Peaceful Jianghu - Chapter 68
When she first became an apprentice, she knew that the Beihai Sect had two brothers: the elder brother was invincible and renowned throughout the martial arts world, while the younger brother was a good-for-nothing playboy who roamed the land. That day, she passed through the backyard and saw a man yawning against a gazebo in the garden. He was dressed casually in black, and looked very young. The warm sun shone on him, and he seemed somewhat languid; his every move was very different from those she had seen before.
Qin Ke stood in the courtyard, staring blankly.
At this moment, a stunningly beautiful woman strode into the pavilion, seemingly still angry. "Xue Beifan! I've been waiting for you for an hour! What have you done? Is it so hard for you to listen to the zither?!"
Xue Beifan?
Qin Ke was astonished. Was that the legendary good-for-nothing second young master of the Beihai Sect? Impossible... Could it just be a rumor?
Xue Beifan continued to yawn, seemingly annoyed by the woman's noise.
"Xue Beifan, are you blind? I am the most beautiful woman in the world, and you refuse to listen to my music!"
Xue Beifan reached up and picked at his ear, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Then why don't you just find someone you want to hear it from?"
"You!" The woman was clearly about to get angry, but Xue Beifan suddenly pointed behind him and said, "Your master is here."
The woman quickly turned around to look, and Qin Ke saw Xue Beifan disappear in a flash... he had vanished without a trace.
When the beauty turned around, she couldn't find him anywhere. Furious, she stomped her feet and yelled, "You wait! You blind fool!"
Later, Qin Ke learned that this woman was none other than Feng Wuyou, the famous beauty known as the most beautiful woman in the world. Feng Wuyou didn't live at the Beihai Sect; she was there temporarily with her master on business. From a woman's perspective, Qin Ke thought Feng Wuyou was indeed extremely beautiful and skilled in both literature and martial arts. Over the next few days, Qin Ke noticed that all the disciples of the Beihai Sect obeyed Feng Wuyou's every word, except for the mysterious Xue Beifan, who only appeared occasionally and never even glanced at her. The only thing in the entire Beihai Sect that seemed to interest him was a little tabby cat; he liked to cuddle it and feed it whenever he had a spare moment.
From that moment on, Qin Ke unconsciously longed for Xue Beifan to occasionally return so she could catch a glimpse of him. But gradually, as she spent more and more time at the Beihai Sect, Xue Beifan's reputation worsened. In recent years, no one had seen him anymore; it was said he was always traveling. Some disciples learning martial arts at the Beihai Sect knew of him, but didn't know if he actually knew martial arts or how old he was; some simply looked down on him. This was because Xue Beifan was an anomaly, inexplicably isolated from the Beihai Sect… As for why he wasn't accepted, the reasons were varied. The most common explanation was that he wasn't their biological son, or perhaps, he harbored some secret?
Qin Ke was lost in thought when Xiao Dao finished hanging up the clothes, put down the washbasin, and waved to Xue Beifan, "Xue Er, I'm so hungry, do you want to eat?"
"Going out?" Xue Beifan reached out to help her lower her rolled-up sleeves, and gestured for her to look behind her.
Xiao Dao glanced at it and pouted – "Oh dear, a jinx has moved in across the hall, how unlucky!"
"Why go out to eat? It's been raining and sunny for a while now." Xiao Dao tugged at him. "Go to the kitchen and see if there's anything good to eat. Make some noodles or fried rice."
Upon hearing that Xiao Dao was interested in cooking, Xue Beifan's mood brightened, and he happily followed her towards the kitchen.
Qin Ke frowned slightly—she had always thought that Xue Beifan wouldn't value any woman this much. But then she thought, perhaps… it was just some kind of exploitation or transaction? After all, that woman's background wasn't simple.
"Qin Ke".
Fang Tongli turned around and called to her junior sister, who was in a daze, "Come inside."
Qin Ke nodded and followed them into the remote area.
"Why did those three monsters follow us?" When they got to the kitchen and saw that no one was around, Xiao Dao quickly grabbed Xue Beifan.
“They probably suspect your identity and our intentions in coming to the ghost town, so... we have to pretend.”
"That's easy, just pretend you're here for a blind date!"
"Wow, you really don't care about sacrificing me?" Xue Beifan pinched her nose. "It would be more reasonable to include Hao Jinfeng instead!"
"That won't do!!"
"The other party is the Queen!"
Xiao Dao pouted, "That's precisely why I don't want her. I want to find a wife from an ordinary family. My older brother likes to travel and enjoy life. Finding a queen to confine him to this small place is not as good as finding him a well-behaved and virtuous wife and mother."
Xue Beifan was amused by her, "You're really a thoughtful girl. Do you suspect that Yao Duo is the queen?"
"I never said that," Xiao Dao pouted, denying it.
"After much thought, if Yao Duo really is the Queen's choice of a husband, then this is naturally the best way." Xue Beifan smiled faintly. "To know something truly important, you can't just listen to what's said behind someone's back. But the injuries on her body don't seem fake. Who could injure a Queen like that? So I suspect something might have happened in Ghost City?"
Xiao Dao curled the corners of his mouth. This Xue Beifan was indeed pretending to be stupid all the time; he was incredibly shrewd.
"In addition to what you said before, the most dangerous place is the safest. If the Queen really has an accident and needs to escape from the ghost city, disguising herself as a punished palace maid is the best way... Considering the behavior of that royal guard officer and the fact that a prisoner ran to the Central Plains to be displayed alone... all sorts of suspicious things can be explained."
"And she was so angry when she saw the portrait just now." Xue Beifan chuckled and whispered in Xiao Dao's ear, "Speaking of which, that portrait is much prettier than her in person, oh?"
"You bunch of men, all you care about is whether it looks good or not!" Xiao Dao rolled her eyes at him. "I think this is more realistic. Most queens and princesses aren't that attractive."
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Xue Beifan watched as Xiao Dao quickly chopped scallions and cracked eggs, and knew she was going to make fried rice. He jumped onto the roof beam, took down a sausage, and placed it in front of her. "Cut a little bit in."
Xiao Dao took the sausage. "This time, my mother didn't teach me; I figured it out myself."
"Oh?" Xue Beifan crossed his arms and looked serious. "Then I'll have to listen carefully."
"Think about it, everything has a cause and effect, right?" Xiao Dao poked his face. "Generally speaking, sons resemble their mothers, and daughters resemble their fathers."
“You’re just like your mother,” Xue Beifan shrugged.
"Don't interrupt," Xiao Dao said, displeased. "Anyway, we basically can't escape our parents."
Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow, barely accepting the explanation, and gestured for Xiaodao to continue.
"Next, among the powerful and influential men, are there more good-looking or ugly ones?"
"There are still points?"
"Of course!" Xiao Dao said seriously. "Usually, good-looking men don't need to be powerful or wealthy for women to be interested in them. But usually, if a man who isn't good-looking is also powerless and wealthy, then even fewer women will be interested in him. So the uglier he is, the more he tries to climb the social ladder!"
Xue Beifan frowned and pondered for a while, "That makes sense, doesn't it?"
"And usually, the mother can't be too beautiful! If the mother is too beautiful, the daughter will generally be a little less so."
"You're prettier than your mother," Xue Beifan casually flattered, and Xiao Dao's lips curled up even more. "Really?"
"Of course." Xue Beifan heard a sizzling sound as scallions were sprinkled into the hot oil, filling the air with a fragrant aroma. Xiao Dao used a pair of long chopsticks to beat the eggs and pour them in, frying them until they were half-cooked before quickly plating them on the plate. He then stir-fried the cured meat and rice, adding the eggs back in. The process was done step by step without any disorder, yet his movements were dazzling.