To Marry Me, Betrothal Gifts Alone Won't Be Enough!

"It was him!" The Golden Bell Stall Owner pointed at the Puppet Battle Stall Owner and said bluntly, "He came to find me not long ago, claiming he had come on your orders. Otherwise, how would a nobody like me dare do such a thing?"

As he spoke, his voice took on a tearful note. "I am but an ordinary commoner, only seeking a steady livelihood and a bite to eat. How could I possibly afford to offend a great figure like Young Master Qin? I beg Young Miss Ya to investigate clearly. In light of the circumstances, please spare me this once."

The Puppet Battle Stall Owner's face had turned livid by then. Seeing the Golden Bell Stall Owner show no mercy and use him as a scapegoat to clear himself, resentment surged within him. Tearing away all pretense, he cursed, "Pah! You old bastard! To exonerate yourself, you're like a dog driven into a corner, trying to drag Young Master Qin into the water! You certainly didn't look like this when you accepted those Soul Coins from me earlier. Back then, you happily agreed to do this for me!"

"Soul Coins? What Soul Coins?" The Golden Bell Stall Owner flatly denied it. "Do not spout such nonsense. I have never accepted a single coin from you."

The Puppet Battle Stall Owner looked ashen, determination filling his eyes. "Young Miss Ya, Young Master Qin, every word I have spoken is true. If you do not believe me, you may search my Soul Consciousness. You will surely find that I have not uttered a single lie."

"He and I are fellow townsmen and had some personal ties to begin with. Today, unable to swallow my anger, I sought his help. It truly was an impulse of the moment."

"To persuade him to act, I even threw in the savings of nearly half my life in a moment of hotheadedness."

"Although I did borrow Young Master Qin's name during it all, it was merely to talk big and intimidate him a little. I never had the slightest intention of harming his family!"

Once Qin Tianliang understood the full sequence of events, he smiled in satisfaction. "Young Miss Ya, I told you this was his private doing and had nothing to do with me."

Lu Feng stood quietly to one side. At this point, he no longer cared whether Qin Tianliang had been involved. In any case, Jiang Ruoyun had already decided that Qin Tianliang had a hand in it, and she despised him for it.

Jun Ziya shot Qin Tianliang a cold glance. "Keep your people in line!"

Then, the female guard threw the Puppet Battle Stall Owner down before Qin Tianliang.

Qin Tianliang's eyes were filled with chilling gloom as he glared furiously at the stall owner on the ground.

"Young Master Qin, I..."

The stall owner had barely begun speaking when he suddenly felt Qin Tianliang's solid, powerful hand press down on his head. He immediately trembled all over in terror.

"Young Master Qin, spare my life..."

A dull thud sounded, and the stall owner's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Qin Tianliang withdrew his hand and coldly watched the stall owner's lifeless body on the ground. "You acted on your own accord and caused Young Miss Ya to misunderstand me. Killing you like this is already letting you off lightly!"

Beside him, Qin Taiheng tactfully stepped forward and quietly disposed of the stall owner's corpse.

Jun Ziya watched it all indifferently, not a ripple appearing on her calm face. No one could tell whether she was pleased or angry, much less guess at her true thoughts.

The Golden Bell Stall Owner was thoroughly panicked now. He had thought that, at worst, he would receive a punishment or two. He had never expected it to stir up murderous intent.

After a brief round of questioning, Jun Ziya had more or less grasped the course of events. She no longer cared who was right or wrong. Instead, her attention settled on the words, "rang the Golden Bell more than ten times."

"Recount the entire process of striking the bell to me, from beginning to end!"

Jun Ziya ordered the stall owner, warning, "If you omit even the slightest detail, I will have someone chop off one of your arms!"

Terrified, the stall owner hurriedly gave a meticulous account, pointing at Jiang Ruoyun beside Lu Feng. "At first, this young lady struck the Golden Bell alone. But because there was something wrong with the beads, she failed three times in a row."

He then pointed at Lu Feng. From the earlier conversation, the stall owner had already learned Lu Feng's identity, so he said, "When it came to the fourth bead, the Azure Mountain Sect Master stepped in. The two struck the bell together, but because they failed to coordinate properly, the bead fell halfway into the ground."

Jun Ziya glanced at the bead she had thrown onto the ground earlier, the one Lu Feng had produced before.

The stall owner hurriedly nodded. "That is the one. It bears the aura of the Spirit-Suppressing Liquid I soaked it in as well. It was one of the three defective beads."

Jun Ziya looked at Qin Tianliang with a mocking smile. "They gave you three beads under such circumstances, yet you still failed to win?"

Qin Tianliang's expression darkened, but he could find no grounds for rebuttal. No matter how it was put, he had suffered a complete and miserable defeat this time.

Lu Feng took the opportunity to extend his hand. "Young Master Qin is the future head of the Qin Family. Surely you are not incapable of honoring such a trivial wager?"

Jun Zi Shuo grew somewhat curious. "The two of you had a wager as well?"

Seeing every gaze around him turn toward him, Qin Tianliang's face immediately darkened. Suppressing the fury and killing intent in his heart, he took out forty High-Grade Source Stones from his storage device and said with feigned indifference, "They are only a few Source Stones. It is not as though I would deny the debt!"

Lu Feng gave a cold smile. "Then I thank Young Master Qin for his generosity!"

As he spoke, he swept up the many Source Stones and held them out before Jiang Ruoyun.

"Hm?" Jiang Ruoyun froze. "This was all your doing. I..."

Lu Feng interrupted her with a smile, his gentle voice drifting into Jiang Ruoyun's ear. "Consider this a small portion of my betrothal gifts for now!"

"Bet... betrothal gifts?" Jiang Ruoyun froze again. Under everyone's watchful eyes, her little face flushed scarlet in an instant, leaving Red Scorpion utterly bewildered beside her.

At first, Jiang Ruoyun instinctively did not wish to accept them, believing she should not receive a reward without merit. But upon hearing Lu Feng's words, she had no choice but to reach out her hand.

She could not simply hand over betrothal gifts delivered right to her door and let some other girl benefit from them!

All of a sudden, as though possessed, Jiang Ruoyun replied, "If you want to marry me, betrothal gifts alone won't be enough!"

What she meant was that what she wanted was still that sincere heart.

Seeing Jiang Ruoyun being so mischievous and adorable, Lu Feng's heart nearly melted. Unable to restrain himself, he affectionately tapped her nose and said gently, "As long as you ask, even if they were the stars of Heaven Mountain, I would pluck them down for you."

This scene sent Qin Tianliang into a blazing rage once more. Losing the Source Stones was one thing, but now even the beauty before him seemed about to be stolen away!

At the same time, Jun Ziya had learned the full details from the stall owner. When she first heard that Lu Feng had made an ordinary bead ring twice, she was impressed but not particularly surprised. Judging by her own experience during the test, Flame Sparrow under her command could likewise accomplish it easily.

But when she later heard that Lu Feng had caused such a commotion with that bead she had specially made, that bead containing the one and only pure Wood Element Qi in the world...

Jun Ziya could no longer remain calm within.

She instructed Flame Sparrow, who had already returned to her side, to retrieve the special bead Lu Feng had struck according to the stall owner's account.

Jun Ziya held it in her hand and examined it closely, the confusion between her brows deepening.

Why was that aura left within the bead still there!?

There was not even the slightest trace of contamination or damage?

Then how could he possibly have controlled this bead?

No, the dense and domineering spiritual energy lingering on its surface...

With spiritual energy like this, it was simply impossible to produce that sort of back-and-forth striking!

Jun Ziya had great confidence in her own knowledge. Aside from Martial Dao, she had also immersed herself in the Dao of formations for many years and possessed considerable attainments. When she had first heard that someone had used the special bead she arranged to create such back-and-forth strikes, she had assumed it was some method of the Dao of formations.

But now, sensing that the special spiritual energy on the bead had not changed in the slightest, while traces of extremely domineering spiritual energy still lingered upon its surface, she found her understanding overturned.