Lin Mengzhi gripped her long sword with both hands and swooped down from mid-air towards Leng Ruo Li, stabbing at her.
Leng Ruo Li reacted with lightning speed, bending backward swiftly. The scalpel held tightly in her hand slashed towards Lin Mengzhi’s waist. Lin Mengzhi dodged immediately but was sent flying several meters away by a kick from Leng Ruo Li.
Lin Mengzhi quickly stabilized herself with her long sword. A taste of blood surged in her throat, but she swallowed it down.
"Not bad, you still have some skills." Lin Mengzhi complimented.
"You are also very good!" Leng Ruo Li returned the compliment.
Subsequently, Lin Mengzhi flew forward again, engaging Leng Ruo Li in a fight.
Steward Qi watched, his heart pounding with fear, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
His young lady was truly daring, facing a master without a shred of internal energy.
After a few rounds between Lin Mengzhi and Leng Ruo Li, although Leng Ruo Li was at a disadvantage, Lin Mengzhi did not gain much either.
After they stopped fighting, Lin Mengzhi took a serious look at Leng Ruo Li.
Leng Ruo Li was currently wearing an ice-blue, belted casual long dress. Her slender waist was barely grasped by a hand. She wore a white sash embroidered with pink plum blossoms, tied in a large bow, exuding an air of nobility. Her three thousand strands of ink-black hair cascaded to her waist. Some of it was casually twisted into a bun and secured on her head with a simple white jade hairpin, while the rest fell naturally to her waist. Her fair forehead and earlobes were adorned with a pair of jade-colored butterfly pearl earrings, making her appear refreshed and pleasant to behold.
It was a pity that such a beauty was marred by the dark spot on her face.
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li was still wearing a thin white veil, obscuring her true face from Lin Mengzhi. However, her apricot-shaped eyes were beautifully long, clear, and bright.
Looking at Leng Ruo Li's eyes, as beautiful as glazed glass, made Lin Mengzhi extremely envious.
At this moment, Lin Mengzhi suddenly attacked Leng Ruo Li, channeling all her internal energy into the long sword on her right arm and slashing at Leng Ruo Li.
Leng Ruo Li dodged quickly, but her left shoulder was still injured, causing a sharp, burning pain.
Immediately, Lin Mengzhi raised her long sword again and slashed at Leng Ruo Li once more.
She muttered, "Leng Ruo Li, die quickly!"
Steward Qi, standing by, felt his heart leap into his throat. He wanted to block the sword for Leng Ruo Li, but the distance between them was too great. He could only watch helplessly as Leng Ruo Li was struck by Lin Mengzhi, filling him with regret. Why had he believed his young lady's words earlier and let her face Lin Mengzhi alone?
Alas…
But just as they thought Leng Ruo Li was certain to die, Leng Ruo Li suddenly vanished. Lin Mengzhi’s blade sliced directly into the osmanthus tree behind Leng Ruo Li.
Lin Mengzhi found it incredible. She had merely blinked, and Leng Ruo Li had disappeared.
What was going on?
Even Steward Qi was greatly astonished. How could a person simply disappear without a trace?
As both of them were searching in one direction for Leng Ruo Li, Leng Ruo Li suddenly appeared behind Lin Mengzhi and swiftly inserted several silver needles into her back.
The long sword in Lin Mengzhi's hand clattered to the ground. Her entire body was paralyzed, weak, and limp.
"Leng Ruo Li, what did you do to me?" Lin Mengzhi roared at Leng Ruo Li from behind.
"What did I do? Of course, I poisoned you!" Leng Ruo Li replied loudly.
In fact, the silver needles Leng Ruo Li had inserted into Lin Mengzhi’s back were only coated with her specially formulated potent anesthetic, not poison.
"Leng Ruo Li, you are despicable! If I, Lin Mengzhi, die, the entire Lin Duke’s mansion will not let you go," Lin Mengzhi roared.
"It’s fine. As for other matters, you can worry about them after you’ve died," Leng Ruo Li said, provoking her intentionally.
"One, two, three, down!" Leng Ruo Li counted aloud.
Lin Mengzhi instantly fell unconscious onto the ground.
Even Steward Qi was so shocked his jaw almost dropped.
"Young lady, where did you hide just now? How did you disappear in the blink of an eye?" Steward Qi asked curiously.
"Uh…"
"Uncle Qi, I was actually here the whole time. I just used the 'Leaf Obscuring the Eye' technique to hide myself."
"Oh, oh, he’s lived for dozens of years and had never heard of such a technique before…" Steward Qi said, scratching his head in disbelief and muttering.
"Uncle Qi, come quickly and help!" Leng Ruo Li interrupted Steward Qi’s thoughts.
"Young lady, what is it?"
"Uncle Qi, help me carry this woman to the entrance of the Lin Duke’s mansion. I need to do something big." Leng Ruo Li gave Steward Qi a mysterious smile.
"Young lady, what are you going to do? Just give the order, and this old servant will do it," Steward Qi said.
"We'll go together. As for what I’m going to do, you'll know when we get to the entrance of the Lin Duke’s mansion. Hehe!" Leng Ruo Li replied with a grin.
"Uncle Qi, hurry and carry her. Let's go!"
Steward Qi: "..."
Although very confused, he followed Leng Ruo Li’s instructions. He carried Lin Mengzhi, and together with Leng Ruo Li, they stealthily approached the entrance of the Lin Duke’s mansion.
"Uncle Qi, use your lightness skill to hang Lin Mengzhi on the main gate of the Lin Duke’s mansion. I have some hemp rope here."
Steward Qi saw Leng Ruo Li pull a large bundle of hemp rope from her sleeve and was instantly dumbfounded.
How could his young lady’s sleeve hold such a large bundle of rope without anyone noticing? He decided he would find a tailor to make him a similar outfit when they returned.
"Uncle Qi, Uncle Qi, stop daydreaming and hang her up quickly. Be gentle, don't let anyone discover us."
"Okay, young lady, I'll hang her up right away." With that said, Steward Qi tied Lin Mengzhi securely and suspended her on the main gate of the Lin Duke’s mansion.
"Haha, Uncle Qi, we’re done! But I still feel like something is missing." Leng Ruo Li mused for a few seconds.
"Young lady, this old servant thinks it’s quite good as it is."
"No, no, it's missing this." Saying that, Leng Ruo Li took out two bottles of golden flower honey from her sleeve.
"Uncle Qi, smear these two bottles of honey on Lin Mengzhi’s face, head, and clothes. That would be perfect, hehe!" Leng Ruo Li finished with a smile, opened the lids of the honey bottles, and handed a spoon to Steward Qi, asking him to fly up and smear the honey on Lin Mengzhi.
Upon learning of Leng Ruo Li's plan, Steward Qi was terrified. He knew he would forever remember this day and that he could provoke anyone but their young lady.
If he smeared these two bottles of honey on Lin Mengzhi, and if someone discovered it early, it would be fine. But if this person remained suspended until tomorrow, wouldn't she be eaten by insects…
Just thinking about the scene made his scalp tingle.
After Steward Qi finished smearing the two bottles of honey, Leng Ruo Li and Steward Qi returned to General Leng's mansion.