Chapter 424: Good News Approaches, the Hungry Tiger Comes Calling

Zhou You inviting Hua Youxing to his home was, in itself, a signal.

Sure enough, on the second day after Hua Youxing visited, the news spread; both inside and outside the martial arts halls, all parties in Fucheng received word.

Zhou You of the Daqian Martial Arts Hall and Hua Youxing of the Medicine King Sect were about to enter into a marriage alliance.

A union of the strong; there was nothing wrong with that.

Many old-timers in the martial arts circle could not help but sigh, thinking what a sharp strategy this young Zhou had; first, he succeeded in challenging the hall with the force of a thunderbolt, revealing the high-level martial artist 'Gu Lao' as his backer, and now he was employing the tactic of marriage to pull in a connection with the Medicine King Sect.

In this way, he no longer had the slightest obstacle to integrating into Fucheng, making many outsiders and even local natives envious.

Having reached this point, Zhou You's momentum was established, his foundation secure, and there was no longer any possibility of it being shaken.

Originally, those who were waiting to see a joke could still say that no matter how impressive Zhou You was, he was still an outsider, and if he wanted to be accepted by the locals of Fucheng, he would have to wait at least three generations before he could integrate into the local circle.

However...

Hua Youxing's Hua Family was a strong branch of the Medicine King Sect; although they kept a low profile in Fucheng, they possessed an influence that was not readily apparent.

"Damn it, how is it that he gets all the good things in the world?"

Many young martial artists gritted their teeth with jealousy.

As the legitimate daughter of the Hua Family, Hua Youxing was responsible for managing the affairs of Xingren Tang; she was shrewd and capable, and was a widely renowned young beauty, with many of the younger generation harboring deep admiration for her.

This included many outstanding second-generation members of martial arts halls and young masters from small and medium-sized noble families, all of whom attempted to get close to her under the guise of business dealings.

Hua Youxing's response was: business is fine, but there is no need to talk about anything else.

Who could have imagined that Hua Youxing, who was of the highest difficulty to conquer, would actually be snatched away by an outsider.

Sigh...

"Ruyu, your Senior Brother's happy event is near, we should be happy for him, why are you..."

Ceng Fuzi said a few words, but seeing that he could not sway his daughter, he sighed.

He waved his hand, "The groom's mourning period is almost over, our family should start preparing as well."

After Ceng Fuzi left, Ceng Ruyu turned around, revealing a pretty face biting her lip to hold back tears, looking furious!

Bad Senior Brother, he must have taken a fancy to her abundant assets and had a change of heart.

Next time he comes to study, she would definitely spill ink on his shoes to deliberately tease him! The Zhou Family residence in Fucheng.

"Son, such a big event, you should have told your father and mother sooner."

Zhou Laodie and his wife were practically ecstatic; their son had quietly found a good partner, and the woman was the young proprietor of the medicine hall from the original Gongliang City—beautiful and capable, they had heard of her years ago.

Who could have imagined that such a high-quality candidate for a daughter-in-law would fall into their laps like a dream.

"Father, Mother, it's not even set in stone yet, we're just talking!"

Zhou You signaled for the two elders to keep a low profile and not to be in such a hurry to be happy.

"I will first sound out the situation with Youxing's side; if her father has no objections, I will notify you to go and propose marriage, how about that?"

Zhou Laodie was even more excited; ever since he lost his profession and was left idle at home, although he had enough to eat and drink, with plenty of wine and tobacco, he always felt something was off.

This time, he had finally found a new direction.

"Shouldn't we start preparing the betrothal gifts and the wedding?"

Zhou You thought for a moment, "No rush, it'll take at least half a year!"

"You call this not rushing? Half a year—let's just count it as 10 months; the wedding requires produce from all four seasons, so it should be prepared at least a year in advance. It's already late as it is."

"For the relatives coming to the wedding feast, it's not easy for them to make the trip, so we must notify them in advance so they can clear their schedules."

"And..."

Zhou Laodie held out his hands without ceremony, "Give me the money; I'll go place the orders tomorrow—no, today."

Zhou You:... On the street.

An old man with graying hair was dozing off; he was too old and felt sleepy every day, and the leftover food beside him had already gone hard.

Suddenly, he wasn't paying attention and bumped his head against the corner of the wall behind him, waking up with a start.

The old man opened his eyes to see two mischievous children braiding his beard; he was so angry he blew his beard and stared, "Get lost, watch out or a tiger will eat you."

The children ran off giggling, but before leaving, they didn't forget to throw a few stones and curse him as a stinking beggar.

The old man smacked his lips, feeling a bit bored, and yawned, wanting to sleep again.

With a clink of copper coins hitting the ground, the conversation of two passersby made the old man perk up.

"Have you heard? The Hungry Tiger of Daqian Martial Arts Hall, Zhou You, is going to marry the young proprietor of Xingren Tang, Hua Youxing."

"How could I not have heard? Among the younger generation, the one I admire most is this Zhou You. For an outsider to be able to build a foundation in Fucheng and even marry the only daughter of the Hua Family—impressive!"

Zhou You is getting married?

The old man thought of his daughter and son-in-law; were they doing well at Dayin Mountain! When the city fell, he had risked his life to take his daughter and escape, sending her to Dayin Mountain to marry his little Disciple, fulfilling his last wish.

Since then, the hidden dangers of his old wounds had erupted, completely destroying the last bit of vitality in his aged body.

The once-dominant Wang Jianxiong of Gongliang City had now been reduced to a decrepit old man, lying on the street waiting to die.

He had no home to return to, and he didn't want to seek shelter from acquaintances and bring humiliation upon himself; he only wanted to wait for death quietly by himself.

Recently, the name he heard most often was Zhou You.

This rebellious Disciple, the one he had abandoned, was now thriving in Fucheng, which truly surprised him.

If it were the old Wang Laohu, he would have offered some critique and then disdainfully said, 'The brat is still too green.'

But now...

The old man yawned, pulled a straw mat over himself, and fell fast asleep, sleeping until evening.

After waking up, he didn't say a word, got up, and left the 'nest' he had occupied for so long.

"Old beggar, where are you going, what are you doing?"

The mischievous children jumped and played behind him, laughing as they asked him.

"Old beggar, have you gone stupid? You don't even pick up money when it falls on the ground."

The passerby flicked his sleeves, looked with disdain at the old man who seemed deaf and dull-witted, and walked straight toward a certain direction.

The old man walked forward from the somewhat chaotic street, where the roadside became cleaner and more spacious, and beggars and refugees were no longer seen gathering.

This was already a relatively high-end residential area.

"Beggar, get lost; this is not a place for you to come."

Someone stepped forward to block him, but suddenly saw the old man's eyes, shivered, and stepped aside automatically.

In front of the Zhou Family residence gate, Tie Niu stood beside the spirit wall at the entrance; he was guarding the gate today.

The old man walked to the gate and stopped.

Tie Niu raised his hand to signal him to stop, turned around to pick up a flat basket with a dozen steamed buns the size of large bowls on it, and handed it to the old man, telling him to eat as he pleased and leave quickly once he was full.

The old man glanced into the depths of the residence, nodded, took the flat basket, shook the buns inside onto the ground, and began to scratch on them directly with his fingertips.

Tie Niu felt this old man was truly wasteful; those buns were his midnight snack! A moment later, the old man dropped the flat basket and left behind one sentence: "Tell Zhou You that I congratulate him."

Tie Niu watched him leave until he reached the end of the long street, then looked back at the flat basket, which was actually covered in dense, tiny characters.

From that day on, no one in Fucheng ever saw the beggar who looked like the old man again.

(End of this chapter)