The drunken young man was Lin Bei.

He followed Xia An all the way to this secluded pavilion in the woods, originally intending to approach and ask questions. But when he saw the Young Marquis sitting in the pavilion, seemingly waiting for someone, Lin Bei suddenly smirked.

With the inexplicable connection between their kind, he could sense that the Young Marquis must also be a lecherous thief.

Did he come here secretly to wait for a rendezvous with a woman?

Drunk, in the wilderness…

Stalking, peeping…

A series of keywords triggered his inner thoughts, causing him to stop and not immediately approach, but to stay here and see what the Young Marquis was up to.

Although the Young Marquis was also a cultivator, his cultivation level was not high, and he usually relied on Lu Shi’s protection. Today, he felt that there was nothing major, so he sent Lu Shi away, which allowed Lin Bei to have the opportunity to follow him.

If Lu Shi were here, Lin Bei’s stalking would not have been so smooth.

Later, Xue Hu came over, but Xue Hu was a martial artist, and martial artists’ perception focused more on aura and sound, in other words, they were more sensitive to moving objects.

So even though Xue Hu had a higher cultivation level than Lin Bei, he didn’t notice Lin Bei, who had hidden and restrained his aura in advance.

Seeing that a burly man was coming, Lin Bei added another keyword.

Men with men?

He became even more excited.

But after eavesdropping for a while, he found that they were talking about some strange topics. It seemed to be something that should not be seen in the light, but not the kind he had imagined.

Lin Bei was not interested in this and when he saw that they were about to finish their conversation, he turned around and left.

Just as he was leaving, as soon as he took a step, Xue Hu immediately sensed it and rushed over.

Knowing that the other party’s cultivation level was far above his own, if he tried to escape, he wouldn’t get far. In an instant, Lin Bei’s mind quickly came up with a plan, relying on his years of training in memory… he took off his pants in an instant.

Coincidentally, he had drunk a lot of alcohol earlier, so he could squint his eyes and pretend to be drunk. So when Xue Hu came over, he saw a scene of a drunk man relieving himself.

Lin Bei took the initiative to berate him loudly, which made Xue Hu’s expression awkward.

His fierce face froze for a moment, and he sternly shouted, “Who allowed you to urinate here?!”

“Damn…” Lin Bei pulled up his pants, muttered as he turned and walked away, “You look like a gangster, but you’re surprisingly considerate…”

While cursing, he walked away, occasionally wiping his hands on his pants.

Xue Hu stared at Lin Bei’s back, and after a while, he finally dissipated the hostility in his expression.

“What’s wrong?” Xia An walked up and asked.

“Nothing.” Xue Hu shook his head, “Just a drunkard.”

After the rendezvous was completed, the two returned to the banquet hall and continued with their respective socializing, as if they didn’t know each other at all.

When the banquet was over, Xia An hurriedly returned to the Lord Ding Shan’s mansion.

Lu Shi was already waiting in the mansion.

“How did it go?” Xia An asked.

“That girl turned out to be a Golden Carp Spirit. She escaped into the water in an instant. I used my divine ability to stab her from a dozen miles away, don’t know if she died. They have already started searching for her. If she’s killed, there should be a body.” Lu Shi replied.

“You attacked her yesterday, didn’t you realize she was a demon?” The Young Marquis was a little displeased.

“Whether it’s a mortal or a little demon, their weakness is about the same to me. And she didn’t reveal any demonic aura, so it was really difficult to detect.” Lu Shi calmly said, “And… whether she was a human or a demon, it didn’t matter if I killed her at that time.”

After hearing his words, the Young Marquis was speechless for a moment.

Indeed, he was the one who asked Lu Shi to spare Liu Xiaoyu’s life. Who would have thought that something like this would happen? Now that something like this has happened, it’s natural not to blame Lu Shi.

But who should he blame?

He couldn’t blame himself, right?

He was so angry.

“Alright, a little demon was injured by you, she probably didn’t survive. Even if she didn’t die, can a demon reveal our secret?” The Young Marquis said, whether he was saying it to Lu Shi or to himself, he said it anyway.

Lu Shi retreated on his own, leaving only him in the room.

The Young Marquis recalled today’s events and felt a burst of anger… the more he thought about it, the angrier he became!

He spent a great price to give the Sandalwood Jade Qin, but it was snatched away by that Shu Mountain disciple. And then the qin broke, and that person even slandered his qin as fake!

He actually didn’t say anything at that time! What’s wrong with him? He actually easily accepted this blame.

Coupled with the incident of the female demon escaping…

A series of misfortunes piled up, making Xia An’s chest about to explode with anger. If Chu Liang wasn’t a disciple of Shu Mountain, he even wanted to send Lu Shi to kill him overnight to vent his anger.

Unfortunately, Chu Liang’s identity forced him to suppress his delayed anger. It would be too irrational to take such a big risk and kill a disciple of Shu Mountain for this matter.

Xia An muttered to himself in the air, “Don’t worry, Xue Lingxue will definitely be mine!”

…

The next day.

He came to the Li family’s village again to meet Xue Lingxue. Xia An’s identity represented the Lord Ding Shan’s mansion, so Xue Lingxue took the time to meet him.

“Young Marquis, is there something you need?” Xue Lingxue, with her beautiful appearance, sat opposite him and asked softly.

Xia An first sighed in his heart at the beauty of the other party, then smiled politely, “Yesterday, I asked my father about it, and he didn’t know that the Sandalwood Jade Qin, which was exchanged at a great price, turned out to be fake and even injured Miss Xue’s finger. It was a big mistake. So he specially instructed me to come and apologize to Miss Xue.”

Yes, this was the plan he came up with.

Since he had missed the best time to explain, and everyone believed that the Sandalwood Jade Qin was fake, it was better to just admit it and then use it as an opportunity to meet Xue Lingxue alone.

“It’s alright.” Xue Lingxue smiled in response, “I am also a cultivator, a small injury has already healed.”

“You are very magnanimous, but I still feel guilty. To show my apology, I have rented a painted boat and would like to invite Miss Xue to a dinner, while enjoying the scenery of the Qin Nan River.” He said generously.

When inviting a woman, the most taboo thing is to be deliberate. Especially in the early stages of getting to know each other, if you rashly invite someone to a banquet, the woman will feel it is presumptuous and will inevitably have many concerns.

And someone like Xia An, who was able to naturally turn everything into an opportunity for himself, without leaving a trace, without making a sound.

In his plan, as long as Xue Lingxue willingly accepts the invitation, during the time they spend together, he will definitely find a reason for the next meeting. With this back and forth, she will eventually get used to his presence. By the time she realizes that she has secretly given her heart, it will be too late.

But this smooth invitation was met with Xue Lingxue’s refusal.

“Sorry, Young Marquis.” Xue Lingxue declined, “I already have an appointment today.”

“Hmm?” Xia An thought for a moment, then said, “Is it someone from the South Gate City? I can go and discuss with them, free up Miss Xue’s time. If I can’t sincerely apologize to Miss Xue, I won’t be able to sleep or eat well, and I won’t be able to explain to my father.”

“It’s not someone from South Gate City, it’s Hero Chu from Shu Mountain.” Xue Lingxue said, looking towards the door.

It turned out that Chu Liang had arrived. A handsome figure had already appeared outside the door.

“Miss Xue… Oh? Young Marquis is also here?” Chu Liang greeted the two with a gentle smile.

Xia An looked at that smiling face and couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger, wanting to punch that face.

New grudges and old hatred.

He gritted his teeth and asked, “Hero Chu, do you have an appointment with Miss Xue today?”

“Yes.” Chu Liang nodded, his gaze swept around, and he understood what was going on after a moment of thought.

This Young Marquis obviously had an interest in Miss Xue. He had spent a lot of money on gifts yesterday and came to invite her today, so it was not surprising.

He did have an appointment with Xue Lingxue today… but it was just a brief conversation. Presumably, Xue Lingxue used this as an excuse to reject the Young Marquis’s invitation.

Today, he came to find her with a request, so he should help her bear the Young Marquis’s resentment.

But… he had snatched his limelight yesterday and even slandered him for giving a fake qin. And now he was snatching his date… this Young Marquis might hold a grudge against him.

Sigh.

“Hero Chu…” Xia An’s eyes couldn’t hide his gloominess anymore. He was about to speak and ask Chu Liang to leave, freeing up Xue Lingxue’s schedule for today.

If Chu Liang didn’t cooperate… even though he was a disciple of Shu Mountain, this was still South Gate City!

Looking at Xia An’s unfriendly gaze, Chu Liang vaguely predicted what he was going to say and quickly raised his hand.

Quell Evil Curse!

The curse that had just been refreshed today immediately fell on Xia An. Fortunately, his cultivation level was not higher than Chu Liang’s, so the Quell Evil Curse could take effect multiple times.

Suddenly, Xia An’s face turned gloomy and his gaze turned hostile as he called out to Chu Liang. The atmosphere became tense… but he suddenly smiled brightly:

“You and Miss Xue must have a great time.”