"Enough! You master and servant have had enough fun. Even if I'm not as good as you, you don't need to mock me like this." Lin Yi was furious, even angrier than before.
"Xiaoyao, it seems that didn't work. Should we try again?" The girl looked at Xiaoyao and asked.
"...The soup inside seems ready. I'll go check!" Xiaoyao very decisively chose to flee, abandoning the situation.
"..." The Young Miss was speechless again.
"How should I put this..." The girl stared ahead in a daze, muttering to herself. She was actually still thinking about how to express things tactfully.
"..."
"No need to say anything - let fists do the talking!!" Lin Yi said with a dark expression.
Fists? Why not use a sword?
Simple - the opponent was a girl who also didn't use weapons, so how could he use one? Besides, he also practiced boxing techniques with achievements no less than his swordsmanship.
"Oh, that's good then. I really couldn't think of anything - this is more troublesome than defeating you." The girl said with relief, as if defeating Lin Yi was simpler than speaking.
"..."
"Roar!"
Lin Yi gathered internal energy, flashed forward, and threw a fierce punch...
Of course, this time he didn't commit fully to his punch momentum. This time he would reserve strength to change moves - this was merely a probe, because he had begun taking the girl seriously.
What techniques feared most was being used to completion, because that meant one couldn't change actions, allowing opponents to easily guess the next move. This made it easy to be countered - simply put, it exposed weaknesses.
If someone caught your weaknesses, the result was predictable. So sometimes people only sought not to lose rather than quick victory - as long as they didn't lose, they could find opportunities for victory.
Just now Lin Yi had been too careless, thinking he could win with one strike, assuming the opponent couldn't dodge his attack. He hadn't considered the consequences if the opponent dodged.
Now Lin Yi would consider more, first putting himself in an unbeatable position, then looking for opportunities to win.
This way, even if Lin Yi's strength was inferior to the girl's, he wouldn't be easily defeated unless the girl had an absolute advantage.
This was why internal energy level wasn't the sole determinant of strength. Technique application, adaptability in combat, and predicting changes were all factors determining strength levels.
"Bang!"
The girl struck Lin Yi's fist with one palm, producing a strong collision sound, meeting force with force.
This scene surprised the Young Miss. She had thought the girl should be a gentle-style warrior who relied mainly on skillful force, but the current situation proved the girl was the vigorous type with very powerful internal energy and techniques.
From this probe, everyone could basically confirm one thing - the girl's internal energy was no weaker than Lin Yi's. This was very surprising.
Lin Yi was already a genius-type, one of the top figures in the Mo family's generation. The girl before them was younger than him yet could have internal energy no weaker than his. Didn't this show her talent was higher than Lin Yi's, or at least no weaker?
This thought didn't stay in everyone's minds long, because the following situation began to overwhelm them - they couldn't keep up.
After one strike, Lin Yi followed with another fierce punch, then another.
The girl used palm after palm to block, quickly repelling Lin Yi's punches. When she had openings, she would attack with a palm, though the power wasn't great and wasn't hard to resolve - Lin Yi blocked them.
The two exchanged fists and palms, rapidly changing moves. As the battle continued, their speed grew faster and techniques more varied. Wrong - it should be said Lin Yi's techniques became more varied.
The girl's techniques seemed to be just those few moves, very similar. However, changes in speed and different applications created the illusion that her techniques were equally varied.
If others saw this battle now, they would definitely be amazed. Were these really Mo family juniors fighting? Were these two really so young?
"Mo Yu, who do you think will win?" Little Uncle on the side watched the battle scene and asked somewhat dazedly. He now felt coming here was an absolutely correct decision - he hadn't expected such an exciting scene.
"I don't know, but I have a strange feeling that Seventh Sister... seems to be practicing moves..." The Young Miss frowned slightly. She had this strange feeling but felt it seemed impossible.
"Impossible."
Little Uncle said dazedly. He felt this seemed impossible. His thinking was the same as the Young Miss's - how could a battle of this level be like practicing moves?
Unless the girl's strength far exceeded Lin Yi's, but how was that possible? No matter how much one practiced at this age, they couldn't reach that level.
But the fact was so incredible - the girl was indeed practicing moves. Her previous practice partner had only been Xiaoyao, and Xiaoyao hadn't even broken through basic skills. Practicing moves with him couldn't achieve the effect she wanted.
The current Lin Yi was the best practice partner. She naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. Of course, her strength wasn't much higher than Lin Yi's - it's just that the palm technique she practiced was somewhat special, allowing her to easily practice moves in such combat.
The battle continued, time passed...
"Time to eat... Hey, why are you still fighting? Boss, I told you to speak tactfully, but in battle don't - be direct and show no mercy... Oh, you're practicing moves. Then do as you like." When Xiaoyao came out and found the battle still continuing, he spoke. Upon discovering the battle situation, he changed his tone and let the girl continue.
Xiaoyao's words could prove one point - the girl was indeed practicing moves. Otherwise it definitely wouldn't have lasted so long without ending.
"About enough. I'll begin now. Lone Star Palm Third Form - Star's Shadow."
The girl suddenly changed speed and technique. One palm gracefully became dozens of afterimages, making Lin Yi pause, unable to tell which one to block. Then the dozens of afterimages instantly converged into one palm.
At this moment, this palm was already at Lin Yi's chest, again at the same position where the girl had first struck him...
I lost. How is this possible...
"..." She really was practicing moves. What level is this girl, and how did she train to this point? This is too incredible.
After Lin Yi was knocked to the ground, he lay there in a daze.
Little Uncle was dazed, mouth agape, as if he couldn't believe it.
The Young Miss was slightly contemplative...
At this moment, no one made any sound.
"Alright, time to eat. It's rare to have people accompany the boss for New Year's Eve dinner this year. Cousin Young Master on the ground, you come too." Xiaoyao's voice broke the silence, his tone seeming very calm as if nothing had happened.
"I knew it - you deliberately led people here..." The Young Miss was the first to react, temporarily putting aside her questions to interrogate Xiaoyao.
Previously Xiaoyao seemed to refuse people and not let them know about his boss, but actually he was leading people here so his boss could have more people for this year's New Year's Eve dinner.
One could imagine that in previous years during holidays, at most only Xiaoyao accompanied the girl - no one else.
"Young Miss, don't speak carelessly. I never let you come. I had no such intention - where does this talk of deliberately leading people come from?" Xiaoyao immediately denied it.
You Mo family people can act recklessly, but I'm just a small servant who can't bear such blame.
"You little rascal, too slippery. Alright, let's not talk about this. Did you make all these dishes? They look quite professional." The Young Miss didn't mind either, smiling as she entered the house, with the girl going in before her.
"Not bad, passable!" Xiaoyao replied.
"Hey, these dishes - I really haven't seen any of them before. How do you manage to make different dishes every time?" The Young Miss asked somewhat puzzledly. At this moment she had also figured this out and felt it wasn't easy.
"What's so difficult about that? There are hundreds of ways to prepare one chicken. With so many ingredients, you could have different dishes every day. The difference is some people are used to making the same things, while I think making anything is about the same." Xiaoyao said dismissively.
"Speaking of it like that, it doesn't seem very difficult..." The Young Miss nodded, habitually putting this matter aside, though she felt something was still not quite normal.
Xiaoyao seemed to always do surprising things, but they always seemed composed of very ordinary matters. Previous instances were like this, and today's dishes were the same - just different methods using ordinary ingredients that anyone could do.
However, when so many such situations happened to one person, that wasn't ordinary anymore. Sooner or later someone would discover this, and the Young Miss was just the beginning - there would be more people and more incidents in the future.
Of course, being discovered by these people didn't mean everyone would notice, so Xiaoyao's days were still quite free and comfortable.
Like now - the Young Miss had discovered this, but others didn't know, only treating Xiaoyao as a small servant who could do ordinary things well.
Even if the Young Miss discovered this problem, she wouldn't care too much. Like now, she threw aside all her doubts, sat down directly to eat, and began looking for alcohol.
"Where's the wine? How can we do without wine? Quickly bring me wine..."
"Wait, I'll get wine - it's still in the wine cellar!!" Xiaoyao responded. He didn't drink much, and his boss didn't drink, so he generally didn't prepare wine here. However, there were still several jars in the wine cellar from when he brewed wine before and had extras that he brought back.
"Go quickly and return quickly - don't keep me waiting!!" The Young Miss shouted loudly.
"..."
(End of Chapter)