Chapter 88: Fifth Miss Su Xi (Bonus Chapter for TaiF Alliance Leader)

Liu Xiaolou returned to his temporary guest courtyard, knocked on the door of the main chamber, received no answer—Bai Yun the Swordmaster had not yet returned—and silently wondered if the fellow had finally been chosen.

This speculation could very well become reality; among all the suitors he had just seen, none matched Bai Yun the Swordmaster in “handsome distinction,” his appearance second only to his own.

He pondered further: if the Yun fellow truly won the Su family’s favor and succeeded in his proposal, who would guide him then? Did this mean his own quest for marriage would come to an abrupt end?

He had secured one piece from the Zheng family and two from the Li family—how many could he get from the Su family? What a pity, such a fine path to wealth could not continue—what should he do?

How could he devise a way to sabotage the Yun fellow’s good fortune and keep him running?

After much thought, he came up with a plan: to wildly showcase the deep friendship between himself and the Yun fellow, dragging him into the spotlight by invoking the renown of his own Wulong Mountain.

The Su family’s marriage selection differed from the Li family of Damu Mountain; the Li family first screened candidates for reliable lineage before sending banquet invitations, while the Su family resembled the Zheng family of Luoshan but was even more lenient, widely publicizing the event so that anyone—cat or dog—could come to propose, meaning Liu Xiaolou’s Wulong Mountain identity remained unknown to the Su family.

If so, he could modestly promote his origins during the banquet, thereby causing the Su family to view the Yun fellow differently.

Having decided, Liu Xiaolou left the guest courtyard and wandered nearby, asking servants he met, “Where has my Yun brother gone?” stopping maids to demand, “Why has my Yun brother abandoned me?” and even seeking out the estate’s steward: “Where have you hidden my Yun brother?”—soon the entire estate buzzed with talk of him.

That evening, two maids arrived and told him: “The master has prepared wine and dishes in Gualu Hall for the distinguished guests; please follow us.”

Liu Xiaolou seized the lead maid’s arm and asked: “Where is my Yun brother? The Yun brother from Baiyun Mountain Villa, known as Bai Yun the Swordmaster—he and I are inseparable friends; he must come with me.”

The maid smiled: “The Yun young master? The master invited him for a chat at noon; we don’t know his whereabouts now.”

Liu Xiaolou pressed: “Don’t lie to me—if I don’t see him, I won’t sleep or eat! You don’t know, I sleep with him every night, feet touching—he has a flower on his left side… right here… painted by my own hand…”

The maid covered her mouth and laughed: “You’ll see for yourself when you reach Gualu Hall.”

The maid was ten.

The maid laughed again: “Don’t call me Miss; honored guest, please follow me.”

She led Liu Xiaolou to Gualu Hall, where the two maids took their leave. He entered a courtyard of carved beams and painted rafters, named Qingyu Fuyuan Garden. At its center stood a two-story pavilion, before which stood several archery targets, flanked by a row of stone beasts with gaping mouths.

Six zhang from the targets, a woman with twin buns stood with her left hand behind her back and hurled a flying knife. The knife spun like a wheel, its shadow trailing a dragon of fire that instantly pierced a target, engulfing it in flame. The knife spun back, freezing the water arrows spewed from the beasts’ mouths into ice pillars.

This was the transformation of sword technique into flying knives—out like fire, back like ice—the Su family’s ancestral secret, unattainable without Foundation Establishment.

The woman was about twenty, her appearance and figure among the finest, yet her expression was stern, her brow cold. Dressed in a tight red outfit, she radiated martial vigor. Seeing the maids arrive, she retracted her knife and sat on a stone bench: “Did you see him?”

The two maids stepped forward: “Miss, we’ve seen him.”

The woman was Su Xi, the Su family’s fifth daughter, for whom this marriage selection was held. She asked: “What’s your assessment?”

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The maid who had followed silently, named Xiao Huan, was Su Xi’s personal attendant. She pouted: “He’s passably good-looking, but a lecher. When he saw Susu, he grabbed her and wouldn’t let go.”

Su Xi asked Susu: “I moved you from the back mountain to serve the new son-in-law—what do you think?”

Susu, the one Liu Xiaolou had grabbed, replied: “I believe precisely because he held my hand, he is not a lecher. Anyone coming to Mount Shenwu to propose must know to avoid improper conduct between genders. Even if he were lecherous, he should pretend to be upright now. He held my hand tightly, but not out of lewdness—he kept pressing me for the Yun young master’s whereabouts, clearly anxious. This shows he has no impure thoughts—he doesn’t see me as a woman.”

Su Xi turned to Xiao Huan, who thought a moment: “He did keep asking about the Yun young master, but to conclude their relationship… I think it’s too soon.”

She sighed: “It’s a pity the Yun young master left so abruptly—we had no chance to ask him. And how would you even ask? Even if you did, how would the Yun young master answer? We’ve never heard he favors men…”

Su Xi smiled faintly: “Then observe him again tonight.”

Susu sighed: “If you’d just marry properly, Mao Gongtan’s Mao young master or Xunxi’s Wang young master would both be excellent matches. Even if you reject them, countless handsome men and noble scions exist—you’re bound to find a happy union…”

Xiao Huan grumbled: “So what if he’s a son-in-law? These men flee from the idea like venomous snakes, yet they freely marry women into their homes and refuse to enter theirs. If Mao young master or Wang young master came as sons-in-law, would the Su family really mistreat them?”

Susu said: “That’s just how the world is—what can you do?”

Xiao Huan said: “I know that, but it’s a shame for you—every stray cat and dog is now walking through the gates.”

She suggested: “Miss, you should at least go and take a look when the banquet begins? Among the short, pick the tallest—so at least you’ll find someone tolerable later.”

Su Xi shook her head slightly: “Let Father handle it. Whoever he picks is the same—I agreed with him: I only want the title. Even if I marry, I’ll probably see him only a few times a year. I still need to cultivate—I won’t go.”

As they spoke, a servant entered to report: “Fifth Miss, the Wang young master from Xunxi has arrived and requests to see you. Here is his letter. He says, if after reading it you still drive him away, he will have nothing to say.”

Su Xi took the letter, unsealed it, glanced at it briefly—then her palm exploded into a burst of thunderfire, reducing the letter to black ash.

She told the servant: “Tell him to go home… say to him: the Su family of Mount Shenwu cannot fall. If I marry, who will uphold the Shenwu Villa? This is my fate as a daughter of the Su family.”

The servant bowed and withdrew. Xiao Huan chased after him: “Let me explain to him properly—he came from afar; we shouldn’t slight him.”

Su Xi was indifferent, her fingertip spinning the flying knife into a silver glow, streaked with threads of wind and thunder—its power strengthened by a third.

Xiao Huan stepped outside and found the Wang young master waiting eagerly. She approached and gently conveyed Su Xi’s message. The Wang young master pounded his chest and stamped his feet: “If you marry that rabble, your whole life is ruined!”

Xiao Huan said: “The banquet has begun—if you truly wish to save our mistress, you may attend.”

These words instantly extinguished the Wang young master’s hope. As the eldest son of the Xunxi Wang family, even if he wished it, his household would never permit it.

Helplessly, he turned away, two silent tears sliding down his cheeks.

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