Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 59

Just as they sat down, they heard laughter, loud and arrogant, with a deliberate attempt to attract attention. "What a coincidence! You really shouldn't talk about people behind their backs."

The inn was usually quite quiet, and many of the diners seemed to be江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people of the martial arts world), rather reserved and deep-seated. But this person suddenly spoke loudly, and Xiao Dao naturally looked over there.

The table where they were talking was on the southwest side, also by the window, where two men and a woman were sitting. The girl was dressed in men's clothing, which was rather pretentious, and she hadn't even wiped off her makeup.

There was nothing wrong with that in itself, but what was strange was that all three of them were staring at Xiao Dao's table with different expressions. The two men looked somewhat alike, with disdain and mockery, while the girl seemed surprised, or perhaps delighted.

Xiao Dao glanced at them and felt that one of the men looked familiar. Where had he seen him before?

The food at this small Northwestern shop is rather rustic. A large bowl of beef noodles was placed on the table, with a roasted lamb in the middle. Xiao Dao stared at the scallions and chili flakes floating on the noodle soup for a long time, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table, "Ah!"

The three people sitting there were holding chopsticks to pick up noodles when she shouted, causing their hands to tremble... and the noodles slipped back into the bowl. They looked at her helplessly, as if asking, "What's wrong with you now?"

Why was Xiao Dao so agitated? Because she remembered seeing that familiar-looking man somewhere before. When she infiltrated the Beihai Sect as a maid, she saw Xue Beihai's wife hanging out with a male disciple. That was him!

Xiao Dao blushed slightly at the thought of that scene, and subconsciously slurped up a mouthful of noodles. After a while, he tilted his head back and exclaimed, "Delicious!"

Xiaoyue laughed at Xue Beifan's antics. Xue Beifan shook his head, tore off a piece of lamb, and held it to Xiaodao's mouth. Xiaodao was busy eating noodles, chopsticks in one hand and a spring roll wrapped in a vegetable leaf in the other, so engrossed in the delicious food that she couldn't keep up. Seeing the meat right in front of her, she opened her mouth and took a big bite. Xue Beifan wiped her mouth for her.

Xiao Dao was enjoying her spring roll when she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, a murderous aura washing over her. She shrank back and quickly turned around… Strangely enough, the woman disguised as a man was staring at her menacingly. Xiao Dao, being quite shrewd, quickly understood what was happening. She reached out and offered the half-eaten spring roll to Xue Beifan's lips, saying, “You eat it!”

Xue Beifan was startled by her, and Chonghua and Hao Jinfeng both subconsciously wondered if the spring rolls were poisoned.

While Xue Beifan was lost in thought, he saw Yan Xiaodao raise an eyebrow at the girl who was staring intently at him, seemingly in annoyed. Xue Beifan almost burst out laughing; she really seemed to thrive on chaos! There was no reason not to eat the delicious food offered to him, so he opened his mouth and ate half a spring roll, his beaming smile not appearing feigned.

Xiao Dao saw that although the girl didn't speak, her eyes were practically bloodshot from staring—she definitely recognized Xue Beifan! Normally, Xiao Dao rarely provoked others; her actions were purely instinctive, sensing these people had ill intentions. Especially with that unfilial disciple who was trying to seduce her master's wife—one is influenced by one's surroundings!

"What a coincidence, Second Brother! Weren't you enjoying yourself in the Jiangnan region? You didn't even attend Eldest Brother's funeral, so why are you in the mood to come to this remote and impoverished place?"

Xiao Dao was puzzled by this. Why would he call Xue Beifan "Second Brother"? Didn't the Xue family only have two brothers in total?

Xiaoyue and Hao Jinfeng both asked Chonghua in low voices, "Someone you know?"

Chonghua smiled awkwardly and introduced them to everyone in a low voice, "The one on the left is Bei Fan's cousin Xue Xing, the one on the right is Xue Bei Hai's eldest disciple Fang Tongli, and the girl in the middle is Xue Bei Hai's youngest disciple Qin Ke."

Xiao Dao was even more puzzled. They were all Xue Beifan's juniors, so why were they being so disrespectful?

Xue Beifan remained unmoved and continued to eat his noodles and drink his wine.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Xue Xing smiled and continued, "Second brother, it's been a long time. Aren't you going to ask how eldest brother died?"

Xiao Dao found it increasingly strange. Could Xue Beifan be an illegitimate child or someone he'd adopted? How could even a younger brother from the same family dare to bully him?

Clearly, Xiaoyue and Hao Jinfeng shared this confusion, but Chonghua couldn't say it outright, only casually remarking, "It's a long story."

Xiao Dao glanced at Xue Beifan out of the corner of his eye and saw that he was still calm and composed. Was Xue Er holding back, or was he just used to it? It was rare to see him suffer a verbal defeat... Did someone have something on him, or did he simply not want to argue with a junior?

"Don't talk nonsense."

At this moment, Qin Ke glared at Xue Xing, then turned to Xue Beifan and asked, "Second Young Master, how have you been? What brings you to Western Xia?"

Xue Beifan glanced at her, smiled faintly, and said dismissively, "Just passing by."

Qin Ke's face flushed slightly, while Fang Tongli's face darkened.

Xiao Dao continued scratching his head. Shouldn't he be called Second Uncle Xue Beifan according to seniority? Why is he called Second Young Master? The rules of wealthy families are so complicated.

"Junior sister, is there even a need to ask? Of course, we're here to participate in the selection of the Ghost King." Fang Tongli sneered, then looked at Yan Xiaodao beside Xue Beifan. "With Second Young Master's good relationships with women, this Ghost King title is probably in his pocket."

Xiao Dao, tilting his head back and gnawing on a lamb leg, winked at Xue Beifan—"Do you have a grudge against him? Judging from the tone of his voice, he practically hates you to death!"

Xue Beifan was quite helpless. He just shrugged slightly and gestured to Xiao Dao to ignore it.

"However, the second young master's taste is really strange, especially when it comes to women..."

Xiao Dao had been eating her noodles with her head down, thinking it was none of her business. After all, the Beihai Sect was full of vixens; like father, like son. What good people could Xue Beihai have trained? But Fang Tongli's next sentence didn't sit well with Xiao Dao—"What kind of taste is that?"

"You don't want the most beautiful woman in the world, but instead choose a girl who hasn't even grown up yet. What kind of taste is that?" Fang Tongli shook his head with a smile, winking at Qin Ke beside him. Qin Ke's sullen face softened a bit.

Little Knife couldn't stand it anymore, thinking to himself, "What? You haven't opened up yet!"

When Xue Beifan saw that Xiao Dao's hair was almost standing on end, he knew that Fang Tongli had stirred up a hornet's nest.

Xiao Dao squinted and looked back at Fang Tongli.

Fang Tongli didn't pay any attention and continued drinking tea.

But then Xiao Dao muttered, "Liking a little girl is better than liking a master's wife."

"puff."

After Xiao Dao finished speaking, Xue Beifan spat out half of his tea and looked at Xiao Dao in shock, as if asking—Really?!

Xiao Dao wrinkled his nose and nodded with a look of disgust.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fang Tongli couldn't take it anymore and slammed his hand on the table, standing up abruptly.

"Look!" Xiao Dao became even more certain. "They're getting desperate, aren't they? That's how it usually is when a shameful secret is exposed."

Fang Tongli blushed deeply. He and his master's wife had been keeping their affair a secret for quite some time; most of the Beihai Sect members knew a little about it, but it was an open secret. However, it wasn't something to be proud of, and he couldn't bear having it brought up in public. Qin Ke, standing beside him, blushed with embarrassment. Xue Xing frowned and shook his head. Fang Tongli was good in every way—his martial arts were excellent, he was clever, and had a ruthless streak—but his lecherousness was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

Fang Tongli was anxious. How did Xiao Dao know about this? Besides a few close people within the Beihai Sect, who else knew about it?

Just then, Xue Xing reached out and pulled him aside, telling him to stop arguing. This place was a mixed bag, with many people from the martial arts world coming and going. Would it really sound good if word got out?

As luck would have it, it was lunchtime, and even more diners flocked in, many of whom were from the martial arts world.

Seeing that there were many people in the room, Fang Tong didn't want to attract attention, so he sat down and drank his wine in silence, wondering how Xiao Dao knew.