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Chapter 85: Tailing

Lin Bei's face suddenly broke into a sly smile.

Those who thought alike had an inexplicable connection with each other. Lin Bei could sense that this young lord was certainly a lecherous man too.

He came here sneakily to wait for someone... Could it be a clandestine meeting with a woman?

Heading into the woods after drinking... Tailing, peeping...

A series of words popped into mind, causing Lin Bei to stop in his tracks. Instead of immediately approaching Xia An, Lin Bei stood still. He wanted to see what the young lord was up to.

Xia An was a cultivator as well. However, his cultivation level wasn't high, so he usually relied solely on Master Lu's constant protection. Despite that, Xia An had assumed nothing major would happen and dismissed Master Lu from his duties that day. This had given Lin Bei the opportunity to tail Xia An. If Master Lu had been present, Lin Bei wouldn't have been able to tail Xia An so easily.

Afterward, Xue Hu went over to the pavilion, but he didn't discover Lin Bei either.

That was because Xue Hu wasn't a cultivator but a martial artist, and martial artists' senses were more perceptive to the flow of qi and sound. In other words, they were more perceptive to moving bodies.

So, despite his high cultivation level, Xue Hu didn't notice Lin Bei either. That was because Lin Bei had already been hiding and restraining his breathing for a while before Xue Hu arrived.

Seeing that it was a muscular man who was meeting with Xia An, more words popped into Lin Bei's mind.

A gay tryst?

Lin Bei became even more excited.

However, after eavesdropping on the men for a while, he found that they were discussing some strange topics. They seemed to be talking about unsavory things but not the kind he had imagined. Lin Bei wasn't interested in the things they were talking about.

So, when he saw that their conversation had ended, he turned and left.

It was precisely at this moment when Lin Bei stepped away that Xue Hu sensed Lin Bei's presence and swiftly charged over with the intent to kill.

Lin Bei could tell that Xue Hu's cultivation level was far above his own, so trying to flee would be futile. He needed another way out. His mind ran at lightning speed; he was suddenly quick-witted now that he was in a crisis. After searching through his memories, Lin Bei decided to rely on a skill that he'd mastered throughout the years, and...

In the next instant, he took off his pants.

Coincidentally, Lin Bei had drunk a lot of wine earlier. All he needed to do was squint, and he could pretend to be drunk. So, when Xue Hu found Lin Bei, what he saw was a drunken man relieving himself.

Lin Bei even gained the upper hand by making the first move—he loudly reprimanded Xue Hu. The murderous expression on Xue Hu stiffened for a moment and turned awkward.

Then Xue Hu shouted sternly, "And who said you could relieve yourself wherever you wish?!"

"Fuck..." Lin Bei cursed as he pulled up his pants and turned to leave. "This motherfucker looks like a gangster, but strangely, he has a sense of public decency..."

He walked away just like that, cursing as he went. Even as his figure receded, Lin Bei kept up the act and wiped his hands on his pants.

Xue Hu watched as Lin Bei disappear into the distance. After a while, the murderous tension between Xue Hu's eyebrows finally dissipated.

Xia An walked over to Xue Hu and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Xue Hu shook his head. "It was just a drunk."

The two men then returned to the banquet hall separately and fulfilled their respective social obligations. It was as if they didn't know each other at all.

Once the banquet was over, Xia An hurriedly returned to the Residence of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess. Master Lu was already waiting there for him.

"How did it go?" Xia An asked.

"That girl is actually a Koi fish demon. The moment she entered the water, she made a swift escape. I used my divine ability to stab her with a saber from over ten li away. I don't know if she died, but I've already ordered some people to keep dredging all through the night. If she's dead, they should pull up a body," Master Lu replied.

"You dealt with her yesterday, yet you didn't realize she's a demon?" Xia An chided, feeling rather displeased.

"Be it a human or a lesser demon, they're both so feeble that they seem about the same to me. Besides, she didn't emit a demonic aura, so it was very difficult to tell that she's a demon," Master Lu explained calmly. "Moreover... if you had let me kill her then, it wouldn't matter whether she's a human or a demon."

The young lord was rendered speechless for a moment.

He had indeed spared Liu Xiaoyu's life, but who would have expected things to play out like this? Even so, he couldn't blame Master Lu.

But who else can I blame? I can't blame myself, right? How infuriating.

"Enough. That lesser demon was struck by your blade. She's unlikely to have survived. Even if she's still alive, does a mere demon have the ability to expose our secret?" Xia An said.

He didn't know if he'd intended those words to be for Master Lu or to convince himself, but he said them anyway.

Master Lu dismissed himself and left the room, leaving Xia An alone inside.

Xia An recalled what had happened earlier in the day and felt his suppressed anger surge back up... The more he thought about it, the angrier he felt!

He had spent so much money just so he could give that sandalwood kite-shaped guqin as a gift to Xue Lingxue. However, he ended up getting overshadowed by that disciple from the Mount Shu Sect. Then when the qin's strings snapped, that same person even smeared Xia An's reputation by claiming the guqin he'd bought was a fake!

I didn't even rebuke that person! What's wrong with me today? I yielded so easily and accepted the blame for what had happened with the guqin...

And there was that incident of the female demon escaping...

This series of unfavorable incidents made the young lord so angry that it felt like his chest was about to explode from rage. If Chu Liang wasn't a disciple of Mount Shu, Xia An would have wanted to vent his anger by getting Master Lu to kill Chu Liang that very night.

Unfortunately, Xia An had no choice but to suppress his belated fury because of Chu Liang's identity. Killing a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect was too reckless; he would be basically throwing himself into the face of great danger.

Xia An declared to the empty space, "There's no need to rush things. Xue Lingxue will definitely be mine!"

...

The next day, Xia An went to the Li Family Estate again and requested a meeting with Xue Lingxue.

Xia An represented the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess, so Xue Lingxue had no choice but to make the time to meet him.

Seated across from Xia An, the fair and delicate Miss Xue asked softly, "Lord Xia, is there a reason for your visit?"

Xia An simply sat there for a moment, captivated by Xue Lingxue's beauty.

Then Xia An smiled politely and said, "Yesterday, I went home and inquired with my father about the guqin. He had no idea that the sandalwood kite-shaped guqin he'd acquired at a great cost was a fake. It even injured your fingers... My father said he made a grave mistake and instructed me specifically to come and apologize to you, Miss Xue."

This was the strategy that Xia An had thought of. He'd already missed the best timing to explain and everyone believed the sandalwood kite-shaped guqin was a fake, so he should just admit the mistake. Then he could use it as an excuse to meet Xue Lingxue privately. Xia An was, in essence, taking a step back to take a step forward.

"It's fine," Xue Lingxue replied with a smile. "After all, I'm a cultivator too. A small injury like that has long since healed."

"Miss Xue, it's so magnanimous of you to say that. But I can't help but feel guilty about it. As an apology, I've rented a pleasure boat and would like to invite you to have dinner with me while we enjoy the scenery of Qinnan River," Xia An offered generously.

When a man was trying to ask a lady out, it had to be done naturally and seemingly without ulterior motives, especially during the early stages of getting to know each other. If a man were to hastily approach a lady and invite her to dinner, it would make her feel he was being too bold and in turn stir up other concerns.

Nevertheless, Xia An was an expert at this. He could smoothly turn every matter into an opportunity for him to get closer to his lady of choice without any traces of an ulterior motive or a word or movement out of line.

As long as Xue Lingxue happily accepted the invitation, Xia An was confident that he could find a reason for a second meeting during their first meeting. If he repeated this process, sooner or later, she would become accustomed to his presence. By the time she realized what he'd done, it would be too late as she would have already fallen in love with him.

However, Xia An's smooth invitation still led to Xue Lingxue shaking her head in refusal.

"Sorry, Lord Xia," Xue Lingxue declined, "I already have an appointment today."

"Hmm?" Xia An uttered. He pondered for a moment and then asked, "I assume they're from South Gate City. Who is it? I can ask them to free up your time. Miss Xue, if I can't sincerely apologize to you, I won't be able to rest or eat in peace. Furthermore, I won't be able to let my father know I've done as he requested."

"He's not from South Gate City. It's Young Hero Chu Liang of the Mount Shu Sect," Xue Lingxue answered, raising her gaze and looking out the door.

Just as Xue Lingxue spoke of Chu Liang, he appeared. The remarkably handsome and elegant man was standing outside the door.

"Miss Xue—huh? Lord Xia is here too?" Chu Liang greeted them with a warm and gentle smile.

However, when Xia An looked at Chu Liang's smiling face, a wave of anger surged within him. He had a great urge to punch that face. Fresh feelings of animosity piled onto Xia An's existing hatred toward Chu Liang.

Xia An gritted his teeth and asked, "Young Hero Chu, do you have an appointment with Miss Xue today?"

"That's right," Chu Liang replied with a nod.

His gaze shifted toward Xue Lingxue, and after thinking about it briefly, Chu Liang understood what was going on.

The young lord obviously had romantic intentions toward Miss Xue. He'd shown up yesterday with a gift on which he'd spent a considerable sum, so it was unsurprising that he approached Xue Lingxue today to ask her out.

Chu Liang did in fact have an appointment to meet with Xue Lingxue today... but it was just for a brief conversation. It seemed that Xue Lingxue had used her appointment with him as an excuse to reject the young lord's invitation. Nevertheless, Chu Liang wanted to speak with Xue Lingxue to ask her for a favor, so he thought that he ought to help her shoulder the young lord's resentment.

However... he probably thinks I stole his thunder yesterday and even tarnished his reputation by implying he'd given Xue Lingxue a fake guqin. Then today, I stole his date... The young lord likely hates me a lot as it is.

Sigh.

"Young Hero Chu..." Xia An began.

There was a noticeably dark expression in his gaze. He wanted to ask Chu Liang to leave, freeing up Xue Lingxue's schedule for the day.

If Chu Liang isn't willing to cooperate...

Well, we're in South Gate City! It doesn't matter that he's a disciple of the Mount Shu Sect!

Who in all of South Gate City would dare to offend me, Lord Xia An?!

If this guy continues to provoke me repeatedly, then I won't mind settling the new and old scores with him at the same time!

Upon seeing Xia An's malicious gaze, Chu Liang could roughly tell what Xia An wanted to say.

Chu Liang quickly raised his hand and pointed at Xia An.

Evil-Dispelling Spell!

The spell, which had just reset for the day, was immediately cast on Xia An. Fortunately, his cultivation level was not as high as Chu Liang's, so the Evil-Dispelling Spell took effect for the second time.

With Xia An's dark and malicious gaze, the atmosphere had been filled with great tension as if they were in a battle with swords drawn and arrows notched...

But Xia An suddenly put on a bright smile and said, "Make sure to have a good time with Miss Xue!"