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Capítulo 73

Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow awkwardly, leaned against the windowsill of the second-floor bay window to drink tea, and saw a long queue in front of a mansion not far away, which puzzled him.

"Hey buddy," Xue Beifan said, pointing casually downstairs with his teacup in hand, "what are those people lining up for?"

"Oh!" The shop assistant glanced at it and laughed. "That's a clothing shop. When they go into the ghost city to summon the ghost king, they have to dress up nicely, right? New clothes are a must. Clothing shops always make a fortune at this time of year."

“Register…” Xue Beifan’s lips twitched slightly. He turned around and saw Xiao Dao looking at him with one hand supporting his cheek. He was a little puzzled. He raised his eyelids slightly and gave Xiao Dao a questioning look—what are you looking at?

Xiao Dao's lips curled up slightly. She suddenly noticed something: Xue Beifan had many actions, especially the kind that seemed unintentional, that only he could do, and he did them very naturally. It was quite unique.

Xiao Dao remembered what her mother had told her: people are different. Some people's lives are like peach blossoms in bloom, with their good and bad fortune clearly visible. Others are like the ephemeral beauty of a night-blooming cereus, with their good and bad fortune hidden in the shadows. Whether you can see it depends on whether you seize the opportunity and have the patience to wait for that fleeting moment.

Xiao Dao thought with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Don't let Xue Beifan's usual deadpan demeanor fool you; his occasional little gestures are quite captivating. Like that casual gesture pointing downstairs just now, his every move exuded a natural laziness… as if he didn't care about anything. It's just like her mother's saying—the less someone cares, the more they attract attention."

"Hello."

Xiao Dao looked up and saw Xue Beifan's face was right in front of him, grinning as he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xiao Dao held out his hand to show him.

Xue Beifan looked at Xiao Dao's white hand with a puzzled expression, then suddenly clenched his fist and punched himself on the shoulder, asking him with a slightly smug yet casual tone, "How do you know I'm looking at you if you're not looking at me?"

"It's only natural for men to look at women," Xue Beifan said, leaning against the table with a mischievous grin. "Women looking at men always have ulterior motives."

Xiao Dao leaned closer, staring into his eyes, and asked, "So tell me, what am I thinking right now?"

Xue Beifan looked at Xiao Dao's eyes, which were full of laughter, and lowered his voice a few decibels, "What are you thinking about?"

Xiao Dao met his gaze, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke, "How about another piece of pig's head?"

...

Xue Beifan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

When Xue Xing led Qin Ke and Fang Tongli upstairs, they saw Xue Beifan and Xiao Dao sitting face to face, seemingly talking. Xue Beifan was smiling happily, while Xiao Dao was waving chopsticks in his hand, looking out the window smugly.

Qin Ke's expression darkened further. She turned to go downstairs, but Fang Tongli stopped her, saying, "Hey, junior sister, have some food before you go."

"I have no appetite!" Qin Ke said awkwardly.

Fang Tongli forcibly dragged her upstairs and sat her down to eat.

As the waiter brought tea to Xiao Dao and the others, Xue Beifan asked him, "Waiter, what are the requirements for registering for the marriage proposal?"

"Hmm, he has to be between twenty and thirty years old, and famous throughout the world." The waiter pondered, "He also needs to have excellent martial arts skills, decent looks, and manliness."

Xue Beifan nodded, curious, "Even with the Queen's portrait being distributed, why are so many people still flocking to see it?"

The waiter smiled knowingly. "Young master, haven't you heard that the Ghost City in the Western Regions is filled with countless treasures? The Queen is incredibly wealthy and a powerful ruler. Even if she looks a bit indecent in the portrait, she's still a beauty. Even if she were a bald, scabby woman... there would still be plenty of people wanting to participate in the marriage contest."

After the shop assistant left, Xue Beifan asked Xiaodao, "How about it? Should we sign your brother up? He's quite famous. Besides, Youyou's mother is only looking for her father. Your brother isn't afraid of being targeted. Getting into Ghost City is the key."

"Hmm." Xiao Dao pondered for a moment. Chonghua was quite famous, but considering that he was currently only interested in Xiaoyue, he probably wouldn't agree. As for Xue Beifan and Hao Jinfeng... Xiao Dao didn't know why, but she felt it was better to let her older brother go.

So, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a hint of guilt, an expression that made Xue Beifan laugh again.

Just as the two were enjoying themselves, a burly man from Northwest China passed by them, clearly having finished his meal and wanting to go downstairs. Not far away, Xue Xing secretly picked up a peanut and flicked it at the man's ankle.

The big guy felt someone trip him and tumbled down at Xue Beifan's feet.

Xiao Dao blinked. She had clearly seen Xue Xing ambush the burly man, and she knew his intentions just from where the man had fallen. Xiao Dao was somewhat displeased—the monsters of the Beihai Sect were up to their tricks again!

After getting up, the burly man looked around and finally stared at Xue Beifan. "You brat, you dare trip me?"

Xue Beifan saw it clearly, and gently pinched the bridge of his nose, seemingly a little annoyed, "I didn't trip you."

"I clearly saw it!" The burly man was a local bully with some influence, and he had several cronies eating with him at the table. How embarrassing would it be for him to trip and fall like that? Besides, although he didn't see clearly whether Xue Beifan tripped him, he definitely felt someone hook him and that's why he fell. Who else could it be but him?

Xiao Dao glanced at the three people at the table not far away out of the corner of his eye. He saw Qin Ke frowning slightly, Xue Xing looking around meaningfully, and Fang Tongli looking gloating.

Xiao Dao felt even more annoyed. These three were really annoying, but she didn't say anything at the moment. She just wanted to see what Xue Beifan was going to do.

"You're from out of town, right?"

At this moment, several of the men who had been eating at the same table behind the burly man also came over to chime in, making intimidating gestures. These men were considered local bullies, and many of the diners, seeing this, quickly dropped their money and fled.

The men, emboldened by their courage, wanted to break up the fight but dared not approach.

"We clearly saw you trip him, what do you suggest we do about it!" These guys were all thugs, and they probably wanted to extort money from us.

Xue Beifan poured himself a glass of wine and said slowly, "Then you all have problems with your eyes."

Xiao Dao smirked as he watched the spectacle, cup in hand.

With a "smack," the big man slammed his broadsword on the table, splashing a lot of soup. The small knife quickly moved aside.

The burly man glared at him and said, "You little brat, you've got some nerve! This isn't over yet. You pay me a hundred taels for medicine, and we'll call it a day! Otherwise, you won't be leaving here alive!"

Xue Beifan looked at him amusedly, "If you don't go out vertically, how are you supposed to get out?"

"Get out of here sideways!" the big man thumped his chest.

Xue Beifan said in a low voice, "That's great. I've always wanted to be a little more assertive in my life. I've just been too honest and suffered because of it."

"Pfft..." Xiao Dao covered his mouth and laughed.

The big man's eyes almost popped out. He was about to bar his teeth and make a few more threats when he suddenly felt someone trip him. He fell backward and landed on his buttocks on the ground.

Xiao Dao was watching just now. Xue Beifan seemed to have kicked him... or maybe not?