A Fine Young Lady-How Could She Eat Absolutely Anything?

Zhang Miao had gone all out—but only for the span of a single breath.

Five family heirlooms meant to protect her, and thirteen precious talismans from the Zhang Family, gifts from Sanlang... Before the sword light of a spirit-awakened, master-bound Dharma Sword, they were as good as nothing.

Zhang Miao hadn't even had time to raise the brush in her hand when the Golden Glow Sword Light cleaved through the air and came to rest beside her tender, rosy neck.

Even the Dharma treasures and talismans that should have protected their master hadn't had time to react!

Wu Ming wasn't surprised in the least. The Taiyi Dharma Sword was clearly only a Qi Refining Stage treasure, yet it was hailed as priceless. That was because, among treasures of the same rank, its power was already so far beyond the norm that ordinary treasures couldn't make up the difference with sheer numbers.

What's more, the sword had recognized its master and awakened its spirit, allowing it to unleash nearly all its might in actual combat... For Zhang Miao, who had only begun cultivating a month ago, that was simply far beyond her level.

Her defeat in an instant was no fault of hers. Zhang Miao didn't even bother to feel discouraged this time. She simply recalled her Dharma treasures and talismans, then smiled sweetly at Wu Ming. "I lost!"

"Zhang Miao!" Liu Li flew into a rage again, but this time, panic was unmistakable beneath his fury.

They'd actually lost the Four Symbols of Dharma Combat?

Looking at the fallen Apricot Yellow Flag on the ground, Liu Li knew the outcome was beyond dispute. That obscure young man really had won the contest!

Anyone who could wield the Taiyi Dharma Sword with such ease deserved to win... If it didn't possess such godlike power, how could the Sanqing Immortal Sect have used it as a Dao Seed token and sent it to Qiongzhou?

If it didn't possess such godlike power, why would the Liu Family, the foremost noble household in Wu Prefecture with a Nascent Soul cultivator in residence, be so fixated on a Qi Refining Stage treasure?

And yet, Madam's obsession and all the efforts the two of them had made to seize the sword had now gone up in smoke with the end of the Four Symbols of Dharma Combat. That hard-won Prefecture Edict had become a deadly joke.

Thinking of the consequences, Liu Li had to force down his panic by unleashing his anger on someone else.

"Zhang Miao, you useless—"

"Insolence!"

Liu Li had barely begun to berate her when Zhang Miao cut him off with a sharp reprimand.

The gentle young woman who had let everyone push her around all this time now wore a frosty expression, her imposing presence giving not an inch.

"What are you, to dare speak to me so rudely!? I'm the Zhang Family's legitimate daughter, a disciple of True Person Qin Yu of Luohuang Mountain, and Liu Qi's betrothed! The two of you are no more than outsiders from the outer court. Sanlang may respectfully call you Clan Uncles, but you aren't members of the main family! You only receive an annual stipend as household retainers! Where did you get the nerve to insult me again and again? Get down on your knees!"

Her sudden, stern reprimand crashed over Liu Li and Liu Yi like a violent storm. They stared at her, dumbfounded, as if they'd fallen into a dream, and for a long while couldn't come to their senses.

At last, Zhang Miao was the first to lose steam. She softened the frost on her face with a gentle smile and spoke quietly to the two elders.

"Sanlang told me to say that just now... He said that after you lost the Four Symbols of Dharma Combat, you'd probably fly into a rage and take it out on me. If that happened, I was to snap back at you like that."

Only then did Liu Li come back to his senses, and sure enough, he flew into a rage. "You..."

But Zhang Miao went on. "Sanlang also said that once the contest was lost and the Prefecture Edict came to nothing, the family would have to find someone to answer for it. The two Clan Uncles who've been making fools of themselves from beginning to end would naturally be first in line. You were so overbearing before because you had Madam's authority behind you. But will she still protect you now? So instead of screaming at me, you'd do better to think about what options you'll have once you're discarded."

Liu Yi was still somewhat bewildered by this, but Liu Li's face went deathly pale, and his body swayed.

Zhang Miao added softly, "Sanlang said this errand might look impressive—you could curry favor with Madam and earn credit for the family—but in truth, it was full of risks and hidden troubles. Otherwise, why hadn't the two elders who'd worked the hardest and suffered the most for Sanlang come? Why were two outer-court elders who'd never gotten anywhere suddenly able to don Azure Daoist Robes and swagger around under the name of Dinghuang Prefecture?"

"The inner-court members seem to flatter you and echo your words, treating you like Madam's favored men. But behind your backs, they're all waiting to laugh at you. And as for Madam... you know how she does things. If you succeed, fine. But if you fail..."

Liu Li could no longer hold himself up. His knees buckled, and he was about to collapse onto the ground. Fortunately, though Liu Yi was also dumbstruck, he immediately caught his senior brother and held him firmly.

After a while, Liu Li managed to recover some of his wits. He asked in a low voice, "May I ask... what else does Third Young Master have to say? As long as, as long as he's willing to point us toward a way out, the two of us brothers are willing, willing to serve him like oxen and horses."

Zhang Miao paused, then replied apologetically, "I don't know. Sanlang didn't tell me that much. Most of the time, he talked about Wu Ming."

Wu Ming shivered.

That's a little scary, brother.

Liu Li looked enlightened. He hurriedly turned to Wu Ming, squeezing out an ingratiating smile as he yanked at his still-dazed junior brother, Liu Yi. Together, they dropped to their knees.

Thud! Thud!

After two dull thumps, two of the Sect Leader Temple's original blue bricks had been damaged.

"Young Master Wu..."

"Stop."

Before Liu Li could work himself up and put on a tearful performance, Wu Ming coldly stopped him.

"I still have body-tempering training later. I don't have time to watch you perform. If you want me, the person involved, to forgive you, just pay up."

Liu Li had only just squeezed out a few muddy tears. He stared at Wu Ming in surprise. "Pay?"

Wu Ming named his price. "One price: ten thousand Spirit Stones, and I'll act as if nothing ever happened."

"Waaah!" Liu Li immediately burst into tears. "Hero Wu, spare my life..."

"Keep crying, and it goes up to twelve thousand!"

Liu Li hurriedly bit down on his tongue. A mouthful of blood welled from the corner of his lips, finally stopping his wailing... but his expression turned even more despairing.

Fortunately, someone spoke up to bail him out.

Gu Bai sighed. "Ming'er, that price of yours... They couldn't afford it even if they sold everything they owned."

Wu Ming wasn't bothered. "Don't they have plenty of healthy organs? Between the two of them, they could save at least three kidneys and twenty meters of intestines, couldn't they?"

"Gasp..." Gu Bai drew in a sharp breath, deeply impressed by his disciple's creativity and at a loss for words.

Zhang Miao spoke up timidly. "Um, the two Clan Uncles aren't skilled in body tempering. They may be in Core Formation, but their... their organs and such aren't worth much."

Wu Ming clicked his tongue. "What good-for-nothings! So how much does your Sanlang think I should charge?"

Zhang Miao paused, then answered honestly. "Sanlang didn't say. But these two Clan Uncles spent quite a lot greasing palms to get this assignment, so they may be short on funds... Still, they've been in Core Formation for many years, so they should have some Dharma treasures, pills, and talismans."

Before she'd even finished speaking, Liu Li had already taken the storage bags from his and Liu Yi's waists and laid out a few Dharma treasures.

"Third Young Master was absolutely right! I still have a few Dharma treasures, and I'm willing to give them to Young Hero Wu! As long as you'll forgive us brothers for our moment of folly..."

Wu Ming glanced at the treasures on the ground, then at his master... but soon shook his head and turned to Zhang Miao for help.

"Miss Zhang, could you help me estimate their value?"

Gu Bai looked disappointed.

Zhang Miao beamed. "C-call me Zhang Miao! Let me take a look! Hmm, a Green Vine Rope, a Remnant Star Seal, and a Wind-Breaking Shuttle. They're all rather... average Dharma treasures. At current market prices, they'd come to a little over two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones."

Wu Ming's expression immediately darkened. "Looks like these two aren't sincere at all!"

Gu Bai hurriedly explained, "Ming'er, you may not know this, but these treasures fetch ordinary prices because they have strict requirements on the cultivator's level, yet their abilities aren't much better than Foundation Establishment treasures... Still, they are genuine Golden Core treasures!"

Wu Ming got the gist of it: high-level common gear, secondhand and made for men, too. It was only natural they wouldn't sell for much...

"Anything else?"

Liu Li clenched his teeth and took out two porcelain bottles.

"These are top-grade Red Cloud Essence-Condensing Pills, bestowed on the two of us by Madam."

Zhang Miao gave a small gasp. "Now those are good things! They can quickly replenish True Essence and restore Mana. At top grade, each bottle usually goes for five or six hundred Spirit Stones."

Wu Ming nodded. Pills that restored health and mana would be just right to feed his master.

"Anything else?"

"Waaah!" Liu Li burst into tears again. "Master Wu Ming, spare my life!"

"Keep crying and I really will raise the price!"

Wu Ming said that, but he also realized there wasn't much more to squeeze out of the two men. So...

"Write me an IOU."

"..." Liu Li stopped crying at once and drew in a sharp breath.

The handsome young man from Wuyang Village before him seemed to have sprouted horns on his head, his pupils ignited with the flames of the four directions. He exuded the same ferocious aura as the Sheep-Headed Demon King of old...

He wanted an IOU, too!?

But Liu Li quickly changed his mind. As long as it could get him out of this immediate trouble, an IOU was hardly a matter of life and death. In Qiongzhou, he was a True Person of the mighty Liu Family. There was no need to be so afraid of a Desolate People creditor.

Some debts weren't so easy to collect.

So, after a show of reluctance, Liu Li still wrote an IOU for two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, all the while resolving to default on it no matter what.

He could always flee to the neighboring prefecture and lie low!

Then he saw Wu Ming hand the IOU to Zhang Miao.

"Miss Zhang, would you buy this IOU for fifteen hundred Spirit Stones? It'll be easier for your own people to collect the debt than it would be for me."

"You!? Pfft!"

Liu Li immediately spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, rolled his eyes, and fell backward. Liu Yi hurriedly tried to revive him by circulating his energy and blood. After a long, chaotic struggle, he finally brought him around.

Zhang Miao smiled. "Sure! But I don't have that many Spirit Stones on hand, so I can only write you an IOU in return."

As she spoke, she bent down to write the IOU and asked, "Would you like me to take those Dharma treasures to Liuxiang Pavilion and sell them for you?"

"I'd be grateful."

"Hehe, I'm glad you trust me! As soon as the treasures are sold, I'll bring you the Spirit Stones!" After saying that, Zhang Miao handed Wu Ming the IOU she'd written. It was for four thousand Spirit Stones.

At the same time, she placed a little brocade pouch on top of it.

"This is a small apology from Sanlang and me. We can't offer anything valuable, so please accept it as a token of our sincerity. I only hope that, along the long road of immortality ahead, we can help one another and support each other."

Wu Ming nodded without expressing an opinion, and didn't refuse it either.

Just then, Liu Li was being dragged by his junior brother Liu Yi as they quietly edged toward the exit of Sect Leader Temple... apparently trying to slip away amid the confusion.

Zhang Miao said softly, "Before you go, Uncle Li, there's one more thing. Don't forget."

At the mention of his name, Liu Li was so startled that his blood and energy surged again.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. It's just that when we passed through the wild woods at the foot of Yan Mountain, we saw a few passing wild demons. The words you secretly noted down back then would be better erased, don't you think?"

"...You're right, Miss. At the time, I was out of my mind and scribbled down some words based on rumors, which could have caused a misunderstanding. They really should be erased!"

With that, Liu Li took out two green jade bamboo slips, dipped his finger in the blood at the corner of his mouth, and smeared it across the slips. They quickly withered and crumbled into ash. Liu Li's face grew even more ashen, clearly because erasing them had cost him dearly.

After that, without waiting for Zhang Miao to say anything else, Liu Li gave a look to Liu Yi. His junior brother hurriedly dragged him away, and together they turned into a streak of rainbow light and shot into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Miao said with an amused yet regretful smile, "They even had two Rainbow Cloud Evasion Talismans left. Those two Clan Uncles were better off than Sanlang had guessed."

Only after the two of them had gone some distance and Sect Leader Temple was finally quiet did the young woman turn back toward Gu Bai and kneel gracefully before him.

"?!"

Gu Bai had been feeling drowsy, but the sight jolted him awake. He was at a loss. "Little friend of the Zhang Family, what are you..."

As he spoke, he started to use his energy to help her up. But when he saw Zhang Miao's earnest eyes, he suddenly understood. He stopped and let her finish bowing several times.

Zhang Miao said, "The Liu Family has repeatedly harassed your sect over the Taiyi Dharma Sword. Liu Xi, an outer-court elder, was brazen enough to attack a True Person in broad daylight. Liu Li and Liu Yi, acting on Madam's orders, pulled strings at Dinghuang Prefecture to obtain an absurd Prefecture Edict and tried to frame you and seize the sword... Though the three of them have brought their misfortune upon themselves, the Liu Family's wrongdoing clearly can't simply be dismissed."

"As for me, although I didn't come here of my own accord, I was brought along by others and truly played the part of an accomplice..."

Before she could finish, Gu Bai interrupted her with a sigh. "There's no need for that, little friend of the Zhang Family. The Gujian Sect may be small, but we know right from wrong, and friend from foe. You've been consistent in your attitude since the moment you came to our door, and we've all seen it. Ming'er never considered you an enemy in the first place. So you don't need to apologize for mistakes that aren't yours."

Zhang Miao's voice trembled. "Thank you for your magnanimity, Sect Leader True Person! But I'm not only here on my own behalf. I also want to offer a small defense of Sanlang, and I only ask that you spare a little time..."

Gu Bai sighed. "The Liu Family is the foremost Aristocratic Clan in Wu Prefecture, with a flourishing population and roots that spread far and wide. In a family that large, there are bound to be all sorts of people with all sorts of motives. I won't condemn an entire clan for the crimes of a few. As for Third Young Master Liu, I've only met him once. We have no quarrel, so there's nothing I need to defend him against."

Zhang Miao shook her head and insisted, "Sanlang is a legitimate son of the Liu Family. Though Liu Xi was only temporarily assigned to protect him that day, he was still Sanlang's subordinate. Sanlang had noticed Liu Xi's intentions, but failed to stop him. He can't escape responsibility for failing to manage his subordinates. Also, though the two elders Liu Feng and Liu Lu didn't act personally, they lent out their Dharma treasures and were accomplices as well... Sanlang has since found an excuse to transfer them elsewhere, and they can no longer enter the Liu Family's inner court."

Gu Bai slowly nodded.

Zhang Miao continued, "Besides, the Liu Family's repeated lawless acts were really just the result of Madam Rong acting on her own. They weren't the family's will. In fact, most of the inner-court elders opposed her actions, but Madam moved too quickly for anyone to stop her. Now that the Shangqing Hengxiao Flag has rendered its judgment and recorded the outcome, ownership of the Dharma Sword is settled. No matter how unwilling Madam is, for now she can only look to her own safety. In the future, she won't be able to cause your sect any more trouble."

"Of course, we wouldn't presume to ask your sect to simply forget what happened. We only hope that the True Person will give us a chance to make amends..."

Gu Bai said gravely, "Listen to what people say, and watch what they do. That's the way to judge a person and their actions. All right, you've been kneeling for a long time. Get up."

As he spoke, a gentle breeze lifted Zhang Miao from the ground.

Zhang Miao froze for a moment before realizing that the old man had already forgiven and trusted her. She was overjoyed. "Thank you, True Person!"

Gu Bai looked at her with some pity. "A girl like you, born into an Aristocratic Clan... It can't be easy."

Zhang Miao smiled. "Meeting Sanlang made it worthwhile. And today, meeting the True Person... Young Master Wu, and Miss Zheng, too, feels like fate!"

Then she turned her smile toward Wu Ming. "You still have cultivation this afternoon, and the True Person needs to rest. I won't impose on you any longer!"

With that, she turned to leave, and beneath her feet was another expensive Rainbow Cloud Evasion Talisman...

Wu Ming was puzzled. "In such a hurry? Why not stay for a simple meal and strengthen our bond?"

Zhang Miao hesitated, but in the end gritted her teeth and answered frankly. "Though Liu Li and Liu Yi have lost their nerve, it's better to have someone keeping an eye on them... Besides, if I don't follow close behind, I won't get to see those two senior and junior brothers, who've spent years holding back their feelings, lick each other's wounds in despair and cling to each other for comfort. I've been looking forward to it the whole way here... No more talking. I'm off!"

A flash of rainbow light passed, and the young woman vanished in an instant, leaving Wu Ming standing there with the corner of his mouth twitching.

No... bro!?

[Omitted watermark]