Didn't they say that a wife would be assigned to you as soon as you start your career? (Part 1)

Whenever senior students ask about my entry into the troupe, I tell them that it's actually a very simple story—Elder Ni went to see a magic show on a whim, and after watching it, he bought me from the troupe on a whim.

Why should I buy you?

I shook my head. "Maybe they're looking at me because I'm handsome, dashing, and have an extraordinary physique, truly a celestial being... Why are they looking at me?"

My senior sister clicked her tongue and flicked my forehead. "Where did you learn this mannerism? Never mind, how much did the elders pay for you?"

"I didn't pay."

"I knew it." Three black lines appeared on my forehead, then I shoved a handful of candy into my hand. "Fine, you're willing to go with Elder Ni just because he stole you out of your house?"

Why are you unwilling?

"Knowing the old man as I do, he must have made countless empty promises to you. What did he promise you? Tell me!"

"He didn't say much." I carefully recalled the scene at the time. "He just said that I could eat my fill at the camp, learn martial arts so I wouldn't be bullied, and learn to disguise myself so no one could find me." The elder talked about the benefits for a long time until his mouth was dry, but I only cared about one thing—"Will you give me a wife after I marry into the family?"

I don't think there's anything wrong with what I said, but I did see Elder Ni's expression instantly crack after I finished speaking.

I told my senior sister about this, and she burst into laughter, her laughter so loud it loosened the roof tiles.

"Hahahahaha... Great! Now if the sect is short of people again, I'll have a way to lure them into the Nine Streams Sect. I'll just say that joining includes the assignment of family members, hahahahahaha..."

So, is job placement really guaranteed?

"Yes, yes!" My senior sister laughed until tears streamed down her face, twisting my head back and forth, pointing at the pairs of people coming and going in one direction, saying, "Look, your eldest brother pretends to be sick every day to get that Qingxi disciple to treat him, and finally he's won her over. And look at your second senior brother, he's a con artist and swindler all day long, he's swindled everyone on every street in Kaifeng City, can you guess why?"

I said bluntly, "He's got a screw loose."

"Hahahahahahahaha!" I've never quite figured out what makes my senior sister laugh, but I know she loves to laugh. "Okay, you're not wrong about that. Actually, he's just trying to lure his favorite Midnight Disciple to come and 'hunt him down,' and it's always worked."

Is that even possible?!

I was shocked. "What about my wife?"

When I turned around, my senior sister had already climbed off the roof, leaving me alone on the roof, lost in thought. She said she had important matters to attend to and wouldn't waste any more time with me. As for a wife, she'd find one when I grew up.

I was still not giving up, "How old do I have to be before I get it?" She said I'd get it when I'm the same age as my senior classmates.

After my senior left, I lay on the rooftop, idly looking at the stars with my arms as a pillow.

It's beautiful and bright. I wish my future wife's eyes were as bright as stars, then I would absolutely adore them.

After I joined the sect, the roof of the oil-paper umbrella station became my permanent playground. Whenever my master and fellow apprentices couldn't find anyone to do chores, they would habitually look up and would always see me feeding the little mice assigned to me inside the gate—my wife hadn't arrived yet, but the mice had come first—and then they would grab me to do hard labor.

I used to think Kaifeng was a huge city, and I always followed my senior classmates when I went out, not daring to stop for a moment, for fear that I would get lost and not be able to find my way back. But perhaps because I stayed at a high place for a long time, I realized that it was actually very small. Otherwise, in just three years I would have seen all the seasons of Kaifeng, the warmth and coldness of the world, heard all the sounds of the city, and heard the silent complaints of the common people.

From an outer disciple to an inner disciple, and then all the way up to become the sect leader, when the snowflakes melted from my fingertips on the last day of winter, I knew that spring was coming. These days I've grown taller very quickly, faster than the willow tree on the bank that sprouts buds every spring, even my senior brother is ashamed of himself.

I learned to wade through the ash pits, to disguise myself and mingle among the common people and the ghost market to gather intelligence, and I even inherited the fine tradition of the contemporary underworld—a complete chain of swindling and deception.

Most importantly, I realized that there was no wife assigned to me when I entered the family. My son was so fat that he could hardly be contained by his clothes, but I still couldn't see a trace of a wife.

But whenever someone asks me why I joined the Nine Streams Sect, my answer is always the same: "To find a wife."

Everyone laughs at me, but I don't care.

It's only natural for people to want to find a wife.

When I was seventeen, my senior sister was getting married, and the date coincided with the day Elder Ni took me back to the Nine Streams Sect.

My senior sister is good to me, and I like her. I want to see her off, but I can't just walk over there as a disciple of the Nine Streams Sect. So I changed my clothes and sneaked into the wedding procession.

My senior sister, who also came from the Nine Schools, recognized me at a glance. She even quietly pointed to a room and said to me, "I had someone set up a table in there. Take your time eating. Also, happy birthday, A-Si."

Senior sister is the best!

...

Once I entered the room my senior sister had mentioned, I began to feast.

Delicious! So delicious! It's rare to have such a juicy meal. Usually, I struggle to even buy food for the little mice with my meager savings, and I have to be wary of my fellow disciples. If I'm not careful, they might even steal my money bag.

Braised pork trotters! Delicious!

Steamed pork belly in a bowl! Delicious!

Delicious, delicious, so delicious!!!

"Bang--"

!

The sudden banging on the door startled me so much that the elbow I was holding fell to the ground with a "thud." The door was smashed open from the outside, and a fair-skinned young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes swaggered in. He frowned when he saw me.

"Who are you--"

Who is it?!

The two spoke in unison.

Without a word, the young man pulled a gleaming, thick-bladed broadsword from behind his back, almost reaching my eyebrows. Good heavens, where did you conjure this heavy thing from?

He was very aggressive. "What are you doing hiding here so suspiciously? You don't look like a good person!"

Good heavens, what accent is this? It's neither from the north nor the south.

"Could you be that assassin?!"

What?

What kind of assassin?

I was still in a daze when I saw a flash of white light. Damn it, the tip of the knife was almost hitting my face!

Seeing things were going badly, I grabbed the mouse and ran. "Hey, hey, hey, chivalrous hero, although I don't know what happened, I'm really not a bad person. The woman getting married today is my senior sister—damn it, don't be so quick to attack me!!!"

"Tch," he scoffed, "Where's the evidence?"

I hurriedly tried to find the answer to the riddle, but my mind went blank—it was gone.

That's all?

That's it?!

I belatedly realized that I had changed my clothes today and hadn't brought any weapons; all I carried with me was a rat.

Seeing that I couldn't produce any evidence, the man swung the knife even more fiercely, shouting, "Still trying to deny it!"

My goodness, why is she so short-tempered! Are you asking for death if you don't run now?

With my lightly armed clothes and my masterful disguise skills, how could I possibly lose a guy carrying a heavy longsword?

After escaping some distance, I stood panting on my knees, wondering what I had just gone through.

Back at the camp, I learned from my fellow disciples that members of the Worry-Free Gang had infiltrated the seating area and created chaos while everyone's attention was focused on the newlyweds.

"What about my senior sister?" I slammed my hand on the table in anxiety. "How is she?"

"Senior sister is fine. She had long anticipated that the Worry-Free Gang would take such despicable actions, so she and her lover, the Tianquan disciple, set up a trap in advance, just waiting to catch them like turtles in a jar."

Hearing this, I breathed a sigh of relief. My senior sister truly lives up to her reputation.

But... is Senior Sister's sweetheart actually from Tianquan?

Speaking of which, the Tianquan martial art seems to be the Mo Dao (陌刀). That means the person who attacked me today was a Tianquan disciple!

snort!

"If I see you again, I won't let you off easily!"

*

Just two days ago, my fists were clenched so tightly they were cracking, but now I'm leaning against the jade railing of Fanlou, overjoyed. It's hard to imagine that these two completely opposite emotions come from the same person—the Tianquan disciple who attacked me two days ago.

My senior brother sent me to keep watch at Fanlou. The owner of the building is an old acquaintance of mine, and since the Nine Streams Sect and the Drunken Flower Sect are secretly connected, she immediately arranged for me to be in the most luxurious room—the railing on the second floor of Fanlou.

I laughed in exasperation, "Do you have to be so stingy? We're practically allies, can't you at least arrange a decent private room?"

"Stay or leave if you want. This position is flexible and offers a good view. With the Gathering of Heroes approaching, Fanlou is so crowded it's almost overflowing. You're lucky to even have a place to sit. Don't be so picky."

Alright, there's no room for negotiation.

On the other hand, Zuihuayin was indeed wealthy. Inside Fanlou, there was light singing and dancing, and many wealthy gentlemen leaned against the railing. Every breath gave people the illusion that gold would fall out of their pockets at any moment.

The guests among the flowers were arguing about whose sister was better, creating quite a lively scene.

But amidst this harmonious debate, a voice rang out, utterly discordant with the atmosphere: "Miss, please, please don't go any further!"

Oh, that's strange. Usually, it's the Flower Guests who are eager to see the Drunken Flower Shade disciples. I've never heard of anyone being so ungrateful as to refuse someone who comes to them on their own initiative.

I found this oddball hilarious, so I followed the sound up to the third floor and almost collapsed with laughter when I found the source—there was the Tianquan guy who had been chasing me the day before yesterday, cornered by a Zuihuayin disciple, his face red from head to toe. Judging from his panicked look, anyone who didn't know better would have thought he'd encountered some kind of monster.

Hahahaha, great! What a funny scene! Watching your enemy's embarrassing situation is a good remedy.

While he was being harassed by the disciples of Zuihuayin, I caught a glimpse of the money pouch tied to his waist.

Based on my years of experience, the amount of money in that purse is definitely more than I estimated. Walking around with a purse hanging around your neck like that, you're probably so poor you only have money left.

—Who cares, "capturing stars and seizing the moon" is all mine.

Sure enough, the fool wasn't on guard at all, and the money came easily to him.

I happily weighed the heavy purse in my hand, my smile almost splitting my face. Turning to look at Tianquan, who was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground, and Zuihuayin, who was getting increasingly annoyed by his repeated rejections... Hey! Who told me to be such a good person?

I climbed over the railing and squeezed between the Drunken Flower Shade disciple and the idiot Tianquan, grinning at the girl and saying, "Sister, he's a bit dim-witted and always hangs out with a bunch of grown men. How would he know anything about romance? Don't take him seriously. Why not find another beauty to avoid spoiling your enjoyment tonight?"

Zuihuayin let out the cold snort I expected, crossed her arms, glared at the man who saw her as a wolf in sheep's clothing, her eyes wide with anger, and turned to leave, "How can there be such an unromantic blockhead in the world!"

I chimed in, "Yes, yes. I apologize to you on his behalf, sister. Please don't upset yourself."

Seeing that the person had walked away, I gently kicked the person who was almost curled up in the corner of the wall. "Hey, can you get up now? The person is gone."

That day, Quan looked around to make sure what I said was true, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hmph, as expected, not very smart.

In my panic, my heart was still pounding. He blinked at me, then suddenly jumped up and shouted, "It's you!"

Wow, that's quite a voice! It must be really powerful when it shouts!

I innocently spread my hands. "Why can't it be me?" Then, remembering the day he accused me of lying, I slowly pulled out the "En" token from my pocket. "Here you go, it's the real deal, the master of the Nine Streams Sect. A chivalrous hero—can you believe it?"

"I...I...I..." He stood there dumbfounded, stammering "I" for a long time, his pale face visibly filled with guilt. After I embellished the story of how badly he had slashed me that day, the guilt on his handsome face deepened. Finally, he managed to stammer out, "I'll treat you to dinner!"

I laughed, "Okay!"

If you don't have money, let's see how you pay.

...

Wow, the people from Tianquan are really generous. With a wave of their hand, they got the most expensive private room at Fanlou and ordered the ridiculously expensive signature dishes.

I suppressed my laughter and ate in silence, my hands moving so fast they were like a tornado sweeping across the table. The thought of him being detained at Fanlou made me instinctively pinch my thigh, afraid I wouldn't be able to hold back my laughter.

Tianquan sat across from me, unable to eat anything, glancing at me every now and then, as if trying to see if the wounds he had made were as serious as I had described.

What a pity! I'm still not wearing the Ninth Rank School uniform today. I just learned from last time and brought an extra "En" token with me. Otherwise, I'm wrapped up completely. And, more importantly—it's all my own creation. The big broadsword didn't even touch a single hair on my head.

"I'm sorry," the disciple of Tianquan said sincerely. "I was too hasty that day and mistook you for a thief."

Hey, I'm not happy if you say that. I suddenly leaned closer, stared into his eyes, and asked, "Do I look like a bad guy?" I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I felt that after I asked, his face was even redder than when he was cornered, like a steamed shrimp. And there was some background noise in my ears, something like "thump thump thump".

Tianquan stammered, "No, it doesn't look like it. Don't get so close."

"You're all men, what are you afraid of?"

"It's so hot, you know?"

"You're crazy. Wearing a fur coat in August? If you're not hot, who is?"

Tianquan: "..." Speechless.

Having won the verbal battle, I smugly sat back down to continue filling my pitiful stomach, but what lingered in my mind was the astonished look on the person opposite me when I leaned closer.

Their eyes are so bright, like the stars in the sky. I love them.

Recalling his earlier embarrassment, I laughed again, "You drove away someone so beautiful and good-natured, why are you so resistant?"

"Could it be that you don't like women, and are a homosexual?"

I swear it was just a joke, meant to mock his naivety and lack of worldliness, but I never expected him to slam his hand on the table and stand up abruptly.

"Smack!"

He slammed his fist on the table so hard it shook the room, attracting several groups of people to peek inside and see what was going on.

Even I was startled by his sudden outburst, and the mouse I had let out to eat rolled off the table.

My gaze slowly moved upwards, and I saw his wide eyes and his chest heaving violently with rapid breathing.

"...I, I was just kidding."

Realizing his loss of composure, Tianquan irritably ran a hand through the stray hairs on his forehead, looking both annoyed and regretful. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything, only bending down to pick the mouse back from the ground for me.

He must have been very distressed and anxious, because the little mouse had slipped from his trembling hands three times.

But I was thinking: such a strong reaction, could it be that I was right...?