Chapter 82: Taking Anger Out on Others

Because of the merit of the Yin-Yang technique, Liu Xiaolou was able to sit in a position near the front, and with a heart full of doubts, he witnessed the entire process of the grand feast.

This grand feast didn't actually have much of a process. After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, he finally realized that the so-called process had already been completed at the beginning. Only then did he understand that the Red Luo Villa was not recruiting retainers, but seeking a son-in-law.

The reason he came here, and the reason he caught the eye of Zheng Zheng Laolao Zheng, was truly just because of his own bit of good looks, and had nothing to do with anything else. For hundreds of years, the Zheng family's important consideration in seeking sons-in-law and marrying wives was appearance first. Because of this, the Zheng family, regardless of gender, were all people of dashing and outstanding appearance.

The one seeking a husband today was Zheng Zheng Laolao Zheng's granddaughter, Lord Zheng's second daughter. Her name for beauty was famous within three hundred miles of Red Luo Villa, which was why she attracted so many young talents to propose marriage. The only flaw was that it was said her left foot was slightly lame, but this flaw was completely covered by her prominent family background and her own cultivation.

At this point, Liu Xiaolou extinguished this thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to marry this Zheng family daughter; he was certainly willing to climb a high branch. The problem was that he couldn't compete with the family background and couldn't afford the bride price.

If the Zheng family really chose him, the most he could take out would be twenty or thirty taels of silver; he didn't have a single spirit stone or rare treasure. Even if he offered his own Deep Abyss Envious Fish Mystical Stone Array Plate, the Zheng family probably wouldn't even look at it straight. As for the Ground-Leaving Dispersing Yuan Rope, this thing was evidence of murder and he dared not show it easily.

During the banquet, he vaguely heard the Bai Yun Swordsman and the Scholar in Green discussing their respective bride prices. The Bai Yun Villa planned to offer ten magic artifacts, ten rare spiritual materials, a hundred stones of spiritual rice, and three spiritual beasts. In addition, there were five thousand taels of silver, eight hundred bolts of silk, five hundred acres of high-grade paddy fields, and a hundred spirit stones as a final trump card.

The Scholar in Green's family had slightly less, without the paddy fields and so much silver, but the green-headed carrier pigeons they raised were offered in three pairs. It was said that this kind of spiritual pigeon had a market price of nearly a hundred spirit stones per pair, and they were priceless!

Hearing this, Liu Xiaolou couldn't help but think of his own big white goose. If he took it as a bride price, he wondered how much it would be worth? By the way, he hadn't seen Dabai for a long time. After going back this time, he didn't know what kind of surprise it would bring him. Last time it had learned to drill wood for fire; this time, would it be cooking its own meals?

His spiritual sense wandered, and he became absent-minded about the rest of the banquet. He drank a few cups of wine and ate a few plates of snail slices without remembering them. Anyway, not a single talent came to toast him; he either drank alone or joined the crowd in raising his glass to congratulate some name or event he had never heard of.

The only regret was not seeing the true face of the Zheng family daughter. He didn't know if she was hiding in some place where she could see the banquet, observing one by one, comparing and selecting based on the various conditions of the suitors.

To say a thousand things and ten thousand things, even if the Zheng family daughter finally chose him, could he marry her back to Wulong Mountain? One had to know that last year, his good brother Wei Hongqing's affair of mutual affection still ended in a mess. The Xia family would rather marry their daughter into the Zhanglong Sect as a concubine than send her to Wulong Mountain to be a thief's wife...

The banquet started at the hour of the Rooster and ended at the fourth quarter of the hour of the Dog. The final outcome was neither unexpected nor a bit unexpected. What was not unexpected was Liu Xiaolou's failure to be selected—dual cultivation technique alone wouldn't do. What was unexpected was that the one kept by the Zheng family was the "talent" with the lowest cultivation, the descendant of the Ding family from Shuanglong Town, the guy he had been frantically disdaining before.

At this moment, Liu Xiaolou had no heart to inquire about what background the Ding family of Shuanglong Town had or how much bride price they offered. He was somewhat disappointed. What he was disappointed about was not that he wasn't chosen as a son-in-law by the Zheng family—he hadn't harbored that luxury at all. He was disappointed that his wishful thinking of applying as a retainer for Red Luo Villa had been shattered, and his mood was somewhat depressed.

But that was all. Wanting to change his identity and seek a good background? Where in the world was it that easy? He would get used to it after being disappointed more often.

After the banquet ended, Liu Xiaolou said goodbye and left. The steward chased after him, presented a small red silk bag, expressed his gratitude to Liu Xiaolou, and then went to thank the other rejected talents.

Liu Xiaolou touched the red envelope and immediately guessed it was a spirit stone. So he waited a while longer, feeling that there shouldn't be any more surprises, and left Red Luo Villa. Opening it outside the villa, it was indeed a spirit stone, and all his disappointment vanished instantly.

Not only did he eat a lot of spiritual snail meat and have a grand feast, but he also got a gift before leaving, which put him in a great mood.

Next, should he continue to explore the reason for the "clatter-clatter" sound of the jade hairpin, or find a way to earn spirit stones?

While walking on the mountain road shrouded in night, Liu Xiaolou was considering his next steps when he suddenly heard someone catching up from behind. Looking back, the person coming was dressed in white—it was the Bai Yun Swordsman.

The Bai Yun Swordsman's cultivation was much higher, and his pace was much faster than Liu Xiaolou's, so he soon drifted past Liu Xiaolou.

The two looked at each other, and Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands politely. "Brother, are you going this way too? Hehe..."

The Bai Yun Swordsman spat. "Bah, bad luck!"

Liu Xiaolou sighed. "Brother, why be like this?"

The Bai Yun Swordsman had intended to hurry on his way, but hearing Liu Xiaolou dare to talk back, a burst of evil fire surged up, and he blocked the middle of the road. "What do you mean why be like this? Bad luck is bad luck!"

Liu Xiaolou frowned. "I didn't provoke you, did I? Why insult people?"

The Bai Yun Swordsman said angrily, "If it weren't for living in the same courtyard as a thief like you, why wouldn't the Zheng family choose me? And you say it's not bad luck?"

Liu Xiaolou said, "Brother, you weren't chosen, and I understand your bad mood, but why take it out on others? As the saying goes, meeting is fate..."

The Bai Yun Swordsman shouted, "I'll just take it out on you, so what?" A cold light flashed, and the Bai Yun Sword erupted with three feet of sword radiance, slashing down at Liu Xiaolou's head.

Liu Xiaolou had heard him report his cultivation; the meridians he had opened were undoubtedly far beyond his own. The Ground-Leaving Dispersing Yuan Rope certainly couldn't hold him, and his Three Mystical Sword hadn't yet refined sword radiance, so he certainly wasn't a match. He had no choice but to throw out the array plate.

The Deep Abyss Mystical Stone Array was Liu Xiaolou's greatest means of self-preservation at the moment.

The Bai Yun Swordsman's cultivation was indeed much higher, but deep in the array, knowing nothing about it, he couldn't get out for a while.

Of course, it was only an illusion array after all, and Liu Xiaolou's cultivation was three levels lower, so he couldn't win by the array, and the two sides were temporarily in a stalemate. But if it went on for a long time, Liu Xiaolou certainly wouldn't be able to hold on.

The Bai Yun Swordsman had come with the greatest expectations and was indeed unwilling after being rejected, thus taking his anger out on Liu Xiaolou. After entering the array, his sword radiance had no pattern at all; he was just slashing wildly, venting the depression in his heart.

He slashed down a large patch of banana trees and green bamboo, and kicked open the hanging flower gate of the pavilion by the pond. He entered with his sword, full of momentum, intending to slash the pavilion down as well, when he suddenly froze.

In the curtains on the bed, wasn't that beautiful woman with the delicate gauze the Zheng family daughter he was thinking of?

Why... why... was she dancing?

The Bai Yun Swordsman was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously stretched out his foot to hook a stool from the side and slowly sat down.

PS: Previously, this cousin's arithmetic was failing, causing misunderstandings among fellow Daoists. I will reiterate: those who cultivate the first three meridians are considered to have entered cultivation and belong to the first level of Qi Refinement; this stage is also known as "Martial Master." Those who cultivate the fourth meridian are considered to have entered the second level of Qi Refinement. Student Xiaolou is working hard to open the fifth meridian and belongs to the third level of Qi Refinement. ===== CHAPTER 83 =====