Should he... just pretend he didn't see it?
Ning Xian sighed deeply. Sure enough, he and Young Master Bai were completely different types of people and could never get along. He had just discovered something endearing about him, but he immediately dismissed it all.
...
As soon as Bai Mo returned to his study, a servant delivered a letter. The envelope emitted a faint fragrance, as delicate as a spring willow dream.
He immediately tore open the envelope; the letter inside was also a pale willow color, reminiscent of its owner. It contained only one sentence: "The promise made in Jiangcheng, have you forgotten?"
Forget? How can one forget?
But how can he go out when he's confined to his home?
He paced back and forth in the study several times. He had always been respectful to his elders and obedient to his parents, but there was only her… only her matter, he could not compromise on! He could not give up!
He finally opened the door and walked towards the main courtyard.
After hearing the reason for his visit, Master Bai slammed his teacup on the table and roared, "You unfilial son! You have a virtuous wife whom you married through proper channels, yet you ignore her and still think about that kind of woman?! Has she really bewitched your soul?! As long as I live, you will never see her again!"
“Father, she does come from a poor background, but that wasn’t her wish. I know the Bai family can’t accept her, and I’ve already compromised. I don’t hope to marry her in this life; I only hope we’ll stay together through thick and thin! This time, I promised to go long ago, and I must go!”
Seeing her son's resolute attitude, Madam Bai was worried that the father and son would fall out. In the end, she felt sorry for her son and said to Master Bai, "Master, our son is grown up. It's not a big deal for him to occasionally go out and meet a few beautiful women. Why are you so angry?"
Businessmen often have social engagements and are quite familiar with women of the night, so it's not a serious matter. However, Master Bai clearly sees that his son is taking that woman far too seriously.
"Fine, if you really want to go, then treat your wife well and give birth to a son or daughter so that the Bai family has an heir before you go! Otherwise, you don't need to come back to my Bai family!"
Bai Mo clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily to the two elders, then got up and resolutely left.
...
Ning Xian felt utterly isolated in this small courtyard. It wasn't until the young master Bai disappeared, the old master Bai fell ill from anger, and the whole mansion knew that she finally received the exciting news—the young master Bai had run away! He had eloped with his mistress in a grand fashion!
She almost burst into laughter and danced with joy—her chance had finally arrived!
Her lips twitched uncontrollably, but faced with Madam Bai crying and sobbing, she could only endure it with difficulty, her lips twitching as she tried to appear deeply sympathetic.
Madam Bai held her hand, wiping away her tears. "Xian'er, the Bai family has wronged you... But Master is just angry. Once things calm down, Mo'er, being a filial child, will come back. Actually, I've known about them for a long time. Mo'er is just stubborn and too sentimental—they first met in Jiangcheng, and since they couldn't be together every day, they made a promise to meet again in Jiangcheng on this day every year, never to break their promise... But I've wronged you; on your birthday, Mo'er actually... Sigh..."
"...Huh?" Wow, there's this too? She's so grateful for this "Jiangcheng Appointment"! But what does this have to do with her birthday?
"Mother knows you're a considerate child, there's no need to hide it. When your parents sent me your birth date and time, I remembered it all. I knew your birthday was in a couple of days, but it just so happens to be at this time..."
“…” Ning Xian lowered his head and remained silent.
Her birthday was clearly in the eleventh lunar month... It was those two old monsters in the family who were so eager to sell their daughter that they somehow got hold of Young Master Bai's birth date and time, and then arranged for her to have a different one in order to make them a match...
She gave a wry smile; she certainly couldn't let this opportunity slip by. "Mother, your daughter-in-law... has a favor to ask..."
"What are you saying, child? Just tell me what you want, and I'll make it up to you..."
"Mother, your daughter-in-law wants to go back to her parents' home..."
Madam Bai was taken aback, then sighed heavily. She certainly didn't want Ning Xian to leave, but her daughter-in-law was being neglected by her husband in the Bai family, and now that unfilial son had simply run away and no one knew when he would return. How could she possibly persuade him to stay...
"Mother, your daughter-in-law didn't mean anything by it, it's just that my mother's birthday is coming up soon, and I just want to go back to show my filial piety." Her words were polite enough, weren't they? Acceptable enough? Of course, she'd accidentally "fall ill" after returning, and the doctor would say things like, "Don't travel too far," etc., so she could legitimately stay at her parents' home. Anyway, since Young Master Bai wasn't coming back, the Bai family probably wouldn't have the face to urge her back. As for her own family—well, didn't she know her own parents? Hearing how the Bai family's son-in-law treated the Qiu family's daughter, these two old monsters, still at heart江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world), were already being generous by not coming to kill her; they might even help her find a couple more lovers. Naturally, they wouldn't let her come back.
Ah, Young Master Bai, this is the first time she's felt so grateful for his unwavering loyalty!
Haha—the Bai family's daughter-in-law is going back to her parents' home!
Ning Xian returned from Madam Bai's place and excitedly packed his luggage. He didn't have much of a useful thing to begin with, so the small package was just for show.
With bandages still wrapped around her head and gauze on her face, Mu Yuan said with considerable frustration, "You're just going back like this? You really don't want to go and bring Bai Mo back? Aren't you going to set fire to the Bai family's house to vent your anger? Don't you have any lingering feelings for Bai Mo?"
"Why would I be nostalgic for him? I have no feelings for him. We were just passersby living in the same courtyard, and we didn't even get along that well. Who has time to think about him? Besides, did he even think of me when he left? If he had, he wouldn't have just left without saying goodbye. His so-called treating me like family and being good to me is nothing more than this. Let's go, let's go back!"
...And you say you don't mind?
—This trip was really not worth it! Mu Yuan has never gone out empty-handed before, but this time, she neither wiped out the Bai family nor caught a beauty, and instead got a head full of teeth marks. What a loss.
He was reluctantly dragged out of the Bai family home by Ning Xian and Yu Lin, still looking back at the Bai family gate with resentment—if he couldn't catch a beauty, at least he could set a fire—
—The stage for the story has finally officially shifted from the Bai family to the martial arts world—
Chapter 13 The Netherworld Cult
—Youmingtian, also known in the martial arts world as Youming Sect.
Under the leader of the sect, Dongfang Qingming, there are two assistants, a white-robed left envoy and a black-robed right envoy, to oversee the sect's affairs.
The sect is divided into two factions: the main sect "Netherworld Heaven" and the branch sect "Paradise Heaven" which specializes in poisons and assassinations. Each faction is independent and has its own leaders and protectors responsible for managing and handling its affairs.
Speaking of the protectors of "Netherworld Heaven", they are naturally the eight classes of Netherworld Heaven. Under the two leaders, [Heavenly King] Mufei and [Naga King] Longjue, there are [Yaksha King], [Gandharva King], [Rahu] and [Ketu] who share the position of [Asura King], [Garuda King], [Kinnara King], and [Mahoraga].
And their little tail, [Kalavinka] Ningxian—commonly known as the "Ninth Division".
The Netherworld has the Eight Legions, while the Paradise has the Four Spirits. Under the Dust-Kite Master are the Dragon, Phoenix, Qilin, and Giant Tortoise.
Although the numbers seem to show a huge difference in the membership of the Netherworld Heaven and the Blissful Heaven, the Blissful Heaven, though small in size, is not to be underestimated in its role of assassination. It is unclear when exactly, but the two factions seem to have gradually developed into irreconcilable enemies, with the Netherworld Heaven entrenched in the east and the Blissful Heaven in the west, a true case of "internal strife".
Three magnificent steeds, carrying their riders, returned in style to the Netherworld. Before they even entered the gate, a commotion arose—
"So what if you people from your headquarters are so great? Aren't you just being supported by the money earned by our Blissful Heaven assassins? A bunch of parasites!"
"You're still talking about making money! For every penny you make in Blissful Heaven, you bring back eight troubles, and Netherworld Heaven has to deal with them one by one. Are we working for nothing?! Take those people who are constantly soaking in poison, for example, not one of them is normal, they're all perverts!"