The man waited for Li Man'er to make her move, subconsciously feeling that as a man, it was not his place to strike first. Even in a duel, it was more appropriate to let the opponent have the first few moves.
Li Man'er remained still, standing with her hands behind her back, the abbot's tomb pagoda directly behind her. In the darkness of night, under the moonlight, her figure was half-immersed in shadow, half-revealed in the moonlight, giving her an extremely eerie appearance.
The man's feet shifted slightly, whether out of impatience or nervousness, it was unclear.
This was a psychological game; whoever lost their composure first had already lost half the battle.
A gust of wind blew, rustling the leaves on the mountain. The man could no longer hold back, his energy surged as he let out a roar and charged towards Li Man'er.
Li Man'er did not move. By the time the man reached her, he was already swinging his fist towards her face. Though the man was not tall, his hands were broad and large, his knuckles prominent, and his shoulders wider than average. It was evident he practiced external martial arts.
His punch was powerful and domineering, carrying a hint of fierce wind. If it had landed with full force on her face, it would likely have left a gaping hole, and she would have been lucky to survive.
Just as his fist was about to strike Li Man'er, she suddenly moved. She extended her hand and grasped his fist, stopping his punch dead in its tracks.
Such strength.
The man exclaimed inwardly, exerting all his might to push against Li Man'er's resistance. However, Li Man'er was as immovable as if her feet were rooted to the ground.
The man finally realized that his opponent's internal martial arts were honed to perfection. It was impossible to overcome her solely through brute force.
Without time to be surprised, the man quickly changed his strategy. He lifted his leg to kick at Li Man'er's lower body. Unexpectedly, Li Man'er had foreseen his move. She sidestepped, causing his kick to miss and disrupting his balance.
Li Man'er seized the opportunity, pushing his fist outward. She leaned back and delivered a kick to the man's chin. He executed a swift backflip to evade it. As soon as he regained his footing, Li Man'er's fist arrived. He hurriedly blocked it with his own, and their fists collided.
With a bang, the man stumbled back four or five steps. Once he stabilized himself, he looked at Li Man'er with shock, exclaiming, "How is this possible?"
He felt his entire arm go numb, and his entire body felt uncomfortable.
"My turn," Li Man'er said, and her figure moved. She was incredibly fast, leaping high into the air when she was still three or four steps away from the man.
The man's pupils contracted. He then saw the sole of Li Man'er's shoe coming towards him. He quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding it. Little did he know, Li Man'er had more in store. As soon as she landed, she closed the distance.
Close-quarters combat was Li Man'er's forte. Her Muay Thai techniques were swift and precise, her attacks never hesitant. She balanced power and agility, her knees and elbows striking with fluid, sharp force, leaving the man with only the ability to defend, not to counter.
He had never seen such bizarre moves. There were no flashy flourishes, only attacks aimed at vital points. Her footwork was unpredictable, making it impossible to guard against, and he took several hits before he knew it.
The man's mind was in disarray. The ten moves were almost up, and it was clearly Li Man'er who had the upper hand.
Distraction at this moment was fatal. Li Man'er saw her chance and delivered a spinning side kick to the man's shoulder blade. The man cried out in pain, his body flying backward. He slid nearly five or six meters before coming to a stop.
"You lost."
"Ah." The man sat up, clutching his shoulder, and chuckled, "Thank you, young lady, for holding back."
Li Man'er's kick had not used her internal energy; otherwise, his shoulder would have been crippled. His opponent's techniques were strange, and she was skilled in both internal and external arts. He had lost to someone like her, and it was not unjust.
However, the man was curious. How old could this girl be? She couldn't possibly have started training martial arts in the womb, could she?
"Since you lost, you must fulfill your promise."
The man nodded. "A true man stands by his word. Ten years? Are you serious about this, young lady?"
"I'm afraid you won't want to leave then."
The man stood up, as if talking to himself, or perhaps refuting Li Man'er's words. "After ten years, I'll only be in my thirties. That's prime time."
As the night grew late, Li Man'er didn't want to prolong the encounter. She said bluntly, "Go back and rest first. I will return to the capital tomorrow. You can wait for news here. Also, grow your hair back. I don't want you working for me as a monk."
The man nodded and, looking somewhat numb, followed Li Man'er down the mountain.
Zi Yan and Lu Yi had not slept, the two maids waiting anxiously. Seeing Li Man'er and the temple caretaker return, they hurried over. "Miss, are you alright?"
"What could be wrong?" Li Man'er replied. "Let's go back to the room and rest. We have to return to the capital tomorrow."
Lu Yi cast a wary glance at the temple caretaker. "What about him?"
"He will be serving your young lady from now on. Don't worry about him for now."
Zi Yan was somewhat surprised, thinking to herself that her young lady's actions were truly unfathomable, finding a monk to serve her.
Li Man'er waved her hand. "Go to sleep."
The two maids quickly followed her into the room and bolted the door.
The temple caretaker, rubbing his shoulder that was almost kicked to pieces by Li Man'er, left with a mournful expression.
The long night finally settled into complete quiet as a dark silhouette silently swept away into the distance.
An hour later, at the Ninth Prince's mansion, A Wu changed his clothes and reported the information he had gathered at the Yaowang Temple to Qi Yihan without omission.
Qi Yihan frowned. Last time, A Jiu had been caught off guard and thrown into a back alley by Li Man'er. He hadn't expected that she would recruit a follower during her visit to the Yaowang Temple this time.
"How was the temple caretaker's martial arts?"
"Not bad," A Wu said after some thought. "Not as good as Miss Li's."
"You said her moves were strange?"
"Yes."
Qi Yihan said, "Show me."
A Wu carefully recalled Li Man'er's moves and mimicked them.
Qi Yihan, having practiced martial arts for many years, immediately recognized the moves A Wu demonstrated as practical killing techniques, without a single wasted flourish.
"Your subordinate did not learn them perfectly."
Qi Yihan nodded. "It's not easy to master any martial art, let alone by just glancing at it a few times. Who is that temple caretaker?"
A Wu immediately said, "Your subordinate will investigate immediately."
"Rest first. We'll go tomorrow."
A Wu nodded, clasped his hands, and retreated.
Qi Yihan walked behind his desk, added water to the inkstone, ground the ink, and finally wrote a single character.
He seemed very satisfied with the character, and after setting down his brush, he gazed at it for a long time.
Li Man'er, how many more unknown facets did she possess? She could conceal her skills, write poetry, and practice martial arts. What else couldn't she do?