The Young Lady Arrives

A delicate shout rang out, and everyone on the training ground turned to look.

"Miss, outsiders aren't allowed in here."

"Get lost! Keep stopping me and see if you don't get beaten up!"

The gatekeeper looked helpless as he tried to stop her.

But Yao Ya was clearly a young lady from a wealthy household. The gatekeeper didn't even dare touch her—how could he possibly stop her?

After being cursed at twice, he didn't dare talk back.

"Where's Wei Luo? Why doesn't he dare show himself?"

In the entire courtyard, there were hardly any women, not even many sows. Seeing a pretty young girl like Yao Ya, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the show.

"Haha, who would've thought Wei Luo looked so honest, yet secretly found himself a girl even prettier than Li Yue."

Even Liu Changle couldn't help asking.

"Wei Luo, when did you hook up with her?"

Feeling everyone's strange stares, Wei Luo was equally baffled. He had no idea where this girl had come from.

Walking closer, Yao Ya followed everyone's gazes and locked onto the dumbfounded Wei Luo.

"You're Wei Luo? Listen carefully. Before this, you wanted to curry favor with my Yao Family and even dreamed of marrying me.

"I'm giving you my answer now. You'd better give up on that thought as soon as possible!"

Without bothering to sort right from wrong, Yao Ya came up and turned black into white.

Wei Luo frowned. When had he ever wanted to curry favor with the Yao Family? This was completely absurd.

Having said that, Yao Ya turned and left without giving Wei Luo any chance to speak.

After thinking it over briefly, Wei Luo understood Yao Ya's identity.

Clearly, after he rejected Yao Song's marriage proposal last time, the pampered young lady had bristled.

Yet until Yao Ya left the courtyard, Wei Luo didn't offer any explanation.

He wouldn't get angry with someone as childish as Yao Ya. When people he knew came over to tease him with chuckles, he didn't explain much either.

Women would only affect the progress of his boxing practice.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Luo threw himself back into training.

Yao Family.

Yao Ya's trip to the courtyard to make a scene couldn't possibly be kept secret.

Yao Song had originally been outside handling business. Upon hearing of it, he was so angry that he abandoned his business and went straight home to find Yao Cheng.

At that moment, Yao Ya was proudly showing off to her father how she had publicly "restored" the Yao Family's reputation.

"Father, you should've seen it. That Wei Luo's face turned completely black. This lesson will definitely make him regret it for the rest of his life!"

Seeing Yao Song return, Yao Ya immediately greeted him excitedly.

"Third Uncle, you're back!"

"You unfilial brat, don't call me Third Uncle!"

Yao Song was so furious that his head was spinning. He had never imagined his niece would do something so stupid.

"You ruin someone's reputation the moment you open your mouth. Will you only be satisfied after making Wei Luo become enemies with our Yao Family?"

After scolding Yao Ya, he turned to his elder brother, Yao Cheng.

"Big Brother, Xiaoya was truly in the wrong this time. She must apologize to him in person. If he holds a grudge, it'll be too late!"

Yao Cheng's brows knitted tightly at those words.

"Third Brother, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. No matter how strong Wei Luo is, he's only a Second Refinement martial artist.

"If our Yao Family lowers its head to him, what face will we have left when word gets out?"

"Father's right. Third Uncle, we've spent at least several hundred taels of silver on Wei Luo, yet we've gotten nothing much in return."

With her father backing her up, Yao Ya joined in as well.

Yao Song understood the principle of raising troops for a thousand days to use them in a single moment, but father and daughter had clearly lived too comfortably for too long to even see such a problem.

"Third Brother, isn't Wei Luo just Second Refinement? The martial hall has already promised me they'll send over a Second Refinement martial artist. Don't worry."

"Enough. Wei Luo's matter ends here. From now on, he'll walk his broad sunlit road, and we'll cross our single-plank bridge."

Yao Cheng's tone had already gained a hint of impatience. Yao Song wanted to persuade him, but after opening his mouth, he ultimately gave up.

All he could do was pray that Wei Luo wouldn't completely turn against the Yao Family over this matter.

After a hard day's training, Wei Luo arrived before the Zhao Residence.

Previously, Wei Luo had obtained medicinal powder from the Fish-Dragon Gang. Knowing the Zhao Family had an apothecary master, he wanted to ask Zhao Xiu to help him study it.

But ever since their last drinking session, Zhao Xiu hadn't visited the courtyard for several days.

Wei Luo had originally thought Zhao Xiu had failed to become Master Qin's disciple and lost his spirit.

But after asking people he knew in the courtyard, he learned that no one else had seen Zhao Xiu for several days either. It seemed something had happened to the Zhao Family.

The front of the Zhao Residence was somewhat deserted, and even the gatekeeper was nowhere to be seen.

Only after Wei Luo stepped through the courtyard gate did the old Zhao Residence steward he had met last time come forward to receive him.

Following the old steward into the courtyard, Wei Luo quickly found something strange.

The Zhao Family courtyard was unusually quiet. After walking for quite some time, they saw only a few servants.

As they passed a side room, Wei Luo faintly heard the sobbing of female family members coming from within.

The old steward saw what Wei Luo was thinking and merely explained.

"Young Master Wei, there have been some changes in the residence recently. Please excuse us."

The old steward didn't say more, and it wasn't convenient for Wei Luo to ask further.

After passing through the corridor and reaching the reception hall of the Zhao Residence, the old steward bowed and withdrew.

Inside the hall, Zhao Xiu sat facing Sun Qianchuan.

"Zhao Xiu, this concerns the Pure Fragrance Cult... our Sun Family is powerless as well."

"What about Master Qin? If Master Qin is willing to help, there might still be a turning point."

"Master Qin... I'm afraid even our Sun Family can't persuade him."

"Sigh..."

When Wei Luo arrived, Zhao Xiu and Sun Qianchuan were discussing something.

Hearing Sun Qianchuan's reply, Zhao Xiu's brows squeezed into a knot.

"It's Wei Luo. You're here."

Wei Luo was stunned the moment he saw Zhao Xiu.

After only a few days apart, Zhao Xiu seemed to have aged several years. Even his smile carried a trace of bitterness.

"Brother Zhao, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first."

With that, Sun Qianchuan left in quick strides, as if he didn't wish to stay any longer.

Before leaving, he glanced at Wei Luo with a somewhat strange look in his eyes.

The tea on the table was still steaming, so Sun Qianchuan had clearly arrived not long ago.

Before long, Zhao Xiu returned after seeing him out.

Wei Luo suppressed his doubts and got straight to the point.

"Brother Zhao, I'd like you to take a look at this medicinal powder."

Zhao Xiu took the Fish-Dragon Gang's medicinal powder Wei Luo handed him. He merely gave it a light sniff before his face filled with surprise.

"Where did you get this stuff?"

"From some Fish-Dragon Gang people."

Zhao Xiu's eyelid twitched. He hadn't forgotten how Li Dadao had disappeared before, and the way he looked at Wei Luo became even stranger.

But Zhao Xiu didn't want to ask about what had happened in between. After a pause, he merely said,

"Although I don't know what this medicine is for, I can say for certain that

"it contains Fierce Fish meat. It's poisonous. If someone takes too much, who knows what might happen."

The Zhao Family dealt in medicine, and Zhao Xiu had been exposed to all kinds of medicinal ingredients since childhood. Naturally, he immediately detected the trick hidden within.

Fierce Fish meat was highly toxic, and each kind of Fierce Fish carried different toxins. No one dared eat it.

Wei Luo was stunned as well. No wonder this medicinal powder could let ordinary people rival martial artists—it was poison.

But learning this was within Wei Luo's expectations. He asked again,

"Brother Zhao, I'd like to ask an alchemist to study it and see whether the toxicity can be removed while retaining its medicinal effects."

Wanting the medicine's effects while avoiding its side effects—where was there such a good thing?

Zhao Xiu's expression became even stranger at Wei Luo's words.

"Wei Luo, there's nothing wrong with seeking improvement, but I advise you not to touch this stuff. Otherwise, you'll ruin the rest of your life."

Wei Luo could sense Zhao Xiu's sincerity, and he understood that what he was asking was somewhat unrealistic.

But the problem was...

[Secret Medicine Improvement, no side effects]

[Time required: three days]

[The toxicity can be countered by adding a primary medicinal ingredient. The prescription is as follows...]