Xu Yang shook his head. "Uncle, do you know the Liu Family in the Inner City?"
Zhou Shunchang nodded. "Of course. The Liu Family ranks among the prominent families in Qingyuan. The Huang Family isn't even in the same league."
Xu Yang smiled. "The Liu Family wanted to marry a daughter to me a while ago. They even offered fifteen taels of silver in cultivation resources every month, but I turned them down."
Zhou Shunchang froze. In that case, the Huang Family really had calculated things nicely. His nephew had actually caught the Liu Family's eye, and they had offered such generous terms.
The next moment, his eyes widened. "You little rascal! Why did you turn down something like that without discussing it with me?"
"They wanted me to marry into their family!"
Xu Yang smiled as he spoke. Only then did Zhou Shunchang's expression ease a little. Marrying into another family was out of the question.
"The Huang Family doesn't want you to marry into their family," he said. "They don't want any betrothal gifts, either."
Xu Yang still shook his head. "Let me be honest with you. I have no plans to marry right now. If I were willing, the Liu Family would probably still agree to marry a daughter to me, only with less money involved. Please turn down the Huang Family for me, Uncle."
Zhou Shunchang began to develop a headache. If he were going to force Xu Yang to marry, he would naturally want his nephew to marry a Liu Family girl with better prospects. The Huang Family was clearly trying to snare a white wolf with empty hands and tie his nephew down without offering anything.
But he worked for the Huang Family, so refusing them outright would be awkward.
"It's fine. Just mention the Liu Family's offer and say I'm still considering it. They'll understand."
Xu Yang added, "If they still won't give up, I'll meet the girl. Then I can find some excuse to turn them down."
He didn't want to put his uncle in a difficult position, either. After all, this was something his employers had instructed him to do.
"That's all we can do!" Zhou Shunchang nodded.
After chatting with Zhou Shunchang a little longer, Xu Yang rose and left.
In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.
At the Liu Family estate, he still spent every day in the Attendant Courtyard. Whether the Liu Family didn't trust him or genuinely had no use for him, he had never accompanied any of them outside.
Of course, it wasn't just him. Wu Yongfeng and the others were the same.
Every day, they went to the Liu Family estate, practiced there, then ate before returning to the Mighty Far Hall.
That day, more news arrived from the Outer Court: Qian Jiaxing had failed to break through.
By the time Xu Yang hurried over, Qian Jiaxing had already left, so he didn't get to see his despondent, despairing state.
Two days later, Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong succeeded in gathering qi one after the other and entered the Inner Court.
Of the ten people in their group selected by the Huang Family, four had actually succeeded in gathering qi and becoming Martial Artists.
Both had taken three months to gather qi successfully. Like Wu Yongfeng, they received little attention despite entering the Inner Court, so they could only band together with Xu Yang again.
With Wu Yongfeng, the four of them formed a little group. They exchanged insights and sparred together, without needing to curry favor with anyone.
That same day, Xu Yang's comprehension rose to 30, considerably speeding up his progress in his cultivation methods.
"Why the long face?"
Returning home through the dusk, Xu Yang discovered that Xu Qing wasn't practicing her writing. Instead, the little girl sat there looking miserable.
"That annoying fellow from the Yang family became a Martial Artist. Xu Lao'er and Zhang Cuiting brought him over to show off today. He was so smug and haughty, I really wanted to plant my foot on his face," the little girl said, pouting.
"I didn't think he could gather qi!"
Xu Yang looked somewhat surprised at the news.
Gathering qi really did involve an element of luck.
At the Mighty Far Hall, he dealt with people like that every day.
Of everyone he had met, Yang Jun was probably the most useless. Even Zhou Yang was better than him, with his firm resolve to pursue cultivation and willingness to work hard. Yang Jun couldn't begin to compare with people like Qian Jiaxing.
Yet he had somehow succeeded in gathering qi, apparently even after exceeding the three-month limit.
"Xu Lao'er's good days should be coming to an end soon," Xu Yang said with a smile.
Xu Qing didn't quite understand. But just a few days later, Xu Lao'er came knocking, his face bruised and swollen, to tearfully complain. Not only had Yang Jun beaten him, he had also thrown him out. He hoped Xu Yang and Xu Qing would take him in.
Xu Yang had only one word for him-"Scram."
"A Yang, no matter what, I'm still your father. How can you refuse to look after me?"
Xu Lao'er stood outside the door, too intimidated by Xu Yang's aura to enter.
"We've already severed our ties. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. Didn't you say you could bask in Yang Jun's glory once he became a Martial Artist? Why aren't you going to bask in it?"
Xu Lao'er's face flushed crimson. He hadn't expected Yang Jun, who had swallowed his anger for years, to find an excuse to throw him out the moment he became a Martial Artist.
"Get lost. If you dare come pestering us again, Yang Jun won't be the only one who can beat people. I can, too. You're my father, so I can't lay hands on you myself, but if I ask the Three Harmonies Gang, I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige."
Remembering how Xu Yang had ordered Li Sanhe to chop off a man's arm without batting an eye, Xu Lao'er didn't dare keep pestering him. He could only go beg his elder brother to take him in.
"No matter how awful he is, he's still our father. Are we really leaving him to fend for himself?" The little girl couldn't quite bear it.
"Don't worry. He's a grown man with working hands and feet. He won't starve to death."
Xu Yang shook his head as he spoke.
Xu Lao'er had never done anything worthy of a decent human being. Xu Yang could find no reason to forgive him. As for whether others would call him unfilial, he didn't care in the slightest.
After a night had passed, he had already forgotten about Xu Lao'er and arrived early at the Liu Family estate.
As soon as he reached the Attendant Courtyard, he saw Zhang Bo standing there with a solemn expression, a saber hanging at his waist-a rare sight.
"What happened?" Xu Yang quietly asked another Attendant, Wang Yun.
Wang Yun lowered his voice. "A lecherous bandit called Jade Butterfly has appeared in the city. He targets the young Misses of wealthy households. Several families' daughters have already been revealed as victims, and who knows how many cases haven't come to light? The Liu estate has more than a dozen Misses of various ages..."
Xu Yang was startled. "Has one of the estate's Misses fallen victim?"
He had heard Qiu Wenjie mention flower-plucking bandits before, but he hadn't expected someone with that particular talent to actually exist.
Wang Yun shot him a glare. "No, but with someone like that around, the Misses here are in danger, too. From now on, whenever they leave the estate, an Attendant has to accompany them. Our easy days are over."
A little later, once everyone had arrived, Zhang Bo began giving instructions. "All of you, stay sharp. Our employers have supported us for so long, and now it's time for them to put us to use. Don't disgrace the Attendant Courtyard.
"No cultivating today. Rest and conserve your strength, and be ready for orders at any moment.
"When you accompany the Misses outside, don't give that criminal any opening. Do your jobs well, and our employers won't be stingy with rewards."
At the mention of rewards, Wang Yun, who had just been lamenting the end of their easy days, began rubbing his hands eagerly.
Working for a wealthy house-
hold, the monthly allowance was only small money. Rendering meritorious service was where the real money lay.
He even hoped Jade Butterfly would appear at the Liu Family estate so he could capture him in one stroke and win both fame and fortune.
"Someone who dares target wealthy households won't be some mediocre fool. With our paltry skills, we might not even know how we died if we ran into him."
Xu Yang had no intention of chasing merit. Jade Butterfly had committed so many crimes and remained unscathed, so he must have some formidable abilities. Xu Yang had only just entered qi gathering, and he knew he wasn't capable of preying on the daughters of so many wealthy households.
"Brother Zhang Bo, what abilities does Jade Butterfly have, and how old is he? Tell us so we can take precautions," an Attendant named Bao Gang asked.
Zhang Bo said, "He's reportedly skilled with poison, and his lightness arts are exceptional. If you encounter him, hold your breath immediately."
As he spoke, a woman dressed as a maid approached. "Attendant Zhang, the Fifth Young Lady wishes to visit the Pure Maiden Hall. Sorry for the trouble, but please arrange for an Attendant to escort her."
"Certainly. Please wait a moment!"
Zhang Bo nodded. His gaze swept over everyone's faces before finally settling on Xu Yang. "Xu Yang, you'll escort the Fifth Young Lady."
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