Chapter 38: Four Talents of Moon-Gazing
Since his rebirth, Chen Xiao had remained just as much of a spoiled young master as before, and had continued to wreak havoc among Moon-Gazing City's cultivators. But now, he had a target.
For instance, Chen Xiao frequented the Nangong Family's businesses in Moon-Gazing City. And every time he did, he came up with the strangest excuses.
I'm the Nangong Family's son-in-law!
Didn't you say I'd flirted with your little princess? Then I might as well make that accusation stick. Chen Xiao made a grand spectacle of it, never hiding his intentions—in fact, he was determined to make sure everyone knew he was deliberately causing trouble for the Nangong Family.
Nangong Shenhe, for his part, couldn't have cared less. If Chen Xiao had suddenly started swallowing his pride and turning tail whenever he saw someone from the Nangong Family, then that would have been cause for concern. Chen Xiao had a dreadful reputation in Moon-Gazing City: a street thug who never let an insult go unanswered.
In his previous life, Chen Xiao had known there were some people he shouldn't offend. But once he provoked them, he'd cling to them like a dog-skin plaster, refusing to let go until he'd finished them off.
Chen Xiao's reputation as a spoiled young master was his way of taking revenge on his own family.
The people of Moon-Gazing City knew Chen Xiao's personality well. So whenever they saw him raising hell, no one dared step forward and play the hero. They'd only be putting themselves in harm's way. Chen Xiao had taken a loss at Nangong Wenyue's hands last time. If he didn't seize the opportunity to cause trouble for the Nangong Family now, that would be the real surprise.
That was what Chen Xiao had done in his previous life, too. The difference was that now, he had a purpose behind everything he did.
Whenever Nangong Wenxing, the Nangong Family's precious darling, heard that Chen Xiao was using his claim to be the Nangong Family's son-in-law as an excuse to cause trouble for them, she ground her teeth and swore she'd tear him limb from limb.
Moon-Gazing City seemed peaceful these days, but a dark cloud hung over everyone's hearts. The cultivator experts who kept appearing were unmistakable signs that a storm was brewing.
As usual, Chen Xiao wore a white robe, a heap of dazzling ornaments clinking all over him. He twirled a huge gold-trimmed fan, chin held high, and strode down Moon-Gazing City's busiest street with his feet turned out.
Mengmeng wore a veil, her little lips pursed. Her large eyes had curved into crescents as she watched Chen Xiao walk ahead of her, barely managing to hold back her laughter. He wasn't like this at home. Especially when no one else was around, he was practically a humble, eager-to-learn good boy.
Mengmeng was now Chen Fengyang's adopted daughter, but she'd long since grown used to following Chen Xiao around and joining him in his mischief throughout the city. Besides, Cai Di wasn't at the residence today, so she could take the chance to get some fresh air with Chen Xiao.
Vermilion Bird Street.
It was the busiest thoroughfare in the southern commercial district. Cultivators from all directions thronged the street, and hidden among them were quite a few reclusive experts like Cai Di.
"Oh! Isn't that Third Young Master? Long time no see!"
A voice tinged with delight suddenly reached Chen Xiao's ears. He turned and saw a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four, dressed in purple and holding a large purple fan. The young man was looking at him with delighted surprise.
"Ha! So it's Brother Bei Yu. I've missed you terribly, little brother!"
Chen Xiao's lips curled into a delighted smile when he saw the young man.
Bei Yu Xian was the fifth son of the Beiyu Family's head and a cultivator in the Golden Core Realm. Like Chen Xiao, he was known throughout Moon-Gazing City as a street thug. But unlike Chen Xiao, he had a family holding him in check, so he behaved with far more restraint and wasn't nearly as overbearing.
Still, they were both spoiled young masters of Moon-Gazing City, and they naturally felt a kinship with each other. If Chen Xiao had ever had a circle of friends, it would have been the city's spoiled young masters.
In his previous life, when the Beiyu Family, the Canghai Family, the Li Family, and the Nangong Family had joined forces to attack the Chen Clan, the spoiled young masters who were usually on good terms with Chen Xiao had learned of the danger by chance. They'd risked their lives to rush to the Chen Clan and deliver the warning. That had given Chen Xiao a chance to escape.
Bei Yu Xian had been among those messengers. He hadn't managed to get away in time and had been beaten to the point that his soul scattered. Chen Xiao's heart held not only his own family, but also these spoiled friends who had been willing to protect him even when their lives were on the line.
"Ah, it's a long story!"
Chen Xiao went over to Bei Yu Xian, and the two slung their arms around each other's shoulders as they strolled down the street. When the cultivators saw two spoiled young masters "taking a leisurely stroll together," they hurriedly scattered out of their way.
Since his rebirth, Chen Xiao had rarely seen his spoiled young-master buddies, and he'd felt a little lonely because of it.
Bei Yu Xian said with a gloomy expression, "After you offended Nangong Wenxing last time and Nangong Wenyue injured you, my old man put me under house arrest. I didn't even get to see the Immortal's descent."
Only Bei Yu Xian would dare speak so bluntly to Chen Xiao about this, and Chen Xiao didn't mind in the slightest.
Hearing Bei Yu Xian's words, Chen Xiao understood. The Beiyu Family had already allied with the Nangong Family and agreed on a plan to deal with the Chen Clan. Nangong Wenyue's attack on Chen Xiao, which had forced Chen Tiannan to refine a Three-Star Pill for him, had been the first sign that the Nangong Family was moving against the Chen Clan. Naturally, the head of the Beiyu Family wouldn't let his son keep hanging around Chen Xiao, so he'd simply locked him up.
It had been the same in his previous life. After that incident, it wasn't until two years later that Bei Yu Xian, Canghai Chengkong of the Canghai Family, Li Changqi of the Li Family, and a few other spoiled young masters had found Chen Xiao and delivered the warning.
But now that the head of the Beiyu Family had let Bei Yu Xian out, it proved that the alliance between the four great families had already fallen apart. That let Chen Xiao breathe a little easier.
"Brother Bei Yu, you're out today, so your little brother ought to celebrate. Come, I'm treating you today. Let's go to the Heavenly Abode and welcome you back in style."
Chen Xiao casually draped an arm around Bei Yu Xian and said with a laugh. In fact, Bei Yu Xian hadn't gotten out today. Chen Xiao had simply been in seclusion for the past few days. Bei Yu Xian had regained his freedom right after the last time a High Immortal descended.
"The Heavenly Abode? Great!"
Bei Yu Xian's eyes lit up. The Heavenly Abode was the most famous restaurant in Moon-Gazing City, renowned throughout a thousand li for the extraordinary skill of its head chef. But it had always belonged to the Nangong Family, and even spoiled young masters like them hadn't dared go there and invite trouble.
But now Chen Xiao had his back. What did he have to worry about?
"Ha ha ha! Third Young Master, Brother Bei Yu, if you're going to the Heavenly Abode, how could you leave us out?"
Just then, two young men with slicked-back hair and powdered faces approached from the other side, surrounded by a crowd of attendants.
They were the other two great spoiled young masters of Moon-Gazing City: Li Changqi and Canghai Chengkong. There were five such young masters in all, with Chen Xiao ranked first. Apart from the three here, the last was Nangong Wenyang.
But Nangong Wenyang had never gotten along with the four of them and had never joined their circle. So the four of them—Chen Xiao, Bei Yu Xian, Canghai Chengkong, and Li Changqi—were known as the Four Talents of Moon-Gazing.
Of course, that was what they called themselves. The cultivators of Moon-Gazing City secretly called them the city's four great pests, with Chen Xiao as the worst of them all.
Li Changqi wore a green robe and held a sandalwood fan, giving him quite a refined air. Canghai Chengkong, meanwhile, wore blue and carried a fan trimmed in blue and gold.
With Chen Xiao in white and Bei Yu Xian in purple, the four of them made a strikingly coordinated group.
As soon as the Four Talents of Moon-Gazing gathered, all the nearby cultivators turned around and ran.