The Older Brother Always Had More to Worry About

The cockfighting match had already been decided.

The lackeys on the Wealthy Merchant Guild's side sighed and groaned.

Liu Shirong slapped his forehead and laughed. "We lost, we lost. Brother Ning's Golden Winged Thunder Duke was still a cut above."

He had clearly lost, yet he seemed even happier than if he'd won.

Ning Xuan said proudly, "Of course."

Liu Shirong clapped his hands, and a servant went to put Iron Beak General back in its cage. He didn't spare the defeated rooster another glance, heading straight for Ning Xuan's viewing pavilion. "Brother Ning, you can send someone to my Wealthy Merchant Guild later. I, Liu Shirong, always keep my word. Two of the cargo crates on that Western Regions trade route will definitely be yours."

Ning Xuan said, "Old Liu, what are you up to?"

Liu Shirong smiled, then tilted his head. "Let's talk at Drunken Flower House."

Then he added, "Drunken Flower House has two new Chaste Maidens. You and I can go there today, and they'll make their debut as courtesans. It'll be their good fortune to give their first time to two refined young masters like us."

Come to think of it, he didn't know when his family would arrange a marriage for him.

Once they were married, he and his brother wouldn't be able to act so freely. Even if they wanted to visit the pleasure quarters, they'd have to consider their wives' feelings. Heh, let's go!"

Ning Xuan smiled. "I've been to Chenxiang Pavilion in the prefectural city many times, but I've never found anyone who could compare to Xiao Jie."

Liu Shirong said ruefully, "Why couldn't I have had a maid like Xiao Jie?"

Ning Xuan said, "Old Liu, just say it. What do you want?"

Liu Shirong gave him a look.

The lackeys understood and dispersed.

Ning Xuan gave his own people a look, and they quickly left as well.

Soon, only the two of them remained.

Only then did Liu Shirong say, "I won't hide it from you, brother. My father gave me a mission I absolutely can't fail: I have to get my sister married to you. The dowry is negotiable."

Ning Xuan asked in surprise, "With Yushu's qualities, surely countless men are pursuing her? Besides, your Wealthy Merchant Guild is a power in its own right. Why are you so eager to marry your eldest daughter off to me?"

Liu Shirong gritted his teeth. "It was my father's arrangement. I don't know what the old man has in mind, especially since he's still alive and well.

"Brother Ning, why don't you give things a try with Yushu? That girl is quite wonderful."

After speaking, he slapped his own cheeks over and over. "I'm throwing away all my pride to beg you here, brother. Help me out.

"Besides, if you marry Yushu, there are at least two advantages.

"First, Yushu is excellent at managing a household. She'll make sure you have nothing to worry about at home.

"Second, didn't I just say that after we're married, we'll have to consider our wives' feelings if we want to visit the pleasure quarters? You won't have to worry about Yushu's feelings. Go whenever you want. If she gets angry, I'll be your brother-in-law and keep her in line for you."

Ning Xuan said, "Can you really say that about your own sister?"

"What's there to feel bad about? My sister just has to lie in your bed, make a ready-made bargain, and manage the household. Even if she makes a mistake, it won't be anything serious. As her older brother, I'm the one who has to worry about everything. I'm truly walking on eggshells, treading on thin ice.

"Alas, brother, we may be drinking buddies, but we do have some friendship between us. I'm really begging you. The old man gave me a death order: I absolutely have to win you over as my brother-in-law."

Ning Xuan said, "Don't beg or try to wheedle me. That takes all the fun out of it."

He thought for a moment and said, "How about this? Once my father returns, I'll bring it up with him. If he doesn't shake his head, I'll give it a try."

Come to think of it, Liu Yushu had been quite attentive to him, and he'd seen what she looked like. She was quite pretty.

As for her temperament, she was gentle and suited to being a wife.

And since she was the one eager to marry him, she wouldn't be able to hold him back after they wed. She would put him first.

The Wealthy Merchant Guild's trade routes could become an intelligence network for him, helping him investigate many demons and monsters. That would help him understand this world and refine the Heavenly Demon Scroll.

If he eagerly pursued the daughter of an even more powerful family, it might look like a better deal, but there would be plenty of trouble after the marriage.

Liu Shirong smiled. "With those words from you, Brother Ning, I can at least give the old man an answer. Thanks."

Ning Xuan wasn't in a hurry to refine the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey's Heavenly Demon Scroll. He needed to gather more information first. Even the steadiest horse could stumble, and even the most careful person could slip. If he fell, it would all be over. If he could make sure nothing went wrong, why take the risk?

He wasn't in a hurry to worship the Mysterious Buddha Statue, either. Even if he planned to use such an eerie demonic method, he had to understand it thoroughly first, then find someone to test it on. Only when he knew it was safe would he proceed.

The injury from the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey's staff blow healed quickly. After two or three days, he was more or less completely recovered.

Ning Xuan moved to a new place and resumed his "daily training."

Weighted long-distance running, rock climbing, push-ups, sit-ups.

Day after day, he put himself through brutal training.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

His body's constitution had risen from 1.8 to 2.2, while the bonus provided by the Mountain Crashing Bear Demon's Heavenly Demon Scroll had fallen from "2.3" to "2.1."

As for his height after calling forth the Bear Scroll, it had also dropped from eight chi to seven, bringing him closer to normal.

That day, he returned to the city once more and climbed into the carriage waiting outside the gates.

He'd expected things to be the same as usual: Xiao Jie would take him home, and there'd be some kind of banquet in the evening.

But something was different.

As soon as he got into the carriage, Xiao Jie told him gravely, "The master is back."

Old Master Ning had been away for nearly two months. At last, he had returned.

Ning Taiyi was a gentle, even-tempered man. He had celebrated his fiftieth birthday the year before last, and Ning Xuan had worked out that his father must have been around thirty-five when he and his mother decided to have him.

At first, he'd thought his father was simply a man devoted to his career, working hard until he was thirty-five. Then, tired of the glamorous world, he'd come to this remote prefectural city, fallen in love with his mother at first sight, and settled down here.

But after meeting Han Ba and seeing the Yellow Robe Daoist suspend himself in midair while wielding golden snake chains, he'd changed his mind.

There were too many mysteries surrounding his father.

His father's attitude toward him was strange, too.

Ning Xuan had feelings for his father.

And because of that, he wanted all the more for his father not to be indifferent to him.

With complicated feelings, Ning Xuan entered the study.

A figure sat quietly inside with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing footsteps, he opened them.

Ning Xuan was startled when he saw his father.

His body's constitution had now reached 2.2, and all his senses had become much sharper. He could hear people talking even through two walls, so naturally he could also notice things he'd never noticed before.

His father had aged.

He had aged very quickly.

On the surface, he looked cultured, refined, and composed, but his vital energy was declining at an astonishing rate.

His hair was completely black, yet a few white hairs showed at the roots. That meant he'd used some kind of "hair-dyeing method from this world" to dye it black.

Besides that, there was an indescribable, mysterious majesty about his father. Just sitting there, he gave off a boundless, imposing sensation, as though he were seated upon the earth with the open sky at his back—a feeling of vastness, immensity, emptiness, and insignificance.

Looking at him was like looking at mountains and rivers.

Ordinary people couldn't see him so clearly. They would only call him "Old Master Ning."

But at that moment, Ning Xuan saw him clearly.

As Ning Xuan looked at Ning Taiyi, Ning Taiyi was looking at him, too.

Ning Taiyi smiled kindly. "Master Zhang said you were lazy, that you only practiced sporadically. I didn't expect you'd secretly made it this far."

Ning Xuan scratched his head.

Ning Taiyi said, "Your Master Zhang probably can't beat you anymore. Who would have thought? My Xuan'er is a martial arts prodigy after all."

Ning Xuan put on the honest look of a junior being praised by an elder. He smiled and said, "I just suddenly had a breakthrough."

Ning Taiyi clearly hadn't noticed his true level. Ning Xuan's strength was concealed; unless he deliberately displayed it, it was like a calm sea that looked more like a small river at first glance.

The fact that Ning Taiyi could see as much as he did with a casual glance already surpassed most people.

At that moment, Ning Taiyi rubbed his forehead and said, "Practicing martial arts is fine. It'll help you defend yourself. But martial artists have vigorous blood and energy. They're prone to anger and impulsiveness, and they easily get into trouble. Xuan'er, you should still read more. Practice martial arts just to keep your body strong. Don't go learning any of those Jianghu killing techniques."

Ning Xuan keenly sensed his father's disdain for "Jianghu killing techniques" and understood what he meant.

His father was afraid he'd be only half-trained, get into trouble, and think too highly of himself, only to end up causing a disaster.

"I understand, Father."

He answered, then was about to bring up Liu Yushu and ask his father's opinion.

But then Ning Taiyi suddenly said, "While I was away, I arranged a marriage for you."

Ning Xuan froze. "With whom?"

Ning Taiyi said, "Qin Jin'er, the illegitimate daughter of Great General Qin Shanjun and mistress of Hanzhou Ranch. After you're married, you'll go to Hanzhou Ranch as well. You can ride freely across the grasslands from now on."

Hanzhou Ranch?

An illegitimate daughter?

Ning Xuan was stunned.

Hanzhou was a faraway place. He'd never been there and had never thought of going.

"Father, are you sending me away so I can't fulfill my filial duties by your side?" Ning Xuan suddenly asked.

Ning Taiyi replied with a single word. "Yes."

The air fell silent.

Then Ning Taiyi suddenly began to laugh.

His laughter was like a spring breeze, capable of dispelling every grievance.

"Xuan'er, I know you have many questions, but you have to believe me: this is the best arrangement I can make for you.

"Go back to your room for now. I'm tired.

"If you want to talk, your father and son will have plenty of time afterward."

Ning Xuan said nothing more. Since his father had put it that way, he could afford to wait.

He said, "Father, get some good rest," then left.

He was gone, but his keen senses remained locked onto his father's study.

He went a long way away, farther than even a Jianghu expert could possibly remain locked onto the study from.

Suddenly, he sensed someone watching him.

Not from nearby, but from a distant place.

He forced himself not to turn his head. The gaze watching him suddenly vanished.

Then he heard another voice coming from his father's study.

"You really want Xuan'er to go to Hanzhou?"

"He doesn't understand. Do you mean to say you don't understand either?"

"I understand. Xuan'er just needs to be your sole heir, then marry into another family.

"The more of a playboy he is, the less of your legacy he inherits, the more reassured the people above will be.

"No matter what, it'll only amount to family squabbles or chasing after too many women. He won't commit any serious wrongdoing.

"But as his older brother, I have so many more things to worry about. I'm truly walking on eggshells, standing at the edge of an abyss, treading on thin ice.

"Father, I really don't know whether you favor me or him."

The figure let out a long sigh, then said, "Riding the wave of Dragon Qi from the Bear Demon clan's annihilation, I've taken another step beyond the Celestial Master realm."