Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with a Chronicle of Tragic Love

Admitting defeat is definitely not an option.

If he concedes defeat, how will he fulfill his bet with Wang Xifeng?

How can we help Ping Guniang get rid of her slave status?

How then can the tasks on the Book of Love and Sorrow be completed?

But now that Miss Qin has spoken out, we can't deny her kindness...

With a quick glance, he put on a righteous and stern expression.

"I will forever remember Miss Qin's kindness. But today I am fighting for Xue Dalang. As the saying goes, 'He who eats the emperor's food must serve the emperor.' How can I let my personal grudges ruin Xue Dalang's important plans?"

The girl chuckled.

A man's mouth, a liar.

"Then what's the point of pleasantries? Let's make our move!"

The moment the word "recruit" was uttered, a small, bound foot in white cloth shoes landed squarely on Jiao Si's chin.

With a sudden, tremendous force, his jaw slammed shut, and Jiao Si fell backward.

Damn it, she changed her mind way too fast!

Jiao Si didn't rush to get up. Instead, he rolled to the side twice before standing up.

Looking back at the ground where she had been standing, she saw that Qin had kicked down, her toe leaving a deep footprint in the mud.

From the sidelines came Xue Dalang's complaints.

"They were talking peacefully for no reason, and suddenly they turned on me and kicked me. That Xie family girl has no sense of chivalry whatsoever!"

"Brother Feng, what's that saying again? 'Women are the most petty of all!'"

Feng Ziying turned her head away helplessly, pretending that she did not know Xue Pan.

Let's look at the field again.

Jiao Si looked at the other side with a wary expression.

To poke one's feet.

Similar to acupressure, except that the point of application of force is changed from the fingers to the toes.

Compared to fingers, it has lost some of its dexterity, but gained some strength.

As for why I know...

He planted the iron horse, then his right leg was raised across the air, his foot pointing towards the girl with the zither.

"Senior Sister Qin, may I ask for your guidance?"

A glint of light shone in the eyes of the girl playing the zither.

"Oh?"

"Uncle Xin said he'd take you as his apprentice, and I thought you'd be one of those pedantic students from the academy. What, he even taught you this skill?"

"Since you've called me 'Senior Sister,' I won't take advantage of you! Let's settle this right here on this foot!"

After saying that, just like Jiao Si, he struck a pose with his right foot out in the air, pointing in the opposite direction.

Xue Pan glanced at Jiao Si, then at the girl Qin.

I went back and forth several times.

I finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Brother Feng, look at their pose... Pfft, hahaha!"

"This doesn't look like a battle between masters at all!"

"It's clearly like a child playing tag!"

Feng Ziying pinched the bridge of her nose, making up her mind not to respond to his words.

He turned his head to look at the field.

Then you see these two people standing on one leg, circling back and forth in the center of the field.

It really does look like children playing around.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It was at this moment.

The two people in the arena leaped forward simultaneously and collided violently in mid-air.

In the blink of an eye.

Before the onlookers could react, the outcome was already decided.

only......

Is this pose really okay?

In the field, on the muddy ground.

The girl lay blankly on the ground.

Jiao Si held her hands firmly in place, and Jiao Si also wrapped his legs around hers, pinning her down.

If we disregard the fact that it's a martial arts contest to determine who's superior, just looking at this scene, it's actually quite... erotic.

"Jiao Si! You're shameless!"

"I'll let it go for the sake of you calling me 'Senior Sister,' and we'll agree to settle this with just a 'foot-stabbing' contest."

"Yet you shamelessly attacked and captured me, and even..."

The girl's voice trembled slightly, clearly carrying a hint of shyness.

The tone of voice was also much softer.

"And they even made such a frivolous move at me!"

"Let go of my hand!"

Instead of loosening its grip, Jiao Si pressed down even harder.

"Senior sister, it's not that I wanted to do this. I was just afraid of hurting you, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

"Besides, you yourself said you wanted to determine who was better by poking their feet, and I didn't agree to that!"

"I'll let go if you admit defeat, how about it?"

"Shameless thief, dream on!"

Qin gritted her teeth in hatred and struggled even more violently.

The masculine scent, mixed with sweat and dust, wafted into my nostrils, while Jiao Si's burning body temperature penetrated even through my clothes.

The girl was filled with shame and indignation, but a surge of anger kept her from surrendering.

Suddenly, she froze.

"Wh...what is that?!"

"what!"

"I give up, I surrender!"

"You little thief, let go!"

Jiao Si saw that the gong-bearer had already struck the gong, and then hurriedly let go and got up.

Now look at the girl with the zither.

Originally dressed in white with a light veil covering her face, she looked like a fairy. Now, covered in grass clippings and mud, she seemed to have fallen into the mortal world.

Even more amazing is...

Her cheeks were burning hot, as red as rosy clouds.

Even through the veil, one could see the faint red hue seeping through.

Their shame and anger are evident.

Jiao Si scratched his head, stepped forward, and was about to explain.

Then a white figure appeared before them.

Then came a sharp pain.

Clutching his hip, he curled up on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Shameless scoundrel, ungrateful wretch! I will avenge this humiliation one day!"

"I'll go back and ask Uncle Xin to settle this right away!"

Having said that, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, rose and fell a few times, and disappeared into the red maple forest.

There was initial silence from the audience, followed by bursts of cheers.

I thought it would be a boring scene of a man beating a woman.

Who knew that after watching two scenes of women teasing men, they would finally watch a scene of men beating... no, it should be a scene of men "playing" women, which was quite a treat for everyone.

Amidst bursts of laughter, Xue Pan was the loudest.

"Brother Jiao, what a ruthless way you've pressed the flower! Truly, pressing a peony into the ground—even in death, you'd be romantic!"

Feng Ziying couldn't help but chuckle. He walked over and helped Jiao Si, who was still curled up, to his feet. He shook his head and laughed, "Brother Jiao, you really got a thrilling bargain."

"Why don't we find a doctor to take a look at you? That last kick looked painful; we don't want it to cause any lasting health problems."

Jiao Si grimaced and it took him a long time to catch his breath.

"My two elder brothers, please stop teasing me... If it weren't for the need to win, why would I resort to such a desperate measure?"

"Who knew she... sigh!"

Xue Pan leaned closer, winking and making faces.

"have no choice?"

"When I saw you locking that girl up, you didn't seem helpless at all. That posture...tsk tsk."

As he spoke, he nudged Feng Ziying with his elbow.

"Brother Feng, don't you think so?"

Feng Ziying pressed his fist to his lips, coughed twice, turned his head away, but his shoulders shrugged slightly.

After a few rounds of banter, the two helped Jiao Si to a secluded spot to rest and await the next match.

Suddenly, a noisy commotion arose in the distance.

The sounds of swords clashing against armor, shouts, and sporadic cries mingled together.

The group looked around but saw no one.

Just as they were filled with fear, they saw a group of soldiers coming from the mountainside.

There were about twenty or thirty people, their armor gleaming and their swords drawn, hurrying along the mountain path, their eyes constantly scanning the forests on both sides.

The leading officer glanced at the three people under the tree, paused for a moment, and jogged over.

"Guo Wei from Meishan outpost greets General Feng!"

Feng Ziying quickly stood up to return the greeting.

"Lord Guo, what has happened?"

The officer surnamed Guo frowned, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

After a long pause, he hesitated before speaking.

"Upon receiving the message from Tianfu, a group of rioters has arrived from the north..."

"We are ordered to arrest this group of rioters and send them to Yingtian Prefecture for questioning."

Feng Ziying remained silent for a moment.

"Commander Guo, you've worked hard. If needed, you can always come to me for assistance."

Guo Wei repeatedly said he dared not, bowed, and then hurriedly led the team into the mountains.

After the formation had walked quite a distance, he gave a wry smile and looked at Xue and Jiao.

"The imperial court is truly in ruins now."

"We can't defeat the barbarian donkeys in the north, nor can we capture the Japanese pirates in the east."

"But they get all worked up whenever the topic of 'mobs' comes up all day long."

After saying that, he let out a soft sigh.

"Aren't you afraid that over time, the land of the Great Yi Kingdom will become a riotous inhabitant?"