Chapter 709: Talented Scholar and Beautiful Lady

"So strong!"

Putting the Jade Bead away, Shen Yu felt a heaviness in his heart for reasons unknown, brought on by the scene he had just witnessed.

Looking up at the sky, Shen Yu could not even tell if the sky he was currently under was the same one the Jade Bead's owner had inhabited.

To transform one's body into an invisible barrier—he did not know how much courage and ability that required.

Yet, through the Jade Bead, he could vaguely sense the other's power; that aura, vast as the heavens and earth, left one without even the thought of trying to compare oneself to it.

In this world, who would go out of their way to try and measure themselves against the heavens and earth? That would be nothing but asking for humiliation.

Gradually, the light on the Jade Bead began to recede, until in the end, it seemed just like a night-luminescent pearl, flickering with a dim, non-blinding glow.

The surrounding Spirit Qi surged into it without stirring up the slightest ripple, yet this light seemed no longer to be contained, as if it were radiating light and heat at every moment.

Shen Yu tried to make contact with this light; under the illumination of the bead, the light transformed into strands of peculiar energy that poured into his body, capable of subtly transforming his physique and strengthening his soul.

If even someone at his current level could feel an improvement, let alone others.

Wearing the Jade Bead on one's person, under its subtle transformation, it might not take long to create an expert. If placed in the world of Martial Arts, it would surely be a treasure that everyone would break their heads trying to obtain.

Getting up and rubbing his head, Shen Yu sighed silently. He used to think he was strong enough, but now he realized he was just a frog at the bottom of a well.

First Mu Zishan, and then this person whose name he didn't even know; the waters of this world were much deeper than he had imagined.

It was just a pity that those old monsters had all been taken away by Mu Zishan before he left; otherwise, if he had managed to cut down two more, he might have triggered a grand prize and boosted his strength another notch.

As for now, he could only wait for the next batch of old monsters to awaken.

However, the world is vast, and evil always hides within it. Before that, he was not without opportunities to strengthen himself.

Accumulate more grain, improve more; only then could he meet the myriad changes with an unchanging stance.

Finding a nearby city, he sat down at a teahouse and ordered some things; this was the seat of the Dongming Prefecture government.

Outside the teahouse, it was bustling, filled everywhere with vigorous hawking. It seemed the chaos outside and the Spiritual Qi Surge had not brought any major impact here.

The common folk here all looked as usual, with no sense of unease; it looked no different at all from before the Spiritual Qi Surge.

A little inquiry revealed that this was all thanks to the Prefect of Dongming Prefecture. The Prefect here was a burly middle-aged man who had been frustrated in his ambitions his whole life, but whose Martial Arts were terrifyingly strong.

It was just a pity that this Prefect probably didn't know how to handle people in the past; he had sat in the position of Prefect for eight years, and his bottom hadn't budged from the seat once.

Otherwise, based on this level of martial prowess, he should have been promoted long ago. It could only be said that he was very strong, but not strong enough.

The Spiritual Qi Surge gave him an opportunity; it was as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened, and his strength shot up instantly. His strength, which had originally been on par with the major powers in the city, suddenly became unfathomable.

Dongming Prefecture had indeed seen some trouble before; some martial artists, after their strength greatly increased, felt they were something special again and began to act arrogantly and domineeringly, looking down on everyone.

They were all gearing up to fight for power and profit, and they completely disregarded the local government office.

The Prefect here was also a fierce man; he went and challenged them one by one. In the end, even when the remaining people joined forces, they were soundly crushed by him, and he single-handedly suppressed all voices of opposition.

Moreover, whenever anyone dared to stir up trouble and harm the common people, this Prefect would go personally, and he wouldn't leave until he had peeled off a layer of skin to give the people an explanation.

It was precisely because of this that it was so quiet and peaceful here. With such a burly Prefect, who would dare to act out?

Believe it or not, if you dare to cause trouble today, he could be at your house tomorrow, holding a blade and demanding an explanation.

"The Prefect here is quite interesting!" After taking a sip of tea and listening to the conversation of the surrounding tea guests, Shen Yu couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

In this day and age, officials with this kind of strength and backbone were truly rare.

"Here is the snack you wanted, take it!"

"Many thanks, Shopkeeper!"

While drinking tea, a pleasant, crisp voice suddenly reached Shen Yu's ears; his gaze happened to shift over, and he saw a pure and lovely young girl of about fifteen or sixteen.

It was just that this young girl was dressed as a maid; if one looked only at her appearance, the girl before him should have been a young lady of status, yet unexpectedly she was just a maid.

The shopkeeper opposite the girl also seemed to have something to say but hesitated, though in the end, he just shook his head silently and said nothing.

This young girl was a clever and bright girl, but unfortunately, she followed a poor master, living so roughly; it was a pity.

"Little girl, whose maid are you?"

Just at this moment, two young gentlemen suddenly walked in through the door, both holding folding fans, looking like dashing and romantic scholars.

When they walked into the teahouse and suddenly saw the young girl preparing to leave, they were momentarily stunned.

The young girl before them was delicate and exquisite, possessing a unique sense of liveliness, as refined as a small porcelain doll, giving one the feeling that just by looking at her, one would want to pull her into their arms and dote on her.

Moreover, looking at her attire, she wore plain cloth and a wooden hairpin. Although it looked neat and clean, one could tell at a glance that the clothes were washed white; her master must be someone without power or influence.

To buy a maid without having money, and such an exquisite little girl at that—wasn't this a waste of a heavenly treasure?

Seeing that the girl did not reply and was preparing to bypass them to leave, one of them unobtrusively blocked her path.

"Little girl, I'm talking to you. Whose maid are you? Looking at your clothes, you shouldn't be from a wealthy family; such an exquisite beauty as you is truly a pity."

"How about this? I will buy you, give your master a large sum of money, and you can follow me in the future. Living in luxury every day is surely better than being like this in plain cloth and wooden hairpins."

The words spoken by this young gentleman were somewhat lewd, and the people in the teahouse could hear them clearly; this was no kindness, it was clearly lust at first sight.

However, they didn't care; the person before them was just a lowly little maid. To be honest, asking for her opinion was giving her face.

Finding her master directly and buying the person back—wouldn't she be his then?

In this era, even concubines were often gifted between friends. If a word was spoken happily, gifting a concubine to each other was a normal phenomenon, wasn't it?

As for molestation? When those rough men did it, it was called molestation, but when scholars with a bit of fame like them did it, what was it called? It was called mutual affection, a romantic affair.

If this got out, it wouldn't be criticized; instead, it would be treated as a romantic tale of literati—who let the pens be in their hands anyway?

Are we forcibly seizing a common woman? No, we are saving someone from the depths of misery. Letting her escape her life of poverty and hardship to leap into a life of luxury—this was doing a good deed.

Look at what is written in those storybooks: scholars and young ladies, scholars and maids, and even scholars and married women, etc. —those romantic affairs were all praised by everyone.

Therefore, whether the matter is right or wrong doesn't matter; the key is who writes it. If I think it's right, I can make you think it's right too. It's a romantic affair, after all; men and women falling in love—isn't that human nature?

If you dare to stop it, then you are a black-hearted villain, a bastard who destroys people's relationships.

What? You say this woman is yours? Do you know what love is? Love knows no class, no status, do you understand? What you should do is facilitate it, not criticize and interfere, otherwise, you are a big villain!

If these scholars had no other skills, didn't they at least have the skill to hoodwink people?

Like now, encountering a maid on the street, falling in love at first sight, not minding her low status, and thus generously opening their purses to redeem her from some mean and heartless master.

This is saving her from fire and water; it wouldn't be excessive for the other party to offer herself in marriage, and then after the two returned home, he would dote on the young girl in every possible way.

No matter who tells it, it is a good story of a talented scholar and a beautiful woman meeting.

As for whether that talented scholar gets bored of that little girl later, whether he casually dismisses her or gives her to someone else, it is not important; no one will investigate these things. People only care about the beginning of a love story; who would care about the outcome?

Talented scholars, after all—how could these mundane affairs disturb them? They still have to go and pursue the next beautiful romance.