The Emperor Reads Storybooks Hidden in His Official Reports 36

Chapter 36: I Am Your Father

Li Jianyu felt that if he tried to stop Wan Yunliu and Zhao Linxu’s match at this moment, it would only make him seem more like a seductive vixen. Since he couldn’t stop them anyway, he could only watch silently from the side as the two of them satisfied their own pride and ambition.

The courtyard of Luoye Garden was just right for the two of them to fight freely. Zhao Linxu also usually practiced his skills here. The two stood opposite each other, each holding a longsword.

Li Jianyu sat in the wooden pavilion at the side, observing with a pained expression.

Before they began, Wan Yunliu said coldly to Zhao Linxu, “I didn’t leave back then to abandon Jianyu, but to become better for him, to strive for a better future. Only the strong are worthy of him.”

“Enough. Don’t use Little Carp as an excuse for your ambition,” Zhao Linxu said, crossing his arms. “So much nonsense.”

Unable to stand Zhao Linxu’s frivolous appearance, Wan Yunliu, planning to take him down a notch, said, “How about I give you three moves?”

He was the next leader of the Wulin Alliance. Wan Yunliu snorted coldly. His martial arts were top-notch in the jianghu; otherwise, how could he lead the heroes in the future? Therefore, he didn’t need to be too forceful against an ordinary person.

I will make the person before me submit! Wan Yunliu thought.

“Alright,” Zhao Linxu accepted magnanimously, then swung his sword and attacked Wan Yunliu.

Watching Zhao Linxu’s attack and moves, Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow slightly.

Zhao Linxu was not showing his true strength at all, his attack completely Buddhist-like.

Li Jianyu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was he planning to play dirty?

Wan Yunliu easily dodged and neutralized Zhao Linxu’s three moves.

Zhao Linxu was the type to sweat easily. After it was over, he shook the beads of sweat from his head. “You gave me three moves, so I’ll give you six. How about it?”

Wan Yunliu was surprised.

Was this person brainless or ignorant and dull, to be so arrogant!

Speaking of which, because of Li Jianyu, Wan Yunliu was completely unable to face Zhao Linxu rationally. Therefore, he had not yet asked the person’s name and did not know who he was.

Wan Yunliu told himself not to be affected by Zhao Linxu and composed himself. “Don’t ask me to show mercy later.”

Although he said that, Wan Yunliu was worried that the person before him was a blockhead, so he still held back a little in his first move.

The so-called “giving moves” meant that one could only defend and block, but not counterattack.

Just as the tip of Wan Yunliu’s sword was about to touch Zhao Linxu, Zhao Linxu leaped up and behind him, so fast that Wan Yunliu couldn’t even see the figure clearly.

…What was going on?

Wan Yunliu subconsciously reversed his thrust in mid-air and stabbed backwards, but Zhao Linxu immediately ducked down like a wild wolf lurking in the grass, and quickly slipped away.

Wan Yunliu had no place to exert his force and was led by Zhao Linxu to bend his body. He couldn’t retract his strength in time, and his ankle was sprained.

Wan Yunliu felt a sharp pain in his foot, but his face showed no sign of it, and he forcefully suppressed it.

This person…

This person was not simple!

These few moves looked easy to outsiders, and would even make him look weak for not being able to dodge them. But they didn’t know that without high martial arts and agile responsiveness, an ordinary person could absolutely not perform such a move that led him to trap himself!

Wan Yunliu began to realize how difficult the person before him was.

“Three more moves.”

Zhao Linxu looked at Wan Yunliu with a grin, his smile extremely kind.

Wan Yunliu took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, and this time, he leaped forward with all his strength.

Clang—!

Zhao Linxu held his sword horizontally to block Wan Yunliu’s. The two swords were locked together, neither giving way.

Wan Yunliu squinted slightly and secretly applied force to the sword in his hand.

However, Zhao Linxu opposite him still stood firm. The two swords, where their internal energy met, trembled with a “clang, clang” sound, as if they were under some great pressure.

Neither of them could force the other back.

Li Jianyu was eating melon on the side, watching the two of them maintain the same posture without moving, but with veins popping out on their arms, cheeks, and necks. He clicked his tongue in amazement.

Both Wan Yunliu’s and Zhao Linxu’s swords were peerless, so there was no damage at this moment, but he could vaguely hear a “ding, ding” sound.

Wan Yunliu said with some difficulty, his voice suppressed, “This brother… from… which sect?”

“No sect.”

Thump—

Li Jianyu saw Wan Yunliu being thrown back by an invisible force, drawing an arc in the air, and then falling heavily to the ground.

“Cough, cough…” Wan Yunliu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood up, and cupped his fists. “I underestimated my enemy.”

His tone was different from before.

“You admit defeat?” Zhao Linxu’s lips curled.

“Heh,” Wan Yunliu said. “It is a blessing to meet an opponent who can stand shoulder to shoulder with me, or is even stronger. How can I retreat?”

“Good.”

Zhao Linxu licked his lower lip, and the two figures began to fight.

The sword wind was fierce, and the swords clashed. Li Jianyu could only catch two fast-moving shadows and couldn’t see the moves clearly. But he could still vaguely tell that Wan Yunliu seemed to be struggling and was at a disadvantage.

Zhao Linxu seemed to want to end it. He leaped up, held his sword with both hands, and brought it down on Wan Yunliu.

Thud—!

What Zhao Linxu had not expected was that after fighting with him for so long, Wan Yunliu’s internal energy could no longer hold up. He had originally wanted to use his sword to block Zhao Linxu’s move, but his weapon was instead sent flying by Zhao Linxu.

And by a stroke of bad luck, the sword flew straight towards Li Jianyu.

Li Jianyu, who was eating melon on the side, felt the melon fall with a splat.

Fuck?!

A chill ran down Zhao Linxu’s and Wan Yunliu’s spines. Before they could react, they saw that the sword was some distance from Li Jianyu and would not harm him, and only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Wan Yunliu gritted his teeth and drew the dagger from his waist, wanting to fight one last time.

As the two were entangled, something unexpected happened.

The sword that had been sent flying carried internal energy and directly cut through the not-so-thick pillar of the pavilion. And the sword wind from Zhao Linxu’s and Wan Yunliu’s subsequent fight happened to hit the same spot, making things worse.

The pavilion had been built casually. Now, after being subjected to such a beating, it collapsed.

The beams and the roof lost their support and fell down. Li Jianyu subconsciously bent down to protect his stomach.

Almost as soon as he heard the sound, Zhao Linxu rushed towards the pavilion, not caring if he was still fighting with Wan Yunliu.

In a duel between masters, a small mistake is fatal. For Zhao Linxu to so recklessly retract his move and rush out, if it weren’t for Wan Yunliu retracting his hand in time, Zhao Linxu’s arm might not have been saved. But no matter what, a cut was still made on his arm.

Crash—

Li Jianyu closed his eyes.

The expected pain did not come, nor did he lose consciousness. He only felt warm.

Looking up, he saw Zhao Linxu propped up over him, his body protecting him completely.

The falling wooden beams hit Zhao Linxu’s back. Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu, making sure he was completely covered by him, and endured it with a muffled grunt. Worried that the weight of the wooden beams would crush Li Jianyu, Zhao Linxu’s hands were firmly on the ground, keeping a distance between himself and Li Jianyu.

The commotion in the courtyard attracted all the guards in Luoye Garden. They immediately came forward and, together with Wan Yunliu, removed the wooden beams from Zhao Linxu’s back.

As the weight on his back was removed, Zhao Linxu breathed a sigh of relief, rolled over, and lay down beside Li Jianyu to catch his breath.

First, he had fought a match with all his strength, and then this. No matter how good his stamina was, he couldn’t take it.

“Zhao Linxu!” Li Jianyu saw the long wound on Zhao Linxu’s arm, which was still bleeding, and his face turned pale.

“It’s no matter. Don’t be afraid.” Zhao Linxu grinned. “They’re all minor injuries. I’m just tired.”

Li Jianyu pressed his lips together, pounced forward, and hugged Zhao Linxu’s neck without a word.

“It’s really nothing,” Zhao Linxu said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, gently patting Li Jianyu’s back. “How could Wan Yunliu really hurt me? And how big are those wooden beams? This is a pavilion, not a house.”

“You said it’s a pavilion, not a house. Then why did you rush over… What if Wan Yunliu didn’t retract his hand in time…” Li Jianyu’s voice was muffled.

“How can that be the same? I’m tough. With your build, and the little baby, you can’t be hurt at all.”

Wan Yunliu had been watching the two of them embrace with a complicated expression. Now, hearing this, his eyes widened.

A baby?

Li Jianyu, he…

Had a child??

Wan Yunliu stared dumbfounded at Li Jianyu’s stomach, then at Zhao Linxu. He felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet, and his whole body was plunged into an ice cave.

Bastard! Bastard!

Wan Yunliu felt that he was stupid and foolish, and there was also a mix of unwillingness and anger. But after seeing Zhao Linxu’s arm, all his emotions were like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them.

With a sigh, Wan Yunliu lowered his eyes and sheathed his sword.

His martial arts were no match, and his feelings were no match either.

At the side, Li Jianyu helped Zhao Linxu stand up. The two of them sat on a stone chair and let a doctor bandage Zhao Linxu.

Wan Yunliu forced himself to pull himself together. He had originally wanted to go and see, but he found a familiar jade pendant in the broken wood of the pavilion.

Wan Yunliu was startled.

Isn’t this…

Wan Yunliu picked up the jade pendant that had fallen to the ground and walked quickly to Zhao Linxu. “Is this yours?”

Zhao Linxu said “Oh my,” and reached out to take it. “It fell out. Good thing you picked it up for me.”

That was the token the Arrogant Dragon Gang’s leader, Long Ye, had given him after they had taken the spirit mushroom and killed the monster together. It would be troublesome if he lost it.

But Wan Yunliu pulled his hand back, not letting Zhao Linxu touch it, and said in a low voice, “Why do you have my master’s jade pendant!”

“Long Ye is your master?” Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow.

“You know my master?”

Zhao Linxu pondered for a moment, then his lips curled into a wicked smile. “Yes. Your master and I hit it off on Water God Mountain. Your master said he might not be able to beat me and admired me very much. He even said he wanted to become sworn brothers with me and gave me this.”

Looking at Wan Yunliu’s ever-changing expression, Zhao Linxu continued with a smile, “Don’t believe me? Then you can ask your master when you get back. Could I have snatched it from your master?”

Wan Yunliu felt a little dizzy.

“Silly child.” After the doctor had finished bandaging Zhao Linxu, he stood up and patted Wan Yunliu’s shoulder. “I am your father.”

“…”