Chapter 45: Sitting in a Row Watching TV
A girl in a red dress, with a Treasure Sword at her waist, was pacing back and forth at the main gate of the Ye Mansion.
"Haha, Xia Girl, what brings you here? It’s only been a few days. Did you miss me this much already?" Ye Xing boomed with laughter as he walked out from inside the mansion.
"Tch, you damn rogue! My lady sent me to get the batteries," the red-skirted girl said. "Now give them to me!"
"The batteries are in the living room. I didn’t bring them out," Ye Xing said with a shrug.
"Then go get them! What are you standing around for?"
"You come with me to get them. Why are you just standing there?"
"Can’t you just bring them out? I’ll wait at the gate."
"Once I go inside, I’ll be too lazy to come back out. If you want them, come with me!" Ye Xing said, then started walking toward the mansion’s living room.
"You—" The red-skirted girl huffed and followed him.
Inside the Ye Mansion living room, the little girl Qiao’er was sitting on the sofa watching TV. The movie *The Eagle Shooting Heroes* was playing, and its series of hilarious scenes made the little girl giggle uncontrollably.
Just then, Ye Xing walked in with the red-skirted girl, Xia Yan.
"Qiao’er, go get a few batteries from the drawer for this young lady!" Ye Xing said.
"Okay!"
The little girl obediently agreed and went to get the batteries.
"Huh? Why are there people inside your wall?" the red-skirted girl cried out, her eyes fixed warily on the television screen.
The living room’s LCD television was as tall as a person, making the figures on the large screen look almost lifelike. At that moment, *The Eagle Shooting Heroes* was playing. Onscreen, Ouyang Feng was grinning wickedly as he performed the Toad Skill. He was crouched on the ground, his cheeks puffing in and out, his body seeming to expand as a powerful Qi Force surged from him, kicking up sand and stones and sending fallen leaves flying wildly.
"Who is that man? Such profound Inner Strength!" The red-skirted girl’s expression grew incredibly solemn, as if she were facing a great enemy, and her right hand gripped her sword hilt tightly.
"Haha, what profound Inner Strength? The stuff on TV is fake. That surging Qi Force is just a fan blowing off-screen," Ye Xing explained with a laugh as he walked over.
Just then, Ouyang Feng finished charging up his Toad Skill. With a push of his legs, he leaped forward with shocking momentum.
"Watch out!" Xia Girl’s expression changed. She quickly pulled Ye Xing behind her, and with a SHING, her Treasure Sword flew from its sheath.
The Sharp Sword glinted coldly as it thrust directly toward the image of Ouyang Feng on the television screen.
"No!"
Ye Xing cried out in alarm, but Xia Girl’s Martial Arts was already superior to his, and her Sword Skill was incredibly fast. He had no time to stop her—and even if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to. He could already see his brand-new, high-definition television, which cost tens of thousands of yuan, being utterly destroyed by the girl’s single thrust.
’Tens of thousands of RMB! And it was a brand-new LCD TV, too! Waaah, this spendthrift!’ In his grief, Ye Xing turned his head away.
However, the expected sound of a shattering screen never came.
Curious, Ye Xing turned his head and saw that the sharp sword-tip had suddenly stopped just three to five centimeters from the television screen.
It turned out the scene on the TV had changed. Ouyang Feng had vanished from the screen, replaced by a different scene.
"Xia Girl, stop! The people on TV aren’t real! There’s nobody inside it! You can think of it like a picture—a moving picture..."
Seeing that his TV was not, in fact, scrap metal, Ye Xing was overjoyed and quickly launched into a long-winded explanation for Xia Girl. He really didn’t want her to get excited again and actually destroy the television.
After a full explanation that lasted for the better part of half an incense stick’s time, Xia Girl finally understood the purpose and function of this "television" thing. She was no longer so jumpy and instead grew incredibly curious, sitting down on the sofa to watch with Qiao’er.
As they got drawn into the movie’s plot, the two girls would often burst into unrestrained laughter at the hilarious scenes, completely forgetting their decorum. Ye Xing simply brought out a bag of melon seeds and joined them. The three of them sat there, cracking seeds and watching TV. It was a rather pleasant way to live.
The sun slanted west, and in a blink of an eye, it was dusk. The last rays of the setting sun gradually faded from the horizon as twilight fell.
"Patriarch, there’s someone at the gate for you!" Auntie Qiao said, running in.
"Oh, okay, I’ll be right out!" Ye Xing nodded, then said to Xia Yan, "Xia Girl, you don’t think your lady has come looking for you, do you? Are the batteries needed urgently?"
"No way. The MP3 player still has several bars of power. My lady just wanted me to get some batteries as spares; they’re not needed right away," Xia Girl replied before turning her eyes back to the TV, completely engrossed.
Ye Xing immediately left the living room and headed for the front gate. When he arrived, he saw a Little Maid in a green dress waiting there. It was the young girl, only fourteen or fifteen years old, with big, watery eyes and two small dimples that appeared when she smiled.
"Oh, little Chunyu, what can I do for you?" Ye Xing asked with a smile.
"Is Sister Xia here? She’s been gone for a long time, and my lady is worried. She sent me to ask if she was with you!" the Little Maid in green said.
"Oh, she’s here. She’s in the living room watching TV," Ye Xing said.
"Watching TV?" the Little Maid asked in confusion. "What’s a TV?"
"A TV is... uh, never mind. I’ll just take you to her," Ye Xing said, then led the green-skirted Little Maid into the living room.
Inside the living room, Xia Girl and Qiao’er were watching TV, cracking melon seeds, and roaring with laughter. The entire room was filled with the crisp, melodic sound of their giggles.
A historical costume comedy was playing on the television. For the people of the Martial Arts Continent, a film like this was their equivalent of a modern-day urban drama.
Soon, the Little Maid in the green dress had joined them. The three girls sat there, cracking melon seeds and watching TV, growing more and more captivated, showing no intention of leaving.
Seeing the three happy girls, Ye Xing felt a mischievous urge. After they finished the historical comedy, he immediately put on the tragic film *Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai*.
And so, the three girls were gradually drawn in. They were anxious one moment, tense the next, then worried, then angry. In the end, they were all crying their eyes out, utterly devastated by the story.
The moon climbed over the tips of the willow branches. It was now late at night.
Hazy moonlight spilled down, pouring through the windowsill and into the living room. Ye Xing and the three girls were still watching TV. The girls’ eyes were hazy with tears, their faces tear-streaked and beautiful, while Ye Xing remained expressionless. ’Inwardly, though, he was laughing nonstop, filled with a sense of mischievous accomplishment.’
"Patriarch, Patriarch! Someone’s at the gate for you!" Auntie Qiao ran in, panting.
"Oh? Someone else is looking for me? Who is it?" Ye Xing asked, a little listlessly. It was already late, and he had just been about to watch a couple more episodes with them before heading to bed.
"It’s a beautiful, an incredibly beautiful Snow-clothed Woman!" Auntie Qiao’s expression was one of amazement. She muttered, "Just so beautiful. I’ve never seen a girl that pretty before."
"Ah, it’s Miss Tantai!" A glint appeared in Ye Xing’s eyes, and he immediately ran out.