Hua Qiang leaned against a red-copper stone pillar at the edge of the plaza, his gaze casually sweeping over the boisterous crowd as his fingers unconsciously rubbed the hilt of the Mystic Iron Sword.
Colorful banners fluttered across the stands. The figure on the high platform, clad in ornate colors with her face veiled in white gauze, was the City Lord's daughter who drew all eyes; to him, she was merely another commonplace spectacle in a foreign land.
The lovely wives and beauties at home had long since left him uninterested in such husband-selection gatherings. What mattered more now was finding Yiyan Kirin's trail.
"Hmph, only the City Lord still treasures her like some jewel. If it were anyone else, who would want to marry a Waste Body and bring her home?"
The discussion from nearby interrupted Hua Qiang's thoughts. He looked toward the sound and saw three Wolf Clan men in short armor gathered together, speaking in low voices. Yet their eyes kept darting toward the woman on the high platform, their tones brimming with contempt.
"A Waste Body? It's far worse than that!" One of them curled his lip. His voice dropped even lower, yet it still reached Hua Qiang clearly.
"I heard it from an old servant at the City Lord's Manor. Beneath that white veil, half her face is fair and exquisite like an angel's, but the other half is covered in dark-red markings, like an evil ghost's scales—she's a true yin-yang face!"
"Isn't that so?" The man beside him took over, his tone carrying a hint of malicious delight.
"Ever since she was born, she hasn't been able to draw qi into her body. She can't even manage the most basic cultivation, and she has such a frightening face.
Some say she has a Heaven-Jealous