Volume 1: The Sixth Chapter of Wu Fan's Taboo - Gentleman of Yin and Yang

  "Halt! All you little rabbits scatter, this is no place for your impertinence?"

  Not far from the Ling mansion, a group of people suddenly appeared. In front was a noble young master wearing white robes and carrying a long sword on horseback. He had a pale complexion and delicate features. Behind him was a young servant dressed in green clothes and a small hat, pulling the reins and shouting loudly at the crowd blocking their way.

  Zhao Xian had just touched a soft and fluffy thing when he was startled awake by a loud shout, hastily withdrawing his hand and standing up, brushing off the snowflakes on his sleeve, looking calmly to one side.

  Huang Tian's gaze was drawn to the newcomer, unaware of Zhao Xian's salty pig hand. Scolded by someone, her face showed a flash of displeasure, and she shouted at the little servant: "What are you yelling about? This entire South Street is under my jurisdiction, did you people come in and report?"

  Huang Tian's eyes were wide with anger, his waist was straight, and his whole body exuded a wild aura, which actually had a bit of a bandit leader's flavor.

  "That little girl over there." The young servant in green was startled by the rebuke, looked up and saw that it was a half-sized version of himself. He couldn't help but turn pale, rolled up his sleeves ready to scold, when the white-robed gentleman raised his hand, signaling him to back down.

  Although Xiao Shu didn't understand, he still retreated to the side with respect. The young master looked at Zhao Xian and Huang Tian Tian, his pale face gradually curving into a faint smile as he teased: "Zhao Da Chui, Huang Tian Ba, it's been many years since we last met, are you two still fighting? Who snatched whose candy this time?"

  This white-robed young master spoke in a soft and gentle voice, with slender eyebrows that matched his pure white fingers like jade; if not for the obvious Adam's apple, Zhao Xian could have mistaken him for a woman.

  "Who are you? Are you the one Zhao Da Chui called?" Zhao Xian's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he tried to recall, seemingly not recognizing this person.

  The young master in white gently hooked the hair on his forehead, with a hint of playful smile in his eyes, and said: "It's really that noble people often forget things. The two of you used to throw dead mice on my desk at school, tear up my finished homework, and get scolded by Mr. Hua..."

  "Big fatty!"

  The white-clothed young master had not finished speaking, when Hu Yidao, who was watching from the steps of the Ling mansion, suddenly stood up, his face filled with incredulity, and ran to Zhao Xian's side, pointing at the white-robed young master: "Xian-ge, he is Ling Dabaozi, that year he secretly peeked at the old madam of Xiangyuefang washing her bath...

  "Nonsense!" The white-robed young master's face suddenly turned bright red with rage as he was reminded of an unbearable past, and in his anger, he actually raised his hand and whipped down with a horse whip, scaring Hu Yidao to quickly shut up and cover his face.

  The young man in white moved first, and Zhao Xian's heart was involuntarily filled with anger. He raised his hand and directly grabbed the horse whip, which left a red mark on his palm. Zhao Xian wrapped his hand around the whip and pulled it back with great force, trying to pull him off the horse. Unexpectedly, the young man in white seemed slender but had considerable strength, and he held the whip taut without falling off. The proud horse was unable to withstand the weight and swayed from side to side, spewing out bursts of white mist in the cold air.

  "Ling Dapangzi" is the eldest of the Ling family, originally named Ling Xian. He has been very fat since he was a child and often mixed doubles with Zhao Xian and Huang Tian. Zhao Xian did not expect that after not seeing him for several years, he would change so much, did he go to Thailand or something?

  Huang Tian glared at the person on horseback with disdain, and after recognizing him, his demeanor became even more aggressive. With his hands on his hips, he sneered: "Ling Big Fatty, it's been years since we last met, and you've become even more arrogant. You dared to do it back then, but now you don't dare admit it?"

  Ling Xian gripped the reins tightly, his long fingers turned white from the force, but his face showed no signs of strain. He stared at Zhao Xian and said in a soft voice, "Who hasn't been ignorant in their youth? Always bringing up past mistakes, that's not heroic. I've already been appointed as the Crown Prince's study companion and will be entering the capital in half a month. You're my fellow students, yet you have no achievements to speak of. What qualifications do you have to mock me?"

  "Crown Prince!" Hu Yidao was shocked, quickly covering his mouth and hiding behind Zhao Xian. He leaned in close to Zhao Xian's ear and said, "Xian Ge, let's make a quick escape, we can't stay here!"

  Zhao Xian furrowed his brow, not to mention the crown prince, he hadn't even seen an official bigger than a provincial governor, who would have thought that the big fatty from back then, after going out for a few years, had become so prosperous and successful, becoming a top scholar or something?

  Ling Xian had been bullied for so long, and now that he had the chance to take revenge, it was not going to let Zhao Xian back down easily. His delicate eyes scanned Zhao Xian and Huang Tian Tian, shaking his head and sighing: "Tiantian is a woman, I won't mention her for now, but you, Zhao Xian, used to dominate the southern city, and Master Hua taught you with all his heart and soul, yet with such enviable conditions, even an idiot could have become talented, but you became a useless blacksmith, neither literate nor martially skilled, without any self-awareness, and still putting on airs like a big brother, ask yourself, are you worthy?"

  Ling Xian's words were sharp, and even Huang Tian's face changed slightly. They had grown up together since childhood, and such words were really excessive. She glanced at Zhao Xian lightly, wanting to interrupt with a sentence, but didn't know where to start.

  Zhao Xian heard the words and couldn't help but have flames rising up, the horse whip in his hand tightened more and more, until even the horses slowly moved towards him, the horseshoes of the fine horses scraped out a white mark on the bluestone ground, the large nostrils sprayed thick white mist.

  "Get down and talk!" After a brief stalemate, Zhao Xian let out a loud shout, using one hand to pull the reins with great force. The overburdened horse threw its head back and let out a long whinny, scaring the nearby young servant into jumping far away. Ling Xian was also pulled down, tumbling forward like a kite.

  "Hmm!" Ling Xian lost his balance, but he didn't panic at all. He lightly tapped the horse's back with his toes and his body leaped up like a leaf in the wind. With a swift motion, he drew out the sharp sword from his waist and thrust it towards Zhao Xian with a cold gleam, assisted by the whip's force. In an instant, he arrived right in front of Zhao Xian.

  Huang Tian didn't expect the two of them to have such a big temper, and they actually directly pulled out knives. Her face instantly changed color.

  "Good boy!" Zhao Xian was both angry and furious in his heart, raised his hand and swung a stick at Ling Xian's head, the wooden stick was as thick as Ling Xian's calf, the whistling wind was extremely frightening, if it really hit him, he would probably be dead or crippled.

  Ling Xian didn't dare to be careless, if he stabbed Zhao Xian, he would also be hit by the wooden stick. He couldn't bear to risk his life, so he changed his stab to a slash. The sharp long sword directly cut the thick wooden stick into two segments at the waist. Ling Xian saw this and revealed a faint smile, lightly tapping the ground and jumping up again, with the long sword aiming at Zhao Xian's throat.

  Huang Tianba saw that Zhao Xian had no inch of steel in his hand, and Ling Xian was relying on his sharp weapon to show off his might. He threw the long knife in his hand towards Zhao Xian and said: "Catch!"

  This girl is quite sensible, Zhao Xian unexpectedly glanced at Huang Tianyan, stretched out his hand to catch the big knife, like a fierce tiger adding wings, borrowing the power of his right arm swinging the hammer for many years, single-handedly holding the thick-backed large knife weighing over 40 kilograms, and easily chopped towards Ling Xian with a ferocious smile, as if he wanted to chop Ling Xian alive.

  Huang Tian's face changed color as she let out a cry of surprise, her heart filled with anger and anxiety. She had lent the knife to Zhao Xian to defend himself, not to kill Ling Xianzhen, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. That would be a capital offense punishable by death, and as the leader of the constables, she was not only failing to stop it but also lending the murderer a weapon, making her guilt even greater.

  Huang Tian wanted to stop it, but had no way to do so, standing there at a loss, her small face flushing bright red.

  Zhao Xian's heart was filled with anger, this knife move was powerful and heavy, without any finesse, completely relying on brute force to chop down. But for Ling Xian who was in mid-air and unable to dodge, this knife was no different from the god of death himself.

  Ling Xian's face changed in an instant, and he didn't expect Zhao Xian to be even more ruthless. At this moment, no matter how many skills he had, they were all useless. He could only force himself to twist his body, with both hands tightly gripping the long sword, trying to resist this knife. But this sword, which usually looked so good, now seemed so fragile, so fragile that Ling Xian even closed his eyes tightly.

  With a crisp "ding" sound, the long sword broke into two pieces without any hesitation.

  Hu Yidao and others hurriedly covered their eyes, afraid of seeing some scenes that were not suitable for children. Huang Tianba also hastily turned his head away, closed his eyes, and waited for the blood to splatter on himself. His face was full of regret, if the authorities investigated, she would be an accomplice, this time she was really unlucky...

  However, Hu Yidao and the others waited for half a day but didn't hear any sound of swords entering flesh. When they opened their eyes to take a look, everyone had grown bigger mouths, and even the melons and snacks in their hands fell to the ground.

  Just a moment ago, Ling Xian was still elegant and poised, but now he was already half-kneeling on the ground, using his shoulder to firmly press against the heavy back of the knife, his face deathly pale, with beads of sweat as big as beans falling from his face, the sharp long sword in his hand only had a hilt left grasped in his palm, his disheveled appearance was fully revealed, his white boots trampled on the bluestone bricks covered with accumulated snow, even his heels were slightly trembling.

  Zhao Xian grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands, fiercely pinning Ling Xian down. The force was so great that it could be heard as a grinding sound between bones, making one's teeth ache.

  Zhao Xian was a young boy, but his heart was that of an old man with a thick beard. He didn't want to be supported by a girl, so from the day he could walk, he became self-sufficient and ran to the blacksmith's shop to become an apprentice. Every day, he hammered and pounded, building up strength that ordinary people couldn't match.

  Seeing Ling Xian struggling, Zhao Xian revealed a hint of a relieved smile and said: "Dealing with you, I don't even need to use my full strength. Don't think that just because you're an official, you can stand up and talk to me."

  "Hmph!" Ling Xian panted heavily, his legs trembling slightly under the immense pressure, his body already half-kneeling. He gritted his teeth and refused to kneel down completely. His legs only knelt for "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teachers". This was a scholar's dignity. Forcing him to kneel before an ordinary commoner without status would be more difficult than cutting off his own legs.