Chapter 69

Xu Yang shook his head and said: "Eldest Uncle, do you know about the Liu family in the Inner City?"

Zhou Shunchang nodded: "Naturally, I know. The Liu family is ranked high even in Qingyuan; the Huang family is simply not in the same league as them."

Xu Yang smiled and said: "Previously, the Liu family wanted to marry their daughter to me and even offered fifteen silver taels of cultivation resources every month, but I refused."

Zhou Shunchang was stunned. If that was the case, the Huang family was indeed playing a good game. His own nephew had actually been taken a fancy to by the Liu family in the Inner City, who offered such generous conditions.

The next moment, he widened his eyes: "You brat, why didn't you discuss such a thing with me before refusing?"

"They wanted me to marry into their family!"

Xu Yang laughed. Zhou Shunchang's expression looked a bit better; marrying into a family was not something to be done.

"The Huang family does not require you to marry into their family." He said: "They don't want the betrothal gifts either."

Xu Yang still shook his head: "I'll be honest with you. I have no plans to get married at the moment. If I were willing to get married, the Liu family would likely also be willing to marry their daughter to me, only the money would be less. As for the Huang family's matter, please decline it for me, Eldest Uncle."

Zhou Shunchang had a headache. If he forced Xu Yang to get married, he would naturally want Xu Yang to marry the Liu family girl who had better conditions; the Huang family was clearly trying to get something for nothing and tie down his nephew.

But he was also a member of the Huang family, so declining directly wasn't good either.

"It's fine, just mention the Liu family matter to them and say I'm still considering it; they will naturally understand."

Xu Yang said: "If they still don't give up, I will meet them, and then I'll just find an excuse to decline."

He didn't want to make things difficult for his Eldest Uncle; after all, it was a task ordered by his employer.

"That's the only way!" Zhou Shunchang nodded.

After chatting with Zhou Shunchang for a while, Xu Yang stood up and left.

Time flew by, and another seven days passed.

At the Liu family, he still stayed in the Retainer Courtyard every day. He didn't know if the Liu family didn't trust him or if they really didn't have a use for him; he had never accompanied anyone from the Liu family out.

Of course, it wasn't just him; Wu Yongfeng and the others were the same.

Every day when they went to the Liu family, they would practice martial arts there, and then eat and return to Weiyuan Martial Arts Hall.

This day, news came from the outer courtyard again: Qian Jiaxing failed to break through.

By the time Xu Yang rushed over, Qian Jiaxing had already left; he didn't get to see Qian Jiaxing's disheartened and desperate appearance.

Two days later, Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong succeeded in gathering Qi one after another and entered the inner courtyard.

Of the ten people selected by the Huang family in their batch, four actually succeeded in gathering Qi and became martial artists.

Both of them took three months to succeed in gathering Qi, just like Wu Yongfeng. Although they entered the inner courtyard, few people paid attention to them, so they could only huddle together with Xu Yang again.

Adding Wu Yongfeng, the four of them could be considered a small group, exchanging pointers and sparring together, without needing to curry favor with anyone.

It was also this day that Xu Yang's Comprehension increased to 30, and the progress of his cultivation methods accelerated quite a bit.

"Why the long face?"

Stepping home in the twilight, Xu Yang found that the little girl, Xu Qing, was not writing, but sitting there with a long face.

"That annoying guy from the Yang family has become a martial artist. During the day, Xu Laoer and Zhang Cuiting brought him over to show off. With that arrogant look, I really wanted to step on his face." The little girl pouted.

"I didn't expect him to be able to gather Qi!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yang showed a look of surprise.

Gathering Qi, this thing, indeed has an element of luck.

At Weiyuan Martial Arts Hall, he was in contact with such people every day.

Among the people he met, if one had to say who was the most useless, it was probably Yang Jun; Zhou Yang was better than Yang Jun, with a firm Dao heart and effort, and he couldn't even compare to people like Qian Jiaxing.

Yet he was able to succeed in gathering Qi, and it seemed it was even past the three-month time limit.

"Xu Laoer's good days should be coming to an end soon." Xu Yang laughed.

Xu Qing was still a bit puzzled, but only a few days later, Xu Laoer came to the door with a bruised and swollen face to cry and complain. He had not only been beaten by Yang Jun but also kicked out, hoping that Xu Yang and Xu Qing could take him in.

To this, Xu Yang had only one word—get lost.

"A-Yang, no matter what, I am your father; how can you ignore me?"

Xu Laoer stood outside the door, not daring to come in because of the aura on Xu Yang's body.

"We have already severed our relationship; your life or death has nothing to do with me. Didn't you say Yang Jun became a martial artist and you could bask in his glory? Why don't you go bask in it?"

Xu Laoer's face turned red. He hadn't expected that Yang Jun, who had endured for many years, would immediately find an excuse to kick him out once he became a martial artist.

"Get lost. If you dare to harass us again, not only will Yang Jun beat people, but I will too. Although you are my father and I cannot lay a hand on you, if I find people from the Sanhe Gang, they should be happy to oblige."

Remembering the day Xu Yang had Li Sanhe cut off a man's arm without changing his expression, Xu Laoer didn't dare to pester them further and had to go beg his own eldest brother to take him in.

"No matter how bad he is, he is still our father; are we really going to ignore him?" The little girl was a bit reluctant.

"Don't worry, he's a grown man with hands and feet; he won't starve to death."

Xu Yang shook his head.

Xu Laoer had never done anything human; he couldn't find a reason to forgive Xu Laoer. As for whether others would scold him for being unfilial, he didn't care at all.

After a night passed, he had already forgotten about Xu Laoer's matter and arrived at the Liu family early.

Just as he arrived at the Retainer Courtyard, he saw Zhang Bo standing there with a serious expression, and for the first time, he had a sword at his waist.

"What happened?" Xu Yang asked another retainer, Wang Yun, in a low voice.

Wang Yun whispered: "A lecherous thief called the Jade Butterfly has appeared in the city, specializing in harming the young ladies of wealthy families. Several young ladies from various families have already fallen victim, and who knows how many more haven't been reported. The Liu residence has over a dozen young ladies, big and small…"

Xu Yang was shocked: "Has a young lady in the residence fallen victim?"

He had heard Qiu Wenjie talk about flower-picking thieves before; he didn't expect there to be such a talent.

Wang Yun glared at him and said: "No, but with such a person out there, the young ladies in the residence are also in danger. From now on, whenever they go out, they must be accompanied by retainers. The good days are over."

After a while, everyone had arrived, and Zhang Bo gave instructions: "Everyone, perk up. The main family has supported us for so long; it's time for us to be of use. Don't embarrass the Retainer Courtyard.

Don't practice today; conserve your energy and be ready at all times.

When you accompany the young ladies out, don't let the thief find an opportunity. If the job is done well, the main family will not be stingy with rewards."

Hearing there were rewards, Wang Yun, who had previously thought the good days were over, began to rub his hands together.

Working for wealthy families, the monthly stipend was only small money; if one could perform meritorious service, that was the truly big money.

He even hoped in his heart that the Jade Butterfly would appear at the Liu family, and then be captured by him in one fell swoop, gaining both fame and fortune.

"Someone who dares to target wealthy families won't be a mediocrity. If our three-legged cat skills encounter him, I fear we won't even know how we died."

Xu Yang had no thoughts of performing meritorious service. This Jade Butterfly had done so many things and was still fine; he must have some formidable aspects. Someone like him who had just entered Qi Gathering asked himself if he had the ability to harm so many young ladies of wealthy families.

"Brother Zhang Bo, what methods does that Jade Butterfly have, and what is his age? Tell us so we can be prepared." A retainer named Bao Gang spoke up.

Zhang Bo said: "It is said he is skilled in using poison and his lightness skill is peerless. If you encounter him, hold your breath immediately."

Just as he was speaking, a woman dressed as a maid walked over and said: "Retainer Zhang, the Fifth Young Lady wants to go to the Sunutang; please arrange a retainer to escort her."

"Alright, please wait a moment!"

Zhang Bo nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces, and finally landing on Xu Yang: "Xu Yang, you go and escort the Fifth Young Lady." ===== CHAPTER 70 =====