TBIP: Chapter 9

As the center of Tianming Continent, Canglan City had a pivotal position. The big characters hanging high on the city wall alone were filled with a terrifying momentum.

Lou Xingyao only glanced at the characters for one second when his brain felt as if it was hit by a heavy hammer. It instantly became blank. After a long time, this feeling gradually receded.

Outside the city gate, there were many people who had the same experience as him.

The pedestrians coming and going at the city gate were obviously no longer surprised by such scenes. He could vaguely hear intermittent conversations from them.

“Tsk, look over there. There are a few young people coming to Canglan City for the first time.”

“Aren’t there a few of them every day? You haven’t become tired of seeing them after so many years?”

“Isn’t it because there are only so many fun things at the city gate? It is called seeing something new all the time…”

……

Through these faint conversations, Lou Xingyao gradually understood the special features of the characters on the city gate.

The inscription was written by a nascent soul ancestor of Canglan City ten thousand years ago with his own natal weapon. The characters contained the strongest attack of the nascent soul ancestor. It not only served as the strongest trump card of Canglan City, but the breath of the nascent soul ancestor that it contained could deter villains.

Unless the cultivation level was higher than that of the nascent soul ancestor, everyone who saw Canglan City for the first time and saw those characters would encounter what Lou Xingyao had just experienced.

This wasn’t only a declaration of Canglan City’s status as the number one city of Tianming Continent, but was also a warning to everyone who entered the city that they must abide by the rules of Canglan City.

Looking around at the city gate, it could be seen that Canglan City’s operation had a good effect. Some people at the city gate, who were originally full of arrogance, had restrained their emotions.

Speaking of the rules of Canglan City, the most distinctive one was the flying ban.

Under the flying ban, even foundation building cultivators weren’t allowed to fly with swords in the city, let alone large flying demon beasts. So after gradually approaching Canglan City, the wind chasing eagle landed directly on an open space not far from the city gate.

A few days ago, Mrs. He had sent a message to the He family via a flying crane.

The moment the wind chasing black eagle landed, the housekeeper of the He family, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly came over to greet her. “I greet the Madam. You have worked hard on the way.”

“How is the mansion?” Mrs. He didn’t even look at the housekeeper as she walked towards the carriage with the He Mansion’s logo on the side.

“Everything went well. Everything Madam asked before leaving was also done…” Housekeeper He was obviously used to the madam’s style. His expression was very calm, and he only focused on making reports.

Following the answer of Housekeeper He, Mrs. He nodded slightly. She seemed very satisfied and the expression on her face eased a bit.

As they were talking, the group had already arrived in front of the carriage.

She was the lady of the He family, so Mrs. He’s travels were naturally grand. Just with the carriages alone, Housekeeper He had arranged five carriages. This avoided the embarrassment of Lou Xingyao and Mrs. He riding together.

Lou Xingyao was as silent as ever, as if he was just a transparent person in the group. He followed the arrangement of Housekeeper He to sit in the last carriage.

Perhaps it was due to the star power in his body, but Lou Xingyao felt as if his body had changed a lot a few days ago. Not only had his strength increased, but his hearing also improved a lot.

For example, at this moment, he was sitting in the carriage but he could still vaguely hear the chattering of pedestrians in the distance.

“That was the carriage of the He family that passed just now, right?”

“That’s right. It was such a big show. I don’t know who is inside. Could it be the eldest young lady of the He family?”

“How is that possible? The wedding date of the He and Zhou families is the day after tomorrow. The eldest daughter should be at home preparing for the wedding!”

“One day later? Isn’t that the day after tomorrow? The He family is really planning to marry off their eldest daughter?”

“What else can they do? It is written in black and white on the marriage contract that if they break the contract, they will have to pay ten times the betrothal gifts. Didn’t you see the scene when the two families got engaged? Ten times? That is difficult!”

“That’s true. It is just a pity for the eldest daughter of the He family…”

……

Perhaps due to distance, but Lou Xingyao couldn’t hear the following words clearly. Still, he got useful information from just these few words.

The wedding date set by the He and Zhou families was the day after tomorrow!

Lou Xingyao knew that time was tight before he set off, but he never thought it would be so tight.

No wonder why Mrs. He would rather feed the wind chasing black eagle with pills than still for a while when the speed of the eagle had slowed down during this period.

Just when Lou Xingyao focused on the outside of the carriage again, wanting to get more information, he found that the speed of the carriage was gradually slowing down. In a moment, it stopped completely.

Then the voice of Housekeeper He was heard beside the carriage. “Young Master Lou, we have arrived. Please get off the carriage.”

The moment he jumped off the carriage, he looked up and saw the gate of the He family in front of him. Just like the gate of Canglan City, there was a plaque hanging high on the gate of the He family.

From the aura it gave off, this inscription should come from the golden core cultivator behind the He family.

Perhaps because he had faced the inscription of the nascent soul ancestor not long ago, but Lou Xingyao was more comfortable dealing with this time. In a moment, he broke free from the imposing ‘He Mansion’ words on the plaque.

Just as he came back to his senses, a gentle and pleasant voice rang in his ears.

“Mother!”

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl around 15 or 16 years old walking slowly and steadily out of the He family’s gate.

The person who came had a pretty face, a calm pace, and exuded the unique aura of a proud daughter of heaven.

She was wearing a light blue flowing dress. The hem of the dress spread out like water waves when she moved, reflecting a bit of light. This made her already fair skin even clearer and brighter.

Based on her face that was 80% similar to Mrs. He’s, Lou Xingyao instantly guessed her identity. She was the eldest daughter of the He family, the apple of Mrs. He’s eyes—He Wanqing.

“Qing’er? Why did you come out?” At this moment, Mrs. He no longer had the cold and arrogant look of the past. The corners of her eyes and eyebrows were instantly filled with a smile. The look in her eyes as she looked at He Wanqing was full of unconcealed doting.

“Of course, I knew that Mother was coming home today, so I came to greet you.” He Wanqing smiled slightly. Her originally cold face instantly looked like a blooming peach blossom. It was so gorgeous that people couldn’t take their eyes away.

As the first female protagonist of ‘The Dao and Heaven are Equal’, she was like a queen in the male protagonist’s harem. The author could be said to have given He Wanqing all his preferences.

Beauty, family background, and talent were all available. Even her temperament had the beautiful qualities of gentleness, kindness, nobility, and smartness.

Lou Xingyao couldn’t judge what He Wanqing’s character was like from her appearance, but he could tell that the evaluation of He Wanqing in the book of ‘Even in the cultivation world where handsome men and beautiful women were everywhere, she was rare in the world,’ wasn’t an exaggeration.

Who wouldn’t be confused once the cold face that kept people away suddenly gave a smile that was as beautiful as peaches and plums?

Just as Lou Xingyao was thinking to himself, He Wanqing noticed his presence and immediately smiled at him. “I guess this is the fifth son of the Lou family? Wanqing greets you.”

“I am Lou Xingyao. It is nice to meet you, Miss He.” As the saying went, he shouldn’t hit someone who smiled at him. He Wanqing’s reaction softened Lou Xingyao’s tone a bit.

He Wanqing wanted to say something to Lou Xingyao, but before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Mrs. He beside her. “Young Master Lou hadn’t drawn qi into his body. He must be tired after traveling all this way. Let him rest first.”

At this time, He Wanqing noticed that Lou Xingyao was just a mortal. A trace of surprise flashed across her face, and she looked at Lou Xingyao with a bit of guilt. “Wanqing was inconsiderate. Young Master Lou, please forgive me.”

“Young Master Lou, please come this way.” At the same time, Housekeeper He stepped forward at the right time and motioned for Lou Xingyao to follow him.

Mrs. He’s words were a bit abrupt. Lou Xingyao saw instantly that she didn’t want He Wanqing to have too much contact with him.

It wasn’t difficult to understand. After all, he came to Canglan City to help He Wanqing complete the marriage contract she was unwilling to fulfill. The relationship between the two of them could be said to be quite awkward.

Lou Xingyao and Mrs. He had the same idea about this. In addition, he was exhausted after the long journey. Therefore, he followed Mrs. He’s wishes. He nodded slightly to He Wanqing to say goodbye and turned around to follow Housekeeper He.

Not long after, Lou Xingyao was taken to a secluded and remote courtyard.

“There are many guests coming and going in the mansion, so the other guest rooms are already full. I can only ask Young Master Lou to stay in Louzhu Garden for two days. I hope you will forgive me,” Housekeeper He said as he led Lou Xingyao to the main house.

This small courtyard was remote and not large, but it was elegant.

The whole courtyard was surrounded by a bamboo forest. There was also a small pond in front of the main house. The water in the pond was gurgling and clear. If he looked down, he could see the koi gathered in groups of two or three in the pond.

The environment was many times better than the small, shabby house of the Lou family. It wasn’t inferior to a high-end resort villa in modern times. Lou Xingyao naturally had no dissatisfaction. “Housekeeper, you are too kind. This place is very good.”

“It is good that you don’t mind. These two maids are called Qiu Xi and Qiu Ran. If you need anything, you can tell them.” Housekeeper He pointed to the two maids standing in the courtyard wearing light pink dresses.

“Thank you.” Lou Xingyao glanced at the two maids and nodded to show that he understood.

Housekeeper He briefly introduced the layout and purpose of each room in Louzhu Garden to Lou Xingyao. Then he left on the grounds that there were other things to be done in the mansion, and it was inconvenient to stay for a long time.

According to the information he got when he came, he would stay in Luozhu Garden for two days at most. So the moment Housekeeper He left, Lou Xingyao was too lazy to deal with the two maids in the courtyard. He told them not to disturb him if there was nothing and went into the house, closing the door.

The long flight caused him not only physical fatigue but also psychological fatigue. The moment he entered this enclosed space, the fatigue suppressed deep in his body came over him like a wave.

After a simple wash, Lou Xingyao threw himself on the soft bed and slept soundly.

This sleep was very satisfying. Lou Xingyao felt the satisfaction in his brain and rarely had the mind to stay in bed. He lay directly on the bed and enjoyed this relaxing moment that he had never experienced since coming to Tianming Continent. However, this tranquility was soon broken by the sound of conversation outside the door.

However, this silence was soon broken by the sound of conversation outside the door.

“The Young Master Lou in the house has slept for a day and a night. Is he really okay?”

“It should be heard. I heard that the sisters who came back with the madam are still asleep now. Besides, he told us not to disturb him. Don’t think about looking for bad luck.”

“Okay…”

Lou Xingyao’s memory had always been good. He had only met the two maids once before entering the house, but he could recognize their voices at this moment.

The first person to speak should be Qiu Ran. Compared with Qiu Xi’s crisp voice, her voice was gentler and softer.

By the way, had he actually slept for such a long time?

Lou Xingyao looked at the bright sky outside the window at this moment and was startled. Didn’t this mean it was the wedding date agreed by the Zhou family and He family?

Realizing this, he immediately lost interest in lying in bed and got up immediately.

At this moment, the voices of the two maids were heard outside the door again. This time, it was Qiu Xi who took the initiative to speak.

“Okay, don’t worry. Someone will help us wake him up in a while.”

“How do you know?”

“I heard from the little sister I worked with before that the one inside is the substitute that the madam found to fulfill the marriage contract for our eldest young lady!”

“What? The madam really found one?” Qiu Ran’s voice suddenly rose a lot as if she didn’t believe it. Then she lowered her voice again as if she thought of something. “But I remember that the one who went in a few days ago was a young man!”

“What’s wrong with a man? Aren’t there many men in our Canglan City who became a Daoist couple? Isn’t it okay as long as they meet the contract?”

“But the one who can replace our eldest young lady must have dual spiritual roots, right? How could he be willing?”

“The one in the room isn’t like the dual spiritual roots geniuses in our family. I heard that he is a loser who can’t cultivate, so your madam took advantage of him!”

Qiu Xi paused here. Then she added, “In fact, it isn’t really a bargain. I heard from the young lady who went with the madam that the family asked our madam for a lot of things. It is almost as much as the betrothal gifts that the Zhou family sent in the past!”

“Hiss… so many? Isn’t it said that she found someone from a small place?”

“The smaller the place, the more likely they are to ask for a lot. Otherwise, why do they say that poor places produce unruly people? It is only because the madam is kind-hearted and doesn’t bother to argue with them. They aren’t afraid that the money will be spent with their lives!”

“Who’s to say that it isn’t? Young Master Zhou’s temper isn’t good right now. I heard that he made a scene in the Zhou family a few days ago. If he finds out that the person he married isn’t the young lady, he probably won’t let it go.”

“Hasn’t Young Master Zhou made enough jokes over the years? If you ask me, it would be better if we could slap that guy to death. Who made him threaten our madam? Don’t even think of it…”

……

From the conversation of the little maids, it could be heard that Zhou Hanshan, the eldest son of the Zhou family, had a bad temper.

No wonder why Lou Shaohui had been saying that he wanted to sever ties with him before he left and was even unwilling to give him a meager dowry. It turned out that from beginning to end, Lou Shaohui didn’t think he could live to the day after the wedding.

Judging from the voices of the two maids outside the door, this possibility wasn’t low!

Before Lou Xingyao could think carefully, he heard an angry shout from afar.

“Who taught you to gossip in the mansion?”