Cheng Mo turned his head and saw two children standing outside, carrying a soft sedan chair. There was a white haired youth sitting on the sedan chair. The youth’s skin looked dry, dull and wrinkled and the corners of his lips were drooping downwards. When his cold gaze landed on Cheng Mo, he brought his hand to his mouth and coughed softly. Cheng Mo moved to the side and gestured for them to pass: “Please go ahead.”
The youth waved his hand and the two children lifted up the soft sedan chair and passed by the three of them. Cheng Mo saw the two children carry him all the way to a round table in the corner. There were already four or five people seated at that table, and they all stood up to make way for them. The children rested the sedan chair on two stools and stood to the side. Cheng Mo furrowed his brows slightly and heard someone next to him say: “The immortal doctor, Qin Fangchuan. I didn’t expect the Jiang family to invite him as well.”
Cheng Mo turned around and saw that the person who spoke was none other than Ling Xiaolu’s senior brother, Qingcheng master’s disciple Yu Xiaoshan. He quickly cupped his hands and said: “Yu xiong1, I didn’t think I would see you here.”
Yu Xiaoshan smiled mockingly, stretched and said: “It’s a long story. Cheng xiong, sit down first, I’ll tell you what happened after we eat.”
Cheng Mo answered: “Okay.”
He followed Yu Xiaoshan to the round table next to him; as he walked, he turned back to glance at Qin Fangchuan again, only to see that he was already looking at him. Qin Fangchuan’s slender triangular shaped eyes reflected a cold light before it slowly moved away from him. The three of them sat with Yu Xiaoshan and Ling Xiaolu. There were three to four other youths at the table, they stood up and greeted the three of them: “I didn’t think that Leader Cheng would be here too.”
Cheng Mo knew that he was not welcome here, so he just returned their greeting with a smile and did not speak further. Naturally, those people would not gossip about him in front of him, so they turned to talk about Qin Fangchuan who had just arrived, saying: “That Qin Fangchuan looks like a sickly ghost, if the Jiang family’s Miss marries him, wouldn’t she just be waiting to become a widow?”
Another person said: “Yes, I don’t know how they sent the invitation letters and even invited someone like him.”
Someone beside him chimed in: “The Jiang family is not finding someone for their daughter to marry, they are just selling her. What martial arts competition to compete for her hand? It would be better to say whoever can kill Hui Ji would be the Jiang family’s son-in-law!”
Cheng Mo listened to their discussion and Yu Xiaoshan who was next to him said softly: “The moment Leader Cheng arrived, most of the people present all felt that there was no hope. With you here, it is destined for people to speak ill of you.”
Cheng Mo laughed: “I thought that the majority of the people were just here to watch the festivities, I didn’t think that there would be so many people serious about competing for marriage.”
Yu Xiaoshan said in surprise: “Of course they want to get a wife, who wouldn’t want to marry a beauty with a generous dowry?”
Cheng Mo replied: “I thought that everyone would be worried about gaining Hui Ji as an enemy…”
“In the end, Hui Ji is just a legend. He has disappeared from the Jianghu for ten years now and no one has seen him. All these young people have only heard of his name but have never seen him. Even if you say that Hui Ji is very strong, they all think that they could be his opponent.”
Hearing this, Cheng Mo thought about the fight between him and Hui Ji, where he was suppressed by his powerful internal force and was unable to fight back. He could only shake his head helplessly, thinking that amongst the people present, perhaps only Zi Xiao would have the strength to compete with him.
Cheng Mo asked Yu Xiaoshan: “Is Yu xiong1 also here to marry a wife?”
Yu Xiaoshan chuckled: “I was driven here by my master and I brought Xiaolu to come have a look. If my wife is too beautiful, I would not feel comfortable. I think it’s better to not have her as my wife.”
Cheng Mo laughed at his response. Soon, servants brought their food and they were all exquisite dishes, including abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw; all seafood delicacies. It was just that Zi Xiao was a vegetarian and he was not interested in the dishes provided, he just ate a plain bowl of rice. Cheng Mo also knew that he did not like these noisy places and he was just here because he wanted to accompany him. Cheng Mo felt sorry for Zi Xiao and whispered: “Sorry.”
Zi Xiao shook his head and set down his bowl: “It’s fine.”
After they had dinner, the host still had not appeared to welcome them, so everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Ling Xiaolu and Yu Xiaoshan went to Cheng Mo’s room to chat. Yu Xiaoshan said: “Even Leader Cheng has not met the Jiang family. I don’t think they are arrogant, but I’m not sure what they are planning.”
“What are they planning?” Cheng Mo asked as he served tea to everyone.
Yu Xiaoshan rubbed his chin as he contemplated: “It’s not nice to say. I always feel that the Jiang family is not actually sincere in marrying their daughter off. You see, even someone like Qin Fangchuan was invited, what do you think the Jiang family wants? If they really marry their daughter to someone like that, she would basically be a widow regardless if he is alive or dead.”
Ling Xiaolu asked curiously: “Why?”
Yu Xiaoshan pushed his head: “Don’t ask, children won’t understand.”
Xue Tinghua was sitting to the side and he suddenly said: “There are still three days until the date written on the invitation, at that time it would be impossible for the Jiang family to not show up.”
Cheng Mo nodded: “It’s better for us to stay calm and see what tricks they have planned.”
Zi Xiao was seated at the side with his eyes closed as he meditated. He slowly opened his eyes and asked: “Three days?”
Cheng Mo asked: “Is something wrong?”
Zi Xiao shook his head: “I have something to do, I will be back in three days.”
Cheng Mo asked worriedly: “Is it something important?”
Zi Xiao said: “No, I’m just meeting an old friend. Three days is enough time for me to make a round trip.”
Cheng Mo asked: “How about I come with you?”
Zi Xiao looked at him: “No need, you can stay here.”
Zi Xiao left before dawn and Cheng Mo and Xue Tinghua stayed at the Jiang family estate.
1兄 (xiong) is another way for men to address another man.
Cheng Mo turned his head and saw two children standing outside, carrying a soft sedan chair. There was a white haired youth sitting on the sedan chair. The youth’s skin looked dry, dull and wrinkled and the corners of his lips were drooping downwards. When his cold gaze landed on Cheng Mo, he brought his hand to his mouth and coughed softly. Cheng Mo moved to the side and gestured for them to pass: “Please go ahead.”
The youth waved his hand and the two children lifted up the soft sedan chair and passed by the three of them. Cheng Mo saw the two children carry him all the way to a round table in the corner. There were already four or five people seated at that table, and they all stood up to make way for them. The children rested the sedan chair on two stools and stood to the side. Cheng Mo furrowed his brows slightly and heard someone next to him say: “The immortal doctor, Qin Fangchuan. I didn’t expect the Jiang family to invite him as well.”
Cheng Mo turned around and saw that the person who spoke was none other than Ling Xiaolu’s senior brother, Qingcheng master’s disciple Yu Xiaoshan. He quickly cupped his hands and said: “Yu xiong1, I didn’t think I would see you here.”
Yu Xiaoshan smiled mockingly, stretched and said: “It’s a long story. Cheng xiong, sit down first, I’ll tell you what happened after we eat.”
Cheng Mo answered: “Okay.”
He followed Yu Xiaoshan to the round table next to him; as he walked, he turned back to glance at Qin Fangchuan again, only to see that he was already looking at him. Qin Fangchuan’s slender triangular shaped eyes reflected a cold light before it slowly moved away from him. The three of them sat with Yu Xiaoshan and Ling Xiaolu. There were three to four other youths at the table, they stood up and greeted the three of them: “I didn’t think that Leader Cheng would be here too.”
Cheng Mo knew that he was not welcome here, so he just returned their greeting with a smile and did not speak further. Naturally, those people would not gossip about him in front of him, so they turned to talk about Qin Fangchuan who had just arrived, saying: “That Qin Fangchuan looks like a sickly ghost, if the Jiang family’s Miss marries him, wouldn’t she just be waiting to become a widow?”
Another person said: “Yes, I don’t know how they sent the invitation letters and even invited someone like him.”
Someone beside him chimed in: “The Jiang family is not finding someone for their daughter to marry, they are just selling her. What martial arts competition to compete for her hand? It would be better to say whoever can kill Hui Ji would be the Jiang family’s son-in-law!”
Cheng Mo listened to their discussion and Yu Xiaoshan who was next to him said softly: “The moment Leader Cheng arrived, most of the people present all felt that there was no hope. With you here, it is destined for people to speak ill of you.”
Cheng Mo laughed: “I thought that the majority of the people were just here to watch the festivities, I didn’t think that there would be so many people serious about competing for marriage.”
Yu Xiaoshan said in surprise: “Of course they want to get a wife, who wouldn’t want to marry a beauty with a generous dowry?”
Cheng Mo replied: “I thought that everyone would be worried about gaining Hui Ji as an enemy…”
“In the end, Hui Ji is just a legend. He has disappeared from the Jianghu for ten years now and no one has seen him. All these young people have only heard of his name but have never seen him. Even if you say that Hui Ji is very strong, they all think that they could be his opponent.”
Hearing this, Cheng Mo thought about the fight between him and Hui Ji, where he was suppressed by his powerful internal force and was unable to fight back. He could only shake his head helplessly, thinking that amongst the people present, perhaps only Zi Xiao would have the strength to compete with him.
Cheng Mo asked Yu Xiaoshan: “Is Yu xiong1 also here to marry a wife?”
Yu Xiaoshan chuckled: “I was driven here by my master and I brought Xiaolu to come have a look. If my wife is too beautiful, I would not feel comfortable. I think it’s better to not have her as my wife.”
Cheng Mo laughed at his response. Soon, servants brought their food and they were all exquisite dishes, including abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw; all seafood delicacies. It was just that Zi Xiao was a vegetarian and he was not interested in the dishes provided, he just ate a plain bowl of rice. Cheng Mo also knew that he did not like these noisy places and he was just here because he wanted to accompany him. Cheng Mo felt sorry for Zi Xiao and whispered: “Sorry.”
Zi Xiao shook his head and set down his bowl: “It’s fine.”
After they had dinner, the host still had not appeared to welcome them, so everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Ling Xiaolu and Yu Xiaoshan went to Cheng Mo’s room to chat. Yu Xiaoshan said: “Even Leader Cheng has not met the Jiang family. I don’t think they are arrogant, but I’m not sure what they are planning.”
“What are they planning?” Cheng Mo asked as he served tea to everyone.
Yu Xiaoshan rubbed his chin as he contemplated: “It’s not nice to say. I always feel that the Jiang family is not actually sincere in marrying their daughter off. You see, even someone like Qin Fangchuan was invited, what do you think the Jiang family wants? If they really marry their daughter to someone like that, she would basically be a widow regardless if he is alive or dead.”
Ling Xiaolu asked curiously: “Why?”
Yu Xiaoshan pushed his head: “Don’t ask, children won’t understand.”
Xue Tinghua was sitting to the side and he suddenly said: “There are still three days until the date written on the invitation, at that time it would be impossible for the Jiang family to not show up.”
Cheng Mo nodded: “It’s better for us to stay calm and see what tricks they have planned.”
Zi Xiao was seated at the side with his eyes closed as he meditated. He slowly opened his eyes and asked: “Three days?”
Cheng Mo asked: “Is something wrong?”
Zi Xiao shook his head: “I have something to do, I will be back in three days.”
Cheng Mo asked worriedly: “Is it something important?”
Zi Xiao said: “No, I’m just meeting an old friend. Three days is enough time for me to make a round trip.”
Cheng Mo asked: “How about I come with you?”
Zi Xiao looked at him: “No need, you can stay here.”
Zi Xiao left before dawn and Cheng Mo and Xue Tinghua stayed at the Jiang family estate.
1兄 (xiong) is another way for men to address another man.
