Morax had been fighting for many years, and was decisive in killing. He rarely had moments of melancholy, frustration, or unhappiness.

But he never expected that on this day, in such a peaceful moment when the war had basically subsided, he would feel a tightness in his chest.

Because this feeling was so unfamiliar, he hesitated for a moment.

Ultimately, he accepted that this displeasure was caused by Qiao Xi.

He simply couldn't understand, or rather, he couldn't imagine, how someone could not hold on for even a moment.

The few sword moves he had just performed had given him a refreshing and delightful surprise.

"Qiao Xi, don't laugh." Morax's eyes darkened.

Qiao Xi immediately stopped smiling.

Morax picked up the bamboo pole again and supported Qiao Xi's wrist. He raised Qiao Xi's wrist to a position above the standard line. If the standard height is drawn, the current height is symmetrical to Qiao Xi's usual height.

Morax removed the bamboo pole, and Qiao Xi's arm, as expected, slowly moved down until it reached the correct position, then continued to move down until it stopped in the original position.

Morax: "......"

Qiao Xi thought Morax was being a bit childish. The reason she couldn't lift it was because she wasn't strong enough, not because it was too high. After all, it was a human arm, not a mechanical one.

Morax clearly realized this as well. She walked behind Qiao Xi and gently tapped her waist with a bamboo pole.

But Qiao Xi was dressed too warmly and didn't notice anything, still standing there as if nothing was wrong.

Morax: "......"

Helpless, he poked Qiao Xi in the waist with a bamboo pole.

Qiao Xi turned her head away.

Morax said, "Strike from this position, get into a horse stance."

"Huh? Now?" The bolt from the blue came too suddenly, and Qiao Xi didn't want to do the horse stance.

Morax grunted in agreement, then tapped Qiao Xi's knee with the bamboo pole. "Press it down."

"good."

Qiao Xi did as instructed.

Morax was standing right behind her, which made their position look misleading from behind.

Just then, Jinlan, carrying his strawberry and humming a song, walked this way and suddenly saw the ice in the distance, where the Emperor seemed to be holding Qiao Xi...

Jinlan: ?

Jinlan: !

Jinlan screamed inwardly like a groundhog: Ah—!

A note from the author:

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See you tomorrow, love you all