Chapter 90: The Banquet Disperses and Guests Depart, the Flower-Plucking Thief Appears

Song Fugui felt as if he were dreaming.

He had already prepared himself for today's wedding, ready to accept any difficulties thrown at him by the bride's family.

To cope with the bride's relatives, Song Laoyou had prepared a basket of copper coins in advance as wedding tips, but now they were of no use.

Because Zhou You was present, the bride's relatives became "reasonable."

Welcoming the bride, receiving the sedan chair, and entering the bridal chamber—the whole process was smooth and seamless, with no harassment or rowdiness.

"It's all thanks to Zhou You holding down the fort."

Song Fugui knew his own situation; this marriage was a case of marrying above his station.

According to the bride's family's intentions, they had planned to use the wedding to give him a hard time and suppress him, to deflate his ego so he would be submissive after the wedding.

After all, the Song family had no prominent relatives and ran small businesses; at best, they were on the level of an ordinary family.

Who could have imagined that among the guests present, there would be a figure like Zhou You.

Liao Daheng was respectful to Zhou You, and the other relatives of the bride dared not do anything.

"Fugui, you must be friends with Young Master Zhou for a lifetime!"

Song Laoyou was filled with emotion; when his son got married, he had been prepared to lose half his life.

But as it turned out, nothing too excessive happened at the wedding banquet; it was far more calm and relaxed than he had imagined.

All of this was because Zhou You was present.

Zhou You did not yet know of Song Fugui's complex inner thoughts; he was busy dealing with Liao Daheng's toasts and attempts to build a connection.

Liao Daheng was worried about not being able to make a connection and wanted to further close the distance with the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall.

Zhou You was a Zhengshi Xuitu of the martial arts hall and a participant in the tiger-hunting affairs; for him, it was like having a pillow handed to him just as he was getting sleepy.

"Young Master Zhou, I'll finish mine, you drink as you please!"

Liao Daheng downed his cup in one go and began to recount his past.

It turned out that when he was in Su Cheng, he had also joined a martial arts hall to practice boxing and had once broken through to the Jinli Level.

Limited by his talent, he reached his limit after entering the Jinli Level, and after wasting seven or eight years, he saw no hope of opening his Qi and blood.

Liao Daheng left the martial arts hall and threw himself into business, finally making a name for himself in the fur trade.

Relying on his hard work, his business grew larger and larger, but then disaster struck.

"During the day, demonic creatures appeared in the markets and streets, hunting residents; later, order collapsed, and the government was too weak to maintain control."

"Bandits and starving people appeared in the countryside, even gathering in groups to attack the inside and outside of Su Cheng."

"Ever since I heard that starving people could easily gather in groups of 1,000 or 2,000, I knew Su Cheng was no longer a place to stay."

Liao Daheng was a decisive man; at the height of his business, seeing the signs of the great disaster, he ignored the opposition of his family and partners, sold his assets, and moved to Gongliang City.

Facts proved that he indeed had foresight.

The starving people gathered into rioters, armed themselves with farm tools and ironware, and breached the city walls of Su Cheng.

"The old friends who stayed in the city, don't even mention how miserable they are."

Liao Daheng sighed deeply, "A few days ago, I saw a great wealthy man who is now penniless, wrapped in a tattered quilt begging on the street, looking as haggard as if he had aged twenty years."

He said with a sincere attitude, "Young Master Zhou, my whole family has come to Gongliang City, and from now on, we are locals."

"Although I have a small amount of property, sitting around and eating away at it is not a solution; I still want to do my old trade to support my family."

"If the martial arts hall needs manpower to hunt tigers, no problem, I can offer a price lower than the original hunters."

"You are a top student of Hall Master Wang and can speak for me; please put in a good word or two, and I won't let you work for nothing."

Zhou You waved his hand and said modestly, "The Hall Master is too far away; I haven't seen him many times in total, at most I see the Big Senior Brother daily."

"Lu Qiang, that's right, this matter is under his jurisdiction."

Liao Daheng slapped his knee, ordered someone to fetch a package, and set it down heavily on the ground.

"There are ten catties of gold here; I don't know what he likes, so Young Master Zhou, please help me look into it and buy something."

He was efficient in handling matters; before there was even a definite word, the bribe was already given in full.

Zhou You did not take it and said calmly, "Owner Liao, don't be so formal. The Big Senior Brother is fair in his dealings; if you truly have the ability, your chances of being selected are high. Hmm, I will help you ask around after I go back."

"When there is news another day, I will have Song Fugui pass it to you."

Liao Daheng grinned, "Good, Fugui is a good lad!"

In the end, Zhou You did not take the other party's money.

Liao Daheng glanced at the parents beside Zhou You and thought this was easy to handle; he would send it to their home tomorrow night and give it to the couple.

The night grew deep, the wedding was coming to an end, and the guests at the banquet began to rise and leave one after another.

Song Fugui and his father saw off the relatives and friends one by one, and the lively scene gradually became quiet.

"You'er, it's getting late."

Seeing that most of the guests around had left, Zhou Laodie reminded his son that the banquet was about to disperse.

Zhou You was still exchanging cups with Liao Daheng and stopped his movements upon hearing this, "Father, Mother, you go ahead first."

He then said to Fugui, "Fugui, see my parents out."

Song Fugui did not understand, but seeing only Zhou You and Liao Daheng left at the table, he knew they had something private to discuss.

Thus, Song Fugui and his father led Zhou You's parents to the gate of the courtyard.

In the courtyard, there were messy dishes and plates everywhere from the banquet.

Liao Daheng discovered that only he and Zhou You were left and sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off.

"Young Master Zhou, is there something wrong?"

"Wrong, very wrong."

Zhou You said faintly, "The guests have all left, yet there are still people hiding in the dark wanting to disturb the bridal chamber."

As soon as these words fell, Liao Daheng's hair stood on end.

He was also a martial artist at the Jinli Level, and with a slight hint, he realized something was wrong.

In the shadowy corner of the rooftop under the night sky, a person lay quietly in wait, blending into the grey-green roof tiles.

A flower-plucking thief? The wine Liao Daheng had drunk instantly turned into cold sweat and seeped out of his pores, soaking more than half of his back.

The newlyweds on their big day had actually attracted the notorious flower-plucking thief.

In all fairness, his niece had a decent appearance but was not exactly a great beauty; why would she attract this thief?

Fortunately, Zhou You discovered it in time; once they left, if the flower-plucking thief broke into the bridal chamber, it would surely lead to the ruin of the family.

"You dog thief, how dare you provoke your Grandpa Liao."

Liao Daheng had fought his way up through killing and fighting, and although he had enjoyed wealth for a long time, he had never neglected his skills.

He flipped the round table with both hands, lifted the solid wood tabletop weighing dozens of catties, and threw it like a spinning flywheel.

Amidst the sound of breaking through the air, the tabletop grazed the roof and shattered seven or eight roof tiles directly.

The figure flew straight up with a swoosh, stepped on the tabletop, made a turn, landed off the roof, and dove into the bridal chamber.

The movements were as agile and graceful as a flying bird, making several turns in mid-air, leaving one dazzled.

"Damn, Lightness Skill, Dark Cuckoo Fist."

Liao Daheng's cursing was filled with despair.

When he saw the opponent's movement technique, he knew his niece was going to suffer.

The Dark Cuckoo is a style of fist martial arts from Su Cheng, known for its Lightness Skill; it treads on grass like flying, leaves no trace on snow, and leaps up like a flying cuckoo.

Being at the same Jinli Level, other martial artists could not catch up, unable to chase or strike.

The flower-plucking thief was unscrupulous, passing through doors and houses every night to ravage women without leaving a trace; who else could it be but the Dark Cuckoo Fist?

Liao Daheng never dreamed that, with no grudge or enmity, the opponent would actually target his niece.

On the wedding night, the auspicious bridal chamber was about to be broken into by the vicious flower-plucking thief.

(End of this chapter)