Feeling the emotion leaking off Firefly's body, something plainly called unhappiness, Clara was more than a little baffled.
They said a woman's heart was like a needle at the bottom of the sea. That saying really did fit Firefly right now.
Clara recalled a proverb from the Xianzhou, and it matched the situation almost too well.
Just a second ago, Firefly had looked full of anticipation and quiet joy.
Clara had not done anything at all, yet in the very next moment, Firefly had turned downright miserable.
She could not make sense of it. Really could not.
'Come to think of it, does the Genius Society have anyone who specializes in researching this kind of thing?'
The thought suddenly popped into Clara's head.
If there really was a genius studying this, she would have to go learn from them. Otherwise, one day Firefly might be angry and Clara would not even know why…
'I'll ask Herta when I get the chance.'
Clara made up her mind. If she kept letting things like this slide, she and Firefly might end up drifting farther and farther apart…
No. That was absolutely not something she would allow to happen.
Clara shook her head, strangling that awful thought in its cradle. When she refocused, her gaze fell on Jingliu.
"Miss Jingliu, how about the three of us compare our swordsmanship?"
Hearing this, Jingliu fell silent for a while, clearly unsure what Clara was really planning.
"Jingliu is nothing more than a minor soldier of the Xianzhou, an ordinary swordswoman. How would I dare compare blades with the two of you?"
In the end, Jingliu shook her head and refused.
"Hehe, big sister, let's all do it together." Yanqing, seeing the scene before him, blurted out those words for reasons even he did not quite understand.
"No…"
"Big sister, don't tell me you're… scared?"
Jingliu: …
Jingliu listened to Yanqing's words. She was just about to refuse again when his slightly provocative tone reached her ears, and she immediately fell into silence.
"Very well. Then we'll spar."
Jingliu spoke slowly, agreeing at last.
"Ha, great. Come on." Seeing Jingliu agree, Yanqing broke into a grin, then continued, "So how do we do this?"
"How do you want to do it?" Clara shot back.
"One on one, one against two, or maybe a race, or killing enemies."
"However you want to compete, we'll go with it."
"Hm…" Hearing that, Yanqing thought for a moment. Since Clara was handing him the choice of rules, he had no intention of refusing. After a bit of thought, he spoke up.
"Then…"
Yanqing lifted his head, a confident smile spreading across his face.
"I'll take you both on by myself."
Jingliu: ???
Clara: ???
Firefly: He's that strong?
Watching the confidence on Yanqing's face, Firefly immediately cranked his danger level all the way up in her mind.
She could hardly believe how powerful this swordsman named Yanqing had to be, to suppress his presence to such a weak degree…
As expected, the Xianzhou was full of people like this, wolves in sheep's clothing…
Looks like she would have to be more careful from now on.
When facing any enemy, go all out from the start. One strike, kill.
If they were not dead, then run immediately. That was an enemy she could not afford to provoke…
Firefly set this rule firmly in her heart.
"Jing Yuan… is that really how he taught you?" Jingliu listened to Yanqing's rather arrogant declaration, stayed silent for a long time, and then said this.
"Hehe, however the General taught me is none of your concern, big sister~"
Hearing Jingliu dare to address the General by name, a wave of irritation rose in Yanqing's heart. Still, because Clara was a guest, and Jingliu was someone Clara knew, he did not let anything show on his face.
At least, that was what he thought.
In the eyes of both Clara and Jingliu, Yanqing was nothing but openings from head to toe.
Firefly could see it too.
But perhaps because her impression of Yanqing had been steadily escalating in her mind, she took those openings as something he was deliberately revealing…
"Since you're that confident, I won't refuse either." Clara did not say much, simply nodding in agreement.
If Yanqing liked getting beaten up that much, she was not about to hold back.
"How about we add a little wager?" Yanqing still had not realized how serious the situation was. With a light chuckle, he made the suggestion.
"Interesting. What are we betting?" Jingliu asked with a soft laugh.
"Credits, or a good sword. How about that?" Yanqing thought for a moment and stated his aim.
"Ten thousand Credits, or a sword of equivalent value."
"I mean the loser pays. Each person pays ten thousand. And if I lose, I'll give each of you ten thousand Credits."
Yanqing did not believe for a second that he would lose, and openly stated his goal.
"Fine." Jingliu nodded, without the slightest objection.
"And you?" Yanqing turned to Clara with a smile, as if he could already see twenty thousand Stellars waving at him.
Clara: …
"Sigh…"
Clara rubbed her forehead helplessly and let out a quiet sigh.
"If you're this eager to give away money, I don't really have a reason to say no."
Hearing this, Yanqing did not pay it much mind.
"Then let's find an open area."
"Mm."
Both Clara and Jingliu nodded in agreement.
…
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