Chapter 475 - 9: Best Friends

The Wang Family ran an apothecary business, with medical texts passed down through generations. Wang Rui, benefiting from his advantageous position, had relied on consuming supplements to reach the Ninth Grade.

But all medicines have their side effects.

His body was as plump as an inflated balloon, and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t lose the weight—a side effect of all the supplements he had taken.

Hek Yongzhang’s family were wealthy landowners with thousands of acres of land outside the city, employing numerous tenant farmers and long-term laborers. In terms of resources, their family was the strongest of the three.

Young men.

Are inevitably prone to foolery.

Those who were sensible and dedicated to their Cultivation from a young age were few and far between.

Only after experiencing certain hardships or starting a family would they learn a thing or two and put away their playful ways.

Zhu Ju was currently playing the part of a prodigal son who had ’suffered a great disaster’ and ’had a change of heart’.

However, he couldn’t completely sever ties with his ’friends’ from the past, as that would seem too deliberate.

The three of them chatted and laughed as they arrived at a private room.

The room directly faced the stage of the Drunken Fragrance Residence, where a dozen or so meticulously dressed and groomed women were currently standing.

Their clothes were magnificent.

But their faces were filled with panic.

They were clearly not women accustomed to the pleasure quarters. Being displayed for the first time to be chosen by others, they were understandably anxious.

Some had been the wives and daughters of wealthy families, and to fall to such a state was utter despair.

"Huh?"

Wang Rui’s eyebrows twitched.

"Isn’t that Second Sister Songx from the Songx Family?"

"It is her!" Hek Yongzhang stepped forward, his brow furrowed.

"Wasn’t she already bought by Zhou Ping to be his concubine? Why is she here?"

"Someone."

"Go and ask what’s going on."

Seeing Zhu Ju’s blank expression, he began to explain:

"Second Sister Songx is not from around here. Speaking of which, she’s distantly related to my family. She married into the Liuu Family years ago, but some time ago, something happened to them. All the female family members were sold off, and Second Sister Songx was bought by the Zhou Family."

"Brother Zhu, you’ve been busy handling your uncle’s funeral arrangements recently, so you wouldn’t know."

"I heard about it too," Wang Rui nodded.

"They say Second Sister Songx and Madam Zhou are from the same town. They grew up together and were bosom buddies who could talk about anything. It was Madam Zhou who proposed that the Zhou Family take her in."

"But now it seems..."

He shook his head lightly.

"That wasn’t the case at all!"

Second Sister Songx’s real name was Songx Min, and she wasn’t much older than the three of them.

She had a beautiful face and a graceful figure. Standing on the stage with tears staining her cheeks like pear blossoms in the rain, she evoked a profound sense of pity.

"Young Master."

A short while later.

The servant sent to gather information returned and reported:

"This servant has found out what happened. Originally, that young master from the Zhou Family had agreed on a price with the Drunken Fragrance Residence. He’s been staying in Second Sister Songx’s room for the past few days. But when it was time to finalize the transaction, he suddenly backed out and didn’t show up, which is why Second Sister Songx is being publicly auctioned today."

"What!" Wang Rui was dumbfounded.

"Isn’t that just going back on his word?"

"That bastard Zhou slept with her but won’t pay up! I’ve seen shameless people before, but I’ve never seen anyone this shameless!"

"Young Master Wang," the servant replied.

"According to the information this servant gathered, it wasn’t that Young Master Zhou was unwilling to pay, but that his wife was vehemently against it."

"How could that be?" Hek Yongzhang asked.

"Madam Zhou and Second Sister Songx are bosom buddies. They came from the same town and both married into families in Taiyuan Prefecture. For all these years..."

"Sigh..."

Before he could finish, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Best friends,

can’t always be trusted!

"This servant also heard," the servant said, lowering his voice,

"that Madam Zhou is also here today. She said she wants to watch with her own eyes as her ’dear sister’ gets ’married off.’ She also gave specific instructions that no one is allowed to buy Second Sister Songx. Anyone who dares to is making an enemy of the Zhou Family."

"What!" Wang Rui was aghast.

"That’s truly..."

"A woman’s heart is the most venomous thing!"

The Zhou Family was powerful and influential, one of the top families in Taiyuan Prefecture. Few people dared to offend them.

Even if there were,

it wasn’t worth it just for a woman.

Not only was her best friend unreliable, but she was even kicking her while she was down, making sure she’d hit rock bottom.

Besides Second Sister Songx, a daughter of the Li Family who had moved to Kangzhou years ago was also being sold today.

Wang Rui watched as the Li Family’s daughter was bought by someone, and then proceeded to pour wine down his throat until he drank himself into a stupor and collapsed.

"That guy used to have a crush on the Li Family’s daughter. He was young back then. I didn’t think he’d still be hung up on her."

Hek Yongzhang sighed.

"We shouldn’t have come today."

Coming to the Drunken Fragrance Residence was supposed to be for fun. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen women being auctioned here before.

But seeing a few familiar faces today brought on a certain sorrow, a feeling of ’the hare’s death grieves the fox’—a shared sense of tragedy.

......

What was supposed to be a good get-together for the three of them ended up being a real downer and was cut short.

Zhu Ju got into the horse-drawn carriage and called out to the driver:

"Back to the mansion."

"Yes, Young Master."

The driver acknowledged, lightly cracking the whip:

"Giddy-up!"

Zhu Ju lowered the carriage curtain, and the feeling of being watched vanished with it.

Although he currently had no Cultivation whatsoever, his Divine Soul remained, giving him a keen perception, as sensitive as a silkworm sensing the spring wind before it blows.

Ever since he left the Zhu Mansion, he had constantly felt like he was being watched.

Only in private environments without outsiders, like the room at the Drunken Fragrance Residence or this carriage, did the feeling disappear.

Someone was tailing him!

’As expected!’

’The original owner’s death wasn’t that simple. Is someone still not willing to let me go?’

’Who is it?’

Zhu Ju rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought.

’Looks like if I want to pursue my Cultivation in peace, I’ll have to deal with this trouble first. But my current strength...’

’I’m still too weak!’

He flexed his fingers, sensing his current power.

Although he had yet to enter the grades, his strength, tempered by continuous practice of the Giant Spirit Fist, was already comparable to a Ninth Grade practitioner.

This level of strength was not enough to solve his problems.

*

*

*

「The Martial Arts Arena.」

Two graceful figures moved like butterflies flitting through flowers, their fluttering movements a beautiful sight to behold.

"HAH!"

Lu Qianqian let out a sharp cry, her feet tapping the ground several times in an instant, leaving a series of afterimages in her wake.

In a flash, she appeared behind Shuang’er.

"Got you!"

She reached out to grab her, but Shuang’er’s form flickered. Like a wisp of Qingfeng or a drifting white cloud, she floated away with deceptive speed, landing ten feet away and causing Lu Qianqian to grasp at empty air.

"Hee hee..."

Shuang’er giggled, her pretty face flushed.

"You missed!"

"White clouds drift leisurely, soaring like an immortal." Lu Qianqian stopped moving, her expression turning serious.

"You’ve never trained in Martial Arts and your Physical Body is weak, yet you were able to execute a Soaring Leap!"

"Such Talent..."

"It’s truly enviable!"

She herself had first stepped onto the path of Martial Arts by practicing the Cloud Step, so she knew exactly how terrifying Shuang’er’s Talent was.

Moreover.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but Lu Qianqian felt that Shuang’er’s Talent was getting better every day.

And now.

she had managed to use the Superior Footwork from the Cloud Step relying on nothing but the instinct of her Physical Body.

"Zhu Ju," Lu Qianqian said, turning to him and asking seriously,

"Are you really not going to let Shuang’er become my junior martial sister? With her Talent, keeping her by your side is a criminal waste."

"Yesterday, Steward Guo Jie from the Qingyi Gang paid a visit," Zhu Ju said unhurriedly from where he was lounging on a soft chair, seemingly not having heard her question.

"He also saw Shuang’er and praised her. Since she needs a master, why not have her study under an expert from the Qingyi Gang?"

"Seventh-Grade Experts may be rare, but the Qingyi Gang is not without them."

Lu Qianqian’s expression changed.