Shangguan's explanation was indeed true; no wonder Senior Brother Tianjiu had been staying at home all this time—was he too shy to be close to his family?
“South Qiyang, North Zhuofeng, Zigui, you’re really lucky with your luck with women. You’ve run into two of the four young masters who are still single.” In the private room, Cong Luan teased, “A-Kuang, why are you pretending to blush? Come on, let’s drink, let’s drink until we’re drunk.”
"Behave yourself, don't scare Miss Yu." Xiao Kuang winked at him.
If you lead your future aunt astray, be careful you don't get caught in the tail end of your uncle's typhoon.
"Hmph, Shangguan isn't here. Even if he were, so what? Does Zigui fear him?" Cong Luan provoked maliciously. "That kind of arrogant man deserves to be taught a lesson. Zigui, Zigui, don't let me down."
Seeing her slightly narrowed eyes, as if she were angry, Cong Luan decided to add fuel to the fire, so that even if Shangguan was on guard, he could not guard against Nanshan Lao, who was knowledgeable about the martial arts world, had seen all the handsome men, and was determined to make his love life difficult.
"Speaking of Wei Zhuofeng, he is a rare man in the martial arts world who is good in four aspects: good family background, good skills, good character, and good looks." She praised him intentionally or unintentionally in front of Yu Zigui.
"oh?"
They actually took the bait!
Hmph, Shangguan Guai, it's all your fault for being too arrogant and having such poor interpersonal relationships. As the saying goes, a gentleman doesn't leave a grudge unavenged, and a fool doesn't seize an opportunity. So, she gathered up all the secrets about Wei Zhuofeng in Room Sixty-Four and began to tell them incessantly.
"Wei Zhuofeng, the third young master of the Shiying Wei family, is also an outstanding figure of this generation. The Wei family are founding heroes, and each young master is assigned a bodyguard. This time, the court issued ninety-nine yellow flags. Only those who hold yellow flags can enter Changrong Official Garden to compete for the position of martial arts alliance leader. The Wei family alone occupies two seats."
"Two seats?"
"Well, one of the gifts is for Gao Dashan, the bodyguard of Young Master Zhuofeng. He is extremely loyal, and his Zhenshan Fist is ranked among the top twenty in the martial arts world, though he is still far inferior to his master. According to the records of the head of the Sixth Chamber of this academy, Young Master Zhuofeng once stopped Gao Dashan, who had gone mad with qi deviation, with one hand. This shows that Wei Zhuofeng is a top figure among the younger generation of martial artists. Ah Kuang, I've always wondered, if you and he went all out, who would win?" Cong Luan, true to his old-fashioned nature, asked curiously.
"Two years ago, I might have been able to beat him, but after the ban on blades, it's hard to say." Ruffling his messy curly hair, Xiao Kuang drank another cup of wine.
“That’s true. Ah Kuang wields the Silver Dragon Sword, while Zhuo Feng wields the Long Wind Whip.”
"The Long Wind Whip?" Zigui's eyes widened suddenly.
"Yes, it is said that this whip was a relic of the second young master of the Wei family, the elder brother of Young Master Zhuofeng. Originally, Young Master Zhuofeng also practiced swordsmanship, but after the second young master of the Wei family passed away, he switched to using a long whip."
"It seems that Young Master Zhuofeng and his elder brother have a very close relationship," Zigui murmured.
“That’s not the case,” Cong Luan said. “I thought so too at first, until news came from the Sixth Chamber that Young Master Zhuofeng not only never offered sacrifices to his elder brother, but also destroyed the memorial tablet of the Second Young Master. Rather than saying that they had a deep affection for each other, it would be more accurate to say that they had a deep-seated resentment.”
Has the grudge run deep?
I remember when she had just joined the sect, her ninth senior brother bought a bag of stinky tofu. Seeing that she liked it, her ninth senior brother rarely smiled and said the longest sentence he had ever uttered.
My third brother also loves to eat it, but every time we go home, my family thinks it's low-class food, and only he eats it with me.
She didn't believe it was an act by brothers with deep-seated resentment.
"Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. The reasons behind them are not for outsiders to know. Come, let's drink. Zigui, it's been many months since we last met at Yellow Crane Tower."
As they toasted each other, Cong Luan smiled, but her gaze remained fixed on Xiao Kuang, who was silently drinking.
"Speaking of which, Shangguan used so many good baits to catch you, this mermaid, and finally succeeded. How could he bear to leave you behind and go alone?"
It was originally a casual question, but I noticed the earrings on Zigui's ears.
"Crimson Tourmaline!"
Seeing her surprise, Zigui subconsciously touched her earlobe.
"Zigui, how could you fall for him so easily? You're such a disappointment!" Cong Luan took a swig of wine, exasperated. "This tourmaline is said to be from overseas, and it's supposed to be a pair, the male called Lang and the female called Dang. Once you wear it, you can't take it off. You really underestimated him!"
Can't take it off?
She gathered up her stray hairs and let Cong Luan try, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it down.
"Now you know, Ah Luan, stop causing trouble and lest you implicate me," Xiao Kuang said with a smile, a hint of sadness flashing across his handsome face. "When Uncle returns from the capital, the capital..."
He kept drinking by himself, looking as dejected as a jade mountain about to collapse, reminiscent of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his brows trembled slightly, revealing an uncontrollable sense of suppression.
"Don't stop him, let him get drunk."
To stop Zigui from taking the wine, Cong Luan instead placed all the wine jars in front of him. She smacked him hard on the back of the head, her eyes deep and unfathomable, a hidden emotion about to surface.
"Fool!"
Zigui watched quietly until Xiao Kuang fell into a deep sleep before speaking. "You like him." It wasn't a question.
"That obvious?"
As long as they're not blind.
"Your attitude toward him reminds me of someone."
"who."
“My mother.” Looking into Cong Luan’s gentle gaze, Zi Gui said, “My mother is only fierce to my father.”
“Then he was just pretending to be stupid.” Staring at him, drunk and passed out on the balcony, Cong Luan smiled bitterly.
"But I have high hopes for you." Zigui took the initiative to clink glasses with him.
The fragrant wine in the cup spilled out slightly, just like Cong Luan's thoughts.
"Because my dad and mom ended up together, and there was no couple more compatible than them. My dad often says that my mom has good taste, and he tells me that if I ever fall for someone when I grow up, I shouldn't overthink it, I should just go for it." Moon-eyed wink playfully.
"Truly...what a spirit!" Cong Luan chuckled. "For my uncle and aunt, I'll drink this first!"
"Dry."
"Although I hate Shangguan's arrogance, I have to admit he does have good taste. That guy is really lucky." Feigning annoyance, Cong Luan exchanged a glance with her, and then they both burst into laughter.