Ji Feixiang blushed, withdrew her hand, and turned around.
Bai Lu touched her face, grinned, and leaned back lazily in her chair, chuckling softly, "It doesn't hurt at all, Sister Ji."
Sitting on a chair with a fox fur cushion in the audience, Lan Wuxie, dressed in fine clothes and who had remained silent until now, turned his head to glance into the crowd. Rong Chenfei, sitting beside him, followed his gaze, raised an eyebrow, and smiled lightly:
"I heard he's a newly recruited disciple of the brothel. Such a seductive young man! No wonder the rumors say he's Chongyang's—"
At this point, Lan Cao, who had been standing at the back, interrupted him by offering him tea:
"Master, hot tea."
Lan Wuxie took the tea, held it in her hand for a while, and unconsciously drew circles on the lid of the bowl with her fingers:
"What is it related to the Double Ninth Festival?"
Rong Chenfei paused for a moment before realizing what he was asking, then smiled and replied:
"Everyone says he was Chongyang's male favorite."
Lan Wuxie's hand, which was stroking the bowl lid, suddenly stopped.
After a moment, he looked up at the crowd again and met Bai Lu's slightly narrowed peach blossom eyes, which were also openly sizing him up. She even deliberately curled the corners of her lips into a smile at him, her eyes full of blatant provocation.
He coldly withdrew his gaze, put down his teacup, and suddenly stood up:
"It's giving me a headache. Lancao, let's go back first."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lan Wuxie led the people of Lan Ying Palace away.
Rong Chenfei chuckled softly as he watched his retreating figure.
A short figure with a black veil covering his head stepped forward and said behind him:
"What do you mean? Don't tell me you didn't know Lan Wuxie and Hua Chongyang were having an affair!"
"Everyone in the world knows about this."
"Then why did you deliberately provoke Lan Wuxie? He's always been ruthless, killing without blinking an eye. If he took his anger out on you—"
"Taking his anger out on you and me?" Rong Chenfei sneered. "Even if he is angry, he'll kill Bai Lu first. Hmph, that kid definitely won't survive tonight!"
"Are you sure Lan Wuxie will definitely make a move against him?"
"If Lan Wuxie won't make a move, we will. We'll tie him up first. Let's see how much Bai Lu means to Hua Chongyang. If Hua Chongyang doesn't want him anymore, we can just hand him over to Lan Wuxie. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone?"
Rong Chenfei's plan was quite good, but no one expected that Hua Chongyang would appear in the audience just as the first day of the martial arts tournament was about to end.
Following behind her were Liu Dachusan and Huang San, each draped in a red, black, and gray cloak. Their imposing presence immediately overshadowed the other sects. This was Hua Chongyang's first public appearance in the martial arts world in a full year. Upon entering the arena, her gaze was calm. She tightened her grip on her snow-white, fur-trimmed cloak and walked directly to Bai Lu, who sat at the front. Seeing Ji Chong, she stopped, smiled, and bowed respectfully: "Uncle Ji." Then, with a smile, she walked over and sat down beside Bai Lu, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.
She still has the same outstanding tall and slender figure and snow-white face, but the difference is that her nonchalant expression hides a composure that is quite different from her flamboyant and unruly demeanor a year ago.
As soon as the martial arts tournament ended, many people came over to exchange pleasantries with Hua Chongyang. Hua Chongyang stood still and spoke to them one by one. In the end, only three factions remained: Situ Qingliu and Bo Feng, Rong Chenfei, and Ji Chong.
Situ Qingliu walked towards Hua Chongyang first.
Bai Lu, standing behind her, smiled. Before Situ Qingliu could speak, she turned and chuckled softly.
"Hey, it's such an important occasion today, and even the beautiful Chongyang has come all the way to give me face. Why didn't Brother Qing bring the gorgeous Bo along?"
Situ Qingliu glanced at Hua Chongyang before looking at Bai Lu:
"Miss Bo said she has something to attend to."
Bai Lu raised her eyebrows, then suddenly smiled as if remembering something, looking at Situ Qingliu and abruptly lowering her voice:
"By the way, Brother Qing, there's something I've always wanted to ask you, but I haven't dared to."
"Just tell me."
Hua Chongyang looked at Bai Lu's face, his lips twitched, and he suddenly spoke up in warning:
"Bai Lu, have some sense of propriety."
"Why are you being so tactless with me?" Bai Lu rolled her eyes, turned to Situ Qingliu, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered, "Brother Qing, we've been married for so long, have you slept with Bo Jiang yet?"
Situ Qingliu was stunned.
Hua Chongyang's temple throbbed with a vein, and he turned his face away speechlessly. Ye Laoqi, who had been following behind Bai Lu, gave Situ Qingliu an awkward and apologetic smile, then stepped forward, grabbed Bai Lu's ear, and dragged her aside.
"You brat! Are you trying to embarrass the poster?! You have to say everything—"
While groaning "Ouch!", Bai Lu stubbornly retorted:
"Ye Laoqi, let go! What did I say? I've slept in the same bed with Hua Chongyang, what's there to be ashamed of? Let go of me!"
"Shut up! You shameless brothel, you still have some shame! You dog's mouth—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ye Laoqi suddenly stopped, releasing Bai Lu's ear and staring straight at the open space behind Hua Chongyang.
As dusk fell, thin clouds covered the sky and a cool breeze suddenly arose. Lan Wuxie, who had returned at some point, stood not far behind Hua Chongyang. His dark black robe with light gold trim swayed gently in the wind, and his long shadow was illuminated by the setting sun, with a portion overlapping the hem of Hua Chongyang's white cloak.
Ye Laoqi couldn't help but wonder how much of what Bai Lu had said earlier he had overheard.
Who knew that the moment Bai Lu saw Lan Wuxie, she raised her eyebrows with a wicked grin, and squinted at him with an expression of intense jealousy, as if she had just met her enemy.
"Oh dear, did I say something wrong? I heard that Pavilion Master Lan is Chongyang's ex-lover. I just said that I slept in the same bed with Chongyang. You're not jealous, are you?"
53. Banquet...
Because of Bai Lu's antics, the atmosphere at the scene was initially quite good, but as soon as Lan Wuxie appeared, the surroundings fell completely silent.
For the past year or so, both Lan Wuxie and Lan Ying Palace have acted with considerable arrogance in the martial arts world. In terms of martial arts, Lan Wuxie is unmatched, and any disciple of Lan Ying Palace could be considered a master. In terms of appearance, Lan Wuxie has been the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world for a year, and her female disciples, such as Lan Cao, have also made it onto the beauty rankings. In terms of their methods, everyone in Lan Ying Palace is ruthless, with Lan Wuxie being the most ruthless, almost always opposing the martial arts alliance. As for scandals, Lan Wuxie's past with Hua Chongyang a year ago is still widely discussed, and even now, people in Hangzhou are still betting on who will ultimately marry this fiery flower, Lan Wuxie, and she still receives the most votes.
In particular, everyone knows perfectly well who Lan Wuxie returned at this time.
He had already left with his disciples, but when Hua Chongyang appeared, he returned as well—what else could it be?
So no one spoke first, and everyone stared at Hua Chongyang with stiff faces; but ironically, Hua Chongyang and Bai Lu, who should have been the most embarrassed at this moment, were the most relaxed pair.
After finishing her speech, Bai Lu glanced sideways at Lan Wuxie, looking utterly smug, humming a strange little tune that sounded particularly out of place at the moment. Hua Chongyang, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and glared at Bai Lu, then, with obvious tolerance, muttered a low rebuke, "You don't know your manners," before turning around with a smile to greet Lan Wuxie.
"So it's Pavilion Master Lan. It seems like it's been a long time."
"In twenty days, it will be exactly one year."
"……"
"You haven't changed much."
"I've just gotten a year older. How have you been, Pavilion Master Lan?"
It was just a common greeting, but Lan Wuxie stared at Hua Chongyang for a long time before slowly replying:
"not good."
Those listening had three black lines appear on their foreheads.
Hua Chongyang froze, unsure how to continue the conversation. Bai Lu simply pursed her lips and gave a forced, insincere snort:
"They say I don't know the rules. There are others who are even worse than me."
After a brief stalemate, the experienced Bo Feng stepped in to smooth things over:
"Hehe, everyone, tonight I'm hosting a banquet at my home for Master Ji and Young Master Situ. Master Ji just mentioned that he hasn't seen Master Hua and Young Master Rong Chenfei for a long time. Would Master Hua and Young Master Rong do me the honor of joining us?"
Hua Chongyang glanced at Ji Chong and Situ Qingliu, politely thanked them, and nodded in agreement. Rong Chenfei also agreed. Lan Wuxie remained standing in place. Bo Feng, always smooth and tactful, never offended anyone, so he also politely smiled and acquiesced to him.
"Would you like to come along, Lord Lan?"
Unexpectedly, Lan Wuxie, who had always regarded the Martial Alliance as a thorn in his side, actually nodded:
"good."
Bo Feng, who was usually impassive, visibly twitched at the corner of his mouth, then clapped his hands and let out a dry laugh:
"Hahaha! That's wonderful! Tonight, my Southern Chu Villa is filled with martial arts elites; it truly brings honor to my humble abode!"
The situation along the way was somewhat strange.
Bo Feng and Ji Chong walked at the front, followed by Ji Feixiang, who dawdled along. Then came Hua Chongyang, Bai Lu, and a few people from the brothel. Bai Lu would tease Ji Feixiang every now and then, and then turn around and wink at Situ Qingliu. Further back was Rong Chenfei alone.
Lan Wuxie was followed by Lan Cao, Lan Shu, and several Lan Ying Palace disciples, walking a few steps behind Rong Chenfei at the very back.
Lan Cao, observing the flowers on Double Ninth Festival, would sometimes scold Bai Lu with a hint of reproach but actually affection, then smile and exchange a few words with Situ Qingliu. After observing Lan Wuxie's expression, she would cautiously step forward and offer a suggestion:
"Sect Leader, why don't we go back?"
Lan Wuxie remained silent, but his steps never faltered. Lan Cao could only take a step back and sighed helplessly.
Bo Feng's Southern Chu Villa was quite spacious; as the weather warmed up at the end of February, the banquet was held in an open-air pavilion, with lanterns hanging high all around, and the moonlight shining brightly outside. Bo Feng hesitated for a long time before arranging the seats. On either side of the head seat were Situ Qingliu and Ji Chong, followed by Lan Wuxie and Hua Chongyang. In this arrangement, Hua Chongyang was right next to Ji Chong, a few steps away, and facing Lan Wuxie directly in front of him.
As soon as the seating was arranged and the main guests took their seats in turn, Bai Lu casually jumped over and sat down next to Hua Chongyang, raising her eyebrows and smiling:
"Leader Bo, naturally I'm sitting next to our sect leader."
Bo Feng's face stiffened again.
The rumors that Bai Lu is Hua Chongyang's male lover have been growing stronger recently, but Bai Lu doesn't shy away from them at all. Is she just too naive, or is it actually true?
...In particular, Hua Chongyang gently scolded him for being "rude," and then let him sit down next to her.
It's even harder for others to say anything.
Lan Wuxie, however, remained utterly pale throughout. As the dishes were served one by one, Bai Lu initially behaved quite well. But when the third dish, prawns, arrived, she immediately picked one up from the small table in front of Hua Chongyang and placed it on her plate. She first fiddled with it for a long time using ivory chopsticks, then picked it up and peeled it with her fingers for a while, finally frowning as she tossed it in front of Hua Chongyang.
"Chongyang, can you peel this skin for me?"
All eyes turned to the two of them. Hua Chongyang paused, frowned, and muttered a curse under his breath:
"You broke your own arm?"
"This is so troublesome."
"Then don't eat it."
"You know perfectly well that shrimp is my favorite food."
"So what did you eat before?"
When I was little, my mom always peeled them for me.
"Alright, alright, I've never seen anyone as difficult to please as you." Hua Chongyang impatiently interrupted him, putting down his chopsticks, picking up a shrimp and peeling it. He tossed the peeled shrimp onto Bailu's plate, "Eat more, talk less!"
Bai Lu smiled and picked up a piece of shrimp, dipped it in vinegar, and put it in her mouth.
Everyone stared blankly at the two of them, their back-and-forth seemingly flirting. Only Lan Wuxie remained focused on peeling shrimp from his plate, as if he hadn't heard a thing. Bai Lu glanced up at him, raised an eyebrow, and held a half-eaten shrimp to Hua Chongyang's lips with her chopsticks.
"Well, you like to eat it too, right? I'll give you a bite."