Jing’er panicked. She sat down on the edge of the bed with a flushed face and was too shy to look up. Li Mu looked at her in confusion and asked, “What’s the matter with you? Why are you so embarrassed?”

“You’ve just recovered from a serious illness, so you’d better not have sex now. Can we do it a few days later?” She whispered.

Hearing this, Li Mu also got very embarrassed. What an anthomaniac! He did not want to have sex with her at all! Soon, Li Mu realized the male protagonist of this dream was a scum! Jing’er was still a kid, but he had already had sex with her. What a jerk!

Li Mu was so angry because he didn’t know this kind of thing was common in ancient times. Many young men of rich families were surrounded by pretty manservants or maids, who were also their sex partners. He said, “Jing’er, don’t think nonsense! I have something serious to talk about with you!”

Hearing his explanation, Jing’er became so ashamed that she wanted to disappear. Li Mu continued, “Jing’er, how is our relationship?”

After asking this question, Li Mu immediately regretted it because judging from her previous words, they must be very intimate. Soon, Jing’er covered her face with her hands and became too embarrassed to speak. Li Mu had to say, “Fine! I guess we must be very close!”

“Yes, we’re very close.” Jing’er said in a weak voice. Hearing this, Li Mu felt a little disgusted. He thought that things would become weirder and weirder if they continued to talk about this, so he quickly changed the topic and said, “I had a serious illness and had been in a coma for days, so I haven’t completely sobered up yet. And I forgot many things. Can you help answer my questions?” Jing’er suddenly became nervous, looked at him in horror, and asked in a trembling voice, “Have you forgotten the things between us? Do you still remember what you said to me before?”

“Huh? No, I didn’t forget our things! I remember my promises! Don’t worry! I will never go back on my words. Trust me!”

Hearing his ambiguous words, Jing’er looked at him with her eyes filled with confusion and said, “It seems you forgot what you said. But it doesn’t matter. You’re right. You had been in a coma for days, so I can’t blame you for forgetting our things. Please feel free to ask me questions. What do you want to know?”

Li Mu said, “Good. I hope you can tell me the truth. Don’t lie to me, okay?”

Jing’er nodded at him silently.

Li Mu thought for a moment before asking, “What happened between the Li Family and the Shan Family? Why were my grandfather, father, uncle, and brother all killed by the Shan Family?”

“Don’t you remember what happened?”

“Yes! If I had not forgotten, I would not have asked this question.”

Jing’er nodded, got up, poured him a glass of water, sat down beside him, and said, “The Li Family and the Shan Family have held a grudge against each other for generations. The grudge has continued to the present and many people of the two families have been killed by the people of the other side.”

“What is the fighting competition?”

“The competition is a custom that has continued from ancient times. The two families will have a fighting competition every 20 years. Your grandfather, father, and uncle were unfortunately killed by the Shan Family in the competition.”

“They were killed? The loser must die?”

Jing’er replied solemnly, “Yes. There is only one round in each competition and the fighter must be peers. The winner lives and the loser dies!”

Li Mu looked at her in astonishment. This was not a competition but a duel. Why did the two families hate each other so much? Was it really necessary to have a duel every twenty years?

Seeing his dull expression, Jing’er waved her hand in front of his eyes and asked, “What’s on your mind now?” “Nothing. I just can’t understand this whole thing. Do you know who started the hatred between the two families? What makes them fight each other endlessly?”

“There is no hatred at the very beginning. The ancestors of the two families had studied with the same master so they were very close to each other. But when they were drinking and discussing Taoism once, they had a conflict because they had different views. Neither of them could convince the other side so hatred had been generated over time. In the end, they have become sworn enemies.”

Hearing this, Li Mu felt shocked as if being struck by lightning. He looked at Jing’er in disbelief and kept still for a long time. Jing’er shook his arms again and again and asked anxiously, “Are you OK? What’s the matter with you?”

“Are you joking? I thought the hatred was started by a murderer. Is that really the reason? Isn’t it a mere trifle?”

“I didn’t lie. The cause was indeed a petty thing. But since people died in the conflicts, the hatred between the two families has become deeper and deeper and they can’t be reconciled now!”

Li Mu frowned, feeling contemptuous of the ancestors of the two families. It had been such a simple and small problem, which should have been settled by telling a joke. But it had made the two families fight for generations. Moreover, he seemed to be going to fight a duel with the person of the Shan Family because of the mistake of the fool ancestors! He felt it was ridiculous and boring!

Seeing Li Mu annoyed, Jing’er asked nervously, “Why are you unhappy?”

“I am not only unhappy but also very bored! Those two d*mned old men should not have gotten married or had children. They should have died without any offspring. Those two bastards didn’t deserve to have descendants at all!”

Jing’er was startled. And then she hurriedly ran to the door, opened it, and looked around. After confirming there were no other people around, she quickly closed the door, patted her chest, and let out a light sigh.

Li Mu was amused, so he said with a smile, “You overacted. I just said the truth. Why were you so scared?” Jing’er walked back, sat beside Li Mu’s feet, wrapped her arms around his calves, and said, “Don’t say such words anymore! If Madam Li and the ladies hear you say such words, they will definitely punish you severely! They may even beat you!”

“Hmph! I am not afraid of them! They are just a group of old... Well, let me continue to ask you questions. Do I need to fight the duel too? Who will be my opponent?”

Jing’er’s eyes flashed with sadness and then she said in a choked voice, “On the fifth day of next month, you will fight the duel on behalf of the Li Family. And your opponent will be Shan Tingyan, but...”

Jing’er couldn’t go on but began to cry, hunching over Li Mu’s lap. But Li Mu beamed with joy. The lovers in the previous dream became enemies in this one! He thought this arrangement was really good. Dueling with others would be boring. But dueling with Shan Tingyan must be interesting. They finally got the chance to turn against each other!

To tell the truth, he had been under some psychological pressure since the previous dream. Every time he entered a dream, he always encountered Bai Jing and Shan Tingyan so he was not sure whether they were real.

If they were imaginary characters, then there would be no problem. But if they were real people, he could not always be so intimate with them.

Li Mu thought that Bai Jing was easier to handle. His character had been either a male senior brother or a female maid. His roles were very different each time so Li Mu guessed he would not indulge in illusions.

But Shan Tingyan was different. Li Mu had married her twice. If he continued to play the role who loved her, he was afraid she would take it seriously. If so, things would become troublesome. It was good to have a chance to fight her. As long as he beat her up in the competition, she would definitely not fall in love with him. Li Mu couldn’t help laughing. He no longer despised those fool ancestors now. Instead, he was grateful to them. He even wanted to visit their graves to thank them.

Jing’er looked at him in shock and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? You look scary now. Are you sick again?”

Li Mu replied, “No! I was too excited just now. I am OK.”

Jing’er looked at him puzzledly, wondering why his attitude had suddenly changed. Li Mu was very happy because he had already known what the heart realm was! It was sadness! The two families had fought meaningless fights for generations at the cost of blood and tears! This was a huge tragedy. Figuring out what the heart realm was, he had also found the way to get out of here. In short, he must end the tragedy.

The rule was that the winner lived and the loser died, right? If he broke the rule and ended the tragedy, he could leave here smoothly. “Jing’er, can you do me a favor? Can you get in contact with Shan Tingyan?”

“Why do you want to contact her? She is a mortal enemy of the Li Family because she killed your brother.”

“She killed my brother?”

Jing’er nodded and said sadly, “That b*tch killed him by a scheme. The Li Family will never let her go!”

Li Mu was puzzled and asked, “Did it happen twenty years ago in the fighting competition? Is Shan Tingyan much older than me?”

“No, it happened two months ago. After your brother died, you were so sad that you got sick.”

The more Li Mu listened, the more confused he became. Wasn’t the fighting competition held every 20 years? Why had his brother been killed two months ago? When Jing’er saw his confusion, she explained, “The fighting competition is held every 20 years according to the rule made by our ancestors. But the two families often fight each other at ordinary times and there are also casualties!”

Hearing her explanation, Li Mu couldn’t help laughing, thinking the two families were really weird. Did they like to see family members die? The official rule was to hold a duel every 20 years but there were constant private fights between them at ordinary times. No wonder all the other men of the Li Family had died.

“I see. I know what I am doing. You just need to help me get in contact with Shan Tingyan. I want to meet her. Don’t worry. I won’t fight her. I just want to have a word with her.”

“Can you tell me what you want to talk with her about?”

“Shut up!” Li Mu flicked her forehead and said, “I have something serious to talk about with her! Hurry up and make an appointment. I need to see her as soon as possible!”

After driving Jing’er away, Li Mu lay down on the bed with his hands behind his head and his mind was full of nonsense. The next afternoon, Jing’er and Li Mu sneaked out of the house of the Li Family and came to a humble tavern. The tavern was not big. Outside was a shed and there were two small private rooms inside. Jing’er and Li Mu went straight to the innermost private room. After knocking on the door, they pushed the door open and went in.

A beautiful woman was drinking at the table and she was Shan Tingyan. Seeing them, Shan Tingyan frowned slightly and then she continued drinking as if nothing had happened.

Li Mu bowed and said, “Miss Shan, nice to meet you!”

Shan Tingyan said coldly, “Drop the act and get straight to the point! If you want to avenge your elder brother’s death, I am willing to fight you at any time.