Chapter 562: Chapter 561 A Bit of Regard
Bai Ling stepped out of the room and headed straight for the back courtyard to find Liu Zheng.
Liu Zheng’s residence covered an extensive area, with many surrounding buildings, so Bai Ling could only walk and search for Liu Zheng at the same time.
"Big sister, are you looking for the master for something?" asked a maid upon seeing Bai Ling, as she had been looking for Liu Zheng these past days, so she knew Bai Ling was his disciple.
"I have something to discuss with father, you go ahead and announce my arrival," Bai Ling responded indifferently upon hearing the maid.
"Yes," the maid nodded and quickly ran towards the back courtyard. Seeing this, Bai Ling followed her to the main hall of the back courtyard.
As soon as Bai Ling entered the hall, she heard Liu Zheng’s stern voice, "Speak! What have you come to me for?"
"I..." Bai Ling was just about to speak when Liu Zheng interrupted her.
"When you were my disciple, I might have given you a little face-saving courtesy, but now, you are no longer my disciple. There’s no need for such polite relations between master and disciple. I hope you can speak directly to the point without beating around the bush," Liu Zheng’s tone carried a hint of impatience.
"Master..." Bai Ling frowned upon seeing Liu Zheng’s attitude, feeling somewhat heartbroken. She knew that Liu Zheng must have no wish to acknowledge her as his disciple. But she really couldn’t accept it; ever since she was young, she had longed for a father, for a warm home, and in this world, only Liu Zheng could make her feel warmth and safety.
"Don’t call me master! I can’t take it!" Liu Zheng’s face darkened with dissatisfaction when he heard her.
"Why? I don’t understand! Why won’t you recognize me as your disciple! Is it because you didn’t love my mother?" Bai Ling asked with a frown upon hearing what Liu Zheng had said.
"Humph!" Liu Zheng snorted coldly, without saying a word.
"Are you afraid that my cultivation speed will surpass you, threatening your position in the Mo Family, is that why you ignore me? I can tell you plainly, don’t worry, I won’t! I’ll only work harder and better! I will never threaten your position in the Mo Family!" Bai Ling said coldly, looking at Liu Zheng’s expression, and then turned to walk outside.
Seeing this, Liu Zheng frowned, but he thought to himself, "How does this girl know that I’m afraid she’ll surpass me? Could she really threaten me?"
"Humph!" Liu Zheng sneered inwardly and turned to leave, refusing to bother about Bai Ling anymore.
"Liu Zheng, are you secretly calling me a fool in your heart?"
Bai Ling spun around fiercely just as Liu Zheng walked out the door and yelled at him angrily.
Liu Zheng was taken aback, not expecting Bai Ling to somehow know his thoughts.
"Since you know, then why do you keep pestering me?" Liu Zheng said coldly.
"Because I like you, I want to marry you and be your wife, don’t you want that as a master?" Bai Ling questioned Liu Zheng coldly as she looked at him.
"You... what did you say? You said you like me?!" Liu Zheng asked in disbelief.
"What? Don’t believe me? Then I will prove it to you!" Bai Ling said, and started walking toward Liu Zheng, wanting to prove her sincerity.
Liu Zheng took a step back upon seeing this.
"Liu Zheng, are you afraid?" Bai Ling asked with a sneer, seeing Liu Zheng stepping back. She hadn’t expected Liu Zheng to be such a coward. It seemed she had underestimated him.
Upon hearing Bai Ling say he was afraid, Liu Zheng snorted coldly, "Since you say so, let’s test it then!"
"How... how do you want to test?" Bai Ling frowned upon seeing this, not expecting Liu Zheng to agree so readily, which made her somewhat incredulous.
"Didn’t you say you wanted to beat me? Come with me to a place," said Liu Zheng coldly, looking at Bai Ling.
"Which place?"
"You’ll know when we get there," Liu Zheng said. After finishing, he walked toward the door and then disappeared from Bai Ling’s sight.
Bai Ling, watching Liu Zheng’s retreating figure, couldn’t help but freeze. What... what did Liu Zheng mean by that? Could it be that he really agreed to let her compete?
Bai Ling was somewhat unclear about the situation, so, without any hesitation, she followed after him.
"Liu Zheng!"
"Hmm?" Hearing Bai Ling call his name, Liu Zheng halted his steps and turned to look at her, wondering what she wanted.
"Why did you agree to compete with me?" Bai Ling couldn’t help but frown and ask.
"I only said I would compete with you. I never said that I’d let you win," Liu Zheng said coldly, looking at Bai Ling.
"But... but you clearly agreed to compete with me..."
"When did I say that? Are you perhaps thinking too much?"
"But..."
"Alright, let’s go," Liu Zheng said as he started walking toward the doorway again, with Bai Ling watching him leave and then quickly following after. However, what she didn’t understand was why Liu Zheng had suddenly changed his mind.
Liu Zheng was walking ahead, but when he noticed that Bai Ling wasn’t following, he couldn’t help but stop and wait for her. He was curious to see what this girl intended to do.
Seeing Liu Zheng stop, Bai Ling quickly walked over. Yet, when she reached his side, she couldn’t help but frown slightly. Why was Liu Zheng always keeping such a distance from her?
"Why aren’t you coming over?" Seeing her reluctance, Liu Zheng couldn’t help but snort coldly.
"I’m not comfortable with being too close. Please forgive me, Master," Bai Ling said, then moved to walk on the other side.
"Hmph!" Seeing this, Liu Zheng just snorted coldly and continued walking ahead.
"Master!"
Seeing this, Bai Ling hurriedly ran up and stood in front of Liu Zheng. "Master, can’t you just get along well with me? I just like you, that’s all. I really mean no harm. You can rest assured, as long as you are willing to marry me, I won’t bother your life in the future. You don’t have to worry about me bothering you. I promise!" Bai Ling said, raising her hands in pledge.
After Bai Ling finished speaking, she noticed Liu Zheng remaining silent and couldn’t help but look up at him.
At this moment, Liu Zheng no longer wore an expressionless facade. Although he was still not one to smile or chat freely, his eyes looking at Bai Ling weren’t cold anymore, and there seemed to be a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Relieved at the sight, Bai Ling heaved a sigh of relief. She had been truly afraid that her earnest feelings would end up repelling Liu Zheng.
"Good! Then let’s have a sparring session today to see who’s stronger," Liu Zheng said, and started to walk toward the open space ahead.
Bai Ling quickly followed him.
As the two of them reached the center of the open space, a slight tension gripped Bai Ling’s heart. After all, she knew that Liu Zheng’s strength surely surpassed her own. If she lost to him, what would her path be in the future?
Bai Ling looked at Liu Zheng, her eyes full of unwillingness. But what could she do about this unwillingness? After all, Liu Zheng had already said he wouldn’t let her touch even the hem of his robes—what could she possibly do?
However, Bai Ling didn’t know what the outcome of the competition would be. Since it was unlikely that Liu Zheng would let her touch him, she couldn’t be sure if she would lose.
"Are you ready?"
