46 By Hook Or By Crook (part 2)

King Fuchai knew that his capital city did not fall into enemy hands due to the military capabilities of General Yan Xuanye. Therefore although he lost his crown prince, he was still willing to use General Yan at his court.

Yet, after Wu Xizu's incident, Xuanye had no longer interested in working for Fuchai. He knew that Fuchai was not a wise ruler and the Wu State was doomed to fall. Therefore he used his wife's illness as a reason for him to refuse Fuchai. He preferred to stay at home and taking care of his ailing wife.

That day he received a guest, a student of Mister Yao.

When he arrived at the main hall, he saw a young man in his twenties, dressed in Chu State's clothing and hairstyle, stood solemnly.

When Xuanye arrived at the main hall, the young man politely made a salute with his fists and said, "Greeting, Shixiong! I'm Xue Ying, a disciple of Mister Yao!"

"Oh! Come and have a seat!" Xuanye welcomed the young man and ordered his servant to serve tea for him.

He noticed the young man and felt familiar with his face. He asked, "What makes you come here?"

"Our teacher said that you're a capable sword-forger. Therefore, our teacher gives me this recommendation letter," Xue Ying passed bamboo slips to Xuanye.

Xuanye took the bamboo slips and read it carefully. It was Mister Yao's handwriting. He could not understand why Mister Yao sent the letter to him. Five months ago, Mister Yao didn't mention anything about this Xue Ying - Snow Eagle.

"Mister Yao wrote this recommendation letter. He asks me to accept you to be my disciple! Or if not…I should write a recommendation letter for you to be Mister Ou Yezi's disciple!"

"Yes," Snow Eagle said. "He said that if I want to learn metallurgy, I should learn from the master. Ou Yezi, or you!"

"This young man is such a handsome young man. His face is too handsome and perfect for a man. Could it be…he is that naughty girl in disguise?" Xuanye pondered and observed the young man in front of him.

"Snow Eagle, eat first," Xuanye said as he saw the servant served some fruits and snacks for the guest.

"Thank you, Shixiong," Ying said and stretched her hand to take a fruit from the plate on the table.

Xuanye gazed at Snow Eagle's throat and could not find an Adam's apple's on it. He noticed the way the young man moved his hand. That's a man's gesture, although the hand was too beautiful to be a man's hand.

He could not help observing down on the young man's chest.

Snow Eagle, who was Ying in disguise, saw how Xuanye was observing her. She felt a bit nervous, but she tried to conceal her feeling. She looked at Xuanye straight to his eyes, although deep insider her heart, she was afraid if Xuanye knew that she's a girl

Xuanye noticed that although the loose clothing, hairstyle, and the way this young man behaved was like a man. But his chest betrayed him. He could tell that the young man's chest was not as flat as it should be for a man.

"Eight out of ten, I'm convinced that this young man is Ying in disguise!" Xuanye said in his mind. "But, this letter indeed is Mister Yao's handwriting!"

"Aye, actually, Mister Yao came to see me five months ago. But he didn't say anything at all about you," Xuanye said and laughed. "By the way, do you know Ying? She's also Mister Yao's disciple. Mister Yao brought her here last time when he visited me."

"Oh, Junior-apprentice-sister!" Snow Eagle said. "Of course I know her!"

"She's also interested to learn metallurgy!"

Snow Eagle nodded, "Yes!"

"That girl is very arrogant. She said that she's smart, and she's pretty sure that she could be a master in blacksmithing in a few years!" Xuanye laughed, "That girl doesn't know how high is the sky and how thick is the earth!"

Ying was aghast. She had never thought that Xuanye had a very bad impression on her. She tried to conceal her feeling by sipping her tea.

"I heard that she's one of the women who were supposed to be sent to Fuchai as a tribute. She probably thought that she's the most beautiful on earth, that she pulled my hand, tried to persuade me to accept her as my apprentice!" Xuanye laughed.

Ying, who was drinking her tea, was almost choked. "Such an annoying grandpa! Does he think he's awesome that I bother to use my charm to persuade him? No way!" Ying said in her mind. Deep inside her heart, Ying was very angry, but she tried to conceal her anger. Otherwise, her secret might be leaked. She forced herself to smile, a cynical smile.

"She should know that not all men easily fall into the beauty trap. At least…not me! She's not stunning enough," Xuanye laughed. "Aye, I don't understand how Mister Yao could recommend such person to be my disciple!"

Xuanye deliberately said terrible things about Ying to see Snow Eagle's reaction. Who would have thought that Snow Eagle, aka Ying, could restrain herself from being angry?

"I hope Shixiong will forgive Ying's rudeness! She's indeed pretty smart and a hard-worker. That's why Mister Yao and Madame Ling like her," Snow Eagle said and laughed. "Shixiong is right. That girl thinks too highly of herself. She thinks that only a king deserves her. Therefore, Shixiong could rest assured that she's not trying to use a beauty trap to persuade you! She's always said that she only wants to marry a king. Even a king like Fuchai is out of her list. She only wants a young, handsome, smart, and powerful king! So I guess…men like us, are out of her list!" Snow Eagle laughed and shook her head. She felt happy she could mock Xuanye.

Hearing that word, Xuanye also laughed.

"If this person is Ying, then her self-control should be praised for a twenty years old girl!" Xuanye said in his mind. "She's not provoked with my words, and instead, she attacked me with her sharp tongue!"

"Aye, Snow Eagle. I don't want to take any disciple for metallurgy. Since my wife is ill, and I want to focus on taking care of her. But, if it's really necessary, I will recommend you to my teacher, the Grandmaster Ou Yezi!" Xuanye said.

Ying's face spontaneously changed as she's excited. "Shixiong, thank you so much!" she said and bowed to Xuanye.

"Alright, go home now! Tomorrow, you could return here and get your recommendation letter. I will also tell you where Mister Ou Yezi lives," Xuanye said.

"Thank you, Shixiong! Then, I will retreat now and return here tomorrow!" Ying politely said.

Xuanye nodded and smile. "Hmm, take care, little brother!"

Ying rose from her seat and walked out the door. Although her face looked calm, actually she's very excited. Xuanye had promised to write a letter to Ou Yezi to recommend her.

As she's about to reach the door, Xuanye said in a friendly voice, "Hey, Ying! You forget your stuff!"

As Ying was too excited, she spontaneously turned her head. At the same time, Xuanye threw an apple straight to her chest, and Ying spontaneously caught it.

She realized that she made a mistake when she saw how Xuanye was staring at her with stern eyes. "Ying, you should know that men will not carry apples with them all the time on their chests!"

Ying was shocked, and she became limp. Xuanye knew who she was.