Mount Hua, also known in ancient times as the "Western Peak" and elegantly called "Mount Taihua," was one of the Five Great Mountains. The Mount Hua Sect, one of the Five Great Sword Sects, was based on Mount Hua.
In the main hall of the Mount Hua Sect, its leader, Yue Buqun, and Ning Zhongze were discussing who to bring to the upcoming Golden Basin Hand-washing Ceremony, where Liu Zhengfeng of the Hengshan Sect would retire from the martial world.
"Senior Brother, which disciples should we bring to Senior Brother Liu's Golden Basin Hand-washing Ceremony?" Ning Zhongze asked.
Yue Buqun pondered for a moment before saying, "Alas! The Mount Hua Sect is short on talent these days. Chong'er is the only one who's accomplished anything. We'll take him and Lu Dayou along so they can broaden their horizons. As for Shan'er and the others..."
"Master!"
Before Yue Buqun could finish, someone hurried into the hall. It was Lu Dayou, whose leg had been broken by Hao Shuai.
"Greetings, Master and Madam!"
"You're in such a hurry. What is it?" Yue Buqun asked sternly.
"Reporting to you, Master, Second Senior Brother sent an urgent letter."
Lu Dayou took out an envelope and handed it to Yue Buqun.
An urgent letter from Dean Lao?
Could the Qingcheng Sect have already entered Fuzhou?
Yue Buqun took the letter. On the envelope were the words "To be opened by Master."
He opened it and unfolded the paper. It detailed what had happened to Dean Lao and his companion on their way to Fuzhou. At the end, it said that Hao Shuai had kidnapped Yue Lingshan and demanded that Yue Buqun come to Fuzhou City within seven days to ransom her with the Purple Haze Divine Skill. Otherwise, he would XXOO Yue Lingshan.
Even Yue Buqun, usually so composed and slow to anger, could not contain himself after reading the letter. His fury showed plainly on his face. Bang!
He slammed his palm down, breaking the table in two!
"How dare he!"
Yue Buqun roared.
"Senior Brother, what happened?"
It was rare for Ning Zhongze to see her senior brother so furious. The last time he had lost his temper like this had been years ago. She asked with concern.
"Read it yourself, Madam!"
Yue Buqun handed her the letter, still seething.
Ning Zhongze took it and quickly scanned its contents. Her face suddenly changed. "The Qingcheng Sect was wiped out? Shan'er... Shan'er has been kidnapped?"
Lu Dayou, standing nearby, was startled too. "Junior Sister has been kidnapped? I'll go tell First Senior Brother!"
With that, he hurried out of the hall to inform Linghu Chong.
"Then Shan'er..."
"She should be safe for now. The other party wants the Purple Haze Divine Skill, after all. Until he gets what he wants, Shan'er won't be harmed."
Seeing Ning Zhongze's worried expression, Yue Buqun tried to comfort her.
"Madam, the best thing to do now is for me to ride ahead to Fuzhou and rescue Shan'er. You and Chong'er can set out for Hengyang City later. We'll meet there," Old Yue instructed.
"Senior Brother, can you go alone?" Ning Zhongze asked, worried.
"The man is highly skilled. He managed to wipe out the Qingcheng Sect all by himself. Taking more people would only burden me. Going alone is safer. Even if I can't beat him, I should be able to escape with my life." Old Yue reassured her.
In truth, Old Yue didn't want anyone else to learn about the sword manual.
"All right. We'll do as you say."
While the Mount Hua Sect was thrown into chaos over Yue Lingshan's kidnapping, word began to spread through the martial world that Yu Canghai, leader of the Qingcheng Sect, and his disciples—including the Four Talents of Qingcheng—had been ambushed and wiped out in the outskirts of Fuzhou. Not one of them had survived.
Meanwhile, Hao Shuai, the culprit behind the whole affair, was leisurely fishing aboard a boat.
It was the sixth day since he had kidnapped Yue Lingshan.
That day, Hao Shuai had taken Yue Lingshan to a small river outside the city and rented a boat. They ate, slept, and took care of everything else aboard it. He had chosen to live on the boat partly to avoid being poisoned. His resistance to poison was still zero, after all; he was nowhere near immune to every toxin. If some strange poison used by the martial world killed him, he'd have no one to complain to.
The other reason was that it was easier to keep an eye on Yue Lingshan. Inns were crowded and full of prying eyes, leaving room for trouble and making it easy to get surrounded. On the boat, he had a clear view in every direction, with water all around, so it was safer.
"Dinner's ready."
Just as Hao Shuai was about to nod off while fishing, Yue Lingshan called from the cabin.
At the sound of dinner, Hao Shuai tossed his fishing rod onto the deck and headed inside. Four dishes and a soup were already set out on the table. He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.
"Mm, not bad. Your cooking's getting better. Keep it up!"
Yue Lingshan didn't answer. She silently served Hao Shuai a bowl of rice, served herself one too, then sat down and ate quietly.
"Today's the sixth day. Your father still hasn't shown up. Do you think he's given up on you?" Hao Shuai asked, trying to provoke her when she didn't speak.
"Don't talk nonsense! My father and the others would never do that!"
"I don't think he's coming. How about we get down to business tonight?" Hao Shuai teased.
"What business?" Yue Lingshan was still a young girl and didn't understand.
"What else? The wedding night, of course! Didn't I promise your father that if he didn't come, I'd take my family of three to visit him on Mount Hua a year from now?"
"I'm not having a wedding night with you!" Yue Lingshan retorted. After being put through the wringer by life, she was no longer the same as she'd been when she first came aboard, when she would have argued with Hao Shuai for ages.
Thinking back to when she'd first boarded the boat six days ago, Yue Lingshan hadn't known how to do anything. She'd devoured whatever food she could find and kept stealing Hao Shuai's drinks and snacks, completely oblivious to the fact that she'd been kidnapped. She'd been living in the lap of luxury.
Hao Shuai thought, Something's not right. She's supposed to be a hostage, not a young mistress. She's been eating and sleeping all day. I don't think she was this comfortable even back at Mount Hua. Old Yue would at least make her practice martial arts. She's treating this like a vacation!
Once he realized something was wrong, Hao Shuai began forcing her to cook and do the housework.
At first, Yue Lingshan had resisted his suggestion.
What kind of joke was that?
Who in the martial world didn't know the young Miss Yue? When had she ever cooked or served anyone? Other people had always served her.
But after Hao Shuai left her hungry for two meals and cut off her snacks and drinks, Yue Lingshan soon gave in to reality.
Yue Lingshan had considered running away, too. Hao Shuai hadn't sealed her inner power—well, that was because he didn't know Acupoint Striking!
But no matter how good her Lightness Skill was, could it outrun flight?
After two failed escape attempts that left her hungry for two meals, Yue Lingshan finally settled down. Hao Shuai's snacks and drinks really were delicious!
From then on, she resigned herself to a blissful life of looking after her husband and raising children.
The End!
Well, the truth was that Yue Lingshan had started cooking obediently. At first, she was clumsy, and her food was so bad even pigs wouldn't eat it. But with Hao Shuai's encouragement and the lure of snacks and drinks, Yue Lingshan had put in a lot of hard work.
And as it turned out, food lovers were the same in every era. Once Hao Shuai had awakened Yue Lingshan's inner foodie, she became more and more enthusiastic about cooking. She even started changing up the dishes every day!
If Old Yue knew Yue Lingshan was putting so much effort into things just for snacks, he'd probably smack her too! If she'd put that much effort into practicing martial arts, would she have been kidnapped?
After dinner, Hao Shuai returned to the deck to fish and help his food settle, while Yue Lingshan rose to clear away the dishes with practiced ease.
Before long, Yue Lingshan came over to Hao Shuai, looking at him with eager anticipation.
Hao Shuai found her gaze helpless, so he could only take some potato chips and cola out of his space for her.
At first, Yue Lingshan had been curious about how Hao Shuai could make things appear out of thin air and kept pestering him with questions. Hao Shuai had gotten so annoyed that he finally said, "It's a family secret. Only my wife can know about it," shutting her up.
He watched her carry the snacks happily back to her room.
Hao Shuai could only sigh. This girl was going farther and farther down the path of a foodie.
What would she do when she ran out of snacks?
The seventh day since Yue Lingshan's kidnapping.
Hao Shuai was still fishing idly as usual, while Yue Lingshan was busy preparing lunch.
Just then, Hao Shuai saw a middle-aged man on the shore. He had a handsome, refined face and seemed dignified and scholarly. Standing with his hands behind his back, he swept his gaze over to Hao Shuai and fixed it on him.
Looking around the martial world, who else could be so upright and imposing in appearance, if not Old Yue?
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