Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Brother Zhou, Sister Zixi, wait for me!” As Zhou Donghuang and Yang Zixi walked out of the courtyard, Ren Jiapei finally recovered from her shock and chased after them.
“Brother Zhou, the Shi family has a level-eight adept… are you confident?” Although Yang Zixi had just witnessed Zhou Donghuang’s frightening strength, she was not sure what level adept Zhou Donghuang was, only that he was stronger than her uncle, Yang Yunji. Although she had not reached level-one of the gathered qi, she knew that a level-six adept could not possibly destroy a stone table so easily.
“A level-eight adept?” Hearing Yang Zixi’s words, Zhou Donghuang smiled with disdain. With his current level-seven of the gathered qi, nobody beneath level-nine in Yunyang country could defeat him.
Ren Jiapei reached them and happened to hear Yang Zixi’s question and Zhou Donghuang’s nonchalance. Instantly, she was shocked. Brother Zhou… is not even afraid of a level-eight adept? He… he looks just sixteen or seventeen years old…
Looking at the young man, Ren Jiapei was evidently shocked. She could not imagine that the young man could be so powerful at such a young age. This was simply impossible!
“Brother Zhou, if you are not confident, let’s not go.” Yang Zixi did not see the condescending smile on Zhou Donghuang’s lips. Thinking that Zhou Donghuang had not replied, she thought that he was unsure and immediately stopped in her tracks. She halted and did not continue with Zhou Donghuang.
She breathed in deeply and said, “Third Uncle has already died, I… don’t wish for you to be harmed too.”
Then, Zhou Donghuang stopped too. He turned and walked towards Yang Zixi as he laughed and said, “Silly girl, don’t worry… these level-eight adepts don’t bother me at all.” As he reached Yang Zixi, Zhou Donghuang stretched out and pet her on the head. The young girl was a year younger than him and half a head shorter.
“Brother Zhou, are you serious?” Yang Zixi still did not believe him, her eyes revealing her suspicion.
“When have I ever lied to you?” said Zhou Donghuang with a smile.
“Never,” replied Yang Zixi, shaking her head.
“Then, come with me to that Shi…” Before Zhou Donghuang could finish his sentence, he was stopped by a sudden noise.
“First Lady, is this the Yang Zixi who was chased out by the Yang family?” Although the voice sounded aged, it was full of energy. The voice was accompanied by an old man in a green robe and an average build. His eyes were fierce and his actions were bold as he walked towards them.
“Head Elder,” greeted Ren Jiapei as she bowed. She introduced the old man, “Brother Zhou, this is the head elder of the Ren family, Ren Qiong.”
“Greetings, Elder Ren Qiong.” Yang Zixi hurriedly bowed to the old man, while Zhou Donghuang merely glanced at him.
The old man frowned slightly at Zhou Donghuang’s disrespect but did not say anything. He looked straight at Yang Zixi and said seriously, “Lady Zixi, if possible, please leave our Ren family before we are implicated. Our first lady was impulsive and did not think of the big picture… please take care of yourself.” The old man tried to send her out.
“Head Elder!” Before Yang Zixi could respond, Ren Jiapei’s expression had changed as she glared at the old man and questioned, “What do you mean? I allowed Sister Zixi to stay with my father’s permission, not acting on my own impulse. What right do you have to chase away my guest?” As Ren Jiapei spoke, her tone turned unfriendly.
“First Lady, Chief agreed to you because he felt guilty towards you over the years… you too know that the Shi family sent a notice today that they would cease cooperation with our family.” The old man looked intently at Ren Jiapei and asked, “Do you know… how much the Ren family will suffer? And all of this because of your impulsiveness!” The old man’s gaze sharply at her.
Just as Ren Jiapei was about to respond, Yang Zixi told the old man, “Elder Ren Qiong, I did not know that my presence would cause so much trouble to the Ren family. Don’t worry, I will leave today.”
With that, Yang Zixi turned to Ren Jiapei and squeezed out a smile, “Sister Jiapei, I know you have good intentions… I appreciate it very much. To me, the greatest blessings in my life have been meeting Brother Zhou and Sister Jiapei.”
Yang Zixi turned her gaze to Zhou Donghuang and said, “Brother Zhou, let’s ask Brother Fu and Aunt Mei to leave together.”
“Sure,” said Zhou Donghuang as he nodded.
“Brother Zhou, Sister Zixi…” Ren Jiapei’s face fell, as if she was about to say something, but was interrupted by Yang Zixi.
“Sister Zixi, do you know? Before I looked for you here, I had looked up many others whom I treated as sisters. But not a single one of them dared to meet me and rejected me at the door. I will remember your help forever,” said Yang Zixi seriously. “I know that you can keep asking the Ren family chief to allow me to stay, but my presence will only implicate your whole family… that is not what I wish to see. Sister Jiapei, please don’t try to keep me here, alright? The more you try, the more guilty I will feel.”
As she spoke, tears sprang into Yang Zixi’s eyes, but she forced a smile.
Seeing Yang Zixi and Zhou Donghuang leave, Ren Jiapei looked terribly upset. She glared sternly at the head elder and declared, “Head Elder, you will regret this!”
Just now, seeing the young man’s power, she knew that as long as he stayed at the Ren family household with Sister Zixi—even if the young man did not join their family, he would definitely protect the Ren family should anything happen. But now, the head elder had sent him away, along with Sister Zixi.
“Regret?” The old man laughed with disdain.
Seeing this, Ren Jiapei did not bother explaining further, because she did not wish for the family to try to keep the young man out of material interest. “Let nature take its course… With Brother Zhou beside her, Sister Zixi should be fine out there.” She was comforted by that fact. She breathed heavily and began walking in the direction that Zhou Donghuang and Yang Zixi had left.
“Lady Ren, which guest inn is the best in the Chu royal city?” As Fu and Aunt Mei finished packing, Zhou Donghuang turned to ask Ren Jiapei as they were about to leave the Ren family household. He had not asked Yang Zixi because he knew that she would definitely not tell him.
“Brother Zhou, the best inn here is ‘Chuxiu Inn’ run by the Chu royal household. The biggest and best courtyard there costs a thousand liang a night,” answered Ren Jiapei. “Even if you book it for a year, it would cost three hundred thousand liang.”
She then added, “Later, I’ll get some money from my father so that you can book it for a year.” Three hundred thousand liang is not much for a grand family. But for Ren Jiapei, this was not a small sum that she could fork out.
“No need.” Zhou Donghuang shook his head. “I can afford this much.”
“Brother Zhou, we don’t have to go to such a good inn.” Just then, Yang Zixi finally stopped him. “We can just find any average inn to stay in.”
“Zixi, a normal inn would disturb my practice,” said Zhou Donghuang with a laugh. Yang Zixi had nothing to say to that.
Ren Jiapei then instructed someone to prepare a carriage and drove them personally to Chuxiu Inn. As a guest inn operated by the Chu royal household and the best inn in the Chu royal city, Chuxiu Inn was not only situated close to the city center, but it also occupied a vast piece of land.
From the outside, the inn’s old architecture was simple yet elegant. At the front door, two rows of uniformed assistants stood at attention. “Hello sir, looking for a room?”
As Zhou Donghuang and the rest got closer, one of the assistants stepped forward and asked Zhou Donghuang respectfully. His eager smile made one feel like a distinguished guest returning home.
“I wish to book your best courtyard here for a year,” said Zhou Donghuang. “Forget all the procedures, we want to move in right away… if you manage to do that, you can have this tip.” With that, Zhou Donghuang pulled out a ten thousand liang note and handed it to the assistant.
“Sir, please come in, I will bring you there right away.” The assistant took the note from Zhou Donghuang with trembling fingers. In all his years working at Chuxiu Inn, this was the first time that he had encountered such a generous guest who gave him ten thousand liang as a tip.
As the assistant took the note, the rest of the assistants at the door all turned green with envy. Especially the older ones who had worked at Chuxiu Inn for more than ten years, their tips over the years did not even add up to ten thousand liang!
“Fu, pay him the fees.” As the assistant brought Zhou Donghuang and the rest into the inn, Zhou Donghuang instructed Fu. Although he carried some notes with him, he had only a few hundred thousand liang for emergencies. Most of the money was with Fu.
“Yes, Young Master,” replied Fu as he took out a huge stack of notes and handed three hundred liang to the assistant.
“Sister Zixi, this Brother Zhou… who is he?” By this point, even Ren Jiapei was taken aback by Zhou Donghuang’s generous wealth. Even the young sons of the tycoon families were not as extravagant.
