Perhaps it was due to last year’s bumper harvest, but this year’s temple fair in Ning’an Village was exceptionally grand.
Colorful lanterns lined the streets near the temple, and a theater troupe had been specially hired from the city to perform.
Not only that, there were all kinds of wood carvings, snacks, puppet shows...
Under the glow of the lanterns, pedestrians bustled to and fro, making for a remarkably lively scene.
Qing Yan was completely captivated. She would occasionally stop before a lantern or watch the Huangmei Opera on the stage.
Although she had attended temple fairs before, the feeling was entirely different when she was by her Young Master’s side.
Qing Yan was having the time of her life, and Xiao Jiu also seemed quite curious, occasionally poking its head out from Chen Ning’s sleeve to observe its surroundings with interest.
Its pitch-black body blended perfectly with Chen Ning’s sleeve, so no one noticed it at all.
“Qing Yan, do you want a gift?”
As they walked, Chen Ning suddenly pulled out a string of beautiful sugar people from behind his back like a magic trick.
Qing Yan’s eyes lit up, but she quickly let out a soft huff.
“I’m not a child anymore. Don’t think you can easily fool me with a sugar person while I’m distracted by the lanterns like you used to, Young Master!”
“Then how about this?”
Chen Ning smiled slightly and wrapped the sugar people in a wisp of Purple Qi.
Under the power of the Purple Qi, the sugar people quickly began to reshape themselves, gradually transforming into a young girl who looked remarkably similar to Qing Yan.
Chen Ning then took out another string of sugar people and fashioned it into his own likeness.
“So pretty!”
Qing Yan immediately stood on her tiptoes in surprise, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
She instantly forgot what she had just said and happily took the sugar people from Chen Ning’s hand.
“For some reason, this tastes much sweeter than last year!”
Although the sugar people were very sweet, Qing Yan only had the heart to eat the one in her own image. She carefully protected the other one that resembled Chen Ning as if it were a precious treasure.
Before they knew it, the crowd near the temple fair grew denser.
As the stream of people surged toward them, it nearly forced the two apart.
Qing Yan struggled with herself for a long time before finally, hesitantly, reaching out her hand toward Chen Ning. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.
“Young Master... could I trouble you to hold my hand?
Don’t misunderstand!
I’m just worried that with so many people, I might accidentally get separated from you!”
“You girl, wouldn’t it be better to just be a bit more honest...”
Chen Ning turned around and laughed.
He didn’t say anything more and simply took Qing Yan’s delicate, soft hand in his.
“Thank you, Young Master...”
Under the lanterns, Qing Yan’s beautiful eyes shimmered with a faint, brilliant light.
Being held by this warm palm suddenly made her feel incredibly at peace.
Even if she closed her eyes and didn’t look ahead, even if they kept walking like this forever, she firmly believed that she wouldn't suffer even the slightest harm.
Qing Yan couldn’t help but lower her head slightly. Whether it was because of the lantern light or not, her exquisite cheeks were already stained with a beautiful blush...
“Tsk, I didn’t expect Chen Ning to actually like his own maid. To think he’s a scholar; he really has no ambition.”
“Exactly. I was originally thinking of introducing my daughter to him.
My daughter is sturdy and wide-hipped, perfect for bearing children. Isn’t she much better than that thin girl? It’s the Chen family’s bad luck that he won’t marry her!”
Seeing this scene, several village aunties who had originally planned to approach him for a matchmaking session for their daughters were deterred, muttering their dissatisfaction.
The young men of the village, on the other hand, were gnashing their teeth.
After all, Qing Yan’s appearance was worlds apart from those country girls. She had long since become the goddess in the hearts of many young men. They hadn’t expected that Chen Ning would actually beat them to it!
They really couldn't understand what was so good about a scholar.
Looking at his thin frame, he probably couldn't even take a single punch from them!
The village youths were eager to try, wishing they could go up and compete with Chen Ning on the spot to show off their strength.
Just then, Xiao Jiu suddenly poked its head out from Chen Ning’s sleeve. It continuously flicked its tongue toward a bald man with a tiger tattoo on his neck in the distance, letting out wary hissed warnings.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Xiao Jiu had seemed to be enjoying the lively temple fair just moments ago; this complete reversal in attitude was clearly for a reason.
The man it was facing was named Zhang Hu, a loafer who frequently got into fights in the village.
Many villagers were extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Hu, but unfortunately, he had learned some martial arts in his early years.
Coupled with his tall and sturdy build, no one in the village was his match.
As a result, although the villagers held grudges, no one dared to say anything.
Was Xiao Jiu afraid?
No, that was the one thing that was absolutely impossible.
After all, no matter what, it was a Black Water Mysterious Snake with the potential to transform into a dragon and possessed a pure bloodline.
Even the Great Demons in the mountains were extremely respectful toward Xiao Jiu; it clearly couldn't be frightened by a mere human.
Chen Ning deliberately walked toward Zhang Hu. The moment they brushed past each other face-to-face, his gaze quickly turned icy.
“I see.”
Although it was difficult to see anything unusual from a distance, the moment he touched Zhang Hu’s shoulder just now, Chen Ning immediately sensed it.
Zhang Hu’s body had no flesh and blood at all; it was merely a hollow shell.
He, just like the Yang brothers, had already become a Painted Skin Slave hiding among the crowd!
He had originally thought that Xiao Jiu was just a gluttonous snake besides its ability to devour, but he hadn’t expected its perception to be so sharp. It could even identify Painted Skin Slaves that were difficult for even him to detect.
“Good job.”
Chen Ning patted Xiao Jiu’s head a couple of times, praising it for once.
After tucking Xiao Jiu away, Chen Ning retraced his steps and passed by Zhang Hu again, suddenly slapping Zhang Hu’s shoulder heavily.
“What are you doing?”
Zhang Hu’s eyes immediately widened.
The people in the village usually avoided him like the plague; Chen Ning was the first one who dared to take the initiative to touch him.
“Nothing, I just don’t like the look of you,” Chen Ning said calmly.
“What?”
Zhang Hu never expected that someone would actually dare to provoke him.
Hearing those words, he was instantly moved to a towering rage.
The test was a success. From Zhang Hu’s volatile and easily provoked personality, Chen Ning could tell that he, like the second and third Yang brothers, likely hadn’t realized his identity as a Painted Skin Slave yet.
Hearing the commotion, the villagers’ gazes gathered one after another.
They had never seen such a spectacle before.
After all, although Chen Ning was six feet tall, his thin clothes made it impossible to tell if he had any muscle. It was hard for anyone to imagine that he would actually dare to provoke the village’s number one bully.
“I think you’re looking for death, kid!”
Being humiliated in front of everyone, Zhang Hu was so angry that his eyes nearly popped out of his head as he flew into a rage.
“With that little strength of yours, are you sure you’re fit to use the words ‘looking for death’ with me?”
Chen Ning gave a cold smile.
Having confirmed that Zhang Hu was a Painted Skin Slave, all that remained was to give him a beating and take him away.
After all, if he were to smash his head open in front of the oblivious villagers, it would likely only cause a panic.
“To dare be so arrogant in front of me, go to hell!”
Zhang Hu’s eyes were bloodshot with rage. Like a hungry tiger descending from the mountain, he lunged toward Chen Ning.
This punch slammed heavily into Chen Ning’s chest.
The next second.
A shrill wail suddenly echoed through the night sky.
However, this wail did not come from Chen Ning, but from Zhang Hu, who had thrown the punch.
He felt as if his punch hadn’t hit a human at all, but rather a steel plate.
That massive impact was returned to his hand dozens of times over!
In an instant, Zhang Hu was breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain, feeling as if all five of his finger bones had been completely shattered at that moment.
Even though his physical capabilities had quietly increased two or three-fold after becoming a Painted Skin Slave, that bit of power was insignificant before the barrier of Merit Protection.
“You... what exactly did you do!”
Zhang Hu trembled all over from the pain, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
“It’s your own fist that isn’t hard enough; you can’t blame me.
And since you’ve already given me a punch, it’s my turn to give one back, right?”
Chen Ning sneered.
He threw a punch, which directly tore through the air, whipping up a chilling gale.
At this moment, time seemed to slow down infinitely in Zhang Hu’s eyes.
The intuition hidden deep within him only kept telling him in his ear that if he took this punch, he would undoubtedly die!
“No!”
Zhang Hu was terrified. He no longer cared about his dignity at all and desperately let out a plea for mercy.
Boom.
The whistling whirlwind swept past his ear, nearly deafening him.
Before he knew it, he had already collapsed to his knees in front of Chen Ning.
His eyes were filled with terror, and his entire body trembled incessantly.
For some reason, he couldn't even squeeze out a single tear.
The punch had stopped an inch from his face.
Chen Ning hadn't actually struck him.
After all, if it had really hit his head, Zhang Hu’s skull would have likely flown off on the spot like a ball.
His life still had some use for the time being.
“Let’s go, don’t embarrass yourself.”
Seeing Zhang Hu’s terrified, slumped form, Chen Ning directly delivered a kick.
Then, grabbing him by the collar, he dragged Zhang Hu’s sturdy frame out of the crowd by force.
Watching this scene, the villagers looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.
Especially the few young men who had just claimed they would challenge Chen Ning to a duel for Qing Yan’s sake—each of them was now chilled to the bone with lingering fear.
“Isn’t Chen Ning a scholar? How does he look like he can fight even better than a martial artist!”
“Who was it that said they’d definitely take him out with one punch?”
“To be precise, it should be getting taken out with one punch...”
The young men of the village looked at one another and were ultimately left speechless, their voices quickly fading away...
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