"After such a big battle, I doubt anything will happen anytime soon," Huang Hong Lin said. "We should take the time to rest and recuperate. Keep your head down and don't do anything too drastic for now."
"Really?" I glanced in the direction of where the imperial family and Hu Li Jing's group departed toward. "What about them?"
"No matter how powerful they are, they have expended quite a lot of qi over the battle. They will need some time to convalesce. Especially Wang Ni Tian."
"That makes sense." I nodded. Huang Hong Lin grimaced and turned away, rubbing her shoulder gingerly. She stretched her arms and managed a sheepish look.
"To be honest, I probably need the time to recover as well."
"Understandable. You go back and rest. My wife and I will return and wait at home."
"You don't intend on opening the shop, dear?"
"Well, yeah, we'll open it again for business during the day, honey. Huang Hong Lin, you know where to find us. Just give us a call or so."
"All right." Huang Hong Lin nodded before she disappeared along with Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. "I'll contact you when the time is right."
We watched her leave before the both of us headed home. After checking for injuries, we went to bed and ended up sleeping for quite some time.
Even so, I managed to wake up in time the next morning to open the store as usual. While manning the counter and waiting for non-existent customers, Mu Rong Shu suddenly appeared, her smartphone in hand.
"Grandfather has called us," she reported. "He asks us to go to the Suntech Exhibition Hall this evening."
"Huh? Why? What's the event?"
"If I remember correctly, the Suntech Exhibition Hall is where they are selling off the treasure weapons we retrieved from the Tomb of the War God. There's an auction taking place there. My guess is that grandfather wants to introduce us to somebody attending the auction event."
While my first thought was to complain about how troublesome it was, I couldn't deny that granddad-in-law had good intentions. Mu Rong Lao undoubtedly wanted me to expand my social network. This would be good for me, helping me gain access to more resources and enlisting the help of other cultivators in future.
Given the fierce battle I had just gone through last night, even with my wife's help and assistance from other summoner-cultivator allies, I could undeniably use a bit more help.
"All right, let's go for it then," I agreed with a nod.
For the rest of the day, not many customers came. A few took a look at what I had to sell, but almost none of them bought anything. An old couple did buy an antique bowl that was said to be dated as far back as the Tang Dynasty, but I sold it for cheap.
That was the only business I did that day.
When evening drew closer, I closed the shop early and went home with my wife. We got dressed and drove to the Suntech Exhibition Hall. After parking my Toyota in the parking lot at the front of the colossal conventional center, we both made our way to the entrance.
We hadn't gotten very far when there was another car that honked at us. A luxurious Lamborghini pulled up alongside us, with the driver poking his head out.
"Isn't this Mu Rong Shu? It's been a while!"
"It has," Mu Rong Shu agreed good-naturedly. At my inquisitive stare, she nodded toward the driver. "That's Tang Zhong Ye, one of my classmates from high school. And the girl beside him is Liu Ming Yi, also another classmate from high school."
Now that my wife mentioned it, I noticed the female passenger beside Tang Zhong Ye, dressed in a thing, black evening gown made entirely out of silk.
"Is that guy your boyfriend?" Tang Zhong Ye asked, giving me a condescending look. Mu Rong Shu must have detected the scorn in his tone, for she scowled. Grabbing my arm and leaning close, she put on a proud expression.
"He's my husband."
"Whoa!" Liu Ming Yi raised a hand to her mouth in astonished. "You got married?! When?"
"Three years now."
"I see, I see." Liu Ming Yi gave Mu Rong Shu a look of pity, which caused the latter to frown in puzzlement.
"Man, of all the people you could marry, you chose such a poor beggar?" Tang Zhong Ye, on the other hand, pulled no punches.
"Excuse me?" Both Mu Rong Shu and I blurted out. Tang Zhong Ye rolled his eyes and pointed at my Toyota.
"Come on, just look at the cheap Toyota your husband came in. He can't even afford a decent car!"
"What's wrong with a Toyota?" I demanded, annoyed. "It's reliable, efficient and trustworthy. Toyota is the number one car manufacturer in the world."
"So? Only poor people buy Toyota. Real men drive Lamborghini, BMWs or Ferraris."
I had never heard of such a rule. This guy was deluded.
"What are you doing here?" Liu Ming Yi asked, trying to change the topic. "There's a big event going on in Suntech Exhibition Hall right now, you know? I don't think it's open to public access."
"My grandfather called us over," Mu Rong Shu explained, even though she wasn't obligated to do so. Liu Ming Yi seemed to scoff at that.
"Your grandfather? Why?"
"Are you helping out at the auction?" Tang Zhong Ye asked, pondering. The Mu Rong family was supposed to be secretive, so not many normal people knew about them or their wealth.
"No, not really."
"Then…you can't possibly be attending the auction, can you?" Tang Zhong Ye burst out laughing, as if he had just said something unbelievable. "You wouldn't be able to afford even the cheapest item there! It'll cost several times my Lamborghini!"
Mu Rong Shu and I exchanged a glance, but we didn't say anything. Instead, my wife simply smiled. "No, we are not here to attend the auction."
"I thought not." Tang Zhong Ye shot me another condescending look. Clearly he didn't think very highly of me.
"The both of you should leave before you get chased out," Liu Ming Yi advised scornfully. "It'll be very embarrassing otherwise."
Mu Rong Shu rolled her eyes and sighed. "I assume the both of you are here to attend the auction then?"
"Of course!" Liu Ming Yi latched onto Tang Zhong Ye's arm. Dangerous, given that he was driving, but since he had stopped his car, I guess it was all right. "My darling here has promised to buy me something from the auction!"
"Something your husband will never be able to afford to," Tang Zhong Ye sneered. "I bet you now regret not accepting my confession back then, huh?"
"Should you really be saying that in front of your wife?" Mu Rong Shu asked, her brow twitching in annoyance.
"We aren't married yet," Liu Ming Yi replied with a shrug. "But we'll definitely invite you to the wedding! You had better come, Shu! And make sure to bring your husband with you!"
"Oh, I will," Mu Rong Shu assured her, despite knowing that Liu Ming Yi was mocking her. She was on the verge of laughing. "Anyway, you shouldn't block the driveway. We'll go in first."
The both of us left the couple and entered the exhibition hall. To the couple's surprise, the guards bowed and let us in.
"What? Don't they need to check their invitations?" Liu Ming Yi demanded, jumping out of the car. She strode over while Tang Zhong Ye quickly parked his car in a lot nearby and rushed out to join her. By then she was berating with the guards. "Do your job! How can you let anyone in just like that!? Those two don't have any invitations, do they?"
The guards simply stared at her, ignoring her. Liu Ming Yi stamped her foot, pointing a finger at the faces.
"I'll file a complaint with the management! You mark my words!"
"Calm down, my dear." Tang Zhong Ye finally caught up with her. "Ignore them. If they really aren't supposed to be here, they'll be thrown out by the organizers later. Let's just go in for now. We should be able to grab good seats."
Before they could enter, though, the security guards held out their hands and barred them.
"Invitation," one of them said gruffly. Liu Ming Yi couldn't help but flare up.
"Are you blind? Can't you see who my boyfriend is?"
"Calm down, calm down," Tang Zhong Ye whispered into her ear, trying not to lose his temper. "Don't make a fuss here. Even my family can't afford to offend the owner of the Suntech Exhibition Hall. Just go along with them."
He then produced he invitation letter, and the security guards stepped aside to allow them entry. As they stepped past, Liu Ming Yi pointed in our direction.
"Why is it that they don't need an invitation letter but we do?!"
"We recognize them," one of the security guards replied smoothly. "Mr. and Mrs. Zhao are always welcome here."
"What?! Why?!"
"Who are you to demand an explanation?" the security guard growled, glowering at her. Liu Ming Yi immediately turned pale and backed away, needing Tang Zhong Ye to support her. "Do you think you own the Suntech Exhibition Hall or something?"
"N…no, not at all," Tang Zhong Ye said quickly. He then glared at Liu Ming Yi and pulled her away, hissing. "Stop misbehaving! I told you, we can't afford to offend the people here!"
"But…but it's unfair!"
"Who cares? Like I said, if they get revealed later, the security will naturally throw them out. Why bother with the likes of them?"
The both of them then disappeared into the hall where the auction was taking place. Mu Rong Shu and I, on the other hand, were headed for a different place.
"Sorry about that," my wife apologized. "My ex-classmates can be…very arrogant."
"Been there, done that," I muttered. "It won't be a son-in-law story without some random character looking down on the protagonist and mocking him for being poor just because of the car he drives or some bullshit reason."
"Don't worry, I don't like Tang Zhong Ye at all," Mu Rong Shu assured me. "Back when we were in high school, he did pursue me, but I found him too arroant. He would make use of his wealth to bully and look down on other students. He was also notorious for sleeping around with multiple women. He might be a talented businessman who started his own business and did well financially, but there are a lot of…rumors about him."
I didn't ask, but I appreciated Mu Rong Shu explaining everything to me. I gave her a quick hug to reassure her.
"Don't worry. I trust you. I don't care what happened in the past or who you hung out with. All that matters to me is that you're my wife."
"You…" Mu Rong Shu rolled her eyes. "You can say some really cheesy things sometimes."
"Ha ha, those cheesy dialogues were what ended up causing our marriage." I squeezed her shoulder as I hugged her to me.
"True." Mu Rong Shu snuggled against me with a giggle. "And I can assure you that you're a hundred times better than that scum, Tang Zhong Ye, so don't listen to him."
"Oh, don't worry, I don't care about him," I replied. "An eagle doesn't pay any attention to the condescending cawing of a crow because he's just not worth listening to at all."