Chapter 147: Watch out, look ahead (Part 1)

Hearing Li Yi's curse, Cheng Chumor waved his hand with utter nonchalance.

"Brother Bo'an, that is not called 'scrambling off', but rather 'leaving in a graceful and rounded manner'."

Cheng Chumo grinned broadly, then assumed a solemn expression and spoke righteously, "As an official of the Great Tang and a scholar, how can you utter such vulgar words? It is simply a disgrace to refinement!"

With that, Cheng Chumo wore a faint, forced smile, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked straight toward the center of the martial arts training ground.

His demeanor of a modest and courteous gentleman was entirely flawless.

"..." Li Yi and Yue'er were left utterly speechless on the spot.

Li Yi never expected that today, Cheng Chumo's "dog's mouth" could actually "spit out ivory".

Curling his lips in speechlessness, Li Yi couldn't be bothered to mind him and continued practicing swordsmanship with Yue'er.

The two of them traded blows, their long swords moving in a lingering, intertwined dance.

Seeing that neither Li Yi nor Yue'er intended to pay him any mind, Cheng Chumo glanced at the weapon rack on the side and suddenly picked up a long spear from it.

"Bang!"

In an instant, Cheng Chumo lunged forward with a stride, thrusting his spear between the two to interrupt their mutual disregard, and stood right in the middle.

"Brother Bo'an, come, let you and I spar a little," Cheng Chumo said with a beaming smile.

Before his voice had even faded, Cheng Chumo thrust his spear forward fiercely, aiming straight for Li Yi's chest.

This spear thrust was both fast and precise!

Seeing that Cheng Chumo was not joking and had rushed in with a serious expression, Li Yi did not dare to be the least bit careless. Shifting his body slightly to the left to dodge the spear thrust, he smoothly initiated the Tai Chi swordsmanship.

The sound of clashing metal continuously echoed in the morning breeze.

After about a dozen exchanges between the two, Cheng Chumo, who had initially held the upper hand and appeared rather aggressive, was now undeniably defeated.

Whether from the left or right, front or back, looking at the approaching silver-bright sword tip, Cheng Chumo completely lacked the time to fend off Li Yi's offensive.

While desperately blocking, Cheng Chumo's feet kept retreating backward in a scramble, causing Yue'er by the side to cover her mouth to suppress a giggle.

"Damn it, how on earth is Brother Bo'an's swordsmanship this formidable?!" Shock washed overwhelmingly over Cheng Chumo's heart.

At this very moment, he belatedly realized that he had underestimated the swordsmanship Li Yi had been practicing just moments ago.

Although the sword set looked languid and devoid of any destructive power, now that Li Yi wielded it in combat against him, its might was boundless.

Even with him deploying the Luo family spear techniques in response, Cheng Chumo still felt rather strained.

Seeing this, Li Yi showed no intention of backing down whatsoever; instead, he took three steps in two and charged straight at Cheng Chumo.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Driven back step by step, Cheng Chumo simply tumbled with a roll, scrambled up from the ground, and fled several meters away. Raising a hand at the same time, he shouted loudly at Li Yi, "Brother Bo'an, let's stop, let's stop!"

Li Yi couldn't help but be amused. He deliberately raised an eyebrow and beckoned at him, wearing an extremely punchable expression as he provoked with a smile, "Come on, Brother Chumo, let's keep going. Shall we cultivate some romantic sentiment between the two of us as well?"

"..." Cheng Chumo's mouth twitched violently at the words.

"No more fighting, Brother Bo'an," Cheng Chumo hurriedly waved his hands like rippling waves, offering an awkward smile as he said, "Let's forget about two grown men. You'd better stick to practicing with Yue'er."

Li Yi paused slightly, blinked his eyes, and suddenly asked with a smile, "Brother Chumo, are you sure?"

"Sure!" Huffing plumes of cold air and panting heavily, Cheng Chumo nodded with a deadpan, earnest expression and replied solemnly, "I am extremely sure, very sure, and positive!"

"Very well." Only then did Li Yi retract his long sword, flashed a crafty smile, winked at Yue'er standing nearby, and said with a chuckle, "Yue'er, Brother Chumo told the two of us to go together. Come over quickly—beat him up!"

"Understood, Young Master!" Hearing this, Yue'er was slightly stunned at first, but immediately charged toward Cheng Chumo with her sword drawn.

At the same time, Li Yi once again gripped his sword and strode leisurely toward Cheng Chumo's direction.

"..." Cheng Chumo stared in blank astonishment on the spot, his eyes wide and round.

Even his two large eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.

What the hell!

The script wasn't supposed to go like this...

Recovering his wits with a start, Cheng Chumo immediately hefted his spear, turned around, and bolted on his heels.

At the same time, looking back over his shoulder at Li Yi and Yue'er pursuing him, Cheng Chumo furrowed his brows and roared angrily, "Brother Bo'an, I told you two to practice by yourselves, I didn't say to use me as a sparring partner..."

Li Yi burst out laughing on the spot.

"Brother Chumo, you were the one who said earlier that you wanted me and Yue'er to go together." Striding in swift pursuit, Li Yi laughed out loud, "How can I refuse? I simply must fulfill your heartfelt wishes, wouldn't you say?"

"I never said such a thing!" Cheng Chumo bit his teeth and refused instantly, his soles still not forgetting to scamper forward.

"Ahem..." Seeing Cheng Chumo running wildly with his head turned back like that, and noticing the door pillar right ahead, Li Yi stopped in his tracks, hurriedly stretched out a hand, and shouted, "Brother Chumo, stop looking back at me, watch out, look ahea—"

"Ha." Cheng Chumo gave a detached smile, a trace of mockery curling the corner of his mouth as he sneered incredulously, "I won't fall for your tricks!"

However, the moment those words left Cheng Chumo's mouth, a loud thwack echoed out.

Cheng Chumo's forehead smashed squarely into the door pillar, making intimate contact with it. Then, rebounding as if he had hit a spring, his entire body bounced backward straight off the pillar.

"Hiss..." Overcome by pain, Cheng Chumo immediately covered his head, rubbing his forehead furiously while his mouth twisted and twitched in the wind.

"..." Li Yi and Yue'er were left speechless, covering their faces to hold back laughter as they felt a surge of anxiety for Cheng Chumo's depleted intellect.

After a long silence in the air, Cheng Chumo abruptly whipped his head around, glared at Li Yi, raised an eyebrow, and bellowed, "Brother Bo'an, did you do this to harm me on purpose?!"

Li Yi rolled his eyes blankly and retorted, "Brother Chumo, why on earth would I want to harm you?"

"..." The moment Cheng Chumo raised a hand to point at Li Yi, a sharp throbbing sensation hit his forehead. He quickly withdrew his hand to continue clutching his head, glared murderously at Li Yi, and asked with immense grievance, "Then why didn't you tell me earlier that there was a door pillar ahead?"

"Brother Chumo, I already reminded you to be careful and look ahead," Li Yi shrugged his shoulders helplessly, spreading his hands as he said, "You simply refused to believe my words, so what else could I do..."

"..." Cheng Chumo was instantly rendered speechless, a million imaginary beasts galloping wildly across his heart.

It wasn't that Cheng Chumo refused to trust him; rather, based on his understanding of Li Yi, he knew very well that almost nothing Li Yi said was credible. Therefore, Cheng Chumo had been cautious to the extreme, yet he still failed to escape this calamity.

"Brother Chumo, are you alright?" Walking toward Cheng Chumo, Li Yi voiced his concern, "Would you like me to have Yue'er fetch a physician to take a look at you?"

"Aren't you a physician yourself!" Cheng Chumo glared unhappily at Li Yi, highly incensed as he blurted out, "And you're even a medical officer in the imperial palace, Physician Li!"

The final three words, "Physician Li," were practically spat out through gritted teeth, filled with overflowing indignation on Cheng Chumo's face.

"Ahem..." Li Yi offered an awkward smile, came before Cheng Chumo, squatted down, pulled away the hand clutching his forehead, and inspected it closely. Seeing that there was nothing serious, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Chumo, it's just a bump. I've checked, nothing's wrong," Li Yi said with a smile.

"..." Cheng Chumo rolled his eyes speechlessly, staring with unblinking, bulging eyes at Li Yi as he complained, "Brother Bo'an, why don't you come bump your head and give it a try?"

Li Yi frowned slightly, looked at Cheng Chumo, and said with a straight face, "I'm not an idiot, why would I want to try that?"

"..." Right then, Cheng Chumo decided he didn't want to speak to Li Yi anymore. Was this roundabout way of speaking calling him an idiot?

Cheng Chumo swore!

He swore a solemn oath to the heavens that he would never speak to Li Yi again.

Noticing the deeply resentful glare Cheng Chumo was casting his way, Li Yi knew that morning practice was likely out of the question for today. He had no choice but to help Cheng Chumo up himself, give a light cough, and say, "Brother Chumo, let me escort you back to your guest room to rest."

Hearing this, Cheng Chumo tightly shut his mouth, nodded stubbornly, and shot Li Yi another vicious glare.

Yet from start to finish, he did not utter a single word to Li Yi.

"..." Finding Cheng Chumo's petty, grudge-bearing attitude rather哭笑不得 (laughable yet exasperating), Li Yi hurriedly escorted him back to the guest room, then instructed Yue'er to help him bathe and change his clothes.

By now, the winter sky had grown completely bright, presenting a gloomy hue.

As soon as Li Yi finished bathing and changing, taking his first tentative step forward to head to the study for calligraphy practice, he saw a domestic servant approaching swiftly alongside a waiter from the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

This restaurant waiter frequently ran errands to bring him intelligence reports, so Li Yi retained some impression of him. If he remembered correctly, his name seemed to be... Xi Zhizhao.

"What is it? Has something happened at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant?" Li Yi paused in his tracks, turned around with a slight frown, and looked at Xi Zhizhao.

Xi Zhizhao first offered a slight bow, then spoke with a beaming smile, "Young Master, it's good news, not bad news."

Pausing for a moment, Xi Zhizhao continued, "Among the fire-stokers sent by the nation of Toyo, one of them tried to secretly learn our culinary secrets this morning. I caught him red-handed myself and handed him over to Manager Xu!"

"Oh?" Li Yi furrowed his brows slightly, looked at Xi Zhizhao, and asked seriously, "Is this matter true?"

"It's true, Young Master!" Xi Zhizhao grinned widely and continued, "Moreover, when I caught him, not only did the master chefs in the back kitchen witness it, but the other two Toyo men saw it as well. All of them can serve as witnesses."

"Er... hahaha!" Li Yi was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

Waving his wide sleeves dismissively, Li Yi joyfully instructed Yue'er and Xi Zhizhao to rally the people, "Let's go, we're heading to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant right now!"

"Young Master, please lead the way!" Xi Zhizhao hurriedly stepped aside and gestured with an outstretched hand, signaling Li Yi to go first.

Nodding with a smile, Li Yi stepped out of the estate, preparing to head toward the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Unexpectedly at that moment, Cheng Chumo, having heard the laughter, suddenly poked his head out from his bedroom door, blinked his eyes, and asked with bewildered confusion, "Brother Bo'an, where on earth are you off to?"

"To watch a good show. Brother Chumo, care to tag along?" Li Yi smiled mysteriously, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

Hearing that there was a good show to watch, all the lingering displeasure in Cheng Chumo's heart vanished instantly.

"Wait for me, I'm coming too!" With those words, Cheng Chumo pushed the door wide open and bounded out, following closely behind Li Yi and the others with a joyous expression as they headed toward the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

(Note from the author: A minor character from the seventh era of Hibiscus Warm Summer has finally appeared. Well... don't look down on him just because he's a running errand boy; the fellow is sharp and will surely be of great use later on, hahaha!)