Yuan Shuangshuang's tears streamed down her face, and then she threw herself into Feng Zi's arms: "Feng Zi, I'm so sorry..."
"What is the leader saying...? Why can't I understand?"
Yuan Shuangshuang shook her head vigorously, still silently shedding tears, but her hands kept stroking Feng Zi's hands. Feng Zi felt uncomfortable being touched, so she gently withdrew her hands and said, "My junior sisters are still waiting for me, I'll go out first."
She had only taken two steps when Yuan Shuangshuang pounced on her again and hugged her from behind. She had her hair piled up, with a few strands of dark hair falling to her temples, her snow-white neck as smooth and delicate as jade. Unable to contain herself, Yuan Shuangshuang kissed the back of her neck.
Feng Zi's whole body stiffened.
Suddenly, the air seemed to freeze.
Extreme fear spread rapidly like a plague, eventually engulfing the entire world.
The laughter of her junior sisters came from outside the door. They weren't laughing at Feng Zi, but Feng Zi hurriedly pushed Yuan Shuangshuang away and quickly walked towards the door, saying, "It's time to eat... Feng Zi, please step aside."
At the same time, the moon rises over the valley.
Xiangluan Pavilion.
The three island lords, Miao Jianyou, Du Feng, and Zhong Tao, along with Qiu Hongxiu, sat to the left and right of Shangguan Tou and Xuezhi. Han Jiang Shijue stood like a giant bell behind Shangguan Tou.
The table was laden with delicacies, but Xuezhi had a large bowl of wontons in front of her.
Miao Jianyou and Du Feng never dined with Shangguan Tou, but on this day, all important matters were put on the table.
Miao Jianyou said, "There's been a lot of trouble in the martial arts world lately, but also a lot of money. This month alone, we've had over twenty new disciples, and the money we've earned in the last three months is enough to open four martial arts schools. The only problem is that the last time we organized the arena was a disaster. Many people went there because of its reputation, but the Valley Master went to Mount Hua at the crucial moment. It caused quite a stir, and many people said they would refund their tickets if the Valley Master didn't go. Fortunately, Island Master Du found the great swordsman Hua Yijian at the last minute, which calmed things down, otherwise we would have suffered a huge loss."
Shangguan Tou skipped over the matter of the arena and said, "We already have enough martial arts schools in the Nanjing Military Region area; opening more would be pointless. Further west is too far, so we won't expand there for now. Let's set up a security escort agency southeast of Luoyang instead."
"yes."
Zhong Tao said, "Baldy, isn't the Moon Escort Agency in Luoyang big enough? Why set up another one?"
"The southeast is close to Mount Song. The silver and Chonghuo Palace will be divided equally between them."
"yes."
Xuezhi almost choked after eating a wonton: "Cough, cough, what?"
"You can set up your escort agency in Dengfeng and send all the money you earn to Chonghuo Palace."
“That’s not appropriate.” Shangguan Tou took the ledger from Miao Jianyou. “The closest sects to Dengfeng are Shaolin, Wudang, and Xuantian Hongling Temple, but they don’t have much business. We need to go somewhere closer to Luoyang or Suzhou, or Lingjian Manor would also be an option…”
Xuezhi put down her chopsticks: "Chonghuo Palace is not so destitute that it needs the Valley Master to help the poor."
"I just wanted to give my future wife some pocket money, is that alright?" Shangguan Tou picked up her chopsticks, took a wonton, and fed it to her.
With a wonton in her mouth, Xuezhi mumbled, "But I really don't want to..."
"Don't be so formal with me, okay?"
Xuezhi twisted her neck and swallowed the wontons with a bitter taste in her mouth: "Okay, then don't forget to come with me to Hongling Temple."
"Yes, we'll go after the wedding."
"No, this is more urgent."
Shangguan Tou whispered in her ear, "The baby is about to be born."
Xuezhi's face turned as red as a tomato again. She took Shangguan Tou's chopsticks to pick up a wonton, but couldn't manage it after a long time. Shangguan Tou laughed and called her a silly girl, then fed her another one.
Everyone around them was staring, but Shangguan Tou seemed unfazed. The island lords dared not utter a word; the Han general was a statue for eternity, and Shi Jue completely disregarded anything beyond money. Only Qiu Hongxiu finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed her hand on the table: "I can't take it anymore! This is too cheesy!"
140
The days of mushy romance seemed endless. Xuezhi, who knew absolutely no needlework, had already started learning to make little clothes. Perhaps it was related to her impending motherhood, but although she still busied herself with the affairs of Chonghuo Palace, she cared less and less about matters of the martial world. Every day, as soon as she saw Shangguan Tou, her mind would wander to the heavens. Sleeping was also quite simple; she would snuggle into his arms and quickly fall into a sweet slumber. Every morning when they woke up, no matter who got up first, and no matter if the other was asleep, the one who woke up would kiss the other before starting their busy day.
Shangguan Tou has already begun arranging the wedding for the two of them, and the wedding venue is set at Aotian Manor.
Aotian Manor has always been a place for martial arts masters to compete or exchange sword skills, so this is the first time a wedding has been held here. In addition, the names of the newlyweds are really impressive, so the news quickly spread throughout the country.
Before this news broke, many speculated about the ultimate fates of Chong Xuezhi, the alluring vixen, and Shangguan Tou, the dashing nobleman. The prevailing thought was that Chong Xuezhi would use her beauty to manipulate the leaders of various sects, bringing ruin to the country and ultimately gaining power; while Shangguan Tou would likely continue his usual path, playing the field, managing both his career and women, perhaps eventually marrying a refined lady and having many children and grandchildren. Only those naive to the ways of the world would pair them together. Even with this assumption, most people would say no one was a better match for them, yet they would also add: "It's highly unlikely these two will end up together."
Therefore, the marriage came quickly and suddenly, shocking many people.
Of course, the most shocked person was Lin Yuhuang. After her anger, which nearly led her to beat Shangguan Tou with a stick, Xuezhi spent an unknown amount of time calming his wounded heart.
Just as opinions on this matter were divided, a shocking rumor spread like wildfire: Xia Qingmei had cultivated the "Hibiscus Heart Sutra," and Liu Hua's death was precisely because the condition for cultivating the "Hibiscus Heart Sutra" was to kill one's beloved.
No one knew why such news was released, or where it came from. The martial world was already in turmoil, and now people were filled with even greater anxiety. Only then did Xuezhi regain some clarity and begin to study the "Azure Sea Snow Lotus Sword".
After several more days of burning the midnight oil, the result was the same as with the "Samadhi Flame Phoenix Blade." Although Xuezhi was unwilling to believe that there was nothing in these manuals, her subconscious had already told her that these two manuals were simply a smokescreen released by Chonglian. He probably wanted to tell the world that the true martial arts in this world are the most basic things, and as long as you learn them well, there will definitely be a way to defeat evil arts.
Therefore, studying secret manuals won't work; we still need to investigate.
The first person I need to visit is naturally Man Feiyue. It seems that the major events that have happened in the martial arts world recently are quite different, but in fact they are inextricably linked to her.
But just as the wedding day was approaching and Shangguan Tou was busy sending out wedding invitations, an old acquaintance of Xuezhi came to visit.
"My Zhizhi, you're actually going to marry this playboy?"
—The first thing Feng She did after being invited into Yue Shang Valley was to point at Shangguan Tou and say this to Xue Zhi.
Xuezhi had just taken the tea brewed by Shangguan Tou when she stared blankly at Feng She:
"ah?"
Feng She said, "My heart is broken."
Shangguan Tou, with a faint smile that was barely perceptible, sat down next to Xue Zhi: "Young Master Feng, are you here to attend our wedding ceremony?"
"I'm here to see Zhizhi; I have no interest in your wedding."
"Have you finished reading now, young master? Please proceed."
"Brother Tou...Tou, why are you treating my guest like this?"
She used to call him Brother Tou, but in recent years she has called him Young Master Shangguan. If it weren't for the fact that Shangguan Tou had forced her to do so with some despicable and shameless means a few days ago before she went to sleep, she would have had a hard time changing her address.
"I was just answering what Young Master Feng said."
“I haven’t spoken to you since I came in.”
A dazzling exchange of energy crackled between the two men. Xuezhi knew that Feng She had always admired Shangguan Tou, but he was stubborn to the end. So, she simply stood between them and interrupted, "Alright, Xiao She, you never come here unless you have a reason. You must have something to say, right?"
"Our Lady of Mary has been acting very strangely lately."
"How so?"
“She’s been away from Hongling Temple a lot lately. In the past, she would always tell everyone where she was going, and she was always accompanied by several people. But lately, she’s been going alone and taking away a lot of strange and unusual medicinal herbs.”
Do you know what kind of medicine it is?
“It seems to be…” Feng She beckoned with his finger. Xue Zhi leaned closer, and he smiled mysteriously, “An aphrodisiac.”
Xuezhi burst out laughing: "This, Man Feiyue, that's unlikely. Isn't her body like a ten-year-old girl's, without any...?"
"That's why I find it strange. Besides, I know she and Fengcheng have fallen out and she's been plotting to harm him, but what she's done has absolutely nothing to do with Fengcheng."
"Wait, her and Fengcheng?"
"Yes, I don't know what kind of deal they made before, or what Fengcheng got in return. The Holy Mother's requirement was that she choose a man and have Fengcheng deliver him to her."
"As expected, it is Manfeiyue."
"However, the last man she took a liking to seemed to be Feng Mo. You know Feng Cheng cherishes his son the most, so he definitely didn't agree. The Holy Mother was unhappy and said, 'I didn't do anything to your son, why are you so nervous?' Feng Cheng still disagreed. The Holy Mother was furious but didn't say anything, just told me that she had decided to kill Feng Cheng and asked me to put Lin Fengzi's things in Xia Qingmei's room. Recently, she has also had several brothers spread the news that Xia Qingmei is cultivating 'Lotus Wings'."
"What? This news was actually released by the Xuan Tian Hong Ling Temple?"
"That's right."
Xuezhi frowned and said, "However, Xia Qingmei and Fengcheng... seem to have no connection at all."
"That's the thing I can't figure out. After all, Fengcheng has a tiny bit of connection to me, so I'm just curious, which is why I came to ask you. I also asked the Holy Mother about the reason before, and she laughed in a really scary way, saying that there are a lot of things behind this, all sorts of absurd people and events. Those who know the truth are either dead or died of pent-up frustration. She's only alive now because she has a huge handle on her. She also said that outsiders should ask fewer questions, and they'll live longer."
141
At this moment, Shangguan Tou suddenly said:
"I guess that Yuan Shuangshuang's parents will pass away soon."
Feng She rolled his eyes at him: "How do you know?"
"Tou, are you guessing that she has cultivated the Nine Forms of the Lotus God?"
"yes."
“You guessed wrong this time. I met her at Feng Zi’s birthday banquet a year ago. She already said that her parents were suffering from a strange disease and would not live much longer, so…” At this point, her face turned a little pale.
Shangguan Tou smiled and said, "So?"
Xuezhi shook her head. This idea was too terrifying. Chonglian had also mastered the Nine Forms of the Lotus God at the cost of patricide, but he was driven to a mental breakdown by his martial arts-obsessed father. However, she had never considered—
At this moment, Toyotsugu had already spoken the thought aloud on her behalf:
"Zhizhi is so stupid. Since she plans to practice the Lotus God Nine Forms and do it without anyone knowing, she should have set up the scheme a year in advance. That way, even if the old couple suddenly passed away one day, she can easily cover it up."
Xuezhi felt a churning in her stomach: "Those are her biological parents, how could this be..."
Feng She blinked: "What's so strange about this?"
Shangguan Tou glanced at Xuezhi and said, "Young Master Feng, it's best not to let her know too much about these kinds of things." He then quickly added, "If you tell her all these things, aren't you afraid that Man Feiyue will kill you if she finds out?"
“I’ve figured it out, she’ll never kill me.”
Xuezhi asked, "Why?"
"I don't know. Sometimes when she gets angry, she can break my legs, and she often threatens to kill me. But no matter what I do, she will never actually kill me..."
Just then, a disciple from Yue Shang Valley entered: "Valley Master, the leaders of all the major sects have received the wedding invitations."
"I understand, you may leave now."
"But the original leader cannot come."
"Why?"
"Her parents have just passed away from serious illnesses, and their funeral is currently being held."