Heaven Slaying Blade

Among the crowd gathered, most of them knew Xu Fufu. Seeing this, someone curiously asked, "Young Master Xu, what's this about a bet?"

"Heh heh… I made a bet with shopkeeper Miao Yi Niang. I said my brother Chu Mo would safely come out of the Prince's Mansion, she didn't believe it, and as you can see, she lost." Xu Fufu replied with a smug look on his face.

Miao Yi Niang blushed, bashful and shy, even though her face was partly covered, outsiders could still sense her shyness.

"Haha, really? Quick, then, what was the wager?" The questioner was also the son of a high-ranking government official. He was relatively young and was acquainted with Xu Fufu. When he heard Xu Fufu's words, he couldn't help but start laughing.

The other onlookers were also curious, looking at Xu Fufu. These noblemen from high society were often so bored, they just gravitated toward anywhere that seemed lively. Of course, it had to be a certain caliber of liveliness. They had no interest in the conflicts of the common folk.

Xu Fufu, with an intoxicated face, declared, "The stakes...were that if Sister Miao lost, she would have to kiss my brother, and no...not on the face!"

Boom!

Those around immediately burst into laughter erupting into a frenzy. Some of the young rakes in the midst even began to whistle loudly in approval.

Someone couldn't resist laughing, "Young Master Xu has it in reverse? You're not seeking pleasure for yourself?"

Xu Fufu's face fell: "I'd also like to live a few more years." As he spoke, he looked at Miao Yi Niang and said, "A bet is a bet! Time to deliver your kiss!"

The group of onlookers, always eager for a spectacle, chanted in unison, "Kiss, kiss!"

"A kiss!"

"Not on the face!"

"Yes, yes, not on the face, no cheating!"

"Kiss!"

"Don't graze and go!"

Chu Mo's mouth twitched, he watched the group full of excitement with shocked expression. However, he soon glared at Xu Fufu angrily, saying, "Xu Erfu!"

Xu Fufu shrank back, rolling his eyes as he said, "Brother, I've gifted you such a blessing, you don't need to thank me!"

Chu Mo snapped angrily, "You'll see!"

Someone who knew Chu Mo well shouted, "Chu, just accept it, my friend!"

"Hahaha, yes, Chu! Just accept it, look how beautiful she is! You won't reject her, will you?"

"What a lucky fellow, I'd give anything for that kind of fortune!"

Following the uproar of the crowd, Miao Yi Niang's eyes landed on Chu Mo's face. Then, with a faint smile, she gracefully stepped forward, and under Chu Mo's stunned gaze, her lips touched his forehead—

There was a soft smack, as she delivered a heavy kiss.

The surrounding crowd was in shock.

Chu Mo was also shocked. Even though he was kissed on the forehead, Miao Yi Niang's soft, cold lips still gave him an indescribable feeling, leaving his body utterly numb... it was an indescribable feeling.

However, the crowd of onlookers wasn't satisfied with that.

"That was a cheat!"

"This is dishonest!"

"Unacceptable! We wanted to see her kiss his mouth, the mouth!"

Miao Yi Niang looked around with a cold smirk, then glared at Xu Fufu, hiding among the crowd, afraid of being beaten, "The conditions of the bet were that I couldn't kiss his face, right?"

Xu Fufu was twitching at the corners of his mouth, and he was going crazy. As the master of the Xu family, known as the "Flower Saint", he was used to toying with others, and had never been outwitted. Unfortunately, today he was outsmarted by this clever woman, Miao Yi Niang.

In response to Miao Yi Niang's question, Xu Fufu had no choice but to stiffly reply: "This is obviously trickery…"

"How did I cheat?" Miao Yi Niang scoffed, "The rule was just no kissing on the face, there was nothing about having to kiss his mouth. It was your own shortcoming in setting the terms of the bet, you weren't intelligent enough…"

As she said that, she looked at Chu Mo and smiled: "Let's go, young master."

Chu Mo gave Xu Fufu a dangerous smirk, replying, "Okay, let's go."

Xu Fufu shuddered, realizing he might have gone a bit too far this time. Not only had he miscalculated Miao Yi Niang, but he also offended Chu Mo. He was regretting it now...he had better apologize soon, or suffer the consequences.

"Hey, sister, Brother Hei... wait up for me!" Xu Fufu shouted, running after Chu Mo and Miao Yi Niang.

The crowd that had gathered at the gate of the Prince's Mansion finally reluctantly dispersed, each person thinking to themselves, "Today's spectacle was amazing. If only we could see such a spectacle every day... wouldn't that be nice?"

Far away, the three had already moved some distance.

Xu Fufu followed behind them with a groveling expression, Chu Mo and Miao Yi Niang coldly ignored him.

"Oh, Brother Hei, can't I apologize? Can you tell me what you did in the prince's mansion? Why did Old Wang spare you?" Xu Fufu spoke, seeking help from Miao Yi Niang with his eyes at the same time.

Miao Yi Niang curiously wanted to know what had happened, but she didn't bother to respond to Xu Fufu, ignoring him with a cold face.

"Sister Miao, it's not fair of you to treat me like this. It's normal for my brother to be mad at me, but why are you mad at me too? When you made that bet with me, you agreed willingly!" Xu Fufu argued and then chuckled wickedly. "Could it be that you women are soft-hearted? Although it may seem contrary on the surface, deep down, you agree?"

Thunk!

Miao Yi Niang landed a kick on Xu Fufu's rear. "Scram!"

"Well-deserved!" Chu Mo concurred from the side.

"Hey, hey, hey, you two... eesh, I will stop talking. Will that be alright?" Xu Fufu spoke, bearing a wronged expression, trailing silently behind them.

Unable to resist her curiosity anymore, Miao Yi Niang turned to Chu Mo and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Chu Mo responded, "Let's discuss it when we get back. I had been looking forward to a good meal, and now my stomach is growling."

Miao Yi Niang smiled, "Alright, when we get back, I'll have the chef prepare another meal for you!"

"I want to eat the deep-sea king crab... I also want to eat…" Xu Fufu instantly perked up on hearing about food.

"You just stay out of this." Miao Yi Niang retorted with a cold laugh.

"This is too much, you can't treat me like this!" Xu Fufu complained aggrievedly, "Isn't it enough that I've admitted my mistake? Who have I harmed? I didn't even profit from this situation, and all it has done is tarnished my reputation…."

Chu Mo, his face as black as coal, paused for a moment, then said solemnly to Xu Fufu, "Er Fu, we're brothers, and Sister Yiniang is our sister. We know exactly what our relationship is like. But do outsiders know this?"

Xu Fufu froze. Truth be told, he was frightened when he saw Chu Mo's serious expression, which usually meant that Chu Mo was truly angry.

Facing Chu Mo's question, Xu Fufu had no choice but to lower his head and whisper, "I was wrong."

Water glistened in Miao Yi Niang's eyes as she watched Chu Mo through her veil, an expression of tenderness in her gaze.

Chu Mo continued, "We are the children of nobility in Yanhuang City. To the other nobles, we are seen as pampered youngsters without any reputation. Like when I smashed the gate of the Prince's Mansion today, those people just stood around and watched the excitement. In their hearts, they only thought it was great because it had nothing to do with them. But Sister Yiniang is different! She is a woman. She ran the Gluttonous Pavilion for you…"

"Our…" Xu Fufu intervened weakly.

"This is already challenging enough," Chu Mo ignored Xu Fufu, and continued, "If it had just been between us, your actions today wouldn't matter much. On an ordinary day, no matter how much you joke around with Sister Yiniang, she wouldn't actually mind it. But this time, you've gone overboard! Have you thought about what those people will say behind our backs? Will they say that the seemingly steady and mysterious owner of the Gluttonous Pavilion is actually... Isn't this harmful to her reputation? She will still have to get married someday!"

Xu Fufu looked pale after being lectured by Chu Mo. He nodded silently, turned to Miao Yi Niang and said, "Sister, I was wrong, really wrong. I didn't consider the consequences enough…"

With tears welling up in her eyes, Miao Yi Niang managed a smile underneath her veil, "That's enough, my young master. I know you're worried about me. Don't worry, I've never planned on getting married. Look at how distressed you've made Fufu? It's okay, Fufu... I'm not really mad at you. You've fulfilled a wish that I've been cherishing for many years. If it weren't for all the people around us, I would have kissed not just his forehead…"

"…" Chu Mo stared at Miao Yi Niang, but a headache had already formed.

Xu Fufu scratched his head and said, "Actually, I know you're not mad, Sister. But I indeed didn't consider enough about this incident. It's my fault. Punish me… let me eat the deep-sea king crab by myself. I'll take the penalty!"

"Get lost!" Chu Mo and Miao Yi Niang said simultaneously.

Eventually, Xu Fufu didn't get to eat the deep-sea king crab. In fact, before he could hear Chu Mo's account of what happened at the Prince's Mansion, he was whisked away by men sent by his grandfather.

How could Xu Zhongliang, the chief minister of the court, not be informed about the huge commotion happening at the Prince's Mansion? The person who came to fetch Xu Fufu relayed to Chu Mo that the old man missed him and wanted him to visit the Xu Residence when he had time.

Chu Mo readily agreed, saying he would visit over the next few days. It had indeed been quite a while since he last visited the Xu Residence.

Finally, Chu Mo and Miao Yi Niang returned to the Gluttonous Pavilion.

They sat in the same room, in the same seats as before. Miao Yi Niang listened to Chu Mo's account of the recent events, incredulously asking, "Is that all?"

"Yep, that's it." Chu Mo placed his wine cup down as he said, "This is the only weakness of that old dog Xia Jing. Otherwise, even if I had the guts, I wouldn't have dared to create such an uproar in the Prince's Mansion."

"You're still too reckless." Miao Yi Niang's soft voice spoke, then she asked, "Do you really plan on curing that old dog's illness? You'd be doing him a huge favor!"

"We need to build a power base of our own and having a big shot help us in crucial moments is essential. My family, Er Fu's family, their powers, we can't use them casually. Moreover, my choice of Xia Jing has another more important reason too..." Chu Mo thoughtfully said.

"What reason?" Miao Yi Niang's eyes gazed at Chu Mo. There was something increasingly captivating about him. Honestly, she wasn't angry about the bet with Xu Fufu.

Looking back at the kiss from earlier, although it landed on her forehead, it had made her heartbeat quicken and she was extremely shy. Did she actually have feelings for this young man? How could she? She was so much older than him! What was she really thinking?!

Chu Mo didn't hear Miao Yi Niang's inner thoughts and didn't observe her expressions closely, as he was debating whether or not to disclose the matter of his master being poisoned.

Sooner or later, he would have to let Miao Yi Niang know. One of the most significant reasons for establishing this new power base was to procure medicinal ingredients for the Demon Lord!

- - - - - - - - -

I noticed many of you are worried about my health and I'm grateful for your advice!

After an afternoon of frustration and indecision yesterday, and a good night's sleep, I'm back to the grind today, energetic as ever.

So, please rest assured that I'll take good care of myself.

I'll continue writing diligently and tell you wonderful stories!

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