Wu Family (3)

The girl's assertion surprised Wu Qinlao and Gao Ting. They both stared at each other and, as if sharing the same thought, began to smile slyly.

"Daughter, show respect in front of strangers! Where are your manners?" Wu Qinlao reprimanded her, and then apologized to Gao Ting and Long Ming for her behavior. Despite this, Long Ming could notice a kind of amusement in his gaze, obviously amused by his daughter's misunderstanding.

"Don't worry, Patriarch Wu, it's normal for girls of this age to get so nervous about such matters," Gao Ting spoke provocatively, further annoying Wu Yuying. But this time, she said nothing, although her expression clearly showed how displeased she was.

"If old Gao doesn't mind, then we'll ignore this matter. Ying'er, introduce yourself to our guests. This here is Gao Ting, remember him? He was a blacksmith who worked with our family when you were still a baby, I owe a lot to him, as he was the one who forged my sword," with his father's words, the girl gracefully bowed in greeting to Gao Ting. Her father was very pleased with this and continued with his introduction.

"And this boy here is Long Ming. He's about your age, so why don't you take him for a walk around the residence? I bet you have a lot in common!" Wu Qinlao spoke subjectively, not caring to answer all of his daughter's questions. There was a sly smile on his face, thoroughly amused by his daughter's astonished expression because of this speech.

Long Ming looked at them astonished, unable to believe that two men old enough to be his grandfather could find amusement in a girl's misunderstanding. But he also didn't care to resolve Wu Yuying's misunderstanding, for a similar reason, although he wouldn't admit it to anyone.

"Ok, dad" she said depressively, looking at her father. Then she turned her gaze to Long Ming, who had by now stood up.

For the occasion, he wore a dark blue hanfu with some white parts, his hair was held with a silver clip, allowing his neck to be seen, which had a subtle scar caused by one of his fights in the past. In his hand, he held a beautiful fan, and on his back, he carried a bag where his twinblade was.

"Please take care of me, Miss Wu," after standing up, Long Ming looked at Wu Yuying and spoke formally. The girl also returned the look, staring at him deeply.

"Of course, please follow me," she said coldly as she looked away, possibly still annoyed at the prospect of marriage.

Long Ming sighed discreetly but preferred not to touch on this subject, at least for now.

As they left the building, they began to walk through the residence's courtyard. Yuying wasn't interested in acting as a tour guide, so she just walked straight ahead, while accompanying him. Long Ming decided to ignore it for now and observed his surroundings.

"The flowers are very well taken care of," he commented as he observed all the flowers that were neatly arranged around the stone paths. He could see various types of flowers, of the most varied colors. There were roses, sunflowers, dahlias, lilies, lotuses, and many others.

Wu Yuying didn't react to his comment, continuing to walk forward. Soon, they approached the training area for the third generation of the family's young members, who would be Yuying's peers.

They were all lined up in some rows and were performing the same movements with impressive synchrony, although it was possible to see those who couldn't keep up with the others. Furthermore, most of them were using a sword, which was not surprising since the Wu family was known for their swordsmanship.

"Wow, are these all the young people of the third generation? They seem quite talented," Long Ming commented exaggeratedly, trying to get the girl's attention. However, he was genuinely impressed by the training of these young people.

"Indeed, this current generation seems to possess more potential than the previous ones. Our ancestor even came out of his seclusion and praised the potential of the new generation. Furthermore, he even trained me personally upon noticing my potential," she replied proudly, not disguising her confidence in her techniques.

"Really? So you are the most talented of the current generation? That's incredible!" Long Ming responded, trying to use this as a hook.

"Well, I noticed that you were a little out of breath when you invaded the room, were you training by any chance?"

"That's right, I usually train every day in the backyard. However, just before I finished my morning training, my servant told me that another young master had come to try to ask for my hand," she said, looking dissatisfied.

"Another one, huh? So there were several young masters who tried to ask for your hand from your father?"

"Yes, it started when I participated in a meeting between the talents of the cultivator families and defeated all the others of my generation. This had been the first time I participated in an official event, normally I just stayed at home or walked around the city, but disguised. So when they saw me, many young masters were shocked by my appearance and started trying to ask for my hand in marriage. However, my father always rejected them, and they couldn't even get past the courtyard," as they talked, Long Ming and Wu Yuying got quite close to where the young people were training.

Realizing their approach, a man wearing a blue outfit approached them and greeted them: "I am grateful for your presence, Miss Yuying."

"And who would you be..." at this moment the man looked confusedly at Long Ming because he couldn't recognize him nor understand why he was accompanying Wu Yuying.

"He's a visitor, Elder Wu," Yuying responded, introducing Long Ming in place of himself.

"A visitor, is it? I don't remember expecting a visitor today," the man commented. He was Wu Feng, and he was the main trainer in the third generation of the family. According to Wu Yuying, he was the most skilled in the art of swordsmanship in the family, second only to some elders and the patriarch himself.

"The elder Gao and I came from far away, and we arrived in the city just today, so we didn't have a chance to announce our arrival. I apologize in advance if this causes any complications," Long Ming replied formally.

"Oh! Senior blacksmith Gao is here? Boy, do you have any relationship with senior blacksmith Gao?" Wu Feng asked excitedly. From his age, Long Ming theorized that he must have participated in the event that made Gao Ting known.

"That's right. Could I observe them training? I've heard many things about the Wu sword, so I'm quite curious about it," Long Ming said, diverting the conversation back to the sword art.

"Of course, but keep in mind that these young people are still learning, so you won't be able to perceive the full potential of our sword through them. Hm, Miss Yuying, why don't you make a little demonstration? I'm sure our young people, and even the guest Long, would be grateful to witness your skill," Wu Feng asked with interest, quite expectant that she would accept his request. Perceiving this, Long Ming assumed that she was even more talented than he initially believed.

"I would be grateful to share my understanding of the sword with my peers. Pay close attention, young Long, I'm sure you will be impressed," she affirmed confidently and with her usual pride when it came to her swordsmanship skills.

Long Ming nodded silently, quite intrigued by what she was going to show. Then Wu Feng stood in front of all those young people and revealed Wu Yuying's intention to demonstrate her skill.

Long Ming could hear words of admiration, interest, and even excitement coming from that group of young people, further increasing his anticipation. After that, Wu Yuying went to an arena located in that training area, for occasional duels, and unsheathed her sword. The moment the blade of her sword came into view of everyone, her entire posture, demeanor, and even her aura changed completely.

This abrupt change was felt by everyone, and Long Ming was even able to notice some young people holding their breath because of this change. At that moment, as she held her sword, Wu Yuying seemed like a tyrannical and oppressive person, whose sword would force any opponent to retreat and focus all their efforts on defending.

From what he remembered, the Wu's sword art was known for its aggressiveness and tyranny in combat, not allowing the opponent to break away from defense and being forced to retreat, even if there were substantial differences in physical strength or cultivation level.

After letting out a simple sigh, Wu Yuying raised her sword and took a step forward. Quickly, she covered several meters and performed a powerful diagonal cut, raising a gentle breeze for the spectators and provoking the sound of the air being cut.

In the next instant, she performed another diagonal slash, this time in the opposite direction, and abruptly stepped forward and performed a thrust.

Without making any pause, she cut upwards, then downwards, and successively to the left and right. After a spacious horizontal cut, she spun at a 180° angle and performed several quick, powerful, and aggressive strikes, without allowing the slightest opening or loss of rhythm. Even though he was just observing her, Long Ming felt overwhelmed, as if there wasn't much space to move or chances to counterattack, forced to defend or retreat hastily.

The presentation lasted for another two minutes, without showing many novelties beyond the initial movements. Long Ming was quite impressed and even excited by Wu Yuying's presentation, however, as time passed, he began to notice that there was something "wrong" with the presentation.

As he reflected on what it could be, Wu Yuying exited the arena, amidst applause and praise from the other young people. She wore a confident and proud smile as she returned to Long Ming and Wu Feng's side. Watching her approach, Long Ming finally understood what had been bothering him about the presentation.

"So, what did you think of our sword art, young Long?" she asked exultantly. Her face was shiny with sweat from performing that presentation, and her chest rose and fell constantly due to her heavy breathing.

"The Wu family is worthy of its fame, and Miss Yuying is certainly a great representative of this sword... but a tyrannical sword in the hands of someone who doesn't understand the need for tyranny will never utilize its full potential," Long Ming said the first part with a smile on his face, sincerely praising the Wu family. However, he commented the second part in a low voice so that only Wu Yuying, and inevitably Wu Feng since he was beside her, could hear. The girl seemed confused by the second part of his comment, but Wu Feng nodded slowly after a few seconds of contemplation.

"Watching your performance I was quite interested in seeing you fight, young lady Yuying," Long Ming commented happily.

"Anyway, can we continue our tour?", he asked then, as he extended his hand towards Yuying, to help her leave the arena. She accepted the friendly gesture and the two, after thanking Wu Feng, left that place.