Chapter 3: Chapter Three.
Despite being a beauty,Lei Qiang is somehow cold and not ready to warm up to others. As he arrives at the venue of the banquet,Lord Du Yuan raises his head in excitement. He is the guest he has been waiting for. Even Du Bai Xin's face brightens when she sees him.
"Lord Du,"Lei Qiang bows.
"Young Master Lei , you're here,"Lord Du Yuan grins.
Lei Qiang takes a seat on the left column where all men are seated. Lord Du Yuan announces the start of the banquet as Du Yichen,Duan Xinyue and the showgirls arrive. Duan Xinyue sits and places his zither bag on the table and takes out the zither. Two showgirls sit across from him on the right column. The two girls are supposed to play their respective instruments together with the zither to produce a melodious tune for the other showgirls to dance to. Before they begin playing,a middle aged man in royal blue robes arrives. Everyone is surprised to see him especially Lord Du Yuan who doesn't seem pleased. The man is General Fu Jiuyun who spends most of his time guarding the border.
"Lord Du,I received your letter a week ago and decided I wouldn't miss your birthday banquet," General Fu Jiuyun speaks up revealing the sarcasm in his words. General Fu Jiuyun is accompanied by two men wearing military armors.
"General Fu, I'm glad you accepted my invitation,"Lord Du Yuan replies faking a smile.
Although Lord Du Yuan invited him,he really didn't want him to attend the banquet. He only sent him an invitation to avoid unnecessary grudges. They have been rivals since Lord Du Yuan became the governor. Over the years,Fu Jiuyun has indirectly shown his ambition to become the next governor of Long Gong County. He claims to be guarding the border so as to create a name for himself and earn people's trust then return to the capital to overthrow Lord Du Yuan. His return to the capital clearly shows he has an ulterior motive. General Fu Jiuyun takes an empty seat beside Lei Qiang. He smiles at Lei Qiang and Lei Qiang smiles back slightly. From their interaction,they have clearly met before.
Duan Xinyue and the two girls start playing the musical instruments as the others dance beautifully along the hallway attracting everyone's attention. Duan Xinyue's skills in playing the zither are superb. A few of the noble girls who have attended the banquet are captivated by his charm. The guests give an applause after the performance as Duan Xinyue walks over towards Lei Qiang and borrows a sword. Lei Qiang is startled at first before he realizes what is going on. He looks up and meets Duan Xinyue's pleading gaze and he can't help but feel a little uneasy. Duan Xinyue's eyes can play tricks even on a grown up man like him. Duan Xinyue is sure Lei Qiang is carrying a sword.
"Young Master Duan it's inappropriate to use a sharp sword for dancing ,I'm afraid...,"Lei Qiang speaks elegantly.
"Do not worry I won't stain your sword with someone's blood let alone an animal's blood,"Duan Xinyue interrupts.
Lei Qiang pulls a long slender flexible sword wrapped around his waist like a belt and hands it over to Duan Xinyue. Duan Xinyue bows thankfully and takes the sword carefully as if it's some delicate porcelain. He walks to the center of the hallway. One of the two girls who were playing the other musical instruments plays the zither alongside the other producing a melodious tune. Duan Xinyue who is holding out the sword starts slashing the sword beautifully in the air and making beautiful dance patterns with the sword. Duan Xinyue is also known as the 'King of Sword Dance' as he's able to turning the sword into a harmless object. After his remarkable performance,he walks back towards Lei Qiang and returns the sword mumbling an earnest 'thank you' . Lei Qiang doesn't bother to look at him instead he strokes the sword with his fingers to detect any scratch marks on the sword. The sword is engraved with the words'Ziran Zhuzai(Nature dominates/rules over). General Fu Jiuyun's howls of laughter fill the air as he claps endlessly.
"Very good performance. I thought Duan gongzi is a just mere male courtesan I didn't expect you to be so talented."
Duan Xinyue is startled not sure whether to take Fu Jiuyun's words as a compliment or not. Duan Xinyue is aware that's what everyone calls him. He's not ashamed of his actions but this one specific man is here to shame him on purpose. He forces a smile to hide away his emotions and walks back to his seat. The banquet goes on. A young maiden carrying a sealed box arrives and walks towards Du Bai Xin and curtseys handing over the box to Du Bai Xin. She's Du Bai Xin's maid Mu Xiang. Du Bai Xin stands up,walks over to her father and hands over the box to him.
"Father, that's your birthday gift," she smiles.
Lord Du Yuan opens the box revealing a sheathed sword. The sword's scabbard has lotus floral patterns. Lord Du Yuan picks it up excitedly and unsheathes it. He strokes it and looks up,his face bright as the morning sunrise.
"Young Master Lei,may I have the honor to have a match with you?"he asks excitedly.
Lei Qiang smiles a bit and stands up.
"Lord Du,today is your birthday,it won't be noble of me to spill blood on such a happy occasion,"Lei Qiang denies the offer gently.
"Who says we're spilling blood? It's just a friendly match. Could it that you're afraid I'll defeat you?" Lord Du Yuan speaks in teasing yet provocative tone leaving Lei Qiang no choice but to accept his offer.
Lord Du Yuan uses his qinggong(lightness skill) to fly to the centre of the hallway. Lei Qiang also flies to the centre of the hallway. Lei Qiang asks Lord Du Yuan to strike first then they start clashing swords and leaping from one place to another showcasing their martial arts skills. Though Lei Qiang's martial arts skills are far much better than Lord Du Yuan's,Du Yuan dares to challenge him to make Lei Qiang showcase his exceptional skills. Lord Du Has always been proud of Lei Qiang and even calls him 'Martial son'. The match comes to an end with Lord Du Yuan accepting his defeat. He ends up praising Lei Qiang proudly instead of grieving over his defeat.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone