The Veteran of Snark Meets Her Match

Miss Wang felt a chilling dread course through her body, as if she had plummeted into an endless ice cavern, simply from seeing An Yaozhen’s ‘wickedly cool’ smirk. A sudden warmth spread beneath her, her consciousness blurred, and she tumbled stiffly to the ground.

An Yaozhen spared only a glance for Miss Wang, who had fainted and whose lower dress was inexplicably wet, before dismissing her from her thoughts. She turned, walking towards Feiluo and Moxi.

“Eh?” Feiluo tilted her head in confusion, watching An Yaozhen approach.

‘Why is she coming towards us?’

Moxi, however, seemed to have anticipated this, showing no surprise.

“Oh, what rare wind has blown in this super busy person, who never steps outside, handles myriad affairs daily, and whose feet never touch the ground?” An Yaozhen stopped before Moxi, her sarcastic words flowing directly from her lips.

‘One listen, and you know she’s a veteran of snark,’ Feiluo silently grumbled in her heart.

Yet, she also understood something significant. Moxi and this An Yaozhen were likely acquaintances. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Moxi to stop her when Feiluo had previously intended to help her.

Just as Feiluo had surmised, Moxi wasn’t angered by An Yaozhen’s sarcasm. As if long accustomed to it, she merely stated flatly, “Nothing much, just accompanying my dear disciple to Luoxi City for some fun.”

Upon hearing this, An Yaozhen paused, momentarily stunned, before asking, “You’ve taken a disciple?”

“Indeed.” Moxi nodded, pulling Feiluo closer—Feiluo had been quietly listening to their conversation, trying to gauge their familiarity—and introduced her with an expression of pride and delight, “This is my cutest, most obedient disciple, Feiluo!”

“So young, yet already nearing a breakthrough to Soul Transformation!” She resembled a parent at a school meeting, proudly boasting about their child’s achievements, her eyes seemingly sparkling with light.

“Hmm…” An Yaozhen pinched her chin, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized Feiluo.

For some reason, Feiluo found this scrutinizing gaze rather irksome. The feeling came suddenly and inexplicably. Subconsciously, Feiluo didn’t want to continue being subjected to such scrutiny, so, as if unwilling to concede, she met An Yaozhen’s gaze.

An Yaozhen was startled, then met Feiluo’s eyes with a flicker of interest.

Brilliant, shimmering golden eyes confronted deep, icy blue ones, locked in a silent standoff, much like children in a game of ‘who blinks first loses,’ neither willing to yield.

Ultimately, this ‘blinking contest’ ended when Moxi, unable to watch any longer, placed her palm between their lines of sight.

“Why are you two acting like children?” Moxi looked at Feiluo and An Yaozhen, sighing helplessly.

“Eheheh.” Feiluo gave an embarrassed smile, expertly using her cuteness to get by.

When An Yaozhen had been scrutinizing her earlier, she had felt like a young wife newly brought to her husband’s home, being judged by her mother-in-law, feeling utterly uncomfortable. But if she had avoided the gaze, wouldn’t that have meant she conceded defeat?

If it were anyone else, Feiluo wouldn’t have cared; avoiding a gaze was no big deal, and whether one avoided it or not wasn’t related to winning or losing. Yet, upon meeting An Yaozhen’s gaze, for no apparent reason, Feiluo simply refused to yield to her.

Feiluo didn’t know where this feeling came from, but she followed her heart and confronted An Yaozhen’s gaze.

An Yaozhen looked at Feiluo, then at Moxi, her gaze finally resting on their clasped hands, which seemed unwilling to part.

She smiled meaningfully, then looked at Moxi and said, “…She suits you very well.”

“Of course! My obedient disciple and I are definitely a good…” Moxi proudly puffed out her chest, her ‘small hills’ becoming even more prominent, but her words were abruptly cut short by An Yaozhen’s next remark.

“After all, you’re so short, you definitely need a short disciple. If you had a tall disciple, it wouldn’t look good. Who would even know who was calling whom master then?”

Moxi and Feiluo’s faces simultaneously darkened.

Feiluo had initially felt a bit shy and happy about An Yaozhen’s earlier comment, ‘She suits you very well,’ much like a young wife accepted by her mother-in-law.

But An Yaozhen’s subsequent words made her clench her fists and grit her teeth.

‘This person’s words are so infuriating!’

‘It’s hard, it’s hard, my fist is hard.’

Yet, An Yaozhen seemed oblivious to the master and disciple’s expressions, continuing, “Ah, indeed, short people should be paired with short people. That way, the height difference looks comfortable.”

Feiluo could feel the force coming from the hand she was holding with Moxi, a clear sign that Moxi was also suppressing her rage.

Moxi released Feiluo’s hand, which she had been holding, and clenched her own into a fist, giving An Yaozhen a cold sneer.

An Yaozhen, oblivious to the approaching danger, continued talking to herself:

“Sometimes I really envy you shorties. You probably get discounts at many places where children get half-price… Bu-gah!”

In an instant, before Feiluo could even react, she only saw Moxi’s figure flash, appearing directly in front of An Yaozhen, then immediately delivering a fierce punch to An Yaozhen’s stomach.

An Yaozhen’s body arched like a cooked shrimp, her complexion turning from rosy to ashen. Clutching her aching lower abdomen, her expression clearly showed agony.

Moxi clapped her hands, as if to dust off non-existent dirt, appearing utterly satisfied.

Feiluo stared dumbfounded at everything, somewhat disbelieving if what she saw was still reality.

In the past, Moxi had always presented herself with an elegant, dignified, and graceful demeanor, like a well-bred young lady from a prominent family.

But this violent side of Moxi, she was seeing for the first time, and it truly shocked her.

Moxi exhaled contentedly, then turned her head and saw Feiluo’s surprised little expression.

She smiled, telling Feiluo, “Against this fellow, one must use such violent methods. Otherwise, her mouth would never stop, and besides, it makes one feel much more satisfied, doesn’t it?”

Feiluo nodded, indeed. Seeing An Yaozhen clutching her stomach, with “It hurts so much” written all over her face, Feiluo felt much better, as if a great weight had been lifted.

“You truly haven’t changed. Every time I hit a nerve, you like to punch me in the stomach like this. I really don’t understand if my stomach has offended or provoked you… Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more.”

An Yaozhen struggled to her feet, still wanting to throw out a few more taunts, but seeing Moxi raise her delicate fist again, she sheepishly stopped her incessant chatter.

‘Every time?’

Feiluo noticed the small detail in An Yaozhen’s words.

‘It seems this fellow must have been regularly beaten by Moxi like this before.’

‘Then again, with An Yaozhen’s mouth, it would probably be hard for her not to get punched.’

Moxi glanced at the still-noisy onlookers, and Miss Wang, who was still ‘playing dead’ on the ground, then said indifferently, “Your strange habit of playing the pig to eat the tiger hasn’t changed either.”

An Yaozhen shrugged and said, “It’s just a little hobby, that’s all.”