"You… Vanessa instantly backed away, crossing her arms over her body in wariness. The aura of a Rank-8 warrior slipped out of her body as her cheeks turned deep shade red. "You… you lecher… don't you dare have designs on me… I will rather kill you and commit suicide than give myself to your pleasure."
Qin Wei immediately raised his hand, "Wait a second, Lady. You misunderstood me. I didn't ask you to sleep with me."
She paused and looked back at him.
Qin Wei then said, his voice firmer and his gaze serious. "I was talking about the sparring session. I want you to train me. And we start it today..."
"Today?" Vanessa blinked. A flicker of surprise passed through her usually composed expression. Her heart flustered as she realized her blunder.
Qin Wei nodded. "Yup. The best way to suppress one's lust is to focus on something productive and exhausting."
She studied him for a moment, as if she wondered for a second whether there was any truth in her eyes, before nodding. "Understood. I'll wait for you in the courtyard."
As she turned around to walk away, Qin Wei shook his head with a chuckle, "She is strong but very easy to tease around." Stretching his body, he got down as he mumbled, "Well, let's start this training. I can't depend on anyone but myself to survive in this world."
A few minutes later, Qin Wei followed her out into the bright morning light.
Vanessa stood in the center of the courtyard, barefoot and poised. She motioned for him to come closer.
"To begin with, we'll go through foundation techniques."
"Foundation techniques?" Qin Wei raised a brow. "I asked for sparring, not breathing exercises."
"This is the Lord's arrangement," Vanessa said coolly, already moving into a sequence of flowing gestures. "You are not to engage in combat until your body is ready. These are not suggestions."
Qin Wei groaned. "Ugh…"
"Again," she said, motioning with her hand. "Stand like this. Knees slightly bent. Back straight. Good. Now breathe in and hold."
The next two hours were torturous.
His body, unused to rigorous training, fought against every stance, every form, and stretch. His arms ached from repetition, his thighs screamed from half-squats with weights attached to his legs and arms.
At one point, he nearly fell over trying to hold a posture for more than thirty seconds.
Vanessa, naturally, was merciless.
"Straighten your back," she said for the fifth time. "You're leaning forward again."
"I am straight," he growled through gritted teeth. "Damn… this chick is taking revenge on me… Didn't expect her to be so petty..."
By the end of the day, Qin Wei limped back to his bath like a broken man.
Steam rose from the wooden tub as he sank into it with a hiss. His entire body ached.
He leaned back, resting his head against the wooden edge with his eyes half closed.
"I wanted to see her techniques and copy them…" he muttered to himself. "Not… break my damn muscles… but it is fine. If these will give me muscles, then so be it. I need strength to handle her techniques anyway..."
A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. "Ugh… damn it… feels like that next day when I visited the gym and did a 2-hour workout...."
The bathwater sloshed slightly as he shifted, soaking in the heat.
For the first few minutes, Qin Wei continued to groan and make complaints over and over until he realized that the medicinal bath was working. The steam from the herbs and hot water had loosened his muscles, and the mild pain felt like a reward rather than a punishment by the time his bath was over.
"Okay, let's go out and have some fun."
Dressed in a simple dark robe and wearing a hat like a commoner, Qin Wei then stepped out into the streets of Ashenford in order to improve his mood. Meanwhile, Vanessa continued to tail him, walking a step behind. Like him, she was also wearing simple wear like a commoner in order not to attract any attention from the people. She was also acting like his sister, at his preference.
For a while, he strolled lazily, eyes flicking from one stall to another. Vendors called out with enthusiasm.
"Freshly roasted chestnuts for just 50 copper coins! Only 50 copper coins."
"Spicy noodles, five silver coins a bowl!"
"Sweet candied hawthorn! Only two for 10 silver coins!"
Qin Wei indulged a bit. He munched on skewered lamb and bought one for her too, followed it with a sticky rice cake, and eyed a bubbling pot of tofu soup before deciding against it on Vanessa's whisper... that the tofu seemed of bad quality.
He continued his street food tour around and was currently standing in the line to buy a pair of skewered lamb on Vanessa's recommendation, but a sharp voice disturbed his path.
"Come on, sweetheart, don't play shy with me now."
He turned to the source instantly.
A little ahead, by a stall that gave off the delicious scent of duck meat dumplings, a young woman stood rigid behind her counter. She was beautiful, but her face was clearly tense. Her hand was being held in a grip by a man dressed in embroidered clothes. He had a wide smile, and the lust was clearly visible on his face. Well, atleast in Qin Wei's view.
Qin Wei then snapped his gaze behind the noble.
Three armored guards stood behind the noble with their arms crossed, clearly enjoying the scene. They don't seem that strong, though.
Qin Wei frowned. "Let's go take a look," he said without hesitation.
Vanessa stepped beside him and said. "We don't need to get involved in everything we see, Master Icarus. It's a common occurrence in the streets."
"Too late," he muttered; he started walking already.
"Hey," Qin Wei said out loud as they reached the dumpling stall. "Leave her hand. Now."
The man turned toward them; his eyes swept over Qin Wei with obvious disdain, seeing his clothes and the lack of mana. "Hmm? A plainfolk commoner? Mind your own damn business, trash, unless you want to be left on the ground with broken bones."
The passersby stopped for a moment. Several pairs of eyes were on them.
Qin Wei's gaze then sharpened at that comment. Just as he clenched his fists, a faint chime echoed in his ears as a holographic screen appeared before his eyes.
*Ding!
[Emergency Mission Issued]
Objective: Beat up the bullies and save the damsel in distress.
Reward: 1 Talent Point per enemy you personally defeat or kill.
Qin Wei blinked. "A talent point per enemy? Aren't you quite generous, Aria?"
The system replied as swiftly as ever.
[The system is always generous, host. Now, if the host stops wasting time on conversing with the system, there is a girl who needs to be saved."
"Tch… whatever…"
Qin Wei crackled his knuckles as he stepped forward. "Hey, you bastard…"
"Hmm?" The man turned around once again, this time his facial expression turned ugly. "What did you say?"
Qin Wei loosened his arms as he said. "Someone like you who bullies the ladies on the street really deserves to be beaten up. I'll do that in your father's stead."
Clearly, his words infuriated the other party, and the nobleman shouted. "What are you lot looking at? Go and kill that trash."
Vanessa tensed and stepped forward. She was just about to release her Rank-8 Aura to stop them, but right then, Qin Wei made his move. He shut his eyes for a second; the world around him seemed like it had slowed down when he snapped open, revealing a radiant white eye and an obsidian black eye without any pupils. "Heaven's Eye, Activate."
He then stepped forward, then vanished in a blur, charging with sudden speed that caught even Vanessa by surprise.
"What…?" she muttered, blinking with her face frozen.
The four guards who were about to lash forward went into a defensive stance.
A guard stepped into Qin Wei's path, drawing a curved blade with a shout. "Ha!"
But Qin Wei mumbled, "Activate, Great Fireball skill."
His chest expanded a bit as a surge of violent heat surged from his belly to his throat.
And then, as he opened his mouth and roared, a sphere of flame burst from his mouth like a dragon.
*Boom*
It struck the oncoming guard dead-on before he could react, and a loud boom of explosion followed through the square, sending him flying across a stack of crates.
*Kyaaaa*
A few bystanders screamed and ducked behind stalls.
Vanessa took a sharp breath. "Fire element...? But didn't he use a light-based technique before?"
Suddenly, something clicked in her head. "Dual Element?" her voice quivered.