Chương 14: Have You Started Liking Him?!

"How do you explain the Spirit Creek then…?" Xiao Xuan blurted out. Su Luoyang froze, falling into deep thought. The ambient temperature in the room seemed to plummet instantly.

"Let me just try, Su Luoyang. Please," Xiao Xuan pressed softly.

"If I can't make even basic pills, or if it hurts me, I will stop and won't mention it again. I promise." Su Luoyang stared at him. A myriad of conflicting emotions wrestled across her delicate features, worry shadowed her crystalline eyes while frustration gnawned at his stubbornness. After a long, tense silence, she closed her eyes and let out a slow, exhausted exhale.

"Fine," she yielded.

"But if I see you coughing blood, I will personally destroy your cauldron."

"Thank you. Also, I don't want anyone to know that I am cultivating and attempting pill making. Don't tell Father and Mother about pill making either. Not yet." She nodded slowly, her icy mask of regal composure sliding back into place. Xiao Xuan cheerfully approached the heavy wooden door and pulled it open. Xinyue had been standing just outside, frustration plainly written across her face. Before he stepped fully into the corridor, he turned back and yelled across the room.

"Thank you so much, my love! And don't worry, I absolutely won't let you become a widow!" And he ran. Xinyue stood frozen in the doorway, staring at his rapidly retreating figure in total bewilderment. She quickly whipped her head toward her mistress. Su Luoyang's pristine, pale face flushed with a striking hue of light pink, her eyes darting away from the door in a strange mix of shyness and irritation. … Back in the quiet, secure solitude of his room, Xiao Xuan quickly pushed the heavy wooden door shut.

He leaned against the sturdy frame, letting out a long, tired breath. The pill making was a long-term investment. He knew that he couldn't produce anything functional until he reached the 1st stage of Qi Tu (Qi Disciple) rank and had enough refined internal Qi. But the raw materials, the cauldron, and the beginner's theoretical manual, all of that he could prepare for and study beforehand. As for the upcoming Clan Screening, he wasn't worried.

He pushed off the door, removing his deep blue silk robes, and prepared to continue his cultivation. … Meanwhile, in the frost-scented study, Xinyue had finally recovered from her shock. She stepped fully into the room, her brow furrowed in deep, burning suspicion.

"Luoyang, what was that about?" Xinyue asked, crossing her arms.

"Why was that trash yelling about not making you a widow?"

"N-Nothing," Su Luoyang replied quickly, her eyes darting down to the columns of ink on the open ledgers on her desk. She cleared her throat, straightening her spine and trying to summon her usual cold authority.

"He just… he needed some funds. He wanted to pay back Wei Tu some money he borrowed at the market."

"Seriously?" Xinyue snorted, her face twisting in disgust as she scoffed at the ceiling.

"He causes a scene at the Tang Auction House, borrows money from a servant, and then acts like he's going off to war? Who does he think he is?"

"Don't talk about him like that, Xinyue," Su Luoyang berated her softly, though her tone lacked any warning. Xinyue blinked, stepping back.

"What? Are you taking his side?" She leaned forward, staring at her mistress in disbelief.

"Have… have you… started liking him or something, Luoyang?"

"NO!" The thick leather-bound ledger came up sharply, acting as a makeshift shield to hide her face. A faint warmth had crept up Su Luoyang's neck before she could stop it.

"That is a ridiculous question. Don't be absurd." Xinyue stood in the quiet room, listening to the ticking of the water clock as she watched her mistress stare very intently at a page she had already read three times. She said nothing further. … The next day, the morning meal passed with its usual tense quiet, the only sounds being the soft clinking of porcelain spoons against congee bowls. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Once breakfast concluded and the Patriarch, Matriarch, and Su Luoyao had swept out of the hall, Su Luoyang wordlessly approached Xiao Xuan in the corridor. Without making eye contact, her gaze fixed on a decorative tapestry down the hall, she silently passed him an intricately carved silver storage ring.

"Would you put it in my finger, my love?" Xiao Xuan teased, holding his palm forward expectantly. A flush of indignation swept across Su Luoyang's face. Instantly infuriated by his shamelessness, she tossed the ring onto his upturned palm and disappeared down the corridor in the blink of an eye. Wow! She's fast, Xiao Xuan thought, his heart leaping.

As soon as she was out of sight, he let out a sigh and carefully channeled the tiny sliver of Qi he had managed to painstakingly chisel out over the past few grueling nights into the band. His consciousness briefly linked with the ancient artifact, his mind plunging into a dark, vast, and spacious internal storage area. Sitting neatly inside the void was a generous amount of silver coins. Holy crap, Xiao Xuan thought, his eyes widening.

"Thank you," he whispered sincerely to the empty hallway. … Later that afternoon, Xiao Xuan was taking a stroll to stretch his cramped legs when Su Luoyao popped out of a nearby bush like a hyperactive ninja, a shower of loose leaves raining down around her. She was accompanied by the heavily panting form of Chubby the demonic hound, whose tail was wagging hard enough to stir the dust.

"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!" she yapped, bouncing in circles around him, her whip coiled neatly at her hip.

"You never finished telling me! How did you do it at the market? How did you make that giant beast stop?" Xiao Xuan sighed, affectionately patting Chubby on his broad, furry head.

"I told you, Luoyao. It's all about trusting yourself, and projecting that trust into the beast. You just have to look them in the eye and vibe with them." Su Luoyao stopped bouncing. She stared at him, blinking blankly, her head tilting slightly to the side.

"Vibe?"

"Never mind. Let's go to the training grounds," he suggested, needing a distraction. Out on the open, sun-baked dirt grounds, Su Luoyao happily showed off her martial arts forms. She moved like a striking viper, her whip cracking through the air with explosive snaps that kicked up waves of golden dust. Xiao Xuan clapped and cheered loudly from the sidelines, leaning casually against a wooden weapon rack.

At the far end of the open stone passage overlooking the grounds, Su Luoyang was passing by with Xinyue trailing closely behind. Hearing the sharp, rhythmic cracks of the whip cutting through the air and the warm, booming sound of her husband's laughter, Su Luoyang paused her step. She stood by the carved stone railing, her delicate hands resting lightly on the cold masonry, staring down at the dirt lot.

Xiao Xuan was currently running for his life in a comical, exaggerated circle as Chubby playfully chased him, his deep barks echoing through the courtyard while Luoyao clutched her stomach, laughing hysterically at the spectacle. Su Luoyang's face remained perfectly still. Yet, her crystalline eyes tracked Xiao Xuan's smiling face intently. It was a picturesque scene of a warm, functional family, a simple, unrestrained joy she had not felt within the oppressive walls of the Su Clan estate in a very long time.

Xinyue looked down at the playing duo, her nose scrunching, and then looked up at Su Luoyang. The maid's face was a mask of confusion. She desperately tried to read her mistress's unreadable expression. Without a word, Su Luoyang finally turned, the heavy silk of her robes rustling softly, and continued her walk down the passage. Xinyue gave the two playing figures one last disdainful look before hurrying to follow her master's shadow.

Meanwhile, along the outer perimeter of the training grounds, the passing servants and minor clan members walking by openly slowed their pace.

"Look at him. The Patriarch's esteemed son-in-law, rolling in the dirt like a commoner," a senior servant muttered, dramatically dropping a basket of laundry to shake his head in exaggerated pity.

"He has gotten too arrogant and shameless just because he tamed a domestic beast," another servant replied.

"I hear the Clan Screening is next week," a young maid giggled maliciously, leaning against a stone pillar.

"Let's see if he can still laugh at his own pathetic cultivation when the elders drag him onto the stage."

"Poor Second Miss. She's been brainwashed by that swine," another commented, shaking his head. … Deep within the shadowed, heavily warded walls of the Branch Family's private chambers, where the scent of bitter tea and burning incense hung thick in the stagnant air, a very different kind of meeting was taking place. First Elder Su Zhongyong sat quietly at the head of a long, polished stone table. The flickering light from the oil lamps cast long, monstrous shadows across his weathered face.

His hands were steepled together beneath his chin as he listened in deep, brooding thought. Beside him sat Second Elder Su Jiang, lazily swirling a cup of Jasmine tea with a calm, deeply venomous smile playing on his lips. A handful of other prominent branch elders sat around them in the dim light, their expressions universally grave and calculating. They were finalizing their ruthless plans for the upcoming Clan Screening.

"Will Xiao Xuan participate?" one of the younger elders asked, breaking the heavy silence, his fingers tapping anxiously against the stone.

"Yes. He must. We will make sure of it," another elder replied sharply, his voice echoing in the cavernous room.

"But the boy clearly has no cultivation," an elder noted, his rough thumb slowly rubbing his chin.

"What is even the point of throwing him onto the testing stage?"

"Well, the boy doesn't receive any cultivation stipend, nor does he hold any privileges within our martial force," an older man with a jagged, pale scar running down his cheek pointed out.

"He only warrants resources because of his status as the Patriarch's son-in-law. Because he isn't officially taking clan cultivation resources, we can't exactly punish him for failing the martial tests."

"That is fine," Second Elder Su Jiang purred, setting his porcelain teacup down on the stone with a soft, deliberate clink.

"He doesn't need to be punished. He merely needs to fail publicly. He will face humiliation and criticism from the younger generation and the external guests." He continued.

"The main family won't be able to escape the crushing shame of tying their golden daughter to that cripple. While the Patriarch is busy dealing with the loss of face, we can use the momentum to negotiate and secure more of the primary resources for the branch family members." The elders around the table murmured their low agreements, nodding as they saw the flawless logic in the political maneuver. However, near the far end of the long table, a quieter, young elder frowned in deep confusion.

He looked around the dimly lit room, his eyes scanning the confident faces, eventually settling his gaze on the First Elder.

"Wait…" the elder asked slowly, leaning forward.

"Is that all we are doing?" The room fell dead silent. Everyone, including the ever-smiling Second Elder Su Jiang, slowly turned their heads to look at the man who had spoken. The First Elder Su Zhongyong stayed silent as his eyes gleamed in the dim light.