Breaking the Day

Qiu Chuqiu and Qin Mieqin already looked hostile towards Zhao Yibai. If glares could kill, the two idiots, Zhao Yibai and Qu Tongqiu, would have been stabbed many times.

Unfortunately, they were completely oblivious, confident that Li Chengfeng could never bear to eat this tiger cub so they started to fan the fire.

“Alright, prove it by treating us to a meal too! I haven’t eaten tiger meat before!” huffed Zhao Yibai.

An Tong started to struggle like mad and with a twist, he managed to yank the rope out of Li Chengfeng’s hand. He bit the rope off, then slipped into the forest at lightning speed.

Qiu Chuqiu and Qin Mieqin privately heaved a sigh of relief, the muscles on their face relaxing. If he really tried to kill An Tong to cook him, An Tong would definitely retaliate. If it came to that, they would have to show their hand to Li Chengfeng.

They could not predict the consequences of exposing themselves and they admittedly could not take that risk. Not when they had important plans.

Qiu Chuqiu glared at Zhao Yibai and Qu Tongqiu. “Go catch it and bring it back! No dinner for you if you don’t catch it!”

Frightened, both of them sprinted off.

Qin Mieqin looked at Li Chengfeng and suddenly said, “Junior Brother Li, you have a quick wit and are very talented. This is a good thing. I just hope you’ll use your talents in cultivation. Don’t get distracted off the path.”

Li Chengfeng bowed. “Thank you for your advice, Senior Brother Qin.”

Qin Mieqin nodded slightly and turned. Qiu Chuqiu glared and then left.

Li Chengfeng finally heaved a sigh of relief and grinend at Zhao Xiaobao. “Alright, they’re gone! Hey, why are you crying? Ah, you don’t have to thank me! It’s what we do!”

Zhao Xiaobao stood up, wiping his tears as he sobbed, “No, Young Master, I just feel so embarrassed!”

Su Yuehan finally burst out in laughter. She tickled his chin twice as if he was a dog. “Come, Xiaobao, left hand!”

In a rage, he pointed at Su Yuehan and turned to Li Chengfeng, “Young Master, why is she bullying me too?”

Li Chengfeng suppressed his laughter. “Whose fault is it that you look like that?”

Zhao Xiaobao cried, “Do you think I want to look like that? I also want to look for my parents and ask them why I looked like that!”

Although Daqi had high literacy rates, many places continued to worship martial arts. Even scholars trained in swordsmanship and physical combat to maintain a strong body. Most took stronger, masculine men as the beauty standard. On the other hand, Zhao Xiaobao with his delicate feminine features were either theatre actors or taken in by some rich aristocrat as arm candy.

Zhao Xiaobao had endured countless teasing and harassment in his life due to his looks. At this point, even Li Chengfeng and Su Yuehan were a little embarrassed for bullying him.

Li Chengfeng patted his shoulder and said, “Fine, we’ll just not… uh, we’ll bully you less next time. But, what happened today was an emergency and I had no choice. Sorry for that. Also, when there are outsiders around, I’m sorry you’ll have to put up an act. If we’re alone, we’ll still be brothers.”

Zhao Xiaobao whined, “But I still feel awful.”

“Think about it. Come cultivate with me and you’ll be stronger. Next time, when people talk about you, you won’t be just a ‘dog’, you’ll be history’s most powerful… dog!”

“Pfft!”

Su Yuehan burst into laughter again.

But Zhao Xiaobao was not upset. He looked at Li Chengfeng excitedly. “Young Master, can I cultivate too?”

He gestured for Zhao Xiaobao to follow him so they walked shoulder-to-shoulder and smiled, “Why not? Is there a rule in Cangjina Court that you can’t cultivate with me?”

“Then I’ll cultivate with you too!”

“Wait, you must first tell me why you’re here! Where did you go after leaving?”

As if recalling something, Zhao Xiaobao felt around his clothing and produced a stank of silver notes. “Young Master, I went to the place we hid the money and changed it into silver notes. Count it.”

Li Chengfeng flicked through it nonchalantly, though privately very moved. Zhao Xiaobao currently looked like a beggar and his cheeks had sunken in, yet he did not even spend much of this stack!

Zhao Xiaobao explained, “After changing for silver notes, I was immediately targeted. They followed me for three days and finally attacked. I was forced to hurt two of them and finally escaped.”

“You? You can hurt people?” Su Yuehan regarded him incredulously.

Li Chengfeng grinned. “Xiaobao has been training martial arts with me since young but with his figure, he prefers hidden weapons. He’s better than me in terms of hidden weapon martial arts.”

Zhao Xiaobao looked at her proudly.

Li Chengfeng asked, “What kind of people were they?”

Zhao Xiaobao shook his head. “They don’t look like they’re from Cheng’an but very skilled in fighting. I’m guessing that they were hired by Prefecture Chief Zhang. I wanted to go home but there were too many people watching the Li family so after some thought, I did not return but secretly sent a message. In the end, Madam sent me a message telling me to come to you.”

“But when I came to Spiritual Mountain, I was stopped by the door spirits at the entrance. Lady Sumei’s handmaiden, Little Bell, was the one who brought a jade token for me. She said it could hide my aura and some of the traps in the sect. That’s how I entered.”

Li Chengfeng sighed. “Looks like Zhang Junheng already sees the Li family as an enemy! But what’s all this with Liu Sumei? We owe her another huge debt once again!”

Zhao Xiaobao nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think they’re regular girls too. Their auras are different.”

“How did you come to Cangjian Court? Shouldn’t you go to Cangjin Court first?”

Hesitant, Zhao Xiaobao explained, “Young Master, when I was sneaking around Cangjin Court, I heard them talking about a swindler they wanted to kill, who had escaped to Cangjian Court. I thought… the only person who would swindle anyone in Cangjin Court would be… you. No one in this world would ever do that. So I came here.”

Su Yuehan giggled while Li Chengfeng was impressed. “You know me well! But how were you found by those two jerks?”

He replied, embarrassed, “I’ve been hungry for days and could not stand it anymore. I started looking for food, and then could not run in time when I was discovered…”

Li Chengfeng patted his shoulder lovingly. “Xiaobao, we might be master and servant on paper but we’re brothers in truth. You don’t have to explain. In the future, I promise to always share my food with you. If I have meat, I guarantee that you will have soup too.”

“Huh? Young Master, won’t I get some meat too?”

Li Chengfeng laughed, “I’m kidding. You really thought I wouldn’t give you any meat? Hahaha, that sounds like me!”

Zhao Xiaobao’s face fell but he knew that it was a joke. “Young Master, when will we start cultivating?”

“Tomorrow! Let’s get some rest when we get back. We’ll cultivate tomorrow!”

Zhao Xiaobao was excited. “Do you think I can become a successful cultivator?”

“Why not? You’ll become the world’s most powerful dog-man!” Li Chengfeng laughed, then Su Yuehan started laughing heartily too while Zhao Xiaobao whined.

They chatted and laughed together. What they did not know was that Li Chengfeng had made an accurate prediction. Zhao Xiaobao would soon attain astonishing results along with Li Chengfeng. At that point, no one would ever remember the insulting nickname ever again.

[TL Note: The term ‘Dog’ is used to describe sidekicks or minions who do the boss’ menial jobs. ]