Chapter 6 Tender Affectionate Sword Technique

After a few rare days of peace and quiet, there was no further activity from Zhou Wenyuan's side.

Tang Xiaoning was comfortably nestled in a soft chair in the flower hall, popping a candied plum into her mouth and enjoying the peaceful and leisurely time.

Butler Fu walked in hurriedly, his face showing a hint of solemnity.

“Miss,” Uncle Fu bowed slightly, lowering his voice, “Madam Zhou… has sent an invitation.”

He paused, his gaze flickering subtly and quickly to Li Minghua, who stood silently beside Tang Xiaoning like a shadow, holding his sword.

"He said he would come to the mansion tomorrow to visit the old lady, and also..." He paused, seemingly considering his words, "...to see you as well."

"Snap!"

The amber-colored candied fruit between Tang Xiaoning's fingers fell onto the smooth rosewood table and rolled twice.

The comfort on her face vanished instantly, and she seemed to have lost all her strength, slumping into the soft chair with a sigh, her voice trembling with tears.

"It's all over, it's all over! We didn't even get rid of the younger one, and now the older one has come down to interrogate us! Aunt Zhou's mouth..."

She exaggeratedly covered her face, "She can talk the dead back to life! If she really puts her mind to it and whispers in my mother's ear, my mother is so easily swayed..."

Thinking of the possible consequences, she sat up abruptly, as if a spring had snapped, and her gaze quickly turned to the calm figure beside her.

She practically lunged forward and grabbed Li Minghua's hand holding the sword.

It wasn't the wrist, but rather it completely covered the other person's hand, which was covered in calluses.

Li Minghua felt a sudden warmth, softness, and a touch of sweat on the back of his hand.

Her fingers, which had been holding a sword for years, instinctively curled slightly, her knuckles stiffening, but she didn't pull them away.

She simply lowered her eyelashes, glanced at their clasped hands, then raised them again to meet Tang Xiaoning's eyes, which were filled with a solemn urgency as if their fates hung in the balance, and calmly asked: "How do we do it properly?"

Her voice was as steady as ever, but if you listened carefully, it seemed to be a little faster than usual.

Tang Xiaoning: "Just by standing in front of her and saying a few words of 'don't force things,' you definitely won't be able to fool Aunt Zhou!"

Tang Xiaoning stood up, released her hand, and paced back and forth in the flower hall like a strategist pacing anxiously before a battle.

Tang Xiaoning: "We have to make her believe from the bottom of her heart that we are truly in love, that our love is stronger than gold, and that no amount of evil winds or attempts to separate us can break us up!"

She abruptly stopped, turned to face Li Minghua, her gaze burning like two flickering flames as she stared directly at her: "So, Miss Li! We urgently need—special training!"

Li Minghua's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition descended like a dark cloud: "...Special training what?"

She instinctively tightened her grip on the sword.

"How can our special training look 'romantic' so that Aunt Zhou will immediately see the sparks flying between us and think we're a match made in heaven!" Tang Xiaoning declared emphatically.

She then rolled up her sleeves and began her on-site teaching session.

She leaned closer to Li Minghua, tilted her small face up, and tried to widen her already beautiful almond-shaped eyes, attempting to squeeze out a hint of the legendary "deep affection":

“First, it’s about eye contact! When you look at me,” she pointed to Li Minghua’s calm, expressionless eyes, “you can’t look at me with the same indifference you would show to a bamboo broom in the corner! Nor can you look at me with the same unappetizing look you would show to a braised pork hock! You have to look at me like this—”

She blinked harder, trying to make her eyes appear "shimmering," and even deliberately slowed her speech, speaking with a hint of coaxing: "It has to be warm, cozy... and also a little... um... hesitant, indescribable, lingering tenderness! Understand?"

Li Minghua was somewhat taken aback by the sudden close gaze and the "tender" request.

She tried hard to understand Tang Xiaoning's description, and then stared back at Tang Xiaoning with wide eyes, almost as if her eyes were about to pop out.

His eyes were filled with utter confusion, a hint of determination to carry out the mission, and... a stiffness as if facing death.

Rather than being "tenderly affectionate," it's more like a grueling contest of endurance in staring intently at each other.

Tang Xiaoning's lips twitched at the sight of her "murderous" yet "deeply affectionate" expression, and she instantly deflated, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

"...Forget it, forget it. The skill of eye contact is too difficult for you, it's like trying to reach for the moon."

Let's move on to the second step: body language!

She rallied and began to gesture: "For example, when we're walking, you should get a little closer to me, like your shoulders are lightly touching mine. Or, when going up or down stairs or turning corners, you can 'casually'..."

She emphasized the words "unintentionally" and made a gesture of support: "Just support my waist, it shows you're considerate! Or maybe..."

A sly glint flashed in her eyes. Suddenly, she reached out and gently brushed her fingertips across Li Minghua's smooth forehead, tenderly tucking a non-existent "wisp of hair" behind her ear: "Like this, help me smooth the hair at my temples. It's natural and intimate!"

The moment Tang Xiaoning's cool fingertips touched Li Minghua's earlobe...

Li Minghua's body suddenly stiffened, like a stone statue that had been instantly struck by acupuncture, and even his breathing stopped.

Only her fair, jade-like earlobes, at a speed visible to the naked eye, suddenly blushed with a burning red, even creeping up her neck.

She tensed up completely, as if she had been greatly frightened.

“...Like...this?” Her voice sounded strained, as if it were being squeezed out of her throat.

Almost instinctively, she stiffly and mechanically raised her right hand, mimicking Tang Xiaoning's earlier demonstration, and reached towards Tang Xiaoning's temple.

The movements were slow and clumsy, with the fingers slightly spread apart. It was less like gently "stroking hair" and more like carefully probing the other person's head to see if there were any deadly traps or hidden weapons.

"Pfft..." Tang Xiaoning was so amused by her "reconnaissance" action that she almost burst out laughing. She quickly bit her lower lip to hold it in.

She grabbed Li Minghua's stiff wrist, which was almost touching her temple, and carefully adjusted her angle and strength:

"Wrong, wrong! Lady Li! Be gentle! Be soft! Be natural and smooth! Are you trying to comb my hair into a flying bun, or are you trying to twist my head off?"

Her tone was full of helplessness and sarcasm.

“…I’m sorry.” Li Minghua lowered his eyes and quickly withdrew his hand, as if he had burned it.

She felt the heat on her cheeks hadn't subsided, and her heartbeat was a little erratic.

This "tender affection" training was a hundred times more difficult than having her deal with three stray dogs trying to steal her buns at the same time!

At least stray dogs know where to bite with their teeth.

Tang Xiaoning: "There's even a title!"

Tang Xiaoning clearly wasn't going to let her off easily and continued to escalate the situation:

"Tomorrow, you absolutely cannot use that cold, businesslike 'Miss Tang' in front of Aunt Zhou!"

That sounds even more distant than calling someone an accountant! You need to be more friendly and warmer!

This time, Li Minghua readily complied and tried to speak, his voice dry and strained: "...Xiaoning?"

"Not enough! It's too ordinary!" Tang Xiaoning immediately shook her head.

She treated him like a wayward student, patiently guiding him to develop more "advanced" emotional expression:

“Make it even more cheesy! Make it seem like we’re so close and inseparable! For example…” Her eyes darted around, and she threw out a particularly lethal term of address, “… ‘Ning’er’?”

She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, with a hint of coquetry.

Li Minghua seemed to be frozen in place, and suddenly stared wide-eyed at Tang Xiaoning.

The word "Ning" seemed to carry immense force, rolling over and over on her tongue and sliding up and down her throat several times, yet it failed to break through that invisible barrier and produce a sound.

Instead, the blush that had just faded from her cheeks suddenly flared up again, quickly spreading to her ears and even tinging her neck with a thin layer of pink.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately gave up and quickly lowered her eyelashes, staring at the cloth shoes on her feet. Her voice was so low it was almost inaudible, a slightly embarrassed hoarse tone: "...I can't bring myself to call out."

It was as if those two words were some kind of forbidden incantation.

Tang Xiaoning looked at her embarrassed and adorable appearance, which made her want to crawl into a hole, and felt a light, ticklish sensation on her heart, along with a strange flutter in her heart, and a slight urge to laugh.

She gazed at Li Minghua's reddened earlobes, sighed softly, a hint of indulgence and compromise in her voice:

"Alright, alright, you can't force a relationship. Let's just call her 'Xiaoning' then."

She changed the subject, emphasizing, "However... tone! You must adjust your tone! Be gentler!"

Don't be as stiff as if you're giving orders in a martial arts training ground or reciting martial arts manuals!

Imagine... um... like... like calling out to something you really cherish?

She herself felt that the analogy was a bit strange, so she quickly stopped herself.

To ease the awkward atmosphere, mainly because Li Minghua was practically steaming in embarrassment, and also to encourage himself.

Tang Xiaoning glanced around and picked up the bamboo broom that had become the symbol of the beginning of her "martial arts career" once again:

"Come on, talk is cheap! Let's practice swordsmanship and find the feeling together! Maybe we'll get the hang of it as we practice!"

She enthusiastically brandished the broom: "Miss Li, just imagine we're practicing a unique, unparalleled, and enviable combined sword technique, and we'll call it..."

Her eyes lit up, and she made her decision: "'Tender Affection Sword'! What we need is perfect teamwork! A meeting of minds!"

Thus, in the elegant courtyard outside the Tang family's flower hall, an extremely bizarre yet strangely comical scene unfolded...

Tang Xiaoning held up the heavy bamboo broom, gesturing wildly and incantating as if performing a ritual:

"Take this! My move, 'Looking Through Autumn Water,' is aimed directly at his vital points on the upper body."

Heroine Li! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Use your 'Telepathic Connection' move to help me.

"With both swords combined, we are invincible!"

Li Minghua, holding her ancient and sharp sword that carried the legacy of her sect, expressionlessly and precisely parried Tang Xiaoning's "broom thrusts" that were always off target and could even hurt her.

She also had to follow Tang Xiaoning's "commands," moving her steps somewhat stiffly, trying to make the two of them look like they were working in perfect harmony and sharing the same thoughts to launch a "joint attack."

Every time Li Minghua used his master's treasured sword to parry the broom that was covered in mud and the scent of fallen leaves, he felt a deep sense of guilt towards the sword.

I feel that even my master's spirit in heaven would sigh if it were watching.