Chapter 173: A Man’s Self-Esteem

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Shentu Xue saw Leng Yuewu standing there stunned. She thought she had frightened the other woman and became even more conceited. She let go of Lei Qing, held the whip in her right hand, and placed her left hand on her hip. She truly had the figure and appearance of a delicate, young woman next door, yet her demeanor looked exactly like a fierce shrew: “Leng Yuewu, if you don’t want me to scream a few times and have everyone come to watch you, you better stay put like a good girl.”

Turning around, she looked at Lei Qing with a face full of concern and said: “Lei Qing, how are you? That shrew… woman, how badly did she beat you? Don’t worry, as long as your sister is here, she won’t dare to do anything to you. People like her from the righteous path care most about their face. Come, let your sister check your body for you.”

After saying this, this grandma Shentu Xue habitually reached out her rough hands, feeling and grabbing at his body all over.

Lei Qing’s face froze, and he bitterly smiled to himself. Was she really checking my injuries, or was she taking the opportunity to grope me? Usually, if you grabbed me or joked around, it would be fine. But now Fairy Leng Da was present? Lei Qing guessed that she thought she had intimidated Leng Yuewu and wanted to provoke her just for fun.

But she didn’t know that if Leng Yuewu and Lei Qing had no relation, and she had really only come to win the bet for her disciple, she would at most just get angry. However, Leng Yuewu was clearly not a good-tempered person. Moreover, after experiencing her first sweet and intimate moment with Lei Qing and tasting a sweetness she had never felt before, how could she tolerate such a sand in her eyes?

Immediately, anger flared up in Leng Yuewu’s eyes. She shouted lowly, “You’re asking for death,” and directly slapped her hand at Shentu Xue.

Lei Qing, enduring his injuries, hurriedly stood up and blocked in front of Shentu Xue: “Fairy Leng, calm down. Sister Shentu is actually not a bad person at heart; she just likes to joke around and play.”

Leng Yuewu would never actually hit Lei Qing with a palm, but seeing him protect Shentu Xue so fiercely, her face turned ice cold. She glared sharply and scolded: “She insults me like this, and you still protect her? Lei Qing, move aside, or I’ll beat you too. Let her scream if she wants. Even in front of Xiahou Huan, I will teach her a lesson.”

“Fine, if you dare to teach your mother a lesson in front of the entire Iron Cavalry Regiment, I’ll accept it,” Shentu Xue sneered stubbornly: “But who knows what words will pop out of my mouth then?”

Lei Qing shivered. When these women got angry, it was really hard to control. This was only three of us, let alone gathering the whole Iron Cavalry Regiment to watch. This was already enough to give him a headache.

“Enough, all of you shut up!” Lei Qing shouted angrily, then immediately cried out in pain, clutching his chest. His face turned pale and ghastly.

As expected, neither Leng Yuewu nor Shentu Xue had the mood to fight anymore. Both showed panic and worry in their eyes. They stepped forward one by one, supporting Lei Qing from left and right, and held his wrist.

They each injected a stream of Fighting Qi into Lei Qing’s body.

“Lei Qing, how are you?” Leng Yuewu said with some guilt and worry in her eyes.

“Leng Yuewu, stop being hypocritical,” Shentu Xue exclaimed angrily: “If Lei Qing is in this state, isn’t it because of your beating? You, the Palace Master of the Moon Cold Palace… Eh? Wait… ” Her jade nose sniffed heavily twice, and a confused expression appeared on her face.

Lei Qing thought to himself that it was bad. The two women were now too close to each other, and it was going to be a disaster.

As expected, Shentu Xue’s expression became suspicious. She muttered to herself: “This unique scent is so familiar. It left a deep impression on me. Right, this morning…”

Suddenly, Shentu Xue’s expression became extremely colorful. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she stared blankly at Lei Qing, then at Leng Yuewu.

Leng Yuewu didn’t understand why, and felt uncomfortable under her gaze. But now she was concerned about Lei Qing’s injury and had no time to pay attention to her. Instead, she focused on injecting Fighting Qi into Lei Qing’s body to heal him.

Shentu Xue finally became obedient. She sat aside and watched Leng Yuewu heal Lei Qing with great interest. Lei Qing sighed bitterly inside. All that suffering earlier was for nothing. Who would have thought that Shentu Xue would verify the connection between herself and Leng Yuewu based on the unique scent she smelled that morning?

Most importantly, for some reason, the unique scent on Leng Yuewu was very special, with a refreshing taste. It might be easy to deny, but it was hard to fool Shentu Xue. Women’s intuition was sometimes terrifying. Once suspicion arose, it was even harder to deceive.

Sigh~ Lei Qing sighed lightly in his heart and began to think about how to calm Shentu Xue down and keep her from spreading this news. He himself didn’t mind, as his reputation was always bad anyway. He was only afraid of affecting Leng Yuewu’s life and tarnishing her glorious reputation.

Actually, Lei Qing wasn’t seriously injured just now; he was mostly pretending. After Leng Yuewu treated him briefly, he felt much better.

He hinted for Leng Yuewu to let go of him. With a bitter expression, Lei Qing cupped his hands towards Shentu Xue and said: “Sister Shentu, I have always respected and revered you like an elder sister. Please show mercy to me today regarding this matter. Do not spread this outside.”

“Giggle, giggle,” Shentu Xue laughed charmingly. Her peach-blossom eyes scanned back and forth between Lei Qing and Leng Yuewu: “I didn’t expect it, really didn’t expect it. Even if you broke my head, I still couldn’t believe it. The Palace Master of the Moon Cold Palace, Fairy Leng, actually has a thing with you. Lei Qing, you are awesome.”

Leng Yuewu’s slender body trembled. She realized where she had shown her weakness and that this woman had truly discovered her relationship with Lei Qing. Her heart fluttered with a slight panic.

If her relationship with Lei Qing was exposed, it wasn’t so much that she feared her reputation being ruined. It was more that she was afraid she couldn’t face Shan Shan. She had spoken ill of Lei Qing to Shan Shan many times to prevent Shan Shan from developing a deep connection with him, which would make the situation tangled and hard to resolve.

But if her relationship with Lei Qing was exposed, what would Shan Shan think of her Master? You had to know that Shan Shan always respected, loved, and trusted her without reservation. And she treated Shan Shan like a daughter or a sister.

However, if Shan Shan found out about her secret calculations, she would surely be desperate and hurt.

“Alright, Sister Shentu,” Lei Qing chuckled nervously: “Considering that we get along well in the past, please spare me this once. Fairy Leng has thousands of admirers, many of whom hold high positions and have strong strength. Sister Shentu, you don’t want my enemies to be everywhere, do you? I don’t want to be chased and killed wherever I go?” Although he said so, Lei Qing didn’t really mind this. He already had enough enemies, and adding a few more didn’t matter. He was used to being chased anyway. He only feared that Leng Yuewu would be implicated by him, becoming infamous and ashamed.

“Since Little Lei has said so, I, as the elder sister, naturally won’t make things difficult for you,” Shentu Xue, who was essentially a loyal and righteous person, waved her hand and said: “I will try to keep my mouth shut. Of course, occasional loose talk after drinking is another matter. Even if I say it then, no one will believe it.”

Lei Qing felt relieved, cupped his hands, and smiled: “Then thank you, Sister Shentu, for keeping the secret.”

“Don’t be too happy too soon. Helping you keep the secret comes with conditions,” Shentu Xue chuckled charmingly: “How about this? My legs are a bit tired. Come massage them first, and I’ll talk to you slowly.”

Leng Yuewu’s eyes flashed with anger, and she was about to speak when Lei Qing caught her hand and gently patted it twice to signal her to be quiet. Lei Qing said with a troubled expression: “Sister Shentu, playing games like this isn’t very proper, is it?”

“What? Fairy Leng is a woman, and I, Shentu Xue, am not?” Shentu Xue looked at him with her peach-blossom eyes: “Why can Fairy Leng, such a fairy, seduce men, but I can’t? Fairy Leng is beautiful, but am I, Shentu Xue, not good-looking?”

Lei Qing had vaguely heard some things about her past. It seemed she had a fiancé, but before they got married, that man feared her like a tiger. Perhaps because the oppression was too severe and he was hopeless about their future life, the man cruelly tricked Shentu Xue out of a large sum of money, claiming to do business, and then ran away with a woman whose appearance was far inferior to Shentu Xue’s.

Lei Qing wasn’t very clear about the specifics. He only knew that this incident seemed to have caused a huge impact on Shentu Xue’s mind. It also promoted her to join the Iron Cavalry Regiment, making her behavior extremely eccentric. However, the Iron Cavalry Regiment, this big family, made her gradually feel brotherhood and a sense of belonging, and her temperament improved a lot in these years.

But this matter, no one dared to mention it in front of her. It was only a couple of days ago, when she had a duel with Batu, that someone brought it up and cursed her for it.

Lei Qing’s face slowly became serious and earnest. He said somewhat coldly and angrily: “Sister Shentu, I usually respect and value you. I have not treated you with even a hint of disrespect. Fine, massaging legs, right? If you make any request of me today, I will satisfy you. But you must swear not to speak of today’s events. After tonight, we will cut our robes and sever our friendship, becoming like strangers.”

“Lei Qing, you~” Shentu Xue’s expression changed. She said in panic and anger: “You… you want to cut ties with me? In what way am I inferior to this Fairy Leng? Why do you men always give up on me for other women?”

“Shentu Xue,” Lei Qing looked at her with some sympathy. However, his eyes were firm as he said: “I am a man. I can respect and value you. But this doesn’t mean I am a ball of dough that you can knead at will. I have my own persistence and beliefs. I can give up everything for the woman I love, even at the cost of my life. If you ignore a man’s self-esteem, your life will only be a tragedy.”

Shentu Xue’s body shook violently. She was angry and unwilling, but mostly confused and perplexed.

“Lei Qing,” Leng Yuewu’s cold hand gently held Lei Qing’s hand back. She whispered softly: “I don’t want you to be coerced and insulted by this woman. I will personally announce our relationship to the whole world.”

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