Eighteenth Miss Yang

If the Xianmen, a hypocritical sect, doesn’t even want its local specialties, what can it use to compete with the evil sect?

Lu Yinche was amazed: "We have to go in and take a look around here..."

He looked around the three-story building, seemingly wanting to randomly pick two lucky passersby to borrow their identities. But his eyes fell on a nearby alley.

He saw someone who looked familiar.

When Lu Yinche came to Yaocheng, the first acquaintance he met was Xie Qiaosheng. He didn't recognize him at first glance, and the second acquaintance he met was Wei Qi.

The person he just saw was not someone he knew before.

Lu Yinche waved towards Xie Juncun, motioning him to follow him. He pointed in the direction of the alley and said, "The one with the surname Yang."

He had seen it when he met the young master Yang who was eager to get married on the street. At that time, the woman was scolding the servants of the Yang family, and from the tone of her voice, she was also scolding the master of the house.

He saw that Lu Denghe looked a little surprised, so he asked another question. The boy thought for a long time before saying that he seemed to have seen him in Zhang's pawnshop.

That's interesting.

As one of the four great families in Yao City, even if they were down and out as the stall owner had just said, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. How could they be more destitute than Qi Chuan Lu? They had even pawned their property.

Furthermore, that woman had cultivation skills, far superior to Young Master Yang's, and on par with Lu Denghe. Could she be the one the stall owner mentioned about the marriage alliance with the Meng family?

The alley is narrow, and the eaves on both sides swallow up the light and the sound.

A woman stood by a wooden door, head half bowed. She wasn't alone. Two strong-dressed men, hands behind their backs, guarded a young man in fine clothes. This young man had a weak cultivation level, only at the Transcendent Realm, allowing him to live seven or eight years longer than an ordinary person. One look at him revealed that this level of skill was achieved through the use of elixirs.

After all, the law of nature is fair.

So what if the children of aristocratic families possessed vast resources? Ultimately, whether one possessed a natural talent for cultivation wasn't determined by bloodline. While humble backgrounds might not produce exceptionally talented individuals, aristocratic families could also raise useless individuals—like this young man before him, or... well, Lu Denghe, whose sincerity was paramount.

Lu Yinche managed to roll over and hide on a rooftop. He used his old trick to flick a paper ball, and just as he was about to touch Xie Juncun's forehead behind him, the latter grabbed his wrist. Oh, this kid was quick, sneaking up beside him without making a sound, without him having to reach out.

Xie Juncun took his hand and touched Lu Yinche's fingertips with his forehead, with a somewhat pious expression.

This is to pray to the Buddha for enlightenment.

Lu Yinche found it a little funny when he heard voices coming from below.

There seems to be some conflict.

The young man in fine clothes held his head high, pointed at Miss Yang with his folding fan, and said in a condescending tone, "Miss Yang, I know you didn't marry me willingly. I'm afraid this will bring disgrace to both families. Isn't it inappropriate?"

Miss Yang pursed her lips slightly, her eyes calm and unwavering: "If Mr. Meng feels that his reputation has been damaged, he can cancel the engagement."

"Break off the engagement?" Young Master Meng scoffed, flicking his folding fan in a formal manner. "If you couldn't even pick out a decent sister, why would I have no other choice? Are you asking your father's beloved youngest son to marry me?"

Miss Yang turned her face away and refused to look at him. Her expression was very calm, as if she was used to it.

Young Master Meng said, "Your brother keeps saying he wants to marry the Sword Saint. I think his face bears some resemblance to yours. I wonder if he's worthy of your invitation—ha, they say that Mingye Sword Master Lu Yinche is so alluring and charming that even Sword Saint Feng Ling fell in love with him. Men have their own interests, don't they?... Anyway, I don't expect your withered and declining bloodline to give me a few strong and robust offspring."

Xie Juncun frowned and gripped the scabbard tightly in his hand.

Lu Yinche kept smiling and patted the upright man's shoulder, signaling him to be patient.

Miss Yang, who was humiliated in front of her, still said calmly: "If you are interested, you can go to the Yang family to propose marriage."

"Hmph!" Young Master Meng, enraged by her intransigence, slammed his fan against his hand. "I knew you were such a heartless and unloving person! Your mother died giving birth to you, it's retribution. You deserved to have that lowly concubine's bastard take your place!"

As soon as these words came out, Miss Yang's voice suddenly turned stern: "Watch your mouth!"

"You're the one who should take care of things!" Young Master Meng said gloomily. "A woman should keep to her duties and be like a canary in a cage! Why try to flutter like a wild bird? Be careful if you fly away, or the hawks in the sky will pick you to pieces!"

Miss Yang straightened her back and said word by word: "Don't forget, this is Yaocheng!"

"Yaocheng?" He sneered. "Why? You want to use the fact that your city lord is a woman as an excuse? Her Qin family is the Qin family, but your Yang family is desperately trying to cling to our Meng family! Besides, who knows whose sun and moon will be high above us tomorrow!"

His words clearly revealed his arrogance and disrespect towards the position of city lord.

Lu Yinche secretly sighed. This guy was like a villain in a storybook, so arrogant. He was a serious and recognized villain, but he was still humble and low-key.

It can be seen that the chaotic situation in the city, despite the splendor, has probably lasted for more than just one or two days.

At this time, Master Meng spoke again: "Think it over carefully. The wedding date has been set. Don't let me catch you outside. You must know that it is the Yang family that needs this marriage contract. We can also switch to the Zhang family. Miss Zhang Yuening, who is quiet and silent, is much more obedient than you."

Master Meng thought he was being very cool and flung his sleeves, then walked away arrogantly with his two servants, completely unaware that there were two more people hiding on the eaves above his head.

Zhang Ri'an... Zhang Yuening...

Lu Yinche lowered his eyelashes, and the smile on his lips faded, making him look a little heartless. His peripheral vision was still focused on Miss Yang in the alley.

She did not leave immediately, but stood there and watched the backs of Master Meng and the others disappear, as if all the emotional fluctuations on her face were eaten away.

Then he pulled out a golden object from his bosom, held it in his hand, and raised his head: "Two seniors, could you please come down and talk with me?"

Seeing they didn't move, the girl added, "I come here often, and I noticed the light and shadows are different from before. But Meng Suo was still here just now, and I thought the two seniors would not want to deal with such a fool, so I didn't say anything earlier. I hope you will forgive me."

Hey, the boat capsized in the gutter.

Lu Yinche shook his head, turned over and fell down. Xie Juncun followed him, looking at the girl opposite vigilantly.

"You've been following us for quite a while. Tell me, what's going on?"

In Miss Yang's hand was the golden lock that Lu Denghe had pawned for a few taels of silver.

…

The lock gleamed with golden light.

Lu Yinche was playing with it when he suddenly remembered that Lu Denghe had casually taken it out of a tree hole. He couldn't help but wonder if there was any bird droppings on it that he hadn't wiped clean. He lowered his head and stared at it for a few moments.

Xie Juncun asked, "Senior, is there something wrong with this?"

Lu Yinche reached out and opened and closed the upper and lower parts of the lock, and said, "Nothing, what do you think of this Miss Yang just now?"

Xie Juncun's gaze shifted from Lu Yinche's fingers to his eyes. Unlike the social anxiety common among contemporary sword cultivators, he calmly said, "She concealed part of the truth, but it didn't affect the overall situation." He added, "She's a smart person."

Xie Juncun is not a lively guy like Lu Denghe. He didn't say much along the way. He was not very frugal with words, but he didn't show many subjective value judgments.

Lu Yinche smiled: "You think highly of her. If it was Lu Denghe, he would probably talk about the girl's appearance first." After all, this kid was asking the caravan's ghost bride on the road whether she was beautiful or not, which was outrageous.

Xie Juncun curled his lips and said, "Senior is smarter."

Lu Yinche was baffled by his praise.

As soon as they entered the ghost market, Miss Yang followed them. Lu Yinche didn't really care. They said they were investigating, but they were just looking around and didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Besides, if it really comes to that stage, can he still ask a novice who has established his foundation to keep up? Will Lu Yinche still have any face in the martial arts world?

It was unknown whether the Meng family's visit was part of Miss Yang's plan, but she did deliberately attract Lu Yinche and the other two to listen. For this reason, she deliberately looked at Lu Yinche a few more times before entering the alley to create the illusion that "we know each other."

The traveling monks are very curious and will naturally follow.

To round it off, Lu Yinche is also very curious.

Xie Juncun nodded: "Senior, you have a kind heart."

Lu Yinche was even more confused.

What's wrong with this kid? Didn't anyone teach him what these compliments mean?

At the same time, Lu Denghe was giving Yang Deyou a general introduction to the relationship situation of the Yaocheng family (tabloid version).

The latter completely misplaced the emphasis, saying, "Are the Yangs here so powerful that they've made it into the top four? My family can't even be called an aristocratic family. There are only my parents and I. Because my father refused to become a sword cultivator, he fell out with my grandfather and his family. I don't even know where my ancestral roots are anymore."

Lu Denghe listened to him talk about his family affairs and said casually: "After going around in circles, you still became a sword cultivator, didn't you?" He pointed at the sword behind Yang Deyou, and Yang Deyou told him that the sword was called Han Guang.

"The sky has the Milky Way, and the mirror has the light." Lu Denghe was amazed. "What a powerful name."

Yang Deyou was even happier than when he was praised: "This is the sword my father gave me. He used to be a sword cultivator, the kind who practiced the ruthless way. Later, he changed his path and became an alchemy cultivator. Then, my mother and I had me, and this sword became useless."

He paused. "Actually, I think being a swordsman is fine. As long as you don't practice ruthlessness, you can still enjoy a good life. It's just that many people in the sect come from aristocratic families and have their eyes on the top of their heads. I have nothing to say to them. You're the best. You're not one of those fools who looks down on others."

Lu Denghe shook his head. Qi Chuanlu was not doing well now. Every time he went to bed, he had to be nervous, fearing that if he shook the quilt, half of the cotton wool would fall out.

"That's great, you don't have to fold the quilt." Yang Deyou said seriously.

Lu Denghe: "I thought you would at least tell me that I should meditate instead of sleeping."

Yang Deyou looked confused and said, "If I were such a hard-working person, would I need to be kicked out to train? I would have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage long ago."

Lu Denghe, who had just established his foundation a few years ago: ...