Chapter Sixteen: Storm on the Lake Shore

  The little girl saw her mother scolding herself, dissatisfied with a roll of her eyes, and said: "Mother, am I your own daughter? Why do you always speak to others every time? Besides, these two annoying guys are obviously younger than me, but you let me call them brothers? Look at their silly appearance! They also have the nerve to practice together with me at Yuding Gate?" After finishing speaking, she shook her head repeatedly, with a look of disdain on her face.

  She turned around and saw Wang Long, her eyes rolled over, and she said: "It's still this Brother Wang Long who is elegant and courteous, and he looks handsome, just like a cultivator!" The little girl was not very old, but she also had a lot of heart, and she even knew how to sow discord among the four children.

  Seeing her daughter being so disobedient, the lady in green was embarrassed and smiled, saying: "I have no way to teach my daughter, I'm afraid I've made a joke of myself, I'll apologize to these two young masters on behalf of my daughter!" Afraid that her daughter would say something unpleasant again, she gave Tie Bao a signal with her eyes, took the reins from Tie Xin's hand and handed them over to Tie Bao, saying: "These few people are noble guests, you must serve them well."

  Tie Bao knew that Tie Xin Tang had always been spoiled by everyone, and although she was young, she was willful and domineering. The green-robed woman couldn't do anything about her. Afraid that she would say something unpleasant again and cause more trouble, he repeatedly agreed with her.

  He turned around and saluted Wang Mengfan, saying: "Master Wang, Longyang Lake is still a distance away from here. The weather is scorching hot, it's better if we set off earlier to avoid the heat!" After speaking, he quickly stepped forward, pulled open the carriage curtain, and said to the four young masters: "Please, gentlemen."

  Wang Long pulled a big cow, and the two of them walked towards the horse carriage. Shui Sheng was about to follow when Tie Xin Tang suddenly said to him with an iron face: "You're called Black Charcoal Head, aren't you still not convinced? When we get to Longyang Lake later, remember not to go into the water. With your dark skin, if you're not careful, you'll sink to the bottom of the lake and rot in the mud. Others won't even be able to find you!" After saying this, he let out a hearty laugh, seemingly pleased with his own vivid analogy.

  The little girl provoked again, and Shui Sheng's nose was about to be twisted in anger. "You're the one who'll sink into the lake! Look at you, I'm afraid you can't even dig a dog hole. If you have the guts, come with me to try it out and see who will sink into the lake?"

  Lu Xiangying saw that the little girl was intentionally making things difficult for her son, although she was unhappy in her heart, but she didn't want to argue with her either. She glared at Shui Sheng, took one hand to pull Xiao Juan and the other hand to pull Shui Sheng, walking towards the horse carriage.

  As he watched the four children get on the horse carriage one after another, Tie Bao finally let out a sigh of relief. Just as he had put down the curtain and was about to turn around, unexpectedly Tie Xintang came chasing after him, lifted up the curtain, and squeezed in to sit opposite Shui Sheng. He said angrily: "Alright, Black Charcoal Head, I'll go with you to Longyang Lake to see who can dive deeper! Whoever doesn't get in the water is a shameless little dog!"

  Lu Xiangying, standing beside the carriage, couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. She didn't expect this spoiled little girl to actually compete with Shui Sheng, not only refusing to go home obediently, but also squeezing into the carriage! If she had a mind to pull her down, thinking that after all, this was in Tie Fu, it couldn't be because of two children's quarrel, making everyone unhappy.

  The woman in the green shirt looked embarrassed, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Her daughter was spoiled and everyone in the Iron Mansion had always given in to her, but unexpectedly, Shui Sheng had stood up to her, provoking her competitive spirit and making her furious. She quickly walked to the side of the carriage, repeatedly advising her, trying to pull her down. But who knew that Tie Xin Tang would stubbornly refuse to get out of the carriage, and in the end, she burst into loud wails and threw a tantrum.

  Several adults did not expect things to turn out this way, and Luo Xiuying saw that the woman was at a loss, smiled and said: "Mrs. Tie, since Xin Tong doesn't want to come down, let her be, children quarreling is normal, don't bother with them, maybe before they even reach the lake, the few of them will have made up!"

  The woman in green had always spoiled her daughter, and as long as the girl threw a tantrum, there was no way to deal with it. Although she knew in her heart that this was just a child's temper, she couldn't help but worry. After thinking for a moment, she sighed and said: "My little girl is so naughty, I'm really ashamed! Since that's the case, I'll accompany you all to play at Longyang Lake and fulfill my duties as host!"

  Several adults looked at each other, and had no choice but to do so. Mrs. Tie pulled Luo Xiuying to sit in a horse-drawn carriage, while the three men rode horses, with Tie Bao leading the way. The group headed towards Longyang Lake.

  As the horse carriage moved, Tie Xin Tang finally stopped crying and burst into laughter. With a triumphant smile, she glanced at Shui Sheng sideways and said with a provocative tone: "Black charcoal head, you'll soon find out how formidable this young lady is! Humph, don't cry for help later!"

  She cried and made a fuss, and the anger in Shui's heart had already dissipated a lot. Unexpectedly, Tie Xin Tang ignited the flames of war again at this time. Shui hummed and was about to retort, but when she saw that there were still tears on Tie Xin Tang's face, she was afraid that she would cry again, so she simply ignored her.

  All the way, two children secretly competed with each other, and no one spoke again. The street was bustling with cars and horses, and various vendors' calls came from time to time. Xiaojun's heart itched unbearably, and she thought of opening the car curtain several times to take a look at the outside scene. Seeing that the other four people were unmoved, she didn't dare to open the window, so she could only hold her breath and not look. Her heart was stuffy, and her big eyes kept glancing at Tie Xin Tang from time to time, hating him so much that her teeth ached!

  In another carriage, Luo Qiuying and the woman in green were chatting happily. Seeing that there was no noise coming from the carriages in front, the two of them found it strange but also enjoyed the peacefulness.

  Originally hoped that this small matter would be settled, but when it came to Longyang Lake, the situation suddenly escalated.

  Just as they arrived at the lake, everyone got off their horses and carriages, but before they could even appreciate the beautiful scenery by the lake, Tie Xin Tang suddenly pulled up Shui Sheng and quickly walked towards the lake, saying: "Black charcoal head, open your eyes wide and see who will sink to the bottom of the water?" Before Shui Sheng could react, his foot slipped, and a small hand pushed him hard on the back, and he had already plunged into the lake with a splash. Tie Xin Tang laughed and jumped into the lake as well.

  Several adults looked at each other in dismay, unable to help laughing and crying.

  "Madam Iron, how's your daughter's swimming skills? Won't there be any accidents?" asked Luo Xiuying anxiously. Green Shirt Madam shook her head and said: "Don't worry, sister, this girl has no other skills, but she's fine in the water!"

  Watching Iron Lotus swimming in the water like a fish, far ahead of himself, using his "exquisite" dog paddle pose, splashing out clusters of water flowers, for the first time, he felt a small sense of defeat from the bottom of his heart.

  Tie Xin Tang flipped over and swam back to Shui Sheng's side, giggling: "You said you're not a little dog, if you're not a little dog then don't learn how to swim like one! You should try swimming more elegantly like me! Be careful or your legs will cramp up and sink to the bottom of the lake." As soon as she finished speaking, she lifted her small foot and slapped it against the water's surface, creating a huge splash that soaked Shui Sheng's head and face.

  Shuǐ Shēng wiped the water droplets from her face, glared at her fiercely, and dove into the water. Tiě Xīn Táng swam happily on the surface of the water, unable to see Shuǐ Shēng resurface. Suddenly, she shouted: "Hei Tàn Tóu has sunk to the bottom! Hei Tàn Tóu has sunk to the bottom!" Just as she was getting excited, the water's surface rippled slightly beside her, and a small hand emerged from underwater, grabbing one of her feet and pulling her into the water.

  Tie Xin's heart was in a panic, desperately using all his strength to struggle free but he couldn't break loose. In the blink of an eye, his body had been pulled into the water by Shui Sheng, leaving only his head still above the surface. He was so scared that he shouted loudly: "Mother, save me, mother... no, I don't want to... drink!" Before he could finish speaking, a mouthful of lake water had already poured into his belly with a "gurgling" sound.

  Zhou Jinping and Luo Xiuying's faces changed at the same time, and the green-shirted woman burst into tears, pointing to the water surface and saying: "Quickly, quickly, Xintang she..." Zhou Jinping shouted loudly: "Zhou Shuisheng, get out of here!"

  The sound spread far and wide like thunder, filled with anger.

  Few people would have thought that the water-born, unwilling to admit defeat, would resort to this move. Just as Shuǐshēng had barely surfaced for air, he heard his father's thunderous roar from afar and trembled with fear, hastily releasing Tiěxīntáng.

  In the splashing water, Tie Xin Tang slowly floated to the surface, flailing her limbs and gasping for air. Seeing that she had freed herself from the water's grasp, she stretched out her small hand to wipe away the water droplets in front of her eyes, got a clear view of the direction of the shore, and swam towards it with all her might. As soon as she reached the shore, her little mouth twisted, and she let out a loud "Waaah" before bursting into tears, her face no longer showing any hint of pride.

  As soon as Shuigeng climbed ashore, Zhou Jinping's iron palm had heavily slapped his small face, and five clear finger marks immediately swelled up on his small face.

  "You're so young, yet you know how to be competitive and won't learn to give in to others. Your sister just made a small joke with you, but you wouldn't let it go, what's the point of being like this? Looking at you now, I think there's no need to go to Yuding Mountain to cultivate, just roll back to Hanshui Village!" Zhou Jinping's voice was not loud, but it carried a hint of coldness.

  She raised her head stubbornly, biting her lip, and looked at her father unyieldingly. In her memory, Father had never been so furious as he was today, nor had he ever hit her before. The little heart felt that what she did today was not wrong at all.

  In the tense confrontation between father and son, the atmosphere by the lake suddenly became tense.

  Lu Xiangying opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Her normally kind and gentle husband had never lost his temper like this before.

  Tie Xin held the green-robed woman's waist tightly and wept silently, only to feel a deep fear of death for the first time in her life in that brief moment when she sank into the water.

  Wang Long, Da Niu and Xiao Juan were even more frightened and didn't dare to make a sound. The three of them had never seen Zhou Jinpeng, who was usually very good-tempered, lose his temper so badly before.

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