Roaring Dragon-Chapter 10: Do I Look Like Some Naive Airhead to You?

After just one move, both of them froze in place, not making a single further motion.

The moonlit courtyard fell into complete silence—only the flirtatious singing drifting from beyond the rear wall could still be heard:

"Those long, arching brows drawn with care~ That trembling grip on a slender waist~..."

Linghu Qingmo’s lashes quivered ever so slightly—then suddenly jolted. Her eyes had been filled with surprise and suspicion, but something instantly felt very wrong—there was a large hand, full and firm, groping her chest...

?!

As it dawned on her, Linghu Qingmo's gaze immediately turned into pure murderous rage!

Xie Jinhuan’s left hand was still covering her chest, the sensation quite excellent. But seeing the look in Miss Mo’s eyes—that she was about to eat him alive—he pulled his hand back lightning-fast.

“Friendly sparring. Physical contact is inevitable, inevi—inevitable~...”

“You shameless little scoundrel!”

Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Linghu Qingmo's face flushed bright red. She clamped down on Xie Jinhuan’s left wrist, and her arm suddenly shimmered with blue-white spiritual light.

Zzzzzap—

Xie Jinhuan, gripped by the wrist, looked like he'd just been strapped to an electric chair. Even speaking took effort:

“You—you just can’t stand losing—huh?!”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

Linghu Qingmo’s cool, elegant face now burned like a sunset. She wanted nothing more than to slash this lecherous bastard in half right then and there.

But... the truth was, she had indeed been caught off guard just now. If it had been a real fight to the death, she would already be dead—she wouldn’t even have had the chance to strike back here.

Her robes fluttered with her breath, her lashes trembling in fury, but at last, she stopped channeling her thunder arts. Face still burning, she replied:

“I come from a righteous sect—how could I be unable to accept defeat? But you, a martial cultivator, how could you resort to trickery like binding my sword with lightning?”

Xie Jinhuan was still tingling from the electric backlash, but martial types had thick skin and quick recovery. In no time, he was back to normal.

“I told you I studied all sorts of things. You’re from Zihui Mountain, aren't you? What, scared of me using short to strike long?”

Linghu Qingmo was momentarily speechless, then quickly rebuked him:

“If this was just sparring, you should’ve stopped once victory was clear. You had the upper hand—why didn’t you stop sooner?”

Xie Jinhuan replied, absolutely shameless: “You’re completely unscathed—how’s that not stopping in time? You’re a core disciple of Zihui Mountain. Until the dust settles, how do I know you don’t have some mystical trick up your sleeve, like teleporting or ghost-walking?”

Linghu Qingmo nearly exploded. He’d groped her chest and now he was blaming her for being weak?

“You had your palm dead center on my core! How exactly was I supposed to ghost-walk out of that? Can you do it?”

Seeing her disbelief, Xie Jinhuan didn’t argue. He just spread his hands:

“Go ahead. You hit me with a palm.”

Heart still brimming with humiliation and fury, Linghu Qingmo stepped forward without hesitation and thrust a palm straight at his chest and stomach.

Thud—

The strike landed with a dull bang. It was heavy, clearly carrying a bit of personal grudge.

But Xie Jinhuan didn’t dodge or block. Instead, he shifted his left foot back and took the palm right in the chest, letting his body absorb the blow and flow with the motion.

Boom—

The strong internal force entered his body but didn’t explode out to injure his organs. Instead, visible ripples appeared across his chest, and the force rolled along his torso, arms, and back—finally exiting from his left hand behind him.

Bang—

The expelled force blasted away the fallen leaves behind him in a fan-shaped burst, sending the whole courtyard into a swirl of leaves—but Xie Jinhuan stood there, completely unharmed!

?!

Linghu Qingmo’s normally icy, focused eyes went wide in shock!

Even if she didn’t fully grasp the technique, it was clear: Xie Jinhuan had used some kind of high-level method similar to “absorb, neutralize, redirect” to contain the force entering his body, shift it back, and release it harmlessly—like the martial equivalent of a mountain-punch.

As a core disciple of Zihui Mountain, Linghu Qingmo had met countless experts at the prince’s manor. But this kind of technique—she’d never seen it before. Her eyes now showed raw confusion.

“...What kind of move is that?”

Xie Jinhuan, not at all ashamed after getting slapped in the chest, looked at her like a master lecturing a green disciple:

“That move’s called Tílong Wujìu—‘Wary Dragon Without Regret.’ It’s one of the Silver Dragon Eight Forms. The key is: avoid the edge, hide your sharpness, let your spirit follow the force, and return strength with strength. If I really wanted, I could’ve sent that palm right back at you.”

The flush of shame and anger had completely disappeared from Linghu Qingmo’s face, replaced with stunned disbelief. Silver Dragon Eight Forms...

Never heard of it. But what a terrifying martial technique...

He’s about my age—how can his skills be this advanced?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

With that in mind, she asked cautiously, “What sect or school do you come from?”

Honestly, Xie Jinhuan had mostly pieced his skills together himself. Advancing this fast in three years was hard to explain, so he just made something up:

“Fengling Valley. We follow the Hidden Immortal path. Probably not a name you’ve heard.”

The Hidden Immortal line was a branch of Daoism, known for living secluded in mountains and rivers, rarely emerging unless the world was in chaos. No one really knew how many old masters were holed up in there.

Given Xie Jinhuan’s age and strength, it was possible he came from such a sect. But Linghu Qingmo had never heard of Fengling Valley. She pressed again:

“Where is Fengling Valley?”

Xie Jinhuan put on an air of mystique.

“Can’t risk disturbing my master’s cultivation. I hope you’ll understand.”

“...”

Linghu Qingmo knew better than to pry into the ways of the Hidden Immortals. Her expression grew increasingly complicated.

Although she’d suffered a serious loss here—her chest grabbed, no less—Xie Jinhuan had demonstrated ‘absorb and redirect’ to resolve her counterattack. Not pausing his ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ hand when it landed on her chest almost made sense now...

But if that’s the case—didn’t that mean she got beaten up for nothing, groped for nothing, and now had to thank him for the lesson?

What was this—offering herself up like some ditzy little doormat?

Xie Jinhuan saw that the usually-cool Linghu Qingmo’s expression was flickering, and she still hadn’t moved. He added:

“I touched your chest for a second. You’ve been groping mine this whole time. We’re even now... hiss~”

Before he could finish, a soft, pale hand clamped down on his chest—hard. His muscles actually warped beneath those white jade fingers.

Linghu Qingmo gave a firm squeeze, then immediately stepped back a few paces and raised her sword to guard her chest.

“Fine. You’re the better fighter. We owe each other nothing. Goodbye.”

With that, she turned and tried to leave.

Xie Jinhuan rubbed his chest. He didn’t seem too bothered by the retaliation. But as she tried to leave, he called out:

“Hold up.”

Linghu Qingmo paused, eyes wary.

“What now?”

“Gu~”

Before Xie Jinhuan could reply, Meiqiu the hawk flapped down next to the bamboo basket full of leaves, bobbing his head meaningfully.

“You lost a bet. The courtyard still needs cleaning.”

“You—!”

Linghu Qingmo’s icy expression turned green with rage.

You beat me up during the day, groped me at night, and now you want me to clean your damn yard?! What am I—your bullied little wife, supposed to just take it all in silence?!

But... she’d run into his strike fair and square. Got groped because she lost. Cleaning the yard? Her own damn wager.

Linghu Qingmo had been losing all night and couldn’t even argue. After a long internal struggle, she clenched her teeth and walked to the corner, picking up a bamboo broom.

Swish, swish, swish—

She swept with such force that Xie Jinhuan actually felt bad for the broom.

They didn’t have any real grudge, and seeing the proud girl so defeated, he didn’t lord it over her. He grabbed a feather duster and started cleaning the windows.

Meiqiu was also well-behaved. Seeing Linghu Qingmo furiously sweeping, he picked up fallen leaves in his beak and hopped around, dropping them neatly in the basket.

“Gugii~”

Linghu Qingmo ground her teeth so hard they creaked, but when she saw the guy and the bird both helping—not treating her like a maid—her fury slowly faded.

After a moment of thought, she asked:

“How did you find that bandit group tonight? Any other leads?”

Xie Jinhuan had actually been lured there by a seductive demoness, but he casually replied:

“Ran into Yang the Constable. Lucky timing. They said the dragon whisker grass was already gathered, and things are quieting down. Oh, right—something about a body by the river catching the authorities’ attention...”

“A body?”

Linghu Qingmo frowned. “Could it be the floating corpse found at Huai River Bay five days ago?”

Xie Jinhuan blinked. “I wasn’t even in Danyang five days ago. What kind of corpse?”

“A nameless floater, badly rotted—couldn’t even tell if it was male or female. Hard to trace. Still under investigation. If that corpse is connected to the demonic faction, then this case might be bigger than we thought...”

Suddenly gaining a lead, Linghu Qingmo couldn’t sit still. She dropped the broom and made for the exit.

Xie Jinhuan frowned. “What, quitting already?”

Linghu Qingmo was already leaping onto the courtyard wall.

“I’ve got to interrogate the surviving bandits. Don’t worry—I come from a righteous sect. I always keep my word. I will come back and clean up.”

And with that, she disappeared over the wall.

“...Workaholic.”

Xie Jinhuan still needed to level up fast and re-bury the seductive demoness, so he didn’t bother finishing the cleaning. Instead, he went back to refining his “Inverted Candle Wax” cultivation technique.

Meanwhile, the singing and racket from beyond the back wall had never once stopped:

“Ding ding ding~...”

“Oh young master~ are you shy or just bashful...?”