“My enemy?”

  With a dark light flashed through her eyes, she immediately chuckled and said, “I do not know……but, when did I lose money in business? You just need to know that I won’t lose in this deal. That’s enough.”

  Fang Yuan felt uneasy and knew she was still reluctant to tell him. From Su Li’s words, he at least knew that Su Li’s enemy was no worse than the royal family of the Nanjiang Country.

  “Don’t talk about these unhappy things.” Su Li sat up straight and smiled, as if the confrontation just now didn’t exist at all, “Let me ask you, is it possible for the Linli Building to win the fight between itself and the royal family of the Nanjiang Country?”

  “No.”

  Qu Qingning said without hesitation, “The royal family has an army, and the palace takes heavy precautions. Also, it has many inborn seniors’ support. Even if we are all in the inborn realm, we may not be able to implement the beheading plan. As for those unimportant followers of the Linli Building, they are not useful for us.”

  “Qinning is right.”

  Yin Xuetong nodded and murmured, “I have heard from the jirga of my family that the royal family’s strength is better than Qingning’s description. Compared with the royal family, we are just nonentities. It’s hard for us to succeed even if we do it secretly.”

  “You have a clear estimation of ourselves.” Su Li said with a smile and took out four thin papers in front of the four people. Then she said, “Don’t think about revenge temporarily. It’s imperative to strengthen ourselves as far as possible.”

  “Ao Sword Skills?” Qu Qingning read it out. Then he said regretfully, “I’m a sword trainer and I can’t use it directly. It can only be used for reference.”

  Fang Yuan roughly read the Ao Sword Skills and he looked instantly cautious. It was definitely a very profound practice method. He boasted of reading numerous swordsmanship books, but none was more abstruse than this one.

  “Hide it well next to your skin.”

  Su Li took out a cup of Liehuo Spirits that no one knew where she hid. She drank it and then said carelessly, “If the paper is exposed, we’ll all have trouble. The Ao Sword Skills were powerful and will be robbed by the inborn seniors if they see it. The paper is not rubbish at all.”

  All four people were shivering with a stern look when hearing Su Li’s words. They immediately hid the thin paper well next to their skin and then watched around with vigilance.

  “Don’t worry. There are no other people around.”

  Su Li put down the wine gourd. She said with a meaningful smile, “If some of you can practice the third hurdle of the Ao Sword Skills, or thoroughly understood the conception of the third hurdle, I will fully help him break through the inborn hurdle and let him become a Young Master! The appointment is valid before you are 20……”

  Fang yuan’s heart could not stop beating violently. He had already practiced the acquired ninth hurdle, and the next would be the peak, which was only a step away from the inborn hurdle. If he could break through the inborn hurdle, at least he could catch up with Su Li, so, he would not lag behind too much……

  Qu Qingning and others reddened with full of enthusiasm. What a large temptation!

  Young Master was something that they didn’t dare to think about. After all, even in their families, no one had a natural way to break through the inborn hurdle. Everything depended on personal qualifications and opportunities, but Su Li said she had a way!

  If this was spread to the martial arts circle, it would inevitably cause a great disturbance. Then the Linli Building would never be peaceful. Yin Xuetong and Qu Qingning looked at each other and knew that they both worried about that.

  “Don’t think too much, I have no way to make you break through the inborn hurdle.”

  Su Li seemed to see through their thoughts and pointed to their chests and said, “It is the magical effect of the Ao Sword Skills. The third hurdle is a barrier. If you are able to get a thorough understanding of it, the inborn hurdle is easy to break through. I only can give you some assistance.”

  “Where on earth do you get the Ao Sword Skills?”

  Fang Yuan frowned and asked. Su Li dispensed pills to help them practice before. Everything she did was to constantly expand the power of the Linli Building.

  \r \r \r

  If she had the Ao Sword Skills before, she couldn’t take it out until now.

  “Do you remember Jin Cheng’ao?” Su Li pointed to the direction of the Qinghe Town and said, “It’s thanks to him that I can get the Ao Sword Skills.”

  “It turns out that you deliberately deal with him, just for the Ao Sword Skills.” Fang Yuan felt confused. Where did Su Li get the information of the Ao Sword Skills?

  All doubts seemed to go back to the original point and couldn’t be explained.

  “It’s a windfall. I just gained something in the meantime of revenge.” Su Li chuckled with a light flashed through her eyes. She thought, “It’s just a little justice for myself.”

  Fang Yuan was silent. The more he listened to Su Li, the more doubts he had. The girl was getting more and more mysterious……

  —It was dawn.

  Mammy Li slept soundly and was energetic when she was up. She served everyone with hot food. After they had enough, they went on their way.

  “The Qinghe River runs through the entire Dahan Country and eventually flows into the East Sea. It can be said that half of the people in the Dahan Country are nurtured by the Qinghe River.”

  The journey was very boring and Xiaowu talked about his hometown with everyone.

  “Our Dawang Village is one of the numerous small villages along the Qinghe River. There are only a few dozen families in the village. They usually rely on fishing for living.”

  Xiaowu said and patted Datian, who looked dignified and strong, “Datian and I are orphans. We don’t know who our parents are. We were picked up and raised by the elderly village head. Later, Uncle Wang, the son of the elderly village head, got married. We had a hard time. We didn’t want the elderly village head to be scolded by Aunt Wang all day, so we left the fishing village and then worked in the school. We didn’t expect that we could meet such a good person as Lecturer Su.”

  Xiaowu briefly introduced his own experience, but deliberately omitted how he came to the Qinghe School from the the Dawang Village.

  Datian instantly laughed with him when he saw Xiaowu smile brightly. He was not as clever as his eldest brother and usually listened to his eldest brother. As long as his eldest brother was happy, he was happy, too.

  “They also had miserable life.”

  Yin Xuetong signed inwardly when hearing Xiaowu’s words, but she had little sympathy for them. At least Xiaowu and Datian had the elderly village head, while she had nothing before she met Qu Qingning.

  It took them four days on the carriages. In the past four days from the Qinghe Town to the Dawang Village. And it was not a smooth journey and there were many bandits along the way. But those ordinary bandits couldn’t beat the four men like Fang Yuan. They were shattered to pieces less than five to seven minutes every time they appeared. What’s more, they were blackmailed for a large sum of money.

  “Lecturer Su, won’t you stop them doing this?”

  Xiaowu and Datian were excited when seeing what Fang Yuan and other three men did. But they couldn’t help but worry. If they saw a group of robbers and looted a group of robbers, wouldn’t they offend too many people?

  “I don’t think I can stop them. After all, they just escort me all the way. I am not qualified to limit their freedom.”

  Su Li helplessly waved her hands. In fact, she was thinking that if she could plunder the robbers around the Qinghe Town. Why she didn’t find that robbery would make money faster before.

  Xiaowu immediately had no choice but laughed bitterly when hearing Su Li’s words. But when he saw Fang Yuan fiercely beat the robbers, he felt relieved. When he left the village, the only silver left on him was looted by the robbers. Now he couldn’t tell how happy he was to see them being robbed.

  “The man who robs people, the people will always rob him! The robbers deserve what they have done to others, and retribution repay unfailingly!”

  It was a journey which they attained a lot by looting along the way. In the morning of the fifth day, they finally arrived at Xiaowu’s hometown, Dawang Village.

  Su Li draw the curtain and saw dozens of houses gathered on the flat sand several miles away from the sea. Those houses were surrounded by low walls piled up with stones. Some of the houses were small shabby thatched cottages, while some were tall houses piled with pebbles. From time to time, they could see children playing and running through the houses, which formed a peaceful and harmonious picture.

  Just as Xiaowu said, it was a very small village.

  “Elderly village head, I am back!”

  Xiaowu and Datian were excited. They stopped their carriages in front of the gate of the stone wall. The people of the Dawang Village had never seen such beautiful horses and splendid carriages. They knew that extraordinary guests came to the Dawang Village might have high statues when seeing the horses and carriages.

  People in the village came to them quickly. Curious children were held by their family. They kept whispering, but no one dared to talk with them.

  “The village head is coming!”

  Suddenly, someone shouted and then the crowd was immediately separated to leave a road for the village head. Xiaowu and Datian looked forward the man with expectations, but they only saw a chunky middle-aged man.

  “Uncle Wang!” Xiaowu didn’t expect that he would meet him. He stepped forward and couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle Wang, you now are the village head? How is the elderly village head?”

  Xiaowu and Datian ate well and dressed well under Su Li’s support. Their expression and manner were totally different from before. The chunky middle-aged man felt confused when he heard Xiaowu call him Uncle Wang. He wondered when he had such two promising nephews.

  At that time, someone shouted in the crowd, “Xiaowu! Aren’t they Xiaowu and Datian who left the village three years ago?”

  Hearing that, the crowd suddenly burst into acclaim.

  “Ah! No wonder they look familiar. These are the two naughty boys adopted by the elderly village head!”

  “Yeah, I didn’t expect they live so well now. Look at their shining clothes……”

  The chunky middle-aged man finally realized. He pointed at Xiaowu in surprise and said incredulously, “Are you Xiaowu?”

  However, Xiaowu did not have time to talk about these things with him. He looked anxious and asked, “Uncle Wang, where’s the elderly village head?”

  “How is the elderly village head?” Datian also asked nervously in a muffled voice.

  The chunky middle-aged man laughed in embarrassment, “The elderly village head is fine. He is old and has retired. I am now the village head. You are coming back……”

  Then the chunky middle-aged man looked at Su Li and other people behind Xiaowu and Datian. He was terrified because from the dress of Su Li and others, he knew that the person Xiaowu brought back absolutely had extraordinary status.

  Xiaowu immediately felt relieved when hearing the chunky middle-aged man saying that the elderly village head was okay. Then he thought of Su Li and others. He scratched his head in embarrassment, turned back and said, “Lady, I’m abrupt.”

  “It’s okay and it’s human nature.” Su Li stepped forward to comfort him and instantly nodded slightly to the chunky middle-aged man. Then she said in a low voice, “Village head Wang, I apologize for visiting here without telling you in advance.”

  “Don’t say that. It’s my honor for you to come to the small place like Dawang Village.”

  Wang Dafu couldn’t help wiping his cold sweat and his legs trembled slightly. The person with the highest ranking he had ever met was just the village heads of some larger villages nearby. The pressure he felt when he met those people was less than one tenths of that when he met Su Li.

  Su Li smiled gently and said, “Don’t be nervous. I’ve heard that the scenery along the Qinghe River is good. Since Xiaowu grew up beside the Qinghe River, I decided to pay a visit here. I wonder if I can stay in the Dawang Village for a while. I’ll give you enough silver.”

  Seeing that Su Li was so nice and that he could earn silver, Wang Dafu nodded with great joy and said, “Of course you can! It’s my honor for you to live in the village. I still have a lot of spare rooms in my house. They are big enough for you to live in. Please come with me!”

  Wang Dafu led the way ahead at once and thought how much Su Li would pay him. A little money dropped from the fingers of such big shot was enough for them to use for months!

  “Well, I don’t know who she is!”

  After the joy, Wang Dafu realized that he didn’t ask Su Li who she was, but he didn’t have the courage. He could only hold the doubt in his mind and would find a suitable opportunity to ask Xiaowu.

  The rest people of the village watched Su Li and others go away. They envied Wang Dafu who had such good fortune, but didn’t dare to go up and compete for the business. Finally, they could only swear a few words, and then left in twos and threes.