"What was the expression on the neighbor's face when you were bullied by the neighbor's kid when you were a child?"
Sixth Brother is smiling.
"When the eighth brother led the ninth and tenth brothers to fight in a group."
Sixth Brother is smiling.
"Five years ago, when we abandoned our sixth brother and ran away from home together."
Sixth Brother was still smiling.
Thinking of the tragic fates of the others in the past, Eleven suddenly felt sorry for Young Master Shangguan. Sixth Brother had been laughing for three whole days.
"Eleven, can you use your brain? If Sixth Brother had already tricked Shangguan, why would he be so excited now, practically having a fit of ecstasy?"
"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Eleven blinked and saw that Fu Liu's pale cheeks were flushed, and his light-colored eyes were gleaming, as if he was more energetic than if he had taken some tonic.
"Therefore, the sixth brother's cunning and treachery were definitely not for the sake of the youngest brother," the flamboyant man concluded.
"Personal grudges," the dead fish-eyed man concluded.
Chapter Six
People in the martial arts world love wedding banquets. First, they can eat for free, and second, they can eavesdrop on the wedding night. Looking across the martial arts world, the only wealthy families who can afford to feed a thousand people in a continuous feast and ensure that their roofs are so sturdy that a hundred people can hide in them without the beams breaking are the only ones left, besides Jade Sword Manor three years ago.
It's truly a world of ups and downs, a night of wind and rain, when will we finally be able to share a meal? The key isn't the wedding ceremony, it's what comes after.
The matchmaker had just said, "The bride and groom are entering the bridal chamber, please everyone..." She'd barely uttered the word "enter," not even mentioning "seating," when the chivalrous heroes and heroines were already seated. The speed and the absence of any awkward silence between them clearly indicated prior arrangement. No wonder that three years ago, when the Jade Sword Prince and Liu Wushuang were exchanging greetings, Master was busy flirting with someone; one might have assumed Master was smitten, but it turned out he was discussing seating arrangements with the assembled heroes.
The world of martial arts is full of mysteries; one should never stop learning.
"What are you thinking about?" A voice with a smile came from behind. Turning around, it was Shangguan Yi.
Was Ziyu too brave, or were his senior brothers simply too weak? How did their "impregnable fortress" vanish in an instant?
Yu Zigui's delicate eyebrows relaxed, like distant mountains emerging from the clouds. She said, "I was thinking about how you entered Jade Sword Manor in such a grand manner three years ago, and everyone called you Young Master Shangguan. It was truly enviable."
"Is Zigui jealous?" Shangguan sensed something was off.
"Of course I'm jealous." He was praised to the skies for nothing, unlike her who was given the infamous title of Silver Demon. Although she entered through the proper channels today, she was frequently met with disdain from female martial arts heroes.
"If you wish to visit Zigui, you can enjoy unparalleled scenery."
The soft voice still lingered in her ear. She looked at Shangguan and saw peach blossoms blooming in his dark eyes, tinged with the colors of spring: "An eight-bearer sedan chair, ten miles of red bridal procession, Zigui will enter the Shangguan mansion in brocade, enough to make the whole world envious." He spoke seductively, stopping Yu Zigui without any hesitation and leading her to the only empty seat in the main hall.
Just as he was about to sit down, the wolf's claw on his waist was suddenly slapped away. His dark eyes narrowed, and he slowly turned his head.
“Brother Shangguan, your servants are really good at calling a deer a horse, treating the outhouse as a wedding hall. Do they want to give our Tianlong Sect a special meal in the backyard?” With a forced smile, Fu Liu squeezed between the two and glanced at Yu Zigui. “There is an order of seniority. Youngest brother, you sit over there.”
At the host's table, the seat of honor was occupied by Shangguan, followed by Fu Xian, and then...
"Youngest brother, have all the heroes seen your spring robe today?" Rong Qi unfurled his fan.
Someone moves one more position.
"This used to be my seat." His triangular eyes twitched, as if he couldn't bear to act tough, which was really contrary to his face that looked very wicked and evil without even having to raise his eyebrows.
She smiled slightly, stood up, counted her senior brothers, and was about to sit down when she heard Shangguan say, "Zigui, sit here."
Just when he thought he could rightfully give his youngest son the seat furthest from Shangguan, making him able to see but not touch him, he didn't realize that people have two hands and two sides. Looking at the empty right seat for Shangguan, Fu Liu secretly realized he had made a mistake.
One radish, one hole; who will fill this void?
The six heroes of Tianlongmen clenched their fists in unison, and then sat down with a thud.
"Oh dear, Young Master Shangguan is truly respectful to the elderly. I thought I wouldn't have a seat when I went to the outhouse, but I didn't expect you to have saved one for me beforehand." The old man filled the toilet with a calm and composed demeanor.
"master!"
Wang Shuren waved his hand. "I'm late, Ah Gui. You can sit next to Eleven. I have a few more young heroes here. Come, come, everyone, take your seats."
The servant serving the dishes hurriedly left the host's table, trembling with fear, and bumped into the groom who was toasting everyone.
"What are you trembling about? Speak slowly." Xiao Kuang glanced at him.
The servant's face turned ashen. He pointed tremblingly to the main table, where sparks flew from the red candles, illuminating Shangguan's handsome face, half-lit and half-shadowed. Behind him, wisps of candle smoke rose as if from above his head.
This is bad. Xiao Kuang hurriedly offered a cup of wine and approached to listen—
"Little Six, what do you think of this young hero I've chosen? He's the young master of Tianyi Pavilion, with a wealthy and powerful family. If our youngest daughter marries into his family, she'll never have to worry about food or drink."
"Not a good job, Master."
With someone smoking between them, the master and apprentice chatted happily.
"Something is not right."
"Even a large family and great wealth should be accompanied by good character. Look at his deep eyes, there's a saying that a black-eyed fox is a bad person. He's obviously not a good person. This is not right."
Xiao Kuang glanced at the man beside the old man. Was Fu Liu unable to distinguish colors? This young hero's pupils were clearly brownish, nowhere near as dark as his uncle's.
"Hmm, my old eyes are failing me, but Xiao Liu is much more observant." The old man paused slightly, then continued, "What about that Tianshan Xue Mo hero who made the next move? He's a well-known righteous man in the martial world."
“Oh no, that’s not right. He’s twenty-six this year, a bit too old for the youngest.”
Seven years apart is considered old? If he remembered correctly, his uncle and this Master Mo were the same age. Xiao Kuang couldn't help but have the illusion that the words of these two masters and disciples were like knives, each one stabbing into his uncle's heart.
"The Four Heroes of Wudang?"
"No, no, with eyes full of desire, she's bound to have an affair."
A knife was inserted, then pulled out, dripping blood.
"Master Hua of Chaoyun Tower?"
"No, no, those who manipulate people's hearts are never good people."
With each cut, Xiao Kuang grew accustomed to hearing "not right, not right."
"And the young master Zhuofeng on the left of the youngest brother?"
Just as he was about to think to himself that it was inappropriate, he heard Fu Liudao say, "They are a perfect match!"
Suddenly, the candle went out.
“Wei Zhuofeng is not only straightforward and of similar age to Lao Yao, but most importantly, because of Lao Jiu, we know him inside and out. Master, look at how this child looks at our Lao Yao, even the iceberg melts a corner. He will definitely be a loyal and devoted husband.”
It's a shame Fu Liu isn't a matchmaker. Following the slightly lewd gazes of the master and apprentice, Xiao Kuang looked over. Although he couldn't see any signs of his future aunt's infidelity, Wei Zhuofeng was clearly interested. It was supposed to be his joyous day, yet an ominous feeling of impending doom hung over him. What should he do? He was filled with worry, but he saw that his uncle remained unmoved, completely unlike his previous raging self, as calm as if he had already ascended to heaven.
No way, Uncle, Uncle?
He gave a signal with his eyes, and Shangguan picked up a small plate from the table and handed it to him: "Take this to your aunt."
Pastries? He was a little confused, but when he saw the situation across from him, his confusion vanished.
There was only one pastry left on the plate, and just as Yu Zigui was about to take a bite, it was snatched away by Shiyi.
"The pastries from the Shangguan family are so delicious, sweet but not cloying, so good! Ouch, Eighth Brother, why did you hit me?"
"I'll hit you! You ate all of us, fine, but why did you have to steal from the youngest one!"
"Tenth Brother, save me!"
"Alright, Lao Ba, a couple of punches will suffice, no need to draw blood."
"Tenth Brother..."
Yu Zigui turned his gaze away from his playful fellow apprentices and saw a plate of pastries pushed in front of him. He looked at the owner of the pastries.
"I don't eat sweets," Wei Zhuofeng said, his cool voice carrying a hint of something unusual.
Yu Zigui glanced at Shangguan across from him. With his senior brother and master flanking him, he stared intently at her. His fingertips twitched, then deepened, and his dark eyes curved, revealing a blade.
"Aunt, this is what my uncle asked me to bring."
The groom offered it with both hands, clearly to his elders. Should he accept it or not?
She glanced at everyone's faces, especially the three people sitting opposite her, where even a plate of pastries had become a contest. She smiled wryly and said to Wei Zhuofeng, "Thank you for the pastries, Third Young Master." Then she took the plate from the groom's hand.
With his dark eyes sparkling like the warmth of spring, Shangguan casually poured wine for the two people on either side of him.
"The truth is out," he said. Fearing the shock wasn't enough, he glanced at the trembling old man with a half-smile, "Actually, Zigui and I owe our current situation to Sect Leader Wang."
One sentence attracted the attention of many in the Tianlong Sect.
"If it weren't for Sect Leader Wang giving Zigui a push back then, making her ask me for fifty taels of silver and one hundred catties of cured meat to help Tianlong Sect revive, how could there be any connection between me and Zigui? Sect Leader Wang, no, Lord Taishan, thank you very much." The cups clinked together, making a crisp sound.
“Our Tianlong Sect is united as one. How could such a despicable scheme sow discord between us? Master, don’t you agree? Master?” Fu Xian looked at Wang Shuren, whose face was covered in sweat and who was eating with his head down. “Master, please don’t say anything…”
"It's true." Everyone looked at Eleven who spoke up. "I saw Master push Junior Brother to Young Master Shangguan with my own eyes. Master even said..."
"say what?"
The innocent boy slapped his forehead. "Ah, Master also said, 'A-Gui, the Heavenly Dragon Sect is counting on you.'"
“Master loves money more than life itself, I’ve known that for a long time, but I never expected…” With a snap, the seventh brother closed his painted fan, revealing a ferocious face, “‘Fifty taels of silver, one hundred catties of cured meat’? What happened to the silver notes I left you before I left!”
"The silver notes, Master counts them every night." The innocent boy remained innocent.
"Damn it, you old geezer!" The great demon slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
"Eighth Brother, that's Master! Master! Seventh Brother, calm down! You're already ferocious! Ninth Brother, why are you sharpening your knife? Fighting three against one! I'm the unfortunate Tenth Brother!"
No matter how turbulent the situation, a true master remains steadfast.
With their cups clasped together, Fu Xian said, "A single word can turn the tide; Brother Shangguan is truly remarkable."
Shangguan glanced at him sideways: "Why did you dress Zigui like this?"
"Why can't I dress like this?"
With his fingertips tracing the rim of the cup, Shangguan lowered his eyes and said, "Beauties in the martial world never live long. Fu Changyu, you risked having Zigui disguise herself as a beauty just to deal with me, Shangguan Yi?" A glint flashed in his eyes.
"Heh, as expected, the youngest was right. You can't hide anything from you." Fu Xian took a sip of wine and looked at him. "Brother Shangguan, have you ever heard of the name 'One Night of Spring'?"
Shangguan has a photographic memory, and he can recall even old stories instantly. "The womanizer died at the hands of Yu Zhanyuan twenty years ago."
"Although the silver thief is a silver thief, he is not dead."
Shangguan frowned.
“Since the first month of the lunar calendar, there have been several cases in Jiangnan. According to the descriptions of the women who were violated, they had just taken a nap and thought it was a dream that would never come true. However, the nightmare turned out to be real. Not only were their virginity lost, but the silver thief also tattooed the words ‘One Night of Spring’ on their chests.”
"One night of spring, love of beauty, so you made Zigui dress up like this?" Shangguan Yi smiled lazily, his long fingers under the table resting on Fu Xian's fatal acupoint, ready to be pressed lightly.