Chapter 80: A Terrifying Woman (3)

However, Li Danteng did not understand Ye Lang’s temperament. He thought he had intimidated Ye Lang and was quietly congratulating himself, though on the surface he maintained a calm demeanor and spoke with contempt, “Since you know who I am, let’s get this over with—duel with me! If you lose, you must break off your engagement with the Seventh Princess!”

“You really do live up to your name. I’m busy and don’t have time to play with you,” Ye Lang refused once again.

Name? What did he mean by that?

“Ye Lang, what about his name?” Zhen Xiaoyan asked, puzzled.

“Isn’t his name Danteng? It really suits him!” Ye Lang replied.

“... His name is Danteng, and you just said you’ve long heard of him—are you referring to the way you twisted his name?”

“Yes. ‘Danteng’ is something of a legend…”

The crowd fell into silence.

“Ye Lang, I challenge you to a duel, in the name of my grandfather!” Li Danteng was incensed. He had not expected that his earlier self-satisfaction would be turned into such a huge joke.

“Don’t go around invoking your grandfather’s name. You’ve already disgraced him enough. What an unfilial grandson!” Ye Lang shook his head, as if he were the grandfather himself.

“I challenge you to a duel to the death!” Li Danteng drew his sword, tossed it into the air, and let it fall, plunging it into the ground at an angle.

At his words, the entire scene fell silent. Everyone watched him and the sword stuck in the earth.

A duel to the death was extremely rare—a method chosen only by those with hatred as deep as the sea. As the name implied, both parties sought the death of the other; simply put, it was a fight to the finish.

In the past, such duels never ended until at least one person was dead.

Li Danteng was likely blinded by rage. He and Ye Lang were not yet at that level; in fact, he was already regretting it before the sword had even hit the ground.

At this moment, Zhen Xiaoyan exploded—

“Li Danteng, are you crazy? You’re already a level seven swordsman, and he hasn’t even reached level one! You want a duel to the death? Is your brain fried? And the rest of you—always challenging him to duels. He’s an alchemist, not a warrior or a mage! Don’t you feel any shame?”

“Fatty…” Ye Lang suddenly thought Zhen Xiaoyan seemed so imposing, like a shrew—no, like a heroine.

But soon, Ye Lang abandoned that thought, feeling the urge to kick Zhen Xiaoyan away.

“Everyone knows he’s a talentless good-for-nothing. Is bullying a loser all you people are good for?”

“...Fatty, why don’t you just drop dead?”

“What? I’m helping you, and you still insult me?” Zhen Xiaoyan protested, seemingly unaware that her words were rather misplaced.

“Helping me? You’re slapping me in the face, plain and simple! That idiot Danteng—fine, I accept your challenge! A duel to the death, is it? I’ll show you the true meaning of death!” Ye Lang puffed out his chest arrogantly.

No one had expected things to turn out this way, that it would be Zhen Xiaoyan who provoked Ye Lang into accepting the first real duel of his life.

Yes, the very first. The previous one hardly counted.

“Ah, you idiot! That’s not what I meant! How could you agree to this? How can you possibly win against him?” Zhen Xiaoyan, realizing what had happened, anxiously grabbed Ye Lang’s hand, trying to make him withdraw his decision.

“What’s done is done. Whether I can win or not, we’ll see,” Ye Lang waved her off, leaving behind a thoughtful silhouette and a crowd of stunned onlookers.

“Li Danteng, you’re finished!” Zhen Xiaoyan spat out this threat and hurried after Ye Lang.

Indeed, Li Danteng was done for—not because he was no match for Ye Lang, but because he had chosen such a method to force a duel.

For Ye Lang’s safety, some people would take action—measures even a Sword Saint could not withstand.

Even knowing Li Danteng would not dare to take Ye Lang’s life, those who cared for Ye Lang would allow no such risk.

...

“Son, are you out of your mind? Why are you accepting a duel to the death?” Ye Chengtian burst into Ye Lang’s courtyard, finding it crowded: Long Anqi, Ye Lanyu, the Seventh Princess, Zhen Xiaoyan, and of course, Ye Lang himself.

“Again? How many times do I have to say it…” Ye Lang looked at Ye Chengtian, forcing a wry smile.

“So, have you all asked him?” Ye Chengtian looked at Long Anqi.

“Of course! You think we’d wait for you to come back?” Long Anqi rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.

“What did he say?” Ye Chengtian asked.

“He said nobody should interfere. He wants to settle this himself and insists on an official duel!” Long Anqi frowned, clearly worried.

“A duel, my foot! Have you ever even held a weapon? Practiced magic? None of it!” Ye Chengtian roared. Others might not know Ye Lang’s situation, but they certainly did.

Ye Lang had never trained in battle aura or magic, nor did he even exercise. Who could believe he’d beat a swordsman, let alone a level seven one?

“I’ve held every kind of weapon! I’ve practiced magic too,” Ye Lang retorted.

“You have?” Ye Chengtian was confused—had he missed something?

Bang!

“Ow…” Long Anqi smacked Ye Lang on the head. “By ‘held’ he means literally just holding. As for ‘practiced’—he’s tried, just never succeeded!”

“…”

“That’s not true! I really have practiced magic. How else would I do alchemy? Don’t treat me like I’m made of porcelain—I’m a man!” Ye Lang protested.

“Enough! Let’s get serious. Why would you accept a duel to the death? You’ve turned down every other duel—why accept this one?” Ye Chengtian asked, baffled.

“Because I want to prove I’m not a good-for-nothing, that I do have some skills!” Ye Lang suddenly produced two brushes from somewhere, brandishing one in each hand.

“…”

“Stop fooling around. I need to speak with Senior Li and get this duel canceled. Otherwise, even if he’s the first Sword Saint himself, I won’t give him face,” Ye Chengtian said, his imposing aura flaring.

“Husband, I support you!” Long Anqi said dreamily.

“Dad, I support you too!”

“Enough, both of you! Don’t interfere. This time, I want to fight for real. Just trust me once—I’ll defeat Danteng without a scratch and make him regret ever crossing me!” Ye Lang said seriously.

“Regret? Regret what?” the Seventh Princess asked, confused.

Zhen Xiaoyan’s face turned red; she too had once asked Ye Lang that question.

———

As for the soup question, let’s reveal the answer: actually, it’s about boiling a spoon in salt water for several days. Compare the soup made with the boiled and unboiled spoons and you’ll notice a difference! I once read about this in a book on Pu Songling. Pu Songling also had a trick for slicing a raw egg with a heated knife—many of you may know that one, and it’s even been mentioned in a TV drama…