The Auction House was fully packed with people who were already waiting for the event, which would be happening in about two and a half hours. Those who weren't too important but still wanted to participate in the event had to queue earlier to actually enter.
There was limited space inside the main auction hall and the number of cultivators wanting to see the event was just too high. There was also another reason that everyone was gathering this early. It was to see all of the guests invited to the Red Rose Banquet.
There were also many beauties invited to the event each year, and many young merchants attended just to get a chance of catching an eye from one of them. What they were also aiming for happened to be the rich merchant fathers who often stood behind each of those beauties as that would explode their careers.
"Look at this beauty… I heard she is the daughter of one of the biggest merchants in the Sacred Sword Kingdom. Her father has been searching for a suitable cultivation partner for her for quite a while. Do you think I have a chance?" A young merchant in the crowd combed his hair as he asked his friend next to him.
"She won't even glance at you. She is only interested in the Young Masters of big clans from the Banquet. It's better to just focus on others." His buddy said as he glanced at the young girl walking with her father through the passageway created by the crowd. The girl although pretty, had an arrogant and smug look on her face, enjoying all the gazes on her.
"See? She didn't even glance at anyone. She is a spoiled brat who thinks she is the centre of the world. Let's check out someone els—" The man said, expecting such an outcome and pulled his friend away from looking at her, checking out the next group incoming. Just as he looked, his words got stuck in his throat.
"Who are those people walking with our sexy Red Rose? I've never seen them before in the city." The young merchant said out loud as he stared at Xiao Wen.
"They must be some important guests from far away… Look at this lady in black… She is even sexier than Red Rose. Those curves are simply perf— Cough, Cough!" The men in the crowd started getting agitated when they saw Xiao Wen approaching, but suddenly, everyone got a cough attack, feeling immense pressure on their chests.
Only after the group entered the building did everyone stop having problems with their breathing. It was definitely not a coincidence as many in the crowd had the same problems.
As they entered the Auction house, the sounds from the crowd finally lessened and they could proceed in peace. Red Rose waited for everyone and led them towards the hall. Each group taking part in the banquet was led by at least one attendant and Xuefeng was suddenly surprised to see two of the escort ladies they met earlier, passing them.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Xuefeng stopped them, thinking that they would actually end working after receiving the old man's money from him.
"Oh! Sir, welcome! We are working. Boss Rose proposed us to work for the auction house instead and we couldn't resist accepting. It is a much better option for us." The cloaked girl who now had a full, clean uniform exclaimed seeing a familiar face and approached Xuefeng, explaining what happened.
Just as Xuefeng wanted to ask further, Red Rose called out from the side, "Get back to work." Hearing Red Rose gentle call, the girls both smiled embarrassedly and left after shouted, "Goodbye Sir!"
Before Xuefeng could say anything, Red Rose added, "They already told me what happened. You don't need to explain yourself. Just don't try to make my girls quit please."
Xuefeng didn't have a problem with that as long as he wouldn't see any of the girls being harassed by anyone. If he sees such a situation, he wouldn't just pass by without doing anything.
Nodding with his head, Xuefeng asked for more details, "What do you plan to do with that old man?" He wasn't really worried about the complications afterwards as that could be taken care of pretty fast.
"Don't worry about that. I already took care of that. No one saw anything and if anyone investigates, they will have to bypass me first. Let's go inside." Red Rose assured him as they finally reached their destination and opened the double doors, showing the interior of the banquet hall.
They instantly heard classical music from the orchestra on the podium but as they entered, the music quietened and everyone looked towards them. It was obvious that Red Rose as the organiser, was the person everyone was waiting for.
Usually, she would come last by herself, greeting everyone and starting the banquet but this time she actually brought guests with her which spiked some interest in the gathered merchants.
The guests quickly started approaching them with wine glasses in their hands, calling out in greetings, "Lady Rose! Welcome!" "Lady Rose, you look so beautiful today."
The hall was mostly a dance floor with the seats on one side next to a glass wall with the look at the place where the auction would take place and the tables with food on the other side. Xuefeng was surprised that there was actually a buffet on the banquet, which made him impressed by Red Rose's innovations.
Most guests were currently standing on the dance floor and conversing with each other while drinking precious wine. It was actually very similar to the modern earth banquets which made him feel more like at home.
"Welcome everyone. I hope all of you are having a great time. Don't stop the music, play!" Red Rose greeted her guests and called out to the band, making them continue playing.
Xuefeng and his group didn't know anyone other than Red Rose, so they just took the wine from the attendant and talked to each other, sharing their expressions of the party. Yiren and Wu Kong were the most excited about the banquet. One because Xuefeng promised to teach her how to dance and the other because he saw massive amounts of food.
The other guests were quite dissatisfied that the newcomers didn't even introduce themselves, but no one wanted to point that out and show it too obviously. Without knowing their background, no one would risk offending powerful cultivators.
Unfortunately, not everyone was this thoughtful and finally one person called out to Red Rose, "Lady Rose, who are the people you specially brought to the party today? You still didn't introduce them to us."
It was the very same lady that came just before Xuefeng's group who spoke up. Surprisingly, her face didn't contain any of the arrogant vibes she had outside as it was replaced with a gentle smile instead. Her long black hair was untied, gently falling on her back, visibly contrasting with her white dress. One could see she didn't have ample chest as compared to Xiao Wen for example, but she definitely made up for it with her shaped bottom.
There was no one she was interested in earlier in the banquet until finally, Xuefeng arrived. Her instinct instantly told her that he was special. Not only was he handsome with a unique appearance but also looked strong and manly. Just like a person she imagined to be her cultivation partner. The fact that there were already three ladies surrounding him didn't deter her from acting, forcing him to interact with them.
"Don't worry, I was just about to do it. Young Master, how about you introduce yourself?" Red Rose smiled towards the girl before calling out to Xuefeng to help her as she realised that she didn't know much about him, so she wouldn't even know what to say.
Hearing Red Rose's voice, he couldn't ignore her, but it didn't mean he wished to socialize with the people gathered here. Xuefeng simply said with a smile, "Hello everyone. I'm just a small cultivator exploring the world. Please, don't mind us, we are no one important."
Red Rose rolled her eyes at his introduction and turned towards everyone adding, "Young Master is too humble. He recently came from the Central Region. Some of the pills on the Auction were provided by him."
The guests weren't satisfied with Xuefeng's speech, but when they heard the two words, Central Region they all exclaimed in excitement, "Oooh!" For them, if one had access to the Central Region, he definitely had to be someone important.
The young girl who started the conversation suddenly approached her father who stood a little behind them, talking to some other merchant and whispered into his ear, "Father, I have decided. I want him."
The middle-aged merchant looked at his daughter and said calmly, "Ning, I'm talking with someone. I will give you a moment after I finish," before he returned to the topic with the other man, completely ignoring her. Most of the guests at the banquet were merchants and it was a great opportunity to get some new information and form partnerships.
"Just as I was talking about, the number of Rank 5 pills on the market greatly decreased in the Sacred Sword Kingdom due to the internal feud of two great families in The Central Region.
"They no longer export a large number of pills, causing the prices in the Eastern Region to skyrocket. If we could somehow get a supply of the pills, the return would be great." Ning's father said what he knew generously but then saw that his partner didn't look like he listened to him, with his gaze wandering elsewhere.
Following the gaze, he saw his daughter still standing next to him, but this time she was glaring at him. He couldn't help but sigh, already knowing how this would end. His daughter wasn't someone who would give upon anything she had decided on. Having the most stubborn daughter in the world was a great pain he had to live with.
"Qin Bai, talk to your daughter first, we can talk in a bit. I'm not leaving anywhere anyway," Qin Bai's partner said as he patted the frustrated father on the shoulder and gave them some space.
"Okay, Ning… Tell me, what is it this time?" Qin Bai sighed and asked calmly, his anger already extinguished before it even reached the surface. He knew there was no sense in arguing with his daughter.
"I told you, I want the man with white hair to be mine. I already decided." Ning repeated herself as her glare turned into a smile after having her father's focus on her.
"Who? What man?" Qin Bai got a little agitated as he looked around the hall, searching for a man with white hair. It wasn't long before he found Xuefeng, who still was forced to socialize with the group by the Red Rose and asked, "Who is he? Did you talk to him?"
"His group came here with Lady Rose and she is now introducing him to others. I haven't talked to him yet, but there is something about him that makes me want him." Ning introduced her future husband in all smiles.
Seeing his daughter being love-struck, Qin Bai decided to investigate himself, testing Xuefeng's stage first. He wasn't satisfied with just Spirit Lord stage of his, but knowing it was Aurora Country, after all, he didn't expect too much from him. But just as he was testing the stages of the ladies behind him, his Spirit Awareness was pushed back when he tried to check the lady wearing a black dress.
It could only mean that she had a higher stage compared to him. He was already a Spirit Emperor, which was already high even in the Sacred Sword Kingdoms, so the black dressed beauty had to be in the Saint stage or above, which quite surprised him.
Qin Bai pulled his daughter closer to him and asked, whispering sneakily, "Those ladies behind him came with him, right?" Knowing that the lady was stronger than him, he didn't want her to hear them talking about their group.
"Mhmm, they arrived all together. Lady Rose mentioned that they came back from the Central Region not long ago." Ning nodded, happy that her father started getting interested in her man too.
Hearing the words Central Region, Qin Bai suddenly got a feeling it was a bad idea for her daughter to involve herself with them. If the girl in a black dress was the white-haired boy's woman, Ning's advances could piss her off and she or her family would destroy them pretty easily.
Quickly figuring out a diversion, Ning's father said confused, "Didn't you say that you don't like men who play with many girls at the same time? He already has three of them with him now. I don't think it is a good idea. Pick someone else."
"No. I already decided." Ning disagreed right away as her facial expression quickly changed back to glaring. Knowing her father wouldn't understand her, she turned around and walked towards the crowd who were still talking with Lady Rose.
"Sigh… This girl will never learn. I hope she doesn't do anything stupid…" Qin Bai sighed as he watched his daughter leave him. He already went through the same scenario like this a few times so he knew there was nothing he could do to convince her anymore.
As Ning walked into the group, she heard Xuefeng say, "Well, thank you for having me here. I just wish to have fun with my companions today, so excuse me. Lady Rose, if you need me later just tell me."
After that, he went back towards his group of ladies, walking towards the tables with the food. Ning looked at his back, which drifted away from her, not sad at all that she couldn't talk with him. She wanted to observe his behaviour first before she would act.
Ning wasn't the only teenage woman at the banquet as there happened to be many merchants bringing their daughters with them, but she was the only one who was actually proactive in her hunt. The others just waited to be approached by other young males at the banquet, hoping to get invited for a dance.
Unfortunately for them, Xuefeng's eyes were only focused on the three females around him as he didn't even plan to socialize with anyone in the hall, already having a lot of fun being with his group. After Red Rose finished greeting each of her guests, she finally called out to everyone, starting the party and invited everyone to dance.
This was the moment that every young male at the banquet was waiting for as they started approaching ladies to pull them for a dance. There was a limited number of ladies available to choose from, so everyone was in a hurry to ask the prettiest one. There were about two males for each female which technically would make half of the males without a partner.
Xuefeng didn't have such a problem as there were three ladies exclusive for him to choose from. Seeing that everyone was preparing to dance, Yiren was getting excited, remembering that Xuefeng would teach her, so she quickly started pulling on Xuefeng's jacket, calling out cutely, "Xuefeng, let's go dance! You promised to teach me! Come!"
"Haha, did I?" Xuefeng asked with a laugh, but seeing that Yiren began to pout, he quickly corrected himself while patting her on the head, "Okay, I didn't forget. We can dance a bit together," before he informed the ladies while pointing at the Wu brother and sister, "Wen, Wuying, we will be right back. Take care of those two."
"Have fun." Xiao Wen replied with a smile, knowing that there will be a time for her as well later as Wu Lan already told her Xuefeng's intentions.
In the middle of the hall, there was a small area which was left open and all those who had a partner were already there, dancing together in the rhythm of the music. It wasn't a fast paced music one would hear at the clubs on the Earth, but a rather melodic, classical music which Xuefeng couldn't say he was a fan of.
Xuefeng wasn't a bad dancer and he also didn't know any proper dances but his plan was to improvise on the spot, which, by looking at how others danced, didn't look as difficult.
"Yiren, I will lead, okay? Just follow my movements." Xuefeng held her by the hands and instructed her. The other pairs on the dance floor were basically dancing similar to the modern waltz, rotating while hugging the lady by the waist, which was exactly what he wanted to try.
"Mhmm," Yiren nodded as she let him hold her tightly by her waist, almost embracing her and asked while looking around at the dancing pairs, "Should we copy what others are doing?"
"We can try. I will move forward while you can go backwards. Three, two, one, go." Xuefeng glanced at the others memorising the steps and on the countdown, they both moved.
Bam. Their heads banged against each other as they both moved forward. Massaging their foreheads, they couldn't help but laugh together. He knew Yiren was a noobie but if her sense of direction was bad as well, then they would have troubles dancing.
As they stood in the middle of the floor doing nothing, others started giving them weird glances cause they blocked the dance floor, so Yiren quickly proposed, "How about we move to the side and train a bit first?"
"Good idea." Xuefeng agreed, also noticing their disturbance and they sneakily walked to the side. Just as they planned to start practising, Xuefeng happened to glance at Xiao Wen and Wuying to check how they are doing, only to freeze, seeing that there was someone talking with them.
Upon a closer look, Xuefeng saw two young men standing close to them which quite shook him. He didn't want any men to touch them and even more so, in an intimate dance.
Feeling Xuefeng getting frustrated at something, Yiren followed his gaze and understood what agitated him. Pulling his hand, she said happily, "Let's check what they want. We can dance later too."
Xuefeng wasn't surprised she knew how he felt as their connection was still there. Without wasting time, they walked back towards the food tables.
Xuefeng wasn't surprised she knew how he felt as their connection was still there. Without wasting time, they walked back towards the food tables.
As Xuefeng approached them from behind, he heard one of the men asking, "Just one dance and we won't bother you girls anymore, what do you think?"
They were facing Xuefeng with their back, so they didn't see him coming behind them else they wouldn't be this daring in flirting with his women. Xiao Wen wanted to decline right away, having no plans to even waste her energy on them, but seeing Xuefeng appearing with a frown on his face, she suddenly changed her mind.
Smiling mysteriously, Xiao Wen turned to Wuying who also noticed Xuefeng standing right behind them and asked acting hesitant, "What do you think? Should we dance with those gentlemen?"
Wuying smiled amused, realising what Xiao Wen wanted to do and followed her game deciding to play around a bit, "I feel like we should at least give them a chance to prove themselves."
Xiao Wen grinned after successfully pulling Wuying into her scheme and turned towards the two boys, asking softly, "Mhmm, boys, how do you want to convince us? We don't usually dance with others. You know we came with another man, right? What if he sees us together and gets jealous?"
The two sons of merchants were already excited that two great beauties decided to talk to them, but when they actually started considering their proposal, their confidence skyrocketed into the ceiling. One of them, who had brown hair and an aquiline nose called out eagerly, trying to keep the beauties' interest, "Ladies, don't worry about your friend, he is already dancing with someone on the floor. We couldn't leave such beautiful ladies such as yourselves without partners, right? What can we do to prove ourselves?"
His dark-skinned friend nodded, assuring them, "We can do anything for you two. You beauties deserve the sun and the moon from the sky." It looked like they were feeling confident with each other as they supplemented each other, quickly filling each other's sentences.
Hearing his confidence, Xiao Wen asked in wonder, "Oh, you can give us the sun?"
"Not yet, but once I become a powerful cultivator, nothing will be impossible." The dark-skinned youth replied with a confident smile as if he knew will be successful in the future.
Xuefeng who watched the ladies entertain those who idiots from behind, already started losing his patience, and decided to stop this farce before he does something impulsive.
Someone would say he was a hypocrite as he disliked when his women didn't trust him but he himself didn't trust them. The truth was that he actually did trust them a lot. Xuefeng just didn't like when other men with evil intentions were talking with his ladies and it had nothing to do with the trust.
Just as he was about to reach out to the youths to pick them up and throw them away, Xiao Wen called out, "Wait! I know what they can do," before leaning over to Wuying and whispering something into her ear.
Xuefeng hands stopped midway, as he knew Xiao Wen's cry to wait was for him. For the two youths, it looked like she just thought of an idea, but Xuefeng saw her quick glance at him to stop his movements.
'What are you planning…?' Xuefeng thought as he pulled his hand away, waiting for a moment to see their scheme.
"Oh, that's a good idea. If they can do it, we can dance with one of them." Wuying nodded, agreeing to Xiao Wen's idea which made the two youths even more excited, knowing they were close to the prize.
"We will do it. Just tell us." The man with brown hair quickly agreed, brave to do anything. Dancing could give them a lot of chances to feel up the girl's bodies which what they were actually after all along.
Xiao Wen smiled evilly and said, "Okay. You have to kiss each other on the lips and we will dance with you." She just wanted to fool around with them, but knowing Xuefeng, she will ruin their fun.
"Cough, I don't mind," The dark-skinned man coughed and agreed, knowing it was a good sacrifice and turned to his buddy asking, "How about you?"
"If that can allow us to dance with two beauties, I don't mind either." The brown-haired youth replied and asked to confirm, "You won't back down after, right?"
"You don't believe us? Well, if you don't want to—" Xiao Wen asked back unhappily, shrugging and slowly pulling out of the bet, but the brown-haired youth cut her off and cried out, "No, no! We believe you. We will do it."
"Let's just do it and be over with it." The dark-skinned man said anxiously, but with a determined gaze and started leaning over to his buddy for a kiss. They just planned to do a peck, but just when they wanted to go for it, they noticed that someone was standing right next to them, which caused them to look up.
They saw Xuefeng who kept glaring at them and finally called out, "You two loverboys, get lost." They instantly felt pressure in their chests, giving them troubles with breathing and realised it had to be that man's doing.
"Y-yes, Sir…" They couldn't do anything other than bowing their heads and leave the scene. If he could pressure them like that with just Spirit Awareness, then he was definitely much stronger than them. The situation just wasn't in their favour.
"How come you are back so fast?" Xiao Wen asked with a sweet smile as if nothing happened, but Xuefeng didn't buy that and scolded her, "Can you tell me what are you doing? You are even pulling Wuying into your games."
Xiao Wen pouted right away, feeling the blame was placed on her and called out while hitting him on the shoulder, "Hey, don't blame me… You left us alone here to dance with Yiren… It is obvious we would get bored. What if we also wanted to dance with you?"
"It is not like I can dance with all of you at the same time…" Xuefeng replied speechlessly, knowing she was just looking for an excuse.
Suddenly Yiren hugged Xuefeng's arm and said cutely, "Xuefeng, you can dance with sister first then. I don't know how to dance anyway. Look how nicely she dressed up for the banquet. She needs to make good use of it."
"Well, I didn't plan to dance with everyone… But I can't leave you alone here or else other men will come and bother you." Xuefeng found it hard to leave them again, knowing there were other youths hunting for partners at the banquet.
"Don't worry, we will be careful and we will not talk to anyone. You can also dance with sister close to us so you can watch over us while dancing." Yiren proposed, trying to help Xiao Wen get some experience with men, using Xuefeng as a tool for that.
Looking at how beautiful Xiao Wen was today, Xuefeng knew that he couldn't resist a dance with her. She also glanced at him at the same time and he could see the hope in her eyes, which softened his heart.
"Okay, I will only settle something first real quick, before I'm ready. Wait a moment." Xuefeng agreed, but then thought of an idea and left them before running up to the band playing on instruments.
He talked to the main man responsible for directing the musicians, before coming back. At that moment, the music slowed down by a lot, giving soft and calm vibes. Walking up to Xiao Wen after settling the music, he picked her hand and asked, "Will you dance with me?"
"Okay," Xiao Wen nodded, already thinking he would never ask her. Placing her hand on top of his palm, he pulled her to the dance floor not far away. This way he would have a view on the girls but also have some space to talk to Xiao Wen.
"I'm also not a good dancer so please take care of—" Xiao Wen said honestly but then suddenly, Xuefeng pulled her by the hand and she fell into his arms, cutting her words.
"In this dance you don't need to be a good dancer. Place your hands on my neck and just follow the music." Xuefeng instructed as he led her slender fingers onto his neck.
"Never seen such dance—" Xiao Wen commented but then stopped, feeling his hands finding their way onto her lower back and waist. He embraced her further, closing the distance between them which forced her to wrap her hands around his neck more tightly, their faces being barely ten centimetre apart from each other.
Looking into his eyes, she smiled after feeling his hands through the fabric on the dress, imaging how nice it would be if he could grab her like this but completely naked. Of course, she couldn't tell him that and just simply teased, "If you wanted to hug me, you could have just asked me."
Slap! A clear wave spread on Xiao Wen's body as Xuefeng slapped her butt.
Having a distance from the ladies, Xuefeng suddenly turned around with his back towards them and gave her a juicy slap on the bottom while looking straight into her eyes. She was completely speechless, not knowing how to react. If someone else slapped her butt like that she would already blast a hole in that person's stomach.
"You think I am done scolding you? That was your punishment for teasing me earlier," Xuefeng declared as he started to wiggle with his body to the rhythm of the music, pulling Xiao Wen with him.
She was still in shock after what just happened, with her mind in shambles. In her mind, she thought, 'If that's how you want to scold me, I wouldn't mind if you scold me for a whole day…' but she couldn't get herself to say it out loud and just questioned him sternly, "Do you know what you just did?"
Xuefeng nodded with full clarity and said unhappily, "Yeah I know. I slapped your butt for being a bad girl. Who asked you to play around with me. I was right there and you still talked to those idiots." He was just pretending earlier, luring her into his trap so he can punish her directly.
Slap! Another slap landed on Xiao Wen's butt, this time her second buttcheek took the hit, leaving the painful sensation on the two of them. His slaps weren't actually light as he put some strength into them, to which even Xiao Wen let out a wail, "Aaah… Don't hit me anymore..."
For Xuefeng it sounded more like a moan than a wail, which made him think that she actually enjoyed it. Xuefeng also made sure that they were not seen by anyone as her back was pointing towards the wall so her behaviour couldn't be explained with her being embarrassed by others seeing her.
Doing a spin with her in his arms, Xuefeng said with a shrug, "I will slap your butt each time you are a bad girl from now on. At some point, you will learn to not tease me like that anymore."
Xiao Wen rolled her eyes and pouted while glaring at him, "So shameless. I was just playing around. You are no fun… I bet you only scold me so you can touch my butt, admit it."
"You were only playing around?" Xuefeng asked unhappily while suddenly pressing her body tightly onto his body, making her ample bosom stick onto his chest. He already took off his jacket so it would be more comfortable to dance.
"What…? Nothing really happened…" Xiao Wen replied with confusion, feeling his gaze and hot breath on her face. She had thought of prolonging their conversation for as long as she could so that he would hug her like this more.
"Wuying is my woman. You convinced her to flirt and promise to dance with other men. You think that was nothing?" Xuefeng explained what he meant before slapping her butt one more time, this time causing her to suck in cold breath while hiding her head in his chest to avoid moaning loudly and asked sternly, "Are you going to acknowledge your mistakes or do you need more punishment?
'Aaah, would it be okay if I tell him that I want more…?' Hearing his question, Xiao Wen wailed in her mind, conflicted. She wanted to tell him her true feelings but then the whole persona she built this whole time would crumble in front of his eyes. If Xuefeng learned how she was for real, she was sure his opinions would change, either for better or worse.
Xiao Wen looked back at him as she stopped hiding and said, shifting the blame onto him, "Even if it was my bad, it doesn't mean you can just slap me on the butt."
"We are friends. That's just a friendly slap on the butt as a punishment," Xuefeng shrugged, not feeling it was such a big deal but still rubbed her butt on the spot he hit her, asking gently, "Did it hurt?" He didn't want her to have a grudge on him.
"It did hurt. It's probably all red now because of you…" Xiao Wen raised her eyebrow, feeling his gentle rubs, but didn't stop his hand movements. Such actions from him actually gave her a perfect opportunity, so she was happy.
Smiling evilly after thinking of a plan, Xiao Wen asked, "What will you do if I tell Wuying and Yiren what you are doing right now? Don't you think they would feel sad that you are cheating on them with me? My hands are on your neck so they can see I'm not doing anything."
Hearing her, Xuefeng's hand froze and moved back onto her back as he quickly called out while squinting his eyes, "Whoa, hold on right there. I was just giving you some friendly punishment. I don't think they would mind if I told them how unhappy I was. Are you trying to blackmail me?"
Xiao Wen shook her head and said in her defence, "No, I'm just saying. I wouldn't tell them about it, don't worry… It's just that such things are only done between couples. How will I find a partner if I have a friend who randomly touches my butt? Will you take responsibility if I can't find anyone?"
"Okay, let's both calm down," Xuefeng sighed, realising that he might have actually gone too far and asked, "Aren't we close enough that such things are normal? Your two sisters are my women, so obviously I would feel natural with you like this."
'Tsk… What a dummy… He doesn't get my hints…' Xiao Wen thought unhappily, feeling that if she doesn't do anything, she would be quickly friend zoned by him.
'Wu Lan said to go slowly. If I push him too fast, it might backfire on me later… I need to retreat for now...' Xiao Wen figured out where her mistake was and stopped pouting while changing into a face full of remorse, saying, "Okay, it was my bad. I'm sorry for playing with your feelings like that. And yes, we are very close like this. I didn't actually mind it too much… I just wanted to tease you a bit."
Seeing that Xuefeng's face relaxed a bit, she added sweetly, "Forgive me, okay? I will be a good girl from now on."
"Sigh, it's my bad too. I guess I'm feeling too comfortable with you. It's okay, you already received your punishment." Xuefeng sighed and forgave her. It wasn't like they would dance with them as they just wanted to tease him a bit.
"Mhmm, thank you." Xiao Wen nodded happily and kissed him on the cheek before she let go of him, asking with a playful smile, "Anyway, did my butt feel nice?"
"Haha, it did. Your husband in the future will be in heaven having you," Xuefeng laughed as he also let go of her, only keeping one hand on her waist as they started walking back to Wuying and Yiren.
Xiao Wen looked at Xuefeng's face and smiled gently, saying with a nod, "Yeah, I will make sure he will be in one for sure…"
'Interesting… He is very protective of his women, I like it. He didn't hesitate to scold them right when caught them talking to the two other guys. He really cares for his women. The only issue is that there are too many of them… He doesn't seem to want less, but rather more… I guess I would have to work on him a bit after I make him fall for me.' Ning thought in her mind after observing Xuefeng from afar for a while.
Just as she thought about it, the two men from before who bothered Xiao Wen and Wuying earlier came up to Ning, calling out happily, "Lady Qin, you promised to dance with us if we talk to those ladies. It's time to keep your promise."
"Get lost." Ning didn't even glance at the two men and continued to observe the subject of her thoughts. She only wanted to use them to test out Xuefeng's behaviour, not even planning to put a second glance at them afterwards.
Unfortunately, after being kicked out by Xuefeng and tricked by their targets, they were not in a mood to be messed around with again. Their faces quickly darkened after they heard Ning's response and the brown-haired guy quickly blocked her view, forcing her to look at him.
"You think you can just play around with us however you want without any consequences?" The dark-skinned man asked as he approached Ning from behind, trapping her in between of them. Everyone attending the banquet was somebody important and they were not an exception. Their parents were also very successful merchants and they didn't lose to Qin Bai in terms of riches.
Ning looked at the brown-haired' guy's face slightly annoyed and her eyes squinted into a glare as she said, "I told you to get lost. Do you want me to spell it out, so you can understand?"
"Didn't your father teach you of how trading work? You can't go back on your word. I'm sure that if we told everything to him, he would also tell you to honour your promise." The dark-skinned man smiled evilly and explained, already curious as of how Ning's body felt like. They obviously wanted to dance with Ning only to take advantage of her in the process.
"If you don't go away, I will scream, alarming everyone at the banquet. I want to see your father's faces when I tell everyone that their sons tried to force themselves on me." Ning didn't waste any more time with them anymore after her blackmail and tried to get rid of them by walking to the side, but one of them caught her by her arm and pulled back.
Just as she was ready to scream, the dark-skinned guy stopped her with words, "Go ahead and scream. We will tell that white-haired boy that it was you who asked us to flirt with his women. I bet he will be happy to hear that."
Glaring at the man right away, she muttered, "Fine… I will dance with you." She was mad because she had to use her backup plan so quickly which would quite disrupt her ideal husband hunt.
"Heh, see, it wasn't that hard. I will dance with you first then." The dark-skinned youth giggled happily, finally convincing her and reached out to grab her into his arms but his hand ended up missing the target because of her sudden movement. He quickly called out with a frown, "Are you backing away this quickly?"
"No, I will dance with you, but on my terms. I want to get the most out of it so you have to follow my words else there is no deal." Ning proposed and they nodded in response, not having any problems with that.
Ning smiled gently after seeing their agreement and confessed while looking down shyly, "I like when men take me by force… I want you to grab me in your arms with me resisting before forcing me into dancing with you," before asking with hope in her eyes as she looked back at them, "Isn't that so romantic?"
"Yeah…" The dark-skinned youth looked strangely at her for a second but thinking that he would end up with more chances if she allowed him to embrace her, he agreed to her weird habits.
Seeing him reach out to her once again, Ning pulled away and added, "Not here, I will walk forward and you will catch me out of surprise. Let me walk a few metres and then move after me, okay?"
"Okay." The youth quickly agreed, getting excited and already imagining the whole situation, of him hugging her from behind. With a nod, Ning started walking forward, actually heading where Xuefeng was standing. Unfortunately for the two youths, they were too focused on the sexy body of Ning that they didn't notice this detail.
Xuefeng already returned the tables with food along with Xiao Wen and was just about to move to his second round of punishment which was meant for Wuying, when he heard a quiet cry behind them, "Aaah! Don't touch me!"
Xuefeng swiftly turned around looking towards the direction of the sound and saw the very same girl who asked questions earlier in the crowd, trying to push away one of youths who dared to try and pick up his women earlier.
"What the heck…" Xuefeng muttered seeing the scene and his instinct was telling him to move. Just at that moment, the girl suddenly kicked the guy in the stomach and started running towards them. She was running without looking where she was going so Xuefeng quickly moved forward and caught her into his arms.
"No, let go…" Ning called out in distress, acting as if she thought that she was once again caught but the guys chasing her but Xuefeng quickly calmed her down, "You are safe now, don't worry…"
"Huh?" Ning calmed down and looked at Xuefeng's face before suddenly hugging into Xuefengs chest, weeping softly, "Waah… Thank you so much…" Xuefeng naturally felt bad for her and couldn't just push her off forcefully, and instead just patted her on the head to cheer the poor girl up, before glaring at the two men who dumbfoundedly watched Ning crying not far away.
Xiao Wen looked at the girl suspiciously, clearly feeling that something was not right and glanced at Wu Lan who was not far away from them, watching over her brother as he ate directly from the table.
As if Wu Lan felt the glance, she turned around and nodded, knowing exactly what was Xiao Wen's intention. 'That fake wretch…' Xiao Wen cursed realising they were being played by her.
"What happened?" Xuefeng asked Ning while still glaring sharply at the youths, making them paralyzed from fear. They felt shivers from his gaze alone. They were just merchants without any fighting capability, which put them in a disadvantage from the start.
"They tried to force me to dance with them… I didn't like to, but they didn't want to leave me so I ran away…" Ning answered with tears in her eyes, touching Xuefeng's weakness. He just couldn't stand a girl's crying which made him instantly feel bad for her.
"Bastards… girls, wait with her here. I will take care of those perverts." Xuefeng pulled her away from himself and started approaching the two youths who already couldn't escape from the beating. Other people on the banquet already spotted that there was an interesting situation going on there, so they started looking towards his direction but he didn't care.
"Sir! We didn't do anything! It's all her fault! She—" The dark-skinned youth panicked when he saw Xuefeng approaching and tried to explain himself but Xuefeng didn't listen to him and just straight up picked him up by his collar before grabbing the second one as well. He carried them through the main doors while not listening to their pleas, leaving the banquet.
Sob. Ning cried seeing the situation changing like this, but then she heard someone call out to her coldly, "Stop pretending already. We are not dumb."
Ning grinned hearing Xiao Wen exposing her, but she didn't mind and turned to the ladies with her expression changed into a smile. She didn't need to pretend anymore when the truth was already revealed.
"Heh, look at you. To think you saw through my act this fast," Ning giggled as she gazed at Xiao Wen's cold face before informing them seriously, "I'm sorry, but I'm interested in that man of yours. Thank you for keeping him safe for me."
To Ning's surprise, Xiao Wen, Wuying and Yiren who she faced right now, did not start arguing while hating on her but instead smiled before laughing out loud. She didn't understand why until Xiao Wen opened her mouth and started talking.
"You are funny kiddo. Do you think Xuefeng is dumb and will believe in your lies?" Xiao Wen called out with a smile and beckoned for Wu Lan to come to them, knowing that they will need her later.
"He will believe in what's true. You are all fake and crazy. To think you agree to be one of the many women he has instead of fighting it out with each other. Totally absurd." Ning said with a smug look on her face and didn't bother to look at the ladies behind her, putting back her hurt expression as she looked at the doors.
She was sure that they wouldn't do anything to her as they were still at the banquet after all. There was a reason why Xuefeng didn't beat up those two on the spot as that would create unnecessary trouble for them, which they did not want.
Yiren leaned over to Xiao Wen's ear and whispered, not worried at all, "Sister, don't worry about this girl. She is too closed in her own world. Xuefeng is not how she thinks, he won't believe her words." She knew Xuefeng for a while and she knew his character. There was also a soul connection between them which told her how he felt.
Wuying did not like this situation at all, but seeing that both Xiao Wen and Yiren were calm, she also relaxed her mind, completely believing in her man.
Outside of the banquet hall, Xuefeng was pulling two men by their collars, who kept struggling in his arms, so he threw them on the ground when there was no one around them in the corridor.
"Sir, it's not our fault! It was all her idea! She forced us to do it!" Right when they hit the ground, the two youths tried to quickly explain themselves. They were innocent after all. They were played by Ning like ten-year-old kids.
"Yeah! She told us to flirt with Sir's women, so she can see Sir's reaction! We just wanted to dance with her, but she told us to use some force on her, cause that's what she likes! We didn't know she would act like a victim like that!" The dark-skinned man swiftly narrated the story, scared that Xuefeng will beat them up before they can justify themselves.
Compared to what they thought would happen, Xuefeng just put his hands on his ears before saying in annoyance, "Okay, can you stop screaming? My ears will burst soon. I will really beat you up if you don't stop."
Hearing him, they both turned mute at the same time, not letting out a sound. If there was a chance for Xuefeng to leave them alone, they would gladly take it. They didn't think that their parents would save them, knowing what they did and they would rather help in beating them up.
"You think that I'm so dumb that I can't see through such an easy act of hers? I just didn't want to hit her, so I let her be. As simple as that," Xuefeng said indifferently as he suddenly spawned his black jacket and put it on cooly. He didn't think he would dance anymore today, knowing that drama would start very soon.
"...So, is Sir going to let us go?" The dark-skinned youth asked hesitantly. He acted very cautiously now after two of their previous mistakes.
"I won't beat you up, if that's what you mean," Xuefeng said calmly, which instantly made the two youths smiling with relief. As long as they were safe nothing else mattered.
"Thank y—" Unfortunately, just as they wanted to apologize for their previous behaviour, Xuefeng called out, "I won't hit you, but you guys will."
"...Us?" The youths got their hopes crushed as they asked at the same time to confirm their thoughts.
"I don't care if you listened to someone else or just did it on your own. Facts are you are dumb and idiots always pay the price for their stupidity. I want you to slap each other ten times each, as hard as you can," Xuefeng commanded as he glared at them, before adding while creating a small fireball on top of his palm, "If you don't hurry, I will just think of another method to punish you guys."
Feeling the scorching heat on their faces, they didn't dilly-dally anymore and started slapping each other across their faces right away. They were soon both red, from all the slaps, but Xuefeng could only sigh as that was the part of his plan. He didn't like getting lied to, so the girl that thought she could easily trick him would be soon met with a surprise.
When Ning saw the door to the banquet hall open once again, she quickly put on a sad face and looked with worry towards Xuefeng who entered right after. She saw the two men which she tricked earlier with bloody red faces and had almost smiled at this sight but she quickly recollected herself. It seemed like her plan was going just as she wanted.
Xuefeng smiled towards everyone as he approached them and called out to Ning indifferently, "Hey girl, they shouldn't bother you anymore. I took care of that so you don't need to worry anymore."
"Aah! Thank you so much!" Ning burst with happiness when she heard him and ran up to Xuefeng only to throw herself into his arms, hugging him deeply. Xuefeng decided to not dodge her and just patted her head with a helpless expression on his face.
He knew she was harmless so he didn't worry about her being so close to him. Just to be sure, he still had a thin layer of protection on his skin, just in case anything unpredictable happened.
"I was a bit worried, but looking at your strength, I could have expected such outcome. So manly and handsome, I knew that if I ran in your direction you would save me. You wouldn't leave a damsel in distress alone," Ning said happily as she wiped her tears away, before asking sweetly, "I really want to repay you somehow. How about I invite you for dinner as a thank you?"
"That's really nice of you, but... we are probably going to leave the city tomorrow, so I don't think this will be possible. Take care," Xuefeng scratched his head hesitantly but in the end, he declined gently. The ladies behind them smiled, already expecting such an outcome. Their Xuefeng was just too nice and kind else she wouldn't even get to talk to him.
When Xuefeng pulled her hands away, she hugged his arm instead and continued to ask, "How about a glass of wine? There is still a lot of time today, before or after the auction. I really want to repay you. Please, please, please." She looked like she was just about to cry if he didn't accept, so Xuefeng sighed and nodded, "Okay, but only if I have time later."
"Thank you so much! Also…" Ning thanked him by hugging him tightly before she looked at Xiao Wen and the rest who kept glaring at her, saying worriedly, "I don't think your women like me for taking you from them… They will probably try to say some bad stuff about me, so don't listen to them, okay? I'm definitely not like they will try to portray me. I hope you can just check how I am by yourself."
'That snake, you think you will get out of it this easily with those simple words?! Hah, not a chance!' Xiao Wen laughed in her mind, knowing that Ning wouldn't succeed.
"Oh, don't worry about that. They are not like you think. All of them are gentle and beautiful angels. They would not mind making friends with everyone." Xuefeng waved with his hand, pretending it was not a big deal at all.
"Then I'm assured," Ning sighed in relief as she patted herself gently on the chest before finally introducing herself, "I'm Qin Ning, but you can specially call me Ning. My one and the only hero should get special terms."
"I'm Xuefeng. Nice to meet you," Xuefeng shook her hand as he also introduced himself while actually giving her his real name.
"Mhmm, I will go now to meet with my father. I will look for you later to take you for a drink. Don't forget your promise!" Ning called out to Xuefeng while waving as she finally decided to leave them, letting the situation play by itself. Xuefeng also waved at her, but then felt a few sharp gazes aimed at his back which made him smile bitterly.
Xiao Wen was the first to approach him as she asked him while glaring at him unhappily, "Xuefeng, you are not really believing her, right?"
"Believing her in what? Did something happen between her and you guys while I was gone?" Xuefeng asked with a frown, pretending he was confused. They teased him earlier so he wanted to give them the same bitter medicine.
"You mean you didn't notice her act? She is not as innocent as she pretends to be…" Xiao Wen asked, worried that he was actually believing the snake, Ning.
"What act? Wasn't she just thankful cause I saved her?" Xuefeng asked as he continued to play dumb, which made Xiao Wen speechless. She didn't want to believe in that, but looking at his actions, he might actually fall for it, which would be horrible for her.
Trying to confirm her thoughts, she reached out and grabbed Wu Lan hand, deciding to learn the truth herself.
When Xiao Wen turned to Wu Lan, the small girl already knew what was going on and pouted as she stood on her fellow sister's side, informing them right away, "Big Sister, don't listen to big brother. He is just trying to tease you all."
Hearing Wu Lan, all three of them glared at Xuefeng and called out unhappily, "Xuefeng!" They were all genuinely concerned that Xuefeng for a moment forgot himself and actually believed Ning's words.
"Haha, what? You guys can tease me and I can't do the same? Now we are all even from before." Xuefeng laughed as a smiled appeared on his face and he explained himself.
"Tsk… Okay, you got me for a second," Xiao Wen snickered, accepting defeat on this one, knowing he did it to have his revenge on them before asking, "Since when did you know she was fake?"
"Her acting was good, but it wasn't hard for me to figure that out. It was also too much of a coincidence, so I knew it was fake from the start. Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything with her even if you asked me to. I already have you all which is already a lot to handle." Xuefeng assured them, making sure they wouldn't misunderstand him.
"Waah, you scared us…" Yiren who was the most naive of them all quickly ran up to Xuefeng and hugged him while pouting unhappily. She was genuinely upset for a moment, but it quickly passed as he returned her hug, pulling her closer.
"Why didn't you expose her right away?" Wuying asked curiously with her annoyance already gone, copying Yiren's way of hugging him.
Xuefeng shrugged with a smile, enjoying his two women in his arms and said calmly, "It wouldn't be fun right? I don't like people who want to scheme against me. Let her be for now with her hopes untouched. We can surprise her later. She didn't do anything worth taking revenge for, so I don't want to do bad stuff to her."
"Mhmm, I don't mind. Just don't let her touch you anymore. I don't like it…" Wuying nodded, satisfied with his answer, but still told him about her opinion. As his girlfriend, she had such right.
"Yeah, only we can touch you. Promise?" Yiren instantly nodded adding her words to Wuying's request.
"Alright. I will only touch you," Xuefeng didn't have to think too much about it, agreeing right away while hugging them tightly.
The only one left alone was Xiao Wen, who bitterly watched the three hug, but Wu Lan squeezed her hand in support, which made her cheer up a little bit. She didn't want to stay on the side like that and wanted to be one of them. Xiao Wen didn't think she would survive in this state, so she had to act faster else she would go crazy and just eat up Xuefeng on the spot.
"By the way, what happened with all the food around you? There were many dishes here but now it's all gone. Did you guys eat everything?" Xuefeng asked after he suddenly spotted the difference on the tables.
Just as Wu Lan wanted to explain, her brother Wu Kong, who stood a few meters away from them, called out happily while eating parts of a giant beast leg, "Big brother it was me! Everything is so delicious here. Mhmm!"
"I told him to leave some for others… But he said he was still hungry while giving me his puppy eyes… I couldn't say no to him." Wu Lan blushed because of her brother's shamelessness and explained his actions before proceeding to pull him away from the food by pulling his ear.
"Au, Au! Sis let go! There is still so much food left!" Wu Kong cried out as he glanced with despair at his meat, which was drifting apart from him.
"Wu Kong, did you really eat all of this?" Xuefeng asked curiously, thinking that it was impossible for a small kid to eat this much food.
"Yeah, it was so yummy. I'm still hungry though…" Wu Kong nodded as if it was nothing, patting his flat belly while asking, "Big Brother, can I eat more? I need more food to grow stronger."
"Oh, you say you grow stronger with the food you eat?" Xuefeng asked curiously as he let go of Yiren and Wuying and reached out to Wu Kong, commanding without waiting for his response, "Show me your hand."
The first thought Xuefeng had was that they might have missed a talent, by only considering Wu Lan to having one based on their observation, and they forgot to actually test her normal looking brother. Ling also just advised him to let her test him.
After doing exactly that, Ling told him what he kind of expected already. Wu Kong also had a dormant Fate Fragment in his body. It was the same type which would only awaken when the Fate Fragment Holder reaches maturity with his body. Normally it would awaken when they are fifteen or sixteen years old, but it varies from person to person.
'Those are the types which are too strong to be handled by a body of a kid so they only awaken when the bodies are strong enough. In Wu Lan's case, her ability is very straining on her mind and when she fully awakens, she would be able to probably oversee the whole city with her power, instead of just her surroundings. She needs a strong mind for such a feat,' Ling explained what she knew about Wu Lan before comparing it to her brother, 'Wu Kong, on the other hand, would have his whole body affected if I can guess. I have no idea what his ability is, but for now, it seems to be somehow gathering Fate Qi through eating. I have never met such a Fragment so I can't say for sure.'
'How is Wu Lan gaining Fate Qi then? She is using her passive ability almost all the time.' Xuefeng asked while processing her whole information he got from her.
'She doesn't. But in her case, it's a very low-cost ability as she recycles her Fate Qi. She releases it around her body in such thin threads that even I couldn't feel them at all. Only after spending so much time around her did I started noticing the changes in our surroundings. Let the boy eat. The more he eats, the faster he will grow.' Ling advised.
"Wu Kong, don't worry, you can eat as much as you want. If anyone complains I will be the one to talk to them," Patting Wu Kong's head, Xuefeng said words that made the small boy beyond excited and quickly burst with happiness.
"Thanks, big brother!" Wu Kong gave Xuefeng a quick hug before he quickly skipped towards the table.
"He is also special just like Wu Lan." Seeing the gazes and others on his face, Xuefeng explained himself to which they all nodded with understanding.
"Sigh, and here I thought my brother was a pig. It turns out we are the same." Wu Lan sighed in relief, knowing there was nothing wrong with her brother. He always complained that he was hungry so she thought he was ill. Fortunately, it wasn't the case.
Just as Xuefeng thought of asking a very important question, Wu Lan already knew what it was and answered, "Our parents are not with us anymore. Actually, we never knew them. We were raised by our aunt who was a great woman. When the time was rough, she even shared her own food with us so we could survive.
Unfortunately, it led to her illness about two years ago which quickly led to her death, leaving us alone. We were lucky to sell auntie's house and have money to live for the last two years, but we ran out of money just yesterday. We would be in serious trouble if not for big brother…"
"Oww…" Yiren felt touched hearing the sad story and hugged Wu Lan into her chest, assuring her, "Don't worry, we will take care of you guys. Xuefeng already proposed to take you with us back to the clan. You would be safe there."
"Yeah, about big brother's next intention, we would love to travel with you… We have nowhere to go anyway. I can help big brother with my readings and Kong can help… with gathering wood for the fire. We will definitely be useful to you," Wu Lan proposed, knowing Xuefeng would ask her.
"Alright," Xuefeng agreed, having such intention anyway before joking with a laugh, "Haha, I guess I don't even need to talk as you know everything. Wouldn't she be a perfect wife for someone in the future?"
Of course, Xuefeng didn't receive standing ovations for the joke and only a couple of glares.