Chapter 38: with translation of chapter title

The next day, Yan Buji looked at Yan Xirou, whose eyes were red and whose expression was complex, pressing his lips as he wanted to question her, and said:

"Rou Er, I have arranged a marriage for you."

"Father... are you wanting me to marry Zhou Hua?"

"Hmm."

Yan Xirou lowered her head, tears streaming down her cheeks to drip onto the ground: "May I ask why? Is it because Father thinks I have done something wrong, making you angry?"

"'No, you are my biological daughter; I cherish you and still can't get enough—how could I be angry?'"

"'Then why....'"

Yan Buji shook his head, not answering directly: "Zhou the juren has official status, and he promised to marry you properly. After you marry him, you need not worry about being bullied; as Father.... I will personally send you there."

Yan Xirou wiped her tears, nodded: "Yes, Father, I will marry him. Then these few days I will not go to the academy; I will stay home awaiting the wedding."

"Hmm."

Yan Xirou was merely an ordinary girl; until fifteen, Yan Buji had protected her well, and she had not experienced the wickedness of the world.

She even did not want to hate him; she simply kept thinking that as his daughter she ought to obey him.

Just....

Father suddenly became a stranger, which saddened her even more than losing her chastity.

It was as if.... she were merely a little dog raised by Father, devoid of feeling, to be given away whenever he said so.

Yan Xirou returned to her room, lay on the bed with her head buried in a pillow, and wept silently.

So why did Yan Buji choose to reveal his hand in this way?

Let alone the possibility that Yan Xirou might truly hate him, rebel against him, or even resist by suicide; Xiao Ran might also, out of a sense of justice, expose these shameful deeds.

Yan Buji sat in the room, smiling all over his face: "Therefore, a person must observe the details. A pattern is not mere random fabrication on the grand scale; it is the handling of details that truly shows ability. My pattern lies not in this city, not in my fame and status, but farther away."

Yan Xirou had always obeyed Yan Buji since childhood, a good girl; Yan Buji naturally knew she lacked the courage to rebel, and could not possibly seek death.

Xiao Ran must surely have come to rely on me while carrying some business; how could he possibly have nothing to do and stir up trouble?

Moreover, the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers are fundamentally proper; even if the heavens were shattered, if they dared to cause trouble, people would still stand on my side.

Nothing else; morally, children must obey their elders.

Even if there will be a day to meet again, perhaps one day Yan Xirou will become a different person, run to him to question why he did this, Yan Buji still has another set of excuses waiting for her.

Otherwise you think, Yan Buji is willing to spend money to let Old Qian set up a stall selling flower cakes;

Otherwise you think, everyone in the city knows Yan Buji is going to the capital;

Otherwise you think, Yan Buji would not hesitate to abandon his home and sell his daughter to achieve this extent......

It is because certain preparations can form a double safeguard; the first layer is merely for present preparation, while the second layer....

It is for preparation against unexpected events!

For Yan Buji, he cannot foresee things beyond his knowledge, but if something occurs within his ken, his preparations will only increase, not decrease.

One day passed.

Xiao Ran voluntarily took his leave; Yan Buji offered him travel expenses, but he refused.

Seeing Xiao Ran depart of his own accord, Yan Buji nodded, considering it as sending away a plague god.

I just don't know whether the Iron Tiger Guard has any new developments.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

The Spring Literary Assembly is about to convene; once it is over, the sky will be high and birds may fly freely!

The Kūn Gate Master has been staying at the inn outside the city for almost half a month, yet these days he still has found no news of the foreign demon, which is truly worrisome.

"'How could a perfectly fine person just vanish into thin air with not a single clue! Something must have been overlooked; investigate!' The Kūn Gate Master, furious, slammed the table!"

Bang!

The table was directly smashed into pieces; the nearby Wind-Fire Mountain Forest dared not speak.

"'You lot, you've chased for so long and still haven't seen a shadow—has the Kun Dao region been too peaceful lately?!' the Kūn Gate Master said coldly."

The Wind Guard, sweat pouring down his head, cupped his fists and said: "Kūn Gate Master, I find this matter rather suspicious!"

"'Speak.'"

"'Yes, think about it: that day we had made full preparations and suddenly attacked the Three Mountains Region, almost simultaneously destroying the bandits' lair. If the foreign demon had hidden his identity and fled during that time, he could absolutely not have escaped our grasp. Yet we came up empty, which can only mean he got wind of it beforehand and left there.'"

"'No need for you to say it; I know that already.'"

"'Yes, Master is wise. My meaning is, even if he knows he has stolen the immortals' treasure and cannot linger long in the Three Mountains Region, my men have also been guarding all the major and minor roads leading out of Lin Shan Cheng. If he were anxious to flee, he could not possibly hide in the desolate deep mountains and old forests, for that would not escape the immortals' search. But since my men have found no trace of him, it can only mean that the blindings he has set up everywhere are merely a means to lure us away from the vicinity of Lin Shan Cheng!'"

"'Thus there is only one possibility: he never left at all, but remains near Lin Shan Cheng! Indeed, one could say he is hiding within Lin Shan Cheng itself!'"

After the Wind Guard voiced his idea, the others also nodded in agreement.

Such a cunning enemy could also be bold enough to carry on his activities as if nothing had happened right at the scene of the incident.

The Kūn Gate Master fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Do you also think so?"

"'Yes, Master.'"

"'Alas, it seems that on this return to the capital we will inevitably incur the Emperor's reproach; better to ask the immortals to act and capture that foreign demon!'"

"'Immortals?!'"

Everyone started, wondering....

"'You lot of good-for-nothings, truly useless. A mere martial artist of the jianghu, and yet after mobilizing so much manpower and material you have not a scrap of news—truly disappointing!'"

"'Senior brother, why say that? Our coming down the mountain this time is simply to fulfill the sect's mission; incidentally helping the court resolve a minor trouble is also of no consequence.'"

A man and a woman stood beside the crowd, their eyes full of mockery, looking at them.

At this moment, the crowd finally realized there were still people present here!

The Kūn Gate Master's pupils contracted; he hurriedly led his men to kneel before the two:

"'Iron Tiger Guard Zhao Bi, I have paid my respects to the two immortal masters!'"

Iron Tiger Guard Four Guards of Wind, Fire, Mountain, and Forest, have seen the Immortal Master!

Get up. The male immortal master wore a blue robe, his hair tied up in a ponytail, his hand tightly holding a crystal-clear jade ruler, which emitted a faint light. The surface of the jade ruler was smooth as a mirror, delicate and warm, without the slightest flaw; one could tell at a glance it was no ordinary object.

The female immortal master smiled slightly: "Ah, senior brother, these mortals are quite interesting."

Junior sister, you have lived in the sect for a long time; this is your first time going out for training, and these mortals are very useful.

Hearing senior brother say that, junior sister naturally understands.

The Kūn Gate Master dared not raise his head, trembling as he said: "The two immortal masters come from some famous mountain and river; may I know your esteemed names?"

No problem, no problem. I am Wang Tie, and this is my junior sister Long Yu. We are disciples of the Clear Water Sect, specially ordered by our master to come here for training.

Yes, the court offering has already mentioned this. This old man dares to ask: do the two immortal masters have any credentials?

Long Yu frowned: "You old man, do you think anyone from my Clear Water Sect would dare to impersonate?!"

Immortal Master, please forgive me! But this....

All right. Wang Tie grabbed the about-to-anger Long Yu, looking at her as he explained: "Junior sister, you do not know that the order of the Profound Kun Dao forbids cultivators from getting too involved with worldly affairs, also to prevent some demonic and heretical cultivators from performing blood sacrifices on mortals. They are just doing their routine duties, Elder Zhao Bi Lao, this is the Clear Water Sect disciple token; have a look."

Yes.

Zhao Bi, feeling fearful and uneasy, received the token, immediately took out a scroll from his person and placed it on it.

The scroll emitted white light; Zhao Bi sighed in relief and respectfully presented the token with both hands:

Thank you, Immortal Masters, for your understanding!

Hmph, tell me, who exactly is this so-called foreign demon? You've been searching for so long and still haven't found anything? Long Yu complained.